Chapter 184. Elf (3)
The elves, who made the great forest in the southern continent their home.
As residents of nature, they reject humans, and engage in no interaction whatsoever, including trade… or so the related texts had written.
And the Kingdom of Estiria was a human kingdom.
It should be natural that not even the trace of an elf existed there, yet right before Verden's eyes, the corpse of an elf lay openly displayed.
Where on earth had they brought it from?
The question rose, though it was not as if he couldn't make a guess.
The memory glimpsed while reviving the spirit, Blue.
Back then, the mages who had kidnapped the elves were clearly involved. Since Blue had followed those traces all the way into the kingdom, the circumstances more or less aligned.
'But that's a different elf.'
The kidnapped elf had hair of radiant gold.
In contrast, the elf lying on the experimental table had emerald-colored hair. The face was beautiful, but the features were distinctively different.
So, had they kidnapped another elf?
Well, if they had done it once, there was no law that said they couldn't do it two, three times.
'The problem is, why did they kidnap elves.'
Verden shifted his gaze.
A man in a white gown examining the corpse. When he pressed down on the elf's shoulder with his gloved hand, it sank in almost without resistance.
As if there were no muscles or bones.
The man frowned.
"As expected, only the surface is intact, the inner tissues are completely destroyed. I have no idea how to recycle this… difficult, very difficult."
The man sighed, then stirred up his magic power.
A dissecting knife, lying at a distance, floated up and settled into his hand. Just as he was about to cut open the elf's corpse, he sensed a presence from afar.
Drrrrrrrk.
Two figures, also in white gowns, wheeled in a long cart. On it lay a corpse—not an elf's, but a human's.
"Sir Drevus, a new mage's corpse has arrived."
"Corpse? Dead again? And not an elf?"
"Yes."
The man, Drevus, put down the knife and covered his face.
The expression glimpsed through his fingers was filled with irritation and disappointment.
"Haa, only unusable specimens keep piling up. If we continue like this, there will be disappointment… understood, leave me now."
"However, there is one piece of good news."
Drevus twitched his eyebrows.
"Good news? What good news? What, will they be adding more manpower? If not… are they suddenly giving me a living elf?"
"That is correct."
"I knew it… huh? What did you just say?"
"Exactly two days from now, at 2 in the afternoon, a living elf will be transported here."
Silence fell.
Drevus, truly flustered, asked hastily.
"A-a living elf? Then that means it survived the experiment?"
"Yes. They said it was possible because it was a 'Guardian'-class elf. However, even though it still breathes, its insides are damaged to the point that it cannot be used for its original experimental purpose, so disposal for recycling was ordered. And they added, Sir Drevus, 'Show results at all costs'."
If he repeated failures, he would not be safe.
That terrifying warning sent a chill through him, but Drevus soon regained his composure. For a specimen unlike anything before had been promised.
The face that had been filled with disappointment was now brimming with delight.
"Hahahahaha! That truly is good news! You should have led with that, instead of wasting time!"
"I will take care to do so next time."
"Good, good. Then I shall look forward to it. Ah, and in an hour, send this elf's corpse to the Flame Golem for incineration. I may examine it a little more, but it seems impossible to recycle."
"Understood."
The two carriers bowed their heads and went back the way they came.
Drevus, humming more joyfully than before, once again gripped his knife.
Completely unaware that an uninvited guest shared the same space.
***
"..."
Verden, who had been listening to the exchange, fell into thought.
The information was limited, but decisive.
First, the mages who kidnapped the elves were deeply connected to the royal family.
This he had already confirmed when retrieving the Orb of the Undead, glimpsing the Elder Lich's memories.
Connecting that information to the current situation, there was only one conclusion.
'The King of Estiria and the First Prince traded for those corpses.'
What the First Prince gave in exchange was unknown.
Nor was it clear what the elf's corpse and the recently delivered human corpse had in common. Still, he had confirmed what was being traded.
And,
'The royal family is conducting some kind of human experimentation.'
Gluttony came to mind for a moment, but… it did not seem that they were directly involved in these experiments. If they were, they would have already appeared in the Ark.
Their information network far surpassed Verden's own.
'Even so, considering Gluttony once conducted human experiments in the kingdom, it can't be entirely unrelated.'
To Verden, human experimentation was the height of loathing and disgust.
But apart from that, his curiosity had been stirred.
What exactly was the purpose of these experiments?
Even the meaning of "recycling" was not clear.
While pondering, Verden made a decision.
'For now, it's best not to intervene.'
If he caused a commotion here, the First Prince would soon find out. Then Cland would have no escape.
Even if Verden helped, the identity of a black market dealer would be lost forever. And the collateral fallout would be immense.
'And if possible, I must secure the living elf.'
If he could hear testimony, he would learn exactly what the royal family was plotting.
Therefore,
'I'll postpone it for two days.'
Having decided, Verden withdrew.
Without hesitation, he melted back into the shadows and retraced his path.
Descending the spiral staircase, he stepped into the underground prison.
Kugugugugugu...
He activated the magic circle, closing the gate.
Then he overlaid it with a concealment magic circle, with this, they would not realize that the protective magic circle,
Verden erased every trace he had left, thoroughly.
Now it was time to return.
The method was already prepared.
The function of the Robe of the Wanderer.
A magic that could be used only once per day, concealing both form and presence.
Thus, passing through the sewers and slipping out of the artificial lake without being discovered, Verden returned to his chamber.
'Right on time.'
Just before the meeting was to end.
He changed his clothes, dispelled the original magic circle, then inscribed again a magic circle to block sound. Wearing the Face of Deception and disguising himself as Maltead, Verden lay down on the bed as though nothing had happened.
A moment later, a slightly weary-looking Cland returned.
Confirming the magic circle, he spoke.
"Was there any result?"
"There was."
Verden answered with certainty.
***
Verden gave only a brief account of what he had witnessed in the abandoned underground prison. Cland, listening quietly, his expression sank into severity.
"Elven corpses… that is something I never expected."
Elves were a race with a collectivist ideology.
The moment they sensed even a single member in danger, they would risk anything to rescue them. And not by rushing blindly, but with the precision of a hunt.
In the past, there had been a case where an entire nation was destroyed by elves. Thus, stirring conflict with them was an unspoken rule forbidden across the continent.
'Yet they have broken it openly.'
Given that all was still quiet, they must have some means of blocking the elves' tracking, but… it was no comfort.
Cland pressed hard against the bridge of his nose.
"So then. You intend to rescue that surviving elf in two days' time?"
"Yes."
That was the surest course.
"And I plan to extract more information from this man, Drevus."
"Hmm… would that not bring too great an aftermath? There is the risk of exposure. Wouldn't it be safer to secretly rescue the elf alone? Do you have a separate plan?"
"Yes."
Subdue Drevus.
Rescue the experimental elf.
Erase the traces.
Verden was confident he could do it all, without being discovered by anyone.
Cland, inwardly conflicted, soon nodded.
"Very well. I am only a helper, after all, the principal of this commission is you, so whatever you choose I will follow. Two days later, at 2 in the afternoon… by then the last meeting will be underway, can you return before it ends?"
"Easily."
"…Good. Then I will drag out the time as much as I can."
Cland leaned back in his chair.
"Still, fortune favored us. To think you'd succeed in locating it on the very first search. Thanks to that, we need not infiltrate the royal palace itself."
Indeed.
The kingdom was exceedingly complex. With its limited space, infiltration was difficult, and the variables countless.
No matter how well he memorized the blueprints and crafted a careful plan, the risk of exposure was clear.
"If I had known it was an underground prison, I wouldn't have infiltrated at all."
"Haha, true enough. If it's there, then entry is possible through the sewers, without penetrating the castle interior. Still, without knowing the location, that was the best we had, so it couldn't be helped. By the way, is there anything else I can do?"
Anything else…
"There is one thing that troubles me."
"Troubles you?"
"Friction with the other leaders."
Especially Mercenary Captain Geul, who had shown open hostility toward Cland and Verden.
Of course, he wouldn't suddenly draw his sword… but it couldn't be ruled out entirely that he might interfere midway.
"Quite a reasonable concern. But you needn't worry at all. This place is none other than Ariente Castle, ruled by the First Prince."
The First Prince abhorred subordinates challenging his authority.
Except for Vintert, all the other leaders, including Cland, were clearly underlings. He would never allow them to run rampant within the castle.
"Geul in particular suffered disgrace before the First Prince. He's desperately trying to make up for it in the conference hall with every manner of flattery, he has no leeway to attempt revenge. Even if he acts… it would not be until after leaving the castle and getting far from Esla."
By then, it would not matter.
Once Verden shed Maltead's disguise, such mercenaries would not even count as a variable.
Verden nodded.
Thus, two days passed.
***
The secret social hall, on its third day.
All the while, Verden acted Maltead with perfect thoroughness. Thanks to the mask fusing with his face, he could even eat without discomfort, and coupled with the feature of being mute, there was no chance of error.
At times, sharp gazes from Geul and his mercenaries fell on him, but as Cland had said, not even the slightest quarrel arose.
It was the same with the other leaders.
At most, Robert came once to exchange a brief word with Cland. For Verden, the days passed in boring tranquility.
At last, the final meeting was near.
"I can stretch the time until 4 at the latest. I will try to buy more, but it may be impossible, so keep that in mind."
"Understood."
"Good luck."
Cland left the room.
The ticking of the clock's hand could be heard.
And at last,
'It's time.'
Verden, fully armed.
Without hesitation, he leapt from the window.
From the artificial lake to the sewer.
And past the Flame Golem, through the hidden passage to the underground prison. The fastest route, saving every moment.
Soon he climbed the spiral staircase, arriving at the royal laboratory.
The time, exactly 2 o'clock.
As he hid and waited, the sound of wheels being pulled reached his ears.
The two carriers from two days ago.
On the cart they were pushing, a male elf.
Unlike the corpse he had seen before, this one still held a faint flush of blood, his chest rising and falling ever so slightly.
A living elf.
But more than that, Verden could not help but focus on the elf's appearance, for it was a face he knew.
'…To think the one being transported would be him.'
The elf who had been with the spirit, Blue.
The gleam of radiant golden hair shone in Verden's sight.