Chapter 4: The Elf Village – Final Battle Against the Vampire
1
We didn’t know what lay ahead where the light pointed, but we decided to go anyway.
The reason was simple:
There might be clues about the elves or Unyu-ko there.
That said, Queen Toko couldn’t leave her country unattended for a long, aimless journey, so she tearfully returned to the capital.
Thanks to the Saintess’s arrangements, the Holy Theocracy provided guards for Toko-san’s trip back.
Speaking of which, was it really okay for Yuzuriha-san to stay with me this whole time? A mystery.
A few days after leaving the Holy Theocracy’s territory, we crossed the border, climbed mountains, and trekked through deep forests.
Unyu-ko, holding the jewel, sat atop my head—
so the mysterious light remained constantly shining.
“Hey, Unyu-ko, what’s your connection to the elves?”
“Unyuu?”
“Are you an elf? Or maybe a vampire?”
“…Unyuu?”
Her vague replies made it clear she didn’t know herself.
I could practically hear her tilting her head in confusion from up there.
Currently, Unyu-ko was wearing an oversized hood pulled low over her face.
This was in case whatever awaited us at the light’s destination turned out to be hostile toward her.
If we ran into her natural enemy, hiding her face would at least buy us time to explain.
Behind me and Unyu-ko walked Suzuha and Yuzuriha-san—the knight academy duo.
“—Yuzuriha-san, I always thought elves were just legendary creatures.”
“They existed long ago, but there haven’t been any sightings in centuries. Plus, all known elf ruins have been plundered dry.”
“Plundered?”
“Indeed. Long ago, elves ruled the continent with overwhelmingly superior magic. Their magical tools were also crafted with advanced, unique techniques—things humans could never replicate. So, if you found an elf ruin and managed to dig up one of their artifacts, you could become a feudal lord overnight.”
“That profitable?!”
“Only a handful made enough to buy entire countries, but there are countless stories of people earning fortunes they couldn’t spend in a lifetime, or purchasing noble titles with their finds.”
“E-elves are amazing…!”
I listened half-absentmindedly, impressed.
My knowledge of elves was about as limited as Suzuha’s.
Yuzuriha-san’s aristocratic upbringing really showed.
“But, Suzuha-kun, there’s a twist to this story.”
“Eh?”
“Once people made huge profits, they started wanting something even bigger.”
“…You mean, better magical tools?”
“The elves themselves.”
“Eh—?!”
“Elves are said to be masters of magic. Capture one, and you could force them to make endless artifacts. Plus, they’re famously long-lived—so surely, some must still be alive somewhere. That was their logic.”
“I see…”
“And elves are renowned for their ethereal beauty. Many nobles would pay any price to keep one as a rare, ornamental slave. On the black market, bidding would soar beyond reason—morality aside.”
“…Right.”
“So, greed-blinded fools dumped fortunes into searching for them. Some even specialized in elf-hunting expeditions. But in the end, no one ever found a single one.”
“Serves them right! So, does that mean the light’s probably leading us to a plundered elf ruin?”
“Normally, I’d agree. But… this is Suzuha-kun’s older brother we’re talking about.”
“Yeah, it’s him.”
“Exactly. For better or worse, I doubt things will end so neatly. Knowing him, he’ll probably drag us into some insane mess…”
“Can’t be helped. That’s just how he is.”
Somehow, their conversation had turned into complaining about me. Unfair.
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2 (Ayano’s Perspective)
Thanks to the bureaucrats sent by the Sakuragi Ducal House, Ayano finally had a bit of breathing room in her workload. Unlike her previously relentless schedule, she could now occasionally walk the streets.
As a paperwork-focused official, she believed in experiencing the people’s lives firsthand rather than relying solely on documents.
Though until now, she’d been too busy for that.
And just as expected, something caught her attention.
After discreetly investigating between her grueling duties, she finally confirmed her suspicions and went to confront the likely mastermind.
The man was, as always, buried under paperwork in his usual spot in the castle.
“Oh, Ayano-dono? Visiting at this late hour?”
A young bureaucrat lifted his head from the documents and recognized Ayano, raising his voice.
The young bureaucrat—formerly a ducal steward’s assistant, now overseeing the Sakuragi delegation—looked up from his documents.
“My apologies for the intrusion. Might I trouble you for a moment?”
“Of course. Shall we talk here?”
“No. I’d appreciate it if you could spare the time to relocate.”
Even late at night, the room held more than a dozen working bureaucrats.
Voices carried too easily. She wanted no risks.
“Understood. Lead the way.”
Ayano guided him to a soundproofed conference room.
Once the door shut and they’d both taken a breath, she cut to the chase.
“—Recently, Sakuragi’s bureaucrats have been aggressively purchasing real estate in the Margrave’s territory. Particularly in the capital.”
The young man blinked several times before smiling wryly.
“You’ve already caught on? Impressive. We tried to keep it discreet.”
“What’s the purpose?”
The bureaucrats’ actions reflected the Sakuragi Ducal House’s will.
But why would the duchy buy up property in the Margrave’s capital without notice?
Ayano couldn’t fathom the reason—
until the young man dismissed it with a single phrase.
“You’ve misunderstood, Ayano-dono. Your stern expression proves it.”
“…Explain.”
“The Sakuragi Ducal House has no involvement in this matter.”
“Ha…?”
As Ayano gaped, the bureaucrat chuckled.
“A side effect of your competence, I suppose. From a broad view, it looks like the duchy is laying groundwork for future schemes—using not just their officials’ names, but even their families’ or fake identities to buy properties.”
“Y-yes.”
“But the duchy’s been too cooperative for a trap, and provoking the Margrave would be suicidal. So you couldn’t make sense of it, right?”
“…Exactly.”
Grudgingly, she nodded. The bureaucrat grinned like a hawk.
“But the truth is much simpler. If you knew land prices would skyrocket a hundredfold, wouldn’t you buy as much as possible? That’s all this is.”
“…Hah…?”
Is this con artist serious?
Unfazed by her icy stare, he continued.
“In the near future, Queen Toko will likely relocate the capital to the Lohengrin Margrave’s territory.”
“…You’re joking.”
“Oh? I’m surprised someone as sharp as you hadn’t considered it.”
“I did. But geographically, it’s implausible.”
“Under current circumstances, yes.”
“…”
“But add the Margrave’s overwhelming military strength, the orichalcum veins, and one more critical factor—and the scales tip dramatically. That man would pull it off effortlessly. By the time others realize it, it’ll be too late to invest.”
“…And the Sakuragi Ducal House believes this?”
“No. As I said, they’re uninvolved. If anything, they’ll likely refrain from purchasing altogether.”
“Why?”
“Because they’ll use the lack of real estate as an excuse to lodge in this castle.”
“…Of course.”
Only the Sakuragi Ducal House and Queen Toko could pull such a brazen move—but it was effective. For those seeking closer ties, sharing a roof was the ultimate advantage.
Ayano, who had come to understand everything, bowed her head with an overwhelming sense of fatigue.
“I understand. My apologies for taking your time.”
“No, I’m glad we cleared the misunderstanding. Since we’re here, care for some tea?”
“…Very well.”
She couldn’t just drag him here and leave.
As Ayano prepared tea with the provided set,
She searched for senbei, thinking there should be some snacks, and
“Truthfully, selecting the bureaucrats for this assignment was hellish.”
“I can imagine.”
Finding her favorite sugar-dusted crackers, she clenched a tiny fist in triumph.
“Who’d willingly come to this backwater?”
“The opposite. We were drowning in desperate volunteers.”
“Huh…?”
“But our Margrave is both the top candidate for Lady Yuzuriha’s hand and enjoys absolute trust from the duchy and queen. Offending him is unthinkable. Balancing ducal staff interests was another nightmare—then came the bribery attempts. Pure chaos.”
“…”
“In the end, after much deliberation, we decided to base it on the evaluation of their work attitude. This way, we won’t inconvenience the Margrave, we can reward bureaucrats who have consistently shown good work attitude, and while it reflects administrative ability, it’s not a strict ranking of ability either.”
“Yes, that sounds ideal.”
“But you see, this is where it changes.”
“…What do you mean?”
“In the ducal house, there are plenty of utter fools who barely work under normal circumstances but display their full potential only when it truly matters. Those idiots went all out—falsifying official documents, submitting false reports, taking bribes, skimming profits, manipulating perceptions—doing everything evil they could. As a result, before anyone realized it, the dispatch list ended up filled with people who, while exceptionally skilled, had such strong quirks that they were considered too unreliable to assign work to… What a disastrous situation…”
“…By the way… may I ask who those people are…?”
“Of course.”
Ayano naturally recognized the names the young bureaucrat listed.
They were all outstanding officials from the Sakuragi Ducal House—people she had always admired, thinking, “As expected of the ducal house.”
She regretted asking.
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