Chapter 119

Chapter 119 – Seri

Seri was a half elf, born of an elven father and a human mother. In the closed society of her village, people of different races were often ostracized. And if you were a half elf with no power yet, you were likely to be a target for bullying. Seri’s father also had difficulty getting along with the villagers when he married her mother. He told Seri that he had a hard time talking to them because he couldn’t speak the human language. However, Seri’s father was an excellent hunter and could also control magic. Whenever a new field needed to be planted in the village, a new waterway opened, or a dangerous beast or demonic beast attacked, Seri’s father actively used his magic to help the village. Although he could not speak the language, he worked silently. The people of the village trusted his attitude, and when Seri was old enough to remember, the family was accepted as members of the Torque village.

I’ve come a long way, haven’t I?

After getting hot water and cooling off in the temporary temple, Seri went outside to cool down a bit. For a commoner like her, a bathtub full of hot water was a luxury. She used to cleanse her body with hot water, not bathe in it, and only went to public baths on her days off. She couldn’t help but take a long hot bath and now she was going outside to cool off.

It was quiet outside. Only the buzzing of insects and the faint sound of the wind could be heard. A short distance from the temporary temple, there was a pile of stone and wood that appeared to be materials for the construction of the cathedral. There was also a pile of tools. It appeared to be a resting place for the workers, and under a simple construction with only a roof, there was a large wooden table and several rudimentary chairs, and on the table were sturdy metal plates stacked haphazardly. Seri walked over and sat in one of the chairs. There was nothing but a ceiling and no walls, so when she looked up at the sky, she could see that it was full of stars and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

“Mother, Father, can you believe it? I’m in the Kingdom of Lyon now.” Seri muttered under her breath as she looked up at the twinkling stars. “Until recently I lived in the small Torque village, and the only big city I’ve been to is Nest. Even I am surprised.” Under the night sky where no one could hear her, Seri let out a small laugh. “And I also met Liara-sama. She’s a Saint and seems to be a very kind woman. She healed Liesbert-san’s wounds in a short time, when they were still very fresh.”

If Torque village had never been attacked, Seri would still be spending her days there, helping her father and mother tend the fields. Perhaps she would be in the Nest city, or maybe in a neighboring village. Her mother would have had a son-in-law, she would have given birth to a child, and she would still be working with her long-lived father in the village while caring for her elderly mother. She must have lived her whole life like this. Leticia, Tiara and Liara. When Seri had children, she would tell them bedtime stories, but she had never gotten to meet any of the characters in those stories. She was honestly proud to now do so, but…

“Father, Mother, I wish you could know all of them too… Simurgh, Clennad, Mythos. I have seen many cities. In the Royal City of Lyon, there is also an ocean and many big ships floating. I really wish I could have shown them to you…” Seri whispered and collapsed to her knees.

It had been almost a year since the destruction of Torque village, and although she had spent her days working at the Wandering Bird’s Nest Inn in the imperial capital Simurgh, she still cried at night when she went to bed and suddenly remembered what had happened. However, she had only recently been getting over it. On her trip with Liesbert and Abel she had tried not to remember what had happened to the village. Perhaps it was because she didn’t want to cause unnecessary anxiety to her two traveling companions. But today, in the temporary temple, she remembered her mother and father, who had died, probably because she had seen the faces of Wynn and Leticia. Both were regulars at the Wandering Bird’s Nest inn, and it wasn’t three days before they went to eat at the inn again.  Seeing them made her relax her tension. Seri held her knees and kept her head down for a while, but then looked up and wiped the tears from her eyes.

“No, this is not the time to cry. I have to be strong. If they saw me like this, father, mother and the rest of the village would worry.” Seri stood up. Then she closed her eyes, folded her hands and prayed to the stars. Father, mother. I’m going to Elnasa, father’s hometown. I’m going to see grandfather and grandmother who live there. To be honest, I am afraid as a half-Elf to go to the land of the Elves, but Liesbert-san and Abel-san will go with me. Now I also have Wynn-san and Leticia-sama… Although it might be disrespectful to call me their friend. So please don’t worry and don’t stop looking at me.” After saying this sentence, Seri stood up. Recalling the past, she felt her depressed mood lighten a little. “Now, I’d better go back.”

The temporary temple was guarded by a night watchman, and a fire was burning day and night at the grand entrance. The materials courtyard where Seri stood was far from the fire, and the surrounding area was almost completely dark. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise. When you’re near a fire and your eyes get used to its glow, it’s tricky to be able to see through the darkness.

What? What is going on?

It wasn’t just that her eyes were used to the dark. With half elven blood in her veins, Seri’s night vision allowed her to see multiple figures moving in the darkness.

Townspeople?

The town created by the people gathered to build the cathedral stretched to the cape’s foot. The site of the proposed cathedral and the temporary temple where Seri was, were some distance from the village, but the figures moving in the darkness were definitely approaching Seri’s location.

That’s strange to do for the townspeople.

For a moment, Seri wondered if someone from the village had suddenly become ill or injured and was coming to the temporary temple seeking healing, but quickly dismissed the idea, as they didn’t bring any lights with them. Even if they were in a hurry, they wouldn’t come without lights on the road at night, when you couldn’t see where you were going.

I have to warn someone!

Seri took a couple of steps back and then turned quickly toward the temporary temple entrance lit by the bonfire. If she got close enough, she might find someone from the temporary temple keeping watch. Seri was about to run. A breeze gently caressed her face. Suddenly, she felt the presence of someone right behind her.

“Tch, tch, tch, how can a young girl be in such a dark place at this hour? You sure are a bad girl.”

An old man’s voice whispered in her ear. He twisted Seri’s arm and covered her mouth from behind. He wore a robe that gave off a strange smell, and more than half of his face was hidden, so she would not be able to see his expression. From the sound of his voice, it indicated that he was an older man. Seri was writhing and trying desperately to scream, but her mouth was so clogged that it was even hard to breathe.

“What a pity, if you hadn’t gone out so late at night, you could have died without experiencing any fear.”

The man’s mouth twisted into a smile. Terrified, Seri tried to struggle even more, but the man increased the strength of his grip, and the pain finally prevented Seri from even moving.

“…Ug…Ugh….”

However, thanks to the pain, Seri, who had been on the verge of panic due to fear, regained some composure. She struggled to move her eyes, which was the only thing she could move freely in her twisted and immobile body, and her eyes stopped on something. At that moment, the strength of the man holding her back grew stronger.

“Tch, tch, she doesn’t seem to be a priestess here either. I’m not even sure she’s good material. I guess we’d better get rid of her before she makes a fuss.”

The man whispered and lowered the hand covering Seri’s mouth, releasing it a little just so he could break her slender neck. Seizing the moment, Seri focused all her attention and shouted in her mind.

‘Wind!’

It wasn’t even a spell chant. Just a word, a desperate cry uttered from the heart. The spirits were materializing the image the mage had in mind in exchange for magical power. Seri had learned this from her father. The spell was only a complement to the image the mage had. The spirits would respond to you if you were strong enough to imagine what you wanted and use your magic. Seri was a descendant of elves. Her magical power was stronger and greater than most. The wind spirits answered Seri’s call with all their magical power, creating a powerful gust of wind.

“What the hell?”

The man, who had assumed Seri was a mere servant, was startled by the sudden gust of wind and relaxed his straining hand. She took the opportunity to twist and finally pull away from the man. But the momentum was too much, and she fell to the ground. Seri’s goal, however, was not to scare the man with a gust of wind and shake off his hand. Her target was the workers’ resting place, a short distance from where Seri and the man were standing. There, on a table, was a messy pile of metal plates. The gust of wind created by Seri blew over the dishes, which looked as if they would topple over if they received the slightest impact. The metal crockery that had been blown off the wooden table broke the silence of the night and crashed to the hard floor with a loud rattle and clatter.

It seemed that the noise Seri had made had reached the temporary temple as she intended. First, a sleepless watchman was seen looking at them, and then the voices of people were heard coming from inside the temporary temple.

“Goddamn, you surprised me. I didn’t know you used magic… Hmm, those ears. You’ve got elven blood in your veins…”

Soon after, people approached to investigate the source of the sound. However, the man showed no sign of fleeing, but instead watched Seri lying on the ground. The next thing she knew, a group of people were coming up the hill and approaching the material yard where she and the robed man were. It was hard to see their faces from Seri’s position in the dark, but they appeared to be a mix of men and women of all ages.

…Salvation for us.

…Salvation for us.

…Salvation for us.

As the group approached, their murmurs reached Seri’s ears, “Salvation for us.” That was all they repeated. Their steps were very slow, and they walked limping, like a group of dead people, which gave Seri chills. They should have seen the exchange between Seri and the hooded man, but neither of them wanted to do anything. There seemed to be no intent in their eyes.

“Tch, tch, tch… Hmmm….”

The hooded man in front of Seri paid no attention to her arrival, and slowly repeated a small clicking sound with his tongue as he thought. Meanwhile, Seri staggered to her feet. The magic she had released to blow the pile of metal plates on the ground had cost her most of her magic and strength. Her body was not responding well to her. Still, she limped toward the light and carried her body. She was afraid of the group behind her and the robed man, so she stared at the temporary temple light.

“Tch, tch, I would have considered letting you go if I still thought you were just a servant, but if you can use magic, you might be useful. Come to think of it, I’ve never tried it on a half-elf.” The voice of the robed man was thoughtful.

She was too scared to turn her head back. Seri gasped, trying desperately to run. The mouth of the robed man twisted into a small smile, and he held up a hand that reminded her of a dead tree. Then, two men stepped forward from the group.

“Caught her.”

The order reached Seri’s ears. It seemed like someone’s hand was going to reach out and grab her from behind at any moment. Her legs got tangled and she nearly fell forward, so she closed her eyes tightly.

Somebody… help me!

Did that thought come true…?

“Ha!”

“You bastard!”

A young, familiar male voice. A thud. Some powerful hands on both of Seri’s shoulders.

“Hmm… are you okay?”

When Seri opened her eyes, Mito was looking into her face with a kind look that seemed to care about her.

“Are you okay, Seri?”

“How twisted of you to attack a girl in the middle of the night!”

Wynn and Abel were there, holding wooden canes.