There’s no paradise in the place you run to, they say.
Dammit. I didn’t want to learn the truth of that saying this way.
“Did you really think you could escape?”
The fairy woman scoffs coldly at me. I gritted my teeth and placed my hand on the hilt of my sword.
I tried to run from the enemy, but ended up right in their jaws. There’s a limit to misfortune. At this point, I really felt like cursing the heavens.
What the heck did I do wrong to suffer through all these trials in succession? My only crimes were bothering the author in the comments until they went on hiatus and arguing self-defense a bit loosely. I was filled with righteous indignation.
“Forgot my special skill just because I haven’t seen you for a few months?”
Irina raised her right hand above her head and spread her palm wide.
Wooosh…!
The air around her swirled into the center of her palm, writhing and quickly reshaping itself.
It looked like a small storm compressed into a sphere, transforming into the shape of a translucent bird that resembled an eagle.
“An elemental…!”
The wind spirit summoned with elf magic.
Honestly, I realized too late. Knowing she’s an elf and not thinking of elemental magic, how could I be this foolish?
She must have been sure I wouldn’t be able to escape.
Since right after we parted, she had been watching my movements with the wind spirit, waiting to move first no matter where I tried to run.
It was a perfect trap that I couldn’t escape or deny.
“Want to try making excuses again? Saying you mistook me for someone else? That you don’t know me?”
Irina lightly flicked her hand, dispersing the wind spirit back into the air, then flipped her hood back, revealing her face.
“Oh, is it embarrassing to do that when you got caught trying to run away?”
Her platinum hair tied back behind her revealed jewel-like, inorganic green eyes.
It seemed like she found this situation incredibly amusing, a cat-like smirk plastered on her face as she looked at her prey.
“I had a feeling… and yep, it’s you, Brunhilde.”
Imelia, who had been standing a step behind Irina, also removed her hood.
“I didn’t expect to see you here. I thought you’d be in Pelmia.”
Sky-blue long hair and puppy-like brown eyes.
At first glance, she looked innocent and pure, but her large hips, which couldn’t be hidden even under a black nun’s habit, betrayed her true nature.
Far from the virtuous quality of a priestess, a crass disposition that was miles away.
◆◆
Imelia Elsine Lawrence.
Unlike Irina, who had openly expressed dismay at Friet being called an incompetent hero in the original story, she supported him all the way.
She believed he could become strong someday.
She said she believed in the hero.
Friet thought that was because Imelia had a good character typical of a priestess… but that was just an optimistic delusion based on occupational prejudice.
Not all priestesses are good people.
Imelia had not been caring and comforting Friet; instead, she was just indulging in her image as the priestess who offered warmth to the hero.
It was a kind of self-satisfaction.
Just like the first saint who served the first hero, she thought she was comforting and caring for the hero’s struggles, basking in her self-satisfaction.
Whether she realized that or not was unknown.
Anyway, Imelia was positively obsessed with the legend of the first hero.
Especially, the love story between the first hero and the first saint.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she was utterly crazy for that story, especially since a proper noble lady jumped into the church and chose the path of a priestess.
The reason she volunteered for the hero’s party was likely due to her desire to find happiness in love with a hero, just like the first saint, right?
That had probably been mentioned in the story. I think Kim Seung-woo in the novel mocked her as a flower-brained girl for that.
But back in the early days of the original, Friet was the dumbest of the dumb, so weak that he earned the nickname “incompetent hero.”
He was so dull he couldn’t even notice any appeal to rational charm, making it impossible for him to fill her fantasies.
That’s why she betrayed him.
Disappointed by the gap between her ideals and reality, she succumbed to Gunther’s sweet whispers that came to her.
Yeah, it’s understandable to fall for him.
With a blend of human and elven traits, his looks were smooth yet masculine. Unlike the pitiful Friet who couldn’t even score a single achievement, he had built a solid position of power.
Plus, he was a hero like Friet, albeit only half, so who wouldn’t find Gunther more attractive?
That guy even had some trait likened to a “stallion’s stamina,” just like an antagonist in an NTR novel.
For that reason, it didn’t take long for Imelia to completely fall for Gunther, both mentally and physically.
She even supposedly had her first experience with him just a week after meeting him, claiming she found the hero she’d been looking for.
If the first saint had seen that, she probably would have smashed Imelia’s head. She would probably insist she never did such a thing.
Well, Imelia thinks everything she did was according to the ‘divine will,’ so she likely feels no guilt about betraying Friet or dedicating herself to Gunther.
“This too is the guidance of the goddess. It must be a revelation to offer you, Brunhilde, to Gunther.”
Look at this.
She’s claiming that intending to kidnap me is divine guidance. Truly a perfect blasphemy.
Does she even know what she’s saying?
Offering me to Gunther as divine guidance? She treats her goddess like a pimp. She’s probably unaware of it.
“…You’re talking like you received a revelation.”
I clicked my tongue and rested my hand on my helmet.
No warrant is needed when caught in the act. As Irina said, there was no way for me to deny anymore that I was caught.
Even trying to deny it would be meaningless.
“So, you’re not planning to make an excuse anymore? What a pity. Watching you squirm was pretty funny.”
Irina smirked, grinning.
“The only one ridiculous here is you. A half-elf whore selling herself to a half-elf. Like, where else in the world would you find something more ridiculous?”
“…Your mouth is running wild. Guess adventuring suits you.”
She seemed genuinely enraged as Irina’s smile vanished, glaring at me with a fierce expression.
Fact violence is the essence of verbal fights. Since it was a truth she couldn’t deny, she exploded with anger unlike any ordinary insult could provoke.
Unlike Imelia, who had fallen completely for desires and pleasures, Irina betrayed Friet for political reasons.
They say the elves’ homeland, Elfenlant, instructed cooperation with Gunther.
Gunther, while only half, had the blood of a high elf flowing through him, thus he was essentially part of the high-ranking elite of Elfenlant.
Irina accepted the ‘cooperation’ proposal without hesitation, knowing it included demands for her body.
She wanted to gain the status of a high elf.
So regardless of the pleasures of the flesh, she hoped to enter the capital of Elfenlant, Fairy City Alfeim.
I understood her desire to enter the capital.
The wealth and civilization of the fairy realm focused on Alfeim, as elves who weren’t high elves had no choice but to wander the plains of Elfenlant as nomads.
Otherwise, they’d have to turn their backs on Elfenlant and live as outsiders in human lands.
Both options surely weren’t appealing to Irina.
So, the moment she received the offer to cooperate with Gunther, she saw it as a chance for social climbing and accepted without hesitation.
…But that was none of my concern.
“So, does whoring suit you? I remember the last time I saw you. Quite the spectacle.”
Lying side by side on Gunther’s bed, she was in no condition to make excuses for the mess she made.
“Oh, is that so? Consider that a preview. You’ll soon find yourself in the same situation, probably worse. Gunther has plans for you.”
“Let him plan forever. Dead or alive, I’m not going anywhere near that guy.”
I unlatched my helmet with my fingertips and spat out my response.
I’d rather kill myself than be a trophy getting pounded all day long like the two women before me.
Why does that half-elf creep cling to me despite so many women around him? It’s infuriating.
“That’s not your choice to make.”
“And it’s not your choice either.”
I roughly tossed the unlocked helmet behind me, drawing the sword at my waist and declaring, “Let’s see what you got, Irina Winter. Imelia Elsine Lawrence.”
“Even if you win, all you’ll take is my corpse.”
The black steel sword reflected the moonlight as it glinted sharply.
