Breakthrough with the Forbidden Master

TN: Hey everyone! Still trying to sort stuff out, and my old PC is truly a dinosaur. Ancient but actually rugged. It gets things done but it’s SOOOOOOOO SLOOOOW, and crashes quite a bit. Still, I didn’t want to leave y’all hanging so here’s a chapter to settle that itch a bit. Thanks for the well wishes. And I hope to be back in full swing.

Chapter 332 – The Witch’s Tears

I remember suddenly being hit from behind.

But it didn’t feel like an attack, although that could have been my imagination.

Rather I ……

『Indeed. Aonii was trying to protect you.』

Tre’ainar? What are you talking about…… that bastard was insulting Mr. Aka……

『You should have known that Aonii’s words were untrue. He put his body on the line to test you. To confirm how genuine your friendship with Aka was. And because it was proven true, he risked his life.』

That’s……

『We were able to escape to a certain distance. Of course, things would still be dire should a large-scale mountain hunt be executed, but Hakuki would do no such thing. Although he is a cruel one, he will overlook it this time due to the fact that his subordinate risked his life to fulfill it…… he was the sort to care for his own, even if they were traitors.』

Finally, a blinding light shone into the dark world of consciousness.

Ah, this was a prelude to waking up.

Anyway, I have to sort out what happened again after I wake up――――

“Big brotheeeeeer!”

“Brother!”

“Buhea!?”

I slowly woke up…… and before I knew it, my sister and brother dived into my belly, waking me up in an instant.

“I’m so glad~, Big brother~”

“Please don’t make me worry like that, okay? I’m just glad we’re all okay.”

They both hugged me with smiles of relief and tears in their eyes.

“Y, yes…… calm down …….”

“Noooo, I’m not letting go of you.”

“Uh. wh, what, Brother, y. you made us worry so much, and now you’re treating us as a nuisance?”

“Ah~~, yes yes, you two are so cute.”

I patted them on the head with both hands and looked around.

A wilderness at the foot of the mountainous surroundings?

The village elves were cutting down trees to build simple houses, and elves with weapons on the rocky hillside were looking around and acting as if they were keeping watch.

“Oh, Young man. You have awakened.”

“Chieftain…… this is …….”

“Oh, due to various circumstances, we’ve been forced to relocate. Whether we’ll settle here permanently or not is another matter. It seems we’re not too far from our former settlement, it looks inconvenient. Despite being surrounded by rocky mountains, it’s quite close to human-inhabited areas, making it easier to be discovered……”

Relocate. In other words, they all fled from that village.

From Hakuki’s hand……

“We managed to escape.”

“True, those two…… lent us a hand.”

“Hmm? Ah……”

Then I remembered the conversation I had with Tre’ainar in my consciousness.

“I see…… Aonii ……”

“Yes.”

He bought us time to escape.

That’s what he really put his life on the line for.

“Huh? But, those two…….”

“Yes, there…… that one.”

“Hmm? Ah……”

Two people helped us escape from Hakuki.

If one of them was Aonii, As I wondered who the other was, I turned around, and there was a woman glaring at me with crossed arms in the shade of a tree diagonally behind me.

“You…… Larou’iph……”

“…… Hmmm……”

“Are you…… okay? You can’t go back to the Demon King Army anymore……

“……………”

Larou’iph, the Dark Elf under Norja’s command.

Even though her restraints have been removed and she was free, she remained silent.

Even this fellow betrayed the Demon King Army?

“…… Aonii…… Aka…… and their parents all lived in the Dark Elf Village, where I was born.”

“Eh, Mr. Aka!?”

Larou’iph suddenly began to speak, and I was surprised and convinced at the same time.

Was that really the case?

“I see…… After all, you were together with Mr. Aka.”

I thought “what if” based on her reaction when she saw the stone accessory I received from Mr. Aka.

“We were…… childhood friends…… although we were of different races…… we’ve been together since we were little…… Aonii, who was gutsy, strong, and reliable, was like an older brother… and……”

“…………”

Larou’iph spoke of those two as she reminisced about the past.

She wasn’t the so-called Ebony Witch, and the expression on her face didn’t show her ominous hatred towards us.

She just thought of one man, and……

“He was kinder…… than anyone else…… his smile was very reassuring, and…… when I was having a hard time or feeling sad, he would feel it with me as if it were his own…… that’s …….”

Yeah, that’s the kind of guy he is. Mr. Aka.

I couldn’t help but nod, and at the same time I realized how much she had been thinking about Mr. Aka.

“Tell me… just one thing. Aka …… is he alive?”

I can’t say much about history. But about this…… at least……

“Yes…… I don’t know where he is now, but……

Still, its vexing.

Mr. Aka is alive. And he’ll be hiding in the mountains near Honeyborough in the Empire from now until a decade or so after the war is over…… so, maybe even now…… but if I tell her about this, history might ……

“I see……

But……

“Aka…… is still…… alive ……?”

The story of his survival was probably enough for Larou’iph, who sat down there on the spot with tears rolling down her face.

She cared so much for Mr. Aka……

“I cannot believe… how ridiculous…… I never doubted the death of the man I truly loved…… I didn’t believe he was alive…… one-sidedly calling for revenge, these hands of mine…… they’re covered in blood far beyond what he would have wanted… to the point that he would reject me…… never again…… so much that I don’t deserve to see him again.”

“Never again…… hey, you…….”

“Just…… if he’s alive…… I’m glad… I really…… am glad …….”

I see… I didn’t think there was a woman who was so in love with that Mr. Aka.

“Ah, Mr. Aka…… such a sinful guy.”

Mr. Aka. Next time we meet, I’ll give you a little lecture, okay?

Making a woman who cares for you so much cry……

“…………”

『Yes, Boomerang!』

Shut up, I noticed it myself right away!

“Geez…… just…… either way, I’d like to meet Mr. Aka …….”

What Larou’iph has done to humans…… it’s not my place to meddle.

That’s why I’m hoping you two can work something out.

Besides……

“For what it’s worth… I was also saved by Aonii…… it felt like… something was entrusted to me.”

『…… I suppose……』

I, too, felt a sense of sadness as I looked at the distant sky.

And naturally, tears welled up in my eyes as well.

“…… it’s heavy…… being protected with someone’s life…… this is…… what it means.”

『Indeed. You must shoulder this burden…… the life risked for your sake…… never forget that weight, child.』

“…… yeah……

I wanted to talk with Aonii a little bit more.

“Stupid bastard…… once you’re dead…… you won’t be able to do anything…… with Mr. Aka…… with me…… tsu…… you won’t be able to do that…….”

You helped us unilaterally, we didn’t even thank you, and then you entrusted them to me without permission?

You’ve got to be kidding me.

If that’s the case, I’m going to try to do something about the “something” that was entrusted to me.

I’m going to put this life of mine that he saved on the line.