4-1 - Alistia's Hometown

Since the people who attacked the mansion were connected to House Sphiel, seeking help at a guard post was out of the question. Besides, my appearance practically screamed nobility, so wandering around town would be dangerous.

With that in mind, after escaping the mansion, we hid in a shed on some farmland at the outskirts of town.

Once we’d secured a minimum level of safety, I asked Alice, whose face wasn’t known to our enemies, to go and fetch Claire-nee. However—

“Apparently, someone from House Sphiel came to collect Claire-sama, and they took her away.”

Claire-nee had already been taken.

“I have to go save Claire-nee right away!”

“Please wait!”

Alice grabbed me as I tried to rush out of the shed.

“Why are you stopping me!? Claire-nee might be killed!”

“If they intend to kill her, we’ll already be too late even if we go after them now.”

“You don’t know that! We won’t know unless we try, right!? We have to hurry and save her! What if Claire-nee gets killed!?”

“—Leon-sama!”

A sharp smack echoed through the shed. At the same moment, a stinging pain shot through my cheek.

“What…?”

I couldn’t finish speaking. Alice, who had just slapped me, had an expression far more anguished than my own.

“What’s wrong, Alice!?”

“…It’s nothing.”

“There’s no way it’s nothing!”

—Wait, I see. Because she’d struck me, the curse of her slave contract had activated.

She must have been in considerable pain. Beads of cold sweat had formed on Alice’s forehead. Nevertheless, she made no complaints and looked directly into my face.

“…Please calm down, Leon-sama. If they intend to kill Claire-sama, we won’t make it in time even if we chase after them now. But that’s only if they intend to kill her.”

“…Are you saying they don’t intend to kill Claire-nee? You saw what happened to Blake, didn’t you?”

“They infiltrated the mansion disguised as bandits, but they appeared at the convent openly representing House Sphiel. If they intended to kill Claire-sama, they wouldn’t have identified themselves as members of House Sphiel.”

Her words made me realize something. If they wanted to kill Claire-nee, there was no reason to honestly announce that they represented House Sphiel. They could have concealed their identities and attacked as they had at the mansion, or even pretended to represent House Gransches.

Despite that, they’d openly identified themselves as House Sphiel.

“So House Sphiel needs Claire-nee for something too?”

“That’s certainly possible. However, I believe their intentions are different. They most likely abducted Claire-sama to use her as leverage in negotiations with you, Leon-sama.”

“…Me?”

“With the head and eldest son of House Gransches dead, who is currently the most likely person to inherit the title of count?”

“…Wouldn’t that be Claire-nee?”

She was the eldest daughter, older than me, and of legitimate birth. I’d assumed that made Claire-nee the rightful successor, but Alice shook her head.

“In noble society, women generally don’t inherit titles except under special circumstances. Since those circumstances don’t apply here, you would be selected as the successor, Leon-sama.”

“So you’re saying Claire-nee is a hostage they intend to use against me?”

“…Most likely. However, they may have an entirely different reason, and it’s also possible that Claire-sama herself is their true target. But regardless of their motives—”

“It’s unlikely they’ll kill Claire-nee, huh?”

“That’s what I believe. So rather than rushing into danger, we should think of a way to rescue Claire-sama.”

“A way to rescue her, huh…?”

There might be some survivors from House Gransches if I searched for them… But our opponent was House Sphiel. Simply claiming that I’d seen Regis among the attackers wouldn’t accomplish anything.

And there was no way Alice and I could infiltrate their mansion by ourselves…

“If you don’t have any other ideas, why don’t we visit my hometown?”

Perhaps unable to watch me struggle with the decision any longer, Alice made that suggestion.

“Your hometown… The elven village? I’d certainly be interested in seeing it, but… this isn’t exactly the time for sightseeing, you know? Or do you have something in mind?”

“If we explain our circumstances, they might be willing to help us. And even if they refuse, they can remove my slave contract mark. Once that’s gone, I’ll be able to use spirit magic.”

Alice’s spirit magic, huh? I’d only learned how to control magical power, so I had no idea how powerful spirit magic actually was.

“If you could use spirit magic, would you be able to rescue Claire-nee?”

“It would be difficult for me alone, but… I have an idea about that, so I think we could manage somehow. The bigger problem is that even if we travel by carriage, changing carriages along the way, it will take roughly a week to reach the elven village.”

“In other words, there’s a chance Claire-nee could be killed while we’re traveling?”

“I can’t deny that possibility. That’s why I’ll leave the decision to you, Leon-sama.”

So our choices were to head straight to House Sphiel or make a detour to the elven village. Naturally, I wanted to act as quickly as possible, but there was no way I could save Claire-nee in my current state.

Heading to the elven village would probably give us a better chance.

“Just to make sure, is it really okay for a human to visit an elven village?”

I didn’t know how reliable my knowledge from Earth was, but I’d heard that elves in this world rarely interacted with humans either. It would be a disaster if we traveled all that way only to be turned away.

“Of course. If I tell them you’re my guest, they’ll definitely welcome you.”

“Really…?”

Where was all that confidence coming from?

I didn’t quite understand, but regardless, our next destination had been decided.

“Alice, take me to the elven village.”

Incidentally, we managed to scrape together enough money for the journey by selling the belongings I had on me.

And so, we successfully escaped the town. To avoid falling into House Sphiel’s net, we traveled toward the elven village using a combination of carriages and walking. However—

“…Hey, Alice.”

I gave Alice a flat stare.

“W-what is it, Leon-sama?”

“You said it, didn’t you? When I asked whether the elves would accept a human, you said everything would be fine if you asked them, right?”

“I-I did say that, but…”

“Then why the hell are we surrounded!?”

Deep within the forest where Alice claimed the elven village was located, we—or rather, I—was surrounded by more than a dozen elves, all pointing their bows and arrows at me.

“They don’t look even remotely willing to welcome me, do they?”

“B-but I never imagined they’d surround us before I even had a chance to explain! Anyway, everyone! This person isn’t an enemy, so lower your bows!”

Alice pulled me into her arms. …Well, she was probably trying to shield me, but because of our difference in height, it ended up looking like she was hugging me.

“What are you saying, Alice!? That human is the one who kidnapped you, isn’t he!?”

“Leon-sama has nothing to do with the people who kidnapped me!”

“Leon-sama!? Why are you addressing a human with such respect…? Ah, I see! You’ve been enslaved, haven’t you!?”

“…Huh? Well, yes, I am Leon-sama’s slave, but…”

“I knew it! So he’s ordered you to protect him!”

“That’s not true! I’m staying with Leon-sama because I want to!”

“You don’t need to say another word! Don’t worry, we’ll kill him and set you free immediately!”

“I keep telling you that’s not it! Will you listen to me already, Dad!?”

…Huh? Dad?

I took another look at the male elf who’d been raising his voice all this time. He looked like a gentle young man in his early twenties, but… he was her father?

“I-I was only worried about you…”

“If you’re worried about me, then listen to what I’m saying! If you hurt Leon-sama even a little, I’ll never speak to you again!”

“W-what!? Th-th-that would be terrible! —N-no, wait! What if that child ordered you to say that too!?”

“Oh, really…? Do you seriously believe that? Then go ahead. Try hurting Leon-sama. I think you’ll be the one who regrets it, Dad.”

“W-what!? Are you… serious? You’re seriously protecting that child? But… No! However, however! If that really is true, then I… I would…!”

…Wow, that was really getting to him. But could you please stop casually using my life as a bargaining chip?

Well, Alice was holding me protectively in her arms, so she was probably negotiating on the assumption that the elves wouldn’t attack while she was shielding me.

Still, at this rate, I’d be doing nothing but hiding behind Alice. I needed to explain myself properly.

“Um… Alice’s father?”

“I have no reason to let you call me Father!”

“…That’s why I specifically said ‘Alice’s father,’ you know.”

“Silence! Shut your mouth! In any case, I have no intention of speaking with a human like you! I’ll spare your life, so leave this land immediately!”

Wow… This guy had absolutely no intention of listening to me. Or perhaps he simply had no intention of listening to a human? Either way, this was becoming a real pain.

“…Hey, Alice. Can we just go home?”

“Yes, go! Get out of here! Leave Alice behind and go home!”

“Excuse me? I’m leaving with Leon-sama, of course. And you, strange man, would you please stop addressing me so familiarly as Alice?”

“W-w-w-what are you t-t-talking about!? I’m your father!”

“Excuse me? There’s no way my father would treat my benefactor so terribly.”

“Guh!?”

…How long was this exchange going to continue? I knew there was no point rushing things, but we seriously didn’t have time to waste on this ridiculous farce.

“Uh, excuse me. Is there anyone here willing to listen to what I have to say?”

“Then I shall hear you out.”

A clear, melodious voice rang through the area. I looked around, wondering where it had come from, and discovered that an elven woman had somehow appeared directly in front of me.

“—Wha!?”

Alice instinctively moved to react. But before she could, the elf spoke.

“Alice, if that boy is precious to you, remain still.”

The woman was merely smiling. Yet I felt overwhelmed by an indescribable pressure emanating from her. Alice seemed to feel the same way, as she silently tightened her embrace around me.

“Why has the clan chief herself come here? What do you intend to do to Leon-sama?”

“There’s no need to worry. As long as that boy isn’t a villain, as you claim. Or are you saying you don’t trust him?”

“…Understood.”

After a brief hesitation, Alice put a little distance between us. Even so, she continued clutching the hem of my clothes.

In any case, I turned my attention to the elf who’d been addressed as the clan chief. She looked about the same age as Alice, but considering her position, she probably wasn’t as young as she appeared.

Besides, the way she’d suddenly appeared right in front of us…

“Were you concealing yourself with magic?”

“My, how perceptive of you.”

“I see. So that ridiculous exchange earlier was just an act to distract us.”

If that was the case, I could understand the farce. They’d needed to make a commotion deliberately to help her approach us unnoticed.

“No, that’s simply how he normally behaves.”

“…I see.”

She could have just said it was an act and spared everyone the embarrassment, but this elf was surprisingly honest. Well, regardless, I was grateful to have someone who seemed willing to listen.

“You approached us to take Alice back, didn’t you? Why did you reveal yourself?”

“One reason is that you asked for someone to hear you out. And the other is… because I’m confident that at this distance, I could kill you before you managed to do anything.”

She smiled as she said that, but there wasn’t the slightest trace of amusement in her eyes. If I tried anything suspicious, she would genuinely attempt to kill me.

Well, if that was all, then there was no problem. I had no intention of opposing her.

“I have one question. You people can remove the slave contract mark engraved on Alice, can’t you?”

“Yes, we can. That shouldn’t be a problem.”

Hearing that, I let out a relieved sigh. Both to clear up this misunderstanding and to rescue Claire-nee, removing Alice’s slave mark was an essential first step.

“Then please remove Alice’s mark first. Once you’ve done that, you’ll believe what she says, won’t you?”

“Are you planning to escape while we’re occupied?”

“You can restrain me if you want. Of course, you’ll have to promise not to harm me until we see the results.”

“Hmm? It seems you’re quite serious.”

“I am, but…”

Why was she so suspicious of me? Was it simply because I was human?

“Judging by that expression, you don’t understand. You seem to trust Alice, but a slave mark can sometimes distort even the will of the person bearing it.”

“…Distort their will? Do you mean brainwashing?”

“Not literally. But slaves experience excruciating pain when they disobey their masters. Once they learn to fear that pain, they unconsciously begin trying to please their masters.”

“…Ah, I see.”

I remembered hearing about a similar theory back in my original world. The phenomenon where hostages developed feelings for their captors. What was it called again? Stockholm syndrome?

“So you think Alice might be protecting me because of the influence of her slave mark?”

“I believe that’s a possibility. That’s why, after removing the mark, I’d like to keep Alice here for approximately a week, until she regains her true self. Even so—”

“That’s fine with me. Please remove Alice’s slave mark.”

When I answered immediately, the woman, whose expression had remained unchanged until now, looked genuinely surprised for the first time.

“How surprising. I thought you were merely a child who didn’t understand anything… But apparently that isn’t the case. Are you really that confident in your own behavior?”

…Confident in my own behavior?

Looking back on my actions, the things that came to mind were… giving Alice a hickey, grabbing her breasts, and going around telling everyone that I’d trained her to suit my preferences every night.

…Yeah, absolutely not.

I should probably prepare myself to get punched at least once after she was freed from slavery. In fact, I was beginning to think the clan chief’s concerns might actually be justified.

But still…

“I’m not confident, but freeing Alice from slavery is something I want too.”

“Very well. If you insist, then Alice will decide what happens to you one week from now. Until then, I won’t allow anyone to lay a finger on you, no matter who they are. Everyone, bear that in mind.”