Free Web NovelKeith healed the wounded elves.
Divine grace was not limited to humans alone, and so every injured elf received proper treatment beneath his hands.
“Th-thank you...”
“Thank you very much.”
Although the healed elves still looked somewhat uneasy around him, Keith paid it little mind.
‘The elf merchants must have been unusually sturdy.’
Or perhaps these particular elves simply had fragile bones.
He had controlled his ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) strength carefully, yet somehow they had all ended up in terrible condition anyway.
Keith was not especially familiar with other races.
It wasn’t that he had never encountered them before. He traveled across the continent constantly while carrying out missions and naturally crossed paths with many races along the way.
However, the Vatican’s attitude toward non-human races was fundamentally intolerant.
Those who betrayed God deserved no mercy.
Elves were treated as a slight exception, but even so, their distinctly pointed ears still felt foreign to him.
As a result, Keith could not summon the same instinctive compassion he felt toward injured human civilians.
‘I still lack discipline.’
Keith quietly reflected on himself.
As Lord Ian’s servant, was he not still far too narrow-minded?
His lord sought to embrace all beings regardless of race.
Only endless prayer and complete obedience to Lord Ian could save him from his inadequacies.
Keith was constantly aware of his own shortcomings.
Even the discomfort he felt toward the newly accepted elf ultimately stemmed from selfish desire.
He wanted to remain the one most favored by Ian.
Nothing more than greed.
Until recently, Keith had believed he followed God’s teachings flawlessly.
Even after his faith had begun to waver, the doctrine itself remained simple enough to obey.
Do not covet.
Do not steal.
Do not commit sin.
How difficult could those commandments possibly be?
At least, that was what he had believed before meeting Ian.
Afterward, Keith had fallen into the devil’s temptation, shattered his vow of chastity, and awakened desires within himself.
In truth, he had never believed himself free from greed because of superior virtue.
Rather, nothing worthy enough to covet had ever appeared before him.
Temptation was an unavoidable trial for all who followed God.
And now—
Keith was facing that trial himself.
He had to overcome it.
Only then could he truly call himself ‘Ian’s right hand.’
Keith steadied himself.
‘That’s right. Lord Ian possesses royal blood. Grace and courtesy are naturally ingrained into him. It’s only natural that he would treat that elf carefully.’
Although Keith privately questioned whether the elf’s gender even mattered, Ian himself did not distinguish between races.
To him, elves were simply people.
And Ian’s dedication to rebuilding the elf village did not bother Keith in the slightest.
After all, Ian was always searching for a place where the lost could belong.
It wasn’t as though he was being especially generous simply because the elves happened to be attractive.
The recovered elves summoned their elementals and began assisting with the reconstruction of the village.
Even those unskilled in elemental magic contributed by working together.
Ian referred to the project as a ‘Forest Dungeon.’
Fortunately, elves were not an ungrateful race.
“How could we ever repay such immense kindness? Please, do not deny us the chance to repay you. If we cannot, then we may as well smash our heads against the rocks and die from shame over our own uselessness.”
The leader of the Elf Rangers, Hiikan, knelt before Ian as he spoke.
It was the posture of someone awaiting mercy.
“If you really want to repay us, then fine. When we need help someday, have the elves come to our aid.”
“Of course! That is only natural! If there is anything else—”
“That’s enough. We’re allies now.”
Ian smiled lightly.
Even Hiikan, who usually regarded all other races as potential enemies, could not stop tears from flowing down his face.
The elves rebuilding the village gradually began crying as well.
Watching the scene, Keith silently admired Ian’s generosity.
‘Even though Lord Ian himself destroyed the village...’
...Lord Ian truly possessed extraordinary talent when it came to turning disasters into opportunities.
Naturally, Keith entertained no blasphemous thoughts whatsoever.
Unfortunately, Sema did.
“That’s our Ian for you. Blew up the village and even blew away everyone’s memories of it!”
“Shut up.”
Ian kicked Sema without hesitation.
“...?!”
“He kicked a Grand Mage...?”
Ding!
[Elf Ranger Leader Hiikan slightly doubts your character.]
Ding!
[Elf Genea is shocked by your hidden violence.]
.
.
.
‘Wasn’t it because of this bastard that the ‘Tyrant’ title stuck to me in the first place?’
Whenever Sema stayed nearby, suspicion about Ian’s character appeared almost automatically.
Still, it was only a minor incident.
The alliance with the rebuilt elf village proceeded smoothly afterward.
Ding!
[Alliance Forces]
Traitor Village
Fairy Queen’s Island
Underwater City
Desert Well
Dark Forest’s Elves (+NEW)
The elf forces had been preserved.
Genea’s loyalty had risen.
All regional objectives had been completed.
Now, only one thing remained.
“Genea. Where did you say that shadow disappeared to?”
Finding the culprit.
Here was the original progression of Genea’s route.
After the destruction of the village, the fugitive Genea was released from prison and tasked with protecting the surviving civilian elves.
She escaped deep into the forest where she once lived, created a temporary shelter, transformed it into a dungeon, and simultaneously searched for the culprit responsible for destroying the village—
“The one who killed the World Tree.”
That was the core storyline of Genea’s route.
Ian already knew who the mastermind was.
The truth would only be revealed midway through Genea’s route.
‘Devil worshippers.’
These lunatics believed that pure lives made the finest offerings to demons.
Children.
Virgins.
Clerics.
Elves.
The first three had always been traditional sacrifices, but elves were considered “pure” because they survived by absorbing natural energy.
Though honestly—
What exactly did that have to do with purity?
The elf currently locked up in Ian’s dungeon had an absolutely rotten personality.
Ian genuinely couldn’t understand the logic.
Still, that was the game setting.
The devil worshippers accidentally discovered the elf village and planned to sacrifice every elf there in order to completely summon a demon.
A “complete summoning” meant dragging a demon into the Middle Realm with its full power intact, unlike the weakened state demons normally suffered there.
The rangers made a final stand and died preventing the ritual from succeeding. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
Afterward, however, the worshippers continued hunting through the forest, capturing surviving elves one by one.
That was the main storyline of Genea’s route.
Ian already knew the exact location of the devil worshippers’ hideout.
Still, he intentionally asked Genea instead.
‘Let’s stop using the God act for now.’
There was no need to damage his reputation any further here.
‘Hero’ was already good enough.
In this world, titles associated with God generated the highest aggro and contributed the most toward ending points.
The next most dangerous category was hero-type titles.
And honestly—
With ‘Agent of God’ Keith already standing beside him, would the Demon King really care that much about some random ‘Hero’?
Ian doubted it.
‘Still... I should probably change that title eventually.’
He would figure it out while clearing quests later.
Ian turned toward Genea.
“You said you saw the culprit disappear.”
“Yes. I saw him clearly. He fled north.”
“Hmm. Very precise. Then we can begin pursuing him immediately.”
Ian praised her sincerely.
‘...Where exactly is north?’
If Sema had been the one giving directions like that, Ian would’ve immediately snapped at him.
Nearby, Hiikan, who had been summoning an elemental, looked startled and hurried over.
“You’re leaving already?”
“There’s nothing left for us to do here. I promised I’d catch the culprit, didn’t I?”
“You certainly seem determined. I cannot stop you, but...”
“What is it? Just say it.”
Could this be a quest?
“...When do you plan to release our captain?”
‘Ah. That guy.’
Ian immediately looked annoyed.
“Obviously I’ll release him right away. We’re sworn allies now, aren’t we? Why would I continue treating him like a prisoner?”
“Sworn allies...! To think you would regard us so highly.”
Hiikan looked deeply moved.
Naturally, if demons invaded, the elves would fight and bleed beside Ian’s forces.
Ian was merely stating facts.
“Although... our captain may fail to understand the situation properly and refuse to acknowledge you, so honestly, it’s fine if you continue keeping him imprisoned.”
“That’s true. None of us would ever think you were mistreating our captain. Ha ha.”
The rangers laughed together warmly.
Ian smiled politely in return.
“No. Take him back.”
What exactly was he supposed to do with someone like that?
Ian had no use for a subordinate he couldn’t communicate with.
Especially when Louise, an actually loyal ranger, already had one hundred loyalty.
Why would he bother?
