Imperial Guard - Chapter 8



Only Noblemtl

Episode 8

Traitor Elf

In fact, the concept of sense is as ambiguous as the soul.

Although the five well-known senses are simply those that receive external stimuli, there is clearly something more to human senses than that.

As we live, there are times when we feel a sensation that cannot be explained.

Suddenly, you feel a chill down your spine, or your heart feels uneasy, or it feels like the person in front of you is lying.

It definitely seems like something is going on, but it’s hard to answer when asked exactly what the phenomenon is.

I slowly drew my sword and closed my eyes.

“… Phew.”

Having lived an ordinary life in my past life, I quickly realized that my intuition was exceptional.

Today, I had a feeling that the food at the daycare center would be tasteless, and I could clearly see the beggar in front of me cursing me in his mind.

Thanks to this, my daily life has become more comfortable, but the thing that has changed the most is when I hold a sword.

‘It was really exciting when I first picked up a sword.’

My senses become sharper in practice.

You don’t necessarily have to face the enemy.

Just by holding the sword, the world you see changes.

Sling-

The sword emerged from its scabbard.

It’s a pretty decent sword that I received when I became the captain of the guard.

I carefully opened my eyes and a different world came into view than before.

Woohoo-

The sword energy that forms on the sword is filled with a flash of aura.

A smile came to my face without me realizing it, as I felt this sensation for the first time in a long time.

Extend your feet diagonally and swing your sword downwards.

The sharp sense of reading the sword was still alive, and there was no hesitation in the sword.

Hwaaak-

I raised my sword again and looked into the air.

As expected from a medieval fantasy, the sword is ridiculously heavy, but thanks to the mana, you don’t have to do the ugly thing of being dragged around by the sword.

‘But still, what’s heavy is heavy.’

I swung my sword again under the hot sunlight.

Since I didn’t learn swordsmanship separately, I don’t have any swordsmanship skills.

I just copied the movements of the inspectors I saw in real life.

My strong and capable body embodies my thoughts.

He dives in in one breath, cuts through the chest, and then stabs the sword into the spleen.

Lower your body and retreat, then strike with your shoulder to push your opponent away.

He swings his sword down with the intent of crushing the head of an enemy whose posture has collapsed.

My body moved as I thought about how to effectively strike my opponent.

It’s not just about waving your arms around wildly.

Legs, waist, back, shoulders. The entire body naturally went with the flow.

How many times did he swing his sword?

My sweaty clothes stuck to my back, and my limbs were shaking and throbbing.

‘If you move any more, you’ll get hurt.’

A sharp sense also lets me know the state of my body clearly.

I shook off my regret and put the sword back in its scabbard.

To be honest, sword training is hard, but it’s also quite fun.

There is an old saying that a genius can’t beat someone who works hard, and someone who works hard can’t beat someone who enjoys it.

‘There is no joke like that.’

I have discovered the secret of those words in this life.

Being able to enjoy your work in the first place means you are a genius at it.

How can you not enjoy learning one, knowing two, and enlightening three?

I did the same.

Although he never learned swordsmanship, he rose to the position of captain of the guard with the sword he learned by sight.

“If only I had sucked the honey well as captain. Phew. What a dog’s life.”

I raised my arm and wiped the sweat that had run down my eyelids.

This is usually the state you get when you pick up a sword.

A keen sense of smell requires a lot of mental and physical strength without requiring much physical movement.

“This is why it’s hard to lift a sword.”

I need to learn to control this feeling, but I’m not there yet.

I think it would be helpful to meet a test that relies on senses like mine··· but I haven’t met anyone like that yet.

“··· hmm?”

Suddenly I felt someone staring at me and turned my head.

At some point, a fox came up to me and looked at me.

“what?”

Why is there a fox here?

Could it be a dragon polymorph?

The thought of a dragon makes my body stiffen for no reason.

Haaaak-! Haaaak-!

However, the fox approached with a gentle expression and started hissing.

Anyone who saw it would see that it was beastly behavior.

“What the hell is that fox hissing… Does it think it’s a cat?”

I feel the fox looking at me clearly.

It’s cute, but don’t you hate the way it yawns?

“Oh, is this something you want to eat?”

I rummaged through my pockets and took out some beef jerky.

It is a must-have item for the guards, who take one out and eat it whenever they feel bored.

Hah-! Haaaak-!

Judging by the hot response, it seems like this was the right goal.

“Yeah. Animals need to eat to live. Why did you have to build a nest in a place like this to suffer like a dog? Tsk tsk.”

Does this fox know that this is the eye of the storm?

Before the Demon King goes wild, I’ll take you to the orphanage too.

Hah- Hah-

The fox seemed to agree with what I said, rubbing its head against my leg.

I took a piece of jerky and threw it in front of my shoes.

The fox lunged at the jerky with fire in his eyes.

Swish swish swish-

“You eat well.”

The fox immediately put his face on the ground and started eating the jerky.

I think he eats better than the dog I raised at the daycare.

‘The puppy was really cute too···.’

I thought of him and squatted down to stroke his head. He didn’t even resist, so I guess he was used to human touch to some extent.

Rather, it seemed like he was lowering his head further to make it easier for my hands.

I handed over the whole jerky because it looked so cute.

“This guy is really smart.”

“Vermeil III? Where are you? Vermeil III···.”

Then, a familiar voice was heard.

I raised my head while feeding the fox some jerky, and my eyes met with Reina’s, who was looking around with both hands made like a megaphone.

“Vermeil III···?”

She wiggled her lips as she looked at the fox (most likely a Vermeil III) munching on jerky under my lap, then looked back at me and quickly turned away.

When I saw that, I called her name.

“Raina.”

“···.”

widely-

At my call, Reina’s back stopped.

Since I was nominally her older brother, she seemed worried about what I might do to her.

But I was a gentleman.

“You can call me comfortably in places where there is no Ghent.”

“··· You wouldn’t be nagging at Ghent, would you, Brother Lael?”

“Don’t worry. No, I don’t want to hear that from an elf who’s older than me.”

The Reina in front of me may look like she’s my age, but she’s more than 100 years older than me.

To leave the elven forest, you must complete a coming of age ceremony, and the standard for becoming an elven adult is 100 years old.

You should also consider my position, where I hear you call me older brother, rather than my grandfather in my previous life.

“You’re old! I’m only 150 years old, not 200 years old? In human years, that’s about 15 years old.”

“··· What kind of crazy nonsense is that? If you’re 150 years old, then you’re 150 years old.”

A 100-year-old squirrel claims to be 15 years old.

This is a truly absurd race.

“Well, think as you wish. Humans have short lives, so their standards are different from those of elves. What’s more surprising? This child hates the touch of humans. It also took a long time for Yuri and Gent to become close.”

Reina approached me, watching my every move, and slowly stroked Vermeil III.

I thought it was a human hand, but it was an elf’s hand.

“Really? Such a gentle fox?”

Judging from the fact that it even eats beef jerky, it seems like it is a wild animal that eats anything.

“It’s not a fox, it’s a spirit. It’s a different level of soul. An ordinary person would feel chills just looking at it. In this child’s eyes, an ordinary person would be like an animal.”

“ah···.”

It’s that damn soul again.

I don’t know why I’ve been hearing this so often lately.

If I had known it was this important, I would have done something a long time ago.

“You even secretly broke your promise with Gent. Vermeil III also likes you. Rael, you’re a better person than you look.”

Reina smiled brightly and praised me.

You’re saying I’m nice even though I didn’t do much?

Is that why I don’t call you brother?

‘It’s purer than it looks.’

By the way, being pure is not a compliment.

In this cruel world, only a madman can live with innocence.

The same goes for non-human species.

I, too, had the opportunity to come into contact with other races while serving in the Imperial Guard, but they were all equally mired in the human world.

‘Except for a few oddities, that is.’

However, there are some races that occasionally maintain such purity.

Even though it had been quite some time since Reina had left the elven forest, she still retained her innocence.

‘Everything in this world happens for a reason.’

There are things I’ve learned from surviving in a fantasy world.

You should be suspicious of anything that seems suspicious.

There is only one reason why this race is so innocent despite its age.

‘··· He’s really strong.’

Because she is so strong that no one dares to contradict her.

Even if you express an opinion that is innocent or stupid, if you oppose it, it will be suppressed by force.

It still maintains its purity.

If that’s the case, then her usual lifestyle of lying in a hammock all day makes sense.

‘No matter where you go, the scariest thing is the one who comes across it.’

Yuri is a very sensible person, and although Gent is strong, he is not the type of person to suddenly start beating people up.

But Reina has no idea how to move.

‘Let’s keep our distance from that crazy elf.’

I thought so and took a step back.

But Reina smiled brightly, not knowing what I was feeling.

“That’s a good thing. I’m going to District 2 tomorrow, but I don’t know the way, so I needed someone to go with me. Do you want to go with me?”

“···.”

Haaaak- Haaaak-

The fox hissed and kicked my shoe with his foot.

He is moving his whole body and displaying body language as if he is repaying the gift of jerky.

It seems to mean, “What do you want to see if you don’t go?”

‘As expected, a spirit is a spirit.’

But, I am not an ordinary person either.

I said in a firm voice.

“Of course I should help. I’m a good person.”

“Really? You really are a good person.”

“Hmm. Okay. That’s right.”

I nodded with a kind smile.

*

The next day.

I asked Yuri for permission to go out and walked around the shopping district in District 2 in broad daylight.

“Ahem-. Ahem-.”

Crunch. Crunch.

Next to me was the crazy elf, Reina.

She was walking along, humming something so exciting.

“What are you here for today?”

“I heard that the new grocery store is having a grand opening sale.”

“···.”

Is that why you called me?

Did you call me a porter?

I continued speaking with a trembling expression.

“So since I helped you, are you going to buy me a meal?”

“Huh? Why me?”

“··· It’s nothing.”

As expected, common sense does not apply to this monster.

‘If only he wasn’t the next emperor’s confidant, he would have turned things around. You’re lucky, Elf.’

It’s not that I’m scared because I think you’re definitely stronger than me.

I followed Reina quietly.

“Over here. Let’s go in quickly. If there are too many people, we might not be able to survive!”

What she said was true.

There was a grocery store that was having a real grand opening sale.

I followed Reina inside.

She went straight to the butcher shop and started looking at the meat.

“Um… What should I buy today? Last time it was chicken….”

I spoke to Reina, who was muttering while staring at the meat.

“Do you live off fox food?”

“It’s not a fox, it’s Vermeil III.”

Reina put the meat into the shopping cart without even looking at me.

I was buying so much meat that I wondered if it was okay to buy that much.

“Yeah. Are you feeding Vermeil III? That little guy could eat that much for the rest of his life.”

“No? It’s my food.”

“··· Can elves eat meat?”

“What does that mean?”

That’s what I want to ask.

This crazy elf.

“If you’re an elf, shouldn’t you be a vegetarian? You should love nature.”

“We love the forest, not nature. So we should eat meat, not plants. Are you stupid?”

“···.”

It’s so unnecessarily persuasive that I can’t refute it.

It’s funny that I’m telling the elves of this world what to do… but, isn’t it a little strange?

“The problem is human stereotypes. Of course, there are vegetarian elves, but there are also many who eat meat like me. Maybe 5 out of 100?”

“If 95% of people are vegetarian, then you’re a weirdo···.”

What kind of ignorant elf is this?

Elves were supposed to be a more noble, beautiful, and dignified image… This is just a pretty face.

Because of Reina, the elven world I knew is falling apart.

“Northern boar. Hmm. Northern boar is cheap and good.”

Regardless, Reina filled her basket with meat.

He swept away so much meat from the butcher shop that it caught everyone’s attention.

“How do you eat meat? Do you chew it raw?”

“Meat is best when grilled.”

I tilted my head as I watched Reina pick up the meat.

“You bought a northern wild boar’s front leg to roast and eat?”

Wild boars are stupid animals that can only move in a straight line, so their muscles are concentrated in their forelegs.

In particular, the northern wild boar that runs through the snowy mountains on a fictional day was so tough that its parts were used as animal food.

This is the first time I’ve seen someone buy it just to eat it.

“This is the cheapest. I can’t afford expensive meat.”

Reina listened to me and continued picking up the northern boar’s foreleg.

“···.”

My heart opened a little to Reina’s honest confession.

Such a realistic reason.

You’re a tougher kid than you look.

‘If I think about it, I’ve always worn the same clothes.’

Even I, who came from the streets, had such memories.

It is a tearful memory of buying the cheapest, hardest bread from the bakery and slowly eating it with my mouth all day long.

It was the first time since my military service that I had eaten bread soaked in tears.

I said, patting Reina’s shoulder as she was choosing meat.

“Raina. If you need my help, just let me know.”

“Huh? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Somehow, my inner intimacy with Reina grew a little.