Martial Elf

On the highest hill of Pohelrn, there stands a large mansion.

This grand mansion, which has been expanded since the reign of its current owner, Priegoss, now contains hundreds of rooms. It began to be referred to as the Palace after Priegoss started to call himself a king and changed the name of his fortress to Pohelrn.

On the upper floor of the Palace, a beautiful woman was gazing out at the cityscape beyond the window.

Alia, Priegoss’s advisor, recalled the time years ago when she and her sisters first set foot on this land across the sea.

They had been driven from their homeland, having lost their deity in the survival competition, and it was in this land that they found their first refuge.

Unlike today, Pohelrn was just a somewhat better village among countless villages that sprouted like weeds in the human territory.

The townspeople at that time were furious at being pushed around by beings they called land gods while they referred to themselves as Roas. However, under the leadership of the town lord’s son, they eventually made their way to where Pohelrn now stood, filled with human homes.

Though it was night and only the watchtowers lit by torches were visible, Alia smiled upon seeing the flourishing Pohelrn under the moonlight.

While watching, a doll emerged from her long shadow, which was engulfed by the moonlight streaming through the window.

“I’m back.”

The girl who appeared from Alia’s shadow greeted her with a bright face and waved both hands.

“Did you return, Lamia? How’s the state of the barrier?”

“I don’t know, but it’s completely wrecked! Look at this. Ugh.”

As she spoke, Lamia began to pull out a massive pouch from the shadow, about her size.

She then untied the pouch and spilled its contents all over the stone floor.

The ground started to become cluttered with shattered pieces of a serpent that tumbled from the pouch.

“It was completely smashed and lying all over the place. To be honest, it was really big in its original size, right? I couldn’t fit it all in the shadow, so I only brought part of it. The other parts looked just like this too.”

Alia picked up one of the scattered pieces of the serpent from her room’s floor.

One of the scales stuck to the piece was as large as Alia’s palm.

It allowed her to imagine the size of the serpent when it was alive.

In fact, Alia remembered the serpent in its living form because it was the guardian god that Priegoss had asked her and her sisters to subdue in the past, which Pohelrn once worshipped.

Now it was dead and turned into a relic that maintained the center of the barrier meant to keep the aberration away from the Pohelrn they had built, playing a crucial role in preventing monsters from approaching since a short while ago.

But now it lay shattered, devoid of any divine presence as she inspected each piece.

This specimen was merely a desiccated snake carcass, losing the value of a relic that was once tied to the laws and principles held by its original owner.

To see a relic she had dedicated years to instead end up like this with barely any use was frustrating.

If monsters began to cling to the construction site of the city walls, plans to finish building them before winter could face serious setbacks.

Above all…

Knock, knock.

“Alia, are you inside?”

“…It’s open. Please come in, Priegoss.”

At Alia’s permission, Priegoss opened the door and entered.

Standing at an impressive six feet (183 cm), Priegoss had a somewhat nervous look in his eyes and distinct features.

Since he was called king, he had begun wearing a long robe made from precious fabrics known as toga, and despite its thick feeling, his toned physique revealed he was a warrior who did not neglect training.

Upon seeing Priegoss enter, Lamia cautiously glanced at him before slipping back into Alia’s shadow and disappearing.

Priegoss, entering the room, paid no mind to Lamia’s familiar actions and focused intently on the serpent’s piece in Alia’s hand, which had once belonged to the land god of Pohelrn.

“Anakthus…”

Priegoss whispered the name of the land god who had once protected Pohelrn and whom he had killed with the help of Alia and her sisters. He looked at Alia and continued speaking.

“I visited because there was a commotion at the gates and wanted to check if something was wrong, but… it’s clear that seeing Anakthus’s relic here, in this state, is nothing but unpleasant news, even without hearing more.”

Priegoss frowned and sat weakly at Alia’s bed, holding his forehead in frustration.

“I had thought things were finally getting better, but nothing is easy. Winter is almost here. There are still areas where the walls have not been built to an appropriate height.”

“From experience, it’s the time when beasts and monsters move vigorously to stock up food before winter. Without your barrier to expel the aberration you created, there’s no way we can proceed with construction properly.”

“Is there any way to repair and reuse Anakthus’s relic to activate the barrier?”

At Priegoss’s hopeful gaze, Alia shook her head.

“This can no longer be used as a barrier material. It’s completely destroyed and has lost all its power. Now it’s just a simple part of a giant snake’s carcass.”

Priegoss, growing frustrated, rose and cornered Alia against the wall.

“I don’t want to hear such words, witch. Even with the grown Pohelrn as it is, building the walls at this scale is a burden. You can’t be unaware of the reason we’re pushing ourselves, collecting money from citizens through taxes and overworking slaves beyond their limits to build these walls!!”

“…I know.”

“Then why are you doing this?! The only thing keeping the city’s dissatisfaction at bay is the promise that Pohelrn will be the only safe place for humans in this world!”

Priegoss slammed his hand against the wall beside Alia’s face.

“If you wish to keep your god in the future Pohelrn, then perform accordingly! Even the merchants wandering the streets understand the importance of contracts!”

Despite Priegoss’s threats, Alia calmly sought to convince him.

“The relics that form the barrier can temporarily be replaced by some of those we collected through wars between villages.”

“…Are you suggesting to use those? Didn’t you say they were collected to honor your gods?”

“We can simply collect them again as we have in the past. Just as you said, helping to make Pohelrn a sanctuary for humanity is our contract in exchange for making our deity the supreme deity of Pohelrn. Right now, we should focus on what needs to be done first.”

When Alia suggested laying out what she and her sisters had risked their lives to gather, Priegoss, seeming to relax, withdrew his previously outstretched hand and apologized.

“I’m sorry, I got too worked up.”

“It’s alright. It was a significant matter. I was also flustered after hearing the accurate status of the barrier from Lamia. More importantly…”

“Right, the reason why the barrier broke.”

Priegoss understood what Alia was getting at.

“The reason the barrier expelling the aberration suddenly broke. It hasn’t operated properly in some time. Surely, it wouldn’t be due to aging. Is there a flaw in the barrier itself?”

“No, it wasn’t that type of collapse. There were no signs of it either.”

“Then… this doesn’t sound good.”

“It means that there’s an entity that forcibly breached the barrier. The earthquake we felt during the day is likely a consequence of that.”

“…What level would you assume the entity that could break through the barrier you created to be?”

“It’s a barrier made by completely transforming the corpse of a Roa, which links the gates and walls. And…”

“No, I only need to know the main point.”

“…At the very least, it’s likely to be more than twice the strength of the Roa we turned into a relic.”

“Twice that of Anakthus…”

Priegoss sat on the bed, washing his face in exasperation.

Observing him, Alia picked up a jug of wine in the room and filled a glass.

“Are you saying that such a being is among the thousands of citizens in Pohelrn?”

Handing the glass of wine to the exhausted Priegoss, he took it and downed it in one go, his voice trembling.

“What’s even more troubling is that during the collapse of the barrier, the gate guards failed to notice any particularly strange entities. Since the barrier broke, nothing has happened, which is even more frightening. We don’t know their purpose.”

“Your Majesty, overthinking problems that cannot be resolved immediately is not good for your health. Don’t worry about things that have not happened yet.”

“But…”

As Priegoss was about to say something more, Alia covered his mouth.

Surprised, Priegoss slowly closed his eyes and began to explore Alia’s lips.

The taste of wine lingered between their intertwined tongues, and his mind felt dizzy.

And as their tongues gradually entwined, at some point, Priegoss’s arms wrapped around Alia’s waist, and a burning desire shone in his eyes.

“Alia…”

In that pleading voice, Alia loosened the ties holding her garments.

As the fabric slipped away with a soft rustle, her bare skin seemed to glimmer under the moonlight, akin to a statue.

She approached Priegoss and whispered enticingly into his ear.

“Forget everything in this moment and indulge completely in me.”

Soon, the two moved to a place where the moonlight could not reach, intertwined as one.

◈ ◈ ◈

“…I don’t understand. Why go this far?”

After the passionate moment passed, Lamia, who had emerged from Alia’s shadow, muttered as she gazed at the deeply sleeping Priegoss.

Alia stood completely unclothed and moved toward the jug to pour herself more wine.

Lamia, despite being a woman, couldn’t take her eyes off her sister’s radiant form.

“Don’t be too harsh. He really is good to us.”

“…Do you think someone who can’t even deal with a single serpent would aid in saving our father?”

At those words, Alia gently caressed the cheek of Priegoss, who lay sleeping, and merely smiled.

Lamia watched her sister’s affectionate gestures towards the boorish and irritable human with annoyance.

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