A Wish to Grab Happiness

Volume 9, Chapter 214: Eerie Peace

The wind was strangely dry, most probably because this region had a few mountain ranges. I poured some ale to forcibly remove the feeling of the cloth sticking in my throat.

「There was no response from Philos, and the Great Holy Church did not move either. It’s too peaceful right now.」

I looked toward the Sanyo Plain while sitting in a chair. There were no foreign objects in the horizon, just tall flowers that stood there comfortably.

Of course, there was no way that I’d be able to assess the situation just by looking through the tent. If allowed, I’d also do scouts with a horse. It was easy, because it used to be my main job in my past life.

「I don’t know about you, but I don’t mind this peaceful feeling. 」

In front of me, Eldith nodded with her pale blue hair hanging on her cheeks. It was quite a euphemism. Perhaps, it was Eldith’s irony. I crumbled my cheeks and shrugged my shoulders.

The battle of the Heraldic Order and the Great Holy Church seemed to be in a pause.

Both of them made temporary camps at the east and west across the Sanyo Plain. Neither of them tried to move while their eyes were entwined with each other. Of course, there would be a few skirmishes and contact between the soldiers, but at least, they weren’t even trying to fight each other in a big way.

After the meeting between old man Richard and me, the eerie peace continued endlessly. For me and the Heraldic Order it was an undesirable calm.

The more time it craved into our bodies, the more likely would the Great Holy Church Army receive reinforcements. We had to avoid that at all costs. Besides, if the place was stagnant, not only food but also the morale of the soldiers would be hit with a negative momentum.

After all, war campaigns and the like were done in frenzy.

People called the heat of the battle an act of deceiving one’s brain by forgetting one’s life.

Once the heat had awakened, the limbs of the soldiers would no longer move with reason. The spears, which anyone wielded to pierce, looked terrible or thin, and the limbs were cold and could only fight without sense. That was common on the battlefield. It was the feeling where the heat took people’s souls away like a sudden wave. It was not something one could taste as many times as one would like.

A person could easily twist a person’s neck depending on the amount of heat hidden in the skull, despite one’s brain telling that he couldn’t move a finger. Was it called instinct? That was why frenzy was important in a war.

In other words, it was not good to swallow things like silence or stagnation on the battlefield, especially if we were the minority here.

Of course, I understood the meaning of this stagnation and silence. Both camps were figuring out where would go the support from the autonomous city of Philos.

The presence of the autonomous city of Philos, which was located very close to the Sanyo Plain, was a must for this campaign. If Philos were to tie its hands tightly with the enemy, it would eat us off from the flank side during battle. Whether it was an enemy or an ally, Philos was necessary to determine the trend of this war.

Either way, neither side could move much until Philos’ movements were clear. Therefore, I was impatient. My chest burned. My opponent was that old man Richard. In this silence, I didn’t know what else he was planning.

…If so, then why didn’t I try to listen to my chest?

Of course, I was not trying to raise the curtain of the campaign from here. I just wanted to throw a stone to see what they were planning to do.

My eyes narrowed the moment an idea passed through my thoughts.

「Lugis. 」

Eldith’s voice made my body jump up from the chair. Her voice was sharp that pierced the core of my head, but it was not a voice that shook my ears all the time. Her blue eyes were blinking.

「I won’t allow you to do that. I will not forgive you. 」

My spine got strengthened. Eldith’s blue eyes stared straight at me as if she had seen through my soul.

No, wait, what was she talking about? What did she meant with “not allow” and “not forgive”? I haven’t put anything into words yet, and I haven’t even moved it into action. Actually, I didn’t even lift a finger. But, for no reason, Eldith banned whatever illusionary action it was.

With clear skepticism and agitation shown on my face, I silently waited for Eldith’s next words.

「Actually, I can feel that you want to move alone and shake the board, just like you did during the Ghazalia Civil War. 」

Eldith’s tone contained a little irritation. It sounded as if she was trying to say something but with euphemism.

And Eldith’s words were just pointing to my heart. I intended to be twisted, but it seemed that I had an unexpectedly easy-to-understand personality.

Eldith wanted to say that it was too dangerous to move alone. However, in such a battlefield, it may be less dangerous to move with a small number of people than to go out with the majority of troops. Besides, working alone was free of incongruity. I felt some reliance on it.

I tried to utter some words with a light tone. Yet, Eldith continued to speak as if she knew exactly what I was going to say.

「…I don’t like those thoughts of yours. So, am I included in that reliance? 」

Apparently, it seemed that my idea was completely out of the question.

At the same time as she professed those words, the blue eyes distorted. The ferociousness of her gaze almost ate me alive.

I had never seen that gaze before, even in the past. It was not just ferocious; it was something that almost crushed me with a clear will.

As soon as the air in the tent died out, the back of my chest began to ring a strange alarm. It was more like an instinct as an organism, since it screamed loudly. The emotions were shaken and my soul quivered in the shadows. Eldith’s eyes and voice, those were dangerous.

I slowly opened my lips while choosing my words. The tension that would cause my neck to fall if she misunderstood was causing my tongue to cramp.

「Of course, you are. But Eldith, you’re the Elf Queen of the Hanging Gardens of Ghazalia. 」

Therefore, she had a position that could not allow her to walk around that freely. Yes, Eldith bit off my words when I tried to reason with her.

「…And you are my knight. If you’re talking about my position, then I hope you remember yours, Lugis. 」

This was no good. Indeed, I felt that I could now understand the true meaning of why I was suddenly invited to Eldith’s tent.

At the end of the day, the Elf Queen Eldith wanted to convey what she didn’t like about my actions.

Moreover, the dissatisfaction seemed to be deeply rooted in her soul. Her mouth looked so emotional that it seemed unusual for her.

Her words echoed as her little lips drew a small ellipse.

「Let me just say this, Lugis. I feel like my ears have been betrayed. The person that my knight relied on in that meeting was not my soldier, but another human being.」

Did you not rely on my soldiers, or did you not trust me? Eldith’s voice, who continued to echo, was colder than icicles.

Why were her words multiplied so suddenly? I was not sure how angry an elf was when it came to feeling unscrupulous, but it was not a shallow one.

I tried to find the proper words by running my thoughts from one end of my head to the other, but it didn’t seem to come out well. The act of opening and closing my lips was repeated for several times.

Eldith’s cheeks loosened a little after witnessing my behavior. Her eyes still had some ferocious colors, but her expression seemed to have regained her regal demeanor.

Eldith leaked words as she slowly approached my eyes. A sweet scent, like the nectar of a flower, struck my nostrils.

…If you don’t want to rely on me, of course, it doesn’t matter.At that time, I swore that I would not use any of my strength and power to chain you down. Yes, both my strength and power as a queen and as an individual.Still, I want you to rely on me, so can you tell me those words from your mouth?

I will never let you down after relying on me, Eldith spoke. Her voice echoed many times in my ears.