* * *
『Shocking News!! Extremist Elf Announces Enrollment at Lord Howe! 』
When Freya Cahn first heard the news about an elf who had come to Earth to enroll in an academy, she was initially dumbfounded.
What kinda rubbish is this?
An elf enrolling in an academy on Earth? Let alone receiving an education, it would be a miracle if they didn’t get kidnapped.
Although official disputes between Earth and beyond the dimensional portal had ceased after the Malta announcement… Earth was still Earth, and elves were still elves.
Earthians had not forgotten about the terror caused by the elves, driven by a desire for revenge.
And Elves still remembered the defoliants1 that had covered their forests and the hydrogen bombs that had fallen on the World Tree.
Do they wanna become sum sorta peace symbol or somethin’?
That was a plausible reason.Or why else would elves, who had an abundance of High Elves to teach them, come all the way to Earth and enroll in an academy?
They had either gone mad, or they were dreaming of something ridiculous like peace... or maybe it was both.
Well, they’re free to be delusional.
That was as far as her thoughts went. Whether the foolish elf became a symbol of peace or simply wished to die at a place away from home was none of her concern.
However, half a day later…
When she received an order disguised as a request from the Australian government, she couldn’t help but be astonished.
- You must ensure the elf princess' protection.
The identity of the foolish elf making the news was none other than Demerond Ipp Marx’s lineal blood relative. In fact, she was his biological daughter.
- She’s duh daughter of dat nutty commie elf leader? Wut duh heck was the Korean government thinkin' when they put this in the news?
- Would the Korean government do something like this if they knew about it? They wouldn't be foolish enough to do something like this knowingly... or at least, I hope not.
- They dunno? They still dunno? We ain’t tellin' 'em. Ha, ya want me to track down this pointy-eared chick from scratch an’ play bodyguard?
Freya Cahn protested in disbelief. What a stroke of bad luck during her vacation.
- It has only been a day since the news broke. If we locate her before the others do, we can handle this without any issues.
- Fuckin' 'ell
- We’ve at least managed to pinpoint her location roughly. The issue is having enough personnel to escort the princess with minimal force. If we send our agents, it will become a diplomatic issue.
- So, you’re sayin’ I’m the wan ya called?
- At the moment, you’re the only one we can deploy straightaway from Australia.
- Bloodie bullshit.
- I know it’s shameless to ask this of you, but we must prevent even the remote possibility of a second Sarajevo incident, shouldn’t we?
- Sarajevo?
- That’s just a worst-case scenario we’re considering.
The Sarajevo Incident.
It referred to the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria2 in Sarajevo more than a century ago.
And to modern people, it was more famously known as the trigger for World War I.
The reason the Australian government brought up Sarajevo was obvious. If the pointy ears princess was hurt or killed, those pointy ears might end up starting another war.
- What a nasty threat. Fuckin' 'ell, fine. It's my loss. I’ll do it. Guess I’ll go then.
As soon as Freya Cahn agreed, the Australian government promptly handed over all the information they had.
Details about the elf princess and her entourage, photos, and the last confirmed location.
After absorbing the scant information into her mind, Freya Cahn left for Korea without a moment’s delay.
8,500 km3; the distance from Melbourne to Incheon.
Using every type of magic item she normally wouldn’t, she rushed through the sky. She made haste after hearing about Sarajevo.
She left Melbourne at sunset and arrived in Incheon just before sunrise.
They want me to track two elves in this massive city?
Although the government spoke as if it was nothing big, Incheon was far larger than she imagined.
Do I really have to use such a brute-force approach?
There was a means of tracking mana with items, but time was of the essence. Hence, she had no choice but to spread her mana as extensively as possible, blocking all other senses except the one used for detecting mana.
According to the information provided by the Australian government, both the princess and her entourage were High Elves. And if they were High Elves, they would surely use mana at some point. Thus, she planned on tracking them by detecting the mana they emitted.
It was an unsophisticated but reliable method.
Fortunately, shortly after spreading her mana, she detected two strong mana sources moving vigorously.
Got ‘em.
In a shabby building in the back alley of MacArthur Market, she found a space ill-suited for elves but still a convincing hiding spot.
She thought she had managed to locate the two High Elves rather quickly.
However, instead of finding elves, she encountered someone strange who used elf swordsmanship.
* * *
“Ar’ ya sum sorta spy planted by the elves on Earth, mate?”
Freya Cahn tilted her head in confusion.
“...I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Dung Beetle answered with an expression so aggrieved, that even Freya Cahn, who had just seen his swordsmanship, wondered if that was a performance of a lifetime or if it was true.
“Ha, this bloke really does look like a spy… But there’s no way elves would use human spies.”
After thinking for a moment, she reached behind her back. Suddenly, mana shimmered from where nothing had been visible previously.
Two sword scabbards revealed themselves as the magic called invisibility or perception interference was dispelled.
One was an elaborately adorned white scabbard that looked like a piece of art, while the other was a plain black scabbard.
They were the sister swords that symbolized the era when Freya Cahn earned the title of Holy Sword and became the Pride of Australia.
Seeing the swords he had only seen in the media personally, Dung Beetle narrowed his eyes to conceal his emotions.
“Why is the Holy Sword threatening me?”
Instead of replying, Freya Cahn drew the sword from the white scabbard.
Srrrrggg, a longsword about the thickness of two fingers was revealed.
The blade, adorned with a swan motif as magnificent as the scabbard, radiated a sharp killing aura that contrasted with its beauty.
“Oi, ya littl’ bugger. For someone at my level, what I’m doin’ isn’t a threatin’—it’s just teachin’.”
She smiled and threw the sword.
Whoosh—thud. Tracing a long parabola in the air, the white sword embedded itself right before Dung Beetle’s feet.
“Draw it.”
Bewildered, Dung Beetle looked back and forth between Freya Cahn and the white sword.
“...You want me to… draw it?”
“I clearly told ya to draw it.”
And with those words, Freya Cahn’s mana surged immediately.
Clang!
As soon as Dung Beetle drew the sword reflexively, sparks flew in front of his eyes.
It was at a level where her hands were quicker than his eyes. And even though he used his sword to block hers, his hands trembled and felt as if they might be torn apart.
And the next instant, their swords clashed again. The high-pitched clanging of metal against metal erupted, followed by a barrage of lightning-fast attacks.
Her sword struck everywhere relentlessly— head, ankles, chest, knees, wrists, shoulders…
The assault was so quick that Dung Beetle could hardly breathe. He drew on all of the mana in his body and heightened his senses to deflect the blows.
“After facing ya, it’s clear now. You’re self-taught, ain’t ya? The way you’ve raised ya Killing Aura seems rather mindless.”
Even while attacking him relentlessly, Freya Cahn was able to speak with composure.
It was only natural. After all, the years she spent cultivating her mana and the level of her martial arts were on a different scale.
However…
What’s this?
Gradually, Dung Beetle’s sword started keeping up with hers. His defensive movements became more refined, and his breathing more relaxed.
Was he getting used to her swordsmanship? No, it was more than just getting used to it.
Like fire consuming wood or a hawk diving from the sky, he was instinctively absorbing the swordsmanship himself.
“Blimey, this bloke is somethin’ else.”
The instinct of the martial artist within Freya Cahn was stirred upon seeing this. Alright, let’s see how far ya can go.
Her sword increased its speed.
The mana carried by their swords collided with each other, creating a tremendous sound and pushing against the air.
Yet Dung Beetle still managed to keep up with even that speed.
Blood flowed from the hand gripping the sword, and his entire body trembled due to insufficient mana, but he did not lose focus.
And at some point, after blocking more than a hundred sword strikes, Dung Beetle’s sword surpassed Freya Cahn’s.
Swoosh—
The white blade pierced the air, splitting the atmosphere.
The sword technique was remarkably similar to the one Freya Cahn had first shown.
And following that sword strike, both of them took a step back.
In the case of Freya Cahn, it was because she was surprised, while for Dung Beetle, he was exhausted.
“Ah, so that’s what it was.”
Looking at Dung Beetle, who had nearly keeled over, Freya Cahn let her lips curl into a wide smile.
“To be able to learn the form of a martial art instantly after seeing it once… Is it a blessin? Or perhaps a talent?”
She raised her hand, holding the sword. Her sleeve was split open from wrist to forearm.
It was a trace of a fierce strike. If it had been any deeper, it would have sliced through her arm.
“You’ve managed to land a good hit, mate.”
Her admiration was really genuine, to the point that she almost forgot the reason she had come to Incheon.
However, her admiration didn’t end there. Even though he was gasping for breath, Dung Beetle pointed at her eye patch.
Eye patch? Freya Cahn instinctively placed her hand on the eye patch, and something fell off.
Swish.
A few strands of her fawn-colored hair fell down her wrist. Dung Beetle’s sword had reached past her sleeve and touched her hair.
Pfft-Hahaha—!
Seeing her falling hair, a burst of laughter erupted from her mouth.
Looking somewhat pleased, she walked up to Dung Beetle with big strides and patted him on the shoulder.
“This bastard, I really like ya.”
“...”
Dung Beetle was unable to hide his astonishment and stared at her face.
Just moments ago, she was wielding her sword with the intent to kill, and now she had changed her attitude as easily as flipping a hand, as if it was nothing.
As expected, you could not trust everything shown in documentaries. How could they package such a crazy person as a saint?
“...So, why are you doing this?”
Only when Dung Beetle sighed and asked his question did Freya Cahn finally remember her mission.
“Oh, right. The mission.”
This was not the time to be doing this; she had enjoyed herself a bit too much. Her single eye turned towards Dung Beetle.
“You’ve seen elves in duh city, havencha mate?”
“...Elves?”
Dung Beetle frowned. Was this about his involvement with the elves?
“Don’t try to deceive me. That elven swordsmanship you used—you stole it while fighting elves, didncha? It’s obvious at a glance.”
“…”
Dung Beetle kept his mouth shut.
He couldn’t predict what this insane expert’s true intentions were in pursuing the elves.
Considering that she immediately swung her sword upon seeing elven swordsmanship, it didn’t seem to be anything good.
After a brief period of contemplation, he spoke up cautiously.
“...May I ask what are your intentions in finding them?”
“To protect ‘em.”
The answer was direct. Seeing her reply without the slightest delay, it didn’t seem like she was lying.
“Ya reckon I’m out to cause trouble just 'cause I went straight in with the blade, huh? Look mate, I’m the Holy Sword. Do ya really think that I'd come all the way to this country just to slice up an elf?”
“...”
The words ‘Yes, it seems that way after meeting you in person…’ were on the tip of his tongue, but Dung Beetle held himself back.
Seeing the doubtful look on Dung Beetle’s face, Freya Cahn waved her hand and said,
“If that commie elf princess carks it on Earth, it might spark a war. So, I’m here to keep her alive. That’s all. Now we good?”
So, she even knew that one of the elves was a princess? Only then did Dung Beetle understand the situation.
“Sorry 'bout attacking ya first. Just think of it as this old gal being a bit unreasonable and give us a hand, would ya? Even if it's nothin' else, we’ve gotta stop a war, right?”
She might have looked easy going and simple, but she had the mindset to act for the sake of others. It seemed that the way she was portrayed in the documentary wasn't entirely false.
Feeling both relieved and bewildered, Dung Beetle began to speak.
“I met the elves not too long ago…”
He started recounting his encounter with the elves, adjusting the details to fit the situation.
He completely omitted the part about the Branch Manager. The intermediate process wasn’t important. He only needed to inform her that the elves were headed towards the burnt warehouse.
“...So, duh elf princess went to duh burnt warehouse, and ya dunno know anything beyond that?”
After the explanation, Freya Cahn confirmed the details once more. Dung Beetle summarized it briefly and gave her general directions to the warehouse.
However...
“Even with ya explanation, it’s not very clear. There’s no map either.”
“...”
“Can’t ya personally guide me to that warehouse, mate?”
She was even more shameless than he had imagined.
“It's not much of a reward, but I’ll make ya my apprentice.”
No, she was even more insane than he had imagined.
***
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