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Translator: penny
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Belsia and Selsia
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"In human terms... it's a dilemma, isn't it."
Elsia's voice was calm.
That calmness only sharpened the gravity of their situation.
"S-Sis..."
Belsia asked without lifting her head.
"So... we just sit tight?"
Selsia nodded silently as well.
A board where fleeing or charging ahead both led to defeat.
"That would have been the right call originally."
Both sisters' shoulders slumped in unison.
That was when it happened.
Elsia's hands quietly but firmly came to rest on her two sisters' heads.
A stroking touch. Comfort.
But it didn't last long.
"But."
The hands stopped.
And her voice changed.
"Staying put like this would be an insult to us High Elves."
"...!"
"Yes!!"
Strength and bloodline.
Things that took precedence over any other value.
Elves were a race that fought for honor, and High Elves were among them those who knew no retreat.
Backing off because they saw a trap?
Flinching at the enemy's schemes?
That wasn't defeat—it was denying their own bloodline.
"Now that we know the enemy has set the board..."
Elsia said.
"We have only one thing to aim for."
Now.
Today, when they'd just arrived and not everything was in place yet.
Enter today, end it today.
Elsia's gaze drifted far away. The calculations were already done.
"I'll handle the Immortal Spring."
A resolute declaration.
Belsia swallowed hard.
"Aira... is left to us?"
"Yes."
A short reply.
No doubt, no hesitation.
The most heavily guarded spot for herself.
The Immortal Spring, the heart of the Argent estate.
And the relatively lax areas to her sisters.
To the eyes of the Argent Family, that place was merely the 'bastard's zone.'
A dwelling for unrecognized bloodlines.
An area classified as far less monitored and defended than the central grounds.
"Go."
Elsia said.
Belsia and Selsia nodded.
Wind wrapped around their bodies, their forms blurring.
The next instant, the two High Elves vanished without a sound.
End it today.
On the Argent Family's board, in the elven way.
The Elf Forest was never a land open to the outside world from the start.
A domain sealed tight for thousands of years.
The Elf Kingdom had lived minimizing contact with other races altogether. That isolation was both a source of fear and mystery.
Inaccessible, so no one dared trespass lightly.
But at some point, the kingdom changed its policy.
Limited opening.
Controlled access only for diplomatic envoys, merchants, and scholars.
The results were immediate.
The Elf Forest was elevated from a 'sealed unknown land' to an 'attainable paradise' one could actually encounter.
Its fame grew, and exchanges increased.
And with them came other things.
Hunters.
Grave robbers.
And those targeting the elven race itself.
Opening up didn't mean safety.
It was more like handing them a map.
From then on, the Elf Forest began accumulating records of bloodshed rivaling any nation.
And among those countless records, there's one tale even the Elf Kingdom doesn't bother denying.
Too one-sided to call a tragedy, too lopsided for mere incident.
So the continent called it this:
"A case showing what happens to those who underestimate the Elf Forest."
About five years ago.
A group that entered the forest to secure a massive haul of elf slaves.
The Gold and Silver Bandits.
They weren't third-rate criminals coasting on bluster.
Elites with bounties across the continent.
A force so overwhelming the term 'bandits' felt wrong, complete with a past record of successfully hunting a dragon.
"Elves aren't just hiding in forests anymore."
"Paths open means we can catch 'em."
"This time, grab 'em all. Men, women—every last one!"
And so the Gold and Silver Bandits threw their full forces in.
Over a hundred entered the forest alone.
No rabble.
Deserters from battlefields across nations. Exiled knights and officers.
Even former commanders mixed in.
Those versed in war.
Those who made killing their trade.
They entered the Elf Forest.
And not a single one returned.
A mage studying in the Elf Kingdom at the time recorded this:
That day, the forest wind was unusually still.
So still that even the sounds of dying men were swallowed by the woods.
The Elf Forest has no walls.
No border lines.
Aside from the castles housing the Elder Council and highborn, the forest itself was the nation.
So hunters slipping in was common.
Child elves getting kidnapped happened regrettably often.
But.
Cases of captured elves being dragged out of the forest were rare.
Because the elves made the forest itself their wall.
That day, the Gold and Silver Bandits learned it too.
What appeared before the bandits, as they bound elves and divided spoils, weren't the usual elven archers.
Emerging between the trees were just two figures.
Hair shining like white jade.
Beings clearly of a different caliber from ordinary elves.
With each step they took, the forest reacted first.
Roots parted, vines slackened on their own. Fallen leaves scattered just before being stepped on, branches didn't snap.
No sound.
No presence.
Generals, mages, knights—inside this forest, they were all equal.
Prey.
Or more precisely, intruders who'd stepped into a hunting ground.
"Ha! What, why's everyone frozen?"
From the center of the Gold and Silver Bandits, a particularly burly man sneered.
His belly protruded, and his hand gripped an axe still wet with blood.
"They're just kids. And look how meek they are."
A former executioner from the republic.
A monster who'd turned routine deaths into pleasure and been chased out.
"They're worth a fortune alive. Capture th—"
Thud.
Before his words finished, a sound rang out.
Very small, exceedingly light.
"...Huh?"
The man's view tilted.
Not his body—the world flipped.
His head rolled across the ground like a fallen leaf.
Only then did screams erupt.
"H-Head—!"
That instant.
The two girls vanished from the forest.
No—not vanished.
Disassembled.
The next split-second, one bandit's throat was severed.
Then waist.
Then arm.
No sound of swinging swords, no chant of spells.
Only results, dropping one after another onto the ground.
Swords that cleaved dragon scales were useless.
Officers who'd survived dozens of battlefields, former assassin guild masters—they fell before they could blink.
The forest moved.
No, the forest fought in their stead.
Vines snagged ankles, roots toppled balance.
Fleers were blocked by trees, hiders dragged from shadows.
Soon, no screams remained in the blood-soaked forest clearing.
Only two stood.
The High Elf sisters, hands clasped, catching their breath at close range.
Belsia and Selsia.
Their palms slick with blood and sweat, pulses racing through intertwined fingers.
More than the battle's end, it was the feel of each other safe here that hit first.
Belsia tilted her head first, steadying her breath.
Slowly wiping blood from Selsia's forehead with her thumb, locking eyes from inches away.
Close enough their breaths mingled.
"It's over."
At Belsia's low whisper, Selsia smiled and pressed her forehead to hers.
"Yeah. Just us two."
With those words, they stayed like that a moment.
Amid blood scent, forest dampness, the lingering heat of battle, confirming each other's warmth.
After that day, the Gold and Silver Bandits were recorded as annihilated.
And to the Elf Forest's lore—not of swords or magic, but of the blood-drenched clearing where the High Elf sisters never let go of each other's hands—one more tale was added.
Of course, this was outside the Elf Forest.
No forest energies, no terrain favoring High Elves.
Here, Belsia and Selsia's prowess was undoubtedly diminished from usual.
But that fact didn't make them hesitate.
Annihilating the Gold and Silver Bandits was five years ago.
Since then, the sisters hadn't wasted a single day.
Not content with protection just for being royals, to stand not hiding behind big sis Elsia—
They'd pushed training to the brink of blood and breath breaking.
Moreover, tonight's conditions were ideal.
Moonlight-dimmed darkness.
True to the bastard's zone, guards were lax, human presence scarce.
A space needing no held breath.
A night where intruders might go unnoticed.
"There it is. Small... and pretty shabby. Must be the bastard's zone."
Belsia gave a short scoff.
"Security's laughably loose compared to the center."
Selsia nodded beside her.
"Turning Aira into that mess and still using her. How'd they manage?"
A brief silence, then a playful whisper.
"If she looks useful... wanna snatch her?"
Belsia shook her head instead of answering.
"No need. The Immortal Spring's already ours."
Wind brushed past.
"An example here suffices. Let them learn bodily what happens when you mess with the Elf Kingdom."
This time, a firm reply.
"Yeah."
And so Belsia and Selsia approached the annex, eyes on already-finished prey.
And that was when.
"Huh?"
"What?"
For a moment, both sisters' steps halted simultaneously.
At the annex entrance.
Standing there was a far too pathetic-looking figure.
Under the dark night sky, strikingly visible orange fox ears.
A small, petite beastkin girl in maid attire stood there.
One arm holding a somewhat worn small shield.
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