Chapter 208
Chapter 208: I’m Really a Pacifist (1)
No matter how powerful Kaor was, he couldn’t do anything when Ghislaine, Belinda, and Gillian were stepping on him simultaneously.
Alfoy intermittently cast enhancement spells on the people around.
“Argh! Stop! If you stop now, I’ll spare you! Just try stopping for a moment! Gurgle!”
Yelling to the heavens was useless. No one wanted to miss this opportunity.
After being trampled for a while, Kaor eventually lost consciousness and was carried away. Piote didn’t bother treating him until the end.
Most of the elves appeared indifferent to the chaos, while a few paused their activities to watch the madness and cheered.
“What’s this? This place really knows how to have fun!”
“Oh, I’m kind of excited! Our fun is just top-notch!”
“Is that guy the lord? His face is decent, but he looks a bit grumpy. That might be somewhat romantic in its own way?”
They exchanged giggles and acted in various ridiculous ways.
Those who were vomiting the alcohol they drank or burning just a bit of tobacco weren’t the worst.
One male elf winked at Belinda and bit down hard on his lower lip. It was beyond cheesy.
Another male elf licked his lips while looking at Alfoy. Oblivious Alfoy didn’t even understand what it meant and just blinked in confusion.
Unable to bear it any longer, Ghislaine stepped forward and shouted.
“Everyone, pay attention!”
The elves stopped what they were doing and all looked at Ghislaine.
After a moment of contemplation, Ghislaine asked, “Is there anyone here who can use spirits?”
At that, the previously blank-faced elves suddenly burst into laughter, clutching their stomachs.
“Spirits? What’s that? Is it food?”
“Our ancestors could use them, but we don’t know about such things. A spirit slave? That sounds so romantic.”
“I know all about potency, but not spirits!”
They continued to copy each other’s crude jokes, laughing and causing a ruckus. Everyone was too flabbergasted to consider how rude it all was.
Ghislaine could only hold her forehead in disbelief.
‘What the hell… Why are all the elves like this… What did that slave trader bring…’
Amidst the chaos, Claude looked at Ghislaine with a distressed expression.
“My lord… These guys are absolutely useless. Shall we just sell them again? It’s way too inefficient to use them as laborers or soldiers. They’re so expensive that we can’t even kill them or injure them. What a waste of money.”
Belinda nodded beside him in agreement.
“I really don’t think this is right. They’re nothing like the elves I’ve heard about.”
Even Ghislaine had no words this time. She truly hadn’t expected it to be this chaotic.
Looking up at the sky for a moment, she let out a big sigh.
“Wow, this is insane! The elves I met in my previous life were never like this!”
They were all dignified and graceful guardians of nature, friends of the spirits. They were reliable and excellent warriors who stood against the turmoil that swept through the continent.
“I expected them to be a little different after rolling as slaves among humans for so long… but this is really out of the blue, isn’t it?”
Given their proud and noble nature, Ghislaine had planned to persuade them differently from how she would have with dwarves. But this was beyond persuasion.
The situation was far too serious. Her earlier doubts about whether sick elves had been brought here were spot on.
If she had to pinpoint what was wrong, it was that their minds rather than their bodies seemed to be suffering.
‘Did that slave trader really deceive me? Did he make a quick escape? How dare he con me, the Mercenary King? Should I just have him caught and killed?’
Galbarik and the dwarves, who had arrived late, saw the scene and laughed loudly.
“Hahahaha! It looks like the lord really didn’t know anything and just bought a bunch of elven slaves! No matter how genius you are, you can’t know everything, I guess!”
As Ghislaine clenched her fists and glared, Galbarik waved his hands in a fluster.
“No, no! It’s just that people don’t know much, but most elven slaves are like this!”
“What?”
“To be precise, it’s the older elves who are like this. Even if they spent time with humans, there’s nothing to do besides having fun. In other words, they’ve been thoroughly tainted after such a long time among humans.”
“What about the younger elves?”
“Young elves who are naive and obedient are never sold by nobles. Any elves available for trade tend to be a bit damaged. It’s a different situation from ours.”
Even when dwarves fell into slavery, they didn’t lose much of their racial identity. Humans still needed their skills and craftsmanship.
But elves that strayed from the forests were only useful for their beauty. So, elven slaves began to be treated as decoration, living dolls.
Due to their long lifespan, they didn’t reproduce easily, so expanding their numbers was a challenge. The price was so outrageous that one couldn’t be reckless.
Consequently, the elves in decent condition didn’t make it to the market; only the uncontrollable ones were sold.
The dwarves were aware of this situation because they were also high-quality slaves.
‘Damn, I didn’t know that much. I didn’t bother to understand since I wasn’t interested. Anyway, that means the slave trader didn’t con me, right?’
Elven slaves were scarce and expensive, making transactions rare. Plus, nobles would clandestinely keep them, so it was hard to even spot them by chance.
While she understood why their condition was as it was, she couldn’t just let them continue living in such chaos.
“Okay, I just need to follow my plan. First, let’s talk gently and get their cooperation.”
After letting out a few sighs, Ghislaine looked at the elves again and asked, “Seeing you all having fun, it seems like you’ve built some friendships along the way. Who is the representative?”
At her words, every elf looked at a male elf who seemed to embody the epitome of ennui.
Sensing the attention focused on him, the elf shook his head in annoyance and stepped forward.
Indeed, he looked like a true elf, like a work of art. With a tall stature and sculpted features, the people of Penris were taken aback.
He casually ran his hand through his hair, speaking haughtily as if that reaction was unintended.
“I’m Ascon. I guess I’m the representative for now…”
Elves have a culture of electing the eldest among them as their representative. It isn’t always the case, but it’s generally how it goes.
Since there were no deep friendships, the oldest, Ascon, was reluctantly chosen as the representative.
Ghislaine looked at him dryly and said, “For the time being, you will act as the representative of the elves and help everyone adapt to the territory…”
“I don’t want to.”
“What?”
“I said I don’t want to be a representative. I don’t want to deal with such annoying things. At my age, do I have to do that? My bones are already aching.”
“……”
Ghislaine was left speechless by Ascon’s immense annoyance.
If it weren’t for his pointed ears, no one would even think he was an elf. He was just like humans who’d experienced every hardship.
‘This kind of disrespect… it’s been a while.’
Ascon looked at the blank-faced Ghislaine with a sneer of contempt.
‘Why? You expected these slaves, bought with big money, to behave well? How foolish.’
It was obvious. Ghislaine, having bought so many elven slaves, likely wanted to flaunt them to her followers and neighboring nobles as expensive gifts. Elven slaves were a top gift option.
‘Is it because he’s young? He seems desperate to show off his wealth.’
Having lived long in the human world, he didn’t hide his blatant sneer.
“I think you’re still young, my lord, so it seems you don’t know much about the world, so let me give you a piece of advice.”
“What advice?”
“It’s hard for us to be managed according to your whims. We’re a proud and noble race, you know? It seems you didn’t realize that when you made your purchases.”
Ghislaine looked around at the elves, astonished. Was this really what they considered proud and noble behavior?
But Ascon didn’t care for her shock; he merely continued to speak.
“Well, you seem to have plenty of money, so let’s just get along. As long as you don’t touch our tempers, we’ll have plenty of fun in the future. So let’s drop the talk about being a representative or anything like that.”
Ascon’s arrogant demeanor began to disturb Ghislaine’s close associates.
Initially, they were dumbstruck, but no matter how high-class the slaves were, this was far too rude.
A knight who had bled from his nose when he stepped forward before the dwarves subtly gauged the atmosphere and moved ahead. He aimed to redeem himself for that mistake.
“You! How dare you, a slave, speak like that to our lord… cough, cough!”
As Ghislaine stared at him in disbelief, the knight was choking and trying to offer an excuse.
“Cough! I suddenly spoke, and I choked… cough! cough!”
“……Just go inside.”
“……I’m sorry.”
As the knight withdrew, Ghislaine looked up at the sky once more.
‘Why is it that only strange people gather around me? I can’t be the odd one, can I? I’m normal!’
Unwilling to accept the reality, she let out a deep sigh. She needed to table the self-reflection for now and wrap up the conversation with the elves.
“I don’t plan to treat you merely as slaves. If you fully cooperate with me for 10 years, I’ll release you as free individuals and create an autonomous area for the elves. If you want, I’ll even establish a forest.”
The same conditions applied as with the dwarves. Ghislaine didn’t intend to exploit them simply as slaves.
Soon enough, a time would come when social classes would lose their significance in the Age of Turmoil. At that time, everyone would need to work together to survive.
But Ascon and the elves scoffed at Ghislaine’s words.
“Are you really that young? You must be completely ignorant of the world. Do you think that’s even possible?”
“Who even lives in forests these days like a village? What’s so fun about that? Our ancestors did, but their lives were complete losses.”
“Wow, my lord is so romantic. The idea of freeing slaves? It’s just too romantic!”
“To ask us to cooperate, just how well do you want us to play? We’re getting old, you know?”
They were responding similarly to how the dwarves had reacted at first. They didn’t believe Ghislaine would honor her promise.
Belinda and Gillian tried to step in as the elves continued to cross the line, but Ghislaine shook her head to stop them.
‘They’re probably from a different race and have suffered a lot, so I need to understand. I am not a racist. How considerate I am.’
Having held back, Ghislaine continued sweetly.
“Whether you believe it or not doesn’t matter. That’s the reward I’ll give you. You can just see for yourselves when the time comes.”
“Yes, yes, understood. Please handle that later. Now, appoint a new representative. I’m off.”
Without further ado, Ascon turned away, showing that he didn’t even want to continue the conversation.
‘This brat…?’
Ghislaine gritted her teeth with a forced smile once again. Just like with the dwarves, she needed to secure some cooperation from the elves.
“You’re the representative. It’s also a matter of respecting elven culture.”
“Now, this is ridiculous; you really don’t get it. I’m not doing it, so don’t count on it. And don’t respect me.”
Ascon said that and then plopped himself down on the floor.
Belinda and Gillian’s gazes turned sharp. As the atmosphere became tense, everyone around began to feel nervous.
Of course, the elves watched the scene and chuckled.
“What? Want to hit us? What do you think our worth is that you can just treat us however you want?”
“Do you think we’ve never been hit before?”
“Ugh, I’m so tired of this power struggle every time we arrive at a new place. Can’t we just have fun?”
Amidst this atmosphere, Ghislaine looked down at Ascon, still lying down.
“Get up and lead the elves. First, unpack your things at the lodging and wait.”
“I don’t want to. It’s annoying. Or I’ll just go to prison. That would be easier for everyone. I’ll be fine getting released after you die.”
Ascon answered while still lying down, grinning. Ghislaine forced a smile back.
“Could you just get up? I’m not fond of imposing my will through force. I’m not a racist, I’m a nonviolent pacifist.”
“Hah, that’s really harsh for an older person. Is there no regard for elders here? Though I must admit, I like that a new master has such principles. First step passed?”
“Yeah, I can be nice.”
Ascon slowly got up and looked at Ghislaine. Despite not being pleased, he made a face that said “what can you do about it.”
“I’m not going to be a representative, you know? It’s annoying, so pick someone else.”
“Can’t we just get along nicely? I’m truly a pacifist, yet no one seems to understand that.”
Gradually, a deadly aura began to emanate from Ghislaine’s smiling face.
