He grabs the hand that was trying to catch Lana. Brown skin.

　It was a dark elf, after all.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this in the future.

　It's a very difficult position to be the sister of an elf princess.

''Are you okay?''

　I ask Lana, who is stunned.

　Lana, who has regained her composure with a huff at my words, nods her head in a muddled manner.

''Ha, yes. Thanks ...... thank you.''

Yeah. You look like an easy target, so you should work out.

　I tell Lana that, and the dark elf man pierces me with his free hand. It stabs me in the chest.

　There is a disgusting sound of bones breaking.

　A sobbing voice escapes the dark elf.

'Gua......!　Why ......!

　It was the man's hand that was broken.

　He may have been an opening, but there's no way he'd let his guard down at the level of conversation.

''It's quite vicious of you to come to kidnap someone at the negotiation stage.

''Whoa, I'm on my own ...... and I have nothing to do with the dark elf race!

Don't make excuses to me. You'll go to Sille.

"...... you ...... et al?

　The man is upset.

　He looks like a pigeon that's been hit by a peashooter.

"You're not the only one.

No, no, it's just me!　No one should come to ......!

There are four of you. Five if you count you.

"......--?　Mi, the snitch is ......!

　The first thing the dismayed man suspected was his mate.

　Is it better to answer that there is a snitch in these things? There was a technique in the guild's book to create suspicion among friends and make them lighten their mouths.

　Anyway, we laughed suspiciously.

You know.

　I replied.

　The man's face turned blue.

　Okay. He's getting better at acting.

　I can see the results of training my facial skills on a regular basis. It was said a lot in the Stillbeats Kingdom, but this should make things a little better.

''d*mn it ...... how could those guys betray me ...... how could they betray me ......!　There's no way I'm betraying you: ......!

　The man says to himself. Apparently, his trust is shaken.

　Well, I'm not betraying anyone.

　It's just that the suspicious signs of detection magic were chasing them because of the unseen magic moving around, and they're only catching all four of the others first.

　So it was a mistake to disperse them in order to increase the success rate of Lana's kidnapping.

'In case you're wondering. If you confess, your crime will be lessened, and I promise you your identity here if you give me information about the dark elves.

　I say, and the dark elf man is confused.

　He seems to be confused. Loyalty and personal security.

--This is interesting.

　I've never had a chance to do any of these things before, the art of negotiation or diplomacy, but there's something fun about fighting without hitting each other.

　Negotiation itself has its place in battle, but it was all about pauses and eye contact, not words.

''Oh, um. Jied-san ......, well, for the elves .......

　Lana gives me a worried look.

　I can kind of guess the rest of the story. I guess it's about what I said about 'lessening of sins' and 'guarantee of identity'. I don't know if such things exist in elves.

　I guess there is no such thing from Lana's attitude.

　Maybe it was never even spoken of in the first place.

　But.

I'll be fine.

......?

　I smile at Lana.

　He is guilty of many things. Entering the elven territory without permission, trying to capture Lana, and attempting to pierce me.

　I didn't say a word about 'what sin'.

　Furthermore, which status is "our status" also?

　And I never said that in the first place. Nor did I say anything about .......

　All I did was fight every day, but I didn't know that a single word could make my head spin.

　It's really interesting. I'll give it a try when I get a chance in the future.

'Oh, I'd like you to vouch for my family's identity too: ......!

...... is fine.

　Apparently, he's willing to talk.

　Well, Sille won't treat the ones who are on his side poorly either.

　For now, I took him under Sille's wing.





◆





　A corner of the elven village.

　Two large trees team up at the top to keep one small tree away from the sun.

　Down the cracked trunk of that small tree is the elven dungeon.

'The hearing is over.

　Sille came out from inside.

　She seemed to have finished hearing from the dark elf I had captured.

'Yeah, how did it go?'

'Thanks to Mr. Jide for washing up and spitting me out. They are dark elves of the Daptist sect, and they have come to capture Lana under orders.

　It was obvious, but is the aim a bargaining advantage?

　It's an easy idea, but it's also so straightforwardly effective.

'What are you going to do about it?'

...... Actually, the dark elf side seems to be quite weak, too.

Yeah, I guess so.

Did you know about this?

'There were too many demons in the land of the dark elves. On top of that, the location of the meeting is poor. Probably the dwelling place is pretty rough. It's good that they left the area around the divine tree, but I guess it's just that they couldn't deal with the demons.

'...... That's great. That's right.

　Sille nodded without a minute's objection to my prediction.

It seems that he can no longer pretend to be in a state of mind, and has sent his handlers towards the elves like this. It's not a good time for the elves to be weak-kneed.

Are we going to war?

............ Yes.

　Sille nodded as if making a painful decision.

　It's also true that there is no progress in questioning Dapto at this point. Then it's probably a decision that he wants to take the initiative rather than be on the back foot.

　It's not bad, but there will definitely be casualties.

　It must have been an option that Sille didn't really want to take.

　However, an elf arrived in a hurry to overturn Sille's decision.

''The dark elf, Mr. Opti, has arrived. To tell you that the troops capturing Lana-sama are in motion!''

　It's a little late for that.

　I guess I'm here to catch Dapto in the act and report back.

　Should we take this as a favor?

　Sille says.

'Where is Mr. Opti now?

We've got them standing by at the depot. We've only got a few guards.

　Would you like us to use you as a hostage?　He asked.

　But Sille doesn't give any instructions, but decides to go out on his own.

...... I'll go.





You're not going to be able to do that.





I'm sorry. Is Lady Lana safe?

　That was Opti's opening.

　For now, Sille shows a calm response.

''Yes, Jide-san has already captured five dark elves.

'I see. I'm glad to hear that. ...... I'm really sorry about this. By the time I got a hold of Dapto's movement, it had already moved, so I was late in dealing with it.

　We had to expect this to happen, he added.

　Even as a moderate Opti, he would want to avoid starting a war.

　But as long as they have come to the Elf's territory and actual harm has gone out, it's just as well that a problem has arisen.

　As long as the other party has the intention to apologize, the blame will be placed on them here.

''What do you intend to do about this matter?　We elves had hoped to attempt to settle the matter by discussion.

'I am very sorry to ask, but I have told Dapto and set up a meeting to discuss the matter. Could you please talk to me there: ......!

You want me to go out?　In this case?

...... That's the best I and Aethos could ask Dapto to do. Also, he asked Master Jide to leave his seat this time.

　That's a lot to ask for.

　Even though the fault this time is on the dark elf's side.

''You want me to go all the way out to a place where a trap might be laid?''

　Sille, as expected, says coldly.

　More to the point, this should be a scene where he should come to apologize with Dapto's head.

　Is it because Dapto is the one who is still holding his hands together, or is it because it is Dapto who is organizing the extremists? He said that the dark elves are so weak now that if they don't join hands, they will fly away in a single breath.

We've got our hands full with this one, too: ......

　Opti also says in low head.

　It's not a good idea for Sille to go here.

　He's clearly been licked.

　Even if it's not a trap, I don't see how the story can go on as long as the dark elves can't keep Dapto in check.

　But the choice here is Sille's. It's not for me to decide.

　And from Sille's thoughts--.

''--I understand. Let's go.

　We take the choice to settle the matter with as little sacrifice and as much discussion as possible.

　Opti bowed her head to the limit in astonishment.

'...... sorry!　Thank you!

But on one condition.

"Conditions?

'I'll take Mr. Zied with me. I won't have a problem with any traps if he's here.

　You're getting a lot of credit for it.

　No, I appreciate it, but I don't want you to trust me with your hands.

　On that point, Opti agrees with me.

'In case Dapto has set a trap in the unlikely event that he does, we'll do everything we can too, but ...... right. Master Zied would be better off if he were here.

And this is the last time we will meet.

......--

　An ultimatum.

　This means that Opti and Aetos must compromise with Dapto as much as possible.

　The only way to go from here on out is to make peace or start a war.

Yes, sir.

　Opti nodded with considerable determination.

　Then Sille makes a lot of preparations. He talks to the elves in his entourage about what would happen if he couldn't return provisionally and what would happen if Sille was gone.

　Well, it's a decision that Sille has to make with a great deal of determination.

　And then we headed back to the dark elf's territory.