The Possessor Mistook the Genre for 20 Years

16 – The Elf’s Revenge (1)

Smack-!

The elf struck down with all his might the stone he held in his hand.

Thud-!

The elf kicked with all his might.

The revenge of the elves, who had been unjustly captured as slaves, was quite brutal.

After all, weren’t they the elves who already hated humans?

It seemed as if they were pouring out all the emotions they had accumulated inside until now.

But that didn’t last long either.

Gidrick, who was experiencing their anger with his whole body, had long since stopped breathing.

Franz spoke to Hera.

“So, in the end, that token of trust is real, right?”

“Yes. Only the elves can know, but this is definitely my brother’s.”

Hera’s hand, holding the necklace, tightened.

Her expression was colder than ever.

Franz could only feel pity for her.

She had been driven to this point after being betrayed by her family and closest friend.

Anyway, they couldn’t stay in the past forever, so it was time to decide on the future direction.

“Hera, what are you going to do now?”

“That’s true… First, I plan to return to the Great Forest and correct the wrongs. Now that we have evidence.”

Indeed, as Hera said, removing the root cause was the priority.

No matter how many elf slaves they rescued, if they were sold again on the other side, it would be like pouring water into a bottomless pit.

But.

‘Will it be that easy?’

Hera’s brother must have already seized power through agitation and fabrication.

On the other hand, Hera would be a great criminal who betrayed her kind, with many false charges against her.

Although they had decisive evidence and witnesses, it would only be effective if the other side was willing to listen.

No matter how many times they spoke to someone who covered their ears, it wouldn’t work.

‘This is assuming the worst-case scenario.’

Normally, the authority of the Great Forest would be restored with just evidence and witnesses.

But can we be sure it won’t go to the worst?

Then, the choice Hera, driven to the end, would make…

‘Is she the villainess who will lead the world to ruin?’

Franz opened his mouth, hoping the elves weren’t complete idiots.

“When are we leaving?”

“Right now is a bit much, so I was thinking at dawn.”

“Then let’s get some sleep.”

“Huh? Aren’t you going back?”

Hera tilted her head slightly to the side.

Strictly speaking, going back was the right thing to do.

The mission statement only mentioned rescuing the elf slaves.

But if Hera turned into a villain while he was gone, things would get even more complicated.

So, well, what choice did he have?

“I’ve helped this far, I’ll help to the end.”

He wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway, too anxious.

At Franz’s words, Hera gave the expected, old-fashioned response.

“Franz, I appreciate the sentiment, but I can’t owe you any more. The mission statement only goes this far, so you can go back.”

“It’s fine. I’m really just doing this out of goodwill. I’d feel uneasy leaving it like this.”

With those words, a brief silence fell between them.

Then Hera’s sigh broke the silence.

“You don’t seem to have any intention of backing down. Do as you wish.”

In the end, Hera gave up and turned to the elves, leaving Franz behind.

Muttering softly, almost inaudibly.

“If only all humans were like you….”

Franz shrugged and thought.

‘If everyone in the world were like me….’

It didn’t seem like a particularly good world to live in.

* * * * *

Hera found a suitable room in Gidrick’s mansion.

The other elves were with her.

She had told them it was fine to sleep separately, but they were still too anxious to be apart.

So, in one room, the long ears gathered together.

Then, suddenly, someone spoke.

A short, young elf stood there.

“Hera, why did you save us…?”

“Why, you ask…?”

“Well, recently Chief Harris said that you were colluding with humans… mmph?”

Before the words were finished, someone covered the young elf’s mouth.

“Haha, sorry. The kid is still young….”

“Yes, I suppose so….”

Hera showed a bitter smile.

The young elf had only spoken, but the other elves still had a wary look in their eyes.

No, it was better that it was spoken.

At least then, they could voice their grievances.

‘What went wrong?’

Was it leaving the Great Forest?

If not, was it saving the world?

The answer to the question that had plagued her since that day was still elusive.

Hera spoke to the elves.

“I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but it was all my brother, Harris’s doing.”

The elves blinked as if they didn’t understand.

Their ears moved up and down, expressing their confusion.

“First, let me show you this.”

Hera took a necklace out of her pocket.

It was a token of trust from Franz.

The elves’ ears began to twitch up and down vigorously when they saw it.

“Oh…, this is the chief’s….”

“It’s the item that the bald pig who kidnapped you had. You know what this means, right?”

“Then, did the chief really…?”

Hera slowly nodded and said.

“If the chief’s words are true, then I sold you. But if that were the case, there would be no reason for me to save you.”

“If you sell and save and sell again, you can make lots of money… mmph?”

“S-sorry….”

The one who covered the little elf’s mouth bowed politely and apologized instead.

Indeed, it seemed the little one was pure and innocent.

The problem was that Hera couldn’t laugh.

“Anyway, that’s how it is. I plan to go to the Great Forest tomorrow to set things right. I intend to bring down and judge the traitor who sold out our kin.”

At Hera’s words, the elves exchanged glances.

Then they all spoke at once.

“Is there anything we can help with?”

“Yes, we’ll help.”

“I’m pretty good at throwing stones…!”

It was the warmth of kinship felt for the first time in a year.

Hera felt a surge of emotion rising to her throat.

It seemed like tears would flow from her eyes at any moment.

But she soon suppressed everything and spoke.

“Stand by my side. Then I promise this will never happen again.”

It was time to repay the traitors who sold out their kin.

* * * * *

It was early dawn, before the sun had risen.

The sky was dyed a deep navy blue.

Franz’s eyes snapped open at the movement of mana he sensed around him.

‘Just as I thought.’

The source of the detected mana was Hera and the elves.

He had expected Hera to leave earlier, not wanting to cause trouble, and it was exactly as he had predicted.

As expected of an old elf, she was annoyingly meticulous.

Franz immediately got out of bed.

Then he went outside and headed towards the elves.

“Franz…?”

Hera, who spotted Franz, shook her head as if in exasperation.

Franz responded in kind, not to be outdone.

“No matter what, were you just going to leave me behind?”

“I already owe you a great debt.”

“It’s not a debt, okay? A favor should be repaid with a favor, why do you keep trying to turn it into a debt? Anyone would think I’m a loan shark.”

At that moment, a small elf approached Franz.

“Loan shark! Bad person! Human! Bad! Don’t bother Hera!”

“Franz, did you hear that? They called you a bad person.”

Hera said this and burst into laughter.

For a moment, Franz felt a surge of emotion.

It wasn’t the treatment he deserved after helping so much yesterday.

But he decided to laugh it off.

He didn’t know how old the kid was, after all.

More importantly, Hera’s expression was completely different from yesterday.

‘Yesterday, she looked like she was about to die.’

If her mood had improved, the chances of her destroying the world would decrease, and that was a good thing.

“Hey, are we just going to walk? The Great Forest is quite far from here, isn’t it?”

“Well, what else can we do? It’s not like we have a carriage.”

“What’s the point of having a wizard? This is the time to use it.”

Franz snapped his fingers lightly.

Then, a complex magic circle began to draw itself under their feet.

In fact, teleporting multiple people at once wasn’t an easy task.

The mana consumption was enormous, and the composition of the magic circle was much more complicated.

But for Franz, it was a very simple task.

“Alright, everyone gather around. We’re departing.”

Led by Hera, the elves hesitantly stepped onto the magic circle.

As soon as Franz snapped his fingers, everyone’s bodies disappeared from that spot.

The place where they reappeared was none other than right in front of the Great Forest.

The trees were so dense they seemed to touch the sky.

One tree in the distance actually did touch the sky.

‘This place is always amazing.’

Franz couldn’t help but marvel at the sight of the Great Forest, which he hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Huh? This, this is the Great Forest.”

“It’s real…?”

“Isn’t there something wrong with my eyes?”

The elves widened their eyes, each expressing their surprise.

Their ears were also moving up and down excitedly.

It was then.

“Who goes there!”

“Don’t you dare touch the elves!”

From afar, the figures of the elves began to appear.