TERNLF Vol. 2 Chapter 4 Part 2

“When you looked at Cheki just now, you were surprised for a moment, weren’t you? I’d like you to tell me why.”

“What are you talking about?”

“When you saw the mark on her neck, you were clearly startled, weren’t you?”

At my words, the king hesitated for a heartbeat before replying.

“…I know nothing of the sort. I was merely glaring at the hated elf, mortal enemy of the dwarf tribe.”

“That’s a lie.”

I rejected his answer without a second’s delay.

“A lie?”

“Yeah. Up until that moment, you were looking at Cheki the same way the other Dwarves were, with pure hatred in your eyes.”

“In that case, there is no lie.”

“But once you saw that mark on her neck, the way you looked at her changed.”

“…Even if you kill me, I cannot answer what I do not know. I have nothing to say to you.”

With that, the king closed his eyes and pressed his lips into a hard line.

“If you plan to just clam up, then I have another option.”

A secret he would rather die than speak, huh.

But if he did not make that reason clear here, this could turn into a war that dragged in not just humans, but Elves and Beastkin as well.

In that case, I had no choice but to threaten the one thing I had heard Dwarves feared losing more than their lives.

I slowly drew the shortsword’s blade away from King Grenga’s neck and slid it downward.

“I’ll shave off this magnificent beard of yours and parade you in front of everyone.”

I whispered it right into his ear.

“M-My beard!? You would shave my beard in front of the entire public!?”

The effect was immediate.

The instant my words reached him, King Grenga’s whole body began to shake violently.

Because of that trembling, the blade nicked a bit of his beard, which fluttered down to the floor in tufts.

“Hi-i-i-iiiaaaah!”

He must have seen the fallen hairs.

The sound that came out of King Grenga’s mouth was far too pathetic for the ruler of a nation.

I had heard Dwarves valued their beards more than their lives, but I had not realized it was this extreme.

I hastily pulled the shortsword a little away from his beard so I would not accidentally lop off any more.

“So? What’s it going to be? Talk, or lose the beard. Which do you prefer?”

“…Very well. I will tell you everything I know. But I cannot say it here.”

Whether he had given up or not, King Grenga answered in a voice so small only I could hear it.

“And what exactly is that supposed to mean?”

“If I were to speak here of something I am not yet certain of, it could plunge my people into chaos… I beg you.”

In response, I brought the blade back to his beard again to show my refusal.

If my guess was right, this was something the king of this country had to clarify here and now, in front of his gathered subjects.

“Then how about I say it for you?”

“…You cur. Just how much do you know?”

“Nothing. But from what I’ve heard during this trial and from the way you reacted just now, I started to wonder.”

The Bracelet of Oath, which was supposed to be usable only by Dwarves.

“You know that Cheki was able to use that bracelet, right?”

At those words, the courtroom stirred.

“In other words, Cheki is not just an ordinary Elf. There’s a good chance she carries both Dwarf and Elf blood.”

I raised my voice so it would echo throughout the courtroom.

The result was an immediate swell of murmurs among those who had been focused on us.

“That’s why a magic tool that should only work for Dwarves worked for her too.”

If Dwarven blood flowed through Cheki’s veins, that would explain why she could use a magic tool meant exclusively for Dwarves—

And it would also explain why information did not flow from Grassa back to Cheki.

“…”

“But that alone wouldn’t have made you react the way you did.”

Silence.

A few more hairs drifted down to the floor, but this time the king did not panic, simply waiting for my next words.

“So I thought it through. Maybe Cheki is… your secret child, Your Majesty.”

“!?”

Dwarves and Elves were bitter enemies.

If it became public knowledge that the Dwarven king had sired a child with an Elf, it would be a massive scandal.

So he had come to this courtroom—despite it being a place a king would never normally attend—to confirm whether Cheki was his daughter.

And when he saw the mark on her neck earlier, he was convinced that she was.

That was how I had pieced it together.

I thrust that “truth” at King Grenga with a smug grin.

…Or at least, that had been the plan.

“Ku… ku-ku-ku-ku… ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

Instead, the king’s reaction was nothing like what I had expected. He forgot all about the blade shaving his beard and burst into uproarious laughter.

“What?”

I let out a dumb sound without thinking, and the king declared firmly:

“Wrong. We Dwarves love one partner for our entire lives. Therefore, there are no such things as secret children!”

“Come on, even Dwarves are allowed to make one mistake in their life, aren’t they?”

“No! And the very idea of feeling desire for some elf—a race that can scarcely grow a decent beard—is perversion. Impossible!”

So for a Dwarf, the thought of being with an elf was that unthinkable.

Maybe the bad blood between the two races came less from politics and more from them simply repulsing each other on an aesthetic level.

“Then why were you so shocked when you saw Cheki’s scar?”

“I did not want to say this here without certainty, but if the alternative is being suspected of infidelity, then I will.”

Apparently, the thought of being seen as unfaithful offended him more than the idea of his beard being shaved.

I still clearly did not understand Dwarven psychology.

Even as I was thinking that, the king continued.

“I merely remembered something my father once told me when I saw that girl’s scar.”

“What did you remember?”

“My father once worked in the palace of a land called the Eldwa Autonomous District, where Dwarves and Elves lived together before it was lost.”

King Grenga III’s father would have been Grenga II, most likely.

So he had served in the palace where that infamous assassination had taken place.

“After that assassination, there was something my father confided only to me.”

Could it be that the king’s father had known the truth behind the assassination?

…Or had he been the culprit himself?

No, if that were the case, he would never say it here in public.

“What did he tell you?”

“He said it was the Devil’s child’s fault.”

“Devil” made me think of demons, but Cheki was probably a half-blood between a dwarf and an elf. I could not imagine her having demon blood.

Besides, the demons in this world were not literally devils or monsters.

Which only made me more curious about what “Devil’s child” meant.

“What do you mean by ‘Devil’s child’…?”

“My father told me that the two were killed because they protected their daughter—the Devil’s child.”

“And what does that have to do with Cheki… wait, don’t tell me.”

“I am not certain. But my father also said this: that the Devil’s child bore an ugly scar on the nape of her neck from an injury she suffered in her youth… that it was the Devil’s mark.”

“If what you’re saying is true, then Cheki, whose fate had been unknown, is actually—”

“Exactly. A child born in that district as the symbol of Elf-Dwarf friendship, and the last surviving memento of the Eldwa Autonomous District.”

I turned my gaze to Cheki, who had slipped free of the Dwarves’ hands and was looking up at us.

The fear and resignation that had filled her eyes earlier were gone.

“Then let’s ask the person herself whether it’s true.”

Feeling that her eyes were pleading to tell the truth, I used 【Unlock】 to release her restraints.

“Cheki, you should be able to speak freely now.”

“Eh… ah… a-aah, aah…”

Cheki tested her voice with a few fragmented sounds as she removed the collar.

“Thank you. You saved me.”

“If you’re going to thank someone, thank those two over there. We came all the way here partly because they asked us to.”

At my words, Cheki turned toward Nikka and Grassa in the witness seats and started to speak—

“We don’t need any thanks.”

“That’s right. If anything, we’re the ones who should apologize. Because we asked you to buy that extra thing for us, you were kidnapped in the first place…”

Cut off by their refusal, Cheki looked bewildered but still opened her mouth.

“No… I was kidnapped because I was careless. When I saw that bracelet, I got so excited thinking I’d found a real bargain that I let my guard down…”

“Hey, I bought mine just because it was pretty and cool at first glance too. We’re the same.”

“Eh? Cool… really? The red color might be pretty, but the workmanship is bad and it’s not exactly…”

Cheki seemed thrown off by Grassa’s sense of aesthetics.

It happened then.

Councilor Luchimada, who had been watching the situation from the edge of the courtroom until now, suddenly lunged at Cheki from behind, clutching a dagger.

“Cheki! Watch out, behind you!”

“Dodge!!”

“!”

From where they sat, Grassa and the others could see Luchimada’s movement clearly.

But Cheki herself had never imagined she might be attacked from behind in the middle of this situation. She turned in a panic, but she would not make it in time.

I hastily cast a spell to stop him.

“【Blessing Ice Bind】!”

“Silence! 【Blessing Hellfire】!”

“What!?”

My 【Blessing Freeze】 was instantly burned away by Luchimada’s fire spell.

I knew Dwarves could use fire-element magic to some degree in addition to earth-element spells.

But I had not expected anyone who could wield fire powerful enough to melt my 【Blessing Ice Bind】.

That said, my attempt to stop him had not been entirely wasted.

That brief moment I stole from him gave Cheki just enough time to respond to his attack.

“【Blessing Wind】!”

“Gwah!”

Cheki’s 【Blessing Wind】 blasted Luchimada off his feet, slamming him into the opposite wall.

“Half or not, she is an Elf. To pull off that much power with just 【Blessing Wind】…”

Looking down at the unmoving, unconscious Luchimada from the dais, I muttered to myself.

“But why did he attack Cheki in the first place? Do you know anything?”

“I-I do not! Why would he…?”

Even King Grenga could not hide his shock at Luchimada’s sudden rampage.

From his reaction, I could tell he was not lying.

“Someone! While he’s still unconscious, put a spell-sealing collar on him and restrain him!”

Cheki’s voice rang out over the chaotic courtroom.

The intensity of that voice, and the blazing hatred and fury in her eyes as she glared at Luchimada, sent a cold chill down my spine.

“Y-yes! Hey, someone, bring a spell-sealing collar!”

“Eh, but—”

“Just hurry!”

Overwhelmed by Cheki’s fury, the soldier who seemed to be an officer barked orders at his subordinates.

“Cheki. Do you know why Luchimada did something like this?”

I asked Cheki, who was still glaring at Luchimada.

Her expression softened around the eyes, then shifted into something pained and sorrowful.

“…Because I’m the Devil’s Child.”

Devil’s Child.

Cheki clearly called herself that.

“So that really means you… you’re that—”

“Yeah. I was born in the autonomous district where Dwarves and Elves lived together in peace. I’m the only daughter born to the Elf king and the Dwarf queen… Racheki Eldwa.”

“Racheki Eldwa. So that’s your real name.”

“That’s right. It’s the precious name Father and Mother gave me… though everyone only ever called me the Devil’s Child behind my back.”

There it was again: the Devil’s Child.

How had she ended up saddled with a title like that?

“Racheki, I heard about your power from my father.”

Clatter.

Ignoring the fact that the tip of the blade had shaved off part of his beard, King Grenga rose to his feet when he heard Cheki’s confession.

“That’s why I’ll ask you plainly. Who is that man?”

The one he pointed at as he spoke was Luchimada, who had just had a spell-sealing collar clamped around his neck.

Not understanding what he meant, I turned to the king.

“Hey. What do you mean, ‘who is he’?”

“Silence. Just listen.”

The strength in his voice did not match the man who had been quivering in fear of a shave moments earlier. I shut my mouth.

“…Is it really okay to say this here?”

“It is. If you are the Devil’s Child and that power of yours is real, then I must act as king.”

“…All right. Then I’ll say it.”

Cheki shifted her gaze from the king back to Luchimada and spoke words I had never even considered.

“The one standing there, Luchimada… he isn’t a dwarf.”

“Hmm. So he’s actually an elf in disguise—”

An elf in disguise?

It was true that, besides 【Blessing Wind】, Elves were also adept at illusion magic.

People said that once you wandered into the Elven Forest, you would never find your way out again, and that you could never reach the ef country without a guide. The reason was that their lands were covered in illusion spells.

If that was true, then it was not impossible that he had used that power to disguise himself as a dwarf.

But if so, that would mean Cheki could see through elf illusions.

“No. He’s not an elf.”

Cheki’s single denial shattered that line of thought.

“Then what is he?”

“He’s a demon.”

“…What?”

“I’m telling you that guy Luchimada is a demon!!”

For a brief instant, I thought I saw something dangerous flash in Cheki’s eyes.

“Councilor Luchimada is a demon…?”

“Do not be absurd.”

“On what grounds?”

The courtroom buzzed at Cheki’s accusation, but the king’s voice cut through the noise.

“Racheki. Do you have any proof that Luchimada is a demon?”

“Your Majesty, you know what my power is, right?”

“I have heard of it, yes, but your power is not something visible to the eye. And if you are going to claim that one of our next-king candidates is a demon in disguise, you will need proof that anyone can see.”

At King Grenga’s words, Cheki gave a small nod and pointed at Luchimada.

“If you take off the magic tool around his ankle, you’ll understand.”

“…Someone, check it.”

On the king’s order, one of the Dwarves rushed over and lifted the hem of Luchimada’s trousers.

Around his ankle was a black, ring-shaped accessory.

“There should be a button on the side. If you press that, it should come off.”

Cheki called out instructions to the Dwarf who was fumbling with it, unsure what to do.

And then—

“It came off!!”

With a small click, the accessory detached from Luchimada’s ankle.

A second later, the Dwarf who had removed the magic tool screamed and leapt several meters backward.

“Uwaah!?”

Because, under the gaze of the entire courtroom, Luchimada’s body changed from the stumpy, stocky build of a Dwarf into a towering giant of a man, nearly twice the size.

At the same time, the beard that had made him look so very Dwarf-like fell off and hit the floor, and for a heartbeat the courtroom fell utterly silent. Then, screams louder than before shook the chamber.

“Nooo! The beard, the beard…!”

“How horrible…”

“Terrifying!”

Apparently, for the Dwarves, the shock of seeing the beard ripped away outweighed even the revelation of Luchimada’s true form.

“Silence!!”

King Grenga’s roar crashed down on them.

“Seeing Luchimada’s true form, it is clear he is not one of us. And it is just as clear that your power is as I was told.”

His voice rang out over the courtroom, which still hummed with leftover agitation.

“So now I will ask you once more. About the day your parents were killed.”

“…”

“It had something to do with you being called the Devil’s Child, did it not?”

“…Yeah. That day, I used my power to find demons who had snuck in just like this…”

Cheki slowly swept her gaze over the spectators, then looked up at the king again.

“There are four demons sitting in the gallery too.”

Her shocking statement made both me and King Grenga widen our eyes.

“What. Are they wearing magic tools like Luchimada’s?”

“Check their wrists or ankles.”

Following Cheki’s words, King Grenga immediately issued orders to his soldiers.

After a short time, just as she had said, four demons were dragged out, all of them stripped of their beards.

“So there really were more… Just what is Cheki’s power?”

Staring at the four figures tied up beside Luchimada, I asked the king.

“I was told it is the power to see into people’s hearts.”

“Mind-reading, you mean?”

“Yes. Though it seems she cannot see that deeply into them. Racheki, explain it to them yourself.”

With a weary sigh, the king sank back into his chair and closed his eyes, leaving the rest to Cheki.

She hesitated for a moment, then lifted her face as if steeling herself and began to speak.

“…All right. I’ll tell you what happened because I used that power too carelessly. I’ll tell you too, Toa.”

What she went on to describe was this:

Even after the Eldwa Autonomous District had found its feet and exchange between the two races had begun to flourish, there were still plenty of people who did not look kindly upon the situation.

They carried out all sorts of obstruction, trying to overturn the status quo.

Sometimes they even hid their fangs and tried to slip into the confidence of Cheki’s parents, who governed the district.

However, by their side from birth stood Cheki, gifted with the power to read people’s hearts.

No matter how much they dressed up their words and behavior on the surface, she could immediately see it as false.

And because she had been a child, every time she found someone holding even a little bit of ill will toward her or her family, she would point it out.

From Cheki’s point of view, she had simply been doing the right thing.

But she had gone too far.

“Now that I think about it, I understand. No one can feel one hundred percent goodwill or trust toward another person. I didn’t have to report everything I saw.”

But Cheki had reported all of it.

As a result, the palace of the Eldwa Autonomous District had steadily purged those people, and the ones driven out saw their negative feelings only grow stronger.

“Eventually, word about me spread from their mouths everywhere… and people started calling me the Devil’s Child.”

“Ku-ku-ku…”

A quiet laugh rippled through the courtroom, which had fallen silent to hear Cheki’s story.

“Back then, we should have scoured the earth and killed you, no matter where you hid.”

The voice belonged to Luchimada, who Cheki’s magic should have knocked unconscious.

“So you’re awake.”

At the king’s words, he smiled fearlessly.

“I never lost consciousness in the first place.”

“What!?”

“So, Your Majesty… I saw you realize the Elf’s true identity and flail in pathetic panic, and I heard the cries of those stupid Dwarves as they howled.”

Luchimada spoke as he rose to his feet.

He should have been tied in several layers of rope and bound with a spell-sealing magic tool, but at some point his restraints had come undone.

“You, when did you—”

“Seize him!”

A Dwarven soldier flung himself at Luchimada, but the man simply swept his arm and sent the soldier flying.

“Surely you know that neither you nor your rabble could ever restrain me—a demon.”

A grin stretched across his face, exposing sharp fangs.

His eyes, thrown wide open, had turned the color of fresh blood.

“No way… you’re—”

The moment I saw those eyes and those fangs, I realized what he was.

Luchimada was a Vampire.

Vampires were among the most notoriously powerful demons. That much was true in my previous life and this one.

“But even a Vampire shouldn’t have the power to break Dwarven restraints…”

“Perhaps you’ll understand if I tell you I belong to the Progenitor Lineage.”

—A chill raced over my skin.

The instant those words reached my ears, it felt as though every hair on my body stood on end.

“I’ve never heard of anyone from the Progenitor Lineage serving under the Demon King.”

The Progenitor Lineage referred to a class of top-tier Vampires among the demonkin.

They possessed overwhelming magical power and physical strength, had virtually no real weaknesses, and would eventually resurrect even if slain—immortal kings of the night.

I had never heard of such beings bending the knee to the Demon King and serving as his subordinates.