Licht's POV
My blood boiled at the sight of how my people were kept in the cellars. They were barely given anything to eat which was understandable at the sight of their malnourished bodies. The rags that acted as their clothing barely covered their private parts and some of them even had bruises all over their bodies.
They were those people who tried to resist and suffered severe punishment for trying to rebel. Now that I think about it, the slave traders above deserved a worse fate than death. Death is too easy of a punishment for their heinous acts they committed.
With all the negative emotions swirling in my mind, I didn't even realize when I begin leaking my killing intent out of anger and that it was affecting the others around me. I could feel a slight stinging sensation in my right palm as if my body was resonating with something but due to my emotions I ignored it.
It was until Rey patted me on the head, reminding me that he intends to keep his promise of rescuing everyone caged up here and taking them back to their respective homes, I finally calmed. Our leader definitely had sharp senses, quickly realizing the source of the intense pressure and acting on it.
From the corner of my eye, I could see sweat forming on both his and Durden's forehead while Jasmine was having a tough time keeping her balance. This all was too overwhelming for her because unlike Reynolds and Durden who are well-experienced, she has no experience of such situations.
None of them questioned me on this and we moved on to breaking the locks of the cellars to get the captives out of their imprisonment.
I poured out clothing for the slaves from my Dimension Ring. This was another of Reynolds' sound thinking which made us all gather supplies especially clothing as according to him the slaves won't be kept in the best condition unless they are being taken to the markets. His hunch was right.
The elf boy we brought with ourselves ran up to his mother and father even before we could free them from the cages. They were having their teary-eyed reunion. But didn't the boy tell he had a sis--
"What are you going to do with us?" The question diverted my attention from my thoughts, bringing it back to the present predicament that arose.
"Will you be handing us to other humans for money? You humans always--"
Before the elven woman could complete her accusation, Rey politely cut her off.
"No we don't plan to do anything like that. We will help you all get back to your homes. I give you my word on that." He spoke raising his hands.
The feeling of hostility between elves and humans was clear as a day right in front of my eyes. The effects of the previous war which happened decades ago still persisted in the hearts of both the species. Neither could let go of their grudge on one another.
And those who were trying to correct their past mistakes and turn over a new leaf like Reynolds and the Twin Horns were very few in number. Common people like them are hardly significant in cases such as this. Even the boy tried but failed to persuade his parents that the humans that rescued them are not bad humans.
From my past life I had learned that unless the king, or the ruling party of each nation takes the first step, bringing a change between the relation of the two species is going to be a tough job. Whenever the ruler takes the first step, his people follow him on the same step.
And together they go for the next step. With that thought in mind, I had to take the first step here.
"If you all can't trust humans then would you care to listen if it's one of your own race?" With a tone of authority in my sentence, I spoke up making myself known. Everyone had their eyes on me....good!
"What nonsense are you--"
"I simply asked a question whether you all are willing to pay a heed if it is someone from your own race..."
I pulled off the mask from my face along with the illusion earring artifact which worked a great deal in hiding my silver colored hair and my elven ears which distinguished the difference between elves and humans. My eyes returned to their normal sky blue shade as I gazed at the jaw dropped elves.
"......"
I could sense the shock on both parties. The Twin Horns never expected an elf to be traveling and adventuring around with them....better world elf child who is barely 10. Neither had the elves expected an elven child traveling, eating the same food, sharing the same roof with humans.
Even the elf boy couldn't believe his eyes. Someone just two years older than him fought bad humans like it was a piece of cake. And is even good with swords too. His eyes now shone with admiration for his rescuer and benefactor.
"Let me reintroduce myself for everyone's sake.." It was up to me to ease the tension in the room and get rid of the awkward silence. "My name is Licht and the reason I am out of Elenoir in this disguise is simple.....I wanted to become an Adventurer..."
I choose to reveal half of my identity. Not like I did not trust the people present here but revealing the fact I am also the Prince of Elenoir would give rise to several complications and I would rather avoid them as much as I can.
"T-that's all?" It was Reynolds who responded first, being quick to recover from the shock of the sudden reveal of his fellow party member.
The man had pulled me aside along with the other two members of Twin Horns, leaving the slaves from both species to their own devices.
"You were just out of the safety of your house for something as life-threatening as killing mana beasts in the Beast Glades?? Not for espionage or stuff like that?" We decided to keep our voices low, audible enough for us to converse in.
What kind of thoughts revolve around this man's head? Sometimes I feel like he is a more idiotic version of my grandfather. The moments when Grandpa Virion decides not to use the thinking part of the brain...
"Of course not! Can't a child have dreams and ambitions?!" I groaned in response, earning a failed attempt of a suppressed chuckle from Durden. "Why would I be into complicated stuff like that?! And even if I was, would I be revealing my identity like this?!"
"Then why did you bother with a mask to hide your face and take a disguise like that?"
"Because elves and dwarves are still not allowed to become adventurers..." Jasmine reminded them, by pinching Rey on the arm.
"Oh.." Reynolds made an 'o' expression in realization. "I see. Why didn't I think of this sooner?"
"Because you've been drinking too much with Adam..." I remarked.
"Or spending too much quality time with Alice..." Durden just added more spice into it.
"Okay okay...I get it.." Just the name of Alice was enough to reduce Rey into a flustered mess of a man as he tried to change the topic, sending a series of glares at the Earth Conjurer who was having fun with his friend's reactions.
"Which brings to my question.....am I still a member of Twin Horns?" I asked with a gulp. "Even with my identity as an elf?"
A time like this would have come if not now then definitely in the future where I would have had to reveal my identity as an elf. The same situation would have arisen then. The Twin Horns is a party of humans and I was unsure whether they would want to keep an elf as their party member.
I decided to gamble on it once I took note of Reynolds determination and his generosity that wished to help even the elf slaves, something that wasn't even a part of the request the party took on. Moreover the party members needlessly agreed with him without any hesitation. They were all ready to follow Reynolds even to depths of hell if needed. That itself spoke volumes about Reynolds, both as a leader and an individual.
The only question that lingered in my mind is whether they are still going to accept me as one of them or not.
"What are you saying? You still are a member of Twin Horns and always will be." Rey spoke as if it were something obvious. He ruffled my hair again.
"You have yet to help me out with my wind affinity..." The usually quiet Jasmine made herself known, stomping on my foot. "You promised..."
"We need someone to bully Adam and also keep him in line." Everyone's guardian angel Durden gave a reassuring thumbs up.
"T-thank you all..." Keeping the tears of joy and happiness contained was becoming a difficult task. Sniffling to prevent balling my eyes out, I pointed to the slaves. "We should deal with them for now. We can return to this conversation later.."
"Ah yeah..." Reynolds spared a glance at the elven slaves, returning to the matter at hand. "I assume that you would want to take the elves back to the kingdom yourself. Also the fact that you know the area around the Elshire Forest well enough.."
"Yes I do." I nodded. "You all take the human slaves back to the Guild to their families."
"Yeah and you take care of yourself as well kid.."
"Will you come back?" Jasmine inquired. I have no idea why Reynolds is making a lewd facial expression out of the blue, that is making me want to punch him but I will let that slide for now.
"Of course I will be back. It will take a week or two but let's meet up again in Valden City Guild Hall.." I assured them before walking towards the elven slaves.
Stopping midway I turned to face the human slaves. "May I please request you all to keep quiet on today's matter? I hope I am not asking for much.."
"No no of course not.." One of them spoke. He looked like a boy in his early teens. 12 or 13 to be exact. "We are thankful to you for rescuing us and we would never do anything that will bring harm to you people. It is the least we can do.."
The boy's eyes held innocence and he was serious about the statement he made. He gave off the vibe of someone who is true to his words and never backs down from his promises.
"I definitely appreciate that.."
With that I walked up to the still shocked elven people who were still having a hard time believing what they saw. Someone of their species easily mixing with humans and not even bothered by the pride as an elf. Not only that but seeing that there are also humans that are willing to accept an elf in their party ranks and treat said elf as one of them.
Not everyone held grudges from the war decades ago, especially the newer generation that are ignorant about the war. They are the ones who will be bringing a change to the existing norms of the society and not be ruled by prejudice and discrimination.
Even if it is a small step, it is a step towards the future.
"Shall we get going?" I asked. My question snapped them out of their stupor and they nodded one-by-one.
"B-but my daughter!?" The mother of the elven boy whom we rescued prior to raiding this place suddenly spoke up. The boy did mention his sister on the way here.
"She has been bought away by someone already. We don't know who it was or what they looked like.." The father admitted. He added the fact that the buyer wore a dark grey cloak over them, keeping their identity a secret.
"How does your daughter look like?" I inquired. "I will try and use everything in my power to keep looking out for her and make sure she returns back to her family.."
The father went on to describe the appearance of her daughter while consoling his wife at the same time.
Even though I made such a claim, looking for one person in the entire kingdom of Sapin is going to be like searching for a needle in a haystack. It will take a good amount of time to look out for her while also keeping up with other things. Whoever has bought her, must have done so for some objective of theirs and whatever it is, it ain't anything pleasant.
If I had to narrow down my thoughts, the most plausible reason that comes to my mind is to have a half-elf child who will have the mana sensory and mana manipulation capabilities like that of an elf which is superior when compared with humans and dwarves. Elves are naturally adept to utilize mana once they awaken and can be groomed with proper training.
Who wouldn't want to make a proper use of resources such as these?
And even if not for that purpose, if taken a look from human perspective elven women are in their own league.
Still a promise is a promise which I intend to keep no matter how long it takes for me to fulfill it. It will give hope to the parents who would be waiting for their child to return back home. Crushing on that hope is the last thing I will be doing.
"For now let's return to Elenoir, our home.."
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