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| ← Ch.253 | Ch.255 → |
As soon as the elder finished, Min Sung looked at the elders and nodded.
He then threw his Gungnir S back into his item window.
"We'll just wait and see, but you only have until the end of the day."
Min Sung looked down at the elder who had his leg stabbed and walked off.
In the silence, all dark elves watched as Min Sung disappeared into the distance.
***
"I apologize, Sir."
Ho Sung Lee laid in a dark elf bed and apologized with a pained look on his face.
He was unable to look Min Sung in the eyes, so he looked to the ground.
"Ho Sung."
"Yes, Sir, " Ho Sung Lee answered while doing his best to loosen up his grimacing face.
"Why are you acting like that?" Min Sung asked.
"... What do you mean?" Ho Sung Lee asked while glancing up at Min Sung in surprise.
"Why do you look so ashamed?"
"Well..."
"You did a good job and a bad job."
"..."
Ho Sung Lee looked at Min Sung and gulped.
"What you did well was the fact that you suspected that the dark elves could try to steal the ancient document away and acted upon your rationale."
Ho Sung Lee waited for Min Sung to continue.
"But the problem is that you didn't report to me about it and made your own decisions to act. Why did you do that?"
"Because you were in the middle of eating, and I wasn't entirely sure either."
"Report to me from now on. This is Beatrice, not earth. This isn't a place where I can protect you. Don't let your pride put your life at risk."
Ho Sung Lee dropped his head and nodded.
"... Yes, Sir."
"I'm still impressed. The fact that you found the elder that tried to take the ancient document away and the fact that you brought yourself time until I got there."
Ho Sung Lee smiled bitterly.
"I don't deserve your praise, and I'm embarrassed that all I'm doing is learning and gaining experience without showing any output. It's not like I'm still in school. I'll make sure to improve even more from now on, " said Ho Sung Lee with a sigh.
"It took me 100 years."
"... ?"
"I'm telling you not to overestimate yourself. Don't overdo it and focus on your recovery."
Min Sung then left the room where Ho Sung Lee was resting.
Ho Sung Lee watched him leave and let out a laugh.
"I really don't know what to expect from that guy."
He sounded cold, but his words were warm.
"100 years..."
Ho Sung Lee stared into space and blinked in thought.
He then laughed.
"How can anyone survive in a place like that for 100 years?"
Ho Sung Lee looked toward where Min Sung left and knitted his brows.
"That doesn't comfort me one bit."
That was what he said, but Ho Sung Lee couldn't wipe the smile off his face.
"Next time... !"
Ho Sung Lee clenched his fist and dreamt of becoming the perfect supporter.
***
The elders of the dark elves formally began their investigation.
They checked Ho Sung Lee's condition first. They asked exactly what happened and then took a closer look at the basement where the ancient document was stored.
They finished their investigation, but since CCTVs didn't exist in this world, it was difficult to find out the truth.
And the elder who also used to be Ellen's mentor named Tude stressed that he was innocent.
As a result, the other elders had a headache.
The powerful outsider and the elder, Tude, were saying completely different things, and there were no clear evidence to prove who was right.
Tude had no intention of backing down from his stance that he was innocent and that the outsider was the one framing him for the crime.
The elders left Tude in the room and conducted a meeting, but they couldn't come to a joint decision.
They didn't have much time left in the day.
For that reason, the elders were in a rush, but time continued to pass by.
That was when they got to the point.
Since they couldn't secure any evidence, they couldn't kick out Tude, who was claiming his innocence.
But the other side was claiming that for the sake of history, it was time for him to step back.
"Are you saying we should make Tude stand trial when he could actually be innocent?"
"As long as we stay within the limits..."
"That would mean he would be punished when he didn't commit a crime and accepting the outsider's stance. That man will probably ask for Tude's life."
"What else can we do? Should we dispatch our troops and face off against the outsider then?"
"I'm just saying we should continue this discussion..."
"We don't have time for that. How much time do we have today? If we keep at this and don't come to a decision..."
"Then you should step up, Elder."
"Pardon me?"
"If one person's sacrifice will save the rest of the dark elves, you should just say you did it."
"But I didn't even..."
"Look here. If you don't feel it's fair for you to confess to something you didn't do, why are you pushing Tude to sacrifice his life? What's the difference?"
During their intense discussion, someone appeared behind the curtains.
It was the dark elves' ruler, Ellen.
She still looked pale from her recovery, but she was a lot better than before.
"E-Ellen!"
The elders sprung up.
She smiled and opened her mouth.
"That's enough. I'll take responsibility for what happened."
In response, the elders froze up and soon caught onto why Ellen said that.
They immediately began to dissuade Ellen.
"Please don't."
"You mustn't!"
"I'll take the blame."
"No, I'll take the punishment. Why would you take responsibility? That's ridiculous."
As soon as Ellen raised her hand, the noisy meeting room fell silent.
Once it was completely quiet, Ellen looked at the elders and opened her mouth.
" Someone needs to take responsibility for this. Since I couldn't keep our promise, we're all responsible for this, but all of our responsibility is also mine."
Ellen spoke with an unwavering gaze.
That meant she was determined.
Although the elders knew that she wasn't going to change her mind, they continued to protest.
"How would the dark elves continue after losing their leader?"
"You must change your mind!"
"We can't accept this!"
"We won't be able to give you any kind of punishment!"
The elders were persistent, but Ellen didn't change her mind.
"Someone else will take over in my place. You must accept this decision for the sake of the dark elves."
***
"... What? Ellen said that?"
Tude opened his eyes wide open. He stared at the elders, who explained what happened at the meeting, and dropped his jaw.
To Tude, Ellen was the dark elves' ruler as well as someone he had mentored ever since she was little.
He couldn't let such a ruler take the fall for what he did.
On top of that, Tude knew just how stubborn Ellen was better than anybody.
He couldn't let this happen.
Tude stared at the elders with twinkling eyes.
"Where's Ellen?"
As soon as he was told Ellen was looking for the outsider he pushed them aside and ran toward the outsider's dwelling.
***
"It's probably chaos out there, " Ho Sung Lee said with a sad smile.
Min Sung, who was drinking coffee with milk while looking out the window, watched the dark elves gather and then looked up at the sky.
The sun was setting.
After finishing his milk, Min Sung placed the milk bag by the window sill and began walking.
Ho Sung Lee also glanced out the window and saw that the dark elves were gathering.
He realized something big was going to happen and immediately followed Min Sung out.
As soon as Min Sung got out of his dwelling, he saw Ellen surrounded by other dark elves.
She was walking confidently with her shoulders held wide.
She stood right in front of Min Sung.
Ellen was so beautiful that most people felt suffocated when standing so close, but Min Sung stared at her with emotionless eyes.
"We were unable to find any evidence against the elder, Tude."
"So?"
"It's my fault that we weren't able to keep our promise, so I will take responsibility."
Min Sung could tell Ellen wasn't lying.
Her eyes made it clear that she wasn't lying.
Ellen continued,
"According to our law, the ruler can't stand on trial. So the only way is for you to..."
In the middle of Ellen's sentence.
"Ellen! Ellen!"
She heard a familiar voice from afar.
Min Sung and Ellen looked toward the noise.
The man responsible, Tude, was running their way.
The elder fell right before Ellen and Min Sung and at the same time, the elder paid his respects to Ellen and confessed the truth.
"I tried to take the ancient document and give it to the dwarves."
In response, all the dark elves who were watching flinched in surprise.
But they couldn't tell if Tude was saying this because it was true or if he was just trying to protect Ellen.
"I felt like it was unfair to just let an outsider take the ancient document. If I explain any further, it'll just ruin the dark elves' honor. I'm the one responsible for all of this, so please punish me according to the dark elves' law!"
Tude shouted his confession with his head dropped low.
| ← Ch. 253 | Ch. 255 → |