Book 1: Chapter 3-1: Two Promises
Only five minutes had passed and all the soldiers except the Captain had been killed. The Captain was now rolling around on the floor holding his head. He was completely blinded. He would never see the light of day again.
It was the first time I’d killed a person, but I felt no guilt.
What made me feel uncomfortable was the fact that I felt so blasé about killing.
After accepting the voice, knowledge and memories that I shouldn’t have known flowed into my mind. However, they felt like my own experiences.
「Someone, bring some alcohol. Make it as strong as possible! Wait, don’t use the village’s alcohol. I can smell some strong distilled liquor coming from it. Just grab that!」
I called out before running over to Rick who still had a knife in his back.
Rick had tried to run and had been hit by a knife from behind.
「Stop getting in my way!」
I got irritated and flooded the collar with magic power overloading the engraved magic formula. It was destroyed completely.
With this it wouldn’t be making anymore noise.
I checked the wound as Lucy ran over carrying the alcohohl.
I activated my magic and analyzed the liquor. It was around 50% alcohol. I felt uneasy with that so I used my magic power to remove water content from it and forcefully raise it up to 80% alcohol content. For disinfecting a wound I wanted at least 70%.
「Rick this is going to hurt. You’re a man so bear with it.」
「Oi, Cyril what do you think you’re doing asking for alcohol?」
He was purposefully not hit in the vitals and his bleeding wasn’t too bad. He even had the presence of mind to ask me that question.
「Shut up, no wait…open your mouth.」
I said and took my empty jute bag from my pocket and stuffed it into Rick’s mouth.
Then I pulled the knife from his back quickly and efficiently before covering it liberally in alcohol.
「Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!」
Rick cried out with his mouth blocked by the cloth bag.
The bag kept him from biting his tongue as well.
I cleaned and disinfected his wound all at once before putting my hands near his wound.
「【Healing】」
I invoked healing.
This was magic that strengthened the recovery ability of the target to the limits.
However, for that reason if you didn’t clean the wound properly it could cause a disaster.
But, if you didn’t use such magic for healing you would instead have to use a much more complex, time consuming, and inefficient spell like time reversal.
「Okay all done. Now you should be fine.」
I said and lightly patted Rick’s back.
「Huh, my wound…it doesn’t hurt?…It’s fixed!? Cyril you’re amazing. I thought you had to be a Sage to use healing magic.」
「It’s because I’m a genius.」
Somehow my favorite saying in the past came out of my mouth. I had used it many a time to hide the massive amounts of effort I had put in.
「Hey, why’d you do something so dangerous?」
Before I realized it, Lucy had sat down next to me.
「I wanted to protect you Lucy.」
「Even though I would’ve been fine as long as Cyril survived.」
「I don’t want that. It’s no good if we’re not together. When I realized it I had already punched him.」
I didn’t have any chance of victory. If the voice hadn’t spoken up I would have died.
I could clearly see that now that I looked back on it.
However, I would rather die than let her be killed without trying to stop it. I couldn’t bear to remain here alone like that.
「Somehow you’re like the old Cyril.」
「The old me huh? …..that’s the one Lucy likes best right?」
「Un, I don’t want to see the timid and depressed Cyril.」
「Alright, got it. I will save our village! I’ll show you that I can release us from the humans’ control. Either way things will be difficult after all.」
I smiled bitterly as I looked at the villagers surrounding us.
Among them I could see 30% looking at us relieved that more friends and family hadn’t died, 30% that looked at us with scorn and anger, and 30% who looked on with more neutral feelings.
From within the crowd an elf, who looked to be in his late forties with some gray hair on his head, jumped out. It was the pitiful Village Headman Nietzsche (Nijie).
His expression was clearly hostile.
「You’ve really done it this time Cyril. You killed the soldiers and now they’ll think that we rebelled.」
I had expected him to say exactly that.
If the soldiers who went to collect taxes didn’t come back they would surely suspect our village. Soon what I had done would be discovered.
Then after that would be vengeance.
However, I didn’t intend to simply wait around in fear.
「Rebels? Isn’t that perfect? If they simply stole our produce then I could endure. But every year they steal our friends and family. Remaining silent through that is abnormal. We should fight instead. We should wield our bows and stand proud.」
「Your parents said that as they fought and died. They took everyone involved along with them as well.」
That was the sin that was engraved on me.
No matter where I go and what I do it would follow me.
That’s why I wouldn’t run anymore.
「My father failed. But who decided that the next one would fail as well? I can do this. I can show this village a path to victory.」
「Damn brat! Speaking nonsense!!」
「It’s simple truth. I showed my ability when I killed these five with my hands alone. I showed that these types of people can be killed by any of us here. You should open your eyes to reality.」
「You’re the one who should wake up! It’s just a pipe dream.」
A pipe dream….that might be so.
The soldiers where strong. Their full mail would deflect the arrows the elves shot, plus they were weak at close combat. Furthermore, the elves’ specialty, wind magic, wasn’t strong enough to kill.
In a fight they would eventually close the distance and get killed.
“at least for now”