NOVEL WEB Chapter 18: 8. Reasoning
The figure under the black cloak lay motionless, as if still deeply unconscious or even dead.
"There's no need to wonder where you slipped up. As your rescuer who treated your wounds, I may not have a formal medical license, and you are indeed my first official medical case. But to estimate your recovery time from basic information such as your non-human physique, the depth and exposure of the wounds, and degree of poisoning... it really isn't a difficult task for me."
Without humbleness, the mocking cheerful voice paused, its piercing gaze coldly swept over the gracefully contoured body, before the taunting voice spoke again:
"If you are unwilling to chat with a guy of a different race like me, then so be it. As the injured and a female, you are certainly entitled to certain privileges. You may disregard my subsequent monologue, or retort and correct me. The choice is yours."
Having generously ceded this power, a dry twig was toyed with and tossed into the campfire. A momentary dim flame lashed out at the fresh firewood, crackling and radiating more warmth around.
"Those demon tamers seemingly intended to kill you. The Blue-eyed Poison Wolf is a dangerous species best used for pursuit and ambush. Firstly, they would use venom to paralyze the prey, then set the scene to look like a tragic encounter with a dangerous species. A clever idea. Hmm...or it could be the handy work of some nobles whom, unable to contain their anticipation, decided to experiment with their new toys. However, using the Hawk Familiar was meticulously cautious, and no matter how bloodthirsty games that require a large number of familiars can get, the elegantly dressed nobles and their entourage have never appeared in person. It's hard to explain how us commoners could enter the noble's playground and probe to this extent. Considering these unnatural doubts, I can't help but believe this is not some elven hunting game, but a homicide scene to silence somebody."
The sound of firewood burning and cracking made hearts palpitate, the elusive smile adding an air of mystery under the dim evening.
"Now, let's talk about who you are, miss. Your exact position is still under investigation, but from your attire, we can roughly deduce that you are one of the elves from the tribes on the borderlands of Charlemagne and Lapland– the Niflheim Valley. You left your tribe and ventured onto this strange land to investigate something, due to specific reasons unknown to others. I suspect you have found what you were looking for. It seems that the bad guys who noticed this sent assassins to silence you. You, who were hunted relentlessly, and eventually met us, that is roughly the sequence of events. As for what you investigated … hmm?"
The snap of one's fingers echoed particularly clear and bright in the still dark night, and the uncovered smile revealed a sense of delight as if to say [I've got you].
"[There is a rich gold and silver vein of superior quality in the Niflheim Valley]. This news would be a godsend to you and your tribe. But it's also attracted massive trouble. The number of human [visitors] in and out of the valley has increased, with each appearance taking them one step closer to the location of the veins. To prevent the nightmare of [losing the last of their habitat to humans], you and perhaps other elves have ventured far from home to investigate the extent to which these avaricious goons have progressed in their plan to seize the gold buried underground. If possible, you want to find a way to stop, or sabotage their scheme. Hmm~~ It surely takes courage. However, there's nothing you can do to change things. No, even if you succeed in stopping those goons, that gold won't bring you what you desire. All I can see is a future where you exhaust lives, strength, and time mining gold from underground to exchange for a meager living."
"Shut up! That's the power of survival for our race! An outsider like you who knows nothing has no right to blather on and on!!!"
The hood that had been covering the face fell. Silver hair, illumined by the campfire, poured out like a waterfall, cascading to the elbow struggling to prop up the body. Compared with humans, ears, sharp and long, emerged from the smooth silver waterfalls and erected themselves. A beautiful face, sculpted like a marble statue of a goddess and filled with a lively tenacity absent in the inanimate, bore regular features, with emerald eyes—eyes like a turbulent jade lake—now enflamed with simmering rage, stared fiercely at the frivolously smiling face.
"Calm down—calm down, miss. If you get too excited and your wound opens up, I'll have to stitch you up all over again. And then, to make sure I don't have to do it all over again for a third time, I'll just have to tie you down. That will be troublesome. So, instead of getting angry, lie down and talk properly, I can understand what you mean."
"Hold your nonsense, human! If you think that saving my life by chance gives you the right to speak recklessly, I swear on my life I won't give you any chance to speak!!"
Bereft of more support from a body debilitated by blood loss and poisoning, the elf returned to a supine position, her stern gaze sideways on the youth with folded arms. Facing the warning, which somewhat resembled a clawing kitten, that infuriating smile slackened a little and, spreading his hands provocatively, he taunted:
"A continued argument will be unending. Instead, let's return to the previous way: I ask questions, and you can choose to continue your silence or answer. Under such a relaxed ambience, free from any rude disturbances, we can resolve matters peacefully."