Dark Fantasy Normalized

16 – The Cost of a Promise

*

▶Another Tale◀

This is another story.

*

[She was a hero]

[She contributed to an era of peace by driving out a great part of the darkness]

[The crowd chanted the hero’s name]

[They cheered, looking up at the pride of the city]

[“””Vendell!”””]

[“””Vendell!”””]

[Radola Vendell]

[As she raised her hand, the crowd gathered in the square cheered fervently]

[The world now knew her face and her name]

[They knew Vendell]

[Under the hero’s feats and glory, Vendell and the city would now enjoy eternal glory]

[With arms wide open, the hero rejoiced in the radiant future that welcomed her]

[-Vendell…]

[It was then that a voice, as if transmitted through the skin of her entire body rather than her ears, was heard]

[-Not so gallant, are you]

[-A great hero, indeed]

[-If only you could see yourself now]

[-The image of a clueless brat who didn’t know her place is no longer visible]

[Vendell shuddered at the discomfort that seemed to be etched into her very existence, but she made an effort not to show it]

[No one must know]

[The relationship between this dreadful being and herself]

[-I suddenly wonder]

[-How would they react]

[-If they knew that the so-called great and upright hero was actually a cowardly brat]

[-If they knew that she achieved glory by kissing the back of the hand of a monstrosity despised by the world…]

[-If they knew that she willingly traded the future for her own personal gain…]

[Shut up!]

[The hero shouted inwardly.]

[That was the last time the voice was heard.]

[The hero lived in glory but never once shook off the anxiety]

[Fearing that the glory she had achieved might one day crumble in an instant]

[…In the end, it was something that never happened]

[It was a morning when everyone – even Radola – had come to take Vendel’s glory for granted.]

[Good news spread across the continent.]

[The night of the forest had ended.]

[Night.]

[It was the name given to the most fearsome beings on the continent.]

[And the night of the forest was the one who had made a pact with Vendel Radola, known to no one.]

[Radola recalled the forgotten anxiety and simultaneously regained peace.]

[Thus, Vendel’s glory shall be eternal.]

*

The b*stard defied the head of the house’s will and left the mansion.

And he took Lady Roera with him.

Gerhen, his face pale, conveyed the facts, including his own mistake.

“I understand, for now, you may withdraw.”

Left alone in the room, Idor Vendel let out a deep sigh.

He rose from his seat and approached the window.

Beyond the window, he took in the garden of the mansion – the statue occupying its center.

[In honor of the greatest Vendel, Radola Vendel.]

Vendel’s glory is the value achieved by the great ancestor.

Our mission is to carry on that glory.

It was the mindset that the head of the Vendel family must possess.

“I have… been too lenient…”

Idor’s love for Roera is genuine.

It is an unchanging fact, despite the great disappointment she brought by defying her father’s will.

However.

Idor was the head of the Vendel family.

Before being Roera’s father.

The b*stard and the lady of Vendel had lost respect for the head of the house.

They would regain it.

Thus, Lisir would marry Dintal as planned, and Roera would come to have a mindset more devoted to the family.

Willingly.

At the moment when Idor made up his mind.

– Intruder!!!

A tense voice coming from outside the window.

Idor doubted his ears.

An intruder?

Here, at the Vendel mansion?

Who would dare?

Idor immediately left the office.

Gerhen, who was waiting in the hallway, was talking with the family’s soldiers.

“Ma, Master!”

“Report.”

“An intruder!”

“The scale?”

The soldier who came to report hesitated, glancing at the master before opening his mouth with difficulty.

*

As the detailed report continued, Idor’s confusion grew.

“The scale of the intruder… as far as we know, it’s just one person.”

“The entry route, they claimed to have entered through the mansion’s main gate!”

“The current whereabouts, they are… sightseeing in the garden…”

“They requested an audience with the master… and said they would politely wait in the garden until the master agreed to the meeting…”

Both the reporting soldier and Idor looked as if they couldn’t understand what was being said.

“And, the notable point is that the intruder is a Dark Elf.”

However, Idor’s expression changed drastically at the following words.

He immediately opened the hallway window and jumped out.

Even though it was from the fifth floor, his landing was as soft as a feather.

And his ensuing sprint was as fierce as an arrow.

Gerhen immediately followed, but by the time he landed, Idor had already disappeared.

With movements that made knights with extraordinary physical abilities look insignificant, Idor, the master of Vendel, reached the mansion’s garden in an instant.

The purple robe, made of a dense mesh material that seemed both transparent and opaque, exuded a subtle mystery.

The long, silver hair that reached his waist looked like a cascading waterfall of silver.

And above all, those pointed ears.

Those ears dyed in the color of a curse.

As the soldier reported, a dark elf was wandering around the garden, observing.

As if leisurely strolling through their own courtyard.

“Master…!”

The soldiers stationed at the mansion had already gathered around.

Even the knights numbered over ten, a force strong enough to invade but difficult to be invaded.

“What are you doing! How dare you let that scum leave dirty footprints in Vendel!”

Idor’s furious roar. The soldiers deeply understood Idor’s anger.

They too felt extreme displeasure at the fact that a cursed being had recklessly invaded their pride, Vendel.

Yet, the reason they couldn’t take any action until the master arrived.

“…”

The master’s gaze turned to a part of the garden.

It was an ornament shaped like a woman, carved from thickly grown bushes.

“Morie.”

As Idor said, the ornament was modeled after one of Vendel’s knights, Morie.

And Idor immediately realized.

That it wasn’t just an ornament made to resemble Morie, but Morie herself, covered in bushes.

“Morie~ So that was your name~ Thank you for telling me? I asked the person themselves, but no matter how much I asked, they wouldn’t answer? It was so difficult because the conversation just wouldn’t continue.”

Such a thing happened. It was truly troublesome.

The tone was as if they were leisurely chatting with an acquaintance they met on a walk.

And there, a lively smile like a field full of blooming flowers.

All of it combined with the sight of Vendel’s knight Morie turned into bushes, creating an extreme sense of dissonance.

“Huff… Huff…”

The trainees were already terrified and had lost their will to fight.

“A curse… It’s a curse…! The dark elf’s curse…!”

Some of the apprentice knights couldn’t even think of drawing their swords.

“Get a grip, Humpton!”

The knights scolded them.

“Do not forget that you are in the presence of the Lord!”

“…!”

It was like a magical language imbued with some kind of power.

At the knight’s urging, they belatedly realized the presence of the Lord, and their atmosphere changed drastically.

They readjusted their stances and drew their swords, pointing them at the Dark Elf.

Now, there was not a hint of fear on their faces.

Such was the presence of the Lord of Vendel.

The spirit exuded by Idor completely dominated the place.

“Everyone, stand back.”

Sword drawn. Idor took his stance.

He was the first to sharpen his senses and detect the surroundings.

“Alone.”

“I have business that I can handle alone.”

“Now. Are you challenging our Vendel alone? Do you think you can face all of us by yourself?”

“Hmm~”

The Dark Elf pointed at each of them with his fingertip.

The Lord. The knights. And. And-

The Dark Elf pointed at the three knights, including the Lord, and shook his head.

“Facing all of them- It would probably be difficult, right? But it should be fine, shouldn’t it? I’m not particularly trying to challenge Vendel, nor am I trying to invade Vendel.”

Snap. The Dark Elf snapped his fingers.

At the same time, the vines that had covered Morie disappeared.

“Ah…”

Dazed eyes.

“Hehe…”

She staggered back to her comrades.

“What did you do to her?”

“I just gave her a little help to calm down, that’s all? Do you know? The white bird flower is very helpful in calming the mind and body? Ah. And the intense visual effect was added to proceed efficiently, so I hope you understand? See? Now you and I are facing each other, having a polite conversation, aren’t we? It’s a very good flow. Let’s finish our business quickly and go our separate ways.”

“Your arrogance is excessive. Dark Elf. Do you think I will let you go just like that? You dared to step on Vendel’s front gate without permission with those filthy feet.”

“To correct you, it’s not that I didn’t get permission, but that I don’t need permission?”

Nonsense.

Just as Idor was about to shout, the dark elf pulled out a parchment scroll from her bosom.

“Vendell? It’s time to fulfill the contract. As an agent, I will receive the most precious treasure from Vendell as promised.”

“Typical of a cursed race to spout the ravings of a madman.”

“Oh my? Playing dumb? No? It doesn’t seem like you’re pretending? What is going on here?”

Hmm.

The dark elf tapped her lips with her fingers, lost in thought.

“Ah!”

She snapped her fingers, expressing her realization cheerfully.

“Could it be that person, Radola Vendell, said nothing?”

“This is your first and last warning. Dark elf. Do not let that filthy mouth of yours utter his name.”

“See? That’s why contracts must always be left in writing. Don’t you agree?”

In response to the master’s murderous rage, the dark elf answered with a lively smile.

She unrolled the parchment and held it out with both hands. Then she showed it to Idor.

With superhuman vision, he could easily read the contents of the parchment from a distance.

[I, Radola Vendell, swear by the night of the forest]

[When the castle built with borrowed power reaches its highest point, I will give the most precious treasure from there]

The master’s expression turned to one of shock.

The night of the forest.

It was none other than one of the seven most fearsome beings that reigned during the age of chaos.

Further conversation is meaningless.

No. It’s dangerous.

Without hesitation, the master charged at the dark elf.

“Soras.”

What stopped the master was a plant zombie that emerged from the ground.

The same kind of zombie that had once been easily destroyed by a b*stard’s blow-

“…!”

The master’s killing blow, filled with the intent to kill in one strike, was taken by the zombie’s body.

The master swung his arm with all his might.

The sword embedded in the plant zombie’s shoulder could neither advance nor retreat any further.

“Master!!!”

“Support the Lord!!!”

The soldiers skillfully formed a siege formation and pressed the Dark Elf from all sides.

The Dark Elf once again uttered a ridiculous name.

It was a significantly larger plant zombie compared to before.

Named Mumum, it raised its arm with all its might and struck the ground.

Bang!

A single loud noise.

“Ahhh!!!”

“What is this!!!”

And the screams of the dying.

The ground literally shattered.

Numerous cracks appeared, and countless vines sprouted from between them.

They wrapped around the soldiers’ limbs with intent.

Thus, two more.

The Dark Elf approached Idor.

Idor mustered all his strength and swung his sword.

A diagonal slash starting from the shoulder split the zombie’s body.

Finally, Idor’s sword was freed.

…And the zombie’s body, which had been split in two, was restored as if nothing had happened.

Idor realized that the plant zombie was a type of golem.

To completely destroy it, he had to destroy the core hidden somewhere in its body.

Or blow it away with overwhelming force.

Idor’s sword ignited.

It seemed so, as the vivid and intense mana aura flared up.

Vendelu Extreme.

At the moment when Idor’s sword energy was about to engulf the plant zombie.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six.

The Dark Elf spat out ridiculous names in succession.

Idor couldn’t laugh at all.

The plant zombie blocked Idor’s sword strike with its body.

They began to appear one after another.

The giant zombie named Mumum, who had already subdued all the soldiers, was squatting and admiring the flowers blooming on the ground.

“…”

Idor’s fighting spirit dissipated into a bitter laugh.

“You, you b*stard…!”

The steadfast knight’s eyes were no longer there.

Idor’s eyes, looking at the Dark Elf, were now wavering with bewilderment.

The Dark Elf responded with an unchanging, lively smile.

“As I said, I’m an agent of the contract? I have nothing to do with the one called the Night of the Forest.”

It was obvious at a glance that it was a lie.

However, Idor did not have the courage to delve into it.

“So, then. Vendel? What will you do now?”

The Dark Elf closed the distance.

Idor tried to widen the gap, but the vines sprouting from the ground restrained his movements.

“…What do you want?”

“Oh dear~ You didn’t even listen to my story~”

The Dark Elf pretended to scream comically and then whispered in Idor’s ear.

“Do you want the world to know the truth? Vendel. That your great ancestor was actually a liar. That your true origin lies not with a great hero, but with the most heinous being of the past.”

“That…!”

Idor’s despair was not simply due to the oppression of force.

He felt the power contained within the parchment.

The Dark Elf’s incomprehensible power. Part of it was rooted in the parchment.

She was truly an agent of the contract.

Vendel was truly the subject of the contract.

The great ancestor Radola.

She was truly a coward who sought power from the most heinous being.

She hid that fact and pretended to be an honorable hero, a liar.

“Hmm~”

Suddenly, the Dark Elf stared at Idor right in front of him.

Strangely, Idor did not feel her interest at all.

The dark elf was clearly looking at Idor, but she was searching for someone else in that face.

Soon, she let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness~ You don’t look like him at all~”

For some reason, the dark elf suddenly felt better and handed a parchment to Idor.

“Let’s not complicate things any further, shall we? As I said, I’m just an agent of the contract. I could expose your shameful secrets, but there’s no reason to if I get what I want.”

“…Speak.”

“As I said, I’ll take the most precious thing from Vendel.”

“What… is that…”

“You wouldn’t understand, but it’s a child named Rishir.”

“…!”

Idor’s eyes widened.

His expression was soaked in bewilderment.

“I will comply with your demand.”

He added with a hint of resignation.

Idor saw new possibilities in Rishir.

He saw the value that Rishir could bring to the family.

But if he could solve the problem at hand, there would be no greater possibility or value.

“…”

The dark elf, looking at Idor, lost her lively smile for a moment.

*

Pamon was utterly disgusted by Idor’s reaction.

The most precious thing Vendel had.

The reaction to taking Rishir as compensation was infuriating.

He felt a surge of spite.

He wanted to take not what was most precious by his standards, but what was most precious by Idor’s standards.

‘No.’

It was foolish.

To have personal feelings towards such a trivial human.

Pamon didn’t like this human.

That was why he was even more determined to take Rishir from him.

Pamon completely lost interest in Idor and handed over the parchment.

The thorn of the vine pricked Idor’s thumb, drawing blood.

After a moment of hesitation, Idor pressed his thumbprint onto the parchment.

“Well then, with this, Rishir is-… huh?”

Pamon hurriedly checked the parchment.

“Oh my, oh my, oh my.”

She covered her mouth with her hand, barely containing her amusement.

“Foolish people. You should have taken better care of it.”

“What…?”

Even though Idor’s thumbprint was on it, the contract on the parchment was not completed.

Rishir.

He was no longer the property of Vendel.

A promise known only to the head of the Vendel family and the illegitimate child.

A promise that if the illegitimate child won the duel, he would be allowed to leave the family.

A promise made lightly with the illegitimate child, now taking effect.

“…!”

Idor’s eyes widened in realization.

“Wait, wait!!! If you give me a little more time-“

“No? I’m a bit busy, you see? Since the thumbprint is already there, I’ll just take what I want.”

“What do you-… mmm!!!”

The vine gagged Idor.

Pamon left the Vendel mansion with a spring in her step.

There was no more business here.

There was no pursuit.

“Master. About the young lady…”

“…Forget it.”

“Excuse me?”

“Forget everything that happened today.”

The pursuit of the dark elf.

The pursuit of the illegitimate child and the young lady who left the mansion.

Idor struggled to forget the events of today.

He hoped that the b*stard and daughter who went out with the cursed Dark Elf would not return-

He wished that nothing would happen.

Just as his revered ancestors had done in the past.

The price of the promise.

It had finally reached Vendel after a long journey.

It was a downfall.

It spread through Vendel as quickly as it was late.

*

A few hours after leaving the Vendel mansion.

Rishir reunited with Pamon at the promised place.

And he heard a very sudden story.

“Since it happened like that, my disciple. Do you want to say what you want?”

“…Yes?”