21st Century Archmage

Chapter 129: Mutual Aid

“This is an edict of His Majesty, the Emperor! All citizens are called to witness the order of the new emperor!”

A knight’s shout resounded in the Glory Square located in the Bajran Empire capital, and an edict of the new emperor, inaugurated formally as the emperor yesterday, was pasted onto a wall on one side of the square.

“He said it’s an edict…”

“What is it about?”

Around one third of the residents living in the capital were at least somewhat literate. A certain amount of wealth and qualifications were necessary in order to live in the empire’s capital. For instance, anyone who wanted to become an attendant or maid of a noble house needed to know their letters. As such, many residents crowded to read the edict being strictly guarded by soldiers.

“Goodness…”

“Ah!”

They couldn’t speak carelessly because of the soldiers craning their ears around them, but the citizens were shocked.

His Majesty’s Edict

From this day forth, the status of nobles and commoners shall be sharply differentiated. The acceptance of commoners into knight academy is henceforth forbidden.Even if one is not a slave, a commoner may not leave a territory without a noble’s explicit permission.The crimes of rebellion, treason, and insubordination of an imperial mandate will result in the decapitation of not just the criminal himself, but three generations of his family.Defying any of the above orders shall result in punishment equivalent to that of the crime of insubordination of an imperial mandate.This edict shall take precedence over previously decreed imperial law and customs.

The Emperor’s edict was short, but it held a great deal of meaning. The unique advantage of the Bajran Empire was that commoners were granted free movement and the opportunity to become knights. It was already a noble-centric society where the movement of subordinates was restricted, but now, it wasn’t just restricted, but completely forbidden. To add onto that, those who defied the imperial mandate would be punished by three generations. The emperor was threatening that it wouldn’t just be themselves who were punished, but also their entire families.

“Move it!”

“W-What are you doing? I’m a knight academy cadet.”

“Silence! From today onwards, you guys have been demoted to regular soldiers. If you don’t like it, I’ll have no choice but to label you with the crime of insubordination.”

Along the main road cutting through the square, a group of knights and soldiers were dragging dozens of young men dressed as knight academy cadets to who knows where.

“Please allow me an audience with His Majesty the Emperor! There can’t be a law like this! How can the legacy of the First Emperor Alvatreon—”

Bam!

“Guh!”

“Behead him!”

Slice. Splooooosh!

It all happened in an instant. In front of the eyes of countless citizens, a knight academy cadet fell to his knees on the street, his head rolling away.

“…”

Every onlooker stiffened. Up until a few days ago, knight academy cadets received treatment akin to nobles. But in a single morning, one of them was beheaded like a rabid dog on the street.

“Those who have complaints, speak. If you want to become a corpse before you become a soldier, that is!”

With their swords drawn, the arrogant knights silenced the cadets.

“Take them away!”

Seeing the cadets horrified by the death of their fellow student, the knight in charge gave a dark laugh as he ordered the soldiers. Such incidents occurred all over the empire. So began a period when commoners who had become knights or nobles were sent to the front lines, altogether demoted, or stripped of their noble peerages for no good reason.

The expulsion of skilled talents, the foundation of the Bajran Empire, was the first of Emperor Poltviran’s tyrannical deeds.

* * *

“Did you sleep well, Sir Playboy Count?”

‘Geh!’

I got up, washed my face real quick, and left my room like usual, only to find myself face to face with a certain woman’s sudden morning greeting.

“Ha-Haha, I hope you weren’t uncomfortable sleeping in an unfamiliar place?”

“Goodness, unfamiliar? I had a very comfortable sleep for the first time in a while, Sir Playboy Count.”

‘I’m gonna go crazy.’

The guests were a princess, prince, and the knights who guarded them, so I had rooms set up for Irene and the other Imperial Knights in the headquarters, the same one where only the territory’s central nobles and Aramis were taking up residence. There were just enough rooms, and somehow, the Princess, Prince, and Irene’s rooms ended up being on the same floor as mine.

And then, after a night of rest, Irene woke up early and condemned me as a playboy immediately upon seeing me.

‘Huhu, at least I get to see a flower first thing in the morning.’

Her hair looked freshly washed—her long, silver locks were sparkling above her airplate and cloak. The sight of the beauty, with her usual inscrutable smile, made me happy.

‘I can’t just keep letting myself be berated.’

We were fated to live for the time being in close quarters like this. Irene might be lovable and all, but I had to give her a clear education to keep her from calling me a playboy.

I swiftly closed in on Irene.

With a flinch, her natural smile stiffened.

‘Kyaa, she smells good.’

How could a flower without a fragrance still be called a flower? As I sidled up to Irene, the fragrance I had smelled when we were in flight training before came floating off her body, her unique odor.

As I drew one step closer, Irene shuffled backwards, leaning into the wall behind her.

“W-What are you—”

Irene was a woman with the guts to defend me in front of the Crown Prince, but now, she was wearing a flustered expression.

‘I could get addicted to this.’

This must be the aura of a mature woman. Irene, a woman past her mid-twenties, had lips as alluring as a red cherry.

Don!

“…”

I put both hands on the wall just above Irene’s shoulders, locking her head in place. Astonished by the turn of the situation, Irene looked at me with eyes as round as saucers.

“If you keep calling me a playboy…”

As I spoke, I brought my lips slowly closer to hers. Her entire body trembled in response.

‘Just who do you think you’re being cheeky to?’

She might be several years my senior, but I had friends who dated senior college students, so I didn’t feel an ounce of reservation towards Irene. An older woman was still a woman, after all.

“Those lips… I’ll block them.”

I moved past her fragrant face and whispered low in her ear.

‘Ara? She’s closing her eyes?’

To my surprise, instead of showing some kind of reaction, Irene simply stayed put. According to her usual stony personality, she should have thrown a punch here and given me a frosty rebuke, but she even closed her eyes.

“Gulp.”

It was early in the morning, right after I woke up. The silver fairy was pouring oil over my heart and tempting me to turn on the lighter.

Thump, thump.

I started this as a joke, but my heart began to run wild.

‘W-What am I supposed to do now?’

This was way out of my calculations. I was actually more panicked than her. Irene was still closing her eyes, breathing lightly as her face grew as pink as a well ripened apple.

‘Huhu…’

My first look at Irene’s feminine side turned my bafflement into a smile.

“Haa…” Irene let out the breath she’d been holding in a long puff.

I brought my lips closer to her face. When she felt my breath, her body shook even more.

Chu.

I smoothly left a kiss on her forehead.

“Good morning to you…”

It was a shame, but I couldn’t give her a kiss on the lips. And besides, today wasn’t the last day, either. From now on, we’d be seeing each other every day. I found out what she felt about me, so there would be more than enough opportunities in the future.

* * *

It was a first for her.

Irene had been wooed so often by many Skyknights and nobles, not to mention Crown Prince Poltviran. However, Irene had never been moved by any of them.

But today, she experienced the strange feeling of having her strength drained right out of her body at the touch of a man’s warm breath. She even felt that it was a shame. Even though it wouldn’t have been an overreaction to demand a duel from anyone else who acted so indecently with her, she was left feeling that the breath and lips she felt on her forehead were somehow altogether lacking.

That man walked briskly outside after telling her good morning.

“Heh… Playboy…” whispered Irene, smiling honestly as she watched him go.

So what if he was a playboy? The eyes of a woman already in love were blind.

* * *

“We need to start construction right away, but…”

If not for our enemies, the construction of my castle could have started as early as this winter. The plans were set for a grand, massive, but practical castle completely unique in this world, one that would be constructed using 21st century knowledge and Kallian magic. I was standing at the planned construction site for the castle with the blueprint in my hand.

“The coast is nearby, so it’ll be convenient to access the sea routes set up in the future, it’s far removed from the mountains and foreign borders, making it easier to defend, and there are expansive plains as well as a river with sufficient depth in the surroundings, so it’ll also be perfect for development.”

The location might not be 100% perfect, but it held unlimited development potential. It was close to Denfors, so plenty of communication with the residents would be possible as well.

“Those rotten bastards. I’m so close to my dream, but they can’t bear to see me succeed.”

I couldn’t insist on building my castle, wasting the meagre strength the territory had accumulated, when we were already busy preparing to be attacked by two pain-in-the-ass empires.

“When the snow melts a bit, I’ll need to get the elves’ help. The road needs to be finished too…”

A lord of a different territory might take a nice, long break in the winter, enjoying their lives, but I was Nerman’s menial labor lord. Both my mind and body were compelled to move without rest.

“The bread is probably done baking.”

Before I went out to patrol the surroundings, I asked the kitchen to make milk bread, the kind of bread the elves liked the most. Our milk bread was now designated as the official gift. Thankfully, it was cheap and 100% effective.

* * *

I felt the usual incongruous sensation when passing through the illusion magic, and after penetrating the mana barrier, the Elven Village appeared.

‘It’s as quiet as a grave.’

The elves reduced their activity and went into a long period of rest for the winter. They weren’t even bears going into hibernation, but I couldn’t see a single elf going around in the village despite it being midday. I didn’t think I would be able to live like that for even one day. The heavy, somber air in the village was different from the outside world.

However, Bebeto, who had kept a multitude of female wyverns from sleeping last night as well, landed in the Elven Village with a flutter of wingbeats as if nothing were out of the ordinary.

‘They’re still alive and well, so why is there no movement in the village?’

They claimed to love the green forest, but weren’t the sights of winter also a gift from nature? Moreover, even when spring came, the elves weren’t able to leave the illusion magic array anyway. Looking at the village now, the inherent liveliness I saw from the elves when building the road seemed like a lie.

‘She’s not coming out today, huh.’ I was waiting on top of Bebeto, but I didn’t see Narmias, who always came running so joyfully whenever I showed up. ‘Is she sick somewhere?’

I unloaded two big leather bags filled to the brim with bread and fruits I’d grabbed from our storehouse from Bebeto’s torso, feeling a bit worried. Hefting the bags, I hastily walked to Narmias’ house.

‘I’m not being treated as a guest here anymore, hm?’

Not just Narmias, but the other elves should have been informed by their keen senses of Bebeto and my arrival, but not a single person popped out. It seemed the elves were masters in the art of playing alone, a crucial subject matter for true loners.

It really made me feel admiration(?)

“Narmias…”

Creak.

I called Narmias’ name as I opened the door to her house.

‘Is no one home?’ Narmias didn’t respond to my call, and I felt a pang of apologeticness for being too busy every day to come see her. ‘Huh? Is she sleeping?’

Narmias was laying with her back towards me on a bed made of dried leaves.

“Narmias…” Coming closer, I called her again, but she didn’t move at all.

I rushed over, putting my hand on her forehead as she continued to lay facing away.

‘There’s no fever.’ Thankfully, she was breathing easy, and there was even a small smile on her lips as she slept. ‘She’s lost weight.’

However, for whatever reason, her cheeks were gaunt. It seemed she was so fatigued that she couldn’t even hear me coming.

I gently stroked her silver hair, which glistened with a blue tinge. If not for the pointy ears that differentiated her from humans, this elven woman would be no different from any other woman. I pitied her, someone who ended up trapped in a painful love because she encountered the wrong man.

“Nnn…”

She groaned in her sleep, making an expression of enjoyment from the tickling sensation on her forehead. Then, perhaps sensing that something was off, her eyes opened wide. Eyes as blue as the sea stared at my face.

“Ah!” she exclaimed.

“I’m sorry. I woke you up when you were fast asleep.”

“N-No. I apologize for failing to realize you had come…”

Narmias spoke and acted like a virtuous wife and mother from the Joseon period in olden day Korea.

“You’re not sick, are you?”

“No… I was just momentarily tired.”

‘Do the elves have less stamina in the winter?’

I hadn’t read in any books or heard in any stories that elves had a change in constitution during the winter.

“Are the other elves like this as well?”

“I think so. For some reason, since several hundred years ago, almost all elves fall into deep slumber like me in the month of the new year.”

It wasn’t a fatal illness, but an issue that originated several centuries ago.

“Is the elder also the same?”

“No. That’s another strange thing. I heard that when you become as old as the elders, you’re not affected at all. That’s why the elders are currently taking turns to stand guard for us.”

‘How strange. The young ones are listless while the elders who should be more prone to poor health are all lively.’

“But it’s a relief. I’ve heard it’s much better this year than last year.”

Narmias lived with such a positive mindset.

“Please, stay on the bed. I’ve brought some fruit and bread, so I’ll prepare you a meal.”

“Really?”

Normally, Narmias would be jumping to do it herself, but today, her eyes sparkled with happiness.

‘I’ve been on the receiving side too much. I’m really such a bad guy.’

I only offered to do the insignificant act of putting some bread and fruit on a plate, but she was this happy about it. I did some self-reflection as I took fresh apples and bread from the bags and placed them on a wooden tray. I would have liked to treat her to something better, like marbled Korean sirloin, but that was just my wishful thinking.

Sitting on the bed with her upper body propped up, Narmias flashed a bright smile at me as I went to her with the tray.

* * *

“I’m full.”

“You should still eat a bit more…”

“No, I’ve really eaten a lot.”

I was busy giving her the full service while I was at it, trying to rack up some favorability points.

‘One apple and two pieces of bread is ‘a lot?’ Guess there’s no way she’ll ever get fat.’

I would have liked to show the Elven Village to the countless unhealthy “dieting” fanatics on earth, the women who cursed the pretty ladies coming out on TV while eating big bowls of rice. I wanted to show them that one’s figure wasn’t something born out of nowhere, but something that needed to be tended to like this on a day by day basis.

“I’m happy,” whispered Narmias, her eyes shining. Feeling bad that I hadn’t really done anything for her, I stroked her soft head.

“Close your eyes.”

“Hm?”

“Hoho, just close your eyes for a moment.”

Out of happiness, Narmias let out a rare laugh and had me close my eyes.

‘If it’s a kiss, I don’t need to close my eyes. No need to be shy when we’re already past that point.’

We had already shared a kiss before. Thinking that Narmias was feeling shy, I closed my eyes.

Contrary to my expectation, Narmias rose from the bed with a rustle and walked to a place in her room.

‘What’s she doing?’

I heard her pulling out something that rippled as she handled it.

“You can open your eyes now.”

Narmias’ cute voice sounded like an order to me. I slowly opened my eyes.

Shaaaaa!

I was greeted by a burst of bright, silver light.

‘A-An elven airplate!’

To my surprise, what Narmias had spread out in her hands was an elven airplate exclusively worn by the elves. The full-body mithril armor boasted comfort and defense on a wholly different level from what humans made. It was an item of ultra-high grade, precious enough to shock even the emperor of the Bajran Empire. So naturally, I was surprised to see an airplate glowing silver like a freshly caught fish.

“Do you like it?”

“What…what is this?”

“It is a sign of my feelings towards you.”

‘…’

“Narmias…”

I had no words. This was the elf woman’s feelings to me and me alone.

“Try it on,” Narmias urged, her voice quite a bit brighter than usual.

Click, click.

I moved my hands to take off my airplate. Then, Narmias helped me put on the armor of the elves. I felt a tingle of electricity wherever her hands touched me.

‘Is it on?’

The mithril full-body airplate was definitely on my body, but it was far too light. Unlike the airplate I was used to, which had weight reduction magic on it but still had some weight to it, it didn’t feel like I was wearing the elf-made airplate at all.

“It fits you perfectly.”

After putting it on me, Narmias held her hands as she smiled with satisfaction. I pulled her into my arms.

“Haah…”

Coming into my embrace, Narmias let out a low breath. I felt her heart thumping through the thin elven airplate. I quietly moved my head down, felt Narmias’ sweet breath on my face, and covered her lips. This was the only thing I could do to show my feelings right now.

“Mm…”

With a light moan, Narmias embraced my neck with two soft, long arms. I pulled her in even closer. She was someone fully deserving of love. Hotly, so very hotly, I poured my feelings into her lips.

* * *

“It’s an illness.”

“Pardon? An illness?”

“A very old illness. It’s a mysterious disease that forces the elves to sleep or spend the time in an idle daze for a month when the new year arrives.”

“Why are the elves affected by such an illness? You’re living in such a pleasant and safe place.”

“That was precisely the problem.”

“Huh?”

After putting Narmias to sleep, I left her house and found Elder Parciano waiting in front of Bebeto. He began to tell me about the sickness of the elves.

“We were able to find out the cause of this illness not long ago.”

‘That’s a relief. If enemies attacked at a time like this, it would be dangerous.’

Catching a single elf could bring someone enough wealth to feed three generations. There was no way that would happen, but if mercenaries or nobles caught wind of this fact, this village would be burned to the ground.

“Haha… We finally realized what the ancestors meant when they said that excess affords one no scarcity. We elves separated ourselves from the world out of distaste for its greed, but that too, was another form of greed.”

‘The heck is he saying? He won’t go boom and ascend to the heavens like a Taoist immortal at this rate, right?’

Elven elder Parciano was as old as a Taoist hermit. The words coming out of his mouth were not easy to decipher.

“What do you mean by that, sir?”

“You know it as well. About the relationship between the demihumans, including us elves, and humans.”

“Yes, of course.”

“Betrayed by the humans, most of the elves, beastmen, and dwarves either hid deep in the mountains, or were nearly exterminated over the years.”

The elder had been the one to tell me about the story of the humans and the other races. He spoke with a voice laden with bitter remorse.

“Us elves have never been able to hate anything. For many long years, we have lived in accordance with nature and the invisible laws of the world, so when we are born and turn to dust, we can all live in harmony with one heart. However… after living with humans, a race capable of expressing a myriad of emotions, our minds were also infected.”

‘Then is it an illness they got from humans?’

I still couldn’t puzzle out Elder Parciano’s words.

“Then, we were betrayed by humans. The elves and the other demihumans, who gave them everything in their time of need, were turned into slaves once our usefulness ran out, and thus, war broke out. I did not witness it myself, but according to the songs passed down by my predecessors, it was a truly terrifying war.”

I felt like I could understand it well enough. Humans had an animal-like instinct to do whatever it took for their goals. Not everyone, of course, but most humans were ruled by the collective assembly of family and house, and on a larger scale, territory and nation. This collective assembly took priority over one’s personal emotions.  If the majority opinion decided that X was bad, then from that moment on, it was so. That was human society. The elves couldn’t bear that. Actually, my experience so far was that the beastmen and dwarves had no individuals capable of coping with the cruelty of humans, either.

“Defeated in the war, we hid. We, who had originally hated nothing and had hearts as free as the wind and clouds, were filled with rage and hid ourselves in a place without humans. To be honest, according to the records left by the ancestors, we could have easily wiped out the humans. Humans could not reach the level of the elves in neither magic nor summoning in a short period of time, and back then, there were far more elves than there are now, so it would have been possible.”

The historical records of the war between the humans and demihumans in the history books of the continent I found in the Imperial Library didn’t document the exact numbers, but the union and enmity between humans and demihumans was said to have existed before the Age of Ancient Magic. And just a thousand and some hundred years ago, the humans and demihumans waged their final large-scale war, and the years passed until the current day.

“Such hatred solidified for over a thousand years, and the elves created a closed-off society. We thought that a life fully removed from humans was the right answer. But… that became the cause of the elves’ illness.”

‘Eh? What does that mean?’

I hadn’t lived very long, so I couldn’t understand the elder’s words right away. Moreover, I was a human. I wasn’t familiar with the elves’ culture, so for me, the reason why the elves grew sick was a complete riddle.

“What do you mean by that? I still don’t get it.”

“Haha, is it too difficult to understand?”

“Yes…”

“Then let me explain in simple terms.”

Perhaps because he recognized me as a member of the clan, the Elder continued talking with a look of benevolence.

“Close mindedness is what has caused the elves to become sick.”

“…??”

“Didn’t I say it already? We elves were originally existences who lived with open minds in the flow of nature. But what do we look like now, in your eyes? Do you think that we are really living with that kind of mentality?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

No, they definitely weren’t. Even I had to admit this was a race so stubborn and hard-headed that it was frustrating as hell to change their minds. They were a far cry from children of nature living with the flow.

“Imagine what it is like to live for hundreds of years until the moment one dies in a space less than a hundred kilometers in every direction. It’s no wonder that we have grown ill.”

‘Well whaddya know? He was thinking pretty much the same thing as me.’

The Elven Village was so desolate that you could call it a graveyard. It was completely in line with what the Elder was saying. Imagine living for hundreds of years trapped in a bubble as small as this. That would be hell. What else would it be if not a graveyard?

‘If it were me, I would have run away long ago.’

Moreover, the elves were inherently unable to defy orders from the elders. I could easily imagine getting sick out of boredom from constantly seeing the same faces, buildings, and trees.

“Thank you.”

“Why are you thanking me all of a sudden?”

Elder Parciano was really pulling a lot of new surprises out of his hat today.

“Thanks to you, we have found a way to heal the elves.”

“Thanks to me?”

“You encouraged me and the elves and dragged us out into the world. That is precisely the method to treat this illness.”

“!!”

The cure was something I hadn’t even imagined. I merely fished out the elves for a somewhat selfish purpose, but that, in turn, was the cure that could heal the illness of the elves.

“We have become sick from living over a thousand years in this tiny place while harboring rage and resentment. But the elves that went out into the world thanks to you were able to experience the open world and open their minds little by little, and that small change has gone on to cause a shocking improvement in their conditions. You wouldn’t know, but last year, the elves were completely unable to move their bodies for an entire month. They might not realize it themselves, but the illness of their hearts manifests silently as something like the sleep of an exhausted body. The rage passed down from our ancestors and the years holed up here have created an illness, and the elves who went out into the world through you have become less sick because of a change in their thoughts.”

‘Ohh! So it was that meaningful.’

To describe it in terms of modern medicine, the elves built up stress from rage accumulated since the time of their ancestors and from living in a claustrophobic space. Basically, stress disease.

“We’ll be in your care in the future.”

“W-What do you mean by that…”

“If things go wrong, the illness could become permanent and untreatable. Before that happens, the best thing to do is to eliminate the cause of the illness. In the future, feel free to tell us if you need help from the elves. I’ll put my faith in you and send our Green Wood Clan into the world!”

“!!”

‘Mommy! What a windfall.’

I went from having to beg on my knees for the elves’ help to Elder Parciano saying he would offer top quality labor at any time. It was a big, big, biiiiiiiig thank you from me.

“What, is it a burden for you? I think you just have to give some work to the elves, like last fall, but is there no work left?” asked Parciano somewhat anxiously.

“To be honest, there isn’t that much work to do, but… Since my friends, the elves, are ailing from such an illness, I will do my best to create some work.”

“Oh, thank you! Our clan will never forget this kindness for as long as we exist!”

‘Huhu, one lifelong slave contract, added~!’

If a person got what they wanted easily, they would quickly forget their gratitude. With the  positions of asker and giver completely reversed from last fall, I uttered a bit of a white lie, and as expected, the Elder ate it up. He even made an unbelievable promise to honor our friendship for as long as the clan existed.

‘Just as they say, a lucky bastard will find coins on the ground even when he trips. Kuku.’

I was getting more and more wicked. But who cares? It was a win-win situation—the elves could heal their illness, and I could gain the best workers around.

If this wasn’t mutual aid, what was?