Novel Full Chapter 191 : Chapter 191
Chapter 191. Here is a Mess Too (3)
Patrick spoke to Kirioth, who was glaring at him as if he wanted to kill him.
“Hey.”
Grind.
“Is ‘hey’ how you call someone?”
“You’re going to grind all your teeth down.”
“……”
“Anyway, let me ask you something.”
“Why should I have to answer your question?”
“Why? That’s because….”
After thinking for a moment, Patrick spoke to Elione beside him.
“Elione. I’m a bit tired, so can I borrow your lap?”
“Pardon? My lap… Oh my?”
Elione was startled.
Patrick’s head had come to rest right on her lap.
“What do you think you’re doing!”
Kirioth, seeing the scene, roared.
His eyes, looking at Patrick lying with his head on Elione’s lap, seemed ready to shoot lasers.
Regardless, Patrick nonchalantly spoke while lying on Elione’s lap.
“Don’t you know? This is what’s called a lap pillow.”
“How dare you put your head on my sister’s thigh…. Get off her this instant.”
“Nope. Can’t do that.”
“You son of a biiiiitch!”
Unable to contain his anger, Kirioth grabbed the spear on his back and aimed it at Patrick. However….
“Elione. Look at him. He’s trying to stab me.”
That one sentence was all it took.
Elione, who had been wearing a blissfully happy expression, lifted her head, looked at her brother, frowned, and spoke.
“What are you doing? Kirioth.”
“Ah… No, sister, that man is….”
“That man? You’ve been very rude to my guest for a while now.”
“Sister, that’s….”
“Apologize. Now.”
“An… apology?”
To him?
Kirioth despaired, his face a mixture of agony and conflict.
He couldn’t defy his sister, but he didn’t want to apologize to that man.
Patrick chuckled as he looked at Keiros, whose emotions were plainly written on his face.
“What’s with the apology? Just meekly answer my questions.”
“Grrrk…. Fine. I get it, so please, just get up!”
“Alright then.”
Patrick lifted his head from Elione’s lap, and Elione looked disappointed. Then Patrick spoke again….
“Looking at the Elves, I saw there were Elves like you who have learned aura and those who haven’t. What’s the deal with that?”
“……”
At Patrick’s question, Kirioth wore a troubled expression. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to answer; he looked like he was truly in a difficult situation.
That was understandable, as what Patrick had just asked was a matter that could be the Elves’ weakness and shame.
Patrick spoke to the hesitating Kirioth.
“If you don’t want to talk, then don’t. I just won’t help, that’s all.”
“No, I will speak.”
“You will?”
“It’s not something to hide anyway….”
And so, Kirioth began to explain.
Originally, the Elves’ main weapons were the bow and spirits.
With these two weapons, the Elves had protected themselves for a long time.
However, as the World Tree gradually died, the Elves had to restrain their use of spirit arts.
As a result, the Elves lost the military power to protect themselves.
The combat power of Elves without spirits was less than 30% of their original strength.
The absence of military power is a huge problem anywhere.
The Elves tried to hide this fact from the outside world.
But there was no telling how long that would be possible.
No matter how reclusive the Elves were, there are no eternal secrets in the world.
One day, the fact that the Elves had lost their power would be revealed to the world.
It would be fortunate if the World Tree recovered and they could wield spirits again before then, but what if not?
The future of the Elven race, unable to protect themselves, was bound to be disastrous.
So, the Elves needed another power.
The power to protect their clan from external threats.
As a result….
“The reformist Elves, including myself, trained in Aura Blessing.”
“Reformists, huh….”
Patrick focused on the word ‘reformist’ that came up in the explanation.
‘Just as I expected, there were factions. In that case….’
Patrick asked Kirioth.
“What is the opposing faction to the reformists called?”
“They are the ones who insist on valuing and protecting the traditions of the Elves. They call themselves the orthodox faction.”
“I see.”
Reformists and the orthodox faction.
Just hearing the names, one couldn’t help but think, ‘We are not friends.’
“If there are reformists and an orthodox faction, there must be those who are watching from the middle.”
“There are. They are called the moderates.”
“An easy-to-understand name. But, listen.”
Patrick scratched his head and spoke as if he didn’t understand.
“Is training in aura such a big deal? To the point of dividing into factions?”
“……”
“Isn’t it strange? You need actual military power now that it’s hard to handle spirits. So why the reluctance to learn Aura Blessing? Does it damage the Elves’ authenticity or something?”
“It does.”
“Huh? Really?”
When Patrick asked in surprise, Kirioth nodded gravely and spoke.
“An Elf who accumulates aura in their body….”
Kirioth hesitated for a moment.
After Elione, who was behind Patrick, nodded, he sighed and continued.
“Becomes unable to handle spirits.”
“What?”
Patrick was genuinely surprised.
“Wait, does that mean….”
“It means that the young reformist Elves, including myself, cannot summon spirits.”
Kirioth spoke calmly, but this was a huge deal.
Matthew and his companions, who were listening to their conversation, were also dumbfounded.
‘An Elf can’t handle spirits?’
‘Might as well say a Dwarf can’t wield a hammer.’
‘How much resolve did they have to have?’
For Elves, spirits were not just their greatest power; they were more than that.
They were friends and family who accompanied them throughout their lives.
To give up spirits, which could be called the very identity of an Elf, they trained in aura.
Just to acquire the military power their clan needed right now.
Kirioth smirked at the gazes pouring onto him and said.
“Don’t look at me like that. It was my own choice, and I don’t regret it.”
He said this, but it was no ordinary matter.
Being unable to handle spirits could cause severe mental trauma to Elves.
Yet, Kirioth had accepted it.
To become a single spear that could protect his clan.
“Impressive.”
Even the great Patrick acknowledged Kirioth in this moment.
Sacrifice the few for the many.
It sounds like a rational statement. It seems like the obvious thing to do.
But that’s only for those in the position of the ‘many’.
When you’re in the position of the ‘few’, the story changes.
‘In the end, your own survival comes first.’
It was a sight he had seen to the point of disgust since his past life.
The hypocrisy of the so-called nobles who only preached about the greater good but were reluctant to dispatch their main forces to dangerous frontlines.
But Kirioth was practicing it.
For the sake of his clan, he was silently sacrificing himself and choosing a life of austerity.
‘I like him.’
Patrick liked this type of person.
Well, Kirioth was an Elf, but he was far more to Patrick’s liking than the hypocrites who only talk from behind and never step forward to take risks themselves.
So, he could solidify his decision.
“How many Elves have learned aura, including you?”
“About 200, but why do you ask?”
“Bring them here tomorrow.”
“Why should I do that?”
“You don’t want to?”
“I don’t!”
Kirioth shouted back.
In response, Patrick showed him with actions instead of words.
He lay down on his side again, resting his head on Elione’s white and soft thigh.
“What do you think you’re doing!? You filthy human!”
“Ahhh. This feels good. Elione’s lap pillow is warm and soft, and it smells nice.”
“Oh my…. Oh my, oh my….”
Elione brought a hand to her cheek, blushing. And Kirioth….
“Get off. Get your head off her, you human bastard!”
“I’ll get off if you do as I say. Otherwise, I’m sleeping like this.”
“You evil human, taking family hostage! Have you no shame?”
“Nope. Not ashamed at all.”
“Uwaaaaaaaah!”
A frantic Elf.
A sneering human.
In the end, the answer was already set.
***
The next day.
Kirioth appeared before Patrick with 50 young Elven men.
Patrick scratched his head and said.
“Didn’t you say there were 200?”
“I’m not in command of all the reformist Elves. These individuals here came specially at my request.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, so incompetent….”
“……”
“That’s all just an excuse. An excuse. If you just triiiiiied, you could do it all, but because you think you can’t do it beforehand, you get these lacking results. Got it?”
“……”
Kirioth looked up at the sky and shed a single, hot tear.
And for the first time in his life, he cursed his lack of power.
“Well, can’t be helped. Shall we start with this?”
Patrick smiled brightly at the 50 Elves gathered before him and said.
“Hello, everyone. My name is Patrick Schneider.”
The Elves murmured at the sudden self-introduction.
Patrick quickly pushed further.
“I came here today to bring you all good news. I sincerely thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules. I would be grateful if you would listen to my explanation carefully and make a wise decision.”
Liman was surprised to see Patrick treating the Elves with such polite smiles.
“Why is that man acting like that?”
Matthew, who was next to him, replied nonchalantly.
“He’s always like that.”
“Since when, exactly?”
Matthew sighed deeply and said.
“When he’s about to pull a scam.”
“……”
Liman’s jaw dropped, and Matthew looked at the Elves with a pitying expression.
***
Patrick spoke, receiving the blunt gazes of the Elves.
“I heard that everyone here is a martial artist who trains in an aura cultivation method. And I, the Radiant Dragon… no, Double Dragon, am also a martial artist like all of you. In other words, we are all comrades walking the same path.”
The first rule of scamming.
Build a common ground.
“And as a fellow martial artist, I highly value your will and have arranged this meeting to make a proposal that will be of great benefit to you.”
The second rule of scamming.
Propose a benefit that the other party will find tempting.
“Ah, of course, some of you may be skeptical. There is the barrier of race between humans and Elves, so some of you may not believe my words. But think about it. My guarantor is that Elven Knight, Ms. Elione, over there. Would I dare make a proposal that would harm you? Of course not, right? Right?”
The third rule of scamming.
Nip any seeds of doubt in the bud.
‘Ah… I see. It would be a loss not to accept this.’
‘Since Lady Elione is vouching for him, we can probably trust him.’
‘They said Double Dragon is extremely strong, right? There will be much to learn.’
For Patrick, winning over the naive Elves was a piece of cake.
The Elves’ eyes, which had held a slight hint of wariness when they first gathered, now sparkled.
Though Matthew and his companions were looking at those Elves with pity.
‘Now then, shall we get started?’
To put the finishing touch on his plan, Patrick called one of the Elves forward.
“You there, yes, you on the right. Please come forward for a moment.”
The Elven warrior pointed out by Patrick stepped forward.
The spear on his back looked larger than the other Elves’, not because his spear was big.
It was because he had a much leaner build than the other Elves.
Elves generally had slender figures, but this Elf was beyond that, looking very gaunt.
Patrick observed him calmly and then spoke.
“You haven’t had much of an appetite lately, and whatever you eat feels heavy in your stomach, right?”
“Huh? How did you….”
“And you probably have a subtle headache and trouble sleeping at night. Am I right?”
“That’s exactly right.”
“Phew…. As I thought.”
Patrick shook his head and said.
“This is why you need to learn properly when you learn. This is all a side effect of Aura Blessing.”
“A side effect?”
“No way.”
The Elves began to murmur.
One of them spoke to Patrick in a challenging tone.
“We were told that what we learned is practiced by the Royal Guard Knights of the Kaisar Kingdom. So, a side effect? Does that make sense?”
The reformist Elves had spent a considerable sum of money to obtain this Aura Blessing.
And now they were being told it had side effects?
It was only natural for them to be angry.
But Patrick didn’t bat an eye and said.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, even good medicine needs to be taken by someone with the right constitution, in the right amount, and at the right time to be beneficial. Do you think you’ll get healthy just by gobbling it down because it’s good? You’ll only get sick.”
“No, what does that….”
“Ahem. Do you know more about Aura Blessing than I do?”
“That’s….”
“I’m Double Dragon. Double Dragon. You know? The winner of Arcana.”
A side note to the rules of scamming.
If you think you’re going to be doubted, just throw your titles around.