章 4: Chapter IV - The Aria Empire.
(Disclaimer - I do not condone, justify, or take part in the act of child abuse.)
3 Weeks later.
It's been a few weeks since we got captured by the "knights". Those bastards, I don't know what they did to Mom, but it isn't good. They dropped me off at some noble's mansion, and that was the last time I saw her.. It seems they haven't decided what to do with me yet, as they've just fed me and given me a room to sleep in. To keep myself occupied at night, I have been investigating the mansion. I have yet to discover what, but something about it feels wrong.. unnaturally so. Also, other than when they bring me food, nobody has talked to or even near me. And when they do talk, it's only a brief "Dinner." or "Boy.".
"Haa... Whatever, I'll know everything tomorrow."
Around a week after I arrived here, I stumbled upon a hidden room in one of my nightly searches. I could hear people talking inside, but I had to leave since the sun had already risen. Since then, I've checked all the other rooms, at least the ones I can get in, with no luck, which I don't know is a good or bad sign. As tomorrow is exactly one week after that day, I think it will be different.
Creak
Without knocking, a maid enters the room holding a plate with food on it.
"Youw meal."
Clink
The servant places the plate of food on a table and leaves.
Woah, that's the first time I've heard her talk, do all beastmen speak like that? None of the servants here are human. Some are catgirls like her, and there are other beastmen around as well.
Wonder what they gave me today.
I look down at the plate and am immediately disappointed.
Sigh
"I miss Mom..."
The food on the plate looks like it was leftovers of the slaves' dinner, a mix of raw potatoes, rock-hard bread, and tasteless soup with chunks of... meat? From an unknown animal mixed in.
"At least the water is normal."
"Blargh."
Somehow I feel worse now than before I ate it.
"Time to get to work."
I slowly open the door, step out, and quietly shut it behind me.
Step step step
Although they don't pay much attention to me, they will still stop me from going somewhere I shouldn't, so I need to avoid the routes the servants take unless I want to end up in a cell, of course.
Well, anyway It doesn't really matter until I get to the stairs.
Step
"And here I am, the hidden stairway."
I have only seen one person go in and out of this, and that is the lord of this mansion and land, Count Tobas Najura. I've seen him go inside three times, and all three times I could hear faint screams and cries.
"One-man party?"
Heh. Yeah, I hope it's just that.
I pause for a moment, staring down the dark stairs, preparing myself for what's to come.
Welp, time to go down the dark, scary stairway.
Shhh
I take a few steps in and slide the cabinet back into place, leaving it only a crack open.
I almost forgot to take the torch with me.
Tap tap tap tap
"Ugh, what's that smell..?"
A few moments later, as I reach the bottom of the stairs, the stench of blood fills the air.
Step step
"Disgusting."
As I walk further into the basement, I pass by rooms full of torture devices, some with dried blood, some with fresh blood.
Hurk!
Bleegh, cough, cough, cough
Ptoo!
I wipe the vomit off my mouth with a piece of cloth and discard it.
Disregarding the smell, the basement is dark, with no torches on the walls. Other than various torture devices, there are pieces of broken glass, wood, and other materials strewn across the place.
"This is terrible. I hope whoever, or whatever's down here is still alive."
"Wh..o is... there?"
"!"
A weak, faint sound comes from one of the rooms deeper inside.
Elven?
After hearing the speech and recognizing it as Elven, I quickly turn away from the wall and run toward the origin of the voice.
Tap tap tap
"Hello!? Where are you!"
"Help.. please."
There! That room!
Bang!
Upon reaching the room, I slam open the door, breaking the old lock in the process.
"Where are you?"
Due to the darkness in the room, it takes me a moment to see her, a young dark Elf child who appears to be around my age shivering in the corner. What she is wearing can barely be called clothes. They appear to be merely rags sloppily patched together to cover her skin and nothing more, wrapped in a thin blanket. One that, with just a glance, definitely would not warm anybody up, even in the warmest weather. Her tearful yellow-tinted eyes look empty, almost lifeless, and her short, black hair reaching her neck is dirty and unkempt. Her light brown skin is covered with dirt and dried blood. What parts are visible on her body are covered in scars. She looks up at me with fear and backs away, pushing her small body further into the corner.
"..."
How could he, to such a young girl..
"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."
She jumps when she hears me speak but appears to be moderately comforted that it is elven.
"What's your name?"
I slowly and gently step forward while attempting to calm her down by asking a question.
"... Me don't.. have name."
She doesn't have one? Just how young was she when she was brought here..?
"Well, my name is Harue, you can call me Haru."
"Ha..ru."
"That's right."
Now I am only a few feet away from her and can see her clearer. Other than shivering, she is bleeding and visibly in pain. She also appears to be malnourished, but luckily, she doesn't look sick, at least not visibly.
As I get closer, she pushes herself even further into the corner, her pointy ears angled down like a scared cat.
"Don't worry, I'm going to help you."
I am now within arm's reach of her. I slowly reach my hand out and touch her skin. A shiver runs through me as I feel how bitterly cold she is.
"You so... warm."
"Does it hurt? It'll be okay."
How did it go again?
"Uhh, by the power of light and.. the loving embrace of nature, let this injured child's wounds heal, and her pain be satiated, nature's healing."
Was that the right one?
Swish
A light green ball radiating from my hand appears. As I run it across her skin, the injuries slowly heal.
"See? It's okay."
"How you.. doing dat?"
"It's called magic, I can teach you it if you want."
To be honest, I don't even know why I can use magic now. Is it because of the necklace? Or could it be due to my 'mana' limits being higher now than back then? I have been practicing, but I definitely wouldn't have gotten that much better in such a short time.
But even with these injuries, she's not crying much. Is she naturally good at handling pain or is she just used to it..? I heard dark elves were stronger mentally compared to the average elf, but this is stretching it.
"Big hurt... back."
Phew, I think she's starting to trust me mo-
As she turns around to show me her back, I see a large set of bloody injuries on her back, some slightly healed. The largest of all is still bleeding, soaking through the blanket. I freeze for a moment but as I reach towards to attempt to heal her wounds, I accidentally rub my hand on her back.
"Ah!"
She immediately reacts by jerking away and starting to silently cry, as if the pain that she had been holding back came rushing in all at once.
Sniff
Shit. Can I heal something like that? No, I have to, It's the right thing to do.
"Haa."
"By the power of light and the loving embrace of nature, let this injured child's wounds heal, and her pain be satiated, nature's healing!"
The wound slowly starts to heal but at too slow a pace.
"Cmon! More!"
The light gets brighter and heals the smaller injuries, making them completely disappear as if they were never there.
"That's not enough!"
The light grows even brighter and larger, engulfing both of my arms and unexpectedly healing the scars left by the fireball.
It's not working!
"AAAAAAAAAAAH!"
In a final effort, I put all my strength into the healing.
Huff, huff, huff
I poured all my mana into it, but I was only barely able to get the wound closed... It'll leave a pretty big scar, but at least she's safe.. for now.
Sniifff
"Awe you... okay, haru?"
Ugh, my head. At least I didn't get knocked out this time.
"Haa,"
"Yeah, are you?
"Me better."
Thank god. Now, what to do with her.. I mean—I can't just leave her here but what else can I do with her?
"Haru, you.. go bye-bye?"
"No, no. Of course not."
Right, I can't just leave her here, what was I thinking?
Grumble~
"S-Sowwy."
Oh my god, she's too adorable.
"Are you hungry? Let's go."
"Go? No go.. mean man angwy."
"Don't worry about that, I'll protect you from him."
"Bu-Buh if he finds us..."
"I'll take care of it."
"Urgh"
She attempts to stand up but can't due to her hunger and weakness, falling to the ground.
Thud
So skinny, when was the last time she ate anything, or even walked?
"Are you okay? You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"
With how much blood she lost earlier, I don't want her to lose any more..
"Okay."
I still have some food left from my 'dinner', I'll go get that so she can get some strength back.
"I'm gonna go get you something to eat. I will come back soon, okay?"
"You go away?"
"I'll be back right away, like a flash!"
"Okay..."
I give her a quick smile, pat her head, and run off toward the entrance.
Huff huff
It's good that this place is so soundproofed, but he could come in anytime.
Tap tap tap
Ssh
Slam!
I hope nobody heard that.
Clink
"Okay, it's not much, but it'll be enough."
Shiff
I slide the bread into a bag and leave the soup in the bowl.
No time to pack that up. We'll come back for it when she can walk.
Swish
I tie the bag shut, slide it onto my back and run out the door towards the room leading to the staircase.
Tap tap tap
Bam!
I slam the door and rush towards the cabinet.
"Hnng, c'mon!"
Crash!
While reaching inside for the entrance, it slides open, knocking me to the ground.
"Owww, but I was sure I closed it."
Moments later, the realization hit me.
"No way.. Did he...!?"
Bang!
Race Information - Dark Elf
- Appearance -
Dark skin and generally dark-tinted hair such as black or brown
The average height of male dark elves is 6'1" and 5'8" for females and have slender bodies
Except for their stature, skin and hair colour, the only visual difference between Dark elves and humans is their pointy Elf ears
- Living style -
Most elves, including Dark elves, live in the Banura Queendom
Around 1/5th of the population are sold into slavery or work as courtesans
On average, a lifespan of 200-300 years
Unlike elves, Dark elves fight with swords and daggers instead of bows. Elves are more nimble than Dark elves, but Dark elves have a stronger build, allowing them to get heavier hits in. Although they fight using swords and daggers, they are also naturally skilled in dark magic. Although rare, some dark elves can use void magic.
- Special notes -
Dark elves are an offshoot race originating from elves resulting in a much shorter population. This means that people will try harder and pay more to have them as slaves.
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