章節 3: Hall of Elders

Note: The chapter was revised on 10.02.2024.

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Adam sat on the bed, with Claire to his right and Mary to his left. While he had no questions for the first girl, he had some for Mary.

"Listen, why are you here? You've talked so much about me being a detestable demon and how repulsive it is to be around me that my ears have practically withered. So why are you here?" Adam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I just worry about Claire. What if you, wicked demon, try to seduce her and then rob her of her virginity!" Mary exclaimed, almost shouting with a flushed face, clearly unwilling to admit her true feelings.

"What?!" Adam raised an eyebrow, his gaze seemingly saying, "Come on, look at my face and tell me if I believe you." He thought, "This woman is strangely odd. I wanted to get back at her for that wound, but now I don't even have the desire..."

Deciding to ignore her for now, Adam turned to Claire. Compared to the tsundere sitting next to him, Claire was a sincere girl with a kind character who was easy to talk to. She seemed innocent, willingly sharing everything Adam asked.

"Listen... Adam, are you not a spy? The Chaos Empire is in unfriendly relations with Elfheim right now, so they might kill you here," Claire said, squinting her beautiful blue eyes, and scrutinizing Adam.

"Even if you ask me... I don't remember anything. I woke up and found myself in this place, and why I'm here and for what purpose – I don't know," he replied, shrugging.

His tone was sincere, and this sincerity was conveyed to both women, who fell into their thoughts. Mary, pretending not to be interested, was eavesdropping, and after Adam's undoubtedly truthful words, she pondered.

"The place where my squad found him was in one of the secret paths, where the entrance and exit are closed and can only be opened by squad captains like me. He couldn't have gotten in here unless he was helped by a creature with the same power as Her Majesty the Queen," Mary thought.

Elfheim had more than a hundred paths for entering and exiting, but only ten of them were known to a select few. The reason was to preserve anonymity and use the terrain for their own needs. The fact that a demon managed to get inside made the elders and the Queen immediately gather to discuss precautionary measures. There might be spies.

"It has come to the point where even I am doubted," Mary thought, clenching her teeth, recalling the face of a certain man. "Damn! Has that bastard turned against me after what I did? I thought we parted on good terms..."

Thus, each of them was immersed in their thoughts, creating silence. However, after five minutes, a man in armor entered the room. Though puzzled seeing these two women, he announced, "Demon, the Queen, and the Elders have decided to give you a chance and allowed you to try to justify your sin. Follow me now and do not resist. I will put shackles on you."

"Sure..." Adam shrugged, not knowing what to say. He stood up and approached the man, then extended his hands.

"Hmph!" The man gave Adam an unfriendly look, inspecting him from head to toe. He then put two bracelets on Adam's wrists and attached an iron chain.

In the next moment, Adam felt as if he had run a marathon, and he didn't like the sensation, but he had little choice.

"Follow me. I must warn you that your demonic energy has been sealed, so don't even think about using it," the knight said, leading Adam along.

"Yeah, yeah..."

As Adam followed the man, who was most likely an elf, he encountered numerous stares – mostly filled with disgust and hatred from men, and admiration and adoration from women. Some female knights, however, looked at him to kill, causing Adam to raise an eyebrow.

"Does she have some dark history with demons?" he pondered, then shrugged, "Well, I don't care. I'm not even sure if I'm a demon..."

Deep within himself, he felt something flowing through his veins. Adam couldn't accurately describe his sensations; it was like feeling the movement of blood through the circulatory system. However, this "something" resembling blood was cold. He couldn't comprehend it.

One of his assumptions was that it might be magical energy. Resigned to the fact that he seemed not to be on Earth, Adam began to perceive everything from a fantasy perspective. It was possible that what he felt was magic, but... it was so weak and unnoticeable that magical energy seemed almost non-existent.

After a long walk through seemingly endless corridors, they reached a massive door towering up to the ceiling (which was about fifteen meters high). To open the door, the elf didn't push it; he simply knocked. In the next second, a flash appeared in Adam's eyes, and when he came to his senses, he found himself in a spacious hall.

As his vision returned to normal, the first thing he noticed was the number of people in the room – there were ten of them, all women. Nine women, resembling each other like sisters, sat behind a rectangular table. But what caught his attention was not them but the one sitting on the throne.

"It's her..."

Adam vividly remembered the woman he encountered after escaping from Mary's squad. It was her.

"How audacious! How dare you stare at Her Majesty!" a rough voice of the elf who led him here resounded. Adam saw that the man was about to swing his fist, but...

"Wait. I gave no orders," a gentle voice filled with kindness and love interrupted.

Adam flinched when he felt a pleasant sensation in his ears, but he couldn't find the reason for it, no matter what he did.

"Let's all calm down. Though a demon is a rare guest in my kingdom, we still must be restrained and understanding," the one the elf called the "Queen" spoke. She smiled, meeting Adam's gaze, and the man could swear that for a fraction of a second, he felt a chill down his spine, disappearing as quickly as it came.

"Did I imagine it?" he thought, not averting his gaze.

"Demon, my name is Amaria. I am the respected Queen of Elves and the great ruler of Elfheim," she introduced herself, gently smiling. "You are in my royal castle, and the ladies sitting here are the Elders. We gathered here to decide your fate."

"..." Adam said nothing – he decided to remain silent at this moment, waiting for them to ask questions. He understood that in such situations, his opinion mattered to no one, so he simply had to wait and answer their questions.

Upon seeing Adam's cooperation, the women smiled and began to ask questions one by one.

"Demon, I am the Chief Elder named Iliantra. I allow you to introduce yourself and share your past," began the woman with graceful features and a well-developed figure. She had golden hair and green eyes that radiated wisdom. She added, "It would be better for you to speak sincerely and without falsehood. I can see when someone is lying."

"...My name is Adam, and that's the only normal information I can provide. I woke up in the forest and ended up surrounded by elves, unable to resist. The event of how I got here, I don't remember; it's like my memory was erased," Adam honestly said, omitting some details.

"Hmm..."

Iliantra was puzzled by Adam's response, not because she found anything suspicious, but because he wasn't lying. Every word he spoke was sincere and free of deception. Iliantra exchanged glances with the other women, and then questions started raining down on Adam.

In most cases, his answer was, "I don't know," or "I don't remember," which was not a lie since he had no memories of events prior. This left all the women in bewilderment.

"How is that possible? He infiltrated a secret passage but doesn't remember anything. Did someone deliberately place him here and erase his memories?" Iliantra thought, exchanging glances with Amaria.

"Okay, Adam. I believe you; you are indeed innocent," suddenly said Amaria with a tender expression, then continued, squinting her eyes, "Though I can't say I'm very pleased with your answers. What should I do with you, Adam?"

"...What do you mean?" Adam felt a chill down his spine as if a sinister priest stood behind him.

"What I said. I genuinely don't know where to put you, Mr. Demon," Amaria replied with a smile, no longer squinting. "I can't contact the Demon Queen, so I can't confirm your identity. On the other hand, leaving you free is very dangerous, you understand?"

"..."

Adam didn't know what to say. It was evident that Amaria was trying to convey something to him, but he didn't understand what.

"It seems you don't understand. Fine, let me explain... currently, tensions are high between demons and elves, we are almost enemies, you could say. Although there is no war at the moment, demons have caused a lot of trouble for my race, leading to deep-seated hatred," Amaria began to speak with a smile, then chuckled, pointing at Adam, "And here you are... appearing out of nowhere, violating our borders. What do you think will happen to you if I don't restrain the elves?"

"That...," Adam couldn't find the words.

"Exactly. More than a thousand elves will come for you, seeking bloody vengeance. They will torture you until you beg for death," Amaria said with a casual tone, but her words were too cruel. However, she then added, "But I won't allow that. We are educated people, aren't we?"

Adam couldn't understand who this woman was. She always smiled, and from her, he felt only kindness and care, so he doubted she had bad intentions.

"So, how about you make a magical contract? By signing it, you'll get freedom and protection, and in return, you'll have to give us your blood... for research."

"And now... choose."

"Death or submission?"

To be continued...