The main tower of Jiiteias Castle.
It was originally the private domain of the lord, Margils.
He sometimes had meals or meetings with guests and comrades in the hall on the first floor or the command room on the second floor, but this was mainly because he had no choice but to do so due to space constraints.
The wandering knight, Elmer Luke Sandall, was staying in the command room that he had redecorated as a guest room, for the same reason.
Under the strong sunlight, the wandering knight was training the soldiers in the courtyard.
“You’re doing it wrong with your feet, wrong! You have to step forward with your weight, momentum, and spirit on the foot that you’re thrusting with!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Your hips are too high!”
He shouted with a loud voice that reached the guest room.
“…Yeah, this is hopeless. Let’s give up.”
Contrary to the voice of the wandering knight that echoed to the guest room, the one who muttered gloomily was one of the wandering knight’s servants.
He was a young man who was not yet 20 years old. His name was Karel.
The servants were provided with a room in a corner of the residential building.
Karel was supposed to be here “for cleaning the room”.
Sandall did not know, but Karel was a spy of a great nobleman of the northern kingdom of Shulendal, Earl Flandre, who kept him as a pet.
His mission was to use his position as a wandering knight’s servant to send information from various places to the earl.
As Margils and his friends had guessed, Sandall had come to Jiiteias Castle because Karel had lured his temporary master with sweet words.
Of course, it was by the order of his real employer, Earl Flandre.
“I can’t sense his presence, let alone hear his voice. He seems to have locked the door with magic, so I can’t do anything about it.”
Karel slumped on the sofa and looked up at the ceiling with a resentful expression.
He was glaring at the ceiling, or rather, at the lord’s private room above it.
To go up the stairs and enter his private room, the lord had to pass by the door of the guest room. He had felt his presence and footsteps earlier, but he had no idea what was going on beyond that.
However, he had not tried any tools for eavesdropping or peeking yet, nor had he shown any intention of doing so.
Karel was not an incompetent spy. Rather, he had the skills and experience worthy of being a pet of a great nobleman.
What caused Karel to make such a “hopeless” remark?
“Yeah. I shouldn’t think about unnecessary things. From now on… I’ll just write honestly and only the truth in my letters to “father”, as I’ve always done.”
He muttered in a fast voice, as if he was making an excuse to someone.
Cold sweat was on Karel’s forehead.
Nothing had happened until he entered the guest room from the main tower.
But when he thought he would check out what was going on upstairs… he felt a fear as if he was in the mouth of a dragon.
No matter how much he looked around or tried to sense his surroundings, he could not understand anything. There was no doubt that he was the only one here.
And yet, his instinct as a spy… no, as a living being was telling him to run away with all his might.
He was lucky that he had the ability to think rationally about the situation, not just obey his instinct.
“But really, Margils-sama… is amazing. I’m sure he can get along well with Lord Sandall. And he’s a perfect match with that beautiful dark elf servant of his.”
Karel got up jerkily and headed for the door.
His cold sweat had soaked his entire face, and even his whole body.
His desperate “monologue” was like a spell to ward off evil spirits.
“Anyway, I don’t know how to say this, but I can’t do any sneaky investigation in this castle anymore. So, well… I’m sorry!”
He muttered fearfully and as soon as his hand reached the doorknob, he ran out of the guest room.
“……”
The guest room after Karel dashed out.
Behind the sofa where the young spy had been sitting until a moment ago, a tall woman “oozed” her figure.
Dark brown skin, light purple hair, leather armor that was more provocative than functional.
Leihanaluka Heikreuz Ruu.
The dark elf spy scout who had the trust of the lord Margils.
Karel fled in fear because he felt the killing intent of her, who had erased her presence with the dark elf’s unique magic and super-class stealth technique.
Of course, if Leiha wanted to, she could have watched Karel without letting him feel any killing intent or signs of her presence.
But even so, it was not feasible to keep an eye on him all the time. It was a waste of time.
Also, since Margils had gained a certain degree of trust from Lord Sandall, he decided to take measures to prevent the spy from sending distorted information to the earl or sniffing around for unnecessary things.
This time, she deliberately let Karel notice her killing intent as a warning, but Leiha thought there was more meaning to it.
“…That man, he’s not very skilled, but his head is decent. He not only understood our intention, but also said the words we wanted to hear.”
Margils also had no intention of turning the earl or Lord Sandall into enemies, and Karel noticed that intention.
Anyone who had been active as a spy could notice that much. On top of that, Leiha was satisfied that he showed his “acceptance” with their intention.
“……A good match, huh. What a foolish thing.”
The cold beauty of the dark elf crumbled in a puzzled way for a moment.
“A foolish thing, huh? ……Yeah, that’s right.”
Maybe adding that word was proof of Karel’s skill as a spy.
Most of the humans in this world, Sedia, have a strong fear and loathing for the race called dark elves.
This is in stark contrast to the elves, who are paired with the dark elves, and are regarded with awe and admiration.
According to the creation myth that is passed down in the northern kingdom of Shulendal, the elves are the race that was created by God “to help humans with wisdom”, and the dark elves are the elves that that were corrupted by “the wisdom of evil”.
…That is the view of scholars and priests.
The truth is, humans are afraid of dark elves, but also somehow attracted to them, because they are always the shadows of humans.
Dark elves are different from elves, they do not have their own living areas or nations.
They are divided into clans that govern functions such as “plotting”, “invading”, and “cursing”, and coexist with human society.
If the dark elves, who have high intelligence, physical abilities, and beauty, used their functions for their own benefit, human countries would not be able to maintain the order they have now.
But they have always worked as servants under humans, who they regard as their “employers”, as if they were faithfully carrying out the part of the creation myth that says “to help humans”.
In other words, the reason why they seem to be lurking in the shadows of human society and doing evil deeds is because humans want them to.
But few humans are aware of that.
As Karel stumbled out of the main tower, his sweaty appearance worried Sandal.
There was also a visitor in the private room of Claura, who lived in the residential building.
This time, it was a formal visit to ask for an audience with the owner of the room.
One of Sandall’s servants, the knight attendant Merida.
“You know, Margils-sama is very admirable. He treats that dark elf as a fair subordinate.”
“……For him, any status or ethnicity in this world……even the difference of race is nothing but a trivial matter.”
Claura countered Merida, who spoke with hidden malice behind her friendly words, with a graceful smile.