The Elf King stood up and strode to the door, leaving us in a daze. Meek follows behind him. The story has developed so quickly that I can't keep up with my thoughts, but I try to follow them anyway.
"It's no use. You stay here.
Meek stops us with a serious expression on his face that I have never seen before. The two of them leave the room at a quick pace.
"......"
I look at the door they left with a blank expression on my face. Just as I am thinking that they are not going to close the door, Sidhi takes my hand in hers. She looks me in the eye and nods slowly.
"......?"
"You're thinking obscenities again!"
Suddenly I was angry. Obscene is a greeting. She looked at me with moist eyes and I thought she wanted me to kiss her by any chance. Sadie was so angry that she leaned forward with her hands on her hips.
"No, no, we're going after them too!"
"So ...... you're right. It would be bad to leave Meek alone."
"No, I think we should go, too. I feel like we'll look bad if we stay here."
I couldn't quite grasp the meaning of Sadie's words, but I got up, headed for the door, and left the room.
As I proceeded down the long hallway, I could sense that there was a disturbance in the air. I didn't hear any voices, but I could clearly sense the inaudible murmur as I walked along.
After walking for a while, I saw a door in front of me. With some hesitation, I grabbed the handle of the door and slowly pushed it open.
A large group of elves were gathered in front of ...... me. All of them were looking at me. I freeze in the open door position. I see a chair in front of me. It is probably, or rather definitely, the Elf King. It seems that the hallway leads to the throne room.
Meek is standing right behind the chair and frowns when he notices us.
I looked to my left and saw an elf with his head sticking out of his chair looking at us. When our eyes met, he looked surprised and immediately jumped up from his chair and moved away from us.
"Go back to your room.
The Elf King is still facing forward, his mouth open. I froze, not knowing what to do, when the old elf in front of the king pointed at me with a look of indignation on his face.
"......"
"......"
"......"
Watching the movements of the assembled elves, I could see that they were saying something to the king, though they did not utter a word.
"This is ....... Maybe he's saying something like, 'You let us into this castle, that's why the murders happened ......'?"
"It would seem so."
Sadie mumbles as she peeks out from under my armpit. She, too, is watching the elves' movements with her eyes darting up and down, from side to side. I look over and see Meek shaking his head, grilling his temples.
"Meek, are you okay?"
She flutters and waves her hand at the sound of my voice. I guess she wants to tell me that she's okay, but she doesn't look okay to me.
"......I don't know what the hell is going on."
"Apparently, they are saying that Leila was killed because we came here. No, rather, they seem to think that we killed Leila.
"No, that's impossible. We've always been with someone, with Meek and the elf-king and the others. There was no time to kill the elf. We have the perfect alibi."
"...... I'm sure someone will testify that we didn't kill the elves."
"Yes, that's right. It seems that the Elf King is telling us that we are not the culprits. It seems to me that his words are adding fuel to the fire of the elves' anger.
Sidi is still moving his face up and down, from side to side, watching the elves. Hundreds of elves are gathered in front of the king, so many that there is no room to stand in the small room. They still don't speak, but from the way they sometimes raise their hands or point at us, I can tell they are very angry and the atmosphere is unspeakably unpleasant. I want to get away from this place as soon as possible, but apparently I can't.
"It seems that they want us to kill them.
As I watch the elves, I hear Sidhi muttering some disturbing words. Why should they kill us?
"The elves were killed because we came here. Our precious brethren were killed because non-elves came here. ....... It seems to me that he is telling us to kill them here rather than expel the man and the girl quickly ...... because misfortune always befalls those who are not elves when they enter here."
"No, no, no, that's absurd. Trial by default. Shouldn't we find the culprit first?
Yes, you are completely shifting the blame.
"Silence, everybody!"
Suddenly, a loud voice with a man's voice rings out. I look to see the Elf King rising from his chair.
"First, we must find Leila's murderer. I command you all! Find the one who killed Leila.
"......It seems that the Elf King dared to speak out so that we might hear him."
The room is so silent that Sidhi's voice echoes through the room as she mutters in a small voice. It seems that the king is overwhelmed by his majesty.
"I'm so glad you're here, Sadie!"
"Ssh! Shut up!"
I was rejected with all my might. I'm so pissed off. ....... I'm really bummed out: ....... You don't like me as much as you think?
Sidi is watching the elves without paying attention to me. Then the elf who had just been sitting next to the king waves his palm toward the ceiling.
As if on cue, a few elves step forward in front of the king, then pass by him and come to us. One of them suddenly grabbed Siddee's arm and tried to pull her out.
"Ow!
What the hell are you doing?
Without thinking, I shooed the elf's hand away. He looked surprised, then turned his eyes to where my hand had touched, and wiped his hand repeatedly as if he had touched something dirty. He reminds me of a girl I used to hate in middle school. It kind of pissed me off.
I hide her behind my back, trying to stay calm. The elf grabs Siddee and moves back, grabbing his own hand. Another elf stands in front of him. He holds a dagger in his hand. He seems intent on killing me.
"......!"
The dagger is thrust silently. But I grab his arm to defend myself. He desperately tries to pull his arm away, but my grip is so strong that it doesn't budge. I take the dagger with my left hand and point it at him. The elf backs away with a surprised look on his face, and another elf steps forward to replace him.
The elf attacks without question. But I perfectly avoid it. He has a good arm, but he still moves unevenly. With my level 5 swordsmanship, I wouldn't even be able to touch him.
"Amazing ......, Mr. Rinos!"
I hear Sidney's voice behind my back. Huh? Didn't I ever show you my arm?
I was attacked when my consciousness left the elf's body for a moment. The next thing I know, the elf's dagger is already extended to my chest. Too soon. My earlier move was a fake. Now I can't lose. I have no choice but to kill it.
Stop it!
Suddenly I hear a man's loud voice. It stops me and the elf. The elf's dagger was aimed precisely at my heart. My sword, on the other hand, was aimed at the elf's neck. If not for my voice, the elf would have been sure to have his throat slit.
He must have realized what was happening. The elf's face is contorted. He slowly backed away from me with a distorted face. .......