Chapter 115: Chapter 108 – Old Settlement and Founder

"Where did you hear that name?!"

"Huh?"

The dokkalfar woman grabbed my shoulders and practically yelled that question.

"That name! Claret! Where did you hear that?!"

I pointed over my shoulder.

"Claret, show yourself."

Silently, the woman's mouth dropped open as her gaze shifted from me to over my shoulder, where she met face to face with the glare of my faithful familiar.

"You...you...you...!"

She stammered as the slight purple from her cheeks faded into near black before she glanced towards the nearest statue, back to Claret, then once again to the statue, before resting on Claret.

"You're really...the great Claret?"

(Great?)

The dark spirit certainly was impressive in certain things, like her zeal and loyalty, but that didn't really seem like the sort of thing that would be enough to labelled as great.

But that aside, for her name to be known by this dokkalfar. No, rather, if the previous Scarlet had something to do with this settlement, maybe it was a given that Claret's name would be remembered.

But that fact gave me nothing but a terrible feeling.

"I am Claret. And this is my master!"

She practically hissed her answer before tightening her grip around my shoulders.

"Your...your master?! But shouldn't your master be Lord Scarlet?!"

"That's right! My master is Scarlet!"

And with those conviction like words, I was filled with the feeling of my sentence being set in stone.

"She's Lord Scarlet? But...but...she should be dead!"

"Master is so amazing that she beat the gods and came back!"

This time, the smug one was resting her chin on my shoulder.

(Or rather, is it me or is her explanation of what I did even more exaggerated than before?)

"You defeated the gods?!"

"No no, I didn't beat anyone. It wasn't anything like that."

Or rather, I didn't just admit that I reincarnated, did I?

"This, this is too much. I need to report this."

"Wait!"

"Everything else can wait. My great grandmother is one of the settlement's founders. She'll know if you're telling the truth."

Frankly, I doubted if even she could, but more importantly, I couldn't let this explode.

"Alright. I'll see your great grandmother, but don't spread the word!"

"Right. If people heard, there'll be chaos. I'll stay quiet about it."

Understanding the most important parts of what I meant, the woman grabbed my wrist again to lead me somewhere before she paused.

"You four! Come with us! And don't say a word!"

The four kids got glared at by the woman and they each nodded nervously.

I didn't know how much they understood about this conversation, but it was good that she was taking precautions regarding them.

Once she confirmed that the kids were following us, the dokkalfar woman started to pull on my wrist again.

[Claret, hide yourself for now. People seeing you might cause trouble.]

[Yes Master.]

Her face was all over the place. Anyone seeing that would instantly cause a ruckus, something I really wanted to avoid for as long as possible. But something told me that the most I could do was delay the problem, and no matter hat, this'll blow up in my face. Possibly on a nuclear scale.

But it wasn't like I had a choice. They were using my home for their own purposes, and so I needed to do something about that. At the very least, to set up some agreements about its use and negotiate at least neutrality with the fairies.

The dokkalfar woman weaved between the statues and ruined buildings, through the broken paved streets and past the hastily built houses.

Now that I wasn't so distracted by the shock of seeing the ruins of some ancient settlement and statues of a figure that strongly resembled Claret everywhere, I was able to take in the surroundings much better.

There was quite the variety of species residing in this settlement.

While the vast majority were the red skinned demons, not an insignificant number were dokkalfar. There were also a bunch of huge people, probably over twice my height, striding around often moving heavy objects or sitting around examining things. Most likely they were titans. Every once in a while, I also so saw groups of little people floating around. They were a bit shorter than fairies, but they were wider, like they had the body proportions of little children. The only thing I could think they were was imps.

There wasn't a single dragonkin in sight.

(No wait, there's two.)

A pair of dragonkin flew overhead and quickly disappeared beyond the roofs of the nearby buildings.

(That's all the races, except dark elves.)

No matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find any other races. Yet at the same time, they did number five, like the light races. And the dokkalfar resembled exactly as Aurae described the dark elves.

Though her descriptions were pretty vague and bare bones to be honest.

But the people here.

I couldn't help but compare them to the videos of various refugees that showed up on the news here and there. They were covered in dust, their clothes looked ragged and used, and every last one of them looked tired.

Yet, unlike a normal refugee, there was something else there. An energy that someone at the end of their rope wouldn't have.

Many of them looked back at me. The caution and guarded expressions were evident.

Soon enough the woman pulling on my arm dragged me into a worn hut. The walls were made from solid stone, but the corners were filled in with mud, as if whatever mage erected the walls didn't have the time or skill to properly fit everything together. Unlike many of the other buildings it had a decent door, even if it was made from a flattened piece of metal. It at least formed a decent seal, as I absently noted as it was opened.

"You four. Stay outside and make sure nobody comes in. And don't say anything!"

The kids acknowledged, though I seriously wondered if they really would do as she said so easily.

The rest of us entered the hut and the door closed behind us. There were several lights keeping the well cleaned interior brightly lit, though all there was in there was a straw mat and some chairs around a large table. There were also a few wall mounted decorations and a door to another room at the back. There were windows on each side and leather sheets hung on one side.

There was an old woman sitting at the table eating a bowl of soup composed of looked like some meat and vegetables along with some sort of grains mixed in.

It didn't look appetizing.

No, normal food didn't look appetizing. at all to me in the first place, but this plate wouldn't have looked very appetizing to my previous self either. It looked like it was just a bunch of randomly assorted ingredients chopped up to be easy to cook and thrown into a pot to be boiled then served as is. There wasn't any scent of any seasoning and I had a feeling it wasn't even fully cooked through.

"Frey! What did I tell you about entering without knocking?!"

"Sorry, great grandmother! But this is an emergency!"

"*Sigh* Alright. And who is this?"

The older dokkalfar slid her half eaten meal to the side and knitted her fingers together.

"Oh, umm...what was your name again?"

"Scarlet."

I could only sigh that we got this far without any introductions, but then again, this wasn't exactly a new thing for me. It was a bad habit I had developed at some point, so it wasn't like I could complain about this treatment.

But the woman who led me here widened her eyes while the old lady raised an eyebrow.

"Is she really...?"

I ignored the whispered words of the one beside me and examined the older woman. She had long white hair loosely braided over her left shoulder. She showed her age everywhere from her hands to her face, and every change to her expression felt like it increased the number of wrinkles she had. But despite that, her bright golden eyes shone with a focus and strength that I had rarely seen.

Her outfit was simple, mostly the same as the woman who brought me here, but without any armour. Just a layered shoulder wrap and what I presumed was a pareo hidden below the table. Even at her age she was exposing her belly, but I could only swallow any thoughts regarding that as it looked like it was their custom to dress that way.

The material looked nicer than the first woman's and there was also a fang fastener holding the shawl together along with a few gems and polished bone carvings decorating the shoulders.

"And? Why have you brought this...Scarlet?"

"Ah! That's...hey! Where did she go?"

"You can show yourself again."

"Yes Master."

And with those words, Claret used [Materialize] again and made herself visible to those of us who didn't have [Spirit Perception].

With this, the old woman's eyes opened wide. She let go of her hands and raised one shakenly halfway.

"Claret?"

"...?"

The greater spirit on my shoulders tilted her head at her name being called.

"Ah, I suppose you don't recognize me. I've grown so old, yet you look completely unchanged since the last time I saw you."

It was my turn to widen my eyes in surprise. It was one thing for people to recognize her due to her resemblance to those statues outside, but another to have actually met Claret at some point. She didn't talk about it much, but it seemed like ever since her old master was killed, Claret had spent all of her time avoiding people. At most she only interacted with other spirits.

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If someone knew her, then most likely it was from before her master had died.

(Just how old is this lady?!)

"Ah, just when I had finished settling things and was content with my life...we hybrids really don't stand a chance against you mana creatures."

"Great grandmother! Don't talk as if you're about to die! You still have a long time ahead of you!"

"Don't patronize me, Frey! All those who live must one day die. Only the gods are exceptions to that! What matters is if you die with regrets or not!"

The woman, Frey, frowned at her elder's words, but didn't argue.

"I'm sorry about that. Still, it is good to be able to see you again, oh great Claret. It is humbling to be able to bask in your presence once again."

The old lady put both hands on the table and bowed her head deeply. Frey placed her hands on the front of her thighs and bowed down as well. Claret on the other hand looked disinterested and hardly took notice.

After a few moments, the old lady raised her head and gave a wry smile.

"I suppose such formalities still disinterest you, do they? Oh, but I should introduce myself. I am Elli, though I suppose you probably won't remember my name this time either."

"Sorry about that. Claret doesn't seem to be good at remembering most things. I'm Scarlet, by the way."

"No, I am used to it. The great Claret has always been that way, and only a fool would expect any different."

Hearing how she gave her name out without any expectation of being remembered only made me feel sorry for her. I couldn't even imagine how she felt doing that. I didn't know if it was any consolation, but I did my best to memorize her name in turn instead.

"So your name is Scarlet? How appropriate that the great Claret would chose to follow someone who bore the same name as her original master."

"It's not just the same name! Master beat the gods and came back to us!"

"What?! Then...you're..."

Elli froze in shock as she focused entirely on me this time. If I was right, then there was a tinge of worship that was emerging from her eyes.

I had to divert that no matter what.

"No, that's...it's what Claret claims, but I have no idea myself. I don't have any memories of any life before with her, so I don't know if it's really true or not."

"Master is definitely Master! Your soul has the same colour, and you're just as nice as you always were! No, you're even a bit nicer than before!"

"Thanks Claret..."

(Thanks for nothing, really...)

It wasn't like I expected her to support my meagre attempt at subverting her claim. Or rather, expecting her to do anything but try her best to strengthen it was a fool's errand, but I had to try to diffuse it a little at least.

"Then...you are the same Lord Scarlet that the great Claret served long ago, but you had lost your memories?"

"Well, I don't know for sure that I'm the same person as her, but Claret is convinced of that fact at least. I, on the other hand, have no evidence to prove such a point, so you don't have to worry so much about that."

But against my hopes, Elli shook her head.

"If the great Claret believes it to be true, then we have no reason to doubt it. Truly, it is fortunate that the founder had returned!"

This wasn't sounding good at all.

"What do you mean by founder?"

"Ah, but I have much to explain. Please sit. Frey! Go get a drink for our guest! Bring her a cup of blood!"

"Wha? Where am I going to get blood?!"

"Slit your own wrist if you have to! Don't make Lord Scarlet wait!"

"Actually, I'd prefer she doesn't. I don't drink blood from any people."

Even if they were willing, I really would rather avoid drinking someone's blood. Especially if they were being threatened into doing it.

"My! You truly have grown even more gentle since your absence! Just like how the great Claret said!"

That said, I couldn't help but feel like everything I did or said continued to dig my grave even deeper.

I at least did take the seat that was offered though.

"Now then, where to start...if you really have no memories of the past, then I suppose starting at the beginning is appropriate then."

"That would be nice."

"You know how the world is split between the races of dark and races of light?"

"Yes."

Aurae had already explained the basics of that.

"Every few decades, a demon lord rises up and leads the dark races. From there, the light races raise a hero, who invades our lands and slays our lord, leaving us in ruins each time."

I nodded. It sounded pretty RPGesque, but it was easy to understand.

"Many of us had grown tired of this endless cycle. A demon lord rises, we go to war, and the lord is defeated. Sometimes we slay the hero, but a new one always rises and the demon lord is eventually defeated and the war is suspended for a generation. One day, the call of the demon lord came, but a group of us refused to listen and escaped our homes in the hopes of finding a place where we could find peace instead of another war."

That was quite incredible. Leaving everything you knew to avoid fighting in the war. It wasn't something that most people could do.

"Demons, titans, imps, and us dokkalfar travelled across the continent. But no matter how far we ran, we couldn't escape from the demon lord's reaches. That was, until a single fateful day. A strange vampire approached our group."

(A vampire?)

While I could guess who this vampire was, it was a little strange that there weren't any vampires that had joined the group from the beginning.

"There weren't any vampires in your group?"

"There weren't. In the first place, that generation's demon lord was a vampire, so most of the vampires at the time fell under his rule. Whether through force or kinship, I have no idea. But vampires, as well as dragonkin, had generally followed the demon lords as close followers. Especially those demon lords that were the same race as them."

That wasn't really something I could imagine as a vampire. The only other vampire I had met had quickly turned into a death match, and I wasn't confident that any other vampire I meet wouldn't also turn into some sort of violent confrontation as well.

The dragonkin on the other hand I could understand a bit better. It fell in line with what Magni had told me.

"So we were careful about this strange vampire. She had claimed to know somewhere we could settle, but trust didn't come easy for us. It wasn't until she single handedly beat our pursuers that we decided to take a chance with her."

"So that was how you first met Scarlet?"

"It was. We followed her all the way to here. She beat one powerful monster after the next, and showed us a way though the forest. All the way to the entrance to this dungeon, and we settled down here. We hunted and gathered inside the dungeon while we built a settlement outside."

"I see."

While quite a bit more direct, it was a bit similar to what had happened to the fairies.

"Eventually news of the defeat of the demon lord reached us and we celebrated. But soon many of our people grew homesick and chose to return to their old homes, now that the threat of the war had ended. Not all of us left, but quite a few did. We owed Lord Scarlet so much for saving us and founding this settlement, it didn't feel right to just return."

That made sense. They had no reason to continue being refugees. The fact that so many decided to stay on the other hand was a little weird, but I could understand that side a bit as well. They had made a new home, so they were reluctant to part with it. Compounded with the sense of debt towards the previous Scarlet, it would have strengthened that feeling of staying.

"Well, admittedly the difficulty of the return journey was one of the reasons why many of us stayed though."

"..."

"That aside, we continued to build up our settlement separate from the rest of the world, never forgetting our gratitude to Lord Scarlet who found this place in the first place."

"I see. But something happened afterwards?"

That explained why there were ruins in the first place, but not why they had deteriorated.

"That's right. While we lived happily here believing that the wars could never touch us here, we were wrong. One day, there was some unrest as some people had spotted some light people hiding amongst the trees. We took up arms of course. Living beside a dungeon meant that most of us were proficient at fighting after all. But it was still terrifying. What sort of people could even find this place? Could they be as strong as Lord Scarlet?"

"Hmmm..."

The fairies and fluffballs cheated by avoiding all the dangers, but if it was any other race, they'd have to deal with the monsters along the way. As well as any particularly nasty terrain features. I never really paid much attention to it, but when I thought back, there were some steep cliffs and broken hills despite the entire area being forested. It was too easy to get lost if you couldn't just jump or fly over them, and too easy to get killed if you weren't stronger than most of the monsters in the area.

"In the end, we couldn't find any of them. But something even worse was discovered."

"Wait, is that..."

"That's right. It was the great Claret crying over black robes filled with nothing but ash."

"..."

"The loss of Lord Scarlet broke all of us, and fear eventually overtook the settlement. As shameful as it was, we abandoned everything and ran. We did try to convince the great Claret to come with us, but she wouldn't respond to anyone, like words just wouldn't enter her ears. Not like any of us could blame her. She loved Lord Scarlet more than anyone else."

Everything I had seen over the last few months supported exactly that. If anything Claret was completely obsessed with her original master, and that in turn mean that she was obsessed with me, who she viewed as her reincarnation.

It was still frustrating to be living in her shadow so completely, but at least it felt like she was starting to like me for who I actually was, not who I was supposed to be.

"Quite a few of us died along the way, but eventually we reached the dark lands again. The shame of not being able to protect our leader hung heavily for us over the centuries, and the wars since reduced our numbers quite a bit further. But the few of us who had lived all this time started to dream again. To dream for our children and their children, and their children to be free of these wars, like we had once dreamed for ourselves.

"We had shamed ourselves for being unable to protect the one who had saved us, for running in fear of our lives when we had finally gained what we wanted most. We swore that we would give our children what we had managed to glimpse. So we convinced as many as we could and came back. Many of us were lost in the journey once again, but those of us who remembered lead the way. From the front, like how the founder Lord Scarlet had. Most of us fell, we were old and not as strong as she was even after so much time, but we made it, even if I am the only one left who can remember."

I...I couldn't sympathize at all. All the struggles they must have had, all the pain they must have experienced. I couldn't relate even slightly. It was beyond my imagination, like trying to imagine the pain of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide. It was simply too...alien for me to understand, as someone who had never faced mass tragedy any closer than the screen on my computer.

The closest I had ever gotten to such a terrible event was with the prisoners of that bastard a few months ago, but I wasn't one of the victims there, just someone who helped the victims.

"But to think, I'd live to see Lord Scarlet return. Even if you lost your memories, we'll never forget what you had done for us."

And with those words, Elli bowed her head reverently to me.

(...Fuck.)

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