Once bathed and refreshed, our party gathered at the government-run pub. Lana, Shuna, and Lis had already begun eating by the time Éa and I arrived. Though only a little past midday, patrons, including parties we’d seen in the dungeon, filled the bar’s tables. Various side dishes and several empty bottles of ale littered the round table where my friends sat.
“Shuna, what’s with these?” I asked after taking my seat, gesturing toward the drained bottles. He shifted his gaze to Lana, who at that very moment had her lips pressed directly against yet another one, gulping down its contents like water at three times her normal pace. Even for someone often called the spirit of liquor incarnate, that speed of drinking was unsustainable.
Éa helped herself to whatever was at the table. I followed suit, biting into the thick slices of bacon that’d grown on me and some sour beans. Nothing tasted bad on an empty stomach.
In a jarring break from the norm, nobody said a word as they ate or drank, which they were doing quicker than usual. I saw the same thing happening at other tables, or rather, tables full of parties that had just gone through that same harrowing experience. Behind me, I could hear a woman sobbing and a man soothing her. Someone broke down, bawling hysterically.
And just like that, my appetite disappeared. Another round of ill-timed dishes arrived at the table. Pale with nausea, I internally repeated my “waste not, want not” mantra and forced myself to eat every last bite of the not-that-fluffy fluffy bread and extra-large omelet I’d ordered. The taste didn’t even register. I drained my tea.
“So.” Lana and Lis sat there stone-faced, and my sister seemed her usual self, but Shuna looked a little ashen, his pain a living proof of my ineptitude as a leader. Times like these, I wished with all my heart we could turn to older members like Zenobia or Arvin. I missed them both like crazy. “Lis, is Bel listening?”
“……” I glared at her unresponsiveness. “Yes.”
“As your leader, I need to ask you all something.” They focused their gazes on me. “If we continue our expeditions, do you have the resolve to protect every one of your fellow party members? Would you throw down your own life to do it? Could you abandon someone to certain death to protect the others? Could you sacrifice one of us to save as many of your party members as possible?”
The group fell silent. Shuna spoke up first, as expected. “You’re damn right I am. I swear it on my master’s blade.”
Next, Éa. “Of course.”
Following up, Bel promised in her own words: “You can count on me, Sou. I’ll make sure Lis does, too.”
“I also—,” Lana began, but I cut her off.
“Lana, I need to ask you something else.”
“Huh?” Lana looked puzzled; the question must’ve thrown her off.
“I imagine it must be difficult for you to talk about this, but our experience today made me realize it’s time to bite the bullet. No matter what happens, I promise I will do everything in my power to protect you and guarantee the rest of the party feels exactly the same. So…”
That perverted prince’s words ran through my mind: “You’re a wretch who burned her own people to death. How much lower could you sink?”
“I’d like you to tell us about the night you burned down your home forest, killing your people along with it.”
The color in Lana’s eyes flickered. For a second, it was as if I was looking at a completely different person. I explained the situation to Bel and Shuna, who were both clearly bewildered and disturbed.
“A year ago, a war broke out between Remlian heims and the elves of the Heuress Forest. It’s the reason why Lana and Éa became adventurers in the first place. Neither side was completely in the wrong or in the right.”
If you summarized what both parties had to say, the impetus for the war came down to differences in how they measured land. However, that simple explanation quickly became an entangled mess with claims of misrepresentations in the original documents of how the elves planned to grab the money and run, of how the heims plotted to seize the land by force, and other takes on the case.
Everyone wants to think they are right and that their actions are justified and live with that belief. Because it’s far too miserable to live with the acknowledgment that folly or madness drove your decisions.
The Kingdom of Remlia had converted the previously forested areas Lana had razed to the ground for agricultural use. Well, technically speaking, serfs from Remlia’s allied nation Ellusion did all the farming. Not all the foodstuffs produced here stayed in the kingdom; much of it was shipped to the Central Continent’s papal state.
This part stood out to me. Personally, I wanted to believe my wife had been used as a political pawn. If that’s what she said happened, I’d take that conviction to my grave, no matter what anyone else claimed.
“During that war, Lana burned part of the Heuress Forest down, along with her own people who remained trapped inside. That’s why other elves carry a grudge against her. I chose at my own discretion to hide this from you. I’m sorry.”
I should’ve informed them at the very beginning when we decided to form a party. But what was I supposed to say? Hey, guys, I’d like you to meet my wife, an elf who murdered her people and burned her home to the ground? Even as a joke, it wouldn’t be funny.
Plus, all I knew was hearsay. Every story had filtered through the prejudices and motives of the person telling it before it reached me. I could possibly get some answers if I interrogated those directly involved in the war, but I’d have to be ready to flee the kingdom before I tried.
“Lana, I know this must be hard. But if we keep going without addressing this now, I guarantee you it’ll drive a wedge between us and deal our party a fatal blow. When the going gets tough, people will unconsciously hesitate to reach out a hand or race to save you.”
Lana stood up and tried to leave, but I grabbed her hand.
“I want to hear what happened from you. Tell me what you believe to be true, your reasons, anything you have to say in your defense. I don’t care how it comes out. Nobody here would ever turn their backs on you.”
“Unhand me. A mere adventurer has no business delving into this. Stay in your place, or your curiosity will put you in grave danger.”
“I promise I will fully believe and accept anything you say, no matter how absurd it may sound. I’ll make sure everyone else does, too.”
“………!” The agony on her face broke my heart.
“Whatever you tell us now is far more trustworthy than any account I can research or share.”
This was full-on blackmail, extortion aimed at her and at myself for turning a blind eye for so long. Time would never heal this gaping wound. We needed to take drastic measures if we ever wanted to continue our adventures, keep exploring the dungeon—remain a family.
Lana clearly wavered—then slapped my hand away and hurried out of the bar.
“Lala!” Éa ran after her sister.
“………Sorry,” I apologized to the two remaining members, Shuna and Bel. Both clearly had no idea what to do.
I’d screwed up big-time. Lifting the same hand Lana had rejected, I slapped myself hard across the cheek.