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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: An Unfamiliar Gratitude
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In this world, there is such a thing as causality.
Where there is a cause, there is an effect.
And depending on the nature of that cause, the effect is judged differently.
Thus, even if a Gold Dragon, the spokesperson of the gods, were to destroy an empire, it would not be deemed an evil being. Reasons for its actions would sprout from all corners.
So, whether it fired a breath at the empire because it woke up in a bad mood, or brought it down simply to mess with the humans, the outcome would be considered a good thing.
But for Seluseu, the continent's only Black Dragon and a being not of divine origin, her causality was 'calamity.'
A calamity is evil. And because it is evil, all beings fear it and, further, seek to destroy it.
No matter that Seluseu had beaten the life out of the dark elves who trafficked in human lives, her actions were condemned because their cause was 'calamity.'
If she did right, she was a calamity. If she did wrong, she was a calamity.
Faced with such misunderstandings, condemnations, and anger born of causality, what choice did Seluseu make?
Seluseu, now Daphne, stared intently at the masked men surrounding the carriage.
As if sensing her gaze, the masked man who had cut down a mercenary defending the carriage turned to look at Daphne.
“Boss! What’s with this kid?”
“I don’t know. Anyone else around? No? Did she come alone?”
“Judging by her clothes, she looks like some noble lady. What’s she doing on a mountain path like this? Did she run away after a fight with her parents?”
“If you’re planning on living on your own, how about coming with us uncles? We’ll sell you off to a good place. Eh?”
From the sound of it, they weren’t just bandits; they were involved in human trafficking as well.
Daphne remained still, her gaze alternating between the masked men and those defending the carriage.
Just then, one of the mercenaries blocking the carriage door shouted.
“Child! Run away, quickly! Go! We’ll hold them off!”
“Hmm.”
Daphne tilted her head.
“Pathetic humans, fighting so pathetically, only to meet a pathetic death. How audacious, in my great presence.”
“Hey, kid. If you’re not gonna run, come on over! We don’t want to waste our energy!”
“This is taking longer than I thought. Kill them quickly. And drag that brat over here.”
Pathetic things.
Pathetic humans.
Insignificant beings who are less than ants before the great and mighty Seluseu.
Therefore,
“I cannot simply leave you be.”
I, in my greatness, must save you.
This is the right path.
Daphne uncorked Teiti’s vial, drank the potion, and gripped her wooden sword.
You’re all dead.
***
The Guild Master of the Golden Chalice Merchant Guild was dumbfounded by the situation unfolding before him.
Just moments ago, they were being helplessly overrun by bandits who had appeared out of nowhere.
He had been certain they would lose the Archducal House’s sacred treasure and their lives.
And then, a small child suddenly appeared. And she proceeded to beat the bandits to a pulp.
With a child’s wooden sword… she had literally, and thoroughly, beaten them down.
And was that all?
“You foolish cur. Get ahold of yourself. Is it proper etiquette in your country to collapse after a single blow? Hmm?”
“P-Please, spare me…”
“Spare you? Did you intend to spare me? If you had any conscience, you couldn’t possibly say such a thing. It seems you’ve boiled your conscience into a soup and eaten it. If I were you, I’d have bitten my tongue and died by now. Why? Because being beaten by a little squirt like me is humiliating.”
She was giving them a verbal beatdown as well.
*Honey, I think I’ve been feeling a bit weak lately. I’m seeing things…*
The Guild Master squeezed his eyes shut, then slowly opened them and lowered his head.
He’d thought he was seeing things, so now reality should have returned, but it hadn’t. It was still all just as unbelievable.
“Guild Master! Get a grip!”
At that moment, a hand shook his shoulder. He came to his senses and saw a surviving subordinate.
Only then did the Guild Master accept that he hadn’t been hallucinating.
He swallowed dryly and looked around. On one side, he saw a neat pile of bandits.
“Is… is this real? I’m not dreaming?”
“Yes. It’s hard to believe, but it is. The goods are safe, and the other guild members are only injured, not dead.”
“That…”
Just then, a bandit who still had some fight left in him charged at the child with a real sword.
“You damn brat! Die!”
A sword came flying at her from point-blank range. The Guild Master shouted loudly.
“Look out!”
“Hah?”
The child straightened the wooden sword that had been resting on her shoulder.
“It seems you haven’t had enough. Very well. I shall graciously strike you some more.”
*Thwack!*
The bandit, struck in the solar plexus by the thrust of the wooden sword, screamed and rolled on the ground.
But the assault didn’t stop there.
*Thwack! Thud! Thwaaack!* Beaten relentlessly, the bandit passed out without even managing a final plea for his life.
“How is this… possible?”
*Gulp.*
The Guild Master swallowed hard as he assessed the situation.
The bandits were all skilled fighters, thirteen of them. But the child looked to be only four or five years old.
Her eyes were sharp, but her skinny frame and pale complexion were undeniable. And yet, she had defeated all the bandits. With a single strike each!
“Could it be…”
*Thwack! Thwump!*
The Guild Master spoke to the child, who was busy thrashing the bandits who were still conscious.
He had a guess as to who the child might be.
“A-Are you Lady Daphne Akion?”
“Huh?”
The child, Daphne, rested the wooden sword on her shoulder again and scowled.
Then, she swaggered toward the Guild Master.
“And what are you?”
Her posture and speech were like those of some common street ruffian. But given her skills, she was no ordinary person. That’s right. It had to be! Who else but a child of the Archducal House of Akion!
“I am Edhert, Guild Master of the Golden Chalice Guild! It is an honor to meet Lady Daphne, the precious treasure of the Archducal House of Akion!”
It was a fact, with some exaggeration, known to the entire world that Daphne Akion was a complete hellion.
But if this hellion was a *capable* hellion, that was another story. And if she was a hellion who saved people, that was different still.
“Thank you, Lady Daphne!”
“You saved our lives!”
“If it weren’t for you, Lady Daphne, we would all have surely died!”
“Thank you!”
They clasped their hands together, crying out their thanks.
It wasn’t some terrifying, unknown child who had saved them, but a daughter of the Archducal House of Akion who had extended a hand of salvation, so they could feel relieved and grateful.
But Daphne’s expression was a little strange.
Muttering as if she had misheard, Daphne cleaned her ear, then, realizing she hadn’t, her brow furrowed.
“Are you thanking me?”
“Yes! Thank you so much! We will never forget your kindness!”
“…”
Daphne’s mouth hung open.
In the hundreds of years she had lived, had she ever heard the words ‘thank you’?
No matter how she scoured her memories, she couldn’t find a single instance. It had never happened.
Even when she had saved a whole group of humans from being swept away by a tidal wave, she had never heard a word of thanks.
And yet, for saving them from a mere band of thieves, she was hearing this.
“Ha, well I’ll be.”
Daphne let out a hollow laugh.
Had the reactions dictated by causality changed because she was forcibly possessing a human body? Come to think of it, Arius, though he had been reluctant, had properly apologized to her before.
The thought occurred to her that perhaps, if she lived in this body, she might no longer be a calamity.
‘Really?’
Feeling a sense of emptiness at the abrupt severing of her causality, Daphne let out an involuntary, bitter laugh.
“Ha, ha…”
To think the causality that had tormented me for hundreds of years could end so easily.
How truly absurd.
So absurd it’s baffling.
“Um, Lady Daphne?”
At that moment, a familiar voice pierced Daphne’s ears. Teiti had approached at some point.
“Pardon my saying so, but I don’t think this is the time to be laughing.”
“What? Why not?”
“You used magic after drinking the potion, did you not?”
“So?”
“Well, that was a kind of performance enhancer. When the effects wear off…”
He swallowed hard and took half a step back.
“It hurts.”
“What do you mean… *Cough!*”
“Aah! Lady Daphne!”
“She’s, she’s coughing up blood!”
After spitting up a glob of blood that seemed even blacker than before, Daphne glared at Teiti, who took another half-step back and retorted.
“I told you about the side effects. I really did. I might have told you a little late, but I did tell you!”
“You, you slave…!”
An enraged Daphne tried to lunge at Teiti, but fortunately for him, her consciousness gave out first.
“My, my. That’s why I said you shouldn’t abuse potions.”
Did an elf who had knocked out a dragon twice even exist in this world?
Teiti felt as though he had just accomplished something remarkable.
