Ch#89
Bunny tilted her head slightly and stared blankly at him.
<I am the 33rd Guardian, Lefha. Where is the land we shall dwell in? Where is our salvation? Why does no one come?>
“…….”
<Where is the land we shall dwell in? Where is our salvation? Why does no one come? Where is the land we shall dwell in? Where is our salvation? Why does no one come? Where is the land we shall dwell in? Where is our salvation? Why does no one come?>
Bunny’s eyes began to spin dizzily.
The man, endlessly chanting the same words without pause, seemed utterly out of his mind.
“Do you understand what he’s saying, Bunny?”
“Uh… where’s the land, no, salva… nobody… comes……”
The words poured out like rapid-fire, far too fast to follow.
Hearing the same phrase repeated over and over made her head spin, so Bunny finally hopped down from her seat.
“Wait, Bunny. Where are you going?”
It was the moment Kiriel hurriedly rose from his chair.
So swift was she that Bunny had already hopped off his knee and approached the man presumed to be an ancient elf.
Smack!
“…Smack?”
Smack smack smack smack!
Bunny’s small palm began slapping the black-skinned elf’s cheek with sticky smacks.
“Snap out of ittt!!”
Smack smack smack smack!
After slapping him soundly with her little hand, Bunny let out a deep sigh.
‘No choice, time for Bunny’s secret magic!’
She wriggled the bag off her back, grabbed the ears of the Rabbit Bag, and opened her mouth.
In times like this, grip the Rabbit Bag’s ears tight and shout like this.
“You idiot, cut it out!!”
Bunny yelled as she swung the bag.
The Rabbit Bag would suck out the bad demonic energy from his body, clearing his mind in an instant.
Thud thud thud, thud thud thud.
Unlike last time, after emitting a gloomy glow once, Bunny’s Rabbit Bag began making dull, sticky thuds.
“…….”
“…….”
The reception room filled only with the doll’s sticky thuds, utter bewilderment, and heavy silence.
Under Bunny’s onslaught, the black elf’s body began shaking every which way.
“Bunny, what on earth are you doing?”
“Th, is, go, ing!!”
Invisible to the naked eye normally, but with each strike from Bunny, wisps of demonic energy seeped from the elf’s body into the black rabbit doll.
Demonic energy corrupts the minds of all creatures except demons.
The elf, long exposed to pooled demonic energy, was currently incapable of rational thought.
However…
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Thanks to Bunny’s rabbit doll, the demonic energy was draining out bit by bit.
It was then, as Kiriel—brows furrowed—finally stood to approach Bunny.
Flinch.
The elf’s shoulder, dangling limply like a corpse, began to tremble faintly.
<…Fa.>
“You idiot!!”
The instant Bunny shouted again and swung the Rabbit Bag, a hand thrust up from below and roughly seized her wrist.
<It hurts!>
<Ah, I’m… awake.>
Bunny blinked, her wrist caught; the other frowned, shook his head, gazed at Bunny, then froze.
<Chil…d…?>
Bunny dangled her hand playfully, and the elf awkwardly released it.
“Bunny.”
Kiriel swept in instantly, pulling her into his arms and retreating while drawing the sword at his waist.
The elf blinked once, then tilted his head.
<Huh? What’s this? Where am I? Outside? Have I finally come out? You humans, right? How much time has passed?>
The elf sprang up, whipped around to survey the room, and drew a deep breath.
It wasn’t dim and dark—it was bright and radiant.
Sunlight streaming in, crisp air, living, breathing humans—all swept into his gaze at once. With an expression of profound emotion, the elf spoke.
<Hey, say something. How much time has passed?>
But they remained stock-still at his words.
Frustrated, the elf scowled. He couldn’t fathom why they said nothing when it seemed they should.
“I have no clue what he’s saying, but his mind seems clear now.”
“He appears compos mentis. The muttering’s stopped, and he’s distinguishing friend from foe properly.”
Yet the language spilling from him remained utterly incomprehensible.
Bunny cocked her head and spoke up.
“He says answer him. How much time’s passed.”
“How much time? Hmm… the last records of ancient elves are over 1,500 years old.”
“Gasp… 1,500 years? How old would that make Bunny?”
“Bunny would be 1,505.”
“O-One thousaaa…”
Fingers wiggling furiously, Bunny’s eyes spun wildly.
Steam practically puffed from her head in illusion.
Kiriel chuckled softly, stroking her hair.
<What’s that? Can’t talk because of the language? Usually one in ten knew Elvish… Bunch of idiots.>
The elf muttered under his breath and tsked.
Bunny, listening quietly, narrowed her eyes, jabbed a finger at him, and declared.
“Daddy, pointy-ears says we’re stupid humans.”
Then she tattled right away.
<Human speech isn’t familiar to me…>
Tsking again, the elf sighed, scratched his forehead long and hard with a fingernail—brows pinched—and finally spoke.
{Human, how much passed. Time.}
At the elf’s words, the Emperor and Kiriel’s brows twitched; they turned slightly, meeting his eyes.
Ancient tongue.
Pronunciation differed slightly, but it was ancient tongue.
They knew it to some degree from their education. Though deciphered fragments limited fluent talk.
{Ancient tongue, eh.}
The Emperor spoke; now the elf’s brows furrowed. Pronunciation and words akin, yet subtly off.
Still comprehensible, so the elf replied.
{Ancient tongue? Language. Humans’. Yours.}
The black-skinned elf stated.
{I, Lefha. Guardian. Where is this?}
{Where?}
{Yes. Where is this. Passed? How much, time.}
Chewing slowly over the elf’s broken ancient tongue, the Emperor spoke deliberately.
{This is the Rotis Empire. I am its Emperor.}
{Rotis…? Never heard. Place-name.}
{If you ask how much time… last ancient elf records are around 1,500 years back.}
Bunny fidgeted, stamping her feet as she listened to the arrogantly leg-crossed Emperor. For Bunny was a genius who understood ancient tongue too.
{1,500 years?}
{Yes.}
The bare minimum estimate, at that.
<1,500 years since we entered?!>
Eyes bulging, the elf raised his voice.
The Emperor’s shadows gripped black sword hilts; he lightly raised a hand, halting them.
{Not sure if that’s elven you’re speaking, but I can’t make it out, I’m afraid.}
<Don’t know Elvish, 1,500 years gone, unknown empire! What in the world…>
Muttering frantically in panic, the elf scrubbed his face roughly with his palm.
Sucking in a frustrated breath, biting his lower lip hard, he lifted his head.
<No, that’s not urgent… Must fulfill Guardian duty first.>
Muttering softly, he looked up again at the Emperor.
{Request. Human king.}
{What?}
{Demon King. Where? Meet Demon King.}
Bunny’s ears perked at the elf’s words.
‘Demon King?’
