Love Letter From The Future-Chapter 357: Bread and Dagger (55)

What kind of beings were the  elves to humanity?

They were the demons of the earth and enemies of the Empire—Corrupted fairies who slaughtered innocent civilians and plundered resources.

A race once admired for their skill with the bow and their communion with spirits had fallen to such a pitiable state.

To humans, elves were more akin to demonic beasts than demi-humans. They were something to be dealt with, monitored and shunned.

Yet, no one truly believed elves could ever threaten humanity’s very existence.

The difference in power between humans and elves was unmistakable.

Sure, they could carry out small-scale raids but, if an all-out war began, they’d have no choice but flee with their tails tucked.. That certainty upheld humanity’s pride.

But all of that was only from the perspective of ‘humans.’

At this point, a question I long avoided arose in my mind.

What about the elves, then?

To the elves, what kind of existence were humans?

At this very moment, the answer to that self-inquiry stood right before me.

A heavy silence hung in the air.

It felt as if the very air were crushing my lungs. Everyone around me—myself excluded—wore rigid expressions. And what of those pale complexions?

They were pale enough to rival the snow covering the field.

To elves, humans were the very definition of terror itself.

Beings who could erase their existence from the world at any moment—it would be more apt to call them walking natural disasters.

The elves had no means to resist humans.

Especially here, in the small village where I was staying, there was no doubt that a well-armed force could subjugate it with ease.

Even I could perceive this at a mere glance.

There was no way the elves themselves wouldn’t know that. Cold sweat beaded on their foreheads.

For a while, an ice-thin tension filled the air.

Elder Poff maintained a heavy silence and everyone else awaited the experienced elder’s counsel. I chose to hold my tongue, since I wasn’t an elf in the first place..

It was time for them to condemn humanity, after all.

I had no reason to disrupt the atmosphere by needlessly stepping in . Besides, Elder Poff didn’t seem keen on picking a fight with me, either.

Eventually, a low murmur escaped his lips.

“...It’s been quite some time since they left.”

It was something he said as he skimmed the thin layer of snow with his finger.

A man who’d hunted for centuries—if he said so, it was credible enough.

Someone among our party audibly gulped.

Elder Poff let out a long sigh.

“There’s no need to be overly afraid. Though the village is half a day’s journey from here, they’d need a skilled guide to search the entire radius... and plenty of time. Besides, this area is a hunting ground.”

“Could the snow leopards stop them?”

“We can only hope they’ll hold them off for as long as possible. As you know, snow leopards have a habit of calling their comrades when their territory is invaded.”

Strictly speaking, that trait was not unique to the Snow Leopards but to demonic beasts as a whole.

Contaminated demonic beasts infect others of their kind. In the process, a hive-like consciousness seems to form, leading even solitary animals to adopt group behavior at times.

Even if that wasn’t always the case, they would often call for their comrades when in danger. The snow leopards likely fell into this category as well.

At Elder Poff’s words, both Isha and Aviang let out sighs of relief.

What mattered most was that there was still time to prepare.

It was better to have a chance to return to the village and share their opinions than to be ambushed without any warning. Eventually, that would lead to some answer.

Whether it would be to migrate altogether or to stay and defend the village to the death.

Elder Poff was already furrowing his brow in deep thought, and Isha was no different.

It was understandable.

While Aviang and I had only recently become part of the village, the same couldn’t be said for the two of them. The weight of the years they’d spent here was nothing to take lightly.

But what choice did they have?

Fleeing was the only option in order to survive..

Whether they had lived here for decades or centuries, the truth remained the same. There was no way a mere dozen or so residents could ever stand against a proper army.

Their only sliver of hope was the fact that there weren’t many footprints left behind at the campsite.

On a hunch, I asked a question.

“Couldn’t we pursue them and cut the threat off at its source?”

It was a suggestion that, at first glance, might sound cruel.

Elder Poff and Isha turned their blank stares towards me, as if they couldn’t believe I would suggest eliminating my own kind.

Even I regretted it as soon as the words left my mouth.

After all, we didn’t even know who those footprints belonged to yet. What if they turned out to be of the Yurdina forces?

In that case, I essentially just proposed killing my own allies.

But since I’d already brought it up, I decided to push forward.

Feigning composure, I asked again,

“Anyway, this area is swarming with demonic beasts. Even if they went missing in the forest, I doubt anyone would send out a follow-up search party...”

“No.”

Elder Poff cut me off, firmly shaking his head.

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When I looked at him puzzled, he offered an explanation.

“As you said, there are too many snow leopards around here. And the intruders have already riled them up... Do you know what that means?”

“Now they must be looking for something to vent their anger on.”

“Or they might already have finished venting and are now hunting for food.”

A long sigh escaped Elder Poff’s mouth.

“We have to retreat. It’s become far too dangerous.”

I simply nodded.

In times like this, it was best to heed the advice of a seasoned hunter. Aviang began trembling at the mention of the ‘Snow Leopards’ and quickly agreed.

The only one to voice opposition was Isha.

“B-But, Elder Poff!”

Her desperate voice caused the group, which had just started to move again, to come to a halt.

Starting with Elder Poff, we all turned to look at her. Startled by the sudden attention, she hesitated for a moment but soon raised her voice again, more passionately this time.

“We’ve been out of food for so long... If this keeps up, the young elves will start dying of hunger. And now there are humans nearby. That makes it even harder for us to go out hunting!”

“Isha...”

Elder Poff bit down on his lip, clearly torn.

But life taught him the virtue of restraint.

He was an elder who had lived for centuries and his decisions were rarely wrong.

“I said no. If we all die out here, there won’t be anyone left to hunt next time. For now, we’ll just have to survive on tree porridge.”

“But...”

“Isha.”

In the end, Isha couldn’t overturn Elder Poff’s decision.

She simply lowered her head with a gloomy expression, a silent acknowledgment of resignation.

With that settled, Elder Poff turned and began walking again. His final instruction to us were clear,

“Be careful not to leave any tracks. We can’t afford to give those humans a lead.”

His voice still carried a faint trace of fear.

Following Elder Poff’s lead, we began our retreat, doing our utmost to avoid leaving any tracks behind.

Of course, we weren’t entirely silent as we went.

Hoping to lift Isha’s spirits, I made a playful remark.

“Isha, can’t you untie me already? If a Snow Leopard attacks, it’ll be dangerous.”

I was half-serious, half-joking.

Anyways, if I really wanted to, I could’ve freed myself from these restraints any time. I’d simply chosen not to, in order to earn the trust of the elves.

But Isha, oblivious to my thoughts,  sharply snapped back.

“Absolutely not!”

She fiercely glared at me, her expression unusually harsh.

It was as if she resented me.

Maybe it was her hostility toward humans that was being directed at me. I merely shrugged my shoulders in response.

“Who knows if you’ll end up siding with the humans? I’m never untying you, so don’t even dream about it!”

It was nothing more than her venting.

I willingly became her scapegoat, as it seemed to somewhat lighten her mood.

After all, no matter how much she complained, there was nothing she could actually do to harm me.

Still,  unable to help but feel a little wronged, I tried to protest.

“Wait, didn’t you hear what I said earlier? I’m on the elves’ side. I even suggested dealing with my own kind to—”

“Don’t say such things.”

Those words were Elder Poff’s advice.

Both Isha and I turned our gazes to him, but he didn’t even glance back.

He simply kept trudging through the snow-covered wilderness and spoke again.

“You’re a human. You shouldn’t speak so lightly about killing your own kind... You’ll regret it someday. For now, you claim to be on the elves’ side, but who knows.”

A mirthless chuckle followed.

Between his words, I felt something akin to a shard of worn glass—

It was a fragment of sorrow, embedded so deeply it felt as though it had become part of a wound.

“...How long can you hold out?”

After that, silence returned to the forest.

Isha and I blankly exchanged glances with each other, then shook our heads and resumed walking. After all, it wasn’t the first time Elder Poff had muttered something cryptic.

But the stillness didn’t last long.

Grrrrrr, a low growl reached my ears, and my body froze.

Isha frowned slightly and asked,

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you moving?”

I didn’t need to answer.

Before long, Elder Poff’s steps halted as well. Then Aviange’s, and finally Isha’s.

By then, the guttural growls of the beasts were coming from all around.

It was the snow leopards.

Amid the shadows of the trees, bluish eyes flickered in and out of sight. They’d slipped in without so much as a rustle, encircling their prey.

Aviang’s face went pale again.

She had always been terrified of snow leopards and seeing over a dozen of them now left her paralyzed with fear.

Letting out what sounded like a desperate wail, Elder Poff shouted,

“Everyone, run!”

The sound of frantic footsteps echoed across the snowy plain.

Truth be told, I hadn’t planned on running. But Isha was so frantic on dragging me along, that I decided to go along with it for now.

And thus began a midday chase.

Each time our feet sank into the snow and moss, the sound of the wind reverberated around us. It was the sound of the snow leopards in pursuit.

No matter how fast two-legged creatures might be, they could never outrun four-legged ones.

It wasn’t long before the first scream broke through the air.

“Kyah!”

It was Isha.

Because she was dragging me along, whose hands were still tied, her pace had slowed.

The snow leopards, unable to resist the opportunity, lunged. The first to react was Elder Poff.

“Isha!”

Gritting his teeth, he muttered an incantation, and suddenly, a powerful gust of wind surged, followed by tree roots shooting up from the ground, enveloping Isha and me.

Aviang, meanwhile, was already in a state of panic.

She buried her head into the ground, trembling uncontrollably. I couldn’t even fathom why she was so terrified of the snow leopards.

Just as the snow leopards were about to pounce on Elder Poff, I spoke from between the tree roots.

“Can I break free now?”

“Wha-What...?”

Isha stammered as she asked. All the while, screams continued to echo from outside.

Time was running short.

So, clenching my arm tight, I asked again.

“These restraints. You told me you’ll never undo these, didn’t you?”

I raised my bound wrists as I spoke, and Isha, suddenly overwhelmed, shouted angrily.

“You idiot, you think this is the time to worry about that?! Get moving, now!”

And then came a snap!

The restraints of the stem rope around my hand shattered, and Isha’s eyes widened in shock. As though I had been anticipating this moment, I immediately reached for my waist.

Three Snow Leopards were closing in on Elder Poff.

That was just right.

A brilliant white flash tore through the air.

A silver trajectory was drawn on the frozen canvas of time, its end marked by a burst of crimson blood.

It was the result of one of the snow leopards attacking Elder Poff having its skull blown apart.

Then the weapon’s trajectory  shifted, leading to an explosion of another burst of blood with a thwack.

Only then did the remaining snow leopard begin to slowly move its blue pupils.

Reflected in those eyes was a bright blue blade.

Thwack. The hatchet lodged itself in its forehead, causing its eyes to pop out from the sheer pressure.

Of course, it died instantly.

All in under a second. That’s all the time it took to eliminate three Snow Leopards.

A heavy silence fell over the scene.

Even the snow leopards, burning with bloodlust just moments ago, were now frozen in place. All they could do was crouch low and fix their icy gazes on a single point.

And at the centre of their focus was me.

Crack. Breaking through the tree roots, I stepped out into the biting cold air.

Huuu. My exhaled breath scattered in a white mist. It had been quite a while since my last real fight.

I raised my hand, and with a sharp thud, my hatchet returned to me.

Blood and bits of brain matter dripped from its blade. The sticky fluid trickled over my hand, but I paid it no mind.

After all, I’d be covered in much more before this was over.

A wry grin found its way onto my face.

“About a dozen of them, huh...”

The first demonic beasts I ever faced were wolves.

Did I kill ten back then?

“Not too bad.”

Then today, I’d claim five more than that.

The snow leopards, meeting my menacing gaze, began to retreat. I could even hear them letting out plaintive howls—Awooo—as if calling for reinforcements.

Even so, I didn’t flinch.

Today, I planned to hunt.

Because this was the first time I had resolved to do something for the elves.