Chapter 11

Chapter 4: Karma

Espresso. The elf woman, whose name in ancient elven meant ‘beautiful spring rain,’ was receiving primitive treatment. “Ugh.” “The medicine is almost applied. Please bear with it a little longer.”

The village pharmacist’s ointment only lessened the pain of her fresh wounds. The dense scars all over her body could not be erased by magic. Nor could the dignity that was carved out along with her ears… “Are you alright?” “Do I look alright?” “I-I’m sorry.”

Only the miracle of a saint, who could revive the dead, could restore her body to its original state.

But that was a futile hope. The two noble saints in the world would never bestow a miracle upon a mere elf, who wasn’t even royalty.

“Please rest. We will surely capture that human, so you don’t need to worry.”

Espresso did not thank the pharmacist who quietly left the room.

While the village chief, Crimson, was the culprit who ruined her body, the villagers who had merely stood by were no different.

Perhaps they were accomplices. Maybe they were pretending not to know, wiping their hands clean when things went wrong…

Knock, knock.

“…Who is it?”

Espresso flinched at the sound of knocking that broke her thoughts. Even now, if she closed her eyes, the image of the village chief opening the basement door and entering flickered before her. “Espresso. It’s me.”

“Come in.”

Espresso allowed her comrade’s visit.

They weren’t acquainted from their homeland. It was merely the result of the camaraderie forged by sharing pain in that terrible basement.

Besides this elf, there were many other kin she could call comrades. There used to be more, but one by one, they left her side first, having been toyed with like playthings by the village chief.

“I heard the village mercenaries missed him.”

“Why are you telling me that?”

“Because he saved us…” “That’s a human problem. We don’t need to worry about it.”

“But he saved us from the chief’s clutches…”

Espresso sharply questioned her comrade’s timid counter-argument.

“Then what about the princess’s dagger that human possesses?”

“Th-that…”

She shouted at her wavering comrade with conviction. “Do you want to be deceived again?! Humans are untrustworthy beasts….!” “Espresso. But he saved us…” “So you’re keeping quiet? Did we tell him to kill them? They’re just beasts tearing at each other.” “Beasts, you say…”

She had lost her beloved husband before her eyes, but she didn’t hate all humans like Espresso.

However, all the elves, including her, turned away from their benefactor. There was only one reason.

“Espresso. Is that dagger truly the princess’s?”

“Yes. I’m sure. Though I look like this now, in the past, I was chosen for my beauty and worked in the royal palace. Thanks to that, I had many opportunities to see the princess. So believe me.” “Yes…”

“Still uneasy? Then recall the conversation the chief and he had.”

“He said he killed the princess and stole the dagger…” “Exactly.”

Espresso was satisfied when she finally saw her comrade concede.

Just then,

BANG!

The door burst open roughly, and a scrawny elf entered the room.

Espresso’s physical condition was certainly bad, but it was nothing compared to the elf who had just entered. “Espresso! What in the world are you doing!” “Elder Celebreth. Are you feeling better?” “Answer my question- Ugh…!” The elf, who had overexerted himself, barely managed to support himself by leaning on the wall just before collapsing like a straw doll. Celebreth, an elven royal whose name in ancient elven meant ‘sacred sun.’

Though a collateral branch, he was a particularly cherished plaything of Village Chief Crimson due to his infinite lifespan.

That’s why he was also the elf who had been imprisoned there the longest. “Calm down, Elder.” “Calm down?! You tell me to calm down in this situation, ugh…” “It’s safe now. Once we inform our homeland, everything will be over.” The humans in this village are also suspicious.

Espresso planned to expose this village once she returned to her homeland.

For a true end. “What is over! Nothing is over! Nothing…!”

“Calm down.”

“…He could have escaped alone, yet he released me.”

“He was aiming for your infinite lifespan, Elder. Calm your anger and think rationally.”

“Hmph…!”

Celebreth, leaning against the cold wall, closed his eyes and recalled the situation at the time.

Kang Han-soo, who was helpless against Village Chief Crimson’s Black Magic, used ‘contract violation.’

A Black Magic contract.

If broken, one loses an equivalent amount to what they gained. It might seem insignificant, but the greater the gain, the greater the risk. Just like Village Chief Crimson, who lost his ‘infinite lifespan’ due to contract violation. “Elder?” “Do you know that our benefactor used a Black Magic contract?”

“Yes. They say the mercenary named Misa, whom that human made a condition of the contract, went missing and hasn’t returned. Isn’t that suspicious?”

Celebreth was speechless.

Village Chief Crimson, who was led to violate the contract, underestimated Kang Han-soo’s lifespan and self-destructed. He wanted to tell her this, but… “Elder Celebreth. Are you calmer now?” “…Poor Espresso.”

“Pardon?” “The image of the beautiful handmaiden, playing innocently in the royal palace, still flickers before my eyes… It’s sad that she seems to have become a remnant of the past.”

“You… you don’t know my heart. The despair and humiliation I felt…!” “Of course not. How could I know if I’m not you?” Celebreth slowly opened his heavy eyes, which had been closed until then. Then he sighed softly. “To think things would have come to this while I was briefly asleep…” “Go back to sleep, Elder. When you wake up, it will all be over.”

“Yes. That’s right. If I can close my eyes peacefully. I will go search for him now.”

“E-Elder…?!” To the elves, an ‘Elder’ was an adult deserving of respect. Their wisdom, akin to living history books, wisely guided their kin. Of course, some Elders were called ‘stubborn old fools,’ but Celebreth was not. What if she, in her weakened state, wandered around and died alone? Only the stubborn old fools would welcome that. “If we meet again, do not call me Elder. It is too grand a title for an old man who gets easily agitated.”

Celebreth stumbled out of the room, leaving his kin behind.

A certain god quietly leaves the scene.

A certain god asks the outcast if they are alive. “You can see for yourself.”

This time, there were no gnolls to cushion the impact, but instead, a dense forest lay beneath the cliff. Lucky, I guess?

It was a good thing I had intermittently stored the general topography in my mind while searching for the human village.

“OOO □?”

“□□□□□.”

“OO. OOO.”

The mercenaries had persistently tracked me from the village inn room. I couldn’t understand their conversation at all, but they quickly gave up and retreated, unable to find me hidden by the dense bushes.

“…That was close.”

Humans were definitely different from dealing with gnolls, whose strategies were simple. If the guards, who had become friends with money, hadn’t opened the village gate for me, I would have been caught without a doubt. There were several other dizzying moments after that too.

A certain god advises me to look at my butt. “…My butt? Ugh!” A thick, sturdy branch was embedded in my butt, which I thought had landed safely.

Did I almost die?

If I had messed up even slightly, I would have met a truly humiliating end.

A certain god looks on with extreme disdain.

“Stop looking! This will be a secret until the grave…”

“Meat! Meat!”

“Meat in the tree! Meat!” “Meat! Come down!”

The gnolls, welcoming me with familiar greetings as soon as I left the village.

It’s truly ironic that they’re much more trustworthy than the humans and elves who attacked me without warning. “Oh! Right.” There was something I wanted to ask them anyway.

In my hurried escape, all I have are the Blue Cutter and my tattered leather clothes, but a few gnolls are easy.

I’ve become quite arrogant, haven’t I? Still just a Level 1 fantasy newbie, too.

“Meat! Me- Gasp!”

I unexpectedly leaped from the tree without warning and slammed my knee into the gnoll’s head. It’s not over yet. “Me- Gag!”

Stepping on the shoulder of the fallen gnoll, I pushed off again, then elbowed its friend in the face with my left arm… “Human me- Aargh?!”

At the same time, I lightly severed the neck of another friend with the Blue Cutter in my right hand.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

No time for them to shout ‘Meat!’ again, situation over.

Three gnolls are easy, then?

A certain god looks at the outcast with narrowed eyes.

“I know, right. I definitely feel like my body is nimbler than before.” Even my potbelly, which I’ve had since I started studying hard in middle school, is still there, though. I couldn’t understand it. Did my level go up when I wasn’t looking?

[Name] Kang Han-soo

[Level] 1

[Blessing] Outcast F

[Curse] Hero E

[Payout] 3.43

Unfortunately, nothing had changed.

No, there was one thing.

“Outcast God. What’s this ‘Payout’ in the status window? The number keeps going up slightly.”

A certain god laughs at me for not knowing what ‘payout’ is. “I do know, though.”

What I know as ‘payout’? It’s the expected return rate when betting money on stocks, speculation, horse racing, etc.

A certain god specifically advises that higher is better.

“Thank you, I’m genuinely touched.” I’m not being sarcastic. This is the first time the Outcast God has provided fantasy information.

Anyway, “M-meat?”

The gnoll, surprised to still be alive, looked bewildered.

Of course. They don’t have a concept of being captured alive. But I do.

“There’s something I want to ask you, you see.”

“Talking meat?!”

“I’d really appreciate it if you answered. I’m incredibly angry because of the elves.”

“Elf meat?” “Yes. Elf meat.”

I’m too weak right now.

Even if I diligently collect experience and reach Level 2, I don’t think I’ll be able to get revenge.

So I pondered, and found a plausible solution. “Elf meat. Will you give it?” “Yes.” “Oh! Talking meat! Question! Question! Ask a question! Elf meat! Hurry!” The gnoll began to get excited at the mention of elf meat.

“Calm down.” I hit its head hard to calm it down.

Whack!

“Ow, that hurts! Bad meat!”

Ignoring the gnoll’s growling protest while it clutched its head, I began to ask my question.

“Gnoll swordsmanship where your hands turn red. How do you use it?”

The solution I found.

I want to learn the powerful attack the village chief used at the end. Even if it’s difficult because it’s ‘gnoll swordsmanship’ that only gnolls can use, an imitation is fine. At least I’ll be stronger than I am now. “Red meat?”

“It’s fresh and good!” It seemed he didn’t know. I was disappointed to hear the gnoll’s absurd answer, but I don’t think the village chief would have lied to me in that situation. Gnoll swordsmanship.

There’s still not enough information.

Recalling the situation at the time, I mentioned another characteristic. “Your eyes turning red.” “I know! I know!” I should have asked this from the start! The village chief’s use of the term ‘swordsmanship’ might have been from a human perspective. “What do you call that?” “Power of Meat!” “I-I see.” That’s certainly a gnoll-like name. I was embarrassed for imagining a cool name with my chuunibyou sensibilities. “If it’s a lie, no elf meat.” “It’s true! Elf meat! Quickly!” Gnolls are very bad at lying. So it must be true. If the ‘gnoll swordsmanship’ the village chief used in desperation before dying actually exists, then the next step is simple.

“How do you use the Power of Meat?”

“Lots of meat!” “Lots?”

“Just eat until you’re full!”

“Hmm…”

Humans’ eyes don’t turn red when they’re full.

Is that why it’s gnoll swordsmanship? But the village chief used ‘Power of Meat’ at the desired timing without seemingly eating anything.

After that, he rapidly exhausted his strength and collapsed.

“Meat! Elf meat! Quickly!”

“…You seem hungry.”

“Meat! Promise! Meat!” I did promise this gnoll elf meat, but my questions aren’t over yet. So it’s void…

A certain god emphasizes that promises are important. “Ahem! I want to see the Power of Meat, but what do you usually eat?” “Meat!” “Sorry. That was a stupid question.” Gnoll swordsmanship.

Power of Meat.

Still not enough information.

Let’s research the gnoll ecosystem for a smooth revenge.