< Chapter 80 - Sword Dance >
Chapter 80 – Sword Dance
When Princess Lyca gave the order to withdraw, Uder and Cordelia came to one conclusion.
“It seems like there was some human intervention.”
“There is no evidence?”
“Oh, but… I can guess who it is.”
Even the rotten ones, Uther and Cordelia, had no way of knowing about parts that were not properly described in the original work, such as the Eternal Forest where they are now located, but instead, it was possible to piece together the story using other parts.
“The soul of the Java Walk is its stock. To be exact, it grows by eating souls.”
“So Jabbawock, who grew stronger by devouring the souls of the elves in the Forest of Eternity, merged with Mine Jabbawock, the incarnation of Behemoth, and became one of the seven great disasters?”
“maybe.”
In Hero Chronicles 2, you can enter the Forest of Eternity after the fall of the Kingdom of Cailun – that is, at least two years from now.
“At that time, the Elven Kingdom of the Eternal Forest had already fallen into ruin. Most of the people, including the king, had become undead.”
“Most of those undead had their souls eaten. I think I get it. Even the Death Knight Keltur couldn’t have a proper conversation. They were all either soul-torn and only moving their bodies… or, if they still had souls, only a portion of them remained.”
There were more than one or two ways to create undead in the Pleiades.
Even just considering zombies, there were many different types.
“Anyway, if we assume that the cause of the incident was Javawalk, and if we consider that Javawalk devoured souls when it became a disaster… Could it be that this time someone fed souls to Javawalk to strengthen it?”
If Uther and Cordelia had not been present, Jabberwock, who had become much stronger than before, would have eaten the souls of Princess Lyca and her party and become even stronger.
“So you see it as an outside intervention? There’s no way Javawork could become as strong as it is now just by feeding it one or two souls.”
“That’s right. It wouldn’t have become as strong as it is now if it had just eaten a few souls by chance. Elves don’t even come near here in the first place, and Jabbawock was just beginning to revive. I can’t help but think that someone intentionally injected a large amount of souls into Jabbawock.”
After saying this, Uder stood up from his seat and looked at Cordelia as he continued speaking.
“Who will benefit when the elves of the Eternal Forest are scorched?”
“It would either be the demon followers or Malekith.”
Because they are both hell-bent on destroying the Kingdom of Seilun.
In particular, Malekith wanted to take over the entire kingdom of Cailun, not just the south.
It was because he had a long-standing grudge against Dragon Slayer Carlos, the founder of the Seven Clans of the South, and Lion D. Seilun, the founding king of the Seilun Kingdom.
“If we add someone who can command a large number of souls to that······.”
“If it’s a named person from the south, Malekith is more likely.”
Among Malekith’s men was a powerful necromancer who held a grudge against the elves.
“Sicily.”
A dark elf who is the concubine of the black dragon Malekith and hates the elves of the Eternal Forest.
Although the story felt like it was coming together well, Yuder and Cordelia smiled bitterly at the end.
“Still, there is no evidence.”
“It’s a bit too much to just move on to the information of the Holy Cross Guardians.”
“But wouldn’t it be better to tell the story?”
“It would be good to give some hints, like an inference.”
Sicilia, a dark elf, was a different case from the humans Juder and Cordelia.
The fact that she was able to enter the Cursed Lands secretly, even though the Forest of Eternity itself would have rejected her presence, suggested two possibilities.
‘One possibility is that Sicilia hid herself with some powerful magic.’
It was the most common and safe case.
Sicilia was originally a member of the Prime royal family.
‘The other possibility is that there is an informant.’
Someone invited Sicilia to the Forest of Eternity and helped her disappear.
‘But the chances are low.’
The possibility that the elves of the Eternal Forest, who lived a life isolated from the outside world, would suddenly communicate with Sicilia was low, and there was no benefit in strengthening Java Walk.
‘Of course, if you start attaching political reasons to this, it might become possible······.’
For example, using Javawalk to eliminate Princess Lyca and the punitive force – the same hypothesis.
‘You’ll understand this if you go to the Elf Kingdom.’
What is the relationship between Keltur, the king of the elves in the original work, and Princess Lyca, who is currently first in line to the throne, and what are the political relationships surrounding the royal family, etc.
“hmm.”
While Uther was doing various calculations in his head, Cordelia stood there with her arms crossed, quietly looking at Uther.
‘It would be nice if it were like that even on normal days.’
Yuder when he is thinking deeply about something.
I don’t know how to express it, but I guess you could say it’s the charm of an adult.
A serious yet cool person you can trust and rely on.
But it wasn’t often that we got the chance to see Yuder’s face like this.
He just had a sly, sly face all day long.
‘Well… I don’t hate that either.’
It’s strangely cute.
Especially, if you kiss her on the cheek, she twitches the corners of her lips and likes it. Should I say that she looks so happy that I want to kiss her more?
‘But I have to endure it.’
Yeah, I guess I have to endure it.
If you keep doing it, it will become a habit, so it won’t work.
‘however······.’
If you think about it, is there any reason why it shouldn’t become a habit?
We’re engaged anyway.
Yeah, yeah, we’re engaged.
‘hmm.’
It was when Cordelia began to question the validity of the ban on skinship.
“Sir Uther! Sir Cordelia!”
At the elf knight’s call, Uther and Cordelia suddenly raised their heads from their thoughts.
“I’m going back now!”
“Yes! I’m going!”
Uther, who had shouted at the other person, reached out his hand to Cordelia, and Cordelia took his hand so naturally.
&
“I hate this position.”
The path leading to the Prime Royal Palace located in the center of the Eternal Forest.
More precisely, on Elvensteed’s back.
As Cordelia muttered softly in a loud voice, Uther spoke with a cheeky face that only Cordelia found cute.
“I’m good. I can even support my chin like this.”
Usually, Uther rode in front and Cordelia rode in back, but this time it was reversed, Cordelia in front and Uther in back.
Cordelia shook her head as Uther placed his chin on top of her head.
“Whoa, you’re going to fall.”
Uther held Cordelia’s waist tightly, and Cordelia, who was completely trapped in Uther’s arms, pursed her lips and then changed her posture slightly.
“You have to lean back.”
“As much as you want.”
Cordelia tried to push her body back as far as she could, but all she could feel was Yuder’s firm chest.
Uther didn’t stop there, he even showed off his talent by raising his waist to allow Cordelia to lean more comfortably, and then slightly leaning back.
“Huh?”
Cordelia, whose body leaned back on its own, blinked in surprise.
“how?”
Won’t it fall off like this?
“I have good thigh and lower back strength.”
The Elvensteeds ridden by elves did not have saddles.
So, Uder held the horse’s waist with his thighs to secure his posture, and maintained a semi-lying posture with only the strength of his waist.
“It’s like a beast.”
“No, why is there a beast here?”
“I don’t know, it’s a beast anyway.”
Cordelia, who was giggling, leaned a little closer against Uther’s chest, and Uther whispered softly in her ear.
“But Cordelia, do you know that?”
“what?”
“I haven’t decided on my wish yet?”
A wish that will be granted if you get 50 kills in a martial arts tournament.
Cordelia flinched involuntarily and froze for a moment, and Uther whispered again.
“What should I wish for? What should I wish for so that people will say I wished well?”
Uther rested his chin on Cordelia’s head and smiled slightly, and instead of shaking his head like before, Cordelia blushed and started wiggling her fingers.
And Princess Lyca, who had been watching these two people with cold eyes, called out to Vanessa, who was beside her, in a small voice.
“Vanessa.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Why do I get so angry when I see what they do?”
“Me too. You’re normal.”
“yes?”
It seems like all the other elves have cold eyes too.
“Anyway, let’s ignore it and go quickly.”
“okay.”
Once I get there, I won’t be able to do that right away.
“Lloyd, please hurry up a bit.”
“Hehehe.”
Even from the unicorn’s perspective, it must have been an eyesore, because Lloyd started running.
Half a day like that.
The party arrived at Erendia, the capital of the elves at the center of the Eternal Forest.
&
White city.
This was the word that came to mind for Uder and Cordelia the moment they encountered Erendia.
Unlike the original, Erendia, which still retains its intact form, is a very beautiful city.
“Pretty.”
Uther nodded at Cordelia’s simple but accurate sentiment.
The pure white city and green nature blend together naturally in harmony.
Even the sunlight streaming down and the wind blowing in between felt like a part of the city.
White houses that become one with the large trees.
And the white palace located at the center of Erendia.
The palace, with its streamlined shape that gave it an overall circular feel, was extremely splendid, as befitting an elven building.
But this too did not use multiple colors directly like the human palace.
The sunlight reflected off the glass windows installed here and there, painting the palace walls like a white canvas, presenting beauty appropriate to the time.
And the front.
A welcoming procession led by standard-bearers carrying colorful flags awaited the group.
“Sister!”
A young boy ran out from among the colorfully dressed welcoming party.
He was a young boy who looked to be in his early to mid-teens, and like Princess Laika, he had beautiful platinum blonde hair.
“Sister!”
“Our Keltur!”
When the boy shouted again, Princess Lyca jumped down from Lloyd in one breath, lowered her posture, and then hugged the boy tightly.
“I’m glad you’re safe, Sister!”
“Not celebrating the victory first?”
“It’s better if you’re safe.”
Boy – Princess Lyca laughed pleasantly at the words of her younger brother Keltur, second in line to the throne.
“That’s why I like my little brother?”
“I like you too, sister.”
Keltur hugged Princess Lyca tightly, and Princess Lyca kissed Keltur’s forehead and cheek several times.
And Uder, who was watching that scene, was slightly embarrassed.
‘We’re on really good terms?’
No, but why is Keltur so difficult?
Wasn’t he clearly the young king in the original?
‘Have you experienced explosive growth in the past year or two?’
In general, it would have been unreasonable, but there were also cases like Uther himself.
He had grown nearly 30cm in height in the past 8-9 months, from around 160cm to mid-180cm, so it didn’t seem impossible for him to grow into a young man.
‘No, no matter what, it’s like that.’
Was there some other reason? Or maybe Keltur had someone else with the same name.
Anyway, I was thinking about such random things at that time.
Princess Lyca briefly introduced Uther and Cordelia to the elves who came out to welcome the expedition force, then climbed onto Lloyd while holding Keltur in her arms.
“Let’s go to the palace first. We’ll discuss the details at the celebratory banquet.”
Although they were the first human guests in five hundred years, the elves only glanced at Uther and Cordelia, but did not speak directly to them.
After all, it was the princess’s order.
[Yuder, Yuuder.]
[Why, Cordelia.]
[Keltur looks at us. Oh, he laughs.]
[Don’t laugh.]
[ok?]
Juder glared at Keltur, who was smiling brightly, and hugged Cordelia’s waist. Cordelia blinked and laughed out loud.
And at sunset.
As soon as they arrived at the palace, Uther and Cordelia were guided to the bathhouse, where they washed themselves and were given new clothes.
It was the elves’ banquet.
“Oh, that’s cool. It’s a bit like Loki.”
A light green overall with hints of black and yellow.
But it felt quite different when worn by slender elves.
Even among the generally tall elves, Juder was a tall man, and he had a statuesque body.
“Our princess is as beautiful as always.”
Cordelia was wearing a white dress. The back was a bit slit and it exposed her cleavage, which bothered Yuder, but Cordelia actually liked it, swinging the hem of her skirt around.
“It’s so light. It feels like a fairy dress.”
“Umm… how about adding a scarf?”
“ok?”
Instead of adding to the conversation, Uther tied a white scarf around Cordelia’s neck, covering her chest with the red jewel she was wearing – the Echo of the Spell.
“Well, good. Much better.”
When Uther clapped his hands with a satisfied expression, Cordelia blinked and chuckled.
“Jealous.”
“Yes, I am very jealous.”
“You’re not even hiding it anymore?”
Cordelia said incredulously, but the corners of her mouth were raised.
Uther held out his arm, excited like Cordelia.
“Anyway, please go.”
“Yes, Mr. Black Cloak, who is dark-hearted and also very jealous.”
Cordelia giggled and gently hugged Uther’s arm.
And a few minutes.
Guided by the cold-eyed elves to the banquet hall, Uther and Cordelia once again expressed their admiration.
“Wow. So pretty.”
“It’s gorgeous.”
The pure white hall was in no way inferior in scale and beauty to the grand banquet hall of the royal capital of the Kingdom of Seilun.
In particular, the way the entire banquet hall was decorated with light using the glass ceiling was very impressive.
“You came.”
“Princess Leica.”
Princess Lyca, wearing a white dress and adorned with gold all over her body, looked Yuda and Cordelia up and down and then chuckled.
“They’re both pretty. Is this really the best beauty among humans?”
“That, that was Yuder joking.”
Cordelia spoke softly, but it was a situation where even a grain of sand would not be eaten.
Princess Lyca laughed heartily and guided Yuda and Cordelia to the seats right next to her.
‘Now that I think about it, it’s a banquet, but… there seems to be some kind of seating area for watching the stage.’
Because the center of the wide hall was empty, chairs were lined up along its edges.
Fortunately, as soon as I sat down, Princess Leica began to explain.
“When we elves celebrate something, we first perform a group dance to recall our communication with the spirits.”
“Uh… You’re not dancing yourself, you’re just watching?”
“Oh, it’s not something that just anyone can do.”
Princess Lyca immediately responded to Cordelia’s words and added some explanations.
“Dance… To be exact, each dancer who performs sword dance has passed it down as a tradition. It’s such a beautiful sword dance, so it’ll be fun.”
“and······.”
Cordelia looked around with her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Sitting opposite Princess Lyca was Keltur and a woman in very ornate attire, who seemed to be Keltur’s mother.
‘Is there no king? Or Princess Lyca’s mother.’
Vanessa and Midas are behind Princess Lyca.
Cordelia, who had been looking around, suddenly fixed her gaze straight ahead again.
It was because the sound of a drum signaling the start of the sword dance was heard.
“Let’s get started.”
As if Princess Laika’s small voice was a signal, six dancers came out from the center of the white hall and began to dance with swords.
Elves, each wearing colorful clothing, danced with large movements, and although each movement was different, it felt like they were all connected in harmony.
“and.”
Splendid, beautiful, and majestic.
Princess Lyca smiled with delight as Cordelia continued to express her admiration, but it only lasted for a moment.
Because, unlike Cordelia, Uther was frowning.
‘What? Is there something you don’t like?’
No, even if there’s something you don’t like, you still make that face. I don’t think you don’t know manners.
Princess Laika, who was slightly angry without realizing it, took action right away, as befitting her personality, which requires reading and writing in a bold and reckless manner.
“Uder, is there something strange?”
At Princess Lyca’s question, Cordelia also turned to look at Yuder with her eyes wide open.
‘Yuderya?’
Even Cordelia thought Uther’s expression was a bit strange.
Why is that?
If Cordelia is seeing this sword dance for the first time, it must be the first time she’s seeing it for Uther too.
And it’s so fancy, cool, and beautiful.
As Cordelia followed Princess Lyca and looked at him with questioning eyes, Yuder narrowed his eyes again and spoke with a determined expression.
“Your Highness the Crown Princess.”
“Yes, Yuder.”
“I know it’s presumptuous of me to ask this, but… there’s something wrong with that sword dance.”
“What’s wrong?”
What does this mean all of a sudden?
Moreover, Uther was a foreigner, and a human at that.
What do you know about the sword dance of elves to say something like that?
That was it.
Princess Lyca, who remembered one fact, suppressed her anger and looked at Yuder with serious eyes.
The Uder in front of my eyes was a human who inherited the sword spirit of the fairy sword Belincia.
“Do you know anything?”
Although it was more moderate than before, the voice was still sharp.
Cordelia, who had started to feel her heart pounding because of that, looked back at Yuder with an anxious face, pressing her hand against her chest.
‘What is it? What’s the problem? How do you know?’
I haven’t even talked to Cordelia specifically about Valencia yet.
But it was a step that had already been taken.
The moment he saw the elves’ sword dance, Yuder could instinctively sense something was wrong, and he could tell through Velencia’s experiences and memories that were naturally being embodied.
What is wrong with the sword dance before your eyes?
More precisely, what is lacking?
“One person is missing.”
For a moment, surprise spread across Princess Lyca’s face. That’s why Yuder spoke again with confidence.
“That sword dance is one that must be performed by seven people, not six.”
&
< Chapter 80 - Sword Dance > End
