The northern back alleys of Bondales were essentially one massive slave market.
It was no exaggeration to say that every elent making up the backstreets contributed to this singular, sprawling enterprise.
In such a place, identifying and rescuing a single slave without any complications was an almost impossible task.
To protect the rights of buyers, the market ticulously concealed the existence of the slaves. anwhile, the slaves themselves were swept into the murky tide of the market, tainted and degraded at every turn.
Katria was deeply worried about this as she desperately prayed.
Her brother, Drian, sold into slavery and pushed into the black market.
She could only hope that nothing happened to him before she could save him.
But, of course, simply hoping and praying wouldn’t make it so.
She needed to act swiftly and precisely, and above all, discreetly.
For a Dark Elf to secretly infiltrate and operate in a human city where her presence was unwelco required nothing less.
Thus, Katria’s anxiety only grew heavier.
Even if she invoked her family’s influence and overturned the entire back alley, she couldn’t guarantee her brother’s safety.
And now, she found herself relying on slave traders while playing the part of a slave.
As expected, Katria’s fears beca a reality.
Following the first clue they had uncovered, they arrived at a location—
But Drian was not there.
What the slave trader held wasn’t proof of ownership over Drian, but the paynt from selling him instead.
***
“...”
A hard-fought and dramatic reunion.
Yet, there was not even a sliver of joy in it.
It was over a month after Katria had begun her stay in Bondales that she finally recovered her lost brother.
"Drian..."
His pupils had lost their light, and no matter how desperately she called his na, the only response was the groans of soone stripped of their sense of self.
Drian's Dark Elf body bore countless marks of abuse and mockery.
His once-pristine skin was grotesquely marred all over, to the point of being unrecognizable.
It was the side effect of a drug used to temporarily bleach Dark Elf skin, making them appear as ordinary Elves.
Once the humans deed him incapable of “passing” as an Elf anymore, they discarded him without hesitation.
Like a disposable tool, they had no use for what was broken and used up.
Katria didn’t need to imagine what kind of treatnt Drian must have endured at the hands of humans.
She already knew.
Drian had never, even for a mont, been treated as a person.
It was a truth she had co to painfully understand during her ti in the human world.
“...”
Katria gently lowered her brother’s broken body to the ground.
Then, she turned her gaze to Resha, her slave and the slave trader who had facilitated this nightmare.
"Ah... ahhh..."
Resha’s face twisted into an expression of despair as her eyes t Katria’s.
In so ways, it was an inevitable outco.
The discrimination and systemic cruelty surrounding them were beyond what any individual could change.
Lisir’s thoughts were heavy.
From what he had heard, the northern back alleys of Bondales were, in essence, one massive slave market.
Could it even be possible to locate a single slave in such a place?
And to do so before anything else went wrong?
"Sir Lisir! I think we’ve located the Dark Elf slave you ntioned!"
Apparently, it was possible.
"Already? Carl, why are you so capable?"
"It’s nothing! It’s all thanks to you lending your na to the effort, Sir Lisir!"
"My na has that kind of power?"
"Yes! And these are Alstein and Keala, who helped us with this search! They wanted to et you in person, so I brought them along."
"Sir Lisir! It’s an honor to et you in person!"
"I’m Keala! I’m so happy to have been able to assist you with this!"
"Ah, the back alleys. So full of kind and helpful people."
The seemingly endless network of back alley contacts had co together.
Thanks to them, Lisir was able to locate the Dark Elf slave, Drian, without much trouble.
Drian’s condition was remarkably intact.
From the perspective of his captors, he was "brand new."
It was only possible because, for "certain reasons," the back alley slave market had been paralyzed.
***
[The target is under the influence of the Oath of Subjugation.]
[The target is under the influence of the Oath of Subjugation.]
[The target is under the influence of the Oath of Subjugation.]
***
"...Miss Tia? Miss Tia?"
"Ah… yes."
Tia—
No, Katria—managed to pull herself back to her senses.
The string of unexpected developnts had left her mind more jumbled than ever.
"Drian? How does that human know about Drian?"
"And that question… what kind of nonsense is ‘If you had the chance to escape with your kin, what would you do’?"
Katria considered every possibility but couldn’t arrive at a clear answer.
For now, even trying to grasp his intentions felt overwhelming.
It was only natural. After all, he was human.
A mber of the vile race that refused to see Dark Elves as equals.
"I can’t let my guard down..."
The premise ford by her countless bitter experiences completely obstructed Katria’s reasoning.
Still, she answered Lisir with cautious vigilance.
"Why would you ask sothing like that…?"
Lisir, in turn, responded with his characteristic easygoing smile.
"I thought a topic this provocative might spark your interest in having a conversation with ."
"What are you talking about...?"
"Don’t you rember? Yesterday, when I said I wanted to get to know you, you looked absolutely horrified."
“...”
"So that’s what he ant by wanting to talk?"
The logic made sense on the surface.
But the one saying it—
He was human.
A human showing genuine curiosity toward a Dark Elf?
Katria couldn’t fathom such a thing.
"What are you curious about?"
Even so, Katria found herself intrigued by his proposal.
As he said, the question he had just posed was far too provocative to ignore.
The obedient slave was no longer present.
Katria leveled her sharpest, most suspicious gaze at the man before her.
"Plenty of things. But I’ll keep it brief, since you seem to prefer getting straight to the point. Miss Tia, I want to help you gain your freedom."
"Why?"
"Pardon?"
"What’s in it for you if you do that?"
Every act of kindness she had encountered from humans so far had been a thinly-veiled form of malice.
Katria assud he would be no different.
"What’s in it for … hmm. Maybe personal satisfaction?"
After a brief mont of thought, Lisir gave an awkward smile and began to explain.
"You remind of my ntor. My ntor is also a Dark Elf, you see."
A human apprenticing under a Dark Elf?
The idea was absurd.
Even the humans who had tried to deceive Katria with ill intent hadn’t spun a tale this far-fetched.
"You expect to believe that?"
"I know, it sounds strange. My ntor being a Dark Elf, showing unconditional kindness to another Dark Elf—it’s all bizarre, right? But… I can’t explain it well. You remind of her so much that I just can’t stand by and do nothing."
“...”
"She’s the one who changed my life. The life I’m living now is sothing the old couldn’t even imagine. It’s all thanks to her. She was the one who reached out to soone like and gave an opportunity I didn’t deserve. And, well… I thought this situation might be sowhat similar. Is that too much of a stretch?"
"Of course..."
It was absurd.
Her experiences made it impossible to believe such an outlandish story.
And yet—
Why was it so hard to doubt him?
The way he smiled, reminiscing about so unknown Dark Elf, was so vividly genuine.
“...”
Katria’s mind was a chaotic storm, impossible to sort out.
"Drian…"
Amidst the confusion, one thing remained clear—her feelings for her brother.
"Why did you bring up Drian’s na?"
"He’s the Dark Elf slave Resha asked to help recover. Sa master, sa race. I thought there was a chance you might know him."
"Don’t tell … have you found him?"
That day, during Lisir’s eting with the guild leaders, Resha had been among the lower-ranked participants.
By all logic, there was no reason for Lisir to prioritize recovering a Dark Elf slave over other requests from more influential humans.
And yet—
How had things co to this?
Lisir nodded.
He had chosen to prioritize finding the Dark Elf slave above all else.
As if he were in a rush.
As if he genuinely cared about the Dark Elf’s fate.
Huff. Huff.
Katria suddenly realized she was breathing heavily.
She tried not to look at the object Lisir held in his hand.
As if refusing to acknowledge what had already happened.
"Where is he…? Where is he now?"
Her voice trembled as she forced the words out.
Without saying a word, Lisir gestured for her to follow.
***
In a bedroom within another lodging on the Tower’s premises, a young man lay resting on the bed.
"Drian!!!"
Katria rushed to Drian and embraced him.
Then, she quickly pulled back to assess his condition.
"He’s just unconscious for the mont. There’s no need to worry," Lisir reassured her, explaining the circumstances.
And so, Katria learned.
She learned that, imdiately after the eting with the guild leaders, Lisir had begun the search for the Dark Elf slave.
She learned that, when Drian was found, he had been under the influence of mind-control magic, stripped of his sense of self.
She learned that Lisir had personally treated Drian to free him from the magic’s hold.
She learned that Drian had been examined by a priest residing in the Tower and was now staying in one of the Tower’s lodgings to recover.
“...”
As the story progressed, Katria found herself unable to focus on his voice any longer.
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
The sound of her pounding heartbeat consud her awareness.
It felt like she was floating in oil, adrift and disconnected.
"...Miss?"
Through the numbing silence, the human’s voice reached her.
Her heart leapt.
"Miss Tia?"
Thump!
Her heart pounded even harder.
Even now, the human was calling out desperately to that aningless, fake na.
"Ha!"
Katria couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the absurdity of it all.
Her laughter didn’t stop there.
She brought both hands to her face.
"Hahahahaha!!!"
Her laughter spilled through her fingers.
"Miss Tia?"
The foolish human still didn’t understand the situation he was in.
His voice, laden with concern, called out to the false na once more.
Katria lowered her hands and looked directly at his ridiculous expression.
"...Are you crying?"
Her face, contorted by wild laughter, could indeed be mistaken for one in tears.
"? Cry? Why? Is there any reason for that? In such… such a joyous situation?"
She smiled bitterly.
"Sir Lisir, thank you so much. That boy… he’s my brother. You’re a savior to , Sir Lisir. A true benefactor."
Benefactor.
Katria repeated the word, letting out another round of laughter.
"Sir Lisir? What should I do now?"
"...Another man was with you and Resha. Do you know him as well?"
"You an Kairen? Of course! How could I not? He’s my knight, my guard. Isn’t it funny? A slave with a guard."
"So, you, your brother, and Kairen—you’re all part of the sa group?"
"Yes, that’s correct. The three of us are together."
"Understood. Then I’ll do whatever I can to ensure all three of you gain your freedom. Until then, can you trust and wait?"
“...”
The chaotic energy surrounding Katria subsided.
Her eyes, devoid of focus, stared at him as she murmured quietly.
"How long? How long do we have to wait?"
"As quickly as possible. I’ll aim to settle everything within a week."
"A week… a week… a week…"
Finally, Katria turned to Lisir with a radiant smile.
"Yes. I’ll wait. Gladly."
***
In the dead of night, while everyone else was asleep, Katria rose from her bed and made her way sowhere.
To the place where that foolish human lay sleeping.
Lisir.
The sight of him lying peacefully on the bed seed tranquil, almost serene.
But Katria knew.
Only she knew.
She knew that Clouded Truth was coursing through his veins.
She knew that by tomorrow, he would lose his sense of self and beco a re shell, responding only to commands.
Katria tried desperately to deny it.
But—
“...”
She pulled the vial from her robes and held it up to the moonlight.
Exactly half.
The pale purple liquid that had once filled the vial was now unmistakably reduced.
The precise dose.
No matter what happened, the poison within him would not be neutralized.
He was dood to ruin, brought down by the very Dark Elf he had shown kindness and respect.
A human who sought to repay the kindness of one Dark Elf to another.
A Dark Elf who sought to repay the hatred of humans onto yet another human.
Through this, Katria realized sothing.
How deeply flawed her thods were.
How immature her way of confronting their hatred had been.
She understood now.
But it was already too late.
Thud.
Katria’s body collapsed helplessly to the ground.
I’m sorry.
I’m sorry.
I’m sorry.
Sitting on the floor, her head hung low, she made the sound of a broken music box, her voice trembling and unstable.
Soon, she rose to her feet and looked down at Lisir.
Moonlight stread through the window, illuminating the room.
The pale pink of the Dark Elf’s eyes reflected the light, but they still looked lifeless and dead.
Her fingers hovered softly near the human’s face.
"Don’t worry..."
Her voice was hollow and emotionless.
"I’ll take responsibility for you."
The Dark Elf smiled—a bright, almost radiant smile.
But it was fragile and unsettling, sothing utterly out of place.
──────────
[Title: What the hell is this Dark Elf doing;;]
Post:
[Photo]
Why is she talking to a preserved corpse with a smile?
Is this necromancy or sothing?
: That’s Katria for you.
: Nope, not necromancy—just pure insanity~
: She lost her mind after her brother beca a wreck.
: If you talk to her, it starts a fight.
OP: What did I even do;;
: Typical, lol.
──────────
─────
[He resisted.]
─────
Katria placed the vial back into her robes as she prepared to leave the room.
That’s when it happened.
The moonlight caught the liquid inside the vial.
“...”
The liquid had lost its original properties and energy, becoming nothing more than a harmless substance.
"How…"
Sothing—sothing unknown—had purified the poison’s essence.
Crack.
Her hand tightened around the vial.
"Perhaps…"
Perhaps it wasn’t too late to give up.
Sothing in the human world had purified the poison of the Dark Elves.
Sothing that existed in the Tower.
She would find it.
She would ensure it.
"I must..."
Tears began to stream down her face.
The once-dead light in the Dark Elf’s eyes flickered back to life.
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