Intermission – Hibiscus Love (5/5)

What to do?

She asked weakly and with her face beet red.

It was true that the Goblin King had swept over the region. But there was no telling how long that would continue. Elbert and Dordias understood this.

Although the momentum of the goblins was intense, there were barely any countries that were friendly to them.

As such there was a sense of impending crisis that they might trip up somewhere or that their rapid expansion might eventually blow up. If so, then Rishan would be greeted with a tragedy.

Dordias sighed and expelled such thoughts.

“For some reason, people tend to become pessimistic as they grow older.

No one knew the future.

Perhaps, a tragedy may indeed be waiting, but that was a story for then. What was more important now was to bless the love of a girl that was in love now.

In the case of success, a lot of difficulties will be waiting for her, but that’s fine too. A difficult path did not always end in tragedy.

“I have an idea.”

◆◆◇

Felbi was unhappy with the job he has been given.

He was unhappy with being tasked with protecting a human, yes, but most importantly, he was unhappy to be away from the frontlines. Although he is said to be young, he was already 48 years old. Since elves are said to live twice as long as humans, then it can be said that he was currently 20 years old in human years.

But he was one of the best sylph swordsmen, and yet, he couldn’t even swing his sword now. The reason he continued to obey despite his dissatisfaction was because it was an order from the Goblin King.

‘It was his fault for fighting seven times and losing seven times,’ he would remind himself as he passed the days protecting the father and daughter pair.

But as the days passed, so did his dissatisfaction grow.

The humans that attacked in the day and in the dark were able to stave off his thirst for blood a little, but when he teased the girl he was supposed to be protecting, she told him that she would one day surpass him and greatly improved her skills in the sword.

Recently, he has come to enjoy teaching others.

The wind elves (sylphs) more or less specialized in the bow. That kind of thinking prevailed especially strong in Symphoria, where he came from, and the sword skills were either seen as something to be studied for self-defense or by people who were poor at the bow.

That’s why only an eccentric sylph would study the sword so earnestly.

His skill in the sword that was unparalleled among the sylphs was something that was cultivated as if to oppose the condescending view that his village held for the sword.

After many twists and turns, he participated in the wars in the human world, gaining the opportunity to sufficiently demonstrate his skill in the sword, but he never once believed that a second him would arise from among the elves. There were hopeful swordsmen among the goblins, but they had Gi Go Amatsuki.

As such, the target of his protection, the girl whom he loved to tease was actually his first disciple.

Felbi loved to watch her as her sword grew sharper by the day.

“I will give you one opportunity everyday to kill me. If you can make me give up even once, then I will listen to any request you have,” he said to light a fire under her.

One night, Felbi slipped into the darkness and cut down a man who was planning to attack her.

“Hmm. It should be time soon,” he muttered.

She had invited him to her bedroom this night.

Just how would she attack him this time? Felbi couldn’t wait to find out. He wiped his sword clean of blood and went back to the residence.

He knocked on her door and informed her of his intentions to enter.

“Please enter.”

When he heard those words, he opened the door.

The lights have already been put out.

I see, he nodded. A battle indoors with the lights out… That was certainly advantageous to someone like her who used a rapier. If he didn’t have room to swing his sword, then it was doubtful he would even be able to hold back.

When he thought of that, he became delighted.

But then he found the master of the room.

The killing intent that usually pervaded her was no where to be seen.

Did she learn to control it? He wondered as he strained his eyes and felt a presence behind him.

“The usual, huh.”

Felbi tried to draw his sword, but he was delayed a little.

Attacking from behind was her usual trick, yet not a drop of killing intent could be felt from her even now.

That moment of doubt caused him to be delayed by a moment.

He tried to fix the trajectory of his sword, but before he could, his waist was embraced.

He clicked his tongue and tried to fix his posture, but he had already been pushed over onto the bed. In the veil of the darkness, he felt the warmth of another person. Felbi tried to stick out his sword.

“Felbi.”

But when he heard the voice of the girl, he stopped.

“Hmm… You’ve gotten better.”

Felbi had let go of his sword and had loosened his shoulders, but the voice of the girl was weak.

“Felbi, umm…”

“What’s the matter? It’s the first time you were able to take me from behind. Still a bit green, but you’ve gotten good, haven’t you?”

He asked while the girl straddled him.

“Umm, Felbi… Actually, I…”

When Felbi had finally gotten used to the dark, he suddenly saw the girl crying and panicked.

“Good grief… What is it?”

“I’ve fallen for yuo.”

Felbi was speechless

“U-Umu…”

The tears that fell down her eyes wet Felbi’s clothes.

“Marry me!”

“What!?”

even Felbi, who had faced a hundred battles, could not help but wince in the face of this reckless attack.

“You don’t want to!?”

“No, but…”

The girl swung her fists and weakly hit Felbi’s chest.

“What’s a guy to say in a situation like this? Sigh… I give.”

A few years later, Felbi married a young human girl.

That became the source of much of Pale and his other coworkers teasing, but that was a story still some years away.

When Elbert heard the news from his own daughter, he went with Dordias to the business district of the now peaceful Elrain Kingdom, and complained while eating Yarudosu and drinking liquor.