Dilphina’s Unease
The sun began to peer over the horizon.
Having awakened from her slumber, Dilphina rose from her bed. Picking up her spear, which had been resting at her bedside, she made her way to her residence’s rear garden, as she did every morning. The cold water she drew from her well served to rapidly jolt her mind, numbed from sleepiness, into clarity.
It’s cold, and pleasant...
Her field of vision, which was still hazy from torpor, was gradually becoming clear and distinct. Looking up, a clear sky devoid of clouds reflected in her eyes. Another day began, as ordinary as any other.
The weather is fine today. I’d have liked to go hunting, and yet...
Recalling how diminished their stores of food had become and her father’s concerns on the matter, Dilphina’s beautiful features furrowed into a frown. Dilphina was the most skilled warrior and huntress in this village after her father, Nelcius.
No, given that Nelcius had his duties as chief to keep the village managed, it could be said that hunting and keeping the village secure was her responsibility as the second strongest. And in that regard, the biggest problem Dilphina faced was the presence of the pirates that made the Wortenia peninsula their haunt.
The real problem wasn’t so much their presence in and of itself; it was that up until now, no one dared approach the northeastern regions of the Wortenia peninsula, but the pirates had begun sending people there regularly.
Did something happen to make them do this...?
She’d discussed this with Nelcius several times over the last few months, but they couldn’t come to a conclusion. The pirates’ presence on the peninsula was by no means a recent occurrence. For an elf of long life like Dilphina, it didn’t feel all that long, but it had been several decades. And in all that time, the pirates did not dare stray into Wortenia’s deeper reaches.
For a long while, the pirates and demi-humans lived in perfect segregation. But that unspoken agreement was beginning to come undone.
Their aim here was clear, of course. They were no different than the rascals who called themselves ‘adventurers,’ who would brave the depths of Wortenia from time to time in pursuit of a quick way to make a large profit.
They sought the elves’ bodies.
‘Beautiful,’ they call us...
That was how the humans described the elves. But that so-called ‘beauty’ only brought disaster upon them.
What will happen if I don’t go hunting...?
Due to the ferocious monsters that loitered in Wortenia’s lands, farming was difficult. Their village had a barrier that had been passed to them since the olden times to keep the creatures away, but it only covered a limited area.
Most of their food came from the small fields they barely managed to grow near their residences, fruit from the trees growing in the forests, and occasional hunting. Of course, they had some food stored away, but if they didn’t replenish that cache of food, they would surely starve.
The young ones are growing frustrated, too...
In the name of the villagers’ safety, Nelcius had used his authority as chief to strictly forbid leaving the village’s premises. Given the situation, it was a necessary measure. But not all of the elves living in the village were capable of understanding this, especially those elves whose bodies had matured but were still young and infantile in mind.
At first, the young ones understood and remained meek, but they could grow impatient at any time.
Well... I don’t imagine father will simply sit idly by...
Dilphina snapped out of her thoughts and took up her spear. She then crouched, taking on her usual combat stance. Her movements were slow at first, but they then grew more rapid. With each thrust of her spear, the doubts were drowned out of Dilphina’s heart.
Her father, Nelcius, was a warrior who’d fought in a holy war over four centuries ago, when he was given the name of Mad Demon. The only thing Dilphina was truly capable of was honing the lance spear he had passed down to her to slay their foes...
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