Just like last time, her words carried a sharp edge. Hearing it repeated twice now, I even began to wonder if it stemmed from some unilateral prejudice or inferiority complex toward other races.

Yet, I sensed no hatred in her tone. Instead, she sounded as though she were simply stating an undeniable fact.

“…What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what I said. Don’t even think about teaching self-defense to an elf.”

“Is it because there’s no need to teach her?”

“No. Because it’s dangerous.”

Rebecca dismissed my question with a single sentence. She then studied my expression and offered an explanation.

“The essence of self-defense is enabling the weak to protect themselves. Its goal is to efficiently strike the most vulnerable parts of the human body and subdue an opponent. But if someone already strong learns those techniques, they simply become killing arts.”

“But Saya needs to know how to protect herself, too.”

“Elves have no need for such things. Does a bear poking its nose into an anthill need to be taught how to hunt? It’s a crude analogy, but the gap between us and them is roughly that wide. You saw her subdue two grown men in the blink of an eye yourself.”

“That doesn’t necessarily mean Saya is dangerous, though.”

“Not yet, it doesn’t. But if she takes an interest in it, that’s a different story.”

“What do you mean?”

“Has she never shown an excessive amount of curiosity toward something she’s seeing for the first time? Has she never fixated on something to a truly frightening degree?”

“There hasn’t been…”

Just as I was about to deny it, the memory of Saya’s expression when she ate bread for the first time surfaced in my mind. I had dismissed it back then as mere curiosity, but reflecting on it now, it was far beyond that. Savoring a single loaf of bread for days on end. If that wasn’t obsession, what was?

“Throughout the continent’s history, roughly a hundred elves have ever set foot on this land. Without exception, they all showed profound interest in human civilization. And once they latched onto a specific field, they pursued it with near-fanatical obsession. That might just be a racial trait of theirs.”

“Are you saying Saya might develop that kind of obsession toward harming people?”

“I’m saying the possibility exists. Tormenting creatures weaker than oneself always provokes a primal, instinctual intrigue. That’s precisely why humanity has never once shared military knowledge with the elves.”

“But wouldn’t the elves already possess superior knowledge in that area?”

“They likely do. But if they were to study our military tactics and develop an interest in the very concept of slaughtering humans… that would be far too dangerous.”

Rebecca furrowed her brow and shook her head. Still, I wanted to argue my point to the end.

“But there haven’t been any cases. Doesn’t that mean elves have no interest in the act itself?”

“There has been a case. Exactly one.”

“There has?”

“It happened so long ago and was buried under strict secrecy, that’s all. It was simply forgotten.”

Her gaze drifted toward the door. Lowering her voice as if Saya might be eavesdropping, she continued.

“In the past, there was one elf who took an interest in swordsmanship. The problem was, he fell in love with the very sensation of cutting down humans. From that point on, he slaughtered humans indiscriminately, regardless of gender. In the single year he was active, over a thousand people died by his hand.”

“But if something like that happened…”

“You think people wouldn’t know? They covered it up by any means necessary. Because they simply had no way to stop him. Even the elves couldn’t handle him. Or perhaps, they chose not to. Until that bastard was finally torn to shreds by a Dragon’s claws, the Emperor had to silence tens of thousands of people.”

“A Dragon, out of nowhere? Did he lose interest in slashing humans?”

“No. Humanity, exhausted by the mad elf’s reign of terror, used his young son against him.”

“…His son?”

“I only read about it, so I don’t know much more. And I don’t want to tell you, either.”

Much like the secrets of the elves, human history harbored its own dark abysses. We were already living through a tragic enough era without bothering to excavate those buried truths.

Even so, I shook my head. Just today, Saya had recoiled in horror at the very sensation. I simply couldn’t imagine her ever taking pleasure in such an act.

Of course, emotion and reason are perpetually at odds. I knew that well enough.

“I understand what you’re saying.”

“Seems I said too much. I don’t actually believe she would do that, either. But elves are an incredibly curious race. And in times like these, there aren’t exactly many fields left for them to delve into.”

Before heading back to the house, Rebecca gave me one last look. She left me with a single parting remark.

“We can only hope that pure-hearted elf fixates on something else.”

“Senior!”

The moment I opened the door, Haru lunged at me with an affectionate cry. She had thrown her entire body weight into the charge, making it a rather dangerous tackle, but thankfully, Saya intercepted her just in time.

“Haru. Don’t do that. It’s dangerous.”

“But Senior might be in even more danger right now! Who knows what they might have done to you while Saya and I were gone…!”

“Nothing happened.”

“Oh my goodness, you’re safe, Senior! I think I’m going to cry.”

Can she even cry? The fundamental question crossed my mind, but I kept it to myself. Bringing it up would only guarantee a lengthy, melodramatic speech full of forced sentiment. Instead, I took a seat and gathered everyone around.

“Let’s talk for a moment. We need to come up with a plan for what to do next.”

“Does that plan include that woman, by any chance?”

“Haru. Stop it. You’re making Lope uncomfortable.”

“Well, no… I was just asking.”

It wasn’t until Saya called her out that Haru finally clamped her mouth shut with a sullen pout. Only then was I able to begin.

“Calling it a plan might be a stretch, as we really only have one objective: secure Roselia before the ship arrives. We won’t know if the ship is actually coming until the time comes, but putting that uncertainty aside, our top priority remains the same.”

“But didn’t they agree to take you on board, Senior? Wouldn’t that be the end of it?”

“It’s a promise that falls apart the moment Roselia changes her tune. Besides, without her, the ship won’t even set sail.”

“What if this Roselia person is suffering something terrible at the Academy? What if… she’s already dead?”

“…Then we bring back her body. At least that would give us the bare minimum justification to board the ship.”

It was a rather gruesome prospect; Saya’s face drained of color. Even Haru, uncharacteristically at a loss for words, let out a heavy sigh.

“This is tough. Can’t we just hijack the ship? That feels like it would be a lot easier.”

“House Anbert’s guards will undoubtedly be on board, making that difficult. And there are only four of us. They said a large ship is coming, so there will be a sizable crew as well.”

“Couldn’t we just take out the higher-ups? We have a soldier on our side, too. You said she’s a veteran.”

“Even to me, that sounds far too reckless, Haru. I think it’s best we don’t even consider that option.”

“Ugh… this is really hard. Can’t we just build a boat and leave? Like a raft?”

With all her alternative plans shot down, Haru proposed a new idea. I thought it was pure nonsense, but surprisingly, Rebecca spoke up.

“Funny you should mention it, I actually tried building one once. Gave up halfway through, though.”

“Why? Did you realize you lacked the skills?”

“That was part of it, but I simply didn’t have the confidence to navigate that distance all by myself. It’s not like I’m an experienced sailor.”

“But now you have three more people. Saya, who is good at everything, our perfect Senior, and his loyal subordinate, me.”

“And does anyone here have any sailing experience?”

“…Guess that won’t work, either.”

Haru muttered timidly under her breath, and none of us could bring ourselves to answer. No matter how much we thought about it, we couldn’t come up with a better alternative.

“Naturally, the best-case scenario would be Roselia willingly cooperating with us. There’s no benefit to using force if we don’t have to.”

“Is that even a possibility? From what you’ve told me, she sounds like a pretty obnoxious person.”

“She’s always been shrewd when it comes to cost-benefit analysis. I’ve set up a situation where aligning with us is clearly to her advantage, but… I have no idea what Roselia might be thinking.”

“Really? It would be a relief if she’s that rational. I don’t really know her. Didn’t you say Saya was in the same class as her, Senior?”

“Don’t… don’t ask about that, Haru.”

I cautiously gauged Saya’s reaction. It would have been a relief if she had shown any reaction at all, but with her head bowed, her expression was hidden from view. In that silence, I felt like I was the only one suffocating.

“Well, we’ll find out when we meet her. We can think about that later.”

Thankfully, Haru broke the silence. For once, I felt genuinely grateful to her.

“Anyway, even if she does want to join our side, she’s currently being held captive over there. Is there any guarantee she’s safe?”

“It’s Roselia. I at least get the feeling she knows how to take care of herself. The problem is getting her out. Whether we go in to rescue her, or we provide her with the means to escape.”

“The latter would be ideal. But the former is probably more realistic. Can’t we just blow our way through with sheer firepower?”

“Even if they’re all destined to die in 200 days anyway, there are still plenty of other students in there, so…”

“You really can’t think past smashing things apart, can you, soldier? So devoid of humanity.”

“For your information, we have more than enough equipment to do it.”

Rebecca’s nonchalant tone carried absolute sincerity. Haru pulled a face of utter exhaustion before leaning back against the wall and grumbling.

“In the end, it’s just really sad that we don’t have enough people. Is there no way to get more on our side?”

“I wonder.”

At Haru’s words, I stared up at the ceiling. It sounded like another absurd suggestion, but strangely enough, a certain person’s face floated into my mind. Lost in solitary thought, I spoke slowly.

“There is a very slim possibility, but…”