The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 309: They say talking is useless, but I sure hope it isn’t

Chapter 309: They say talking is useless, but I sure hope it isn’t

"I don’t believe I understood what Your Excellency was saying," Issa’s reply came with a sharp edge rather than a confused one.

She had always been maintaining her posture due to her upbringing, but she straightened her back even more, as if she was in a defensive mode. I almost gulped nervously at the sudden shift of atmosphere, but then...I was the one who made the shift anyway.

And no; I didn’t believe I was in the wrong, so there was no need to be afraid. I am Valen Valmeier Sil Seahl, the Demon Lord Matsa Ra Natha’s betrothed. I stood on equal ground with her.

Looking at her with a steady gaze, I spoke with a slightly lower tone. "Lady Issaelmier, were you not forsake one of your kin just because he wanted to make something before?" I asked, keeping my face relaxed to state a fact without showing agitation. "A weapon that you deemed to be blasphemous against Mother."

The golden eyes of both elves widened. I gave them time to remember the case while looking back at Jade and the other children. Two of them were holding Jade’s hands and led him near the fountain; the almost empty candy jar was being held by another child.

"Don’t you think he’s just like a child who wants to make something different from what the adults used to?" I continued when Issa shifted slightly--a sign of finally recalling the case that happened quite some time ago.

"That creation was a dangerous attempt in replacing tradition--"

"There’s no intention to replace the existing weapon," I interrupted her words, trying to make my voice sound as calm as possible. "What he wanted to create was just something more accessible to people without a lot of mana or too slow of a casting time."

"But it’s also destructive."

"But don’t you have the same thing?" I looked at her again. "The exploding arrowhead."

The golden eyes blinked, finally looking like she wavered in her own confusion. But still, Issa came up with an argument right away. "That is intended for enemies."

"Did that elf state the weapon was intended for something other than repelling enemies?" I tilted my head.

Izzi was a hobbyist--he only wanted to make a gun because he wanted to be a gunsmith, thinking it was cool to have a modern weapon in a world of bow and magic. In a peaceful Etherziel, he wouldn’t think of making something for violence.

And since the trial ended so shortly after they found out the gun was supposed to be a ranged weapon like the bow, Izzi probably didn’t even have the chance to explain his failed creation’s intention.

"...no," Issa said hesitatingly, unlike how she usually talked. "But the accident that happened showed how dangerous--"

"The accident happened because he attempted an incomplete project, and he never planned on doing it before it was complete," I countered with a sigh. "Surely you know accident is prone to happen with researchers."

I swept my gaze around the plaza; there weren’t just children there, but also juvenile elves, and adult ones. They must have been the students of the Academy, or a visitor wanting to enjoy the atmosphere of scholar. Among them, there must have been those in the same age as Izzi when he had that explosion mishap.

"He was young and foolish, however, so he got provoked easily to prove his worth," I smiled wryly, glancing at the quiet elf beside me. "Or was that bit not included in the trial report?"

Well, I asked, but I already knew there was nothing like that. The one who pushed for the trial was Izzi’s rival and their family, after all. They wanted to drive Izzi out of the Academy, so they tried to paint him to be as guilty as possible.

And Issa confirmed it herself, aster closing her eyes to recall the detail of the trial. "I don’t believe it was, Your Excellency."

I leaned back and let out a long exhale as I watched Jade and the other elf children playing with the water from the fountain, under the statue of the First Elf; the father of knowledge, the bearer of Mother’s teaching.

"Lady Issaelmier, you said we should be free to do what we want, right?"

"Yes..."

I swept my gaze through the park and the various students with their various aspirations. "Can everyone become a warrior or a hunter? Can everyone shoot a precise arrow with enough power to break a knight’s armor?"

It took her a while, but Issa eventually answered with a shake of her head. "No. It needs the talent to control the mana that guides the arrow, especially in the case of exploding arrowheads."

"That’s right," I lifted my finger and let out a tiny mana bullet to pierce through a falling leaf. "This is what the elf wanted to do," I flicked my finger so the pierced leaf flew onto my open palm. "Someone with keen eyesight might be an incredible hunter and remarkable warrior, but if they are low on mana, they couldn’t be a hunter or a warrior, even if is their dream."

Issa shifted in her seat so her body was facing me slightly. "Are you saying that...weapon...was meant to be a tool for someone with low mana to become a hunter or a warrior?"

"Maybe," I shrugged. "We wouldn’t know since he’s not trying to complete it anymore."

That wasn’t a complete truth, since I knew Izzi still had an obsession with making a gun, even if the firepower had to be set to the lowest. But with all the work from me and Natha, he wouldn’t be able to touch it for years.

I crossed my arms and tapped my fingers as I recalled the conversation I had with Natha on the way here. "You know...recently, I was thinking about the many blasphemous things people have been doing,"

Although it was still a conjecture, we tended to believe that all the wars the humans enacted, including among themselves, were not done with the blessing of the Goddess. Especially the crazy practice of making a virgin sacrifice.

I even had this thought that the Goddess was actually sending the Hero to correct these humans since she needed a proxy and Her word was no longer heard by the humans.

Now that was a true blasphemy.

"But I failed to understand how trying to create something that was meant to help people when it’s done properly could be called blasphemous."

I couldn’t help it, but although I tried to be cordial, my voice sounded a bit sharp in the end, and perhaps... accusatory.

"We...believe that we should adhere to the Great Mother’s teachings," Issa replied with a slight frown, but I could also sense a hesitation in her delayed response. "And we believed that the invention was a violation of it."

So I tried to bait her even more. "Violating the use of a bow?"

"Yes."

"Did Mother tell the First Eld you can only use a bow?"

"That’s..."

She opened her mouth, only to close it immediately. The golden eyes stared at the statue on top of the fountain, and they shook slightly as she tried to comprehend her whole ideology.

"Mother told Her Children to be free," I leaned back and closed my eyes as I felt the force of life spreading strongly around me. "What kind of freedom it is, to live being tied to that rule?"

"The teaching...is to kill cleanly without prolonging the pain," Issa tried to argue.

"And that could be achieved with the intended invention too," I raised the leaf in my hand. "Just like how I pierced this leaf."

I put the leaf on Issa’s hand, who stared at it in silence as I continued.

"I understand, you probably didn’t even hear the explanation about what the actual finished product that he wanted to make was," I shrugged; this time, without concealing the mockery in my voice. "You just heard about how his invention was meant to be used as a stronger version of a bow and immediately stamped the blasphemous mark on his record."

"That’s..."

"But I also believe that the elves are wise, and can see things beyond rigid rules," I looked at her with a genuine smile. "After all, even you came to see that I’m an adult with a mind of my own, who could choose my own spouse."

Which I hoped the druids could see too.

Sure, they might also do it because of Natha’s influence and the anger I showed during our first meeting. But even if that was the case, I just had to hope it would be enough to absolve Izzi’s case.

But now I felt awkward after saying all of that, especially because Issa was now only sitting silently while looking at the leaf in her palm. Fortunately, a loud, adorable voice came our way.

"Master! Master! Help Jade!" the little boy ran in our direction with a bunch of wriggling bubbles behind him. It seemed like Jade was trying to turn those bubbles into animal shapes just as I usually did during our bath time--except when, you know, I took it with Natha.

But what a nice escape button!

"Ah, excuse me," I nodded at the elves and caught the running little boy while waving my hand to turn all the wiggling bubbles into flying birds and butterflies. They flew toward the elf children, who were now jumping and crowding around me.

So I guessed I had a whole park of children to occupy the rest of my schedule.

Yep--I could always count on my familiar to save me from awkward situations!