Make Dark Fantasy Great Again-Chapter 17: The Price of the Promise

***

▶Another Tale◀

This is a different story.

***She was a hero. She drove out a great part of the darkness, contributing to an era of peace.

The crowd chanted the hero’s name. They cheered, looking up at the pride of the city.

“Bendel!”

“Bendel!”

As Radola Bendel raised her hand, the crowd gathered in the square cheered fervently. The world now knew her face and name. They knew Bendel.

Under the hero’s achievements and glory, Bendel and the city would now enjoy endless prosperity.

The hero rejoiced at the brilliant future welcoming her with open arms.

-Bendel...

It was then that a voice seemed to reach her, not through her ears, but through her entire body.

-How gallant you look. A great hero, they say. If only you could see yourself now. No longer do I see the foolish youngster who didn’t know her place.

Bendel trembled at the unpleasantness that seemed to etch itself into her very being, but she tried hard not to show it. No one could know about her relationship with this terrible being.

-I suddenly wonder...How would they react? If they learned that the great and virtuous hero was actually a cowardly youngster. If they learned that she kissed the hand of a monster despised by the world to seize glory... If they learned that she was a fool willingly trading the future for her own advancement...

Shut up!

The hero screamed in her heart...

And the voice was heard no more.

The hero lived in glory but never shook off her anxiety. Fearing that the glory she had achieved might crumble in an instant one day.

...In the end, it never happened.

It was on a morning when everyone—even Radola herself—had come to take Bendel’s glory for granted. Good news spread across the continent: the Night of the Forest had ended.

Night was a title given to the most terrible beings on the continent. And the Night of the Forest was the one who had formed a secret contract with Radola Bendel.

Radola recalled her forgotten anxiety and at the same time regained peace. With this, Bendel’s glory would be eternal.

***The bastard had left the manor against the patriach’s wishes, and he had taken Lady Roera with him.

Gerhen, his face pale, reported the facts, including his own mistake.

“I understand. You may withdraw for now.”

Left alone in the room, Idore Bendel heaved a deep sigh. He rose from his seat and approached the window.

Through the window, he took in the sight of the manor’s garden—particularly the statue occupying its center.

[In memory of the greatest Bendel, Radola Bendel]

Bendel’s glory is the value achieved by our great ancestor. Our mission is to carry on that glory.

This was the mindset that the head of Bendel must always maintain.

“I’ve...been too lenient...”

Idore’s love for Roera was genuine. This remained unchanged even though she had greatly disappointed him by going against her father’s wishes.

However, Idore was the head of Bendel, even before being Roera’s father.

The bastard son and young lady of Bendel had lost respect for the family head, but they would regain it. Through this, Risir would marry into Diltan as planned, and Roera would develop a more family-oriented mindset. Willingly.

But just as Idore steeled his resolve...

-Intruder!!!

An urgent voice from outside the window.

Idore doubted his ears. An intruder? Here, at the Bendel manor?

Who would dare?

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Idore immediately left his office. In the corridor, Gerhen was talking with the family’s soldiers.

“P-Patriach!”

“Report.”

“There’s an intruder!”

“What’s the scale?”

The soldier who had come to report struggled to speak, watching the patriach’s reaction.

***As the detailed report continued, Idore’s bewilderment grew.

“The scale of the intruders... as far as we know, it’s just one person.”

“The entry point, according to their own statement, was through the manor’s main gate!”

“Current status, they’re...sightseeing in the garden...”

“They’ve requested an audience with you, sir...and said they’ll politely tour the garden until you agree to meet...”

Both the reporting soldier and Idore listening looked like they didn’t understand what they were saying.

“And, as a notable point, they appear to be a dark elf.”

However, Idore’s expression changed dramatically at these words. He immediately threw open the corridor window and leapt out.

Despite being on the fifth floor, his landing was as soft as a feather, and his subsequent dash was as furious as an arrow.

Gerhen immediately followed, but by the time he landed, Idore had already vanished. With movements that put even a knight with superhuman physical abilities to shame, the Bendel Patriarch Idore reached the manor’s garden in an instant.

The woman’s purple robe, made of a fine mesh material that seemed both transparent and opaque, exuded a secretive mystique. Her lush silver hair reaching the waist was like a cascading silver waterfall.

But what stood out most were her pointed ears. Those ears tinged with a cursed color.

As the soldier had reported, a dark elf was there, strolling and admiring the garden. With a relaxed air, as if walking in her own courtyard.

“Patriarch...!”

The manor’s stationed forces had already mobilized. With over ten knights alone, the force was more than capable of executing, let alone withstanding, an invasion.

“What are you all doing! How dare you let that filth leave dirty footprints in Bendel!”

Despite Idore’s angry roar, the soldiers deeply understood his feelings. They were also furious at the accursed creature’s arrogant trespass into their beloved Bendel.

Yet, there was a reason they took no action until the patriarch arrived.

“...”

Idore’s gaze turned to a part of the garden, where he found a topiary in the shape of a woman from a thickly grown bush.

“Moriye.”

As Idore said, the topiary was modeled after Moriye, one of Bendel’s knights.

But then a second later, he realized this wasn’t anything like a topiary—it was Moriye herself covered in vegetation.

“Moriye~ So that was her name~ Thank you? For telling me. I tried asking the woman herself, but no matter how much I asked, she wouldn’t answer, you know? It was so troublesome, the conversation just wouldn’t flow.”

The dark elf spoke as though chatting with an acquaintance met on a stroll, casually commenting on an awkward experience. All the while, she sported a flowery, vibrant smile.

All of this stood in stark contrast to Moriye, the Bendel knight, who had turned into a topiary before their eyes, creating an unsettling sense of contradiction.

“Huff...Huff...”

The Bendel trainees had already lost their will to fight, overcome by fear.

“Cu-curse...It’s a curse...! The dark elf’s curse...!”

Some apprentice knights couldn’t even think of drawing their swords.

“Get a hold of yourself, Humton!”

The knights shouted sense into them.

“Don’t forget you’re in front of the Patriarch!”

“...!”

It was like a magical word imbued with some power. Belatedly realizing the patriarch’s presence at the knight’s urging, their atmosphere changed dramatically.

They regained their composure, drew their swords, and pointed them at the dark elf. Now, not a trace of fear could be seen on their faces. Such was the presence of Bendel’s patriarch.

Idore’s aura completely dominated the area.

“Stand back, men.”

Idore took his stance, drawing his sword, and first heightened his senses to search the surrounding area.

“You’re alone.”

“Because it’s business I can handle by myself.”

“You mean...to challenge Bendel by yourself? Do you truly believe yourself capable of facing all of us?”

“Um~”

The dark elf began pointing at each of them with her fingertip. Patriarch. Knight. And, and...

After pointing at the patriarch and three knights, the dark elf shook her head.

“Facing all of you...might be hard? But I figure it’s alright. After all, it’s not like I’m challenging Bendel, nor am I trying to invade.”

The dark elf snapped her fingers, and the vegetation covering Moriye disappeared.

“Ah...”

With hazy eyes.

“Eheh...”

She staggered back to her comrades.

“What did you do to her?”

“Oh but I simply gave her a little help to calm down. Did you know? White Bird Flowers are great for soothing the mind and body. Oh, and the intense hallucinatory effect I added was to move things along efficiently, so I hope you’ll understand? See? We’re already face to face, having a polite conversation. It’s going great. Let’s quickly finish our business and go our separate ways.”

“You overstep, Dark Elf. Do you think I, of all people, will let you leave just like that? After you dare to trespass through Bendel’s gate with those filthy feet?”

“Just to clarify, I’m not in a position where I need permission, okay?”

As Idore was about to dismiss her words as nonsense, the dark elf pulled out a parchment scroll from her bosom.

“Bendel? It’s time to fulfill the contract. As a proxy, I’ll receive the most precious treasure of Bendel as promised.”

“It’s no surprise coming from a cursed people, uttering mad delusions.”

“Oh my? Why the ignorance? No, you don’t seem to be playing dumb...What’s going on here?”

Hm.

The Dark Elf tapped her lips with her finger, lost in thought.

“Ah!”

She waved her finger, cheerfully expressing her realization.

“Did she actually not say anything? Radola Bendel, I mean.”

“I’ll warn you once and for all, Dark Elf. Do not utter her name with that filthy tongue of yours.”

“Really, this is why contracts should always be put in writing. Don’t you agree?”

The dark elf responded to the patriarch’s murderous rage with a bubbly smile. She unrolled the parchment scroll and held it open with both hands, showing it to Idore.

Even from a distance, his superhuman eyesight could easily read the contents of the parchment.

[I, Radola Bendel, swear to the Night of the Forest. When the castle built with borrowed power reaches its highest point, I will give up its most precious treasure within.]

The patriarch’s expression turned to shock.

The Night of the Forest. It was none other than one of the seven most terrible beings that reigned during the Era of Chaos.

Further conversation was meaningless. No, it was dangerous.

The patriarch rushed towards the dark elf without hesitation.

“Soras.”

What stopped the patriarch was a plant zombie that emerged from the ground. It resembled that one zombie which was easily destroyed by a certain bastard’s strike...

“...!”

It received the patriarch’s killing blow, intended to end the fight instantly, with its bare body.

The patriarch heaved his arm with all his might, but his sword was stuck in the plant zombie’s shoulder, not budging.

“Patriarch!!!”

“Assist the Patriarch!!!”

The soldiers skillfully formed an encirclement and pressured the dark elf from all sides.

The dark elf once again uttered a ridiculously name, Mum-mum, summoning a plant zombie significantly larger than the previous one.

Mum-mum raised its arm with all its might and struck the ground thunderously.

WHAM!

“Aaaaargh!!!”

“What is this!!!”

A cacophony of screams filled the air as the ground split asunder. Cracks spiderwebbed the surface, and countless vines erupted from them, entangling the soldiers’ limbs with a will of their own.

And so, it came down to two again.

As the dark elf came closer, Idore swung his sword with ferocious force. A diagonal slash across the shoulder cleaved the first zombie in two. At last, his sword was free.

...And the zombie regenerated as if nothing had happened.

Idore realized that the plant zombie was a type of golem. To completely destroy it, he needed to destroy the core hidden somewhere in its body. Or obliterate it entirely with overwhelming power.

Idore’s sword burst into flames. At least, that’s how it appeared, as a vivid and intense aura of mana rose from it. It was the ultimate Bendel technique.

But just as Idore’s mana blade was about to devour the plant zombie—

One, two, three, four, five, six. The dark elf uttered ridiculous names in succession.

But Idore couldn’t laugh at all. One plant zombie had single-handedly blocked his attack. More of them began to appear one after another.

The giant zombie named Mum-mum, which had already subdued all the soldiers, was now crouched down, admiring the flowers blooming on the ground.

“...”

Idore’s fighting spirit dissipated into a bitter laugh.

“You, what on earth are you...!”

The unwavering strength in the knight’s gaze was lost. Bewilderment flickered in Idore’s eyes as he looked at the dark elf.

The Dark Elf answered with her unchanging bubbly smile.

“Didn’t I tell you? I’m the proxy for the contract. I have no relation to the one called the Night of the Forest.”

It was obvious at a glance that this was a lie, but Idore didn’t have the courage to dig deeper.

“Now then. What will you do now, Bendel?”

The dark elf closed the distance. Idore tried to get away, but vines sprouting from the ground restrained his movements.

“...What do you want?”

“Oh my~ You didn’t listen to a word I said~”

With a ridiculously exaggerated wail, the dark elf leaned in and whispered to Idore.

“Do you want the world to know the truth? That your great ancestor Bendel was actually a liar? That your true roots lie not with a great hero, but with one of the most terrible beings of the past?”

“That’s...!”

Idore’s despair didn’t stem from merely being overpowered. He could feel the energy within the contract scroll. Part of the dark elf’s unfathomable power was rooted in the parchment itself.

She truly was the proxy for the contract. Bendel was truly its subject.

The great ancestor Radola truly was a coward who begged for power from the most terrible being. She was a liar who concealed this truth and pretended to be an honorable hero.

“Hm~”

Suddenly, the Dark Elf stared at Idore up close. Strangely, he didn’t feel any sense of her attention. Though she was clearly looking at him, it was as if she were searching for someone else in his face.

A moment later, she let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness~ You don’t resemble at all~”

The Dark Elf, for some reason suddenly in a good mood, held out the parchment to Idore.

“Let’s not complicate things any further, shall we? As I said, I’m just the proxy for the contract. I could expose the shameful true face of your family, but if I get what I want, there’s no reason to do so.”

“...Speak.”

“As I said, I’ll take the most precious thing from Bendel, okay?”

“And what...is that...?”

“You wouldn’t understand, but it’s the child named Risir.”

“...!”

Idore’s eyes widened in bewilderment.

“I shall comply.”

Then it was overlaid with relief.

Idore had recognized new potential in Risir, seeing the value he could bring to the family. However, if the current problem could be resolved, there would be no greater potential or value to be found.

“...”

For a moment, the dark elf’s vibrant smile faded.

***Pamon found Idore’s reaction extremely distasteful. As payment for the contract, she would take Risir, the most precious thing Bendel had. Yet what was his reaction?

A surge of spite washed over her. She was tempted to take what he considered most precious by his standards instead.

But I shouldn’t.

That would be foolish, to harbor personal feelings towards such an insignificant human.

Pamon disliked this human. That’s why she was even more determined to take Risir from him.

Completely losing interest in the man, she held out the parchment. A thorn from the vines pricked Idore’s thumb, drawing blood.

After a moment’s hesitation, Idore pressed his thumbprint on the parchment.

“Now then, with this Risir is...Oh?”

Pamon hurriedly checked the parchment.

“My oh my oh my.”

She covered her mouth, overcome with delight.

“What fools. You all should have taken better care of him.”

“What...?”

Despite Idore’s thumbprint, the contract on the parchment was not fulfilled...for Risir no longer belonged to Bendel.

The Bendel patriarch and the bastard son had made a secret promise. Should the bastard win his duel, he would be allowed to leave the family.

Idore had taken that promise lightly, as it was made with a bastard, but now it had taken effect.

“...!”

Idore’s eyes shot wide in realization.

“W-wait!!! If you give me a little time then—”

“No? I’m a bit busy, you see? The thumbprint has already been made, so I’ll choose and take what I want.”

“What do you—Mmph!!!”

Vines gagged Idore’s mouth.

Pamon left the Bendel manor with light steps, for there was no more business here.

No one gave chase.

***“Patriarch. Regarding Lady Roera...”

“...Forget it.”

“Pardon?”

“Forget everything that happened today.”

There was no pursuit of the Dark Elf, nor of the bastard and young lady who left the manor.

Idore tried his hardest to forget everything he had experienced today. He hoped that the bastard child and his daughter who left along with the accursed dark elf would not return.

He hoped nothing would happen at all...just as his respected ancestor had done in the past.

The price of the promise had finally caught up with Bendel, after a long and winding detour.

Their downfall came upon them as swiftly as it had been delayed.

***Several hours after leaving the Bendel manor, Risir reunited with Pamon at the promised location. He received a completely unexpected proposal from her.

“Well that’s the gist of the story. So, my disciple. Mind telling me what you’d like?”

“...Sorry what?”