"This is where you will stay from now on."
The basement of the Knights' barracks was located next to the royal castle.
Agnes, standing before the innermost room, spoke with a doubtful expression.
"But are you really sure that the effects of your magic will last for three days?"
"Yes. Until then, the poison won't spread and your body won't hurt."
"I already told you, if something goes wrong with my body, I won't leave it alone. And the fact that you were poisoned and what happened in the forest will remain a secret from now on. You know that a Wing of Dawn Knight must obey the leader's words, right?"
"Of course. You don't have to worry."
"…"
It might seem unreliable, but since I only spoke the truth, it would be unfair for her not to believe me. Agnes turned around and glanced at me, still appearing uneasy.
"Rest today and come to the parade ground by 9 A.M. tomorrow."
The room I was assigned didn't feel unfamiliar at all because it was where I used to live in my previous life.
'It looks like it was left as is without ever being cleaned. They say 5 years have passed since then, but are you saying that 5 years are nothing to them?'
The lifespan of elves in this world is ten times longer than that of humans, so it may be so.
For reference, Agnes lived approximately two hundred and thirty years, making her about twenty-three human years.
I was twenty-two when I transmigrated into the world of Elora, so even if she were human, she would still be older than me.
'Let's start with cleaning.'
I cleaned the room to a usable level and lay down on the bed.
As I laid my head on the pillow, many things I had experienced so far began to come to mind one after another.
At this point, I should tell the readers about what happened in my past life and the circumstances.
Ruinua, the first elf and goddess of Elora, once delivered a prophecy to the elves. She foretold that one day, the Demon King would rise and attempt to destroy the land of Elora. To stop him, elves and humans would need to unite.
Along with this prophecy, she bestowed upon the elves the Sword of Harmony, Harmoniere—the only weapon capable of defeating the Demon King.
Harmoniere was unique in that it could only exert its power when held by a human, and it was only effective against demon lords.
However, humans were a species that could not use magic.
Therefore, in order for humans to overcome the Demon King's army and pierce the Demon King's heart, the magic and tactical support of the Elves were necessary.
Ruinua intended for the elves, who were typically exclusive toward other races, to build a better relationship with humans. That was why the Elf Kingdom sought me out—the very human they despised so much.
To eliminate the Demon King, they had no choice but to cooperate with humans, as all others had already perished at his hands. However, despite Ruinua's wishes, the elf royal castle had no intention of accepting me, a human, in harmony.
After realizing that they needed me to survive the war, they went as far as treating me like a tool and eventually killing me.
'I was an idiot to think that if I just defeated the demon lord, I would be recognized by them. … We'll see, Nermedia.'
There was still no evidence that it was Nermedia who ordered Agnes to kill me, but no matter how I thought about it, she was the most likely person.
'I'll have to check, but if the culprit is really her…'
Unfortunately, the position of queen was difficult to touch.
I must first take revenge on her associates who followed her and then use them to target Nermediah for the last time.
Just to clarify, I held no ill feelings toward the elves outside the castle, who could be considered ordinary citizens. They were merely fearful and wary of other races, and since they had never mistreated me in my past life, I had neither the motive nor the reason to retaliate against them.
'First of all, that bitch Agnes.'
I quickly organized my plan and got out of bed.
As I stood before the full-length mirror I had just cleaned, a man I had never seen before stared back at me.
"…"
I had a rather handsome face with double eyelids and a strong presence. My body appeared to be around 180 cm tall, much taller and more solid than I had been in my previous life.
I didn't know why I had been reincarnated as this man, and there were too many unanswered questions, including the Elf Corruption App, so I decided not to dwell on it.
'I'll find out someday. For now, let's just focus on getting revenge on the elves.'
After muttering that to myself, I returned to bed and picked up my phone to browse the app.
"Oh?"
I noticed that there was one corruption point again.
The last time, the app had granted it to me as a first-time user, and this time, it was a reward for learning a skill for the first time.
As I casually snapped my fingers in surprise at the unexpected benefit and looked to see what I could use it for, my phone suddenly vibrated. A pop-up message appeared at the top of the screen, and my eyes widened when I saw it.
'Notification from the app…?'
—
***The next morning***
I arrived at the parade ground at the scheduled time. Naturally, there was no armor for men in the barracks, so I was the only one in street clothes.
There were a total of twenty-two knights. The knights and I, excluding Agnes, stood side by side in front of the leader.
"Everyone is here. Did you rest well yesterday?"
"Yes!"
The knights, with military discipline, responded energetically.
As expected from the elves, a race known for their beauty, they all had exceptional looks. But more importantly, they were among the elite warriors of Elora and should never be underestimated.
"As you know, we have been receiving reports about a mysterious entity hovering around the kingdom. Until now, the Wings of Dawn Knights have cooperated with the investigation, but due to concerns about the dispersion of power in case of an emergency, the capital guard and the knights from each territory will handle it for now. I have decided to take charge of the investigation."
'A mysterious entity?? I had thought the world would be peaceful once the Demon King was killed, but it seemed something else had happened.'
It seems that Agnes going out alone yesterday was also related to this issue.
"So, today's task is training, not investigation. You all got enough rest yesterday, so there are no complaints, right?"
""Yes!""
In my past life, training as a knight was like hell to me.
Agnes at the time treated me harshly, even though I was an ordinary person, and I was always on the brink of death due to her merciless schedule.
At the time, I thought they were rushing because the war with the Demon King's army was just around the corner, but now that I think about it, it was nothing more or less than the cruelty of an elf boss who hated humans.
"Dayke. Come forward!!"
I stood next to her leader at the mention of my name and she introduced me to the other knights.
"This is the person who has joined the Knights from today at the Queen's order. He did not join through rigorous training and testing like you, but don't worry, let us help him adapt well as a knight."
"I am looking forward to it."
The soldiers' reaction to my greeting was lukewarm. Being a human and suddenly wearing a soldier's uniform, it likely didn't sit well with them.
Even if there was someone who was friendly toward humans, it wouldn't be easy to show it in front of Agnes. It wasn't a major issue, though. Not only were they familiar to everyone, but in my past life, they merely kept their distance and never caused me any harm.
"Take it."
I quickly caught the wooden sword thrown by Agnes.
She backed away from me, gaining her distance, and assumed her fighting stance, holding her sword in both hands.
"Today is a training session where we will spar with only sword techniques without using magic. We will spar with each other one by one and check our progress so far. Dayke, you are first in line."
The elf knights became nervous upon hearing that they were going to spar with the leader.
But I calmly held the sword and pointed it at Agnes.
'I already knew what kind of training I would do today.'
If you ask how I knew, the answer was simple. It was thanks to the Elf Corruption App. Yesterday, while I was in my room, a pop-up message had suddenly appeared.
[Nermedia orders Agnes to chase Dayke out at all costs. In the name of sparring training, Agnes will inflict serious injuries on Dayke, attempting to make him give up living in the kingdom.]
This message was a danger notification, a basic feature of the app that I had discovered. As the name suggested, the function was designed to warn me in advance of any dangers that might come my way.
Thanks to this, I was able to sense the true intentions of the cowardly elves.
'They're going to deceive me from day one.'
Everyone tries to get rid of pests when they enter their home.
I had expected the castle wouldn't remain idle, but I didn't think it would happen this quickly.
It was clear that the reason Nermedia didn't kick me out outright and tried to make me go out on my own was because of her daughter's concern.
If she hears that her mother or other elves have been harassing humans again, the princess, who cannot tolerate injustice, will get angry like she did yesterday.
"Dayke. Today is your first training, so I plan to use this sparring to gauge your level and see how strong your will is. Injuries during training are common, so don't be afraid and be proactive."
Even as she said that, I could clearly see that, on the inside, she was filled with thoughts of breaking my arms and legs.
"As I said before, no magic will be used, so don't worry. It will be purely a battle of swordsmanship. When you're ready, you can attack first."
The surrounding air becomes heavy at the leader's remarks.
The eyes of the other elf knights looking at us were all filled with tension.
It might not be because the results were hard to predict.
Most likely, all the elves here were confident that Leader Agnes would win.
The question that made them nervous wasn't who would win, but how much they would be beaten.
But it was okay, as I had already prepared countermeasures.
"Why don't you come in first? Then I'll go!"
The tip of the wooden sword of the Elven Kingdom's highest knight rushed fiercely toward me.
It was a direct, honest movement, coming in a straight line, but it was extremely threatening as it quickly reached a position that was most difficult to counter.
In my previous life, I had never won a sparring match with her.
If it were me back then, I would have had a hard time repelling the attack now, and then I would have taken advantage of the gap that appeared and conceded the victory.
But….
Percussion!
"No…!"
When the first move was easily blocked, Agnes' eyes widened in embarrassment.
Still, like the leader of the knights, she calmly blocked my subsequent counterattack.
The elves who were watching exclaimed in exasperation at the unexpected development but soon had to focus on sparring again.
This was because Agnes, who sensed that something was unusual, swung her sword with all her heart.
"Hmph!"
Crack… !!
Her attacks, aimed at delivering blatantly fatal damage, continued to pour in. Though I wasn't entirely comfortable with them, I responded without any issue.
Needless to say, this sparring pattern was thanks to the elf corruption app.
As soon as I saw the message last night, I used the corruption points I had to learn swordsmanship skills.
'A 200% increase in swordsmanship ability is just a scam.'
To be honest, it was a somewhat unusual skill for an elf corruption app.
'Doesn't this mean that only by being able to deal with the approaching danger can the elf's corruption proceed?'
'Anyway, I'm grateful.'
In my past life, I trained with the sword with a life-or-death attitude.
If my sword skills tripled, even Agnes would have a hard time overcoming it.
Of course, if she used magic, like an instantaneous speed boost, she could easily overpower someone like me right now. But didn't she declare that she wouldn't use magic in front of her subordinates?
It was only natural for me to be ahead in this sparring.
"Tsk…!"
Perhaps it was due to her unexpected late struggle, something she could never have anticipated.
Nervous, Agnes swung her sword with more force than she intended. When I purposely let it go, my opponent finally left a loophole.
Without missing that moment, I swung my arm, and before I knew it, my wooden sword had stopped near the nape of Agnes' neck.
"I can't believe the leader lost. That's to the new guy who came in today…"
The elves, unable to easily believe the results, whispered among themselves.
Agnes had a cold expression, and beads of sweat were dripping from her forehead.
I wanted to laugh loudly and humiliate her, but instead, I slowly lifted the wooden sword.
"I can't believe you're treating me like this just because it's my first time. You speak fearfully but are generous. Thank you, leader."
"What? There's no need to thank me. Now I see you have some basic skills. Thank you for your hard work."
Agnes was dazed, trying to match my words to the rhythm. Voices of relief echoed from all around, with people reassuring each other that there was no way the leader could have lost to a newcomer.
'Yes, that's right.'
Agnes still had to maintain her dignity as the leader.
That way, when she eventually falls, her reward would be even greater.
'The app said the full moon would rise tomorrow night. I hope tomorrow comes quickly.'
Even as she thought these things, Agnes seemed to be struggling to shake off the humiliation from earlier. The hand holding her wooden sword trembled, unnoticed by her subordinates.
—
Again the next morning…
There was still time left until the parade ground, so I sat on the bed and diligently looked at the app.
'It will be difficult to subdue the kingdom by force.'
In addition to swordsmanship proficiency, the app included several skills or functions that improved combat abilities.
However, this was insufficient to handle the elf knights. Unlike regular elves, the kingdom's military forces all utilize magic.
Specifically, the knights use magic tailored for close combat, such as instantly enhancing their muscles or channeling mana into their swords to boost their cutting power, making them impossible to defeat with a human body alone.
'Even if I'm lucky enough to win, the wizards are the real problem.'
Elf wizards typically remain hidden, dedicating themselves to magic research, but they emerge during national crises, such as the arrival of the Demon King. As a magic expert, they wield large-scale spells typically seen in fantasy films, making it unwise—almost a dream—to consider fighting them.
'Instead of fighting head-on, I'll need to follow the plan and approach them sneakily.'
Although I hadn't fully utilized it yet, the app had many features perfect for being sneaky, and I planned to make the most of them.
'No matter how cruel it is, can it really be worse than those who served you for years only to betray you?'
As I pondered over these painful memories, someone knocked on the door.
"Who are you?"
The person standing at the door was Agnes.
If anyone had seen her there, it might have seemed odd, but since my room was in the rundown basement of the Knights' barracks, I didn't have to worry.
"What's going on?" I asked her.
"What's going on? Last night, I went to the place you told me about, but I couldn't find any herbs even after washing my eyes and looking for them."
"That can't be possible.… Ah! Did I forget to mention that it only blooms briefly on full moon nights?"
"What? Why didn't you tell me that important thing then?"
That's right; I hadn't told her on purpose to waste her time.
Seeing her furrowed brows, I could tell she must have lost a lot of money last night, but it was a shame I couldn't witness it myself.
"I guess I forgot. I'm sorry."
"Haa… I guess you didn't miss any more information, right?"
"Yes. I really told you everything this time."
"…You're not trustworthy. This time, you should come with me. Since the full moon rises tonight, I'll call you when the sun sets. Before that, continue preparing for training."
I had planned to say I would follow her, but she called me first.
Agnes turned around and quickly left the room, and I watched her go, deep in thought.
'I will definitely fuck her tonight.'