Chapter 61-62 – The Forest Witch Wants to Eat Vegetables.

[MC POV]

I was relieved that today's knight training was scheduled for the afternoon. If it had started earlier, I would have had to head out for drills with barely any rest after returning from the mountaintop at dawn.

Thanks to Agnes, I was able to rest well. Now, I was doing my self-training in a quiet corner of the parade ground.

As I did pull-ups on a metal bar, I kept thinking, "After training, I'll look into Kiella."

Just then, I heard a voice call out.

"Dayke…! Come here."

I turned toward the sound and saw someone peeking from behind a tree, waving at me. As I got closer, I realized it was Princess Iril, just like before. She was dressed in a white robe and wore a mask that covered everything except her eyes.

She always made an effort to hide her identity whenever she came to see me. It seemed the queen didn't want her meeting me openly, even though she was a princess.

"Witch of the Forest?"

"It's been a while, Dayke."

Still pretending I hadn't discovered who she really was, she spoke in a more mature voice, probably trying to sound like a mysterious witch.

"I'm glad to see you've been doing well. I heard you recently helped defeat a monster—an ogre, right? That's really impressive."

According to Agnes, when she reported the incident to the queen, she emphasized my major role in slaying the ogre. However, the queen apparently paid no attention, and I didn't receive any recognition or reward.

"Thank you. Did you hear that from Princess Iril again?"

"Huh? Well, of course. Princess Iril and I are very close."

"I see."

Just as I started wondering why she had come this time, the princess glanced around cautiously, then leaned in and whispered.

"Actually, I came because I need to tell you something, Dayke."

Unlike before, her expression was serious.

Sensing something was off, I lowered my voice.

"What happened?"

"Maybe even today… No, definitely today—the queen will visit the knights."

"The queen?"

"Yes. She'll announce that they're looking for a knight to guard the lord of Lake Village. But you must not volunteer. Even if the queen personally selects you, you must refuse. Do you understand?"

Her tone made it clear this wasn't a simple assignment. It felt like the queen was deliberately trying to send me away.

"Is Lake Village a dangerous place?"

"Not exactly. But the lord there is a bit… no, very difficult to deal with. She sent a letter this morning asking for a knight to guard her, and the queen is planning to use this as a chance to send you away and cause trouble for you."

Since she couldn't dismiss me outright because of her daughter, she found another way—exiling me to a troublesome region. It was the kind of petty scheme a manipulative queen would come up with behind the scenes.

For a moment, the word "lord" reminded me of something Agnes once told me. She mentioned that the former Supreme Court Justice had retired from the royal castle and was now living as a lord on a nearby estate.

Her reputation was brutal. No elf could get along with her.

"Do you know who the village lord is?"

"Her name is Kiella. She's an elf who once served as the chief judge at the royal castle."

 '… So it is her.'

As I nodded to myself, thinking my guess was right, the princess continued speaking with a serious expression.

"To be honest, Kiella is very violent—something quite unusual for an elf. She's especially harsh and aggressive toward the elves under her command. If you go, you might get seriously hurt. She may be even more dangerous because she's human…"

I felt a bit sorry for the princess as she explained it so carefully. But I already knew exactly what kind of woman Kiella was.

Because I had been fucked by that bitch enough times in my past life.

What happened to me?

You may remember what I said a while ago when I touched Agnes' private part under the pretext of needing to remove it. The reason I know so much about how to please a woman's body was because I was fucking a elf in my past life.

That elf was Kiel, and in my past life, I had been subjected to extreme sexual exploitation by her.

It may sound strange to say that it was sexual exploitation for an elf.

However, as the princess said, Kiella was nothing like a typical elf.

Unlike the rest of her kind, who valued peace and stability, she always tried to solve problems through violence and force.

Moreover, she even fucked me on the day of her previous life, saying that she was curious about how good sex felt that humans were crazy about, so no matter how many times she gave in, she could never be called an ordinary elf.

In fact, if it had stopped at that level, the expression sexual exploitation would not have been used.

But after her first sex, she opened her eyes to sexual pleasure and made me her personal sex toy.

With a threat that if I disobey her words, she will use the power of the Supreme Court Justice to leave her alone.

'At that time, I really thought it would be better to die.'

At the time, Kiella viewed me as a tool to satisfy her sexual curiosity.

She would force me to ejaculate for several days to see how much I could ejaculate, and on the other hand, she would have sex with a string tied to my genitals to test how much I could endure.

On days when she was in a bad mood due to her personal issues, she would force me to commit sexual assault on her, and there were many instances where she would resort to violence if I did not satisfy her.

I believed that if I helped defeat the demon lord, my status in the elf kingdom would improve, and I could naturally escape from her control.

But as everyone knows, the outcome was betrayal—I ended up getting stabbed.

"Anyway, you must never go to Lake Village, okay?"

As she said this, I could see the genuine concern in the princess's eyes.

She had been the only elf who treated me kindly in my past life. Even now, she continued to be kind, blaming herself for not doing enough back then.

To avoid hurting her feelings, I knew it would be better to follow her advice. But even so, that wouldn't stop my desire for revenge.

Still, I gave her a reassuring smile and answered lightly.

"I understand. Thank you for your concern, Miss Witch."

"No. It's not just that. I feel bad that you are suffering because of the Queen. Oh, and I brought some fruit for you as a gift today…"

She reached toward the bag of gifts she had brought with her.

"Sir! What are you doing here?"

"Fine?"

"Huh? Who is this person?"

"Hi!"

The princess froze at the sudden appearance of the small knight.

But after a brief pause, she cleared her throat and resumed the mature tone she had used earlier.

"Well, I'm the witch of the forest."

"Witch… Eh?! Oh, you mean a witch? A witch who uses dark magic to curse people or cause trouble?!"

Fine grew frightened and clung to my arm. Her reaction was more intense than I expected, so I tried to calm her down.

"This is a good witch, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Um, are you sure?"

"Of course, Fine. I'm a good witch who helps good people."

"H-How do you know my name…?! Senior, she really might be a witch! This is so scary!"

No, it's because she's a princess—I already know her name. But honestly, your gullible innocence is far more terrifying.

Meanwhile, the princess looked delighted.

Maybe it was because she had never experienced fear herself, but she seemed amused watching Fine shrink back in fear. She even lifted a cup with both hands and pretended to take another sip, putting on a playful act.

"Oh my, isn't Fine such a good elf? I guess I'll have to punish her!"

"Ugh! I was wrong! I'm sorry I gave you my green peppers while you were gone! I just really didn't want to eat them!"

So she hates vegetables too—just like the princess.

That explained why, the last time we ate together at a restaurant, I came back from the bathroom to find a pile of vegetables suddenly on my plate.

"Well, what a terrible thing to do! That's fine. I expected it, so I brought you a green pepper as punishment!"

The princess pulled a green pepper out of her sack with a proud grin on her face.

Like last time, it was clearly meant as a gift, but in reality, it was just a vegetable she didn't want to eat herself.

Fine, unaware of this, stared at the green pepper in horror—as if she'd just seen a skeleton.

 "Hey!"

"It's not over yet? Here's broccoli, cucumbers, and eggplant…"

"Oh no, the devil's vegetables keep coming out of her pocket! Please help me, Senior! I promise I'll never give you vegetables again!"

The little knight clung to my arm and stomped her feet in panic.

Meanwhile, the princess kept pulling vegetables out of her bag and handed them all over.

Fine was now holding an armful of vegetables she hated just by looking at them. She looked like she was about to cry. Seeing this, the princess smiled with satisfaction and spoke gently.

"If you want to stay healthy, you can't just eat sweet fruits. You have to eat vegetables too."

That's exactly what I wanted to say to the princess herself.

"So, take these to the barracks and eat every last bite. If you leave any behind, I'll curse you so everything you eat tastes like green pepper!"

"No! Eating a strawberry before bed is the highlight of my day!"

"And if you ever tell anyone about me, I'll curse you again. So don't say a word about me to anyone."

"Uuuuu…"

Fine couldn't even respond. She was too overwhelmed to speak.

The princess handed me a separate bag filled with fruit.

"These are for Dayke. I'm heading off now, so make sure you remember what I told you. Alright?"

With her usual cheerful smile, she turned and walked away, getting farther and farther from us.

Her steps were unusually light—most likely because she'd managed to pass off all the vegetables she didn't want.

Beside me, the victim of this trick, Fine, looked up at me like a lost puppy.

"Senior…"

Does she really hate vegetables that much? Enough to cry like that over them?

Watching her, I felt a little sorry and figured I should help her out somehow.

After all, it's thanks to her that Agnes and I can stay peacefully under her command.

"Let's trade."

"Really, Senior? You're the best!" she replied happily.

"But only half of it."

I agreed to help, but she had to accept the price of secretly taking some of my side dishes.

"Only half… but thank you!" She said, her face brightening at the idea of cutting her vegetable intake in half.

However, when she came back after swapping half the vegetables, she was in tears again, overwhelmed by the thought of still having to eat the remaining half.

—

—

[POV Change]

About an hour after Dayke and Fine returned from secretly leaving the fruits and vegetables in the barracks, the knights who had been training lined up on the parade ground.

In front of them, Queen

Nermedia appeared, accompanied by her attendants.

"Queen, why did you do this without telling me beforehand?" Agnes asked politely, though clearly puzzled.

The Queen responded as if Agnes's concerns were insignificant.

"The knights are the swords that protect the capital. As their owner, shouldn't I check daily to see if they are being properly forged? Sometimes, I have things to discuss with you."

She then turned to the lined-up knights.

"Former Supreme Court Justice Kiella, the lord of Lake Village, has requested a personal escort. This is due to a recent incident involving monsters in the forest. She said only one escort is needed, but it should be a reliable member of the Knights."

"Dispatch… but, Queen—"

"Don't worry, Agnes. Are you concerned that the Knights' strength will be reduced? The escort duty is only about three days a week, so it won't be a big problem. Now, who among you would like to take on the honor of escorting the former Supreme Court Justice? Is anyone willing?"

Out of more than twenty knights, no one raised their hand.

Everyone, except for the newcomer Fine, knew how eccentric the former Supreme Court Justice was.

Fine didn't volunteer either; she didn't want to waste time dealing with Agnes's admirer.

"As expected, not everyone seems very fond of former Supreme Court Justice Kiella."

Even though no one volunteered, the Queen showed no concern.

Her real aim was to send Dayke away and make him regret joining the Knights.

It would be even better if an unsightly human was removed from the castle just three days a week—and if a lord who couldn't control her temper ended up beating him.

"Is there really no one? Then I guess I have no choice but to choose."

Tension filled the knights' faces.

Though they tried to hide it, everyone thought the same thing—they didn't want to be sent to the former Supreme Court Justice.

Then, from somewhere came a voice.

"I will go."

All eyes turned toward the speaker.

It was Dayke, raising his hand.

"Oh my, Dayke. Is this really true? How admirable—such motivation. For a human."

'It's foolish not to know what kind of elf Kiella is. But thanks to her, I got my way.'

Nermedia's words sounded like a compliment, but inside she was quietly mocking Dayke.

What she didn't realize was that the person she laughed at was smiling too, without the Queen knowing.