How to Start a War (1.1)
There was not a single day when Gustav Falkenhayn, King of Orksen, the land of the pig-headed race, did not think about the Elven nation of Elfynd.
It was almost as if he were in love with it.
To him and the country he ruled, Elfynd was their greatest hypothetical enemy.
He was convinced that this belief was now shared not only by nearly all of his own people, but also by the eyes of foreign nations watching them.
It was only natural for him to deliberate and ponder over it constantly.
―――A strange country.
That used to be his frequent impression of it.
In the age of myths and legends, despite the image of them as fairy-like beings of the forest and lake, they had surprisingly taken to the sea.
Some of the Light Elves—known as the White Elves—who were said to have witnessed the creation of the world, boarded great ships and departed from the Belleriant Peninsula, now the territory of Elfynd. Guided by the god who created their race, they set sail for an ideal land said to lie in the West.
The voyage was extremely difficult, with many falling behind or perishing along the way, but eventually, they are said to have reached their destination.
There are traditions, monuments, and ruins on the western side of the peninsula—across the Northern Sea, on the island of Logres, which is now called Camelot—that tell of the Elves’ arrival, so it's hard to dismiss it as mere myth and legend.
Such a voyage must have truly occurred.
There are also traditions that say they assisted a local Hero-King, or founded a new nation, or even ventured further west across the sea to reach a new continent. These tales persist.
―――However.
Despite having succeeded in reaching that “ideal land” after much hardship, for reasons unknown, the Elves eventually returned to the Belleriant Peninsula under a new leader, according to Elfynd’s traditions.
There, together with those who had remained behind during the Age of Creation—those who never received the light of the falling stars or the blessings of the Creator God—they sowed the seeds of what would become present-day Elfynd.
They withdrew north of the Sylvan River, which their leader had declared as the national border, and began a life of hunting, foraging for nuts and mushrooms—living off the blessings of the forest. Sustaining themselves solely on the bounty of nature was one of the laws established by their leader.
But it was the third queen, the successor to that leader, who brought change.
She initiated what had once been taboo: farming, mining and smithing, logging. These practices were adopted.
She also spread poetry, music, and dance.
It is said that this queen died of a plague, or perhaps was devoured by the progenitor of the Great Wolf Tribe.
As for having initiated agriculture and industry, Gustav believed that, too, must be true.
There are records that show the Belleriant Peninsula practiced three-field crop rotation in ancient times. These records, left by Human visitors to Elfynd, were passed down to neighboring countries around the continent and are quite old.
At the time, when all surrounding countries were still practicing primitive farming methods, it stood out as rather unusual. They had also begun iron forging unusually early.
In other words, this race had experienced every stage of civilizational advancement: maritime activity, hunting, farming, iron tools.
Even if they were said to be a superior race compared to Humans, could such development really occur within a single race?
At the time, Gustav had thought, well, perhaps such a people could exist. Perhaps there really was a history like that.
But―――
Now that he had learned that the third queen was a reincarnated person—once a Human, just like he, now in the body of an Orc—his perspective changed.
Indeed.
If someone like himself existed, then perhaps such things were possible after all. Thinking that way, even the sudden appearance of advanced agriculture without any surrounding influence began to make sense.
Elfynd even had an ancient term to refer to reincarnated individuals.
Not just the queen, but many others had been reborn as Elves—or remained in Human form—and came to that land. They helped build the nation.
And then—though it seemed almost impossible to believe—there was even a tradition that claimed the original Elves had once had male and female sexes, and reproduced as other races did. But in pursuit of perfection, the third queen transformed them into an all-female race.
Given that both the current Elves and Dark Elves are composed entirely of women, perhaps this tradition reflects some historical truth.
Then, a thought occurred to him.
Could it be—
That even before the third queen, the “gods” and “new leaders” mentioned in tradition had also once been Humans?
If one considers it that way, everything begins to make sense.
Those former humans must have each tried to realize their own ideal vision of what Elves and their nation should be.
―――Which is why they experienced everything.
Most likely—
The Elves’ original form, at the time of creation, was truly gentle, innocent, and fairy-like, without a hint of malice.
But one after another, reincarnators appeared and gradually changed them.
Of course, none of those reincarnated people likely held any ill intent.
They might have given knowledge to the Elves, loved them, and sought to protect them, all according to their own ideals.
But those changes―――
Gradually grew more extreme, and may have ultimately led to the distorted state of Elfynd today.
Perhaps the first setback—the abandonment of overseas exploration and the turn inward to worship their border as holy grounds—sparked an ideology that led to isolation, discrimination and contempt for other races, and eventually, to the exclusion of even the Dark Elves, who share their roots.
―――If that’s the case, what a tragedy it is.
He himself bore some responsibility. By holding back on invading that nation, he had indirectly weakened their racial unity—it was undeniable.
―――If possible, I would like to just leave them be now.
That was the whisper of the heart he had carried from his time as a Human.
But―――
Now, he was the king of the Orcs.
A race believed to be brutal and savage, devouring all without restraint.
He had to protect his own kind, and those of other races who shared their goals and sustenance with them, and the nation of Orcsen itself.
To that end—
―――He would destroy Elfynd.
What do you think about this chapter?
