The Seventh Elder

Blake chewed the last piece of beef with absolute satisfaction, his cheeks bulging high as he mumbled, “You had some. You had the first piece.”

Just as Blake was gloating, a somewhat childish voice came from behind him.

“E-excuse me... are you Lord Blake?”

Blake turned his head and saw a young girl standing behind him. To his surprise, she was actually wearing the robes of an elder.

“...Who are you?”

“I am Minnie Gale, the Seventh Elder of the Bronzebeard Tribe.”

“...The Seventh Elder?” Blake swallowed the meat in his mouth. “Since when did the Bronzebeard Tribe have a child for an elder?”

“I was just appointed last month,” Minnie's voice grew softer. “The former Seventh Elder retired...”

“Then what do you want with me?” Blake picked up the water cup on the table and took a gulp.

Minnie stood by the table, her hands wringing in front of her, her small face flushing red.

Blake waited for a few seconds. Seeing that she still hadn't spoken, he set down his water cup with some impatience. “What is it, really? If you're not going to say anything, I'm going to keep eating.”

“Mr. Blake, that's not very nice...” Oliver spoke up weakly.

Minnie took a deep breath, as if summoning all her courage. “Lord Blake... I've come to ask for help!”

The table fell silent for a moment. Even Blake's hand, which was about to reach for a plate, froze in mid-air.

“Help?” Blake lowered his hand, finally looking properly at the girl in the elder's robes. “You're an elder, and you're asking me for help?”

“No... not in my capacity as an elder,” Minnie's voice was trembling, but she did not back down. “In... in my personal capacity.”

Leopold looked up from the other side of the table. He noticed that Minnie kept pinching her fingers, looking extremely nervous.

“Speak,” Leopold said, his voice steady. “We're listening.”

“The Fifth Elder... he has intercepted the military supplies meant for the front line. Rations, arrows, spare weapons—they're all piled up in the warehouse, not being sent to the front...”

Blake set down his water cup. “...What did you say?”

“I... what I'm saying is true.”

“Under the guise of a 'scheduling inspection,' the Fifth Elder took away all the rations and arrows in the west warehouse...” Minnie lowered her head, as if she had summoned all her courage and made up her mind.

What? Leopold frowned. But beside him, Blake stood up after hearing this and covered his face with his hand.

“You're saying the Fifth Elder intercepted the front-line military supplies?”

Minnie took half a step back, startled by his reaction, but she still nodded.

“Then why didn't you report this directly to the Council of Elders? No matter how you look at it, that's what you should have done, right?”

“As the Seventh Elder of the Council of Elders, your first reaction to encountering such a problem isn't to report it to the council, but to look for a dragon?”

“I... I tried.”

“Tried?” Blake looked at Minnie, waiting for her to continue.

Minnie stood in place, her lips trembling. Looking at Blake's face, she burst straight into tears.

“Eh?” Blake was stunned.

“I-I tried... I told the Third Elder, but he said I was too young and didn't understand how things worked... All the other elders ignored me. None of them would listen to me... They think I only got this position through connections...”

Minnie sobbed, catching her breath. “B-but I didn't... I didn't even want to be an elder in the first place...”

Minnie's crying echoed around the dining table, drawing side-glances from the goblin diners at the surrounding tables. Blake froze in place, his raised hand hanging in mid-air, unsure of whether to move forward or back.

“Hey... don't cry,” Blake said, his voice clearly lacking confidence. “It's not like I scolded you.”

“B-but...” Minnie raised her sleeve and messily wiped her face, her eyes red. “You don't believe me... None of you believe me...”

Leopold sighed. He stood up from his seat and walked over to Minnie. Instead of speaking right away, he pulled out a chair and placed it beside her.

“Sit down and tell us.”

Minnie looked up at him with tearful eyes. After a moment's hesitation, she sat down.

Isabella casually pushed the untouched cup of sweet tea in front of her over to Minnie.

Minnie sniffled, looking down at the sweet tea, and whispered, “...Thank you.”

Blake stood to the side, looking up at the ceiling. He suddenly slapped his own cheeks, finally squeezing out a very strained smile. “...So, what do you want me to do about it?”

“I... I don't know,” she said honestly. “I just feel... we can't let this go on. There's a war at the front, soldiers are bleeding, and they're holding back supplies in the rear...”

“Where did the Fifth Elder move those supplies?” Leopold asked.

“I'm not sure, but I suspect they were transported underground.”

“Behind the west warehouse, there's an abandoned elevator shaft that leads to the lower levels of the old mine shafts. I... I secretly followed them once and saw them loading the supplies into the elevator shaft and sending them down.”

“What are they sending them down there for?” Isabella asked.

“I don't know,” Minnie shook her head. “There are guards at the bottom of the elevator shaft, so I didn't dare get too close.”

The table fell silent for a moment. Leopold exchanged a glance with Blake.

“Cough, you said earlier that you reported this to the Third Elder?” Blake asked.

Minnie nodded. “He said I was young and foolish, and told me to mind my own business.”

“What about the other elders?”

“...I was ignored completely.” Minnie lowered her head.

Blake stood nearby, hands on his hips, his brow furrowed into a tight knot. Looking at Minnie in this state, he finally couldn't help but pull out a chair and sit down opposite her.

“...Then what do you want me to do?” Blake's voice lowered slightly. “Do you want me to take out that Fifth Elder?”

Minnie shrank back a little, startled by Blake's words.

“No, absolutely not!” Minnie explained hurriedly. “I... I just want those supplies to be sent to the front. The soldiers need them.”

Leopold sat to the side, sensing that something was amiss.

“Oh, Seventh Elder, dining here today?” the Fourth Elder said as he strolled over from a distance, accompanied by his subordinates.

The Fourth Elder was a stocky, middle-aged goblin wearing a dark blue robe with a bunch of clinking keys hanging from his waist. Behind him followed two subordinates holding several scrolls of official documents.

“Lord Blake, I hope the food is to your liking?”

“It's passable,” Blake said. “The meat is a bit overcooked, but since it's free, I won't complain.”

The Fourth Elder smiled and nodded, his gaze naturally sliding over to Minnie. “The Seventh Elder is here too. It's rare to see you leave the Council of Elders.”

“...Fourth Elder,” Minnie turned her head. “I... I came to eat.”

“Oh?” The Fourth Elder's gaze swept back and forth between her and Blake. “Eating with Lord Blake? Since when did the Seventh Elder become so familiar with the dragon clan?”

“No... it was by chance...”

“By chance sitting at the same table?” The Fourth Elder smiled. “That is quite a coincidence indeed.”

Blake leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest. Watching the Fourth Elder's eyes sweep back and forth over Minnie, he felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

“Fourth Elder, you've come at the perfect time,” Blake suddenly spoke up, his tone slightly more casual than before. “I was just about to ask—has something gone wrong with the front-line supplies lately?”