Using Violence

Bertha was on the road in a luxurious carriage. 

The way to the Terry Kingdom was simple. She needed to pass through the Forest since the wood elves hadn't created any roads in their territory. This was easier than passing paved ground for her.

She then got into the pre-prepared carriages and traveled along the dirt road until reaching the main road. This was a diplomatic trip, so she could only go like this. 

It took them a day to reach Terry City, the capital. 

The plan was to transport her to the palace in a closed carriage to keep her hidden from view, but Bertha disagreed.

She was proud of her culture, and their attempt to hide her like this made her frown. She was already a rank 2 knight without fear of the Terry Kingdom. So, using her raw strength, she cut down all the carriage walls before they entered the city.

The guards of the Terry Kingdom looked uncomfortable, but in the end, they just went along and entered the city. 

The sun had risen, and there were people out and about. They gathered around when they spotted her, gazing at her in amazement.

The public education system in the Terry country didn't teach the true facts. In books, wood elves wore green clothes, but in reality, nearly all were unclothed.

All the way to the 'stone palace,' more and more people gathered and watched. Bertha was not uncomfortable at all; she sat there and read a book she had brought. 

Bertha did it on purpose. She didn't want to cede any ground to the Terry Kingdom. If, in any event, this meeting results in a treaty that allows closer coordination among them, she will never accept conditions such as abiding by human clothing norms. 

This ride with Carrige is just to display her stance.

Finally, the carriage reached the palace, entered, and stopped. 

A few attendants came and led her to the entry of a gray building. She entered and sat in a luxurious seat. 

After a while, a few men and women entered. 

"Wait, I know him; he is the boy I saved that day!" Bertha thought, remembering Milan.

Millan came with a smile and took a seat. "Welcome, Chief Bertha! Last time, I didn't have the time to thank you for saving me. Now, allow me to thank you sincerely," he said.

"Don't mention it. I always help helpless creatures," she replied.

Millan said, "I arranged this meeting because I love to extend closer relationships with wood elves. We are ready to compromise."

Bertha nodded and said, "The solution is straightforward. You should allow our people to enter this city as they are comfortable, without any intrusive requirements."

A woman with glasses said, "Chief Bertha, our clothing laws are general laws that apply to everyone, be it humans, elves, beastmen, or greenmen. It's not that we are targeting you specifically."

"Why should we care about your way of life? Should we ask humans who enter our cities to get naked?" Bertha retorted.

The woman with glasses responded, "Yes, you can place that requirement. After all, you are the rulers of your lands. As hosts, we should respect you. However, the opposite is true for us. You should respect our rules when you visit our cities," she said.

"Then there is nothing more to talk about," Bertha stood up, wanting to leave.

"Please, Chief Bertha," Milan said. After some persuasion, Bertha sat down again.

"Chief Bertha, seeing wood elves without clothes would erode the good intentions that our people have toward non-humans. In human society, we view people who don't wear clothes as uncivilized. So please, for the sake of a better future, agree to respect our laws!" Milan pleaded.

"Stop this nonsense. You humans are unnatural, hiding the natural looks of the body with ugly clothes," Bertha said laudly.

A man with a beard but no mustache shouted, "Hey, remember where you are! Lower your voice!"

Bertha tapped on the chair with her left hand. With a massive sound, the chair broke into pieces. Everyone started running, and the guards came in.

"Chief Bertha, calm down, please!" Millan begged.

"You humans, always trying to impose your will! This city is founded on our ancestral territory. What right do you have to set laws for me?" she shouted.

The land where the 'Terry City' was Built was Wood elves' territory in the past, but humans conquered it when their technology advanced.

The guards arrived and pointed their laser guns at her. 

The man with a beard shouted, "Raise your hands and get on your knees."

Bertha laughed. 

Today, her body is so strong that even if you hit her in the eye with the strongest weapon, she would not feel as much like a mosquito sting.

Still, she didn't want to escalate it further, so she said, "Our diplomatic relations have ended here and today."

Millan shouted and went on his knees. "Please, Bertha, wait a moment!"

Then, he ordered everyone to leave. 

The man with the beard was extremely unsatisfied, but Milan was the prime minister, so they obeyed and left.

"What do you want to say?" Bertha asked impatiently.

"I agree with you! It's just that others in parliament don't agree. So please, give me time to persuade them slowly! I want to achieve my dream of completely integrating our people. Where we have interspecies marriages between wood elves and humans."

"We will definitely respect the wood elves' traditions in this process. You have my promise," he said.

"Our condition is simple; we keep our culture—a very reasonable request. You cannot expect integration without respecting us. So, contact me again when you have the power to allow our people to come and live here as they please, without being forced to abandon their beliefs."

After saying that, she left.

Other races don't understand, but for wood elves, being 'natural' is as necessary as food or water.

Millan cursed. His plan backfired spectacularly. 

He honestly didn't expect this to happen. He was ready to compromise, allowing wood elves to enter while only covering some sensitive areas of their bodies, but unexpectedly, Bertha was so extreme, not retreating a half step.

Soon, other people came and said, "Prime Minister Milan, I think we should cut our tourist relations with wood elves. Allowing people to go there might be dangerous," said the woman with glasses.

"No, that is going backward! I'm going to force a vote in parliament on this exact matter! If it fails, we'll call a new election!" he said decisively.

Everyone was surprised.

"The vote will undoubtedly fail with the 'Great Terry' voting against it, and our coalition partners are also against it. Even our own 'Clean Terry' MPs aren't a sure yes!" the man with a beard said.

"I know, but I believe in the people. The people will understand and vote out those who oppose it!" Millan said.

"This is a gamble! A very unwise gamble," said the woman with glasses.

"I am a betting man!" said Millan.

...

Bertha was back in the Senate building.

"They are so rude! We should cut our relationships with them," said Iona.

Not even one of the senators suggested that Bertha behaved badly. Most Wood elves are very sensitive about keeping their culture; among them, senators are the most radical.

Pearl said, "I am proposing a bill that requires every human entering any Wood elf village to go naked."

With 7 ayes, the bill became law.

"Start training our young warriors, Pearl. The possibility of war exists," said Bertha.

Although she said this, Bertha thinks that she alone can defeat humans.

After discussing and cursing humans for a while, the meeting ended.

"Bertha, I think you are too radical," Rachel said.

"You too? Listen, if you don't push back hard, nothing of our culture will remain after a few generations!" Bertha said.

Rachel didn't try to persuade anymore.

...

On the side of Terry Country, the parliament voted on the proposal to allow Wood Elves to enter the city naked, which failed. Milan called for a new election and campaigned on the rights of non-humans.

After 8 weeks of campaigning, the election day arrived. 

The 'Clean Terry' party lost two-thirds of its seats in the election, while the 'Great Terry' party won forty percent of the vote and formed a coalition government. Milan even lost his own seat and became jobless!

The new Prime Minister, Kelvin, had a gray beard and was relatively short. He said, "That Wood Elf, Bertha, came here, nearly killed several people in a negotiation room, and they just let her go! This is a humiliation! Send an emissary to the Wood Elves and order them to deport her. If they refuse, call up the army!"

"Yes," the man with a ponytail, his chief of staff, said.

...

Soon, news of the impending war with Wood Elves spread. Other non-human groups, including many Snow Elves, were staunchly opposed to the plan, so they filed a lawsuit in court. But Bertha did indeed endanger the lives of people by destroying the table, so the court denied the motion for an injunction.

As such, the war was just a step away.

...

"They want me arrested?" Bertha started laughing so hard that her abdomen hurt. 

"I've had enough of them." 

Then, she ran out of the Wood Elves' settlement and towards the people who had brought the arrest warrant.

With her speed, she found them quickly. A hundred soldiers were there, along with a few water cars and armored water cars.

Water cars work exclusively on mortal science and can transport people at high speeds using water as fuel.

"Stay right there," the soldiers shouted.

Bertha took a deep breath and moved. 

The next second, all 100 soldiers dropped to the ground, knocked down.

Bertha was cautious not to kill anyone or seriously hurt them.

"It's time to teach humans a lesson!" she told Rachel.

Rachel said, "Okay, this isn't how I would go about it, but okay."

Bertha ran to Terry City, entered, and went straight to the 'Stone Palace.' 

There, she took Kelvin hostage, went to the parliament building, and took all the MPs hostage. 

After destroying some buildings and showing her strength, the parliament passed the law she wanted, allowing the Wood Elves to enter the city as they pleased and securing many favorable treaties and trade deals.

After all this, Bertha returned to her village and informed everyone of the good news. 

This event was a turning point for the country of Terry. After this day, policies favoring non-humans were no longer popular, and the general view decisively turned anti-non-human. Still, they feared Bertha, so under this pressure, they just swallowed their pride.

...

"Bertha, I think you are power-poisoned," Rachel said.

"What is power poisoning?"

"When someone becomes much stronger quickly, they can become arrogant and want to solve everything violently. This isn't you, Bertha. You used to be peaceful," said Rachel.

"is it bad to solve things with violence? It sure worked?" she asked.

"It isn't a good development in the long run. It's bad for the Wood Elves," Rachel said.

"Why are you worried about the Wood Elves?" Bertha asked in confusion.

"Right. It doesn't have anything to do with me. Okay, I won't talk about it anymore. Now, just concentrate on your training. Rank 2 is not strong on the continent with mages."

Bertha nodded.

...

Milan, who lost everything, was on the road to Wood Elves territory.

"I try my chance, and if she kills me, so be it."

He was one of the crazy people who did anything for love.

From the day he saw Bertha, he has been in love.

Now that everything has failed, he wants to try his last chance.