CH 146

Chapter 146

When Peaceful Times Cease To Exist : The Archfiend Workshop, Part 1 — Elsa's Recollections

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

「There are marks… we’ll be there soon.」

「Yes.」

When Alfiris and her group were fighting Lifeless. The location was further into the forest of Rukia, where Alfiris and her group first fought an Archfiend. In its Melitnoel Mountains, on the edge of the Kingdom of Liana, which belongs to the Kingdom of Romansland.

The Kingdom of Liana is a peaceful and tranquil country with the most beautiful lake in the world, Lake Sareed. However, their only resource is its lake, and although all the creatures that can be caught in the lake are said to be delicious, they aren’t effectively utilized for the national interest because the Kingdom of Liana has expressed its desire to preserve the lake in its natural state as much as possible.

Since Romansland has a rich treasury and doesn’t feel the need to squeeze the kingdom of Liana, it has left Lake Sareed alone, respecting the wishes of the kingdom of Liana. That is why Lake Sareed is untouched and praised as the most beautiful lake in the world. Although it has now become a perfect recreation spot for the nobility, it was maintained in a beautiful manner with constant upkeep.

Such is the case with Mt. Melitnoel, which lies in the Kingdom of Liana and forms part of the Souffle mountain range that borders several countries, although it’s not high in elevation. There are no significant resources here, and yet the area has a reputation for being full of fiends, so development has not progressed sufficiently yet. For this reason, no proper roads were built, and if there were any, they’re only animal paths at best.

Two young women were walking along such a roadless path. Sister Elsa of the Arnelian Order and her escort, Eliza. After leaving a message for Miranda on the Prairie, the girls were searching for the headquarters of the church attackers, which was their original mission. However, the search had already been completed by the「dog」released by Mynar, and he was now walking to the site.

「We’ve come a long way. But it’s certainly not as popular here, and it’s a great place to make a base.」

「That seems so. Because there is no reason for a normal person to come here.」

「Even if we find him, we can blame it on the fiends and keep him from talking.」

「Yes.」

Elsa gives a somewhat suspicious glance to Eliza, who replies without hesitation. Perhaps noticing her gaze, Eliza’s eyes crossed with Elsa’s.

「How are you doing, Elsa-sama?」

「…I’ve been working with you since this assignment and you never talk back to me. You never change your expression or tone of voice. Aren’t you going to say,『Sister, it’s so disturbing that you have to keep your mouth shut.』」

Many of the people Elsa has worked with so far have been difficult when exposed to Elsa’s fighting style and way of thinking. There are many children of aristocrats from various countries studying in Arnelia, and many of them don’t have the same skin as Elsa, who’s from slums.

「No, I don’t think I have that right. I only follow the orders of Elsa-sama.」

But Eliza looked straight at Erza and answered. There was no hesitation in her tone, and she must’ve been thinking sincerely. However, Elsa sighed as she looked at Eliza.

「Fu. Fine, Eliza? I don’t want a puppet for a partner. I want them to follow my orders basically, but I don’t always want to be right and I want them to have their own opinions. If I make a mistake, you’ll have to correct me.」

「That’s alright, but I’ve never heard of you making a mistake in your assessment of the situation.」

Eliza’s words were also true. Elsa Waldricksen. She’s one of the most talented of the Sisters on pilgrimage duty, and has solved more than 100 cases in the past eight years. She was a well-known Sister whose name was known to anyone who worked at the headquarters of the Arnelia Church, even if she wasn’t on a pilgrimage.

Considering that she joined the Arnelian Order when she was 16 and is now 26, this was an extraordinary rate of growth and advancement. It’s said that she received her pilgrimage assignment within two years of her affiliation, and since that time, there has rarely been a mission that she could not solve.

What she excels in is her ability to assess the situation. She understands the characteristics of her partners and help them to fully realize their full potential. And it doesn’t matter how many or how few partners she have. Therefore, those who had worked with her had a reputation for developing their abilities and always rising in the ranks afterwards.

She was the kind of sister that every pilgrim would like to be partnered with at least once, and the same was true for Eliza. It was undeniably true that Eliza felt honored to be partnered with Elsa.

「I am proud to share my mission with you, Elsa-sama. I would like to ask for your guidance and encouragement for this young person.」

「…You’re so stiff, aren’t you. Can’t you, be a little, more softer? Like these cheeks.」

Elsa pokes Eliza’s cheek. Eliza’s cheeks were quite comfortable, and Elsa spent every spare moment during the trip poking Eliza’s cheeks. Eliza still didn’t rebel at all.

「Haah…」

「It’s not『Haah.』If you don’t, I’m going to have to ask you like,『What are your measurements?』『What color is your underwear today?』I’m afraid you’re going to answer that question without a second thought.」

「…83, 59, 87 from the top. Underwear is black with lace.」

「Ah, I see. Wait, I really don’t mean for you to answer that!」

「…Pfft.」

Elsa, who was unintentionally plugged in, was returned by Eliza with a thin smile. Her reaction is just like Albert’s. She can’t take a joke, but she says she will tell it herself.

「Guh, you’re just like Alberto, right down to your reaction. It’s so irritating.」

「Do you know Albert?」

「Obviously. He joined the Templar Knight Order at the same time I came to Arnelia. I tried to make him laugh, but he wouldn’t laugh at all. And yet you only look at me when there’s nothing going on and say,『…Pfft.』It was as if he was making fun of me. Oh, it pisses me off to think of it!」

「Is that so…」

Eliza was a bit perplexed when Elsa stepped on the ground in front of her, but decided to try out the recently popular『leave it alone play.』

Eliza’s attitude is just like Albert’s, but on the inside, she is very fashion-conscious and concerned about her appearance, and she has enough of the girlish aspects of a girl her age. She just doesn’t show it. In fact, she wanted to be a little adventurous now that she had reached adulthood, so she bought some underwear with her first salary, even though she didn’t show it to anyone.

Elsa is a little angry with Eliza, because she doesn’t even know what’s going on inside of her.

「I wonder why Lazaar’s people are all like that. Do they have some sort of “swell” gene?」

「I don’t know about that…」

「I’m just joking!」

Elsa spat wildly. This was her true attitude and character, and Elsa was very close to Miranda in her nature. Even her decision to go on a pilgrimage mission was originally based on a lecture given by Miranda.

The first part of Miranda’s lecture was so shocking that all of the elegant sisters left feeling dizzy, but what she said after that was all very practical. How dangerous it is to travel alone as a woman, what temptations are out there, how to protect yourself, how to overcome temptations. It didn’t sound like much, but Miranda shared her own experiences on these matters. In fact, most of those who listened to her lecture to the end are now active in pilgrimage missions.

While listening to her story, Elsa realized that there was an interesting person in the Church Of Arnelia, which she had thought was boring, and decided to try her best to make her her target. Miranda may not remember, and in fact she didn’t recognize Elsa when they met, but Elsa and Miranda had a little chat after the lecture.

＊＊＊

This was nearly a decade ago now.

「Anorn-sama, I have something I’d like to peek at.」

「Oh, what is it? You adorable Sister?」

Miranda—— Commonly known as Anorn—— Elsa unknowingly followed Anorn after the lecture. At the sound of Elsa’s voice running to catch up with her from behind, Anorn smiles and turns around. Even Elsa, who is a woman, was a little surprised at her spirit-like appearance. But pushing the upset to the bottom of her heart, Elsa posed a question to Anorn.

「Do you not question your own way of being?」

「My own way, you say?」

Anorn nodded her head at Elsa’s question. Elsa felt that Anorn’s expression faded a little, perhaps thinking the question was too abstract, but she searched for the right words and rephrased it.

「Err… uhh. It’s kind of like, what is the significance of making a pilgrimage. Why do I have to go through all this pain, why do some people smile while I suffer, why do I have to…」

「I would appreciate it if you would order your questions first?」

Anorn interrupted Elsa. Elsa was surprised by her firm words and involuntarily bowed her head, which she had never bowed before.

「I–I’m sorry! It’s just…」

「Well, okay. Now you’ve lost your way.」

Anorn sighs and looks at Elsa seriously. Then, she placed her hand on her shoulder and looked squarely at her.

「Do you, such a lost girl, want my words?」

「…Yes.」

Elsa never thought she would feel this way. First of all, she had never thought that she would ever have to worry about anything in her life, and she had also thought that she would never have to rely on others. But she has been at the Church of Arnelia for only about three months. Life here has completely disrupted everything she ever believed in.

Elsa is from the slums. In order to survive, that’s what she did, she did bad things to rot. Stealing, extortion, assault… the only thing she haven’t done is murder. She was one of the leaders of the slum. She had organized a group of thug-like people, and had defeated the city’s vigilantes and mercenaries on many occasions.

However, she became too famous and was finally captured by the Knights, and was picked up by the Church of Arnelia just as she was about to be chained up in prison. It was also surprising and intriguing to Elsa that the person who picked her up was a Sister (Miliazar, though she didn’t know her at the time) who had the appearance of a young girl of no more than a year old compared to her.

Her life has changed dramatically since coming to Arnelia. Elsa had never trusted strangers before, but the residents here trust others easily and are willing to act on their behalf. It was nothing but hypocritical behavior for Elsa, but at the same time it wasn’t uncomfortable.

Perhaps she was suited to be surrounded by these people—— she was confused by the change in her feelings and was afraid of losing her place where she stood. She felt like she was being denied everything she had ever done. She felt like she was betraying those who had put their trust in her by thinking that she had been wrong again.

That is why Elsa wanted to hang on to Anorn. Most of the residents of Arnelia were good people, but that was why Elsa felt that her problems would not be understood. But if it was this Sister in front of her, who was so heavenly and immaculate, then who could it be? Elsa had such a glimmer of hope.

However, that faint hope was easily shattered.

「Listen to me. I don’t care if you’re lost or not.」

「………Huh?」

The answer was so surprising that even Elsa could not believe her ears for a moment. However, Anorn went on to say,

「May I? Let’s say I listen to your background and your story slowly and give you the answer that best suits you. That would surely be easy. But you see, the answer is flimsy. I don’t have the answers you need inside me, if you’ve lost your bearings in life as you have.」

「But…」

Miranda pushed Elsa away somewhat roughly as she tried to bite down further. Suddenly, Elsa unexpectedly lost her balance.

「Ah!」

「Let me ask you something. Let’s say I give you an answer that you find satisfactory, but the answer is temporary. But that answer is temporary. After all, people change over time. We may eventually become unconvinced, or the time may come soon. And when things go wrong, you will blame me and make excuses.」

「That’s not true!」

「No, you will. Definitely.」

Anorn said it without hesitation and without a word of warning. Anorn then hurled words at Elsa.

「Ahh, don’t get me wrong, I’m not blaming you. Human beings are weak creatures, and we all follow the same path. I am sure I am too. If we make mistakes, if we are cornered, we will want to blame others. That is why one must find one’s own way to live. No matter how thorny or wrong it may be.」

「Even if one goes out of one’s way…?」

Elsa asked timidly. Anorn, however, laughed off Elsa’s worries with ease.

「Ahhaha, you’re one seriously girl, aren’t you!」

「W–What is it? Out of the bush.」

「People who would go out of their way to be human don’t have these questions at the end of the day.」

Anorn smiles a little mischievously as he points toward Elsa.

「May I? The scum that truly go astray from the path of humanity are on that path from the very beginning. In that respect, you are a perfectly decent human being. And don’t stray from the path. The path that appears to be straying is also your path. It is ultimately up to you to decide what path you want to take. If you despise yourself, even the most wonderful path will look like an animal path. On the other hand, no matter how great a path an outsider walks on, if he or she looks at it in the best mood, it will look glorious. Or do you want to follow the path that shines brightly in the eyes of all and everywhere?」

「That’s not… I don’t think so, but…」

「Then don’t worry about every little thing. Instead of worrying about such things, you have to act first. And if you don’t like the path you’re on, you can always switch to another. Life is short. It’s a waste of time to even dwell on it, for a normal human being. Is that not good enough?」

「Haah…」

Elsa is surprised by Anorn’s more forceful way of thinking than her own. She felt as if she had been caught in a smoke screen, but at the same time, her words were powerful and gave the impression that she was being pushed back. On the other hand, Elsa didn’t notice that Anorn looked somewhat forlorn.

Perhaps reading her mind, Anorn smiled lightly at the end and turned her back to Elsa and started to walk away. But after a few steps, she stopped dead in her tracks and muttered something to herself.

「This is just my own blur…」

「?」

「If you just can’t find anything to do, go for a pilgrim sister. It is worthwhile, and you will find something in the process of making or aiming for the pilgrimage. And if you don’t like it, you can always give up. Besides,」

Anorn spins around.

「I’m having a hard time finding enough people, so it would be easier for me if you came.」

Then she smiled mischievously, and this time she really did leave. Elsa, who was left behind, unknowingly bowed deeply in the direction Anorn had left.