CH 27

「C–Can someone help me…?」

Alfiris couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the person who came in. Brown skin, pointed ears, blue eyes reminiscent of the sea, and long, flowing silver hair.

「(Dark Elf?)」

Elves are another name for the people of the forest, and are considered to be a race closer to spirits than to humans. Many of them live longer than humans, and they are said to be a very gentle race (some say they lack emotions). They also excel in magic, and some say that the elves taught the humans about magic.

It is said that they live in places where there is an abundance of nature, mostly in the northern forest areas. The white skinned elves are more cooperative with humans, but the brown skinned dark elves have been known to cooperate with the D and are hostile to humans and elves alike. It’s not uncommon to see even elves cooperating with humans in urban areas, and if dark elves were to come to the city, they might be the first to be killed.

The dark elf is front of her, but she don’t feel the evil that she have heard about. She looks like a pretty little girl herself, and even looks graceful. But, she thought she’s covered in blood and dying. She noticed that the elf was about to fall over. Before she could think about it, Alfiris had already run to the girl and was holding her in her arms.

「Someone, help me!」

「Alfie, move aside!」

Miranda immediately rushed to the scene. The girl’s injuries are quite deep and blood is pouring incessantly from her stomach. She can see that the hand holding her belly is already too weak, and despite her brown skin, her whole body is turning blue.

「This is… I don’t have time, there’s something I can do…」

「Are you sure?」

There were damages at the large blood vessels and some internal organs. Miranda thought that she was rather lucky to be alive. She must have some reason to be obsessed with life. But no matter how she tried, rhe dark elf girl was on the verge of dying.

「But…」

Miranda glanced at Miliazar. She is said to be the best on the continent at restorative magic. But Miranda’s plea for help is met with reluctant look from Miliazar.

「I personally wouldn’t recommend it, she would normally dead. If you help her, you’ll get into trouble.」

「Isn’t it your destiny to be here to help her?」

Miranda looked at Miliazar with a sullen look in her eyes. Alfiris didn’t know what she was talking about and was only confused and flustered by Millie’s change of tone.

「Miranda, don’t look at me like that… I can help you, but you know the consequences?」

「I don’t mind, please proceed.」

Alfiris wondered if Miranda had also changed her tone, but that was not the point right now. Miliazar walked leisurely over, examining the dark elf’s wounds.

「Hmph, let me have a look… Hmm, I think I can handle this. I’m going to use magic, so stay back, especially Miranda. If your affected by magic, you’ll be purified so much that you’ll lose your evil spirit and won’t be fun.」

「Are you kidding me in this situation?」

「Not so fast… Hey, Dark Elf. I’m going to help you and you’re going to explain later.」

「…」

The girl seemed to have a hard time answering, but she managed to nod her head.

「Let’s do this, you’ll feel better soon.」

Miliazar made a mark with her hands, and for a moment, the air around her remained still. After that, a mysterious, yet warm feeling enveloped the surroundings. It was as if light was flowing in around her. The scene could be seen even outside the restaurant.

People other than Miranda and Albert have no way of knowing, but this is the Miliazar’s recovery magic that rang throughout the continent as the 「Miracle of Saints.」For ordinary sisters and priests, gathering light in their hands is the limit of their magical convergence, but in her case, she uses a wide range of restorative magic, she gathers enough light to cover a hemispherical radius of about 10 meters. In fact, Miliazar is better at sacred offensive magic, but due to her position, she can’t go on a rampage, and it’s been decades since she used it. Considerably, it is better to say her bare hands are sufficient for most enemies.

Then Miliazar began to chant.

【O Benevolent Spirit of Healing, who lurks in the Earth and dances in the wind. Lend me your bounty and help us poor souls. I will take back your flesh and blood now in the name of the spirits.】

《Healing Circle》

Then the whole area was enveloped in light, and the glare was so bright that everyone involuntarily covered their eyes. After a while, everyone slowly opened their eyes again and saw that a circle with a radius of about five meters had been drawn on the ground with lines of light, and the air around them was clear as if all evil had left. The dark elf woman blinked her eyes and stood there with a look on her face, unsure of what had happened to her.

「You don’t need to worry about your life now. But it’s not going to be full recovery at once, so stay out of that magic circle for a while, okay? The effect of the magic circle will last for a moment. After a night’s sleep, you’ll be all right.」

Amused, Miliazar showed a smile at her. The elven woman was surprised, but she gave a cute bow.

「I’m going to ask you to tell me what was going on, or should I pay you a visit?」

「Yes, I think that would be the best thing to do so.」

「I’m sorry, owner, but can you close the store?」

The manager, who had been watching the situation, nodded and made a show of it. Urd, who is in a daze, but the manager, who is accustomed to such situations, doesn’t seem to be upset at all.

「I guess so, this is not good for business. There was a crowd of people outside the store. All of you, get moving, get moving, I’ll let this go for today!」

「This is appreciated, owner.」

「That’s fine. But I’m gonna need to know what’s going on, as well.」

「I don’t mind if you do.」

The customers who were in the middle of eating and drinking complained, but the owner of the restaurant was confident in his skills, so he grabbed a couple of them, threw them out, and they all decided to leave.

「Is this enough?」

「Very well. Now let’s hear what you have to say.」

「Yes. I’m sorry, but my name is Fenna Schmidt Rosenworks.」

「Rosenworks?」

The color of Miliazar’s face changed.

「Isn’t that the royal bloodline of Dark Elves?」

「Yes, may be the youngest of the branch families, but I am certainly of royal blood. Also, just so there is no misunderstanding,『Dark Elves』is a name given by you because of our skin color. We call ourselves the Seekers, and the races that have aided the fiends are similar to us in appearance, but they are called the Scorners, and they are the ones who parted company with us. I hope you understand.」

「Mu… I beg your apologies.」

Miliazar apologized in an embarrassed tone. Fenna bowed lightly and continued.

「Our village is very small, with a population of about a hundred. We used to live quietly deep in the forest of Dalcus. But the other day, we were attacked by humans, and our village was destroyed…」

「By humans?」

Miranda was the one who raised her voice in an absurd manner.

「The closest to Dalcus Forest is the Principality of Krumus, but isn’t that a pacifist country? There hasn’t been a war there in decades, has there?」

「I am relatively young, so I apologise if I don’t know much about human civilization. I don’t even know if it was that Krumus who swooped in.」

「But you know, Dark… no, Seekers has many times more magic power than us, right? How many people did it take to attack you guys?」

「I don’t think there were more than a hundred.」

This surprised not only Miranda, but also Miliazar. However, the other members of the party were as clueless as to why.

「Hey, is it really that impossible? I mean, we’re about the same in terms of numbers, but…」

「I don’t know, Alfie. The average elven magic power is said to be ten times that of humans. If you are a member of the royal family, the amount of power would exceed to 100 times. That’s why it is said if a hundred elves get together, it could tip the scales of war between nations.」

「That’s how great they were?」

「That’s right. That’s why the elves are so few in number, but they have survived without being eliminated from the earth. They are a benign race that does not wage war on their own. Attacking and destroying the elves would be too risky and without merit.」

「What happened to them that only a hundred of them …managed to wiped you out?」

Miliazar added her words. Fenna continued.

「Magic are… Our soldiers whose magic was almost ineffective to them. Even so, some of us were able to take up arms and fight, but more than thirty of us were cut down in an instant by just four people at the front. Father and Mother told me to run away from the situation, and I tried to escape with Mother’s transfer magic, but a soldier interrupted me… Mother was cut down right in front of me. I was also wounded, and I barely I had time to activate my magic, so the coordinates of the transfer point were messed up, and I was supposed to ask for help from my kin, but… I was sent to this town.」

Tears well up in Fenna’s eyes. She had just lost her mother in front of her eyes. Perhaps even her clan.

「I beg you… can you take me back to the Forest of Dalcus? Just as far as the nearest town. You don’t need to accompany me to my village.」

「Alfie, what do we do?」

Fenna looked pleadingly around at Alfiris and the others. Even for her, she had nothing else to rely on. Basically, elves never leave the forest. She must not know where Mysia is now, or how to get back to the forest, if she is young. Also, it is extremely dangerous for a being who is commonly known as a Dark Elf to wander around the human world alone.

All of them instantly understood the situation, but to be honest, taking on Fenna was risky no matter what they think. Knowing this, Miranda ask Alfiris.

「Do you want me to decide?」

「Well, you’re the leader. I’m just a companion and there’s nothing I have to do right now. But if I may give you my personal opinion, I don’t recommend it. But I’m going to follow you.」

「Lisa agrees with her. I don’t have a good feeling about this, but I think following Alfie’s heart is the best way to go.」

「I…」

She looked at Fenna. Her blue eyes stare at Alfiris with a mixture of anticipation and anxiety, as if she is asking for help, but also as if she is not sorry.

「(…Abandoning this child to continue my own journey at ease? That’s unthinkable.)」

Alfiris’ decision was quick.

「I’ll help her. Let’s get her back to her village properly!」

「! Ah, Thank you very much…」

「But your clan…」

「I understand. I’m not going to confirm the survival of my family. I’m just going to check the seal of our family’s secret art. 」

「Secret art?」

Alfiris thought she was supposed to be checking on the safety of her family.

「I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you what it is. However, depending on the status of the seal, my future actions may change.」

「I understand, I’ll stop asking about the details. I’m Alfiris. Then, Miranda is the older one here with a foul mouth, and Lisa is the younger one with a foul mouth.」

「Ahhn?! Whose mouth is that dirty?」

「Good grief, you’re such a huge woman, you know that?」

But, she seem to have a point.

「But how are we going to get there? It’s a long way, and the terrain is quite complicated in that area. By the way, I’ve never been to that part of the world.」

「I think we should ask someone to show us the way.」

「Don’t you know much about it, Fenna?」

「I’ve never been out of the woods before, so… if I can get into some of the forest, I can tell you」

「I’ll show you the way.」

All of them turned around at the sudden offer, and before they knew it, the feline beastwoman was standing there. She was smaller than Lisa. But she had a strong-looking face and a toned body. She seemed to be a seasoned traveler and had some experience in battle.

「My name is Nia. I’m a soldier from Gruzald, but I’m currently traveling alone to train as a warrior. I’m familiar with that area, how about I become a guide for you?」

「I appreciate the offer, but… why did you decide to do it?」

「Because it would be a shame for a Gruzald soldier to abandon those in need.」

While showing arrogance. Nia turns her head away, but the owner is laughing behind her.

「Don’t get cocky, Nia. Just tell them that you’re curious about them and you’d like to accompany them.」

「I—I’m not curious about them!」

She crossed her arms and turned her head to the side, but her ears and tails began to move impatiently. This was…

「That’s easy to understand.」

「Yeah, it’s easy to understand」

「I understand that.」

「I see, huh, this is what I call a tsundere.」

Everyone in the room nodded their heads like saying「yes.」Fenna doesn’t seem to know what they’re talking, and she tilts her head adorably.

「Tsundere? What is a tsundere?」

「Tsundere is a compliment. In the human world, it is said to be the highest honor to be called this. For your information, you can use it when introducing yourself, for example, 『Hello, I’m Nia, a tsundere,』aside from other examples.」

Lisa quickly explained, but she was lying too much. But, somehow, some people was happy to hear that. The other members of the group are trying their best to hold back their gushing with a look of amusement. Alfiris softly whispered to Lisa.

「(Lisa, I don’t think that’s a good idea…)」

「(There’s no way I’m letting such an interesting material go. If you reveal the truth, I will broadcast the information that you are a whore all over Mysia. I don’t mind, though, because I’m sure it will still be quite interesting.)」

It was an absurd threat, but Alfiris couldn’t object strongly because Lisa might actually do it.

「(I–I’m sorry, Nia. I’m sure you’ll find out that she’s lying, maybe?)」

And so, Alfiris tried make excuses in her mind. But then, she saw Nia mumbling, 「Oh, I see… That’s the politeness of the human world.」Incidentally, it would take Nia quite some time to clear up this misunderstanding.

Anyway, it seems that their next destination has been decided. While worrying about Fenna, Alfiris couldn’t hide the fact that she was somewhat excited about the new adventure.