Anomaly
Anomaly
Asilie's daily routine was ordinary.
Even though it had been well over a year and a half since Eldmia left for the capital, her daily routine had not changed much compared to the days she spent with him. Despite ending up staying at Alisha's inn because she couldn't refuse Alisha's repeated kindness and requests, most of Asilie's routine took place in the cabin in the woods.
Thus, today as always, Alisha greeted her as she came down to the first floor after waking at dawn and finishing her preparations.
"Good morning, Asilie."
"Good morning, Alisha. I'm looking forward to it, the stew looks really delicious today as well."
Asilie always woke up around 6 a.m., but Alisha woke even earlier and always prepared the day's cooking without fail.
Even though it had been barely two years, there were many changes in Ogwen and the inn. Most of the city's outskirts were now encircled by walls, the city had continued to develop to the point where it was hard to find its former appearance from years ago, and the inn was now an orphanage and restaurant receiving full sponsorship from the Holy Light Cross Order.
It might have been Eldmia and Ragnis who had first set things in motion, but in the end, the Holy Light Cross Order recognized Alisha's devotion and decided to harbor not the slightest doubt. And that was something that, in Asilie's eyes, was hard to believe.
Even though the Holy Light Cross Order was gentle and ran many charity projects within the city, it was truly rare for them to join hands with secular people and offer proper sponsorship. If they felt an orphanage was needed, they would rather build a building themselves, and being recognized by them essentially meant being treated as a fellow believer.
At first, there was the question of 'How in the world?' but now she could see. Because Alisha had been living a life of devotion that was no different from a religious person, just without the religion.
"Are you coming back in the evening again today?"
Alisha handed her a bowl of stew that was already finished, who knows when she'd made it. Asilie answered with a smile.
"Seems about the same as yesterday. I don't have any extra work, and the winter preparations are almost done."
Since the sun had not yet risen, they talked and ate by lamplight while the children woke up and began to help Alisha with the work. Among them were kids who couldn't have been ten years old yet, but not one of them complained, they all moved with smiles, and Asilie felt a smile form on her own lips.
"Then I'll be off."
"Take care, Big Sis!"
"Have a safe trip, sis!"
Replying with a smile to the children who all waved without exception to see her off, Asilie stepped outside, saddled the horse that had been resting in the newly built stable, and gave it a spur.
Except when there was adventurer work, her routine was always the same. She would go to the cabin, tend to the livestock that hadn't been sold, inspect the house, then go down to the ruins where the village once stood, tidy up the grave where Eldmia's parents rested, and maintain the modest shrine to all the gods that had been erected next to it.
The pantheon, far from refined, was nothing but a crude imitation carved by Eldmia from wood, mimicking the former pantheon. Even though he didn't firmly believe in any specific god, the boy held no skepticism toward faith, and even though no one had taught him, he never did a half-hearted job of the offerings for his parents.
After finishing that routine, just by strolling around the cabin area for a while, Asilie could easily reminisce about the past.
She had actually wanted to go with him. That night Eldmia left, Asilie had agonized over so many things. Even after Eldmia fell asleep, she looked at his face and reversed her decision countless times, wanting to go with him.
In the midst of those countless temptations, she decided to create and guard a place where a person with no place to return could come back to.
There was no option of simply going along. In that case, she would surely have blocked his way, afraid of Eldmia's death.
Not for his sake, but for her own selfishness.
While working with these various idle thoughts that she always had, time flew by. To be precise, it was more like she kept moving without rest, hoping time would fly, and thankfully, time did fly quickly.
Thus, as lunchtime arrived and she finished a simple meal and was resting in the cabin, a visitor appeared, signaling the end of the previous daily life where no one had ever come.
"Asilie! Are you there?"
A woman's voice shouted urgently as soon as she galloped up on horseback. But it was a voice she didn't remember, so Asilie grew wary, drew her bow, and silenced her presence.
In a brief moment, she tried to recall if there had been any recent trouble, but there was nothing at all she could guess. The Ogwen Adventurer Guild, as frontier guilds tended to be, was calm and quiet, and even if there were minor troubles, they were rather lenient toward a settled adventurer like Asilie, so that was even more so.
Above all, there weren't many people who knew the exact location of the cabin. It was hard to believe that a complete stranger coming to find her was an ordinary situation.
And her expectation turned out to be on the bad side.
"I am Entiere Hayaloi of the Frost Leaf Tribe! I am a companion of Hero Siegfried, and I have come as an envoy from the Empire because I need your help regarding Sir Eldmia!"
BANG! In her haste, she burst out the door almost kicking it open, causing the young elf still on horseback to startle, but Asilie had no time to apologize.
"What does that mean? You need help regarding Eldi... Eldmia?"
"P-pleased to meet you, Asilie. To meet a High Elf of the Blue Vine Tribe..." Entiere hurried to calm her startled horse and offered a respectful greeting, but unfortunately, in this situation, it was the worst possible move.
Because it wasn't an answer to her question but a self-introduction, Asilie slammed the door again and yelled.
"What do you mean!"
"Hieek! I'm sorry! I'll skip the formalities! We must confirm Sir Eldmia's location! The earring! The earring you made for him, Asilie! It's the only proper magic tool Sir Eldmia has! We need to pinpoint his location with it and teleport!"
Among elves, there was no concept of rank. Yet, across all tribes, High Elves were special. Not because they were strong or of superior lineage, but because they had passed the World Tree's trial and were acknowledged for it.
So even though High Elves didn't particularly hold high positions or authority, elves naturally favored and revered them. And elves like Entiere, who were familiar with human class society, held a fear born from reverence.
Of course, Asilie was in no position to be considerate now.
"Lead the way!"
Entiere inwardly thanked Asilie for mounting her horse without further words and shouting orders, and immediately spurred her own horse to follow the instructions.
Since it wasn't that far to begin with, returning to Ogwen happened in an instant. But even that felt too long for Asilie.
When she followed Entiere to the front of Alisha's inn, what greeted Asilie was a host of unfamiliar faces and the familiar face of Ragnis, but from the atmosphere it was easy to tell that Ragnis hadn't come as the representative.
Their arrival had thrown not only Alisha but the entire city into considerable confusion, but this time Asilie had no time to worry about them.
When she hurriedly dismounted, the first to speak to her was a girl smaller and younger-looking than herself, with white hair so clear it seemed translucent, swept back.
"While saving me, Eldmia went through a gate whose coordinates shifted to somewhere in the Empire."
Even though she clearly held the highest status among those present, the way she skipped all pleasantries and got straight to the point told Asilie that she took the situation seriously, so she nodded without any objection.
With what she had heard from Entiere and what had just been said, the reason to follow them was sufficient. In a situation where Eldmia might truly be in danger, she didn't want to waste any more time.
"That explanation is enough. Let's go."
"Hm. Marquis Bende. The gate."
Even though it was a marquis being commanded as if it were prearranged, Asilie couldn't help but flinch unconsciously. As the blond man called Marquis Bende took out a small hexahedron from his chest and prepared something, Ragnis approached her side and quietly took her hand, so Asilie asked her, partly to steady her anxious heart even a little.
"Ragnis. What has Eldi done this time?"
"...Saved the Imperial Princess from the Demonfolk's clutches and then flew off somewhere alone."
Something about it suggested there was a lot more to say before that, but she was clearly skipping it, which nagged at her a little, but even without that it was already shocking enough, so Asilie decided not to ask more about what Ragnis had omitted.
"We will open a temporary gate to the capital of Itisel. Then go to the imperial capital and, with the help of the imperial mages, pinpoint the location. Do you have any other questions?"
"No. Not right now."
And as much as she wanted to ask why someone as high as the Princess herself was moving personally even though she'd been saved, now was not the time, so she likewise put it off until later.