Elf Sisters' Consultation (1)
Elf Sisters' Consultation (1)
#
I have a twin. The shadow you called a ghost at the window earlier—that's probably my sister.
It's fine. You could see it that way. But that's not the important part.
At some point, my twin sister's body began to waste away. Yes. The signs started with the smallest things. A teacup being too heavy, sleeping a little more than usual. At the time, I thought it was nothing.
Then one day, she couldn't even rise from her bed.
The cause? I don't know. I'm not even certain whether it's a disease or a curse. Neither the doctors nor the priests I summoned could identify it.
Summoning the hero of the previous generation was the same. He was... now that I think of it, he carried an air oddly similar to you and your companions. Perhaps because you share the same black hair?
...In any case, that healer said he sensed an energy from my sister that seemed not of this world.
I was indebted to him in many ways. It is thanks to him that my sister still lives. In exchange, I had to lose my mana.
Yes. I pay my mana as the price to continuously restore my sister's Life Force. Thanks to that healer, we managed to realize a spell that should have been nearly impossible.
Compared to my sister's life, a pittance of mana like that is nothing. But at this rate... the day will come when my mana alone will not be enough to sustain her.
So I had to find another way. I had to muster every resource at my disposal and discover a means to restore her.
But new magic and alchemy... money is always the issue. As ever.
In any case, that kind of research is not something I can do alone. I asked other alchemists and wizards for help in various ways—along with funding.
That was when that man approached me. So I drew upon his research funds, and that was how things came to be.
...I can't simply leave her like that. I have to try something.
Accepting you as comrades?
That was... yes. I'm sorry to say this, but I wondered if I might make use of you. Rymer Holstein... the owner of the journal you recovered... it seems he eventually succeeded.
The dungeon where that wizard studied the slime. I thought of going there once more... and asking you to retrieve the slime he created.
Have you, by chance, read his journal to the end?
No? I see... That's fortunate.
The contents? How that man met his end... no, it's best I don't tell you. Not knowing is better for your sanity.
I've digressed.
In any case, unlike the others, Rymer Holstein succeeded in developing a healing slime... Poring. He eventually lost his life after becoming distracted by something else, but if you could retrieve it... it might help my sister.
If the slime could be mass-produced, it would also help me repay the debt. And perhaps the engagement... no. It's nothing.
That is the end of my story. There is nothing particularly remarkable about it.
#
Having finished her story, Ariel lifted her teacup, as though her throat had gone dry.
Then silence. In the drawing room, only the sound of Rebecca pouring tea rang out.
I sank back into the sofa, folded my arms, and opened Ariel's information window.
-Ding.
[Name: Ariel Ionia]
[Traits: ▼]
[Mana Sharing (A): Shares mana with a specific individual. The more similar your wavelengths, the lower the loss rate.]
Right. So that was what it was.
No wonder Ariel’s mana vanished the moment it recovered in the dungeon. Some kind of passive healing spell must have been placed on her twin, and Ariel’s mana was being consumed to maintain it.
And a healing slime... Poring, was it? A strange name. In any case, she planned to use it to clear her debt. Was it really that marketable a product?
While I was lost in thought, Yuri abruptly opened her mouth.
"Ah, I... don't really get it... You said you saw that journal, right...? That slime... why didn't you go find it yourself...?"
"..."
Ariel lifted her teacup in silence, and Rebecca stepped forward.
"Because we were certain that man would interfere."
"Huh? Ah..."
Rebecca didn't bother hiding the contempt on her face.
"As you would know if you heard the conversation between the guest and Lady Ariel yesterday... that man has obstructed her movements for every reason imaginable."
"That is not all. There were signs he had tampered in various ways with the research we commissioned. Disrupting the research itself, or diverting correspondence... It seems he wished to prevent the situation from progressing further until the marriage was definitively settled."
"That is why I deliberately proposed meeting at the Magic Tower in person. Correspondence entailed the risk of problems cropping up in various ways. Which brings me to..."
Ariel set down her teacup, hesitated slightly, and continued.
"I would like to ask you to retrieve that s-slime. We possess the technology to mass-produce it. I will not forget the favor."
"..."
"I am even willing to swear an o-oath, if you wish, so please give it your consideration."
And silence flowed once more. Everyone was gauging my reaction. Reni went without saying, and even Yuri, who was usually busy fooling around, was just fiddling with her teacup for no reason.
Handing over the slime wasn't difficult. If that alone would finish the Main Quest, I welcomed it. But... something, something was missing. Would it really end this easily?
"First, may I meet your sister for a moment?"
At that, Ariel turned to Rebecca.
"...Please wait a moment. I will prepare."
#
"A pleasure to meet you. I'm Niniel Ionia."
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Yoo-jin."
"I-I'm Reni."
"I'm Yuri..."
Yuri had recovered some of her confidence around Ariel, but when another mysterious elf appeared, she shrank back again. As for Reni, that went without saying.
"My constitution isn't the sturdiest, so I've had to receive you from my bed like this. Please understand."
"Ah, no, well, that's... fine."
She was an elf with silver hair and blue eyes. Her features were identical to Ariel’s, but unlike Ariel, her expressions were lively. She looked at us, smiled softly, and then...
"Cough."
B-blood?! She coughed up blood?!
"What on earth?!"
"H-heal, she needs healing...!"
Th-this elf was already deathly pale, and now she had coughed up a mouthful of blood. Was she really going to die before I could do anything?!
"...Stop with the pranks."
At Ariel's words, Niniel beamed and lifted up the teacup beside her bed. Inside it was full of a red liquid...
"Hee hee."
"..."
"Sorry. Spending all my time alone in the mansion, I get so lonely... and Rebecca won't fall for it anymore either..."
At that, I looked toward the ruthless assassin. Rebecca remained expressionless, but her eyes regarded Niniel with faint exasperation.
"Ah, no, well, I-I suppose that could happen. Still, it's a bit hard on the heart."
Whatever she found so amusing, Niniel kept giggling to herself.
"I was told you're all Ariel's companions?"
"Ah, yes."
"Could you come a bit closer for a moment?"
Niniel beckoned me over, and then...
"...How strange. A feeling like I've seen you somewhere before..."
Suddenly, she placed both hands on my cheeks and pulled my face toward her!
"Ahem. Hrm. Hrm!"
"This is the first time Ariel ever brought anyone home calling them a companion. Would you mind telling me how you all met, if that's all right?"
At that, I turned to Ariel, and she gave a light nod. It felt a little uneasy taking up too much of a patient's time, so I told her while skipping over some of the details. Yuri frowned as if she deeply disapproved of me glossing over the aphrodisiac slime part, but she had enough sense not to interrupt.
"Ariel owes you all a great deal."
"No, I wouldn't go so far as to say a great deal..."
"May I ask you, as her companions, to stay at our mansion, if you wouldn't mind? It's humble, but it should at least keep the wind out. Rebecca is simply too adamant about it."
"..."
"Please..."
"...All right. Why not."
#
After coming out of Niniel's room, I handed the healing slime over to Ariel. She didn't say anything, but from the way she hung her head and her body trembled faintly, she seemed quite overcome. Reni went with her, saying something about having a duty to help as a priestess.
I lay down on the bed Rebecca had shown me to. There was a lot to think about.
I'd handed over the healing slime, but no Golden Ticket appeared. Of course, based on everything I'd experienced, it was hard to believe I'd receive a Golden Ticket—that is, complete the Main Quest—at this stage. I'd probably receive it only after resolving that curse or whatever it was.
But with just that slime alone... would that really cure her?
I began to sift through my memories.
One year later in the original story, Ariel had been at that pig's mansion. But that pig himself hadn't been visible at the time. What happened to him? Did he die?
Well, that was not what mattered. At that point in the original story, Ariel clearly had access to the pig’s assets. Otherwise, she could not possibly have entertained the heroes so lavishly on her own.
In that case, she had probably spent money to retrieve the slime in the same way.
But... Ariel made a contract with Naias in the north.
Ariel's goal was to improve Niniel's condition and, if possible, eliminate the cause. Did Ariel have any other objective beyond that? It didn't appear so.
Then Ariel's spirit rampage was clearly connected to Niniel's situation.
I had to remember. There was definitely a hint in the original story.
...
<-- Legend of the Hero of Another World —??? Arc -->
「...Give it up, Hero. She has already lost her human heart. Now she's nothing more than a puppet of the spirit.」
「But... she welcomed us so warmly...」
「Don't be soft. That was merely a nouveau riche's ostentatious display of goodwill. Even if it weren't so, at this point...」
-------------------------------------------
No. Not this part. I needed what came after they took down Naias.
<-- Legend of the Hero of Another World —??? Arc -->
「...Praise the Hero!」
「Praise him!」
Thus ended the calamity that had buried half the northern city in a blizzard, and a rather embarrassing banquet began.
「No matter how many times I go through this, I'll never get used to it.」
「Don't be so modest, Hero. The great deeds you've accomplished would fill at least ten volumes even as a biography...」
「E-enough. A simple, ordinary citizen like me can't endure that sort of thing...」
「Please, can't you keep a little of a hero's dignity? When you get so embarrassed, the heat rises to our faces too, you know...」
Amid the scolding from the female warrior and the wizard, the lord of the hot spring city approached the hero.
「Hero. Thank you for your hard work. Thanks to you, we were able to reduce the damage.」
「It was nothing... Come to think of it, I heard the residents suffered serious harm... You must be deeply troubled. My condolences.」
At that, the lord's expression became very strange.
「...The property damage is certainly severe... but something odd occurred.」
「What do you mean?」
「...The residents who were frozen by Naias... all of them survived.」
「Excuse me?」
「We found people who'd gone missing inside Naias's dungeon. Trapped inside ice crystals, we'd thought them all dead... but in a single moment, the crystals shattered, and they all came to their senses.」
「How could that be... I-in that case, did we kill her for nothing...?」
「That is not so. You made the best choice you could, Hero. And the dungeon contained more than just townsfolk. There were many other races as well. We also discovered an elf resembling her. Interrogation is now underway...」
-------------------------------
Right. This was where it was mentioned once. But I needed to be certain. Just a little more.
<-- Legend of the Hero of Another World —??? Arc -->
And so, the hero left the northern city, seen off by its people.
「Wait, what's that?!」
「What is it?」
「...No, it's nothing.」
He thought he'd caught a glimpse of Ariel among the residents bidding him farewell, but that elf, unlike her, had blue eyes. It must have been a mistake. A mistake born of guilt.
-------------------------------------
Yes. This was the part.
I thought I understood now.
That author never used narrative tricks like "it was A but actually B." So if, at this point, there was someone with Ariel's appearance and blue eyes, she had to be Niniel.
Then, in that future timeline, Niniel was trapped in an ice crystal...
-Knock knock.
"Who is it?"
"...It's Rebecca, the butler."