Illuen
"Phew... I've seen some crazy bastards in my time, but this really takes the cake."
Even after leaving the banquet hall and returning to our room, I couldn't shake my anger. I paced back and forth, still fuming.
Lucia, who had followed me in out of concern, tried to maintain a blank face but couldn't help letting out a soft chuckle.
"Thank you, Hero."
"Huh? For what?"
"For getting angry on my behalf."
I looked at her smile. Usually, it was a bright, familiar expression I took for granted, but today felt like the first time I was truly seeing it.
"Of course I got angry. Weren't you mad hearing all that, Lucia?"
"...I was."
"Then why did you just take it? You should've leaned on me and given them a piece of your mind."
"Haha, I'm not really the type to do that... and I've dealt with it so much since I was young that it doesn't even make me that angry anymore."
Dealt with it since she was young... That meant she had grown up facing this kind of discrimination every single day.
"When I was little, I lived in an elven forest similar to this one. We were discriminated against, but it wasn't quite as severe as it is now."
"Did you live on your own after that?"
"Yes. Though it might be more accurate to say I was driven out..."
"And then? What happened after that?"
"I was exiled to a barren wasteland, not a forest. There were many days when I starved, and sometimes we were attacked by monsters. But even so, I was happy in my own way. Since we were all half-elves living together, we naturally formed a village. We provided lodging and food to human travelers passing through the wasteland, earned a living, and lived well... but..."
Lucia abruptly stopped speaking. Tears began to well in her eyes. Some terrible memory seemed to have resurfaced, and she couldn't bring herself to continue the conversation for a long time.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. You can tell me later, whenever you're ready."
"..."
Although Lucia remained silent, I could guess that something deeply traumatic and unforgettable had happened to her.
"Sleep in the room tonight, Lucia. I can sleep on the sofa out here."
"No, it's fine. I'm okay."
"We don't know what those elves might try to do. Just sleep in here tonight."
"..."
Surely they wouldn't dare try anything with me, the Hero, right next door. Still, just to be safe, I made Lucia sleep in the bedroom while I settled down on the living room sofa.
Knock, knock.
Perhaps it was because I was sleeping on a stiff sofa, but I had slept in later than usual. The sound of knocking at the door woke me up.
"Hero, I'll get it."
Having already woken up and dressed, Lucia walked over to the door and opened it.
"Yes? Who is—"
Click. The moment the door swung open, Lucia froze in place.
"Lucia, who is it?"
I raised my head slightly to look at the door. Since Lucia was standing there unharmed, it didn't seem like anything dangerous had happened.
"Get out of my way. How dare a filthy half-breed..."
The voice came from the doorway, but it certainly wasn't Lucia's. It was a grating, arrogant tone that made the hairs on my arms stand up—a voice I hadn't heard in a long time.
"Carlos~"
Shoving past Lucia's shoulder, an elf walked in, her voice nasal and dripping with forced sweetness.
"I-Illuen?"
"Oh my~ What's this? Did you sleep on the sofa? Why?! Why didn't you sleep in the bed?"
"How... how are you here?"
Why was Illuen, who should have been in the Elf Kingdom, here in this forest? It wasn't a distance that could be traveled in a single day.
"Hey, half-breed. Did you dare make Carlos sleep out here? While a lowborn bitch like you slept in the bed?"
"..."
One moment she was smiling brightly at me, and the next she was glaring at Lucia as if she wanted to tear her apart. Illuen's two-faced nature was something I remembered all too well from the past.
"I told her to sleep in there. Don't take it out on Lucia."
"But still~ Carlos is the great Hero who has to fight the Demon King~"
"How did you know I was here?"
"I heard you were passing through the elven forest, Carlos, so I put aside all my busy work and rushed right over!"
"It was the chief..."
"Wh-what?"
The chief was the only one who could have told her. When I threw out the bait, Illuen panicked and began to stutter.
"You should eat breakfast, right, Carlos? What do you want? I brought chefs from the kingdom! Just tell me whatever you want to eat!"
"I'm busy. We're leaving right now."
"Oh, come on~ Passing through this forest saves you a day anyway~ Let's at least eat breakfast before you go~"
"Lucia, are you ready to go? I'll wash up quickly."
Eager to leave this place, I spoke to Lucia, who was standing far off with her head bowed. Then, I shook off Illuen, who was clinging tightly to my arm, and headed toward the bathroom.
"What? Carlos? You're taking that half-breed bitch with you? You've already had your fun with her, shouldn't you throw her away by now?"
"Do you think Lucia is like you? Watch your mouth. She is a member of the Hero's party."
"Pfft... That half-breed is in the Hero's party? You're joking, right? Tell me you're joking."
"There is no one named 'half-breed' in this room, Illuen. Call her Lucia. Is it that hard for a grand and noble High Elf to memorize three syllables?"
"..."
"Why? Is it hard to understand because it's coming from a lowly human like me?"
...!!!
I could never forget it. The words she had said to me... The moment she transformed from a sweet, affectionate companion into a demon far more terrifying than the Demon King himself...
The icy tension between the Hero and Illuen broke when he entered the bathroom. Illuen sat on the sofa, her expression grim as she bit her nails.
"Damn it... He remembered... He actually remembered... Damn it..."
Frightened by Illuen's near-manic behavior, Lucia tried to keep as much distance as possible. However, she eventually caught the elf's eye and could only hold her breath, praying the gaze would pass.
"Hey, half-breed. Why don't you stop seducing my Carlos and get lost?"
"..."
"Do you really think a filthy half-breed like you belongs in the Hero's party?"
"..."
"You filthy half-breeds should just live among the lowly humans! Why do you keep mimicking elves and pretending to be one of us?!"
"M-my... my name is..."
"What?"
"My name is Lucia! I am not a filthy half-breed!"
Lucia was well aware of Illuen's status. She was a High Elf—someone even ordinary elves could not look up to, let alone a half-elf, who wouldn't dare speak to her.
If she had done this alone in the Elf Kingdom or even here in the forest, she would have lost her life without anyone ever knowing. But the thought of the Hero being right there gave Lucia a surge of courage she had never imagined possessing.
"Oh? Do you even know who you're talking to?"
"L-Lady Illuen."
"I am Princess Illuen, heir to the throne of the Elf Kingdom. I am not in a position to mingle with lowborn wretches like you."
"..."
"It doesn't look like you can even handle a bow or a sword. Do you really think someone like you belongs in the Hero's party?"
Illuen approached Lucia, poking her shoulder with a finger in blatant contempt. Despite the provocation, Lucia's expression remained unchanged as she endured it.
"You probably think you're actually part of the team just because you offered him your body once, don't you? Wake up. Carlos is nice to anyone who spreads their legs for him."
"I... have never done that."
"Heh... Then do you want to see what happens when Carlos and I sleep together?"
"..."
"Think about it. Even a lowly human like Carlos has eyes. How could a filthy half-breed like you ever compare to a noble High Elf like me?"
Terrified by the thought of being cast aside and replaced by Illuen, Lucia squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, trying to banish the thought.
"As expected... you haven't changed a bit, Illuen."
"Wh-what!!?"
The Hero, whom they assumed would take longer in the bathroom, had returned much sooner than expected. Startled, Illuen flinched and looked toward the doorway, while Lucia looked at him with tearful eyes.
"Let's go, Lucia. She's not even worth talking to."
"..."
Keeping a wary eye on the still-stunned Illuen, Lucia slowly walked toward the doorway. Once she was close enough, Carlos grabbed her hand and led her outside.
"H-Hero!!"
The village chief, who had been waiting outside, repeatedly called out to the Hero as he headed toward the center of the village. Ignoring him completely, Carlos walked straight to the carriage with Lucia and looked for Roman.
"Roman."
"Yes, Hero!"
"We can leave right now, right?"
"Well, the thing is..."
Roman hesitated, not moving toward the carriage despite the command, as if something was wrong with it.
"Hero!!"
Meanwhile, the chief had caught up, panting as he ran from the house.
"W-We have a crisis!"
"A crisis?"
"A f-fire has broken out in the forest leading toward the Fiore Empire! We're completely blocked!"
"What!?"
Hearing the chief's words, I suddenly grew suspicious of the scent of burning wood I had smelled earlier, which I had assumed was just the elves preparing breakfast. The scent was rapidly growing stronger, turning into a pungent, acrid smoke. Only then did I realize the severity of the situation.
"All the elves in the village have rushed over to put it out, but the wind is blowing so hard that it doesn't look easy!"
I knew the elves, who were so cautious about forest fires that they wouldn't even light the carriage lamps, would never have started this fire themselves.
"Carlos, our elves will put it out in no time, so let's go back inside. You should at least have breakfast before you go, right?"
I didn't answer. I simply glared at Illuen, who was walking toward us with a smug smirk, completely unfazed by the disaster unfolding around us.