The Crimson Sea
Lucia's hometown was said to be a seaside village not far from the Elf Kingdom.
Her human father had passed away first due to his natural lifespan, leaving her to live there with her elven mother.
Because the other elven forests refused to accept half-elves, her mother and the young Lucia had lived as wanderers.
They were finally able to settle down when a half-elf village was established as part of the Elven Queen's new policies.
Though her mother was her only family,
unlike the other forests that discriminated against half-elves, this village had been built for the coexistence of elves and half-elves. As a result, everyone in the village was as close as family.
"Mom! Mom! I caught a fish in the sea!"
Since the village was closer to the sea than the forest, most of the residents lived on fish and seaweed. Lucia, too, had been very fond of fish dishes when she was young.
"Did my little Lucia catch this?"
"Yes!"
"Then Mom will have to make a delicious fish dish for dinner tonight, won't she?"
"Really?! You'll eat with me, right, Mom?"
"Of course. Since my Lucia caught it, Mom has to taste it."
Although Lucia's mother was a forest elf who preferred fruits and vegetables over fish, she would always sit down and eat with Lucia whenever the girl brought home a catch.
Perhaps it was because she grew up in that seaside village, but while Lucia had initially only summoned Sylph, the spirit of wind, under her mother's influence, she eventually became able to summon water spirits as well. The village had even thrown a feast, praising her as a prodigy.
"Mom, what is the forest like? Is the tree called the World Tree really that big?"
"Yes, it is."
"How big? Twice as big as me? Three times?"
"No, maybe a hundred times bigger."
"Whoa! Really?"
From a young age, Lucia had listened to stories about the Elf Kingdom where her mother used to live. She especially loved the tales of the giant World Tree, something she could never see in their seaside village. Whenever her mother finished telling her about the elven forests, she would always sit in silence, her face filled with longing.
Then, one day...
It happened when she returned home after spending the day swimming, splashing around with her friends at the beach, and catching fish, just like any other day.
"Mom..."
The moment young Lucia stepped inside, the first thing she saw was armored elven knights holding drawn swords. On the floor beneath them lay her mother, bleeding and collapsed.
And...
"Lu... Lu... Lucia... R-run... away..."
Those were the last words she heard from her mother—her final will.
"Leave none alive! Kill them all!"
At the sound of a woman's voice shouting from outside, Lucia bolted from the house in a panic and dove into the sea, which had always been her playground. The knights pursued her with bared swords, but they could not catch up to Lucia, who swam away with practiced ease.
Lucia managed to escape with her life, but when she swam far enough and looked back at the village... she saw houses burning everywhere. The half-elves who had belatedly jumped into the sea to escape were being shot down by the waiting elven archers.
"Mom..."
The half-elf village, which the Elven Queen had so boldly established, vanished in the flames. The sea was dyed red with the blood of the villagers who had been like family to her, and the stench of blood reached all the way to where Lucia was hiding.
Afterward, the elven knights combed the surrounding area and even the sea, searching high and low to capture Lucia, the sole surviving half-elf. Unable to return to land, she was forced to wander the open waters, fleeing in desperation.
"Mom... I can't go any further..."
After swimming for two days straight to escape, Lucia's strength finally gave out. Unable to take another stroke, she gave up on everything, prepared to meet her end in the very sea that still carried the scent of her people's blood.
"Mom..."
Her limp, exhausted body sank into the depths as if the ocean itself were pulling her down. When she finally opened her eyes, she was in the spirit realm, the home of Elraim.
Having finally shared the painful story she had kept bottled up inside for so long, Lucia buried herself in my chest and began to weep uncontrollably.
"Hic... *sob*... I dreamed of Mom this morning... and I missed her so much... I couldn't help it... *sob*..."
Lucia, who was usually so shy and always wore a bright smile, was crying so hard that her face was a messy blur of tears. I worried that her loud wails might draw attention, especially when she cried out for her mother, but the dwarves were drinking and shouting so boisterously that no one came over.
"Lucia, I can't fill the void left in your heart, but if just having me by your side helps, you can cry as much as you want."
"Waaaaah!"
The moment the words left my mouth, she wailed even louder, making me wonder if I should have kept quiet. But today, I wanted to hold her close, no matter how hard she cried, even if her tears shook the very foundations of this mine.
"How are you feeling, Lucia?"
Just as the dwarves had spent hours eating and shouting, Lucia had spent hours crying. Now, she was merely sniffing, her tears finally running dry. She was no longer wailing or weeping.
"I'm sorry, Hero."
"Don't be. I should be the one apologizing... I had no idea you went through something like that. I should have comforted you sooner."
"No, it's not that. I didn't want to burden anyone else with my sadness."
"Why not?"
"It's enough for me to hurt. I didn't want the person comforting me to feel that pain too."
Even in the depths of her sorrow, Lucia was thinking of others. Seeing her like this only made my heart ache more for her.
"So you lived in the spirit realm after that?"
"Yes. Elraim raised me until I became an adult."
"I see..."
"And on the day I left the spirit realm... Elraim gave me a gift..."
"And that was the contract with the Spirit King."
"Yes."
Now, I finally understood how Lucia was able to summon a Spirit King.
Although I had never met anyone else like her, historical records occasionally mentioned humans or elves who had visited the spirit realm.
And those records always noted that they had formed contracts with Spirit Kings upon their departure.
I had dismissed those stories as mere fairy tales meant to entertain, never imagining that the person standing right in front of me was living proof of them.
"Lucia, would you like a drink?"
"Alcohol?"
"Yeah. When you're hurting or sad, a drink can make you feel a bit better."
"But I don't really drink..."
"It's fine. Last time, you gave me lavender tea. Today, let me teach you how to drink."
"Hero..."
I gently took Lucia's hand—her eyes still red from crying—and led her toward the dwarves. Unlike before, when she had clung to me in tears, she followed me with a soft smile.
"Hey! Hero! What took you so long? The booze is almost gone!"
Barin bellowed as he saw me finally returning. Instead of joining him, I spent the rest of the night sitting by Lucia's side, sharing a beer.
Fortunately, Lucia shed no more tears the next day. Perhaps she hadn't had that dream again, as she was already preparing breakfast with a bright smile.
"Whew... She cried so much yesterday, but she looks much better today."
"Huh?"
As we walked toward the mine, Clara fell into step beside me at the back of the group and let out a sigh.
"Did you hear everything yesterday?"
"Of course. Not just me, but all the dwarves there heard it too."
Lucia's crying had been loud, but I thought the dwarves' boisterous drinking would have drowned it out.
"The mood got a bit heavy when she started crying, and everyone was worried... so I asked the dwarves to make even more noise to drown out her sobs."
"Ah..."
No wonder... I had thought her crying was loud enough to be heard, but the dwarves had been unusually rowdy. I had no idea they had done that on purpose.
"Still, I'm glad. She has a bright smile on her face today."
"Yeah."
"Did she tell you everything, Hero?"
"Yes."
"That's good. Just having someone listen can be a great comfort for painful memories."
Clara didn't say anything more about Lucia after that. Normally, one might ask what had happened, but Clara either wasn't curious or wanted to pretend she didn't know for Lucia's sake. I couldn't tell what she was thinking.
"If we go a little further, the dragon will appear."
After walking through the mine for about thirty minutes, Barin pointed toward a passage where a light much brighter than our current path was leaking through.
Although I couldn't hear the dragon's breathing or see its form yet, the violent fluctuations of mana in the air made the hairs on my arms stand on end.
"Shh!"
Barin, who was leading the way, signaled us to be quiet by pressing a finger to his lips, as if he had spotted something. We matched his pace, stepping as softly as cats as we approached the end of the tunnel.
The dragon's voice reverberated through my eardrums and straight into my heart. The movement of the surrounding mana alone was enough to make its words clear.