Is Ambiguous Talent a Curse? (2)
Elf society is closed off. A society that values pure blood and fosters an atmosphere of rejecting other races. This was because elves lived longer than other creatures and had formed their own unique culture. …No wonder Luna, a half-elf, was ostracized.
"If you are truly the hero who saved the World Tree Yggdrasil…, it might be possible…."
Luna said, pulling her hat down. She seemed afraid to meet my eyes. A mage with more mana than others and outstanding talent for magic. Luna's low self-esteem stemmed from never receiving proper recognition from the elves. …When I praised her as her tutor in my younger days, her condition had been fine. Probably because of the system, she had forgotten.
"So, how much farther do we have to go? It feels like we've been traveling for almost a week…."
My companions and I followed behind Luna, stepping on leaves.
"…Didn't you say Shade-nim had saved the World Tree before?"
"That's right? When I used the name Gray as a mercenary."
"Then why are you asking Luna for directions?"
Among them, Raybi was walking right beside me, sticking close. …Why the hell was she acting like this? The affinity on the status window remained at 10%. It seemed I shouldn't trust those numbers at face value. Occasionally her breath brushed my nape, or soft touches on my arm made me conscious.
"Because back then the forest was burning, so even an outsider like me could tell the location…."
"Ah, so the situation is different now."
"Right, but can you walk a bit farther away?"
Raybi nodded at my words, and her hair carried a sweet scent, as if she'd applied some fragrant oil. Honestly, the stimulation was too strong. Raybi was the first pickup character, designed to empty the player's wallet.
"…Are you uncomfortable?"
"No, there's Damian and plenty of other companions. Why do you specifically need support from me?"
"Because it's hard to grasp the dense forest path with the crow's vision?"
When I gave her a look, she immediately offered this answer. It was better to receive someone's support in places with tree roots, rocks, and various dangers lurking. …No, if that was the case, why not just use the staff? It didn't make sense why she was clinging to me instead of Damian.
"The staff is uncomfortable. I even considered putting a sword inside it for self-defense before."
"…Do you have the ability to read minds or something?"
"Well, even without reading them, it's obvious what Shade-nim is thinking."
Hehe. Raybi even made that laughing sound while tightening her arm lock further. …The soft flesh kept touching, and even if I gave her a slight glance, she only smiled with her eyes. This was too strange.
"…Don't you need to go to Damian?"
I whispered into Raybi's ear. In the original game, she was the saint paired with Damian. Yet she was sticking to me. Of course, to see the story, it was right to take female characters from Damian…. But Damian here wasn't that bad of a guy.
"Huak."
"……?"
Thud. When I whispered to Raybi, she stopped for about three seconds.
"From next time, when whispering, please make your presence known in advance."
She blurted this out, startled like a cat seeing a cucumber. Breathe, breathe. She said it extremely fast. Had I gotten too close?
"…Why, are you worried about me?"
"No, I thought you guys seemed to like Damian."
Raybi also whispered back in a small voice to my ear. Since she was 182cm tall, she only needed to stand on tiptoes slightly.
"Indeed, that's true."
Raybi answered my question honestly. As she said, Damian's gaze from behind was stinging. Even without looking directly, I could feel the cold sensation on my back. He was probably glaring at me.
"Well, it's my own way of overcoming it."
"Overcoming?"
"If I show myself getting close to Shade-nim like this, the other companions won't let their guard down, right?"
…Is that so? Even though I was arm-linked with Raybi right now,
"We'll look for an opening later."
The surroundings' reaction was strangely quiet. Damian had a dissatisfied expression, but that was inevitable. It was the same in the original game. If I wasn't going to just watch Damian's romance like a cameraman, it couldn't be helped.
"It sounds like you're using me as a test subject."
Then practicing on me? I almost got a little hurt in my feelings,
"It's not to that extent. I'm not such a bad person either."
Phew. Raybi let out a hot sigh into my ear along with a laugh.
…What the hell. I couldn't help but look at her with surprised eyes.
"…Besides, it's not like I'm completely uninterested in Shade-nim."
Raybi chuckled and said something incomprehensible.
"Who knows. It might turn into real feelings later, right?"
Strange. It was a conversation that wouldn't be odd even if affinity exceeded 100%.
"Hahaha! Your face turned bright red!"
Raybi laughed after checking my face with her crow. Her smile was the happiest and most joyful expression I'd ever seen.
How long had we walked through the forest path like that?
"Huff, huff…. It's here."
Luna stopped at the stump of a tree. Her face was exhausted, covered in cold sweat. Normally, Luna was holed up in her room to the point of being teased as the 'Blue Witch,' so it wasn't strange for her to lack stamina like this. …She said she'd exercise hard after I quit being her tutor. Did she forget that too?
"From this tree stump…. If you go around exactly three times, Alvheim will appear…."
Luna was trembling, trying to keep her balance. She clutched her wooden staff tightly, looking terrified like a cat soaked in rain.
"…So, is there a reason we absolutely have to go to the elf forest?"
Calliope raised a question at that sight. Ultimately, it was largely following Damian's opinion as the chosen hero, but
"I understand there was something in the underground of the Holy Kingdom. I also understand we need to get stronger to face the Demon King now…."
As expected from a barbarian who survived the harsh northern environment,
"…But no matter how I think about it, it seems like there's information that only Shade and Damian know secretly."
Calliope seemed to have better intuition than others in this regard. In fact, the fact that she'd followed along quietly until now meant she'd endured a lot. There were such shadows in the underground of the Holy Kingdom, said to have received the blessing of the celestial god, and the cardinal who became a dragon with flowers even after his head was cut off had blocked our path.
"I only know about fighting or strong men…. Still, can't you tell us a little?"
In fact, Calliope's attitude toward me was surprisingly not bad. …Only the young lady of the fallen Laplace family, marked by the emperor, was hostile toward me.
"What if it's information that would get your head cut off if you knew?"
"What?"
"Would you still want to know, Calliope."
I probed Calliope a bit. Cthulhu was an existence where knowing only brought disadvantages. There was no need to tell the truth.
"…It really is something unusual, isn't it?"
Calliope smiled awkwardly. The daughter of the Mercenary King who survived the rugged northern mountains, the last bulwark preventing monsters from crossing into the empire, patted my shoulder.
"This is enough. I know you trust me as a comrade."
Calliope trusts you as a comrade. Affinity increases by 10%.
At that moment, the translucent status window appeared again.
"…You have to tell me everything later, bro."
Along with Calliope's smile, affinity rose.
Calliope's Affinity: -70%
…Does this also have some secret? It was strange for a human with -70% affinity to show such an attitude. Thinking back, she didn't act so recklessly when meeting other characters for the first time either.
"W-well then, let's slowly enter Alvheim. It doesn't seem like anything will happen inside…."
After taking a deep breath for a while, Luna went around the stump three times first. Then, space immediately distorted, and the elves' forest, Alvheim, began to appear.
"Wait, something's strange."
I instantly felt a sense of incongruity. It felt like something important was missing from the scene before my eyes.
"What do you mean something's strange?"
"…There are no guards. No, more than that…."
Elves are a race that excludes other races and values pure blood. Would those guys not post even one sentry at the forest entrance? Moreover,
"…It's been too quiet around here since earlier."
From a little while ago, no sound at all could be heard. In a forest this deep, you should have heard bird chirps or the sound of a valley stream at least once.
"Couldn't it just be quiet?"
"The sound of wind or trees swaying isn't there either? This doesn't make sense."
Even the sound of stepping on fallen leaves from earlier wasn't audible. The forest where elves gathered and the great World Tree should be in the center….
It was too quiet, even for quiet.
"Damian, is this perhaps Edmund?"
"Yes, it probably is."
I immediately told the hero who sees the future the name of the boss from three chapters ago.
One of the Demon King's Four Heavenly Kings. Do-Wang, Edmund Hagenrot. In the original, a painter who contracted with a demon to compensate for his lacking talent. This situation wouldn't make sense if it wasn't him.
…Could it be that he's contacted the Outer God here? Originally, it should have been so alien that you'd notice it was a painting right away. Now, even if it was reality, it wouldn't feel strange at all.
"T-the elves are hanging from the World Tree with ropes around their necks. What the hell is this…?!"
"It's all an illusion, Raybi. There's no need to try to save people with your crow."
"Don't save them? What do you mean by that…?!"
"It's a trap. Your crow will die as soon as it gets close."
Hwa-pyeon-ma-jak. That must be one of Edmund's specialties.
"…We're not in reality right now, but inside a painting."
After saying that, I immediately tapped my mask twice.
Splash! Then almost simultaneously, —the world flipped, and the ground beneath me and the others turned into a bottomless sea.