Elvenheim - 04
Sebas fiddled with his beard, looking thoroughly exasperated, while Lilith appeared positively cheerful.
The fact that her body wasn’t well wasn’t a lie, after all. She had avoided outings as much as possible, and she had never even set foot on a boat, yet here she was now, and it hadn’t been unpleasant at all.
She had always believed that experiences in life were worth trying, no matter the potential for loss.
“Princess Lilith, if His Majesty learns of this, he will not simply overlook it,” Sebas said, voice heavy with concern.
“Hmm… If my terrible imagination is correct, which side do you think would refuse to let it slide? The kingdom has been harboring some dissatisfaction for quite some time now.”
“Your Highness’s words do not sound like those of a princess.”
“Indeed. I have benefited greatly from my status as a noble. Had I been a commoner, I would have died long ago. Being a noble, and even the king’s daughter, has allowed me to survive. I am grateful for that, but that and this are entirely different matters.”
Someone who saved your life now declares you his slave—would you become one?
The person who raised you is grateful, and she loves the kingdom too.
But that was one thing, and this was another.
She must not confuse her duties.
“Haa… I worry that I might end up getting married after all, Sebas.”
“Hmm… Since I won’t become king anyway, why bother with marriage?”
“Isn’t that a noble’s duty?”
“It is… but I have been waiting for a destined encounter.”
“You’ve been daydreaming while reading another romance novel.”
“Sebas, what do you think of me?”
“I treat you like a granddaughter with a big body.”
“Would you really fire me?”
Lilith let out a small sigh.
Fortunately, her recent health had been stable, so she should be fine.
“Sebas, prepare the fastest carriage in the city. We’re heading to Elvenheim right away.”
“A princess of the kingdom heading to Elvenheim without any prior notice could cause international problems,” Sebas replied.
Lilith crossed her arms and spoke.
“If Olivia truly suffered a miserable betrayal, that would be a global issue! Hurry!”
“Understood.”
They had gone as fast as possible, but matching the schedule would likely prove difficult.
Lilith’s actions might not quite align with “actions for the kingdom,” and this was precisely why she believed she was unfit to be king.
Her father and the king, Cromwell, had high regard for her abilities, yet she had always striven not to receive any expectations.
If told to become king, she would have been utterly helpless.
More than anything, since she could not prioritize the kingdom above all, she was clearly not the right person to be king.
“I’ll just give the throne to my worthless brother.”
“Please refrain from calling Prince Felix your worthless brother…”
“Everyone is fooled by Felix’s good-natured face. That guy is full of mischievous demon energy.”
“Only toward me.”
“Am I that easy to read?”
“Probably.”
She would kick him in the face when they returned.
Thinking that, Lilith spoke.
“Good. Let’s head straight to Elvenheim.”
***
“Haa… haa…”
I breathed heavily.
“Livia, are you alright?”
“I’m fine. It’s just a little out of breath…”
Since resolving the incident in Half Village, nearly a month had passed since we set our course for Elvenheim again.
The time to arrive was approaching, and the dense forests surrounding us were already in view. The sharp scent of the woods pricked at the nose, much like the first time I had visited Elvenheim.
But instead, my body condition had been steadily declining.
Even the holy sword could no longer completely suppress my curse of the God of Death; traces of it were leaking out.
At first, I had thought the holy sword would only suppress it, and that things would somehow progress.
Perhaps I would manage to endure until we reached Elvenheim, but the problem was that I could feel my combat power dropping.
Death was clearly approaching.
It was terrifying.
Yes.
Scary.
No matter what, it was scary.
Even looking at it, it was scary.
It's fine.
I calmed myself.
My fear was natural, and I had done nothing wrong.
This was proof that I was Olivia Reinhardt.
I could no longer be the hero before being Olivia, and above all, I had realized that I did not want to live that way.
Lately, I had been thinking about it.
A future where I obtain ordinary happiness instead of being a hero.
Since I liked cooking, I dreamed of opening a restaurant, running it together with Lois, and living an ordinary married life as a couple.
Even if it wasn’t that, I wanted to live humanely in some form.
Throughout my short twenty-two years of life, I had never once been anything but the hero, and there had been no opportunity for Olivia Reinhardt to appear. But now that opportunity had finally come, and I did not want to miss it.
“Are you alright?”
“Eh, yeah?”
“You’re sweating a lot.”
“What? Are you worried?”
“Shouldn’t I be?”
“…Eh, yeah. That’s right.”
I covered my mouth with my hair, trying to hide my embarrassment as I fiddled with my locks.
“You’re always worrying about me.”
“Worrying about someone is only natural.”
“If it were ‘since you’re my woman, I’ll worry about you,’ that would be nice.”
“It’s still a bit vague.”
“This man is really difficult.”
Fortunately, I still had enough energy to tease.
My condition had deteriorated in an instant, but I was still okay.
I could make it to Elvenheim in time, but if I said I hated Elvenheim, there was nothing I could do except lower my head.
I had considered forcibly taking it, or secretly bringing it, but it felt wrong.
“Is Lois and Sylphy doing okay? The forest path is treacherous.”
“I’ve lived in the forest.”
“Elves with elven bloodlines become somewhat stronger in the forest. No problem.”
Ah.
Now that I thought about it, that was true.
Thanks to the Protection of the World Tree, those with elven blood were somewhat stronger in the forest.
From senses to physical ability and stamina, they became stronger, which was why it was said that fighting elves in the forest wasn’t wise, and why Elvenheim had been able to wage war against humans for a long time despite having fewer numbers.
Especially since Elvenheim’s blessing was strong, the forests there didn’t burn in fires.
I didn’t know if that was truly unfortunate or not.
Moreover, the trees regenerated at a considerable speed, so the trees I had chopped down were probably already starting to recover, at least partially.
Since I had chopped down quite a few, complete recovery would be heartless of me to think.
“Titiania will probably realize that we have entered by now.”
“Really?”
“Grandmother… because Titania has a stronger connection to the World Tree than other elves, she can manage the entire forest. That means she already knows at this point. And once we go deeper, it becomes Titania’s attack zone.”
“Attack zone? Can she shoot arrows?”
“No, literally, she can use powers close to divine authority by borrowing the World Tree’s power, though not omnipotence.”
“Hmm.”
“Still, Livia is stronger.”
“Really?”
With my current condition, I had no idea what would happen.
Since my condition was poor, I might be weaker than Titania.
At least in terms of visible distance, but once we entered, if she used her authority to attack me, it would be quite dangerous.
“Lois, I’m feeling tense right now.”
“I see.”
“I’ve always solved things with strength until now, and I thought that wasn’t a bad method, but now that I lack sufficient strength, it’s troublesome.”
“Honestly, I think you don’t need to.”
“Really?”
“Since you saved the world, no one would complain even if you were treated that way. No, precisely, they shouldn’t say anything. Even if you did nothing but eat and sleep from now on, the people of the world wouldn’t criticize you.”
“Even so, that’s a bit…”
“It seems people don’t truly understand what it means to have saved the world. No one guarantees that today like yesterday will continue tomorrow, and people quickly forget those who protected them and don’t even properly appreciate their kindness.”
It was a bit new to hear.
Perhaps Lois was angry that I hadn’t received proper treatment.
When I was picked up by Lois, he had been furious at the fact that I had been betrayed after defeating the Demon King.
Even though he himself had a miserable past.
He knew how to be angry at the misery of others.
You could become a sufficient villain, live however you wanted, but you chose to live well.
Helping people.
Believing in goodwill.
I found that so admirable.
To exaggerate a little, even if I was an ideal person I had envisioned, I was glad there was such a good person in the world I protected.
Not just someone who did good without thinking, but even if their inner thoughts were slightly twisted, if they did good, it would be called good.
For example, a person who does good deeds because they want to meet a woman, as long as they don’t do the good deeds half-heartedly, I would think well of them.
Whether it was black-hearted or whatever, as long as they didn’t do it half-heartedly, it was good.
Unfortunately, most people who do good deeds with black hearts focus on the black heart, and end up doing the good deeds half-heartedly.
“…”
“Why? Is there something worrying you?”
“I expected to encounter an assassin or two while coming here. But it’s been unnaturally quiet.”
“Indeed, it’s quiet.”
Since Alex knew I was alive, I had assumed he would take appropriate action.
One of those actions being sending an assassin to kill me again, or even coming himself, but the fact that nothing happened and it passed so quietly was surprising.
In a way, it was good, but I couldn’t just rejoice because Alex wasn’t a man who prepared nothing.
“…!”
Tak, whoosh!!
Flames roared as an arrow flew by, precisely burning it to ash.
“Thanks.”
I smiled at Lois.
And immediately grabbed the sword at my waist.
It was the one I had received from Half Village.
It wasn’t a particularly good sword, but I thought it was better than nothing, and I had received it thinking it was a consolation prize.
“Elves.”
“They’ve already surrounded us.”
“…”
“…”
“Livia? ……Ah, indeed.”
While I was dazed, Lois was momentarily startled, but he quickly understood upon seeing who I was looking at and nodded.
“Hello, Reyna. ……Long time no see?”
“…”
The archer of the hero party.
The elven princess, daughter of Titania.
Reyna Forest was there.