Reunion at Elvenheim
"So this is Elvenheim."
"Princess Lilith, I've turned this over every which way, and I still don't believe this is wise."
"Why not?"
"If you were an ordinary traveler, perhaps it wouldn't matter. But for a princess of a nation to enter Elvenheim without so much as a word of permission—that could cause problems of every kind."
"I already told you. If what I know turns out to be the truth, this is a trivial matter. Anyway, let's go. Ugh—though this wooden path is rough in more ways than one."
It had started as an ordinary road. Somewhere along the way, without quite noticing when, they had found themselves walking a path that seemed woven from living branches.
Lilith, to be honest, was not particularly athletic. It wasn't an excuse. From childhood she had been too frail for much of a life outdoors, and that included exercise. The training she had done was never for the sake of getting stronger—it was the kind of movement you did simply to stay alive. Food, clothing, and shelter had never been a concern, so she had at least been able to exercise in relative comfort.
Even so, she was frailer than most, and a mountain path like this was nothing short of hell. And this was no ordinary mountain trail. It was a wooden walkway that felt treacherous underfoot.
"Please be careful. If you fall, it would be truly dangerous."
"Wait—elves just walk paths like this as if it's nothing? Wh-what if someone falls...?"
"Elves almost never fall from the trees."
"Th-they don't have much consideration for outsiders, do they..."
"Elvenheim is a closed nation. Anyone who makes it this far is expected to already know what they're doing."
Lilith had underestimated it. The drop was higher, more dizzying, than anything she had imagined. If she fell, a frail person like her might die.
No. She would die.
"There's a high chance that the Hero, Olivia Reinhardt, is here in Elvenheim. And even if she isn't, we can still gather information. One way or another, I have to find her and prove whether Alex is a piece of trash who abandoned every last scrap of ethics—or not."
Lilith had never liked Alex. He had always been busy showing off, and something ugly—some dark, restless hunger—had always seemed to flicker in his eyes. Even so, he had worked himself to the bone for the kingdom day after day, and she had told herself that however little she cared for him personally, he was talent the kingdom needed.
But if he had truly betrayed Olivia, that was not something that could be overlooked.
"Hah... this old man is finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with you, Princess."
"You used to be quite the dashing knight, Sebas."
"That was several decades ago. You really are a handful. Frail of body since childhood, and a tomboy on top of it."
"Sh-shut up! Children are supposed to be like that... Wait—"
"Princess Lilith!"
She slipped.
Ah.
She had let her mind wander in a place where even an ordinary person could get themselves killed by a moment's carelessness. The instant her foot went out from under her, she heard the rush of wind.
Then a catch—someone seized her, and they landed safely on solid ground.
"Whew. That was close... Are you all right?"
"..."
Who was this woman?
She was beautiful. Elves were known for their beauty as a rule, but Lilith still found herself startled. This woman was more beautiful than any elf she had ever seen.
No—her ears were shorter than an elf's.
In other words, she was a half-elf.
And to be rescued at the moment of crisis, no less. It was the sort of scene that might have leapt from one of the romance novels Lilith so adored—except, unfortunately, the one who had saved her was a woman. Being saved so gallantly, woman or not, sent a faint flutter through her chest. Unfortunately, that was not where Lilith's preferences lay.
"Ah."
She had been so lost in her daydream that she had forgotten to offer a proper thank-you.
"I'm Lilith. Lilith Cliphort. Thank you for saving me."
"Cliphort, you said?"
The half-elf was surprised. That much was only natural. But something else stirred in her eyes as well—a faint, sudden wariness.
Cliphort was the surname of Cromwell, the kingdom's reigning king, and everyone knew that Lilith was his daughter.
"Ah, no—you said Lilith, didn't you? Forgive me... I heard the name Cliphort and, for a moment, I..."
The name Cliphort had put her on guard. Hearing the name Lilith had taken that guard down again.
That, Lilith thought, was something she could be reasonably sure of.
"Princess Lilith! Are you unharmed?!"
"I'm fine, Sebas... This dashing half-elf lady saved me."
"Good heavens... I don't even know how to begin thanking you..."
"It's all right. I'm just glad you're safe. Please, follow me."
"Pardon? But to reach Elvenheim, we'd need to..."
"That path is for outsiders. There's another way."
I see.
No—wait.
Come to think of it, why was a half-elf here at all? That Elvenheim did not accept half-elves was a famous fact, and even Lilith knew it. Was she being deceived right now? Had she just walked straight into some villain's net?
"Watch your step. If you catch your foot on a root, you'll fall."
Fine. I'll just let myself be fooled.
Look at that face. How could a face like that belong to a villain? Lilith had always been confident in her own looks, but standing next to this half-elf, she felt almost plain. At least I have a better figure, she thought, and immediately felt foolish for thinking it.
"Come to think of it, I never got your name."
"It's Sylphy."
"Sylphy. What a beautiful name."
"Is it?"
"Ah, Lady Sylphy... I am well aware that it is terribly rude of me, Sebas, to pose such a question to the one who saved Princess Lilith, but... might I ask something?"
"Of course."
At Sylphy's assent, Sebas spoke.
"How is it that a half-elf came to be in Elvenheim...?"
"That's a fair question. Why am I here, I wonder... An adventure I stumbled into by accident led me all the way here."
"I see..."
It was a rather romantic answer. Lilith nodded, freely deciding that a great many things must have happened along the way.
"And... I can't help but notice what look like traces of battle..."
"Monsters did attack, actually. And not just one or two—a whole pack of them."
"What?"
"......!"
This time Lilith's eyes went wide as well.
The Demon King was dead. That should have meant the monsters had already weakened, and that something as large as an invasion would not ordinarily occur. And yet they had attacked Elvenheim?
As she thought. Something was wrong.
Olivia had done it, so the Demon King was certainly dead—but after that death, the world itself seemed to have changed in some strange way. Lilith did not know what that change was. She was certain, however, that it would not be anything good for humanity.
"Um, this might sound strange, but... has a stunningly beautiful person with white hair come through here?"
"Just say the Hero. That's the more common way to put it."
"Sebas, you have no sense of romance."
"Hah..."
"Haha. If you mean Lady Olivia, then yes, she's here."
"She is?!"
She was alive after all.
Lilith felt the strength go out of her legs all at once. Sebas caught her and held her up as she drew a ragged breath and looked at Sylphy.
"O-Olivia... where is she now...?"
"She should be here any moment."
"Sylphy~ I told you not to run off on your own. Unlike you, we can't pinpoint someone's location in the forest that accurately, you know? I just trusted my gut and came running."
"To find us with nothing but that instinct of yours... as expected of Livia."
"Right? You're falling for me all over again, aren't you?"
"'All over again' would imply you'd already fallen for me once, wouldn't it?"
"This man is seriously difficult...!"
A man and a woman came walking toward them, talking with the easy rhythm of people who had grown thoroughly used to each other—as if they had been close for a long time.
Olivia's appearance was wrecked. A bandage covered one eye. Her complexion was poor. And more than anything else, one of her arms was gone. Bandages showed through the gaps in her cloak as well, and Lilith could tell at a glance that the injuries beneath were far more serious than what showed on the surface.
"O-Olivia..."
"Lilith?"
"You're alive. I knew it... I believed it... There was no way you could be dead..."
She forgot her honorifics entirely. The words came out in a trembling voice. Olivia smiled, a little awkwardly, and came toward her.
"It's been a while. What brings you here?"
"Your arm is gone... What is this... It was that bastard Alex, wasn't it? Wasn't it? What happened? I'm so curious I could go insane—I want to beat Alex to a pulp right now!"
"Well, Alex isn't exactly weak, so I don't think you'd be able to beat him to a pulp."
When it came to matters of combat, she answered without the slightest change in tone.
"A lot happened. Yeah... a whole lot of things happened. Far too much to summarize in a few words."
"I see... Still, I'm just glad you're safe."
"Thanks for worrying about me."
"..."
Lilith froze solid.
"O-Olivia is thanking me! Sebas!"
"I can see that... Well. It is rather surprising."
"What on earth actually happened to you...?! Olivia!"
"If a simple thank-you is enough to shock you, just what kind of life has Lady Olivia been living..."
Olivia gave an awkward laugh at Sylphy's words and turned her head away. A moment later she turned back and looked at Sylphy again.
"Okay, fine! I was a little dense, I had no sense of shame, and I had a pretty serious case of doing whatever the hell I wanted!"
"You don't have to confess it all in such agony! I'm the one who misspoke!"
Olivia has changed so much.
The old sharpness was gone. The Olivia Lilith remembered had been something closer to a blade—honed for the single purpose of cutting down the Demon King. The woman standing in front of her now looked like an ordinary person, one who expressed joy and anger and sorrow and pleasure like anyone else.
"Ahem."
The man who had arrived with Olivia cleared his throat, perhaps intending to draw their attention.
Huh. Somewhere, I feel like I've...
Seen him, or maybe not.
"This isn't the best place to talk. Shall we head inside for now?"
"Yeah."
"O-Olivia... who is this?"
"Hm? This is Lois. The man I was stupid enough to banish when I was still in the Hero's party."
"Ah, the one Felix recommended... But why is he here?"
A natural question. Olivia smiled.
"He saved me. That's why we're together."
"He did? He saved you?"
"Yeah. Doesn't it feel incredibly like fate? The place I was dying just happened to be near where Lois lived... This would be right at home in one of those romance novels you love, wouldn't it?"
It would. And yet something about it also felt slightly off.
"So he's the one who saved your life, then?"
"That's just a bonus at this point. Once everything is over, my goal is to live a peaceful life with Lois."
"..."
She said it so plainly that Lilith went a little blank.
"Uh, so... you like that man?"
"Yeah."
She said it as if Lilith had asked something perfectly obvious. Lilith felt a faint wave of dizziness.
"Could you be a little embarrassed? Everyone else is standing right here listening."
"Ah, it's all right."
Sylphy smiled, a little awkwardly.
"Anyone who watched for even a moment would know... Yes. Even a child would know..."
At that, Lilith looked at Olivia and frowned.
"Olivia. Don't tell me you just charged in like you were hunting a monster, went around saying you liked him, and threw yourself at him."
"It wasn't that bad."
"R-right?"
"About eighty percent of that is pretty close, though."
"Then that means I was right!"
"There's a whole twenty percent that's different, though?"
A headache crashed over Lilith all at once.
Olivia had certainly changed. She had become more human, and she seemed to carry herself with an ease she had never possessed before.
And yet.
Olivia was still Olivia.