The Forest Where Spirits Dwell - 02
"So, do you have it in you to become Oberon?"
"I'm a half-elf, though."
"Not every king of the elves throughout history has been a High Elf. By the same token, there's no reason a half-elf couldn't take the throne. Titania knows that, which is probably why she wants you as Oberon."
And as I'd already said, having Sylphy as king would go a long way toward easing the tensions bound to arise with the half-elves. If that was his goal as well, then the path of Oberon wasn't such a terrible option. Of course, he hadn't studied a single thing about becoming king as a half-elf, and he'd had no time to steel himself for it, so he was bound to feel overwhelmed in any number of ways. Even so, it wasn't a bad choice for him.
"Hmm. Then what's the actual difference between a High Elf and a regular elf?"
"Their lifespans are a little longer, and they can materialize mana into a bow."
"That's it?"
"Innate differences have a surprising amount of influence on how people perceive you, Sylphy."
"..."
"I also believe that your becoming Oberon would not be a poor choice, Sylphy."
"Even you, Les..."
For the record, there were four men present. One was me. The second was Sylphy. The third was Les. And last of all, Sebas, Lilith's butler — four of us in all, out here dealing with the surrounding monsters on a patrol that doubled as a hunt for provisions. Truthfully, Livia could have wandered around on her own without any trouble, but this wasn't a matter of strength or weakness. It was a question of roles.
More to the point, she was strolling about as if nothing were wrong, but Livia was currently a one-armed swordswoman with holes through her head and her chest. On top of that, the curse had damaged her mana nerves. For an ordinary person, those would have been the kind of injuries that left you groaning in bed. Watching her wander around so casually in that condition, I had to wonder, frankly — did she even need an Elixir? If we simply left her as she was, wouldn't she still outlive me of natural causes? The thought crossed my mind, but there was no telling when those wounds might rupture in some ugly direction and threaten her life. Better to find an Elixir.
"Public opinion of you is hardly unfavorable, Sylphy. You gave everything you had to save Elvenheim. And more than anything, you drew the Meteor Bow — that alone means you were chosen."
"B-but I'm not cut out to be a king. I don't know anything."
"Titania isn't asking you to take the throne this instant. And even if you do ascend as Oberon, she will give you the support befitting that station."
At the very least, until Titania's lifespan ran out and she closed her eyes for the last time, she would spare no counsel and no aid as the ally and partner of a newly crowned Oberon. He had known how to draw the Meteor Bow. He had received the Protection of the World Tree more strongly than others. And even with every reason in the world to resent Elvenheim in its hour of crisis, he had still moved to save lives. That alone was more than enough to prove he had the makings of a hero, if not a king.
"And from what I hear, Titania seems to consider Lady Lilith as your partner. What do you think of that, Sylphy?"
"What!?"
A violent reaction. He clearly hadn't seen that coming at all.
"What on earth has been going on behind my back?"
"Right now, you're sitting in the eye of the storm, Sylphy."
"Huh? What does that mean?"
"You're the only one at peace, while everything around you is in chaos."
"..."
Sylphy scratched his head.
"I've always been kind of dense about that sort of thing... I've never even been confessed to by a girl, and no girl's ever told me she liked me."
"Sylphy, you need to watch how you phrase that. With a face like yours, it sounds like you're saying you have been confessed to — by men."
"..."
"Ah."
"I didn't ask to be born looking like this!"
"I'm sorry."
"No, it's not your fault, Lois... Why did my genes have to work so hard in the feminine direction? Was my mother's blood that strong?"
As I'd said, anyone who didn't know him would take him for a girl. He had no chest to speak of, but plenty of women were flat-chested, and that slightness actually made clothes sit well on him — it even lent him a certain elegance. Who would look at him and think man? Even in the dark of night, he seemed to shimmer somehow.
"Should we even be talking about this so casually? S-Sebas! You've looked after Lady Lilith for so long — you practically dote on her like a granddaughter, don't you? You wouldn't want her marrying some half-elf of unknown origin like me, would you? And Lady Lilith herself would surely..."
"No. I don't believe Lady Lilith would mind particularly."
"Excuse me?"
"Even if I do think of her as a granddaughter, I am merely a retainer. Frankly, I wish someone would come along and take her off my hands so I can finally retire and rest."
"Ah."
Sebas. Sebas Albarey. Decades ago he had been a knight of some renown, and he had meant to retire with age — only to be seized by Lilith and turned into her butler instead. Even if Lilith was a princess, he had every right to refuse. Why hadn't he? Had he sensed something in that frail yet radiant girl? Had it been a whim? Or had he always intended to retire into that role? That much, I couldn't know.
"Lady Lilith does not seem particularly opposed, so if you have no objection, Sylphy, it would be worth giving the matter some thought. That said, this is still a matter between a man and a woman, and an old man like myself ought not meddle overmuch."
"Urgh..."
"And setting aside the romantic aspect entirely, Lady Lilith is of the Clyfford family — one of the Four Great Noble Families."
"The Four Great Noble Families? I hear that a lot, now that I think about it. Are they different from regular nobles?"
Sylphy knew elven history well enough, but he apparently had little interest in the human side of things. Well, he'd grown up in a half-elf village. He'd never had occasion to meet a noble, and he'd lived a life that never required that kind of knowledge.
"The Four Great Noble Families represent the kingdom. The houses we commonly call 'royalty' are among them."
"Ah, so that's what it was."
"House Clyfford, House Bright, House Courtney, and... House Reynolds. Those are the Four Great Noble Families — the ones called royalty."
"Huh? Is that so?"
Sylphy seemed mildly surprised. I understood at once why.
"Originally it wasn't House Reynolds. It was Livia's family — House Reinhardt — that held a seat among the Four Great Noble Families."
"R-right? The family that's produced the most Heroes... but not anymore?"
"..."
I glanced toward Sebas for a moment. We were about to touch on something that could fairly be called a stain on the kingdom. The look was as good as asking whether that was all right. Sebas nodded and lifted a hand, as if to say it was of no concern.
"Lady Olivia Reinhardt is, without question, an outstanding Hero. Unfortunately, the Hero of two generations past was not so admirable a person."
"Is that so?"
"He abused the authority of the Hero, and was a man of many problems. People were unanimous in calling him the Rogue Hero."
The trouble he caused in those days had been considerable. But he had, in fact, slain the Demon King and restored peace to the world, so no one pressed the matter too hard. After the Demon King's defeat, however, he spent every day drowning in drink and women — and then he laid hands on substances he never should have touched, and fell apart completely. In the end he became wholly addicted, died on the street with no one the wiser, and the official cause of death was listed as a heart attack. It was an end too hollow to call the death of a Hero.
"The Rogue Hero brought House Reinhardt's honor into disgrace, but they remained one of the Four Great Noble Families even so. Until then, Heroes had come from House Reinhardt alone, and that fact had protected them."
"...But then a Hero appeared from somewhere else."
"Yes. That was the previous generation's Hero — Ben Reynolds."
Everyone had been astonished. So Heroes didn't come from House Reinhardt alone? Perhaps House Reynolds carried Reinhardt blood? All sorts of theories had circulated, and every one of them had been wrong. In the end, the conclusion was simply this: a Hero did not necessarily have to come from House Reinhardt.
"And that was the turning point. House Reynolds became one of the Four Great Noble Families, and the falling House Reinhardt was dropped from their ranks."
"The Rogue Hero's influence really was that severe..."
Put like that, it might sound excessive — punishing a house that had slain Demon Kings as Heroes for generations, all because of a single man. But that Rogue Hero had done a great deal. Of course he had saved more people than he'd harmed, but he had made many victims as well. In some cases, he had even killed fellow humans with the Holy Sword. He had run so thoroughly amok that by the time a new Hero appeared from House Reynolds, House Reinhardt's name was already in disgrace. And in that state, they were stripped of the title of the only house that produced Heroes — and their power vanished in an instant.
"Which is why Livia must have had a rather painful life."
Ordinarily, the Four Great Noble Families never changed. The only case I knew of was this one — Reinhardt giving way to Reynolds. It had been that shocking. In practical terms, it was a change of royalty.
"..."
Listening to Livia talk, she would mention things so casually — that she had been beaten, that a single mistake meant going without food. At the worst, she had been beaten black and blue for the crime of dozing off a little. There was no need to spell out what that household had been like. If anything, it was remarkable that Livia had grown into a good person at all — warped though she might be in some respects — under a roof like that.
"At any rate, give it some thought, Sylphy. If your dream is to do something for the half-elves, the path of Oberon isn't a bad one. And as a partner, Lady Lilith is not a poor choice."
"Th-that's, um..."
"Of course, that's the political side of it. When it comes to matters of the heart, the choice is yours."
"...Haa. It feels like a great deal has been moving forward without me knowing a thing."
"That's how the world tends to work."
Spend a little time at ease in the mountains, and the world changes around you. That was the way of things.
"I'm telling you! Just pounce on him already!"
"Huh?"
The voices reached us as we were drawing near the carriage.
"B-but... huh? Lois?"
"..."
"Ah, yeah."
Lilith looked at me and smiled awkwardly.
"Did you hear that?"
"..."
I'd only caught the last line, but that last line was enough for the rest of the conversation to flash through my mind.
"Lois?"
"..."
I looked for a moment at Livia's innocent expression, then muttered,
"I don't think Sylphy is the one I should be worrying about."
"Ah."
The thought of what would happen after we got her an Elixir and she recovered was beginning to frighten me a little. It was a little late to be realizing that, admittedly.