Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Heart's Eye
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The old elf's name was Heron. While he sat inside the house sipping tea, Yonia left to give her report, and Enoch settled at the table, quietly listening in on Leone and Heron's conversation.
"Estor is still..."
"Yes, still keeping silent. Such a shame."
Leone fell deep into thought at Heron's words. It wasn't just her family tied to House Estor.
Her knights and mages were under its banner too, yet they all seemed holed up in the estate, refusing to emerge. They must have been affected by her father's condition as well...
"Haa... There's nothing to be done about that."
"In another five hundred years or so, you'll figure something out, won't you? It's not a short time, but Lord Kyle won't come to any harm in the meantime."
Five hundred years... Enoch rolled his eyes. He had plenty he wanted to say, but held his tongue for now.
"Let's leave the gloomy talk there. Tell me about yourself instead. It's been centuries since I last saw you—what's with this dour mood?"
"H-Has it really been that long?"
"Heh... How can you have less sense of time than I do? Though I suppose you're at that age..."
"Uncle!"
"Ack, tsk. Time to accept it. Nothing's more pathetic than an old fogey desperately hiding his age."
Leone glared at Heron, but he remained utterly unfazed. He hadn't lived twelve hundred years in vain.
"Anyway, little one. Did Leone take good care of you?"
"Yes."
"Heh heh, so it seems. I was worried it'd be like the child raising the child, but looks like she did a fine job."
"I'm here because of Leone."
"Good lad."
Heron ruffled Enoch's hair. Enoch flinched a bit but didn't pull away. Watching him, the spirits began whispering among themselves.
[Eri, that doesn't look like your dad at all.]
[I-I think so too. Did a monster possess his body...?]
[Definitely. No other explanation for this.]
Polite speech from Enoch. Respectful Enoch. The end of the world. Weren't they all saying the same thing?
As the spirits gravely fretted over the world's future, Leone quietly sank into her own thoughts.
'House Estor still keeping silent means... Mom hasn't come back yet, huh.'
The last she'd heard, her mother was in the Demonic Realm. She must still be tirelessly working to save her mate.
As the Fairy Spirit Queen, nothing bad would likely happen to her... but Leone couldn't help worrying about her mom, who probably hadn't rested properly in centuries, driven by that single-minded goal.
"I'm grateful to her."
"Heh heh, good. You're a fine young one, even if still a child. The others will accept you readily enough."
Accept? Accept what?
Leone blinked, having missed part of the conversation while lost in thought. Enoch, adept at reading expressions, cleared it up for her.
"I'm sparring with the elves."
"...Suddenly?"
What on earth had they talked about while she was distracted?
*
The elf alliance, overflowing with masters. To Enoch, it was no exaggeration to call it a land flowing with milk and honey.
'Spar a hundred rounds, and I might even hit grandmaster.'
Of course not, but he'd gain plenty regardless. Especially since engraving the ring into his left eye.
Steal this technique, that one—mix 'em roughly, and something decent should come out. With a thief's mindset, Enoch strolled the streets brimming with anticipation.
"Kid! Have one of these!"
"Oh, thanks."
Wandering aimlessly, his hands soon filled with snacks from passing elves. Cheeks puffed out, Enoch looked around with a satisfied grin.
'What do they mean it’s like human cities?'
Yonia had said everywhere people lived was much the same, but not to Enoch. The streetscapes were utterly different.
Towering trees naturally rooted in the city center. Elves lived in some, with houses occasionally built atop branches.
There were buildings, sure, but not like human cities. More like the forest seamlessly blended with everything?
Structures nestled between trees—not so much built in the woods as the woods themselves part of the city.
Somehow, the trees had yielded paths and spaces at the elves' will, a sight that naturally drew awe.
'TIME to head back.'
He'd only said he'd take a quick look around, so Leone was probably waiting. As Enoch turned to go, something odd caught his eye.
"Hm?"
Faint lines. Puzzled, he opened his left eye.
Countless lines etched the world. Harmonious lines of elves in tune with nature. And a few discordant ones.
Following them led to a cluster deep in the forest.
Kiiing—!
The ring in his left eye spun, absorbing vast information. Those lines—probably tied to a dungeon...
-Lately, monsters have been popping up everywhere. We were all worried something might've happened to Yonia.
Akein's words resurfaced. Could this be linked to the monster surge?
Enoch tapped the sword at his waist and headed home.
*
"A dungeon?"
Leone blinked. She hadn't sensed a thing.
Enoch's detection was impressive for his level, but nothing compared to hers. Still, it wasn't something to dismiss. Not when it came from Enoch.
"Hm... Sun's about to set, though..."
Peering out the window, Leone bundled into her outer coat.
So what if the sun set? She'd worry sending Enoch alone, but they could just go together.
"Shall we check it out?"
Knock knock—right on cue, Yonia's presence appeared outside, along with another.
Opening the door revealed Yonia and an elf woman who resembled her.
"I heard you helped Yonia out."
"Ah, you must be..."
"Yoanne Clemford."
Yonia's mother bowed slightly. After a brief chat with Leone, Yoanne spotted Enoch and smiled brightly.
"You kept my daughter company? Thank you."
"Yeah. But Yonia's still weak, so she shouldn't be wandering outside alone."
"Outside?"
"She got caught by elf hunters, right?"
Yonia flinched, trembling. Betrayed...! Yoanne's expression hardened like rusted gears as she slowly turned her head.
"...Yonia? What's this I hear? I don't recall anything like that."
"M-Mom. It's..."
Yonia's eyes darted wildly. After shooting Enoch a resentful glare, she forced a grin.
"I wasn't trying to hide it or anything~"
"...Come with me. Now."
Yoanne bowed once more, then grabbed Yonia by the ear and dragged her off.
"...She wanted to tag along with Yonia."
Leone muttered in exasperation. She'd been wary at first, but after a few days together, they seemed close.
Enoch tugged at Leone's sleeve.
"It's a date, Leone."
"Hm? Heh heh, so it is."
Beaming at the word "date," Leone gripped Enoch's hand tightly.
"Want to take a stroll and look around?"
"Yeah."
*
Hand in hand with Leone, Enoch walked through the forest. Following the lines lit by his activated left eye, Leone remarked in wonder.
"I don't sense a thing."
"Yeah? Then maybe my eye's busted?"
"Who knows? But I doubt it..."
Staring intently at Enoch's left eye, Leone's gaze softened as she gently stroked near it.
"Did it hurt a lot?"
"Not really."
"Liar."
Her hand moved to press his cheeks firmly. After kneading the soft flesh for a moment, she let out a soft sigh.
"Just in case—don't do anything dangerous, okay? If you get hurt alone, what am I supposed to do?"
"...Yeah."
Caught off guard by his own guilt, Enoch slipped from her touch and quickened his pace. Pulling her along, she followed with a poke and a chuckle.
"Come on, together."
"Yeah."
Slowing again, Leone walked beside him, gazing up at his face. Meeting her eyes, she leaned in slightly.
"When did you get so big? You're way taller than your big sis now."
"Not yet."
"Hm?"
"Someday, I'll protect you, Leone."
"Heh heh, really?"
"Yeah. No idea how long it'll take, though."
"If it's you, Enoch, it won't be long."
I hope so. Enoch shook his head lightly.
*
Arriving where the lines converged, Enoch tilted his head.
"This is the spot."
Lines clearly clustered in the air above, yet he sensed nothing. Visible only to the eye.
But unlike him, Leone's eyes widened—she was sensing something.
"Enoch, you felt this?"
"Nah, not felt. Just saw it."
"Good heavens."
Leone gaped in stunned admiration. Quick-witted Undine poked her head out from hiding.
[That eye of his—looks like some kind of heart's eye lineage?]
"...Impossible. That's..."
[What else explains you only sensing it now when he picked it up earlier?]
Even so, it didn't add up. Heart's eye was...
Leone pondered, then tilted her head.
'Or maybe not?'
With Enoch, it kinda made sense? Our boy's pretty amazing, after all!