The Elf's Frenemy
“E-Enoch…!!”
Rionne screamed. The moment Enoch tried to shatter the glass orb, Undine had launched an attack in a panic. Rionne nearly shot up from her seat but barely stopped herself. The situation was already over; rushing out now would only harm Enoch. If he started thinking that Rionne was always watching over him, it would be a disaster.
“Ugh…”
Meanwhile, Enoch, who had been sent flying, barely managed to push himself up. He had clung to his fading consciousness with sheer willpower.
“You…”
Undine yelled, completely ignoring Enoch’s murderous glare.
“It’s an egg.”
“A spirit?”
Undine was stunned.
Enoch irritably scratched at his ear. So noisy.
“Still… I thought I heard Rionne’s voice just now…”
Was it his imagination? As Enoch glanced around, Undine’s eyes quivered.
Crack—
The sound came again. The moment the egg showed signs of hatching, Undine smacked Enoch’s back repeatedly.
“……”
Should he just hit her for real? After a moment of serious consideration, Enoch let out a sigh that seemed to drag the ground up with it and took heavy steps forward. He could already picture the future where any attack he made would be returned to him in full.
“Mmm.”
The egg cracked. Translucent, glass-like fragments fell away, and the twitching orb quickly fell still again.
Couldn’t he just break it? Enoch raised his hand, only to receive a sharp smack on his back.
Swallowing his boiling frustration, he waited. Then—crack!—the egg shook violently once more. Something suddenly poked out.
“A nose?”
It was the snout of a beast. A faintly translucent one. He waited, blinking, until the life trapped inside finally broke free of its shell completely.
Yip?
A fox with the eggshell perched on its head like a hat. The fox shook its head vigorously, flinging the shell away, then looked at Enoch and barked happily.
Yip!
Undine stomped her feet in excitement.
As usual, Enoch ignored her and grabbed the fox by the scruff of its neck.
Undine fussed, but she only used words—probably because she was worried the spirit in his hand might get hurt. In that case, he could safely ignore her. Enoch stared intently at the fox, and the fox stared right back.
Its eyes were beautiful, like blue crystals had been set into them. Its fur was white yet mysteriously translucent, and because its body was semi-transparent, you could faintly see through to what was behind it. Anyone with working eyes could tell this was a spirit.
Yip?
When Enoch kept staring, the fox tilted its head and let out a small cry. Enoch indifferently opened his hand.
Kyaa!?
Undine darted over and caught the fox before it could hit the ground.
Fortunately, she didn’t hit him.
Enoch, who couldn’t care less whether it was a spirit or a fox and simply wanted to go home, trudged out of the dungeon. What kind of fox was that, anyway? How could something like this possibly help him advance his realm?
Enoch carefully set the fox on top of his head. Walking through the forest beside Undine, who was sighing in disbelief, he asked,
“You’re saying this helps?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
Undine grumbled but still explained. She probably figured that if she didn’t, the crazy psycho elf-obsessed Heavenly Slaughter Star might just toss the poor spirit onto the ground.
When a spirit and a contractor formed a bond, a pathway was created between them. Through that path, they could exchange mana and spirit energy, share thoughts, and do many other things within the limits of their power.
Not a contract, but a far closer relationship. Normally it would be the ultimate form of spirit contract—something only achieved after countless exchanges that deepened their bond—but this arrogant, elf-loving Heavenly Slaughter Star had simply taken it for free.
“That doesn’t explain how it raises my realm—”
“……”
Quite literally becoming one with the spirit and wielding its power.
Anyway, it was unconditionally good, so she told him to take care of it.
Enoch nodded vaguely and thought, Spirit fusion… I bet Rionne could do that too.
Rionne fused with a spirit. He wanted to see it.
Enoch barely made it home, squeezing out every last drop of strength he possessed. If Undine hadn’t secretly healed his body along the way, he would have collapsed and fainted halfway there.
“Enoch!”
Rionne came running and wrapped him in a tight embrace. Even though the soft pressure made his body scream in protest, he didn’t mind. Enoch lifted his heavy eyelids while steadying his exhausted frame.
“Rionne.”
“Yes?”
“Breakthrough complete.”
Enoch’s small hand formed a V sign. Rionne stared at it for a moment before letting out a soft laugh.
“Good job.”
She lifted him effortlessly and carried him toward the bathroom.
“Was it hard?”
“Mm… a little.”
“You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”
“No. I didn’t get hit once.”
“Oh, my brave boy.”
Rionne quickly stripped Enoch of his clothes and carelessly tossed aside her own. The bathtub was already full of warm water. With a gentle splash, Rionne lowered herself into it while still holding him.
“Haa… Now we can rest properly. We probably don’t have to do anything for a few days.”
“Mm…”
“You don’t want to?”
Enoch couldn’t answer right away. Spending several days glued to Rionne sounded nice. Training another day to raise his realm also sounded nice…
“Enoch?”
Rionne’s hands squished both of his cheeks. With his lips pushed out in a pout, Enoch finally gave in to temptation.
“…Yeah. Let’s rest.”
Thinking about it again, ignoring the reward right in front of him would be stupid.
In the heart of Labellion’s royal castle, inside the audience chamber.
The king let out a low groan as he listened to the intelligence department’s report.
“So the Sword Queen has taken a disciple…”
Anyone with even a little knowledge knew that the Sword Queen was living in seclusion. They also knew that the forest she resided in was near the Kingdom of Labellion. Naturally, Labellion could not afford to ignore her.
After all, she was that Rionne Estor.
An elven swordswoman who commanded spirits and magic, cutting down everything before her with a single slender blade. Even Undine, who traveled with her, carried the nickname “Tyrant,” showing just how formidable her presence was.
For someone of such power, a title naturally followed. People revered her achievements and strength, singing her praises in unison. The name they gave her was the Thousand-Year Sword Queen.
It signified not only her long life but, more importantly, the honorable title that her fame would not diminish for a thousand years.
However, uttering the name “Thousand-Year Sword Queen” in front of her was not a wise choice. She did not seem to like the title very much.
I am not yet at that level.
She had only left behind those humble words. For a powerhouse who had reached such heights, her modesty was remarkable.
At least, that was what the king thought. How could he know that even an elf would start becoming sensitive about her age around this time?
“What did the disciple look like?”
At the king’s question, the intelligence officer poured out everything they had gathered: magic, lightning that appeared to be an authority, fist techniques, apparent young age yet already at the Expert realm, relationship with the Sword Queen, her statements, and more.
“Touch the disciple and it’s war. Their bond must be quite deep.”
“What shall we do?”
“What do you mean, what shall we do? If she says not to touch, then we don’t touch.”
The younger generation seemed unaware, but before the Sword Queen, most kingdoms couldn’t even raise their heads. It wasn’t enough to warrant the Emperor’s personal attention, but that was true for most figures across the continent anyway.
“Well, it is unusual that the Sword Queen’s disciple doesn’t use a sword… but that’s about it. Submit periodic reports on this matter.”
The kingdom’s consistent stance was clear: never touch the disciple. If anything, if the disciple appeared to be in danger, they should protect them at the national level.
“The Estor family won’t be pleased… but it can’t be helped.”
Even if they protected her disciple, the Estor family wouldn’t invade, but if anything happened to the disciple, the Sword Queen would personally come to take the king’s head.
The king let out a long sigh. One more headache to deal with.
After the meal, when Enoch’s eyes were half-glazed, Undine asked.
“…?”
Enoch only tilted his head. He didn’t think he’d forgotten anything. The fox was sleeping soundly on his head. What else was there?
At his blank stare, Undine clicked her tongue and pulled something out.
It was a green-glowing ore. The abnormally hard one among all the golems in the cavern. The very ore that had formed its body.
“?”
“Ah.”
Enoch still looked clueless, but Rionne noticed immediately. She had been so focused on Enoch that she had completely forgotten about it.
“In that case…”
They would have to go see that woman. Normally she would never consider it, but if it was for Enoch…
“Sigh.”
It looked like she would have to visit her old frenemy after all.