Mysterious Ally?
My body was floating in midair.
Black hair whipping wildly, Elys Midrian plummeted toward me.
I kept my eyes fixed on her, unwavering.
My hand reached out.
“....!”
At the last instant our gazes locked.
Her pupils dilated wide.
Her face was twisted in shock, as though she had never anticipated anything like this. The exhaustion that had weighed on me vanished in an instant.
Yes… Don’t cry. At least make that expression.
With a grin I snatched Elys from the sky.
“You…!”
“Allow me to take a moment.”
The urge to tease her burned like a mountain, but there was no room for idle banter now. We were still falling.
I activated Nature Realm to gauge the distance to the ground and to us.
Roughly seven or eight meters.
Considering how long it would take to shape Tao Power strong enough to hold our combined weight… now!
I formed the softest possible cushion of Tao Power above us.
The calculation was flawless.
“Grrrk…”
Just before we slammed into the ground and headed straight to the underworld in a friendly manner, an invisible intangible cushion caught our bodies.
Fortunately, the only sensation was a dull ache in the chest. Neither of us seemed to have suffered serious injury.
I let out a sigh of relief. Elys, who had sat on top of me with a trembling gaze fixed on the ground, spoke.
“Hehe, that was quite a ten-year wait. Did you hurt yourself anywhere?”
“.... I never asked you to save me.”
Her trembling pupils gradually steadied. Elys looked down at me and slowly opened her mouth.
Her lips were half-bitten, her expression unsettled.
“Hehe, you’re still giving me that cold answer. At least your head isn’t injured, right?”
“Why did you save me?”
Elys ignored my joke and looked up at me, asking.
Her eyes were still hollow.
“Huh? Because a person was about to die. I had to save them…?”
“Don’t bullshit.”
My pretty words were cut off sharply.
“You know nothing. What kind of being I am. What thoughts I hold… Nothing at all.”
Her eyes flashed as she glared at me like she wanted to devour me.
“I’ll tell you one thing. I’m a bad person. A dog of a bad person. I was born evil from the moment I entered this world. Everyone… Everyone will think so. If I confess my identity to someone, they’ll cut ties with me a hundred times over. There might even be people who want me dead.”
Her hand grabbed my collar.
“I’ll ask again. Now that you know what kind of being I am, do you regret saving me? If you went back one minute, could you have still thrown yourself to save me?”
Elys’s quiet shout hinted at her demon heritage.
But my answer had been decided long ago.
“Of course. No matter how many times I go back to the past, I will save Lady Elys.”
“.... Why?”
Emotion seeped into Elys’s hollow eyes.
Curiosity and fear.
“Anyone in this world… Even if they’re a saint or a villain, wouldn’t they climb a building and jump just to save someone they’ve met once? Let alone risking their life.”
“......”
“What on earth is it that makes you move like this? I can’t understand.”
“Hmm, I suppose I’ve never thought about it.”
The motivation that drove me.
The reason I saved the half-demon Elys.
The source.
“It’s nothing special. I just wanted to save her. That was enough to move me.”
“... So what I said was true? I’m not some fragile girl who knows nothing. There are plenty of people in this world who want me dead right now. I’m a bad existence. What do you want from me?”
A voice trembling with disbelief, yet soon her pupils widened.
“So? Even if the world calls Lady Elys evil, what does that matter to me? If they think that, do I have to think the same way?”
This wasn’t sarcasm. It was pure sincerity.
I despised this simple yet cruel way of thinking that spread through Grand Fantasia—judging others by their species.
Therefore, I did not think of Elys as evil.
Of course, that held true only if she had not committed any evil acts that harmed others.
“.... No, you know nothing. Once you learn my true identity, you’ll regret saving me too.”
Her expression returned to its original state.
Just a hollow shell with no will left.
She moved her body and muttered.
“Put me down. I won’t make that mistake again.”
Seeing Elys, who had thrown her life away to save me, heading back to the path of death made my chest ache.
Ha, I had no choice.
I hadn’t wanted to say it before, but now was the perfect time for shock therapy.
I wiped the smile from my face and opened my tightly closed eyes.
“Are you trying to waste your parents’ sacrifice?”
Elys flinched just a little.
“.... What did you say?”
“I asked if you were trying to waste your parents’ sacrifice.”
Elys grabbed my collar again.
But this time it was different.
A clear killing intent could be felt.
“Lady Elys’s parents sent her to Luin Academy, a foreign educational institution, for her safety. Would they have wanted her to die such a pathetic death?”
“.... How do you know that?”
“Hmm, well. Maybe a passing child told me? Or perhaps I dreamed it while asleep. Or maybe my being Lady Elys’s hidden sibling isn’t so bad.”
I looked into her swirling pupils and spoke.
“It doesn’t matter who I am, Lady Elys.”
I smiled wryly.
“What really matters is how to kill the enemy who destroyed Lady Elys’s parents—the pillar of the Trahan royal family, I mean.”
I placed my hand over hers, which still gripped my collar.
“It’s about becoming stronger. Strong enough to protect your own body, stronger than that, and strong enough to avenge your parents.”
I could feel the strength slowly leaving Elys’s hand.
“At least that’s far better than the stupid idea of falling from the roof and dying. Don’t you think so, Lady Elys?”
“......”
“Lonely suicide in some unknown place, no one knowing about it, is something we can postpone until after avenging our parents. Of course, you’ll have to take on the role of avenger yourself. I’m plenty enough of a mysterious ally who supports you from behind.”
A gaze that was still on me, but now held a spark of will to live.
“Lady Elys, don’t you want to become the protagonist?”
I asked, and she answered.
“.... What? That’s gross.”
Eh, did I go too far?
“Hmm, I thought it was cool on my part…”
“But it’s not bad. It’s definitely better than dying without ever seeing the faces of those bastards who hurt my mom and dad.”
“I used to think I could do nothing alone. I really could do nothing alone. But now things are different.”
A voice full of life.
“You’ll help me? The usefulness of an unknown ally can only be seen when it happens, but that’s better than nothing. I’ll exploit you mercilessly.”
A faint smile on Elys.
“If I betray you, I’ll kill you.”
Her beautiful face smiled, and a delusion came over me that the fatigue lingering in my body had vanished.
[Hidden Character – Successfully prevented the death of Elys Midrian]
[Hidden Character – Elys Midrian now has mild affection for you]
[Reward: 1500 points obtained]
“Commonly, do you smile while saying such creepy things…?!”
“That’s better than saying it with a face like you’re going to kill me.”
“You really are an angel now. This is perfect.”
Watching Elys’s reaction, it seemed I didn’t have to worry about her committing suicide.
“Ah, if you ever become queen in the future, how about giving me a proper seat? Surely you can offer a little bonus to a mysterious ally, right?”
“I’ll think about it after seeing what you do.”
“Hehe, I’ll do my best to support you modestly. Your Majesty.”
With that, I had become Elys’s mysterious ally. It wasn’t as if I had gotten involved in any troublesome matters. After all, there was a need to intervene in the Trahan Kingdom to some extent.
If I left the Trahan Kingdom as it was, the values of the Trahan Kingdom—pursuing the unity of all races—would collapse, and the balance between humans and demons on the continent would break, leading to another massive war.
If that happened, my peaceful and happy daily life would become a soap bubble.
It was actually fortunate. In the original game, I would have had to suffer greatly, befriending high-ranking figures in the Trahan Kingdom and all that. But now I was close to the princess of the Trahan Kingdom.
In the future, I wouldn’t have to suffer anymore.
“But wait a second. You said you lost your memories. How did you know I was the princess of the Trahan Kingdom? Were all your claims about losing your memories lies?”
Elys asked while I smiled with satisfaction.
It was a question she could reasonably have.
“Hehe, that’s not it. It’s true I lost my previous memories. But if you’re asking why I know information about Lady Elys…”
Elys held her breath and listened to my words.
“It’s a secret.”
“.... Fine. I’m the idiot who expected you to tell me.”
Elys sighed deeply and looked at me.
“Then promise me one thing. When the time comes, I’ll tell you everything.”
“Hehe, since Lady Elys asks so insistently, I’ll consider it.”
Elys made an unpleasant face and shook her head.
“.... It’s weird that you’re asking now, but how are we floating in the air?”
She glanced at the floor, frowned slightly, and asked.
Ah, she was referring to Tao Power.
“It’s strange, isn’t it? You should have been curious sooner. You’ve heard me called dull many times, right?”
“Well, I often hear you called hot-tempered.”
“..... This is a minor ability of mine. It can form objects invisible to the eye.”
Elys nodded slightly and spoke.
“Even if you say it casually, it sounds like something amazing.”
“It’s not yet familiar enough to block strong attacks. But don’t worry, this can easily handle the weight of the two of us…”
At that moment, the Tao Power that had been supporting us began to lose its form and collapse, just like a lie.
*Bang!*
When the Tao Power dispersed, we naturally fell to the ground. Elys, who had been sitting on top of me, wouldn’t have felt much pain, but the impact on me beneath her was considerable.
“Ugh…”
“Ar-are you okay?”
Elys looked a bit foolish for a moment, then realized she was sitting on me, her expression hardening as she got up.
This person could even show an expression of concern for someone.
Looking at Elys worried about me, I patted her shoulder and said.
“Grrk, Lady Elys, what was your weight again?”
“..... Just get out.”
No matter what, I had saved Elys.