The Journey of Those Who Know the Truth
Having rescued the two members of the ducal house, Alicia had successfully escaped the World Tree Forest and was now staying in a city.
Fortunately, there were no more pursuers—fairies or otherwise. Even so, they had been so careful in their movements that the kingdom that was their destination still lay some distance ahead.
"I'm back. ...Doesn't look like there are any pursuers."
"Thank you for your hard work."
A figure with a hooded robe pulled low over their head stepped into the inn where they were staying.
"Phew... this is so stuffy."
The figure who tugged the hood back had long platinum-blonde hair, blue eyes, and slender, elongated ears—an elf, through and through.
"I'm sorry. I've dragged you into this, Miss Rillu."
"Nah, it's fine. My inherited duty of guiding you is done anyway... and besides..."
Rillu was the elf they had met at the entrance to the World Tree Forest. She was currently traveling with Alicia.
The clock turned back to the moment Alicia made her escape, leading the two members of the ducal house out of the forest.
The elf Rillu had lived alone in this forest for more than a decade.
When had it been—the day the elves could no longer go to see the World Tree? The fairies had come and told them that the World Tree no longer wished to meet the elves, that it was disappointed in them. To a people who had spent so long living as its guardians, the news was a bolt from the blue.
They had wanted to see the World Tree at once, to confirm the truth with their own eyes. But the gate that had always carried elves to the World Tree's side rejected them. In that moment, the elves fell into despair, convinced they had been abandoned. In the end, those who had lived in the forest fled from that despair, leaving the woods behind to seek a new place to call home.
Only Rillu remained—the one who had inherited from her mother the duty of guiding the visitor who would someday come to this forest. She had lived here alone ever since.
But with this, the duty she had been charged with was over.
Where are my people now? What are they doing?
Should I leave too, and go looking for a new life?
Rillu took the bow from her back and gave the string a light pull. She had been famous even among her own generation as the finest archer of her age. Surely she could make a living somehow, even out there.
It was while she was thinking this that it happened.
A bright light suddenly flashed before her eyes, and Alicia—who had gone through the gate only a short while ago—came bursting out.
"Huh? You're back sooner than I expected. The World Tree—"
"R-Rillu?! Get down!!"
Alicia came flying out and collapsed as if she'd tripped, going down right where she stood. Startled, Rillu bent forward, trying to see what had happened to her.
In that instant—
KRAAAAAAH!!
"...Huh?"
Another flash of light, and a monster burst forth, grazing right over Rillu's head.
A monster? Why was a monster coming through the gate to the World Tree Forest? Rillu couldn't make sense of it at all. But the archery she had honed over her long years of living here moved her body on its own. Putting distance between herself and the creature, she nocked an arrow on the string she was already holding and loosed it.
THUNK!!
With a heavy impact, the arrow buried itself in the monster's skull. Pierced through the head, the creature dropped dead on the spot.
"Alicia? What the hell is going on?"
Rillu's mind still couldn't process the situation. She turned to Alicia, who was still collecting herself, intending to ask for an explanation.
"It's not over! More are coming!"
"!!"
At Alicia's cry, Rillu's hand went to her quiver on reflex. A moment later, monsters came bursting from the gate in a flash of light.
"What is this now... wait?"
She was an elf who had served as a guardian of the World Tree. And as one of those elves, Rillu's eyes picked out the beings hiding among the monsters.
"...Fairies? Why are there fairies..."
The moment Rillu muttered that, the fairies seemed to notice her and began to chatter.
"It's an elf!"
"There was still an elf left?"
"What do we do? What should we do?"
The fairies' voices were as noisy and overlapping as ever. Rillu's face twisted as if she'd bitten into something foul, and she lowered her bow from the monsters.
"What the hell are you lot doing. Why are you bringing monsters out of the World Tree Forest?"
The World Tree Forest, even if they could no longer enter it, was still a sacred place to the elves. And they were using filthy creatures like monsters in a place like that—the fairies, no less, the World Tree's own messengers. Depending on their answer, Rillu was fully prepared to loose her bowstring without mercy.
"What are we supposed to do in this situation?"
"I don't know! I don't know!"
"Kill her! Kill her!!"
At the fairies' chatter, Rillu's eyes narrowed to slits.
"So that's your answer."
She released the string, and the arrow flew like a shot.
"Kyaaah!!"
The fairy struck by the arrow screamed and vanished in a burst of light.
"What?! What?!"
"We were hiding! How?!!"
"What do we do! What do we do!!"
Rillu clicked her tongue at the fairies' panicked voices.
"Right. Fairies have short lifespans. I guess none of you would know anymore."
She drew and loosed again.
"KYAAAAH!!"
"Elves can see fairies."
And so the slaughter began—Alicia pulverizing the monsters, Rillu shooting the fairies dead.
That was how Rillu came to travel with Alicia.
"...After hearing the truth from you, I figured I had to do something about it too."
After the battle, as they escaped the forest, Rillu had heard the truth about the World Tree from Alicia. Hearing that story, tears had welled in her eyes before she even realized it.
The World Tree had not abandoned the elves.
The days she had spent living listlessly after being abandoned, clinging only to the mission she'd been given—and yet, in a corner of her heart, that despair of having been forsaken had remained. It felt as though that despair was unraveling and fading away.
"...Though it was a shock to hear Belia had done something like that."
"Are you acquainted with Saint Belia, Miss Rillu?"
"Yeah... I met her when I was little, along with the other party members."
The beastman warrior Leos. The witch Cheyni. The pugilist Olivia. The knight Calidos. Saint Belia. The great figures who had completely annihilated the Demon King some four hundred years ago.
Alicia nearly asked the elf in front of her how old she was, but swallowed the urge.
"Still... honestly, I thought more pursuers would come after that. It's surprising they haven't...?"
"Hmm... I thought so too, so I raised our alertness... or maybe it's a ploy to make us drop our guard?"
What they had no way of knowing was that the fairies, terrified once by Alicia's prowess and then terrified again after several of them had been hunted down by Rillu, were now whining that they didn't want to go after them—and Saint Belia was desperately trying to talk them around.
"Everyone."
Andrew, who had gone to see his mother, returned.
"Young Master Andrew, has Her Ladyship still not awakened?"
"No. The physician said she's grown quite frail, so it will take some time."
Andrew Ignis answered Alicia's question with a dark expression. His mother, Duchess Rachel Ignis, had not regained consciousness even once since being rescued. Her life was not in danger, thankfully, but they said the shock of her long imprisonment had left her unable to wake.
"Hmm... we'll need to arrange a carriage that can transport a patient."
"Have you decided on a destination?"
Alicia answered Rillu's question.
"Yes. As long as Her Ladyship hasn't regained consciousness, making it all the way to the royal capital as we are would be too much."
Alicia pulled a folded paper from her pocket, unfolded it, and read.
"As it happens, Her Highness Princess Aine is currently staying in Brimton... so let's head there as we are."
At those words, Andrew's expression brightened slightly. Brimton, a city of the Ignis domain—it was, after all, the hometown where Andrew Ignis had grown up.
Luka Altran had been rescued from the Ignis estate as it descended into madness. After several days of questioning, and after having her weakened body healed, she was able to get around in good health again.
To that Luka, Princess Aine—who had been acting as governor of Brimton in place of the missing Ignis ducal family—paid a reward and offered her a choice. Would she return to her hometown, or remain here?
In her heart, she wanted to leave this hellish place and go home. But even if she went back, this reward money wouldn't be enough to try anything new in her desperately poor hometown. And if she stayed, there was almost nothing she could do in a place that was practically empty of people. At best, she'd be back to tending patients or attending to the knights.
Just then, a man with dark crimson hair who appeared to be one of Her Highness Princess Aine's aides whispered something to the princess. Hearing that, Princess Aine made Luka a proposal.
"The personal maid of Young Lady Riel, who is currently studying in the royal capital, has quit. Would you take her place?"
"What?! Young Lady Riel's personal maid?!"
Young Lady Riel Ignis. Luka had only ever seen her once, from a distance, when she first started working. The emotionless, barren eyes and rigid expression she'd seen then rose in her mind.
"Of course, the work of a personal maid may be too much for your current skills..."
As she said this, Princess Aine pictured the face of a certain maid who was at Riel's side along with her master. Phyllis Barnoa. A talent who could be called first-class in both household skills and... other skills besides. There had been a time when, seeing her abilities, Aine had grown greedy and tried to scout her—
She had been refused in a single sentence. Aine had ended up laughing at the sight of someone cutting off a princess's offer so cleanly. But if someone like that was there, wouldn't she train Luka even if the girl was a bit clumsy?
With that thought, Princess Aine looked steadily at Luka.
"Well... whatever she's lacking can be filled in."
"Th-then... please let me do it!! I beg of you!!"
Young Lady Riel's dark face from that day had been bothering Luka a little. ...And she had a bit of a selfish reason too—she'd get to go to the royal capital.
And so, a few days later, Luka boarded a train bound for the royal capital.
"Ah! There it is! That has to be the train!"
I was currently standing on the platform of the royal capital's central station, accompanied by Riel and Phyllis. Riel had asked me to come along, saying her new personal maid was arriving. And Phyllis had asked to come as well, wanting to see what kind of person this new maid serving Riel would be, so I'd agreed.
Right then, a large train pulled into the station with a great rumble. That train was equipped with an engine powered by mana, I was sure. The engine was enormous, though, and they were having trouble miniaturizing it, so there were no automobiles or anything of the sort. No—miniaturization itself was possible, but the power output was pitifully small. It was so slow you'd be better off taking a horse-drawn carriage.
"Kyou, I think that's her?"
I'd been daydreaming about cars existing and going for a drive, but Riel's words snapped me back, and I looked where she was pointing.
Blonde... or rather, hair with a slightly yellowish, honey-colored tint? A girl with that hair tied into two hanging pigtails, wearing a maid uniform, was looking around busily with her luggage in hand. She looked a bit younger than Riel, and the way she was taking in everything with wonder suggested this was her first time in the royal capital.
I got it. I'd felt the same way as a child, the first time I came to the royal capital to attend a party hosted at the palace.
"Over here~!!"
Perhaps she'd heard Riel's call—the girl stopped looking around and turned toward us. Her eyes went wide, and she came running over in a fluster, bowing her head deeply.
"I-I'm so sorry!! It's my first time in the royal capital...!!"
"Mm. Mm. That happens. I was the same way."
I guess everyone gets like that the first time they come to the capital.
"I-I'm Luka Altran! As of today, I'll be serving Young Lady Riel!"
"Mm. Nice to meet you."
Riel held out her hand to Luka with a bright smile. Luka stared at the hand with a dazed expression for a moment, then hesitantly shook it. Her movements were a bit sluggish. I wondered if she'd be all right.
"...She's an inexperienced child."
Phyllis's voice came from behind me.
"You think so too, Phyllis?"
"Yes. She appears to have very little experience."
There was a hint of dissatisfaction in Phyllis's voice. After a moment, she spoke again.
"It cannot be helped. I shall take charge of her training."
"You, Phyllis? Will that be all right?"
"Yes. I shall personally teach her everything from cooking to escort duty."
Well, given Phyllis's abilities, she'd probably be a good teacher too.
...Wait. Escort duty?
Don't tell me she's planning to put that delicate little girl through Ventos-family-style maid training?
"...Phyllis, please go easy on her."
"Please do not worry. I shall raise her into an excellent maid capable of doing the work of more than one person."
...Phyllis. You did understand what I said, right?