The Armory and the Companion's Jealousy
Luiana and Lianel made their way deeper into the heart of the Elf Coalition’s headquarters, welcomed by Elysia’s warm reception. Everywhere they passed, those nearby bowed their heads deeply, while those farther away watched with gazes mixed with reverence and curiosity. Luiana accepted those stares with calm indifference. In her previous life, she had drawn countless eyes, and even after becoming a Dryad, she had grown somewhat accustomed to the elves’ overwhelming affection and respect.
Lianel, on the other hand, found such attention a little awkward. She too had become somewhat used to the positive emotions poured upon her during her time living among the elves since becoming a Dryad. But having so many people’s interest and stares focused on her was still unfamiliar. When she had been a massive sacred tree, accepting and embracing the elves’ devotion had felt natural. Yet receiving that same attention in the form of a small Dryad struck her far more intensely.
Not knowing how to respond, Lianel fidgeted with the fingertips of one hand against the other before finally gripping Luiana’s arm a little tighter. Linking arms and holding on with her other hand had become the most familiar posture for Lianel since becoming a Dryad. It was also a position that brought her emotional stability. Feeling that touch, Luiana gently stroked the hand resting on her arm before continuing forward without a word. At that consistent demeanor, Lianel gave a small smile.
When they reached the central area where the headquarters’ sacred tree and the Coalition’s main administrative building stood, the group began to disperse. The spirit mages and escorts who had accompanied them turned back to rejoin the guard detail for Luiana’s elf village. Alex was dragged away by central administrative officials brimming with countless questions. His once-clumsy face had recently been steeped only in exhaustion, so Luiana felt a twinge of pity. Still, she believed one should simply do the work assigned to them, so she had no intention of rescuing him.
The dragged-away Alex sent a pleading look in their direction. “Lady Luiana, perhaps just for a moment…”
Surrounded by the officials, Alex’s voice was small and desperate. Luiana gazed at him for a moment.
“You have work to do.”
At those words, Alex’s shoulders slumped helplessly. “…Right.”
Lianel looked at him with a slightly pitying expression. “Are you sure you don’t need to help him?”
Luiana shook her head. “He’ll be fine.”
She immediately turned her gaze away. Once everyone else had left the group, only Seris remained at their side. Nominally, she had volunteered to guide them inside the central building and act as escort. In truth, her real motive was the desire to see more of Luiana’s swordsmanship.
Seris’s eyes grew just a fraction more serious.
Elysia, unaware of that dark ulterior motive, simply looked at Seris with pride, seeing only a knight who willingly took on a new duty even after a grueling journey.
First, Elysia guided the two Dryads to the guest quarters prepared for visitors to the headquarters. The building stood facing the central administrative offices with the training grounds at its center. It served both as dormitories for the staff and as lodging for guests who occasionally visited the Coalition’s main base. It was a green building. Up close, it was both a building and not a building at all. Because it was, in fact, one enormous tree.
Old trees often develop massive hollows as their heartwood decays. This natural structure had been shaped over a long time by making use of that hollow, and with Elysia’s request, the outer sapwood had been slowly transformed as well. Cracks in the outer bark served as windows in various places. Thick vines that seemed to live in symbiosis with the tree naturally extended inside, forming staircases and railings that harmonized into a single building.
When they entered the guest quarters that Elysia herself had guided them to, Luiana let out a small sigh of admiration at its tranquil beauty. The walls and furniture still showed the living grain of the wood, and tiny spirit lights floated near the ceiling like stars. Through the windows, one could see the headquarters’ great tree, the central building in front of it, and part of the training grounds. And of course, inside the lodging there was one large bed. It was big enough for two people to lie down together. It was Elysia’s consideration, taking into account that even the moment they fell asleep, the two would be together.
Whether that thought had reached Lianel as well, she gave Elysia a small smile and bowed her head in gratitude. Meanwhile, someone was more interested in the view outside the window than in that silent exchange. Luiana had her arms resting on the windowsill, her gaze fixed on the elves in the training grounds.
A training field vast enough to suit the Coalition’s headquarters. And on it, countless elves devoting themselves to their individual sword styles. She had caught glimpses of it through Seris, but this was the first time she was seeing swordsmanship from an entirely new world and new species gathered in one place like this. The sight felt like an ocean of possibilities she had never encountered before, and Luiana felt her heart begin to race.
Elysia, who had approached her side, smiled and asked, “It seems swords catch Lady Luiana’s eye before rooms do.”
Luiana simply nodded, as if no answer was necessary. To her, it was only natural. Seris, waiting by the door, quietly accepted the sight.
Afterward, they moved to the dining hall in the basement of the lodging, where simple welcoming food had been prepared. Considering this was an unprecedented historical moment with three Dryads gathered in one place, it could be seen as rather modest. But given the elves’ nature, far removed from luxury and empty formalities, this was a sincere and rather grand welcome feast in its own way.
Fruits, tea, and various kinds of bread infused with the forest’s spirit energy. Compared to the rough green biscuits she occasionally tasted in the elf village, this was a lavish spread. Lianel marveled at the dainty, charming shapes of the breads she had never seen before. Yet instead of tasting them first, she offered them to Luiana.
Luiana didn’t refuse. She took a bite without much thought, then paused for a moment. It was delicious. It was on a completely different level from the bitter green biscuits she had only been able to force down by relying on the sweetness of fruit. To Luiana, who had assumed elves only had that kind of food aside from fruits and root vegetables, it was a huge cultural shock.
Thanks to a Dryad’s trait of not needing to eat, Luiana had usually just enjoyed fruit now and then. But if meals like this were prepared every time, she was confident she could eat three full meals a day. “How is it?”
Lianel asked with a proud expression, as if she had prepared the food herself, watching Luiana—who rarely showed such a face—wide-eyed and slowly savoring the taste.
“You try some too.”
Luiana, who had already made an entire piece of bread disappear into her small mouth, picked up another piece and held it out to Lianel. “Ah~”
She had intended to hand it over. But Lianel closed her eyes and opened her mouth like a baby bird waiting for its mother to feed it. Luiana stared at her for a moment. Then, without a word, she tore off a piece of the bread and slipped it into Lianel’s mouth.
“Mmm… mm… mm!”
Lianel froze with her mouth closed, as if the taste was so good it shocked her. Even Luiana, who had experienced delicious food in her previous life, had reacted similarly. So it was obvious how overwhelming the torrent of emotion must have been for Lianel, tasting truly delicious bread for the first time in her life.
A moment later, once the shock had passed, Lianel chewed vigorously, swallowed, and opened her mouth toward Luiana again as if urging her. “Aah~ Hurry.”
If it was that good, she could just pick it up and eat it herself. Watching Lianel open her mouth and urge her on, Luiana made a slightly dumbfounded face. Still, she didn’t stop placing pieces of bread into Lianel’s mouth. She knew this was one of Lianel’s ways of expressing affection.
A short while passed with the two Dryads absorbed in their meal. When they seemed somewhat full, Elysia spoke up lightly. “So, are there any impressions you’ve had since arriving at the headquarters?”
Lianel thought for a moment before answering. “It’s big, old, and warm.”
Elysia smiled as if she liked that answer. Her gaze then turned to Luiana. The reply came immediately.
“The bread is delicious.”
Elysia laughed, and Seris nodded seriously. She was the type to ponder and find meaning in every single one of Luiana’s words—even her impressions of bread. If Alex had been there, he would have shaken his head at the sight.
After exchanging conversation about daily life in the elf village for a while, Elysia naturally brought up the main topic. “Lady Luiana. Lady Lianel.”
Both of them turned their eyes to Elysia. She set down her teacup and continued. “I’m not trying to force anything on either of you.” Her voice was gentle. Yet within it lay the calm composure befitting a Dryad who stood at the center of the headquarters. “However, the two of you are beings who can move freely.”
At those words, Lianel unconsciously tightened her grip on Luiana’s arm. Luiana simply looked at Elysia without any particular reaction.
“That also means you will naturally encounter many different worlds from now on.” Elysia’s gaze quietly moved between the two. “Not only elf villages, but other forests, other cities, other kingdoms and empires as well.”
The word travel was never spoken directly. But Luiana immediately understood the meaning.
The current her thought of herself as the mother of the elves, considering it her duty to protect and watch over them. That feeling was genuine. But in her previous life, there had been only swordsmanship and battle. She had wandered only towers and battlefields, and had almost never experienced the sense of traveling the world.
If I really were to travel…
What new sword styles might she see? What battles might she encounter? What swords might she hold in her hands?
Luiana slowly pushed down the desire that tried to surge up. She had no intention of leaving the elf village behind right now. Elysia waited patiently through that brief silence.
“That is why the Elf Coalition would like to present both of you with official identities and tokens of our sponsorship.”
“Tokens?” Luiana asked back.
“Yes.” Elysia nodded. “It is not to assert command or authority.” She chose her words carefully. “Wherever you go, it is a mark that the Elf Coalition welcomes and protects you as very important guests.”
Lianel listened quietly. Elysia kept her smile as she added, “It is also to prevent unnecessary misunderstandings in unfamiliar places.”
Luiana thought for a moment. It didn’t take long. “There’s no harm in it.”
She then looked at Lianel. Lianel smiled warmly and nodded. “If Luiana is fine with it, then I am too.”
“Then we’ll accept.”
Elysia’s smile deepened. “Thank you.” She rose slowly from her seat. “Preparing the tokens will take a little time. In the meantime, feel free to look around the headquarters at your leisure.”
Elysia turned to Seris. “Seris, may I ask you to guide them?”
“Of course.” Seris bowed as if she had been waiting for this. Elysia nodded in satisfaction and began to leave the dining hall. Seris naturally stepped forward and asked, “Where would you like to see first?”
Though she said that, the most natural route leading to the training grounds was already drawn in her mind.
Seris’s plan was meticulous. At least in her own opinion. But Luiana ignored that calculation entirely and spoke immediately.
“The armory.”
Seris froze. Then, a moment later, her eyes quietly sparkled.
If they went to the armory, heading to the training grounds afterward would feel even more natural. Seeing swords, holding them, and wanting to swing them was the obvious progression. Seris nodded. “I will guide you.”
But at that moment, Lianel pulled Luiana’s arm a little tighter. “Luiana.”
“What?”
Lianel asked quietly. “Am I… not enough by myself?”
The air around them grew strange. At the ambiguous meaning, the attendants who had been staying nearby desperately held back coughs that threatened to escape. Even Seris froze, unsure whether to interpret this as a matter of swordsmanship or emotion.
Luiana was momentarily at a loss for words. In her previous life, swords had been her companions. But she had never once experienced jealousy from a sword.
“It’s not that you’re not enough.”
“Then?”
Luiana answered calmly. “The more swords, the better, right?”
Lianel kept smiling as she hugged Luiana’s arm even tighter. It was her usual smile. Yet somehow, it carried a faintly cold aura.
“That… I don’t like very much.”
Seeing Lianel’s expression, Luiana belatedly realized her answer had been wrong. After a brief silence, she corrected herself seriously.
“Lianel isn’t a sword. You’re my companion.”
At those words, the cold aura vanished from Lianel’s face at once. “Yeah!”
She leaned her face lightly against Luiana’s arm with clear satisfaction. Elysia, who had paused at the sudden commotion, stood still for a moment and watched them. More than any sentence in the reports she had received, the scene before her eyes seemed to perfectly express the relationship between the two Dryads. Once a sacred tree, once a sword, and now called a companion. Elysia smiled warmly and left.
Meanwhile, Seris, Luiana, and Lianel headed straight for the armory. As it was a space storing strategic materials, it was not a place open to just anyone. But Dryads were not just anyone in the Elf Coalition. The permission came back almost instantly upon request. The request sent as they departed for the armory returned as approval before they even arrived.
“I will guide you.”
Even though it was a place containing only weapons, the variety and scale of arms inside were by no means simple. As they entered the spacious interior, Seris took the lead to guide them. When the door opened, a cold, clear metallic aura flowed out first. It was hard to believe this space lay in the middle of a city of trees and spirits; the armory was filled with the presence of neatly arranged blades.
Unfamiliar materials. Familiar blade shapes. Longswords engraved with magic, daggers embedded with spirit stones, elegant curved swords, ceremonial blades with vine patterns wrapped around their hilts. Luiana’s gaze slowly swept across the armory. She walked toward one of the swords and asked, “Can I swing it?”
Seris’s eyes sparkled. The answer came back joyfully and quickly. “If we record the removal and receive permission, it will be possible.”
She paused for a moment, then added almost like a declaration, “No—I will make it possible.”
Seris immediately took out her communication device and began talking earnestly. Her appearance was less like the usual expressionless knight and more like a businessman pouring everything into making a deal happen. A short while later, Seris returned with a bright expression.
“You may take it out and use it as you wish.” She quickly added, “Ah, of course not inside here. It is permitted in the training grounds.”
Luiana immediately picked up one of the swords. She had been drawn to it because its shape resembled the sword that had been with her in the final moments of her previous life. The feeling in her hand was different. The weight, balance, and flow of magic were all unlike her previous sword. But the fact that it was a sword remained unchanged. A very faint spark of interest crossed Luiana’s lips.
Lianel, still linking arms with her, looked up at Luiana. “Luiana, you’re making a face like you’re enjoying this too much.”
“I’m not making that face.”
“Yes, you are.”
“...”
Luiana fell silent for a moment. Then Lianel smiled and asked, “You’re going with me, right?”
Luiana answered as if it were obvious. “It wouldn’t mean anything if you didn’t come.”
At those words, Lianel beamed. Seris’s eyes also quietly sparkled. Their destination was decided. The headquarters’ training grounds. Holding the sword in her hand, Luiana stepped out of the armory.