Chapter 123
Chapter 123
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: 12. Survival Competition (1)
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Karin had decided to head back to finish her remaining semester. She seemed like she wanted to stay here, but perhaps feeling guilty about occupying my room, she returned quietly without putting up much of a fight.
And that situation—which was no different from having outright devoured Svetlana—was better suited for Ermina to handle anyway.
Thanks to that, the labyrinth grind that had been eating up all my time for a while finally came to an end. I'd cherry-picked the really important items and even gotten permission to check them out, so now I could spend my days at the cafe, breathing in the aroma of coffee while reading books.
For starters, while Karin had been staying over, I'd thrown the windows wide open to air out the lingering smell of her body and given the place a thorough cleaning. I'd also knocked out all the backlog of work that had piled up around the cafe.
After bustling around like that for a while, tidying up the cafe and my living space... my home, Mina Big Sis walked in.
"I'll help."
"It's fine. I'm almost done, so just give me a sec."
"Okay. Then, as usual."
"Yep, yep."
I'd started cleaning at the crack of dawn and wrapped it up as quickly as possible, then returned to my spot at the cafe and set out some simple food to go with the coffee.
I hadn't eaten breakfast either, so I made enough for two.
When I brought out the coffee and food, Mina Big Sis—unusually for her—flashed a bright smile.
"Hehe. Breakfast with the shopkeeper, just the two of us."
"It's been a while since we've had a peaceful meal like this. It hasn't been that long in terms of time, but it feels like ages ago."
"You gotta see the person you like every day."
"...Yeah, you're right."
As a woman? No, for someone like me whose romantic cells had long since died off, that was hard to respond to. But as a person, I definitely liked her.
After finishing our light vegetarian meal—typical for her—we sat facing each other, sipping our coffee.
Some people get uncomfortable with silence, but with someone who knows you both enjoy the quiet, and who understands it's not because you dislike talking, there's nothing more comfortable than that silence.
For a while, the only sound was the clink of cups tilting, and when the coffee in our cups had dwindled to half, Big Sis spoke up first.
"Southern Plains, Imir Kingdom Academy, Imperial Astraea. Where next?"
"I hope it's not the Imperial Palace."
"Inside man. Got one?"
"High probability."
I couldn't say for sure, but there were clear traces of information leaking out that no outsider could know, and at the end of it all was a demonkin.
That meant there was a high chance either of some traitor who'd betrayed humanity as a species, or—worse yet—some even more troublesome existence that could slip through humanity's filter for demonkin and masquerade as human.
For now, as long as the Emperor stayed alive, rebuilding the palace was doable with my home as the transfer point. But that didn't stop the unease gnawing at me.
The Emperor himself was pretty skilled as a mage, but he lacked real combat experience.
"Elves: me. Magic Tower: Leimi. Palace: His Majesty."
"Then the big players left are the dwarf mines and the Holy Kingdom."
"Dras."
"I thought we'd cut ties with Mr. Dras."
"I've pretty much cut them too, but I can reconnect if needed. That's the gap."
"If it's tied to his clan's survival, yeah, that makes sense. Anyway, the Holy Kingdom's the type to smite demonkin without mercy, so no need to even reach out."
No worries about finding out a month after the disaster hits or something inconvenient like that. Since the status window was stuck to me, it seemed like I was pegged as the story's protagonist at least as long as I was alive, so I'd pay a bit more attention.
If it was attached because I was the only one who could handle it, then a catastrophe in a place I wasn't might go unresolved.
If I hadn't made it to the Academy, who knows what kind of disaster might have unfolded before the professors could fully stamp it out.
After finishing my coffee, with Mina Big Sis slumped over the table in front of me, I opened the books I'd borrowed from the Imperial Palace library and the Adventurer's Guild underground library.
They made for excellent study material, but reading those ancient records felt like diving into game lore, which was fun in its own way.
With no pressure to uncover secrets or hints right away, I could just enjoy the reading itself.
While reading, whenever Big Sis's head—suspiciously turned my way—got too close, I'd stroke it and turn her back. Repeat as needed.
I was enjoying this fairly peaceful time when Riza walked in, looking a bit tired.
"You two look like you get along sooo well."
"Hehe."
"No reason we wouldn't."
It's true. Mina Big Sis had never been a bother to me, never made a mistake, never acted out of line.
Even when asking for tough favors, she always looked apologetic.
Her love of physical contact could get a bit clingy sometimes, but not in a bad way.
"You two should get married."
"What're you talking about?"
"I'll be the daughter."
So that's what she wanted.
A real family over a family-like bond? Better, bet—better? My previous life's adoptive parents who treated me like a showpiece. My current life's father who tormented me so badly I couldn't tell if he was raising a son or enslaving a prisoner.
Is that really better?
Of course, it wasn't the kind of thing to say to a kid who'd lost her parents, so I kept my mouth shut and just nodded.
Ah. Realization unlocked today.
One reason I shied away from deep relationships with women was that I didn't know what a 'normal father' was supposed to be like.
Thanks for the enlightenment, Riza.
"Make lots of little sisters, heh heh."
"Elves have, like, super low conception rates, right?"
"We'll keep at it till it works."
I ended up bursting out laughing. Big Sis was totally serious about that.
Her thoughts ran deep, but in moments like this, her straightforward charge was endearing.
That's why she kept expressing her feelings so openly.
"Sure. If we get married, you'll be our daughter."
"If...?"
"What?"
"Definitely. Absolutely."
I averted my eyes.
Let's deal with these scars from my past life first, then think about it.
"Oh, right. Shopkeeper. Cosetica Sis said to drop by for a sec. I came to deliver this and forgot."
"Huh? Something about the library? Anyway, got it."
"Mina Sis, fighting!"
I saw her off as she headed out energetically to work in the labyrinth again today, then got up briefly to wash the coffee cups and dishes, wiping them dry until they squeaked.
Big Sis loved the sound of me cloth-drying the dishes like this, so she cleared her table and moved to her usual spot at the bar counter.
"Shopkeeper."
"Yeah."
"You can control your lifespan, right?"
"...Never tried, but people at my level usually can."
"Gonna extend it?"
"Not sure yet."
It's about whether there's reason left to keep living longer, right?
And honestly, I didn't have that kind of passion.
At this point, I was already thinking of coasting through whatever life I had left—my will to live wasn't that strong.
"I want you to live as long as I do."
"Could happen."
"Anyone else, maybe. But I don't wanna see you die of old age."
Truth be told, I was weaker to requests like this than sweet nothings whispered in my ear. Reasons to live? I could always make some up.
That might even be love.
When the person in front of you begs, 'Don't leave me alone,' it aches in my chest for no good reason.
I knew better than anyone how agonizing loneliness could be.
"I'll think about it positively."
"Yeah."
"I don't wanna make you sad because of me either."
Slumped over the bar counter, she obligingly stuck out her head, so I stroked her pretty, shimmering golden hair.
She often dozed off looking pleased at my touch, so I moved around to the other side of her face and continued petting her hair.
As I smoothed out a stray lock and reached out again, she suddenly whipped her head around and bit my finger.
She wrapped her lips around it, licked it smooth, sucked on it with a pop, then turned her head back.
"I'm confident I can do good with my mouth too."
How do you even respond to a sex joke from a long-lived elf? When a 1,000-year-old drops one, a million thoughts race through your head.
Due to her long-lived sensibilities—or lack thereof—I stared at my finger in a daze for a moment.
As I sat there blankly, she turned her head back toward me, made another popping sound with her mouth, and said,
"Just say the word anytime."
Then she turned away again.
Uh, um.
This felt too weird for yes or no, so I gave up and went back to stroking her hair.
Hm. Near-perfect gold. Her hair color matched mine so closely it was uncanny, and I recalled what I'd heard before.
The incarnation of the World Tree has golden hair.
That's why it's considered sacred.
If the day ever came when we went to her homeland, no matter the reason, would this hair color cause some kind of incident?
Left hand stroking Mina Big Sis's hair, right hand holding a book, I spent the time until she fell asleep.
It really, truly felt like the first proper rest I'd had inside the cafe in ages.