ESS Chapter 4: A savage spriggan savagely springing around cucuy village.

Welcome back my nightly appearing weebs.

As you can see from my expression of absolute joy, I’m the happiest father on both worlds right now.

“Thank you…for helping Ilya…with her homework…Father…”

And yes, it’s all because of this adorable cinnamon roll! As for what we’re doing, I’m walking us to the master bedroom while she sits on my shoulders and enjoys the ride.

“You are welcome, my little sun. I will always have time to help you.”

"Unn..."

Also, yep, I totally skipped the whole ‘Oh! You are here?!’ routine.

I mean, it kind of became the norm now, right? There’s no need for it anymore. With that in mind, let’s focus back on Ilya and the fruits of her studies instead!

So, with a daring grin on my face and a question on my lips, I glance up at my daughter and set the stage for her to marvel us!

“Ilya…are you ready?”

“Unn…!”

And what is her response? A nod brimming with confidence! Even her hair is shining with it! And quite literally at that!

“Very well then, let’s start!”

“Unn…! Unn…!”

“Seven times six?”

"Forty...two!"

“Nine times nine?”

“Eighty…one!”

“Four times six?”

“Twenty…four!”

"Huhu, all correct! Then how about this…? Forty-two times two minus two?"

"Mmmm...mmm…mmmmm…eighty…two?”

"Yes! That's it!"

HAHA! SEE?! AREN’T YOU MARVELED BY MY DAUGHTER’S GENIUS?! NOT ONLY CAN SHE USE THE MULTIPLICATION TABLES, BUT SHE CAN ALSO DO MIXED OPERATIONS NOW! AND IN THE RIGHT ORDER! MWAHAHAHA!

"Hihihi...doing math with Father...is fun...very fun. It makes Ilya happy…so happy..."

"If you are happy, then I am happy, Ilya. Very happy."

"Hihi...”

Seriously though, seeing my daughter have fun while doing math is the best for a nerd like me. In fact, we were having so much fun that we spent the entire afternoon in the library, and we didn't even notice it.

But hey, Ilya having fun while learning is what matters. At least, that’s what I think.

Besides, that’s much better than the method Nana used on me. That’s for sure.

Ahahaha…seriously…she would sit me on a chair and wouldn’t let me off it until I knew the multiplication tables like the back of my hand…

And she would do this every day! On summer break!!

And when I got them all and foolishly thought that I was free, she would move on to other stuff with the same method! Like the periodic table! Or historical dates! And so on and so forth!

It was so booooring and repetitive…like grinding in an mmo without the rewards!

Man…heh…I can already picture her responding to all of this with a ‘Kuhaha! So what?! It worked and you can’t deny it! Now less complaining and more massaging.’

Oh, Nana…how I miss you and that tough love of yours.

“Father…”

“Hm? Yes, sweetie?”

“What…was Father…reading…after Father said that…Ilya could…take a break and…read something she liked…?”

Ahh, I love seeing that curious look of hers. Hmm, now that I think about it, she clearly saw me getting all hyped while reading it back in the library and yet she decided not to ask until we were done. Heh, what an earnest daughter I have.

Time to reward such earnestness with an answer!

“Do you remember the country your Mother mentioned in last night’s story time?”

“Unn…the Sanjo…Lordship…”

“That’s it, the Sanjo Lordship. Don’t you think it sounds like an interesting place?”

“Yes…Ilya thinks so…”

“Right? To be honest, this Father of yours just couldn’t wait for tonight to maybe learn more and decided to check a book about it.”

“Hihihi…Father…impatient…”

“Hahaha! Guilty as charged, my dearie! Guilty as charged! But that’s not all, you see. I also wanted to know more about the Sanjo Lordship because it resembles a place I am familiar with.”

“A place…Father knows…?”

“Umu!”

As in…JAPAN! WHY? BECAUSE I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT’S NOT FANTASY JAPAN!!

I mean, there’s some differences, sure. Like them having the largest population of oni-ogres and beast-kins like tanuki and pheasant. So yeah, if we look at it like that things are not the same.

BUT STILL! THEY HAVE IDOLS, ONSENS, ISEKAI SUSHI AND RICE, AND EVEN THEIR OWN SOY SAUCE AND SAKÉ! HECK, THERE’S EVEN AN ISLAND WITH A VOLCANO! THERE’S NO WAY I CAN IGNORE ANY OF THAT!

Seriously, even their fashion and architecture are eerily similar despite the unique aesthetic that each island of the Sanjo archipelago has.

Then again, I don’t see any of that as a bad thing! On the contrary, I can’t wait for the arc that takes us there! Why? Because an isekai isn’t an isekai without it! And my isekai arc checklist demands to be completed!! Besides, isekai law will take us there one way or the other. You know that. I know that.

“Mother told…Ilya that before Mother met Father…Father lived far…faaaaar…away…beyond the sunset…and stars… Is that place…there?”

Ack…my heart! Healer! I need a healer! I think I might die from all this kawaii-ness! Not only did Ilya look so cute raising her little arms like that to illustrate just how far she meant, but that story Nerinne told her was sho cute too! And if that wasn’t enough, it’s also a pun waiting to happen!

“Yes, it is there…”

In my world.

“…the land of the rising sun.”

"Ilya...wants to visit...the Sanjo Lordship...and that place...with everyone. Can Ilya go…?”

Dawww…Ilya is using the [Puppy Eyes] skill and it’s super effective…I’m telling you…my heart can’t handle this…but I need to! And I need to answer too!

“Ahem…hmph! You do not need to ask, Ilya. You will be coming with us when go to either place, but it might take some time. Especially for the trip to where I once was…”

…vacationing.

“Why…?”

“Because it is very, veeeery far away, just like you said Ilya. That means that it would take us a long time to get there, and we can’t go on a trip like that right now. We have responsibilities we must tend to here and duties we cannot ignore. But most important of all, there’s promises we have already made. And what do we say about promises, Ilya?”

With that question leaving my lips, I make my horns disappear and turn my head up to look at my curious and beautiful daughter while smiling in both a worried and sympathetic manner. There I can see a tinge of innocent disappointment in her eyes as she looks back at me and yet…that goes away the moment she shows me a little smile before softly pressing her tiny forehead on mine.

“We…fulfill them…Father…”

“That’s my girl.”

She could have thrown a tantrum like many other kids, and I would’ve understood. After all, it’s normal for all kids to want to go to these amazing places they read about or see in some form or another. I mean, look at me, I jumped at the chance to come to an isekai and I’m certainly not a kid anymore.

But no, instead she is rubbing her forehead against mine as a way to tell me that she understands, that she doesn’t want me to worry.

Such an endearing and thoughtful thing to do…

What can I say? Every day I discover new reasons to say that I’m blessed with amazing daughters.

That’s why I cannot not make this following promise to her…to them.

“We will go there, from the land of the rising sun to the belly button of the moon and beyond. This I promise.”

I don’t know how. I don’t know when. But I will fulfill this promise.

“Unn…!”

And that’s it, not only for our little one on one convo, but also for our walk to the master bedroom since we’re now at the entrance.

Now…the door is not tall enough for us to pass as we are right now, so I should crouch a bit, right?

Pfft, naaah! That’s for normies! We can do something much better like…making the door tall enough with a snap of our fingers!

**snap**

I said ‘we’ because Ilya couldn’t help but imitate her dear Father after all. Hehe.

As we go through the now enlarged door, we’re welcomed by a heartwarming sight. Nerinne, Ere, and Celesia having a fun time.

Nerinne is wearing a fantasy-bat onesie while Ere is wearing an extra-fluffy fantasy squirrel one, both look gorgeous and adorable at the same time, and they’re sitting on the bed watching Celesia play around with hers, a spider-looking one with multiple plushie-like extra arms.

Heh, she was crawling all over Ere’s back before jumping onto Nerinne’s and…oh!

“…! Big Sis! Papa!”

She noticed us!

“No fair! I also want to ride on Papa’s shoulders!! Mnu!!”

Daww she is so cute when she’s jealous! Normally I’d tell her that pointing at people like she’s doing is no good, but there’s no need to ruin the mood with that right now. Also, her cheeks being all puffed up like that make her look more like a squirrel than Ere!

“Victory…”

Aaaaand Ilya just added more fuel to the fire by doing that ‘V’ sign with her hands while looking quite smug about it, and that’s despite her seemingly almost emotionless face.

I’m pretty sure Lyra’s behind this since that’s her signature move when playing with Sophie. She’s probably been teaching my girl here some things, not that I mind though.

“Mnuuuu…!!!”

And just like with Sophie, it was super effective! Celesia’s cheeks look even redder now! I have an idea of what she might do because of this, but will she actually do it?

“Hop!!”

She did! She just jumped at me from Nerinne’s back! Gotta catch her! Good thing that she is projecting her little arms towards me, that makes it easier to get her from the sides! Like…this!

“Got you!!”

“Hehe! You caught me, Papa! You caught me!”

With a bit of a spin on my part and some holding on from Ilya, Celesia has been safely caught! Seriously, just look at this rash little rascal, she’s all giggles, wiggles, and cutesy ‘shiaaah-shiaaaah’s. She’s probably trying to act and sound like the spider her onesie is based off, heh.

“Welcome back, Papa! Welcome!”

“I’m back, Celesia.”

My adorable daughter didn’t just welcome me back with words, but she also kissed me on the cheek and followed it up with a nose snuggle as I pulled her into a big hug. Not wanting to be left behind on the kissing score I also gave her a kiss on her little forehead with lots and lots of love.

“Father…”

Hearing Ilya calling out to me, I glanced at her and saw that she wanted to move onto my right shoulder so that Celesia could sit on the left one. Thus, we did just that and in a matter of seconds both my daughters were happily sitting on my shoulders celebrating a shared victory. Adorable.

By this point Nerinne and Ere had gotten off the bed and welcomed me back with a hug. Although the latter hesitated for a few seconds and was now blushing. Ahhhh, I will never grow tired of any of this.

Of course, we’re still in the middle of said hug. We don’t say much, if anything at all. We’re just enjoying the moment for a bit.

“So, how was your afternoon with your Father, Ilya?”

The first to talk is my beautiful heroine, Nerinne.

“Fun…very fun. Father helped Ilya…learn the multiplication tables…and multiplying. Ilya’s limit…was two digits…for today…”

Did you hear that? My daughter is practically saying that she will beat that limit! I’m so proud!

“Ilya also learned to do…mixed operations. Ilya couldn’t do it at first…but Father taught me how and…Ilya got it…”

“Wow! Multiplication tables and mixed operations? That is amazing sweetie! I’m so proud of you!”

Yep. Yep.

“And you, Celesia? How was your day with your Mama and your Mother? Did you enjoy it?”

Just like Nerinne was interested in Ilya’s day, I was interested in Celesia’s.  So, I tilted my head upwards and asked my youngest little princess.

“Yes, Papa! Yes! Mo-Mother taught me how t-to shtyle my hair in lots of ways! Lots! Now I can do it on my own and look pretty! Pretty! Ah! But! But! That doesn’t mean that I love Mother lots and lots and lots for it! Nu!”

“Ack…!”

Oof…our mini-tsundere strikes again with an adorable bout of tsunderism that pierces right through Nerinne’s heart and makes her reel back. But don’t worry, she’s fine. She even has a big smile on her face. After all, we all know that she means the opposite.

“I see! Then I will count on you to style my hair tomorrow! How about that, Celesia?”

“…! Yes, Papa! Yes! I will make Papa pretty! Pretty!”

“Huhu, I know you will, my little light! I cannot wait!”

Seriously, I can’t wait to see what my dear Celesia comes up with. I’m totally going to keep that hairstyle all day too!

“And what did you do with your Mama?”

“Mama taught me table manners today! Table manners! So…so we can all go eat yummy things at a restaurant! A restaurant! It was hard at first, Papa! Very hard! So many utensils! So many! But I did it, Papa! I did it! Mama was so happy!”

Woah! And in a day! That’s incredible!

“Indeed. And I still am, Celesia. Seeing you never give up and accomplish your goal fills me with happiness, my violet star.”

My lovely Ere can’t help but smile while saying that. Now that’s a proud a Mama. Specially with how important etiquette is for her.

“I bet. Just imagining it makes me happy. Well done, Celesia! I’m very proud of you!”

So I proudly declare while looking at my daughter once again! She has a big smile on her face and she more than deserves it.

They both do.

“Umu. Now that I think about it, we all had quality time with our daughters today. That’s good. That’s very good. We can’t always be out for work, specially Ere and me. We need to be there for our daughters.”

Yeah…I don’t want to fall into the absent parent trope. Nope. Not at all. That’s why I’m saying that, even if it feels a bit out of nowhere.

“I concur…we might have had to tend to many things as of late, but we must never lose sight of our most important responsibility and duty. Them.”

Well said, Ere. Well said.

“Fufufu~~, what are you saying, dummies?”

“…?”

“…! Du-Dummy…?”

Yet…Nerinne just laughed at us and called us dummies, which seems to have shocked Ere more than I thought now that I’m looking at her. Then again, I guess that being called a dummy by the goddess of your world would have that kind of effect.

Still…I wonder…

“…why did you say that darling?”

“Because you two are already there for your daughters. You really are. You always teleport back here whenever you have even the tiniest break just to see them. And I mean both of you.”

““…!””

“So there’s no need for either of you to feel like you are not there for them enough...dummies.”

““…””

“Hihi…dummy…”

“Dummy! Dummy! Hehehe!”

And just like that, Nerinne not only made us go beet red in embarrassment by exposing us, but also blew away our worries with that charming yet cheeky smile of hers. All while our daughters echoed her.

“With that said, how about we see what happens next in the story as a reward for the great day we all had, hm? Or would you like me to continue and list all the ways you two spoil our daughters when you’re supposed to be working, hmm~~?”

Seriously…this Goddess…she keeps going rather than giving us time to let our faces go back to normal… And that question of hers as she motioned towards the bed with an even cheekier smile on her face just shows how much she’s enjoying this!

Still, I might be able to endure Nerinne’s teasing, but I don’t know about Ere.

“Unn! Unn!”

“Storytime! Storytime!”

Either way, there’s only one appropriate answer to this lovely teasing Goddess’ divine interrogation. Specially since our daughters are already pretty excited about it.

“Ahem…n-no, seeing what happens next in the story would be alright, darling.”

“I-I concur!”

Ere agreed, as expected. Still, that was quite the quick answer, and her expression is quite the nervous one. She really doesn’t want Nerinne to reveal what she does to spoil them, huh.

…

Now I want to know! Nerinne do tell me how Ere spoils them later!!

Fufufu~~, I don’t think so, darling. I quite like seeing you be all curious and Erevain all adorably embarrassed. But since I love you very, very much, I’ll tell you one thing~~. Erevain is just as thorough with her spoiling as she is with her work, no matter if that means trying to learn to do new things with adorably embarrassing results.

What…what kind of things…?

Not telling~~.

GAAAAHHHH NO FAIR!!

Hurry up, deeeear~~. Ere is already on the bed and the girls are wondering why you aren’t moviiiing~~.

Fine…let’s move on! But I’m so gonna’ make you tell me later!!

Fufufu~~, we’ll see.

Accepting this very momentary defeat, I magically equip tonight’s onesie on both me and Ilya—which seems to be some kind of gecko for me and a vibrant red flower for Ilya—and put Ilya and Celesia on the bed before sitting right behind them.

With a little ‘hup!’ Celesia then sits in the middle of my crossed legs and grabs my arms one by one with her tiny hands, p-p-placing them on her shoulders and h-h-hugging them right af-after—!

AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!! I CAN’T!! I CAN’T NARRATE LIKE THIS! SHE IS SO ADORABLE!!! COME ON NERINNE, START ALREADY!

“Everyone ready?”

SHE STILL ASKS WHILE SEEING ME LIKE THIS.

WE ALL NOD.

“Fufufu~~, then…”

FINALLY! HERE COMES THE MIST-LIKE SCREEN! AND MY CUE TO HUG CELESIA!

_________________________________

…let’s continue where we left off last night.

And what a night it was. Don’t you think so, dearies?

We got to see Euphemia and Sir Kori have a nice talk about the latter’s past and the former’s motivation.

They shared their emotions with each other and one of them even managed to obtain a twinkle of hope in their heart from all of it.

Yes~, oh yes~.

It’s always good to see what comes from reaching out to others, from hearing each other out, and even sharing silence itself can do wonders if you let it.

That, my dear daughters, is why you must never be afraid of lending out a hand or a shoulder or even…an adorable couple of ears like yours!

Fufufu~~.

Whichever it is, know that the bonds you make by doing that will bring change not only for the one you support, but for you too.

And change can be good, very good.

Let’s look at Sir Kori for example.

Yes, a twinkle of hope was lit in his heart from that conversation, but something else happened too.

Something that was important for him and his weary heart.

That conversation had helped him so much that even the bad dream that used to haunt him at night wasn’t loud enough to disturb him with its meanie words and even more meanie things.

No sir!

Instead, Sir Kori was finally able to sleep well for the first time in a veeeeery long time.

In turn, that made Sir Kori welcome the next morning with a light smile on his face as he came out of his tent wearing the clothes that Charles had given him.

And this is where tonight’s story really begins.

As you can see, Kori’s newfound positive demeanor was immediately noticed by everyone in the camp, from our dear Princess’ attendants to the elven escorts.

Some smiled at him and nodded in approval, while others called out to him and told him that he looked good.

“…”

Fufufu~~, it was a little embarrassing for him, but he couldn’t deny that it felt nice.

And why wouldn’t it? A bit of warmth never hurt anyone.

“That’s…!”

In any case, as he walked around the camp looking for something to help with—despite everyone telling him that there was no need—he was stopped by a sight that both intrigued and amazed him.

There, at the top of the very hill where their conversation had taken place, was Euphemia. She was meditating with what could only be described as an overwhelming, yet calm intensity brought on by how focused she was.

Her white mana was not only visible to the naked eye, but was flowing all around her in the shape of a pillar or perhaps…an upside-down waterfall? Fufufu~~, I’ll let you decide.

Its density and purity couldn’t be ignored either, as it was dense enough to make her hair flow upwards while leaving the ground around her completely unaffected.

All in all, it was indeed a sight that would give pause to anyone who wasn’t used to it.

Pretty cool, right?

But why was your aunty like this, dearies? What do you think?

Fufufu~~, yes! That’s it, dearies! Just as Sir Kori went through a small change because of that nightly conversation, she did too! Her determination to go down the path she had chosen was now stronger than ever!

Thus, she meditated, confronting any doubts and fears that remained in her heart with the will she had nurtured throughout her time in the Elven Kingdom, Deamis.

Meanwhile, Sir Kori—who couldn’t help but keep watching—got closer to the hill, not noticing the figures who began to follow him shortly after that.

Until he did…in a way at least.

“I can’t believe it…that level of control is—”

“Sadly, not enough. At least not for what My Lady wishes to do.”

“…!”

Our dear Charles interrupted the now startled Sir Kori by finishing his sentence for him with quite the intriguing words for the latter.

‘Just what could he mean with that?’ so he thought as he quickly regained his bearings and noticed that it wasn’t just Charles who was there with him, but also Sistina, our dear Princess’ Maid, who warmly greeted him with a good morning.

“Mine apologies for startling thee, Sir Kori. ‘Twas not our intention.”

“Ah! No, no! It’s alright, Sir Charles! Miss Sistina! Please, don’t worry about it. I hope you both had a good rest last night.”

“We did, Sir Kori. Thank thee for asking. And judging by thy countenance, thee didst as well. That is gladdening.  Now…shall we speak about My Lady’s objectives?”

“…!”

Fufufu~~, oh Charles, Charles, Charles~~. That was not fair, asking things like that and doing it in such a sudden manner would only fuel Sir Kori’s curiosity. But, then again, that was his intention as Kori’s thoughts were painted all over his face, making it quite easy for Charles to do such a thing.

This in turn caused Kori to make a face you are quite familiar with dearies.

The face of someone that got caught doing something they shouldn’t do.

Now, now~, don’t look away, dearies. You know very well what you diiid~.

After all, those cookies didn’t just disappear on their own, fufu~.

But I digress.

Charles’ question had hit the nail, so there was only one thing he could do, and that was to admit defeat by letting out a small laugh and be honest.

“Ahaha…I can’t deny that I am curious about what pushes her to the extent that she’d develop a kind of control only seen in those readying themselves for the worst of the Front—especially since she’s quite young—but…”

“But?” Charles raised an eyebrow, wondering what Kori was going to say. All while Sistina carefully watched Kori, her eyes glowing slightly. Almost as if she was doing something with magic.   I wonder what~?

“But I shouldn’t…no…that is not the correct word…I mustn’t pry on things that can only be shared by the person in question. That is not who I am.”

“…”

Oh my, what a great answer. It even made Charles smile in approval, and that’s something not easily achieved. Erevain here can attest to that, right? Ahhh, it was quite fun seeing you learn manners from him, fufufu~~.

“Good. Very good. A gentleman mustn’t pry on matters that doth not concern them lest they risk damaging something not easily repaired, trust. Alas, let us continue this conversation at the camp since our presence might disturb Lady Euphemia’s meditation.”

“Yes, of course. Although, I fear that I do not know what else I can tell you about the Sanjo Lordship, Sir Charles.”

“Thou must not worry about that, for we shan’t be talking about the Sanjo Lordship. No. Rather…it concerns thee and thy health.”

“…I see.”

You can’t see it, but Charles was surprised at how calmly Kori replied to him. While there was still some worry and anxiety in his voice, Charles could sense Kori’s desire to take ahold of those feelings and move forward. And this was a change Charles welcomed completely.

Still, the lack of shock and worry in Kori also said something. Can you guess what, dearies? No? It’s fine, Charles will help us with that.

“Thou art not surprised. May I assume that thou hast an idea of the thing we wisheth to converse about?”

“Ahaha…I think so. After all, it wouldn’t make sense for Miss Sistina to miss something like that when I’m living proof of how capable she is as a healer.”

“Indeed.”

“Oh and…thank you very much for saving my life again, Miss Sistina.”

“You’re very welcome, Sir Kori.”

With that, the three went down the hill and towards a small table set right next to the carriage where Charles served some freshly brewed tea for everyone as they took a seat.

Their conversation resumed there with Kori surprisingly taking the lead.

“Then…amm…you can tell me if I’m getting ahead of myself here, but is this about my chronic mana sickness?”

“Is it, Sistina?”

Both turned to the maid as she was sipping on her tea with all the propriety one could expect from a royal maid, waiting for her to be done. And it was only until she put her teacup down that they got their answer.

“It is. As you said, Sir Kori, I did notice it back then when I was treating your other injuries, but I couldn’t look deeper into it at that moment due to it not being a priority. Now that I have been carefully observing you for this last two days though…”

“…you were able to come to the conclusion that it was not caused by a curse, or something else like a bloodline affliction, right?”

“Yes…you may already know, but a ‘mana sickness’ is a catch-all term we healers and medics use for a major disturbance in the natural flow of bodily mana that can be caused by many factors and have many, many different effects on the body depending on those causes” Sistina raised a finger before she continued to explain with an example that...hits rather close to home.

“One of the most famous cases of this condition was the late Saintess and Hero…, her Highness Queen of the Kyrie Kigndom…Theresa vi Kyrie. However, hers was caused by overloading herself with moonlight attribute to shield an entire city from an attack, which caused irreparable damage to her body. As for you…my current diagnosis is that it was caused by interacting with a very, very rare attribute. One that can affect the bond between mind and spirit.”

Seeing Kori’s knowing yet wistful smile the moment he finished her sentence, Sistina felt somewhat bad about touching the subject, as she was sure that it was not a pleasant thing for Kori to talk or even hear about. Yet she didn’t want to waste this new effort of his to be more open, so she gave voice to her thoughts and in return Kori did nothing but confirm them.

“That’s pretty much it. You really are a great healer, Miss Sistina. Lady Euphemia is lucky to have you.”

“And I am lucky to have her as my Master. Still, is there anything else that you can tell me about your condition? Any unique symptoms? Anything? Whatever it is, it may help me help you.”

“Sadly, there’s nothing that can help me. I’ve…been this way ever since I lost my arm back home. It is as much of a reminder of what happened there as…well…the prothesis that replaced it.”

Hmm? Why is Kori smiling when he looks sad? Oh Celesia…that’s a smile people sometimes show when there’s no other choice but to accept things as they are, and that’s what he feels.

And that didn’t sit well with Sistina. After all, she was a caretaker of someone who was left behind by a victim of such condition.

“But Sir Kori that condition is shortening your life! If left untreated, mana sickness caused by the psyc—!”

“Sistina. That is enough.”

“But Charles!”

“I know, Sistina. I know. But his words art more than mere resignation. They speaketh of something else, the cause.”

“…!”

Having noticed that Sistina’s emotions were beginning to affect her usually calm demeanor, Charles intervened. Yet, he understood Sistina’s feelings. He understood them too well. After all, he was there. From the very beginning of the Queen’s condition…until the end.

That was why he was so quick to clarify the meaning behind Kori’s words to her, a meaning that only someone like him could have found.

“‘Twas a Dragon Lord that took thine arm, right Sir Kori?”

“…”

“Not just that, but ‘twas one practiced in the old draconic way of taking power through consuming one’s opponents, was it not?”

“…as expected of a veteran of the Front. I guess you have seen it happen countless times…”

“One too many, sadly.”

“Then you know that there’s only one way to heal this…”

“Aye. Thou must take back what was stolen from thee by felling the braggart who took it.”

“Exactly. And sadly…there’s no way I can do that. Not only that, but the moment I lose I’d be making things worse for everyone. And I mean everyone.  So…it’s better this way.”

“…”

As Charles gazed at the young man in front of him, he understood what he left unsaid once again. It was better for Kori to hide the power the Dragon Lord desired, rather than trying to take back the piece he lost and risking it falling completely into its hands.

When that sunk in, a grim feeling washed over him as he realized the bigger implications behind such hidden meaning. ‘Just what manner of rare attribute user was the Sanjo Lordship hiding that it made the Dragon Lords send someone to seize his power? And how is he now roaming the land with nay one looking after him? What is going on in Sanjo for them to err in this manner?’

It was then that a familiar voice resounded throughout the camp and brought a sudden end to the conversation.

“And that’s a wrap for the clean-up! Just give us your signal and we’ll continue our journey, Sir Charles!”

It was none other than Fen’Ru-el, the leader of the elven escorts.

“Thank you, Mister Fen’Ru-el. We shall depart anon.”

“Very well! You heard the man everyone! Let’s get ready!”

With that, everyone began moving and taking their places for the journey, including our dear, dear Euphemia, who had finished meditating.

‘I shall look into Sanjo’s situation after we reach the Kingdom and deal with the situation there…’

And with such a thought Charles entered the carriage.

Hmm…this almost sounds like a perfect place to end tonight’s story time; don’t you think so dearies?

Fufufufuhahahaha! I was just joking dearies! You don’t have to make those faces, fufufuhaha!

Ah! Stop! Hahahaha! Don’t throw me those pillows! You’re going to mess with the scree—hey! Don’t join them Auros! Stop creating more pillows for them to throw! Ahhhh, mouuuu!!! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!

"Cucuy Village on sight!"

Stop! See? The story continues so…ahaha…stop pouting and throwing pillows at me, dearies!

Ahahaha, ahem…I’m sorry dearies, I won’t do it again. I promise. So, let’s continue, alright?

Now…where were we? Ah! Right! With Fen’Ru-el announcing that they were about to arrive at their destination, Euphemia and Kori started moving.

The latter began preparing everything he would need to settle there like a proof of identity and a list of jobs he could do to contribute, among other things.

Meanwhile, the former went immediately for the window to her side, excited to see what the village looked like for the first time, and while the east side of it had been cleared out for its expansion, it still didn’t disappoint.

The extensive fields.

The cozy looking homes and well-maintained sheds.

The windmills.

The farmers tending to their many crops and feeding their varied livestock.

The kids happily playing monsters vs knights in the road, giggling away as they either swung their mighty sticks or trapped each other in a monstrous hug.

All that put a smile on her face.

She knew that her own home country had started as a humble village made up of refugees, so she held all villages in high regard and cherished the time when she visited them.

In any case, it didn’t take much time for them to arrive at the village proper and its conveniently located inn, there being where Fen’Ru-el parked as he announced their safe arrival.

Fufufu~, normally this would be the part where she jumps out of the carriage and starts greeting every single person in the village. Sadly, she knew why she couldn’t just do that.

Now, a question for you, my dearies. Why can’t our dear, dear Princess do that? Could it be because her tummy hurts? Or because she was shy? Or maybe because there might be baaaaad and scaaary people hiding in there ready to take her and do evil things?

Ding, ding! Both of you guessed correctly! Charles and the rest needed to make sure that the village was free of any henchmen of the eeevil woman, that Ice Witch, before she could get out of the carriage. And that’s what he and half of the elven escorts did. By the way, that’s called a survey, dearies. It’s like hide and seek but for grown-ups and the ones hiding are not always good people, fufufu~.

As for those who were left behind like our dear Princess…well, they had to remain where they were until Charles and the others returned from their survey.

It was a bit annoying for sure, but Euphemia understood the need to take precautions. After all, the situation was different than when saving Kori. Back then the only ones at risk were her and her entourage. As in people who could handle the risk.

Yet, that was not the case here.

Even if she thought that Cucuy Village was too far from the Kyrie Kingdom to have any henchmen of that Ice Witch stationed there, there was still a chance that there were. And with that in mind, she didn’t want to put any civilians in danger with her very presence.

Thankfully, the village was not that big, so it only took an hour for Charles and the others to return from their survey.

Moreover, they had good news.

There were no baddies, surveillance spells, or anything of the sort in the area. The village was as safe as it could be.

Thus, it was time for our dear Princess to get out of the carriage along with everyone else.

And so, she did, but before she could run off to explore the village, she was stopped by Charles who had something to say.

“Prithee, My Lady. Before thee taketh thy leave, I wouldst like to revieweth the plan for the day.”

“Hehe~, right. That. Very well, Charles.”

“Thank thee, My Lady.”

The plan was very simple.

One half of the elven escorts would stay with the carriage to give it maintenance while the other half would accompany Euphemia and Sistina in exploring the village. Meanwhile, Charles would join them after checking everyone into the inn.

After that, they would go to the village’s market and sell the materials from the beasts they have encountered throughout the journey. Of course, the elven escorts with them would sell whatever accessories they had made too.

All of this was for two reasons. The first was to reinforce their cover image as a merchant entourage and the second was to increase their resupply budget.

After all, travelling in the way they were doing costs money. Well…for everyone except your Father and everyone here in a way. Buuuuuuut don’t think that’s normal, dearies! Your father is a very, very, veeeeeeery unique case!

And you too, dearies. So never lose sight of that and think that our normal is everyone’s normal, or worse…that it makes us better than anyone else.

It doesn't.

Alright? Alright. Moving on.

Kori’s plan, on the other hand, was to visit the village’s head and start the process of his settling there, but that was not all…

“Thou shalt reunite with us at the inn for one last supper. Have I the right of it, Sir Kori?”

“O-Of course! I-I wouldn’t have it any other way, Sir Charles. Everyone.”

…he also had dinner plans with everyone, fufufu~~.

“Good! Then see you later, Sir Kori!”

“Yes, but please wait a moment, Lady Euphemia.”

“Hm? Of course! What do you need?”

“N-Nothing, I just wanted to thank you again for everything now that we are here.”

“Oh Mister Kori it’s fine, I only did what I thought was right. And everyone here thinks the same.”

“I know, but really, thank you. If it hadn’t been for you and your entourage, I, well, I wouldn’t be here at all. I…ahem…you have been of great help to me, and I really appreciate it, Lady Euphemia. I hope I can repay you someday. Truly. Thank you very much.”

“…!”

Kori’s gratitude not only filled his words, but it also shined through the way he bowed before Euphemia. She had read about its meaning in a book depicting the customs of the people that lived in the Sanjo Lordship. It was a gesture of great respect and eternal gratitude towards the person being bowed to and their people.

At first, our dear Princess was surprised at this earnest show of gratitude and respect, but knowing what it meant, she understood that she couldn’t reply in the same informal way that she had done moments before.

“If you are going this far, then I should respond in kind. Ahem…raise your head, Sir Kori of the Sanjo Lordship. I, Euphemia vi Kyrie, accept both your thanks and this show of respect and I shall keep them close to my heart. But…”

“…?!”

Fufufu~~, did you see that? That sudden ‘but’ and the fact that she had bowed startled Sir Kori in a way that almost made Euphemia giggle, but she was able to hold herself back and continue with what she wanted to say, holding her dress by the hems while she did so.

“…what I did was only what I thought was the right thing to do, for it is my earnest wish and my duty to help those in need, as well as it’s my responsibility given my position and strength.”

“…!”

So said the Princess before the surprised Kori with both confidence and pride before she stopped bowing and extended one of her hands towards him with a smile.

“That is why…let us shake hands once again. Not as savior and saved, but as travelling companions who helped each other in their journey, yes?”

“I…of course, Lady Euphemia. Of course.”

And shake hands they did.

To be honest, don’t you think that this feels like a goodbye? I do and they certainly thought so too. Even if they both knew that they were going to see each other for dinner. Perhaps they thought that it was better this way and leave the dinner to be enjoyed free of any goodbyes that could sour the mood.

Yes…perhaps.

Sadly, it’s not like I can read their minds, fufufu~.

In any case, here they were, two people who not only shared the path of trying to pull themselves out of their inner turmoil, but also a heart to heart that nurtured their will to move forward and towards their goals.

Be it to live a peaceful life or to return to fix a home filled with many wrongs.

Sure, they didn’t share that much time together, but that short time they did share was a meaningful one.

Meaningful enough to forge a bond.

A bond they were grateful for, despite the circumstances that led them to forge it.

And so, they smiled, wishing each other the best.

It was a moment that should’ve lasted longer, but that was not meant to be as an ominous, yet faint black haze went ‘tssss…’ and entered the ground near them, only being noticed by a certain butler.

“…?”

But before he could say anything…

Crack.

Crack!

CRACK!

THE GROUND BENEATH THEM OPENED UP!

““““…?!””””

“MY LADY!”

AND FROM IT, A MASSIVE SPIKE MADE OF ROCK EMERGED, WISHING NOTHING BUT TO PIERCE RIGHT THROUGH OUR DEAR PRINCESS’ BACK AND REACH KORI!

BUT!

THAT WASN’T GOING TO HAPPEN! NOT IN CHARLES’ WATCH!

SO HE MOVED! HE MOVED AS FAST AS HE COULD BY POURING ALL HIS MANA INTO HIS LEGS AND…

BAAAAAM!!

“HNNGHHH!!”

…HE BLOCKED IT!

“CHARLES!!” screamed our dear Princess as she and Kori fell to the side, pushed out of the way of the attack by Charles! He had moved in the mere moments that it took for the spike to emerge from the ground and blocked it with his arms, taking the full brunt of the attack on his own!

Yet, rather than piercing him, the spike only managed to barely push him back a few steps before it crumbled against his solid defense, a testament to his sturdiness, one forged in years of battle.

“Are you alright, Charles?!”

“Harken!! Don’t worry about me and ready thyself! Now!! Tis’ a Savage Spriggan!”

“““““…!!!””””

Charles voice boomed throughout the village and served not only to alert Euphemia of the danger that was coming, but everyone.

“…”

Including Kori, whose face went pale.

Not but a moment later, those belonging to races with a connection with nature, like elves, felt it—no…heard it, the screams of anguish that nature let out as more of it was taken over and turned mad by the Dark Spirits.

That is how they knew that the Savage Spriggan was about to unleash an even bigger attack.

“Everyone, ring formation! Leave no gap between our charge and us! Let your mana flow and fill the ground on our backs! We won’t let another attack in! Understood?!”

“““““Yes, Leader!!”””””

Soon enough, not only Fen’Ru-el and the rest of the escorts sprang into action, but also the villagers, who quickly separated into those who could fight and those who couldn’t, with the latter looking for refuge inside their houses and the village’s church and the former arming themselves.

There they stood with weapons drawn and eyes peeled, waiting for another attack.

And then…it came.

Crack. Crack. Crack. Crack.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

SO WENT THE GROUND AROUND THEM ONCE AGAIN AS VARIOUS ROCKY TENDRILS BURST OUT FROM IT AND BEGAN TO LASH OUT AT FEN’RU-EL AND HIS FIVE SUBORDINATES!

“[WREATH SLASH]! HMPH!!”

“[MANA SLASH]! HAAAAA!”

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! THEIR WEAPONS CLASHED WITH THEM AS FEN’RU-EL AND ALPHI’NOTT TRIED TO REPEL THEM WITH WEAPON SKILLS!

“…[GREAT FIREBALL]”

“…[GREAT LIGHTNING BALL]”

BOOM! BOOM!

“[TRIPLE SHOT]!”

“[PRECISE SHOT]!!”

TRSSSSHHHHAASH!! TAM-TAM-TAM!!

GHYLLEN AND SOL’S SPELLS REPELLED THE TENDRILS INFRONT OF THEM AND WEAKENED THOSE NEARBY, LEAVING THEM TO BE FINISHED OFF BY GUR AND LEGLAS’ ARROWS!

Meanwhile, as her escorts kept repelling tendril after tendril, our dear Princess stood up and looked all around her.

“Spirits of light and nature, vest me with your blessing! [High Heal]!”

“Hnngh…My Lady!”

She saw her dear butler calling out to her while being healed by Sistina.

“Come on! We gotta help them!!”

“Damn these things are sturdy!! My axe won’t hold on for much longer!”

“That’s because this thing is different than the other ones we’ve dealt with! Be careful!”

“Raaaaaahhhhh!!”

She saw the innocent villagers trying to help her escorts with the tendrils. Some rallied those who were still unsure, while others were already hacking away at them with their axes and trying to smash them with their hammers.

“It’s….it’s him…Xol…those evil spirits…s-stronger ones…oh Goddess it’s him…why…”

Then, pulled away from the villagers’ actions by the terrified mutterings of someone, she saw Kori, still on the ground and paralyzed.

He was…in fear.

He was…

“WHY IS HE HERE?! GODDESS WHY?!”

Screaming.

“HOW?!”

Suffering.

He thought he was better. He thought he was happier. He had a twinkle of hope in his eyes, one that moved him to improve and yet…all of that had been thoroughly squashed by the sudden appearance of the creature so closely tied to his trauma, to the Lesser Dragon Lord that caused him so much pain.

This…Xol.

“…”

Seeing all of this, our dear, dear Princess was filled with anger and frustration.

She was angry at the Savage Spriggan for hurting Charles, attacking them, and endangering the lives of innocent people.

She was angry at the Lesser Dragon Lord that was making Kori suffer, even more so if Kori was to be believed and he was truly behind this sudden attack. And Euphemia had little reason to doubt him.

But most importantly…she was angry at herself, even if she wasn’t showing it. Angry at herself for dropping her guard and putting herself in a situation where she was saved by someone else…again.

It made her feel like she was back to being the kid that was unable to do anything while her dear brothers sacrificed themselves in their own ways.

She was so angry, in fact, that one of her hands turned into a shaking fist.

“…”

Yet…she knew that she couldn’t let herself be swallowed by her anger and frustration. Not now. Not when doing so would only waste the efforts of those protecting her.

“Alright…”

Thus, our dear Princess took a deep breath and got ahold of all those emotions before throwing them into the fires of her heart, her conviction. Just like she had told Kori the night before.

“…I know what I must do.”

And that conviction…that will…

“I will protect everyone.”

That will burned brighter than the sun above her.

“But first…"

So, with a steeled heart, she did what she needed to do before anything else, even if it pained her to do it.

“…forgive me, Sir Kori.”

Tud!

“Gah—!”

She knocked Kori out by striking him on the neck with the edge of her hand, hoping that he would be better when he woke up.

She knew she couldn’t leave him be since he would’ve become a burden to Sistina, and she needed her to focus on healing Charles and anyone else who would need medical attention.

I know that that sounds bad, dearies. But sometimes we need to make hard choices to help as much people as we can. One day you’ll understand. Even if I don’t wish for you to ever be in that kind of situation.

“Heed me honorable Hunters and Guards of Cucuy Village! I am an honorary citizen of Deamis and the esteemed friend of Prince Lomiel! I shall grab the attention of this thing and keep it occupied with the help of my companions! Still, there might be more, so stay alert!” she called out with conviction in her voice before pulling out one more thing from her storage ring and raised it for everyone to see, an intricate amulet. The Royal Seal of Deamis. “You can trust me, I will not let this thing hurt any of you!”

Some of the long-lived villagers tried to object to her words, not because they didn’t trust her or the seal, but because she looked far too young. Indeed, they had heard of Prince Lomiel’s esteemed friend and some even knew how she looked like because of such talks about her. But still, in their mind she was supposed to be someone to be protected by the adults, just like any other child.

"[Enhance Agility]! [Enhance Sense: Sight]! [Enhance: Scepter Combat Skills]! [Double Effect]! [Way of the Gentle Fist: Flow Release]!"

FWOOSH!

““““““…?!!”””””””

And yet…before any of them could raise their concerns, they were overwhelmed by the incredible magical pressure she released as she activated some of her skills and summoned two of her scepters, the weapons with which she would fight.

Wind revolved around the one on her left hand while a constant fire burned on the one held in her right hand.

She was ready.

“Mister Fen’Ru-el, you heard what I said. You and your men shall follow after me once I get that thing out of the village and force it to emerge,” she declared as cooly as an experienced commander and the leader of the ones who’d be acting as her subordinates, the ones who were currently defending her only had one thing to say.

“Understood! But how are you going to get him out of the village, Lady Euphemia?”

Euphemia smiled.

“What else but offer a bigger target to aim at?”

“What do you—?”

“XOL!!”

Fen’Ru-el couldn’t finish his question before Euphemia jumped out of the living circle that had been keeping her safe all this time, leaving behind the dress part of her outfit, and infused her voice with her mana. All to shout the name she had heard Kori mutter as she kicked the ground and dashed toward the east side of the village, the side that had been cleared out in preparation for the village’s expansion.

“THE ONE YOU SEEK WILL NOT BE GOING ANYWHERE! SO WHY NOT TELL YOUR PET TO TRY AND GET ANOTHER BIG PREY IN THE MEANTIME?! I AM EUPHEMIA VI KYRIE! PRINCESS OF THE KYRIE KINGDOM! AND I KNOW WHAT YOUR MASTERS ARE PLANNING FOR IT! ALL OF IT!”

A bluff.

Well~, not entirely. The information her brother had been feeding her did mention that the Dragon Lords had indeed plans for her home, and that they were acting on them. As to what those plans entailed…neither she nor her brother knew, at least not entirely.

All in all, it was quite the reckless plan. So reckless that it just fits that the one doing it is one of Theresa’s children, fufufu~.

Still, in her mind…

‘It is worth a shot!’

…she thought as much.

And so, with Euphemia’s mana infused shout echoing throughout the greater surrounding area, it easily reached its intended target. A certain unassuming hooded figure walking leisurely on the path leading to the village.

Xol.

“Heh…” he smiled, his draconic teeth showing “…very well. I shall accept your kind offer, Princess. After all, who am I to reject the sweet dessert that is regaining the favor of my former Master…Violet Death?”

With a flick of his wrist, his will was transmitted to the Savage Spriggan that kept attacking Fen’Ru-el and his men to reach Kori, making it stop and focus all its attention on the running young woman as its rocky tendrils immediately aimed at her instead.

‘It worked!’ thought both Euphemia and Fen’Ru-el as they did their respective parts, one kept its attention as she ran and waited to make it emerge, while the others followed close behind so they could attack the second it did so.

The ground cracked and trembled with every step our dear Euphemia took, yet her focus was undisturbed. No matter how many times the Savage Spriggan attacked her with rocky tendrils, spikes, or heinous dry vines, her pace never slowed down.

Yes, with her senses heightened by her mana our dear Princess avoided it all in a way that almost seemed impossible for someone like her, but those who were familiar with her knew that she could do that and so much more.

“My Lady…will she be fine, Charles?”

“Of course, Sistina. She shalt be. Didst thou forget that the reason for our strictness in regards to her fighting was not just for her safety, but to quell the embers of arrogance ere they push her down a twisted path…her father’s path? The time hast cometh for us to trust in this heart and strength we have seen grow from the start. Let us trust her.”

“Yes…”

And who’d be more familiar with her than her attendants? Thus, while they looked at her with certain concern, there was also pride and confidence.

“Hup!”

Such confidence. Such pride. You can be sure that Euphemia was going to pay it back in the best way possible, through action.

As she got closer and closer to the part that’d act as her battlefield, a place in the cleared-out land where the ground was the softest, her pace quickened even more and the grip on her scepters grew stronger.

Mhm, she wasn’t just running around. Back in her days in the academy, she had been involved with several expansion projects like the one that the village was going to undergo, and because of that she knew that land that had been used for farmland was especially soft. Thus, the cleared-out land not only gave her access to a place where she could move freely and without worrying about collateral damage, but said soft ground was an essential part of her plan to make the Savage Spriggan emerge. The softer, the better!

“There!”

And now she had found it.

So, she ran towards that patch of land with everything she could while keeping an eye on the monster that was on her tail and then…she went right past it.

Yes, you heard that right, dearies. She went right past it.

Fufufu~~, don’t look so confused. Here it comes.

As pieces of that soft patch of land began to greatly rise and break down under the pressure of something harder than itself moving below it, our dear princess did a hard turn and…

“[Quickstep]!”

…seemingly disappeared right before a massive rock spike emerged and pierced the air where she had been. Only for her to reappear right where she needed to be, the place where the soft ground was disturbed the most, right where the main body of the Savage Spriggan was hiding! Or more like right behind it!

This was her plan! She used the soft ground to successfully pinpoint the location of the Savage Spriggan’s main body instead of fighting blindly and wasting precious time and resources, like her mana!

With that, her scepters shined and roared as she struck the ground with them and…

“[Double Element: Conflagrating Explosion]!!”

…BOOOOOOOM WENT THE GROUND!

The deafening explosion tore everything before it asunder and forced what looked like a massive rock to emerge violently as it was blown away by it, cracking under the sheer force before it fell to the ground!

BUT!

CROMCROMCROMCROMCROMCROMCROM!

Within the dust clouds brought by the explosion, the massive rock began to move in an abnormal way almost immediately and began to let out a black, buzzing haze all around it.

Dark Spirits. So many Dark Spirits!

The haze quickly turned into tendrils that stretched out to their surroundings and pulled in everything in their way.

Rocks, wood, plants and even the soil itself. All of it was twisted and forcefully conjoined by the tendrils into massive spider-like legs that supported the now cracked massive rock in its center! But the haze wasn’t done! It also made a monstrous mouth for it too! But why?

Fufufu~~why else? To roar!

"CRoOoOOooOoOoORGH!!"

And roar it did! Such madness! Such fury!

Our dear princess had done it.

The Savage Spriggan was out.

And it was mad.

Very, very mad.

Such a sight was supposed to be scary.

It was supposed to be something that many warriors would find terrifying! And with good reason! A Savage Spriggan was not a monster to mess with. As such, fear was a natural thing to feel before one, let alone a furious one that was about to attack!

"CRoOoOOooOoOoORGH!!"

Yet…that was not the case for our dear Euphemia nor the elves that ran past her and immediately jumped into the fray.

““[Deamisian Swordsmanship: Falling Leaves]! Raah!””

CLANG! CLANG!

Corrupted wood and rock were beautifully parried and pushed to the side by elven steel covered in green mana, rejecting the savagery and force behind the Savage Spriggan’s frontal lashing strike. This almost made it seem like the Savage Spriggan’s massive legs were nothing more than falling leaves before the two elven swordsmen skills…before Fen’Ru-el and Alphi’Nott’s skills.

“You know what to do everyone!” Fen’Ru-el rallied the rest of his men as they too jumped into the frey. “Now that the rock that protects its core is damaged, it has taken a form that will let it better protect it while limiting its range of attack and movement! Let’s take care of these legs so Lady Euphemia can crack it open and quickly blow up its core!”

““““Understood!!””””

Their cry of determination shook the ground as they surrounded the Savage Spriggan completely, cornering it even further. The swordsmen were in front of it. The archers were on its sides. And the casters were behind it.

There was no escaping their coordinated attack.

“Oh wind…vest my arrows with your piercing might! [Gale Enchant]! [Triple Shot]!!”

“Wind…let your piercing breath seep into my arrows! [Gale Enchant]! [Triple Shot]!!”

Arrows covered with windy blessings of piercing power were fired from the bows of Gur'Enel and Leglas, targeting nothing but the base of each and every one of the Savage Spriggan’s legs.

“Oh no, you don’t! [Ghastvine’s Pull]!”

“CroOooOrGH!!!”

The Savage Spriggan tried to move, perhaps even jump, but Fen’Ru-el forcefully grabbed its attention through a dangerous skill, one that manifested as ghostly green creeping vines that compelled the target to focus on him and only him. Of course, with its target being a powerful monster its effect only lasted a few seconds.

Then again…a few seconds was all that they needed to arrive.

TUMP! TUMP! TUMP! TUMP! TUMP! TUMP! FWOOSH!

“CroOooOrGKK?!!!!”

And I didn’t mean just the arrows, dearies. Oh no, I also meant the princess when I said that, fufufu~~. You see, our princess made her next move the moment Fen’Ru-el forcefully grabbed the monster’s attention. She used her wind and fire enchanted scepters to jump high into the air above the Savage Spriggan, so high in fact that she completely disappeared from the monster’s range of vision until it was too late.

So, as the arrows pierced through the monster's legs and separated them from the main body with their windy might, Euphemia fell upon it and struck said main body with another powerful blow!

“[Double Element: Firestorm Impact]!!”

BOOM! SLAM! CRaAaACK!

Fire and wind collided with the main body’s cracked and rocky surface and released a super-heated shockwave throughout it. Not only rocking even its highly protected insides and burning its wooden parts, but also disrupting the Savage Spriggan’s attempts to pull back its legs with its tendrils by forcefully shoving the main body back into the ground with that same attack.

All of this caused the cracks on the Savage Spriggan’s main body to deepen so much that our dear Princess managed to catch a small glimpse of its buzzing core. It looked like a crystallized black heart covered by many dark spirits that flowed through something akin to veins.

‘No…that heart is made of dark spirits. I see, so that’s why the books said they can’t just leave their ‘body’ once they joined with it’ she thought, and she was correct if I might add. Once dark spirits take root in whichever part of nature they choose as ‘main body’, they are bound to it as most of them crystalize and turn into the core while the rest assemble the extremities and so on.

There is just one thing I want you to be always aware of, dearies. No matter what amount of damage you inflict on it, if the core is not gone, the Savage Spriggan can and will continue to regenerate and manipulate its body freely.

And that is a fact that our dear Princess was reminded of as the shadow of the Savage Spriggan’s ever-enlarging newly formed head and neck loomed over her. Meanwhile, as everyone was distracted by the head’s sudden formation, hazy tendrils began to move once again. Yet, this time they did so beneath their very feet. All to reconnect with the now immobile legs.

Yes, dearies. The Savage Spriggan was not done.

“…!!”

"CRoOoOOooOoOoORGH!!"

The Savage Spriggan roared once again while pieces of rock and dirt fell from its looooong neck, showing that something was moving through it. Something big. Something bad.

““““““Lady Euphemia!”””””” all the elven escorts shouted, fearing for her. And while those who could move quickly, started doing so immediately, there was nothing they could do.

It just happened so fast.

One moment there was no head looming over her, the next there it was.

It was then that our dear Princess remembered Kori’s words ‘Not only was he able to control them with destructive precision, but they were also much, much stronger…’.

She realized it. This baffling speed to create body parts was one of the things that made it stronger. She was sure of it.

And as thousands upon thousands of tiny earth needles began to surface from the Savage Spriggan’s gaping mouth, ready to rain upon Euphemia, the world slowed down for her.

Many things raced through her mind.

Everything would be over if she didn’t do something, so what was she going to do?

Evade?

‘No, if I do that it might keep shooting while it follows me, putting everyone in danger.’

Then perhaps block them all?

‘No…I’m not like big brother. I can’t handle a mana shield well and maintaining a barrier with the scepters until it stops would be too draining.’

Then…

‘I need to counter it with something quick and strong enough to get rid of all of them all at once.’

Correct.

That was the answer.

Yet…her thoughts turned sour, if only for a moment.

‘I was planning to save this since a confrontation with Xol is nothing but certain now, but I can’t afford that luxury. No…it was a mistake to think I could win this while holding back like that. Hehe, I’m sure Charles will scold me over this later. Now…let’s do this!’

With that thought bringing her confident smile back, the world’s flow returned to normal, and Euphemia dismissed her wind attribute scepter, making it disappear from her hands before it was replaced by another one.

One that held a wavy pink and purple sphere at its tip and seemed to warp the space around it.

“Ugh…”

The effect on her was immediate. The second the new scepter touched her hand it drained quite a bit of her mana, placing a heavy burden on her body. But that was not the end of it as the scepter just kept taking more and more for the attack she was about to release.

It was like a bottomless pit…or a starving beast that was never satisfied.

But that didn’t matter to Euphemia, she knew well the cost and the burden that her unique fighting style imposed on her, she was prepared for it. So, she ignored her body’s complaints as she focused on one thing, she was going to make good on her conviction to defeat the enemy before her.

Yes or yes.

“…TAKE THIS!”

And so, both she and the Savage Spriggan unleashed their respective attacks into a clash that shook the battlefield.

“[ELEMENTAL STRIKE: SPATIAL CLEAVE]!”

VWOOOOONNNNNG!

"CRoOoOOooOAaAaAAAAAA—!!"

““““““…!””””””

At least…that was what the elven escorts and Xol—who was watching through the link he had with his dark spirits—thought, but that wasn’t what happened.

“Interesting…”, Xol smiled, amused.

There was no clash.

There was no explosion.

There was no shaking of the battlefield.

There was just the absence of the Savage Spriggan’s head and its countless earth needles.

Yes, dearies. It is just as you say. Our dear princess’ attack ‘erased it’ like you would a scribble in your notebook.

It disappeared just as it had appeared.

One moment, it was there. Then, it was not. Erased by one swing of our sweet Princess’ scepter and leaving the neck to fall into pieces.

And that meant that even the dark spirits moving that head had disappeared along with it.

Such was the power of the scepter Euphemia used, a scepter with the power to manipulate space itself! Just like your father does! Isn’t that cool?

Fufufu~~, I think so too.

“Gn…”

But! There it was again! The burden! The cost! Euphemia’s whole body felt even heavier than before, and her breathing had become ragged. And that was despite her dismissing her space attribute scepter right after her attack.

“…!”

It was then, as she tried to quickly regain her bearings, that the seemingly immobile legs of the Savage Spriggan shook slightly before they all shot themselves at her, looking to crush her.

‘Oh no…I won’t be able to dodge this in time…!’

““…[Sylvan Tree’s Root Binding]!!””

She thought she could do nothing but watch as the legs got ever closer, but rather than crushing her they suddenly stopped. No…not suddenly, they were stopped by the spell of a certain couple of elves who called upon the roots a strong-willed tree to bind them.

“Ghyllen!! Sols!! Thank you!”

Euphemia called out to them, happy to have them covering her back.

“No problem! We got you, my lady!”

“Yeah! We weren’t just chanting away to pass the time! We had to since we couldn’t let this thing take control of the roots we called upon!”

Indeed, that was the right decision, even if they ended up cutting it close. Either way, this was a chance Euphemia wasn’t going to waste. So, after that brief exchange, our dear princess shifted her attention back to the cracked rock at her feet—the Savage Spriggan’s main body—and spoke up.

“It’s time to finish this. Everyone, please cover me.”

““““““Yes!””””””

Thus, the end began with Euphemia taking a deep breath and dismissing her remaining scepter, the one bursting with flames. But don’t worry, this wasn’t bad. On the contrary, this was good.

Remember…Charles trained her in his very own martial art.

Her very body was a weapon too.

FWOOSH!

So as soon as she exhaled, her hands became engulfed by serene mixture of mana and ki, just like Charles had taught her.

“…!”

This was the moment when fear finally pierced through the madness of the Savage Spriggan and made it feel truly cornered, so much so that it immediately tried to break free from the bindings made by the elven casters.

“…!!! …!!!!”

But it couldn’t. No matter how much it tried to, it was useless.

Both the casters and the Sylvan Tree were not going to let it.

Thus, its fear turned into dread.

“[Way of the Gentle Fist…”

“…!!!!!!”

Danger! Danger! Danger! Danger! Danger! Its core was in danger! That’s what its instincts were screaming as Euphemia’s skill left her lips. It needed to do something before she damaged it.

Anything.

At any cost.

This made the Savage Spriggan run wild.

It desperately tried creating new arms, new spikes, new mouths, but all of them were either shot down by the elven archers or immediately cut down as they formed by the elven swordsmen. No matter how many times it tried in those brief moments, all those attempts were useless.

Then…time ran out.

“…Silk Weave]”

SLAM!

One hit struck at the rock that was its main body.

CRACK.

The one crack it had deepened.

SLAM! SLAM!

Two hits struck at the rock, seemingly soft yet impossibly heavy and full of impact.

CRACK. CRACK.

One deep crack became two deep cracks.

“….!!!!!!!!!”

The mouthless Savage Spriggan silently screamed in fear and fury before doing something that seemed counterintuitive to its desire to protect its core.

“…!!”

It used the very same rock that sheltered it to make various rock spikes that tried to hurt our dear Euphemia, taking her by surprise if only for a moment.

Fufufu~~, that’s right! Despite the surprise, she didn’t stop. She immediately regained her focus and let herself be guided by her instincts.

Thus, she twisted her body while moving on the rather small surface of the rock, barely evading spike after spike until…

SLAM! SLAM! SLAM!

…three hits struck at the rock, shaking it to the point some of the spikes crumbled.

CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.

Two deep cracks became three and the fearful thumping and buzzing of the heart within became louder and quicker.

Watching this fight like we are, it almost looks like a dance. Don’t you think so dearies? A dance where everyone did their part. The casters kept the monster from moving while the archers and the swordsmen swiftly dealt with all its other attacks, never stopping, not even for a moment.

The same was for our dear, dear Euphemia who danced atop the monster as she evaded rocky spike after rocky spike.

SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! SLAM!

CRACK. CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.

And through that dance, three hits and three cracks became four.

More spikes crumbled.

More parts of itself broke away.

“CRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR…!!!!””

It was then that the Savage Spriggan screamed once again, but this time it did it by shaking its whole body, making a strange yet furious sound.

A new tune that brought change to the rhythm! It was faster! Meaner! More desperate! The Savage Spriggan’s spikes emerged so much quicker than before that the gaps our princess could use to act were now even tighter!

Every time she landed just one hit—just one—rock spikes tried to take her out, all while she had to quickly predict where to place her feet next or risk being thrown off-balance by an emerging spike, or worse.

Even then, and despite all of that, four hits eventually turned into five, then six, and then seven, all weaved into one another despite the rocky interference.

Even then, four cracks eventually turned into five, then six, and then seven before intertwining and bursting, amplifying the damage and exposing more of the core little by little.

Even then…the Savage Spriggan didn’t stop.

It was desperate.

It needed to protect its core.

It needed to do its master’s bidding.

Even then…our dear Euphemia didn’t stop.

And eventually, there was nothing for the Savage Spriggan to do but be stopped by her final strike.

“[Way of the Gentle Fist: Silk Drop]”

This time, her fist descended directly towards the completely exposed core. It did so just like her technique’s namesake, gently, softly. Almost like she was about to caress it instead of hitting it. And then…just as her fist was about to make contact with the core, she stopped it, letting the true form of her skill flourish from there.

Could you see it, dearies? No? Then, let’s take a closer look at her fist, shall we? There! Can you see it now? That itty-bitty white sphere? Yes? Good! That’s her skill. She carefully weaved the mixture of ki and mana that covered her fist into that tiny sphere, letting it ride on her knuckles until her fist suddenly stopped and it softly fell on the core like a drop of water, unraveling both itself and its target along with it, turning into fine strands—like silk—before disappearing completely.

“Phew…”

With that, the fierce battle against the Savage Spriggan was over.

The monster’s shaking limbs lost all their strength and returned to being simple rocks, wood, plants, and soil before turning to dust. After all, it was the very will of the dark spirits that kept them from wilting away from the corruption they imposed upon them.

A sad fate for those taken…but don’t worry dearies, that meant that the spirits of nature within them were free and could join their siblings with the Spirits of Light and Nature once again.

Our dear Euphemia couldn’t hear them, but they thanked her all the same before doing so.

“…we did it! The Savage Spriggan has fallen!”

As for her…she raised her fist and proudly declared their victory, to which everyone cheered. And I mean everyone, from those in the battlefield with her, to those in the village watching from afar.

Among those watching from afar, there was a couple of servants doing so with proud and teary eyes, just like the ones our dear Ere has right now, fufu~~.

“Are thee watching Master Teresa? Young Master Erevain? Euphemia hath grown so much…”

“…so, so much.”

They knew that a harder fight was fast approaching, but in that moment all that mattered was how proud they were of their master. Their dear, dear Master.

After things calmed down and the villagers had time to clean up the damage from the Savage Spriggan’s initial attack, they invited our dear Euphemia and her entourage to a feast as a way to thank them.

They of course accepted and enjoyed the celebrations, raising their morale for what was coming the next day.

That is…all except one.

Our dear, dear Euphemia felt that she needed to talk with Kori and decided to excuse herself from the party for a moment, going directly to the inn where he was resting and stopping right outside his room.

Sistina, Charles, and one more person followed her discreetly, waiting by the stairs in silence.

“Can I come in?” she asked after softly knocking on the door.

“…” silence replied.

“Sir Kori…?”

“…” silence again.

“Sir Kori…I am sorry, I had to do what I did because—” she didn’t know if his silence stemmed from anger towards her choice to knock him out or something else, but she still felt the need to apologize. At least, she tried to, but she was suddenly interrupted by the sound of someone dropping beside the door from the other side.

It was Kori. He had been trying to open the door for a while, but the memories of his past and the recent Savage Spriggan attack still flooded his mind, making him unable to move. And now, as he listened to the voice of the one who had thought of him as someone who could move past his sorrows, he felt ashamed. So ashamed that the only thing he could do was to lean against the bureau to his side and slowly slide down to the floor, curling up and hiding his head behind his knees.

He didn’t want her to see him in that state.

“Is everything alright? Can I come in?” she called out to him, stabbing his heart.

“I…please d-don’t…” he muttered, gritting his teeth in frustration and disappointment towards himself. How could he be acting like this with the person who not only saved his life, but also tried to help him out of his own abyss? How could he lose it like he did earlier that day? How could he think of himself as having changed, if only a bit, when things ended up like this?

This and more questions raced through his shaken mind until one dark thought became louder than the rest.

‘I bet that deep down she is angry at me…or worse…disappointed. Why wouldn’t she?’ so he thought and yet…

“Very well, then we can talk like this.”

And yet, there was no anger or disappointment in her voice. There was only a genuine empathy, care, and…concern for him.

One that turned into seriousness.

“Sir Kori—no, Kori. I was thinking of slowly getting to the subject, but I think it’s better if I don’t. It would be disrespectful of you. You are hurt, not mindless. You know what I am going to say, right?”

Kori trembled before that question and swallowed a broken sob.

He knew the answer.

He was terrified of it.

He didn’t even want to say it out of fear of making it even more real.

But he knew…he knew that it was already inevitable.

So he answered.

“He is coming…Xol is coming…to get me.”

“Yes. He is.”

“I need…I need to escape.”

Euphemia smiled before shaking her head. She knew Kori couldn’t see such a reassuring smile, but that didn’t matter to her. Her words. Her tone. They would deliver that sentiment instead.

“No. You won’t.”

“I…won’t?”

“Yes, you won’t need to. Because I am going to stop him.”

“…!!”

With such declaration our dear, dear Princess resolved to tear apart the threads of fate that tied Kori and Xol together once and for all.

And in doing so, she’d become worthy without even knowing.

"…so that is thy decision, My Lady. Very well, we shalt support thee with everything we have.”

“Yes. Just as we always have.”

Meanwhile, at a discreet distance from her, Charles and Sistina took their Master’s intentions to heart.

“And so…may we count with thee and thine once again, Mister Fen’Ru-el? Nay…” Charles shook his head before turning towards the third person that was with them. “Former Lord Commander of the Deamisian Royal Knights' Order, the Golden Leaf, Sir Fenrir Relugh?"

The elf before Charles raised his eyebrows and smiled, he was pleasantly surprised that Charles knew who he really was. Or at least, who he once was.

"Haha, now that is a name I have not heard in a good century or two. But well, what else can I expect from the Iron Gentleman? As for your question, you can count on us. Not only did a lesser dragon lord attack the charges our King entrusted to us, but it also targeted a Deamisian village. We will do our duty to the best of our ability. Even if that means dropping the charade and engaging as former Knights.”

Charles smiled at Fenrir’s determination.

"I thank thee."

Thus, with the hooded figure of Xol getting closer and closer to the village and the princess' supporters ready to give their all, the stage was set.

The battle that would bring about many changes was about to begin.

________________________________________________________________

“And that’s where we’ll leave the story today, dearies.”

Yikes! Another hard cliffhanger! You really are enjoying teasing our daughters, huh. Not that I blame you though, their reactions are just too good to not want to see more of them, darling.

Fufufu~~, guilty as charged.

“Yes…Mother…”

“Ok.”

“Oh?”

That’s quite the…tame reaction?

“Amm…aren’t you surprised by tonight’s cliffhanger? Could it be that you expected it, sweeties?”

You took the words right out of my mouth. Well, my mental mouth.

“Unn…”

“That’s right! That’s right!”

Dawww! Synchronized nodding!

“It is time to sleep…so Ilya thought Mother would…end the story soon.”

“And! And we are not going to be fooled by Mother anymore! Hum! Hum!”

Pouting Celesia is always the best!

“Unn…unn…”

Wait…! What’s this?! Ilya just joined Celesia in the pouty puffy cheeks club! Oh my darling, that combo of her deadpan expression and those puffed-up cheeks along with Celesia’s is just…too…much!

Dear, I think I’m going to die out of cuteness…

NO! DON’T! AH! ERE LOOKS LIKE SHE IS ABOUT TO ASCEND TOO!! DON’T LEAVE ME YOU DUMMIES!

“Ah! But I have a question! A question!” so says one of my terribly destructive daughters while pulling on the back of my onesie just as I was going to hit both Nerinne and Ere with some pillows to stop them from ascending to heaven.

“Yes, my little Celesia?”

Having turned towards her, I can see that she has a very expectant look in her eyes. She wants something, but not anything like a pet or a new toy, no… It’s something much more important for her, something… deeper.

“Papa…are there any other dragons like us? Are there?”

“““…!!”””

“They all seem to be meanies in the story…meanies. It’s the same in books…the same! But…but we are not meanies, right…?”

Ahhh…I’m a dumbass…of course she’d ask something like that. And it seems that Nerinne and Ere are thinking the same thing as I am, judging by their complex expressions. A mix of surprise, regret, and guilt.

“““…”””

It should have been obvious and yet…none of us thought about it. Our daughter is a dragon lord. Yes, her circumstances might be different, but she doesn’t know that. She is just an innocent kid. A kid that is seeing people that look like her attacking innocent people.

What do I tell her? That all Dragon Lords are the enemies of the world except for us? Wait…is that even possible? I mean, the world is very big so there’s a chance that we’re not the only ones, right? Could I tell her something along those lines…?

“Papa?”

She is waiting for an answer. Should I go with that…? Or should I let Nerinne or Ere answer?

She asked you for a reason, dear. You know that. So, stop overthinking. Besides, you’re on the right track. Trust your heart and know that we support you. I mean, aren’t we by your side right now~?

Heh…yes you are. Alright, time to give our daughter the best and most confident answer! With that, I puff up my chest in confidence and make a wide smile before confidently declaring the following:

“Huhuhu, of course, my cinnamon bun!”

“Really?! Really?!”

“Yes! After all, the world is vast and full of wonders! There is just no way that we are the only dragons who are not meanies!”

“Ohhhh! Who are they? Where are they? What are they doing? Can we meet them? Can we, Papa?!”

Look at that, she looks so happy and her desire to know has been triggered so much that her eyes have turned into stars. I’m glad that I went with that kind of answer. As for these other questions, well…

“…I do not know.”

“Eh?! You don’t know, Papa? You don’t?!”

She looks so surprised, heh. I bet she thought that I knew everything. She really is a kid. My sweet, sweet kid.

“Huhuhu, that is right! I do not!”, I so declare with confidence again. “But! That does not mean that things will be like that forever. Someday we will meet them, we will know them, and you will get your answers. I am sure of it. Maybe one of them is a hero on the other side of the world, or perhaps a simple farmer that takes care of a small town, who knows? The possibilities are endless! Isn’t that exciting, Celesia?”

“Yes, Papa! Yes! I can’t wait to meet them and be friends!”

“Me too, my little princess. Me too. Now…SURPRISE HUG FOR THE BOTH OF YOU! KISSES TOO!”

“Waaah! Hahahahaha!”

“Hihihihi…!”

With that, what seemed to be a difficult conversation at first, became a wholesome family moment.

“Hey, don’t forget about me, fufufu~.”

“And me.”

“Mother…hug…good.”

“Mama! Hugsies!”

And I mean the whole family present here. Yet, I can feel that something shocking is about to happen…

“Ah! I forgot to tell you something, dearies! Erevain!”

“Unn…?”

“Nu…?”

“What could it be, Miss Nerinne?”

“Fufu~…”

Oh dear, I know that devilish smile all too well. This is going to be good.

“…oh, nothiiiing. The story is ending tomorrow. That’s all~.”

“Eh…?”

“Nu…?!”

HA! GOTTEM! THEY´RE SO SHOCKED!

“…”

Oh dear…hahahaha…Ere has gone beyond that and turned into a statue! Hahahahaha!

Hm? What about me, you ask? Please, what self-respecting weeb wouldn’t be used to sudden ending notices? CURSE YOU LOW SALES!!

“Fufufufuhahaha you three are so adorable! It was worth it to wait a bit to deliver the news~.”

“…”

“…”

While Nerinne is all laughs and giggles, our daughters are…not amused to say the least, hahaha. They’re both giving their mother quite the annoyed deadpan, so much so that it almost looks like we have two Ilyas now.

“A-As expected…the climactic battle is always close to the end after all…”

Meanwhile, Ere looks adorably embarrassed, her pristine white face is quite flushed and both her eyes and smile are trembling. Despite what she says, she really didn’t expect it and it shows.  Ahhhh, I want to give her a kiss just to see if she’d get even redder!

Oh! Speaking of redder! I just remembered that when we were watching the fight, which had again an anime filter, it wasn’t just our daughters who got so excited that they started loudly cheering. Nope. Erevain did so too! In fact, she got so excited that she even shouted ‘You can do it Euphie! Take it down and make your elder sister proud! Yes, just like that!’, only to realize what she just did and turn red, heh.

It’s going slowly, but I’m glad that she’s loosening up like that. We’re a family after all, there’s no need to keep up appearances between us.

Anyways, Nerinne seems to be done laughing and giggling now, but…well, she’s not the only one ‘done’ judging by the look of a certain two little someones.

“Little Sis…”

“Yes, Big Sis…”

“Time to sleep…”

“Yes, time to sleep…”

Ha! They are so done with Nerinne teasing them that they just got up, looked at each other, nodded and went to bed! They’re snuggling right next to each other now. Wait…they’ve opened one of their eyes each.

They’re looking at us who are surprised and charmed by this whole reaction of theirs.

“Father…Mother…Big Sis Ere…time to sleep.”

“Yes! Staying up late is bad! Bad!”

Hehe, these girls…

“Well, you heard them. Time to sleep.”

I mean, what else can I do than shrug and happily surrender to these two? Don’t you think? So, I join them under the blanket.

“Fufufu~~, to be ordered by my daughters. Now that’s a will I cannot disobey~.”

Nerinne too.

“Indeed. Bending the knee is unthinkable, but this is a welcome exception, uhuhu.”

And of course, Ere joined as well.

“Good! Sleepy time now! Goodnight!”

*clap*

Yes, that was Celesia turning off the lights with her little clap just now.

No, I totally didn’t see what she was going to do and silently turned them off at the same time. Nope. Not all.

Now, time to sleep! Goodnight!

__________________________________________________________

Once again, for a third time, in some faraway place outside the perception of everyone in that room and most godly prying eyes, a certain stubborn someone was still trying to enact her plan through the same window she has been watching them all this time.

All while ignoring all my warnings.

Much to my chagrin.

“Kakakaka! Lighten up, Yawue! I finally got it! A hidden entrance where I can pull out—ahem, I mean…invite a certain someone for a chat without our dear friend noticing! Everything will be fine! I promise! Kakakakaka!”

Haaa…you are such a headache sometimes…

To be concluded...(cue illustration of Ilya and Celesia snuggling together while in their onesies!) (cue another illustration of Ere learning how to do make-up, accessorize, paint her nails, and style hair to help Celesia! With adorably funny yet wholesome results!)