A Picturesque Scene

The night in the forest was quiet, with only faint ambient sounds.

The babbling of a stream and the bell-like chirping of insects lured me into a deeper sleep than silence would.

Inside the cottage, the temperature and humidity were at comfortable levels, and perhaps because I was tired from getting here, drowsiness came as soon as I wrapped myself in the blanket.

Something hitting my waist woke me.

It seemed I had fallen into a deep sleep.

Looking behind me, I saw Alexia's foot.

Apparently she had kicked me in her sleep.

Her blanket had come undone and she was in a rather unladylike state, so I repositioned her leg and covered her up again.

Azu and Orleans still seemed to be sleeping too.

Elza was nowhere to be seen.

"You're up?"

"Good morning, Finn. Did you not sleep?"

"I took a short nap, so I'm fine. I stayed up just in case that elf tried something."

Finn was sitting against the wall, looking this way.

She had yarn and knitting needles in her hands and was knitting.

Noticing my gaze, Finn stopped her hands.

"Oh, this? I do it to kill time. Making towels and such brings in money."

"I didn't know knitting was your hobby. But you're good with your hands, so you might be suited for it."

"It's not really a hobby. When I didn't have work, I couldn't eat without doing side jobs."

Finn lowered her gaze and resumed her knitting.

The yarn was being worked quickly.

"Have you seen Elza?"

"She said she was going out for a walk. That priestess can handle herself even if monsters attack her, so I let her go."

"That's true, but we don't know what might happen here… Evalin isn't here either. I'm going to look for them outside."

"Such a worrywart. If something happens, shout or something to let us know."

"Got it."

I stood up and folded my blanket.

Azu was murmuring in her sleep as she rolled over.

I quietly opened the door so as not to wake her and stepped outside.

The wooden puppet was standing right outside the door, which startled me.

Puppe, was it called?

It seemed to be guarding the cottage exterior.

It could probably handle ordinary monsters easily.

It showed no interest in my movements.

I passed by it, but there was no reaction.

It seemed to only act on given instructions.

I couldn't tell from inside the cottage, but it was just the time when the morning sun was beginning to rise.

The air was clear, and taking a deep breath filled my lungs with slightly cold, refreshing air.

This was the kind of location that made you wish you had a vacation home here.

I looked around for where Elza and Evalin might have gone.

I spotted a figure a short distance away.

From the outfit, it was Evalin.

Yesterday's communication hadn't gone well, but maybe talking more would reveal something. I slowly approached.

Evalin was sitting on a large rock by the lakeside, extending her hand.

Small birds were perched on her fingers, and I could hear birdsong.

With the morning sun making her golden hair translucent, coupled with her beauty, I thought it made for quite a picturesque scene.

If I brought a painter here to paint this, it would fetch a high price.

"You're awake?"

"Yes. Thank you for letting us use the sleeping area."

Noticing me, the birds flew off from Evalin's fingertips.

I felt bad for interrupting her time with the birds, but she didn't seem particularly bothered.

"You don't need to worry about that."

She turned her face toward me.

I still couldn't tell what she was thinking.

Normally, you could glean some sense of mood or emotion from someone's gaze or expression, but there was none of that from her.

She didn't seem to hate humans, but she wasn't friendly either.

"So, shall we go to where the monster is?"

"No, I came looking for my companions right now. Once we're ready, I'd like to request that as well."

"I see."

"Have you seen Elza… our priestess?"

"That girl is bathing in the water a little further in. Over there."

Looking in the direction she pointed, I saw a waterway leading to a more secluded area.

I thanked her and moved that way.

There was a small pond hidden by trees.

I could hear the sound of water.

"Elza, are you there?"

"Oh, Master. I'm over here."

I moved toward the voice.

There I found Elza bathing in the water.

She was wearing her undergarments, but they clung to her skin from the water and were transparent.

Elza turned toward me without making any effort to hide herself.

"Sorry, I came looking for you but you were still bathing."

"You don't need to worry. I woke up before everyone else, so I was taking a quick dip. The water here is clear and feels nice. Would you like to join me?"

"Stop teasing me. I just wanted to check where you were. I'll wait by the lake, so come out when you're done."

"Okay. Too bad. I'll be right there."

Having confirmed Elza was safe, I returned to where Evalin was.

She was gazing into the distance, unchanged.

"Is that priestess child from the Church of the Creator King?"

"Yes. Due to various circumstances, I'm looking after her."

"I see. I thought there were none left. I was surprised she knew the old stories."

This was probably about the Ash Kingdom.

There were hardly any records left, so what had happened wasn't known.

But it wasn't strange that Elza knew the details.

"Would things have been different if we had fought alongside the Ash Kingdom? But back then, we were afraid of the Church of the Sun God. The defeat of the Creator King and the God Oscar was that shocking."

"I can't even imagine what gods are like, but even elves with such power feel fear?"

"All living things have emotions. Is it not the same for humans, plants, or even insects?"

"… I spoke rudely. I apologize."

"What are you apologizing for? I only stated the obvious."

Her conversation was still hard to follow.

I thought it was sarcasm, but her expression hadn't changed at all.

"But it's a fact that elves declined from then on. We had skirmishes with the Church of the Sun God and things stopped going well with humans, and our numbers dwindled. No matter how strong you are, that doesn't mean prosperity. Looking back now, the Ash Kingdom coexisted with us quite well."

"Now, elves aren't even known to exist. I didn't believe in them myself until I saw you."

"I see."

Evalin stood up.

Elza had finished preparing and was coming this way.

"Sorry for the wait. Let's return to the cottage."

"Right. After breakfast, could you take us to the monster?"

"Sure."

We decided to return to the cottage first.