Withdrawal symptoms are hard to recognize.
Recently, I’ve managed to disguise it by having conversations with Al in my brain.
I’m becoming a bit of a dangerous elf.
But I’m fine as long as I don’t get caught …… I’m fine.
Elves are sensitive to nature, but basically insensitive to people.
Because they are long-lived, they don’t pay attention to emotional movements in short intervals.
They are only aware of the wind blowing and the trees shaking.
Instead, they see things in the long run and are sensitive about it.
This is why I’m confident that I won’t be found out …… unless it’s Al.
In the meantime, Vernelli called me.
“You wanted to see me, sir?”
“Daughter of Rayala, there’s been movement in the forest.”
I was startled.
“The area of the forest is diminishing. And with it, all signs of the beastmen settlement disappeared.”
It’s definitely strange, isn’t it ……?
But I was inwardly disappointed that it wasn’t about Al.
“What do you mean “disappeared”?”
“Exactly what I said. There’s no sign of life. So let me ask you this. Is the companion of Rayala’s daughter one who would exterminate an adversary?”
I can assure you that he is not.
“No, I’m afraid he is not.”
“Why not?”
“He hates the apostles and the blind, but he has no desire to end them.”
“Continue.”
“He hates a world where only blind faith is allowed.”
“So there’s a story.”
“I’ll take a look. What shall I tell you of the result?”
“Let the words of the spirits flow through the forest. We’ll pick it up.”
The word of the spirits is a kind of magic that elves can use to broadcast the word within a certain area.
The words drift through the area, and we pick up the drifting words.
The range is the natural area of the territory.
In this case, it is the forest area of Ravenna.
This is a message magic for a specific area.
It can also be reversed, so that messages from the other side can also be transmitted.
You can’t tell if there are words or not unless you are in contact with nature.
“Then I will go.”
“Take care of yourself, daughter of Rayala. Even I can see that your heart is in a hurry.”
I blushed.
I left the village without even getting ready.
I found myself running as fast as I could.
After about two days, I arrived at what used to be a beastmen village.
Sure enough, there was no sign of people.
There were no traces of attacks.
They simply moved …… That’s what it looks like.
Did they move to another location because they felt unsafe?
If that’s the case, it’s strange.
A lot of the footprints were heading out of the forest.
If they were evacuating, they would have gone in a different direction.
I followed the footprints while keeping an eye on the surroundings.
After about three days, I found myself outside the forest.
Outside the forest, the forest had been cut down and the land was flat.
I wonder if Al’s development is in progress?
◆◇◆◇◆
While I was wondering where I should head, I saw what looked like a knight on a horse.
A knight here? I approached him with some caution.
The knight is also wary, but he doesn’t seem hostile.
“Where did you come from, young lady there?”
The knight asked when I got close enough.
“From the forest, where did you come from, Sir knight?”
“I’m from the town of Ravenna.”
Ah! Is he one of Al’s men? But …… I didn’t want to be wrong, so I checked.
“I thought there was no such thing as a town here, though?”
“There was a town established some time ago.”
You’re so quick to tell me…
“Are you sure? Are you sure you want to tell me so easily?”
“Yes. My lord has instructed me to be friendly with elves when I see them, not hostile.”
My heart began to beat faster.
“By …… By any chance. Is that man’s name Alfred?”
“Yes. That’s right, but do you know him?”
“Y- …… Yes. And …… can I meet him?”
Oh no …… my voice got hoarse and I ended up stammering.
But the knight politely ignored my agitation.
“No, thank you. I’ll show you around while I report to my lord. Would you like to ride in the back?”
“Yes! By all means!”
The knight put me on the back of his horse.
During the ride, I asked a lot of questions about Al.
As I listened to the knight, I thought he was still the same.
“There are many names for the lord, including …… Common Sense Breaker, Lord 160-year-old, Youthful old man, Black-hearted Hermit, and many more. Does anyone know all of them?”
He’s been called all sorts of terrible names …… It made me laugh.
But I also knew that everyone loved him.
◆◇◆◇◆
After a while, we could see a town that was still in the process of being built.
My heart started to beat faster.
I could hear it even when I kept quiet.
When I entered the town, I got off my horse and looked around the town.
It wasn’t really a town yet, though.
The knight who showed me around asked the knight who greeted us, “Where is the lord now?” He asked.
“Oh, he’s at the usual place, surrounded by children.”
Children? I wonder if he had taken in someone’s child.
With these questions in mind, the knight led me to a large covered building.
Later, I was told that I looked suspicious because I was too fidgety.
I could hear the noise of children.
I was led inside, and there was Al.
He had a troubled look on his face and was surrounded by a group of wolf children.
Without thinking, I shouted.
“Al!”
Al was surprised at first, but then he looked very happy.
“It’s Mil!”
When I saw his face, I was swept away by a flood of emotions and found myself running to him and hugging him.
And the idea of checking out the beastmen village that I had offered to the village chief had completely disappeared from my mind.
Withdrawal symptoms are hard to recognize.
Recently, I’ve managed to disguise it by having conversations with Al in my brain.
I’m becoming a bit of a dangerous elf.
But I’m fine as long as I don’t get caught …… I’m fine.
Elves are sensitive to nature, but basically insensitive to people.
Because they are long-lived, they don’t pay attention to emotional movements in short intervals.
They are only aware of the wind blowing and the trees shaking.
Instead, they see things in the long run and are sensitive about it.
This is why I’m confident that I won’t be found out …… unless it’s Al.
In the meantime, Vernelli called me.
“You wanted to see me, sir?”
“Daughter of Rayala, there’s been movement in the forest.”
I was startled.
“The area of the forest is diminishing. And with it, all signs of the beastmen settlement disappeared.”
It’s definitely strange, isn’t it ……?
But I was inwardly disappointed that it wasn’t about Al.
“What do you mean “disappeared”?”
“Exactly what I said. There’s no sign of life. So let me ask you this. Is the companion of Rayala’s daughter one who would exterminate an adversary?”
I can assure you that he is not.
“No, I’m afraid he is not.”
“Why not?”
“He hates the apostles and the blind, but he has no desire to end them.”
“Continue.”
“He hates a world where only blind faith is allowed.”
“So there’s a story.”
“I’ll take a look. What shall I tell you of the result?”
“Let the words of the spirits flow through the forest. We’ll pick it up.”
The word of the spirits is a kind of magic that elves can use to broadcast the word within a certain area.
The words drift through the area, and we pick up the drifting words.
The range is the natural area of the territory.
In this case, it is the forest area of Ravenna.
This is a message magic for a specific area.
It can also be reversed, so that messages from the other side can also be transmitted.
You can’t tell if there are words or not unless you are in contact with nature.
“Then I will go.”
“Take care of yourself, daughter of Rayala. Even I can see that your heart is in a hurry.”
I blushed.
I left the village without even getting ready.
I found myself running as fast as I could.
After about two days, I arrived at what used to be a beastmen village.
Sure enough, there was no sign of people.
There were no traces of attacks.
They simply moved …… That’s what it looks like.
Did they move to another location because they felt unsafe?
If that’s the case, it’s strange.
A lot of the footprints were heading out of the forest.
If they were evacuating, they would have gone in a different direction.
I followed the footprints while keeping an eye on the surroundings.
After about three days, I found myself outside the forest.
Outside the forest, the forest had been cut down and the land was flat.
I wonder if Al’s development is in progress?
◆◇◆◇◆
While I was wondering where I should head, I saw what looked like a knight on a horse.
A knight here? I approached him with some caution.
The knight is also wary, but he doesn’t seem hostile.
“Where did you come from, young lady there?”
The knight asked when I got close enough.
“From the forest, where did you come from, Sir knight?”
“I’m from the town of Ravenna.”
Ah! Is he one of Al’s men? But …… I didn’t want to be wrong, so I checked.
“I thought there was no such thing as a town here, though?”
“There was a town established some time ago.”
You’re so quick to tell me…
“Are you sure? Are you sure you want to tell me so easily?”
“Yes. My lord has instructed me to be friendly with elves when I see them, not hostile.”
My heart began to beat faster.
“By …… By any chance. Is that man’s name Alfred?”
“Yes. That’s right, but do you know him?”
“Y- …… Yes. And …… can I meet him?”
Oh no …… my voice got hoarse and I ended up stammering.
But the knight politely ignored my agitation.
“No, thank you. I’ll show you around while I report to my lord. Would you like to ride in the back?”
“Yes! By all means!”
The knight put me on the back of his horse.
During the ride, I asked a lot of questions about Al.
As I listened to the knight, I thought he was still the same.
“There are many names for the lord, including …… Common Sense Breaker, Lord 160-year-old, Youthful old man, Black-hearted Hermit, and many more. Does anyone know all of them?”
He’s been called all sorts of terrible names …… It made me laugh.
But I also knew that everyone loved him.
◆◇◆◇◆
After a while, we could see a town that was still in the process of being built.
My heart started to beat faster.
I could hear it even when I kept quiet.
When I entered the town, I got off my horse and looked around the town.
It wasn’t really a town yet, though.
The knight who showed me around asked the knight who greeted us, “Where is the lord now?” He asked.
“Oh, he’s at the usual place, surrounded by children.”
Children? I wonder if he had taken in someone’s child.
With these questions in mind, the knight led me to a large covered building.
Later, I was told that I looked suspicious because I was too fidgety.
I could hear the noise of children.
I was led inside, and there was Al.
He had a troubled look on his face and was surrounded by a group of wolf children.
Without thinking, I shouted.
“Al!”
Al was surprised at first, but then he looked very happy.
“It’s Mil!”
When I saw his face, I was swept away by a flood of emotions and found myself running to him and hugging him.
And the idea of checking out the beastmen village that I had offered to the village chief had completely disappeared from my mind.
