Alfheim (1)

Immediately after crossing the barrier.

We could feel a warmth that matched the season.

Well, we had just been piercing through Hraesvelgr’s biting wind, after all.

Considering it was autumn weather, it was just slightly warmer than expected, which is why it felt so cozy.

“Haah……”

As the tension drained away, so did the strength in my legs. My body, already struggling from the backlash, had reached its limit.

Of course, mental stress had also peaked, so I wasn’t the only one collapsing.

“I don’t want to be a paladin anymore.”

“Just don’t forget that the armor prepared for you cost 1,000 gold coins.”

“Damn it.”

You’re already bound.

That was confirmed the moment I mortgaged 1,000 gold—an enormous sum—to Línea in exchange for Vitege’s Armor.

In the past, if you had made such a decision, I would have respected it. Yes, I would have blessed Claire as she left, but that’s out of the question now.

“Faith is just a scrap of paper in the face of gold.”

“That’s not something a priest should say.”

“But there’s no more accurate assessment when it comes to people.”

“Are you two alright?”

Línea bent down and asked, looking at Claire and me sitting on the ground. Despite having just braved the bitter cold wind, a few buttons on her shirt were undone, clearly revealing her cleavage.

This fox. She’s deliberately striking this pose.

That’s because her face is flushed red. If it were a natural action, she wouldn’t hesitate about her own appearance like this.

Does she want me to notice?

But I’m too overwhelmed by the current situation to notice such things.

“No, I don’t think I’m okay.”

“Ah……”

I lay down on the fresh grass and stared blankly at the sky.

It felt like a completely different world from the wasteland outside. Warm sunlight poured through the gaps between the leaves of the enormous World Tree, breaking and scattering.

“Today, I just want to rest like this.”

“I agree.”

“I… um… agree too.”

After Claire followed me in lying on the ground, Línea looked around nervously before finally lying down next to me.

I hate to say this, but recently Línea seems to be easily swept along with me.

I recall when we first met. Well, she’s even more like that now than she was then.

“You did well too, Línea.”

“Not at all.”

When I stroked the head of Línea lying beside me, her fox ears drooped to both sides as if feeling good.

I wondered if they would stay that way even if I messed them up, but I decided against it no matter what.

This is just expressing gratitude.

……It’s definitely not taming her.

“Ah, this is more……”

“Comfortable than expected?”

Fresh vegetation and cool breeze. The shade created by the World Tree’s branches and the sunlight filtering through them.

It’s truly peaceful.

-Kuooooooooo!!

Except for the monster flying outside.

“What a mood killer……”

I got up at the sight of the massive form visible beyond the barrier.

Right, this is Alfheim after all.

A country threatened by trials called the <Wind’s Tomb>. I shouldn’t forget where I am.

“Should we get going now?”

Línea and Claire, who had gotten up almost at the same time as me, asked with lifeless eyes.

I agreed. Even if we’re outside the barrier, I don’t want to lie around in a place where monsters can be seen flying.

So as we dusted ourselves off and stood up.

“Titan?”

I finally realized that Titan hadn’t said anything until now.

“Hmm, yes.”

Titan was just blankly staring at the scenery. The young prince of the Malachite Kingdom who, despite his appearance, surprisingly loved flowers and plants.

Come to think of it, he had half-elven blood flowing through him.

That’s probably why he has such a contemplative look on his face.

“Let’s rest a bit longer.”

“I’m sorry. Let’s do that.”

Though he’d never shown it before, it was actually natural.

Whatever the reason might be, Titan needs time too.

*     *      *

Titan’s mother was an elf.

A beautiful elf who resembled a rose, whom Craig, the king of Malachite, had met during his travels around the world.

Rosaria.

For her, who loved flowers and plants, the Malachite Kingdom seemed a difficult place to live.

‘Mother.’

The Malachite Kingdom was humid and hot, with many people dying of heatstroke every year.

So it was a deadly disease. A curse placed upon the Malachite Kingdom.

If only she had lived somewhere other than the Malachite Kingdom.

‘I promised Mother I would show her a flower garden no less beautiful than her homeland.’

That promise could never be fulfilled.

Because of the stubbornness of the young and immature Titan. Titan wanted to show Rosaria the beautiful flower garden she longed for. So he took her out of the country while she was bedridden.

He wanted to show her the beautiful place he had discovered.

“Haha!”

And now, Titan finally solved his long-standing question.

“Truly……”

The flower garden he had desperately wanted to show Rosaria that day, even forcing her out of her sickbed.

“It was such a shabby thing.”

It paled in comparison to the scenery he was seeing now.

Rosaria must have known too.

How could a flower garden found near the Malachite Kingdom be more beautiful than the one spread out in Alfheim?

That love was so intense, that fact was so miserable.

“I was such a fool.”

Titan cursed his past self over and over again.

*     *      *

After being immersed in the surrounding scenery for a while, Titan eventually shook his head as if he had finished preparing his mind.

“Let’s go now.”

“Sure, well… we have plenty of time. Take it slow and think it through.”

His attitude suggested he hadn’t gotten over something, just postponed it.

Still, I believe Titan will handle it well in his own way.

“Hmm?”

Just as we were about to start looking for Nina, the Saintess of Earth, since it seemed pointless to keep lingering near the barrier.

“Lost! Lost! Look at this. Isn’t it cute!”

“Such a small, cute, and fragile creature, it’s almost pitiful.”

Línea was stamping her feet as if she couldn’t contain herself, while Claire was making oddly disconnected observations.

In front of them was a squirrel, staring blankly at us.

“This is……”

There was one notable feature that made it more than just a squirrel unusually comfortable around people.

“A ribbon! The ribbon is especially cute!”

“It must be domesticated. Ah, such a pitiful and cute animal.”

The squirrel had a ribbon tied around its neck. And it kept nodding its head and looking back, as if asking us to follow.

I felt a momentary discomfort at the sight of the ribbon, which seemed somewhat worn.

“Is it raised by the Saintess of Earth?”

“Cheep!”

What a strange cry.

Anyway, given the circumstances, that seemed like the correct answer, so I decided to lead the group and follow the squirrel.

“Lost, can we keep it?”

“No.”

“Then can I make it my familiar?”

“Why don’t you first learn what ‘familiar’ actually means? Claire. And obviously not.”

The squirrel, receiving enthusiastic welcome from the women, suddenly turned around to check if we were following well.

“Yes, we’re following just fine, so you don’t need to keep checking.”

“Cheep! Cheeeep!”

The squirrel seemed to understand my words, nodding before taking the lead again.

A scene straight out of a fairy tale. But there’s a stark contrast considering monsters are still flying outside the barrier.

It feels like being inside a snow globe.

“Hmm, we’re going quite deep inside.”

Following the squirrel led us deeper into the forest than expected.

And since we’re still advancing, I wonder if our destination might be where the World Tree, Yggdrasil, is located.

Is that okay? We’re humans after all. I’m not sure if it’s alright for us to casually approach the sacred tree of the elves.

“Cheep! Cheeeep! Cheep-cheep!”

But fortunately, the place the squirrel guided us to was close to the sacred tree, but slightly different from where the tree was located.

It was a barrier. Probably set up by the Saintess of Earth. Unable to see inside, I couldn’t tell what was sealed within.

“……”

Faced with this strange situation, I looked at the squirrel again, but it just tilted its head as if it didn’t know either.

“Well, alright. Let’s check it out.”

If this is a trial given by the Saintess of Earth, then solving it is the right thing to do.

At least it’s homework given by a far senior figure.

But just as I reached out to examine the barrier.

“I recommend not touching that barrier, Vicarious Saint.”

A firm voice stopped me.

Frozen in that position, I slightly turned my head to see a beautiful red-haired woman, just as rumored.

An elf with a somewhat stern atmosphere that reminded me of a rose.

Yes, this person must be Nina, the Saintess of Earth, who has been protecting Alfheim alone for decades.

“Ah, I see. I apologize. I’m not trying to make excuses, but this squirrel led us here……”

“Squirrel? I’m not sure which squirrel you’re referring to.”

“Hmm……”

Turning my head at those words, I saw that the squirrel had completely vanished.

That sneaky little squirrel. Backstabbing me and running away?

It must have been a prank.

“It seems to have been a harmful squirrel.”

“I wonder. I’m not sure which is more harmful.”

Cold eyes.

The atmosphere feels like I’ll be sucked into a swamp no matter what I say.

“Well……”

“Enough. I didn’t call you here to scold you. Welcome. I am Nina, the Saintess of Earth. Son of man, Vicarious Saint.”

“Pleased to meet you, Nina-nim. I am Cielo, the Vicarious Saint.”

After responding to Nina’s courteous self-introduction, she tilted her head as if something was strange, and then finally nodded as if she had come to understand something.

“Cielo….. I see. If that’s how you wish to identify yourself, then it’s right for me to address you that way.”

It seems she knows how I’m being called among my companions.

She might have felt like I was putting up a wall, but I couldn’t tell from her expression.

“Um……”

Just as I was about to speak, trying to somehow break this awkward atmosphere.

Boom!

An earthquake-like vibration erupted nearby, and a green silhouette rushed forward in an instant.

As if trying to protect the Saintess of Earth, elves appeared from all directions to block the way, only to be thrown aside like they’d been hit by a runaway carriage.

“Titan?!”

Startled by this sudden development, I was about to intervene, but before I could, Titan had already reached right in front of the Saintess of Earth and frowned. While I was hesitating whether to stop him or observe the situation,

Titan finally spoke.

“No, it’s not you.”

In a rather sorrowful voice.

With a dejected expression.

Titan hung his head like that.

Perhaps he was even crying. He had seemed somewhat distant ever since we entered Alfheim.

I knew that Titan’s mental state was quite troubled.

“You’re different.”

A sobbing voice.

That’s when I realized.

Titan, whom I had always thought of as strong, mature, a complete warrior.

Yes, he was still only 15 years old.

To someone, he was still a clumsy child who needed protection.

“Right, it couldn’t be. The idea that my mother might be alive here was just a delusion.”

The issue Titan had been harboring that no one knew about. The tender, wounded heart hidden beneath the shell of a sturdy warrior.

“Yes, that’s right. I am not the person you’re thinking of.”

In response, Nina, the Saintess of Earth, placed her hand on his cheek as if to comfort him and said,

“It’s good to meet you, nephew.”

But was it just my imagination?

Nina’s gaze as she looked up at Titan was still piercingly cold.

“The only jewel Rosaria left behind.”

To me, even those words seemed somehow accusatory.