120. Mother and Daughter Reunion

120. Mother and Daughter Reunion

“Let go! This is really…!”

“No.”

A deserted warehouse in a secluded corner of the academy.

Freya, with her face buried in the cold cement floor, shouted. Claire, pressing down on her, firmly shook her head.

A golden aura emanated from Claire’s body. Near Freya, who had fallen, her beloved staff, shaped like intertwined tree branches, lay alone, separated from its owner’s hand.

The shimmering green magic and remnants of golden aura visible beyond hinted at the battle that had taken place here.

“She’s my sister! My sister! Why are you taking her?!”

“She’s mine now.”

Freya screamed in indignation, but it was to no avail. A mage without her staff was no different from a mere ordinary person, albeit a slightly smarter one.

“Huh? What’s this?”

Claire, who was subduing her opponent with force, tilted her head and took out a sparkling glass bottle from Freya’s pocket. Inside the bottle, a liquid with a slightly peculiar hue sloshed.

It was perfume.

“Hey! Why are you taking it without permission!!”

“Sniff sniff.”

The liquid emitted a strange scent befitting its color. A scent that inexplicably drew attention, making one’s body flush red…

Claire, understanding its purpose, shoved the perfume into her pocket. She simply ignored Freya’s outcry.

“Eeeek…!!”

Freya twisted her subdued body. She thought that if she could just reach that staff in front of her, she could land a blow on this annoying brat. But her hand couldn’t reach it. The staff was placed in a perfectly elusive position.

“Princess~ I found some rope~”

“Tie her up.”

“Yes!”

While Claire was subduing Freya, Priscilla found a sturdy rope in the corner of the warehouse. Her knot-tying skills, diligently learned to capture criminals, shone brightly here.

“I’ll come back in the evening to untie you. If I don’t forget.”

“You damn bitch! Hey!! Where are you going!!!”

With this, today’s obstacle was also removed. Claire and Priscilla left the warehouse with smiles. With the sound of old hinges, the door slammed shut.

“Now, let’s find Skadi….”

“Princess. I was looking for you.”

“Hmph!”

At that moment, someone placed a hand on Claire’s shoulder. Startled, she trembled and turned around.

Short black hair, a poker face, a maid’s uniform. It was a familiar silhouette.

“E-Edel? You’ve been busy lately and I haven’t seen you, what’s wrong?”

“I had something to do at the academy, so I came to see you. More importantly, what were you doing in this old warehouse? And with Miss Louer.”

“Ah, no. It’s nothing much….”

Claire replied in a voice barely above a whisper, lowering her eyes. Her heart pounded with anxiety, lest the maid discover Freya locked in the warehouse.

“Hmm….”

The maid’s eyes turned towards the firmly closed warehouse door.

The cold steel door looked perfectly normal from the outside.

“… Anyway. Were there any problems while I was gone? Do you brush your teeth properly before sleeping?”

“Do you think I’m still a child?”

Claire replied with relief.

“In my eyes, you still seem like a child.”

Edel, who had been looking after Claire since she was very young, always saw Claire as a child.

… It was mainly a matter of appearance.

Edel changed the subject.

“There have been many disturbances lately.”

“Is it because of ‘that’?”

The incident in the dungeon. Even if she was the Third Princess, the fact that a member of the royal family’s life was threatened was not something to be overlooked.

But Edel shook her head.

“I don’t know if it’s related. It could just be a coincidence in timing.”

“What happened?”

“I heard that the Elf Princess’s carriage was attacked by a dragon. It happened to be near the Empire’s border, so the situation has become a bit complicated.”

Claire sighed in disbelief. A dragon out of nowhere. Moreover, elves are always under the protection of the World Tree, so why the Empire….

Elf?

“… Wait a minute, Elf?”

“Yes. Other elves were either found dead or rescued, but the princess couldn’t be found anywhere. So, Elf soldiers are constantly trying to cross the Empire’s border, causing minor… disputes.”

“I think I saw that Elf Princess somewhere-“

Just as Claire was about to speak, Priscilla interrupted her.

“Princess, aren’t you mistaking Miss Flora? We’ve already discussed this, but she’s not an elf, she’s a person who resembles an elf.”

“….”

“It’s a conclusion reached after cross-referencing with Skadi, so it’s certain!”

Priscilla put her hands on her hips with a triumphant expression. It meant that what she said was undoubtedly correct.

“Right, right.”

Claire gave up on refuting. She knew it was useless to argue with someone as foolish as Skadi’s look-alike.

Meanwhile, Edel said.

“I’m glad you’ve made many friends, Princess. You only showed interest in swords before and had no friends, so I was worried.”

“… What are you talking about? I had friends back then too.”

“You only had one. That’s practically having no friends.”

Edel stroked Claire’s head and said. Claire puffed out her cheeks and expressed her displeasure, but didn’t argue further.

“If you happen to see anyone resembling an Elf Princess in the Empire, please let me know. This is a politically important matter that needs to be resolved quickly. Then, I must be going….”

——

“What’s something women commonly do?”

“Sex!”

“Well done.”

I stroked Flora’s hair. The scent of grass spread gently. Fresh and clear, like phytoncides.

Flora’s education continued several more times after that day. Now, she, who had lost much of her memory, had become no different from an ordinary girl.

Ah, there goes a female student.

Flora immediately ran up to the female student and spoke to her.

“Want to have sex with me?”

“?”

She’s quick to put what she learned to use.

No, perhaps I have a talent for teaching people. Ur has become well-behaved after my education, so I have nothing more to say. Although she’s not the best at learning, she’s talented at teaching.

When I become the head of the family later, wouldn’t it be a good career path to become an academy professor?

“I had sex!”

“Really?”

As I was imagining myself going to lectures with a thick book tucked under my arm, Flora returned to me in a disheveled state. Her entire body, especially her lower half, was wet and sticky, suggesting she had a proper time.

“Hmm… Flora, don’t you think you need new clothes?”

“Clothes?”

“Yes. They’re all worn out, torn… a mess. How rough was it?”

They were normal clothes just a moment ago, but now they were torn with holes. She must have really gone at it.

“It always turns out like this when I follow what Skadi taught me.”

“That doesn’t happen to me….”

Anyway, the clothes I gave her were torn for the fourth time. Since she didn’t have any spare clothes, I had to buy new ones.

Flora waved her hand, refusing.

“I’m fine. I’m used to it! When I was struggling to survive as a homeless person on the streets, my clothes were also torn and in a mess. Oh, did I tell you about that time? A few days before I entered the academy, the cloth I was wearing got caught on a branch….”

“Ah, no. You don’t have to tell me.”

“I’ll tell you later when I have time!”

“No….”

Whether she’s used to worn-out clothes or not, I have no intention of ignoring a student who walks around looking like a beggar in front of me.

Even if she tears them again, I’ll just buy her so many that it won’t matter if they’re torn.

“Let’s go.”

I grabbed Flora’s hand and pulled her along.

Fortunately, there was the perfect person for this matter.

“Sara, hide! The Grand Duchess is dragging a naked woman…!”

“Should we do that too?”

“Huh?”

Ignoring the strange whispers I heard every time I walked down the street, I kicked open the door of the academy’s affiliated elementary school and stepped inside.

“Iris! Are you here?”

——

“Ugh… Sister… save me….”

Freya was sobbing with her face buried in the cold ground. Her perked-up black ears and tail had long since drooped.

The warehouse had a small rectangular window just below the ceiling, but due to its size and location, it was meaningless except for estimating how much time had passed.

An old, dilapidated warehouse in the very corner of the academy. There was no sign of anyone passing by, and only silence enveloped Freya.

“It’s mine, she’s my sister… why is everyone taking her…!”

Freya vented her pent-up anger for the 57th time since being imprisoned. It was a cry mixed with injustice, anger, frustration, and despair.

“Freya.”

“Hih?!”

At that moment, hearing a voice from the empty space where no one should be, Freya was startled and turned her head.

There stood a pure white wolf beastman. The one Freya had been waiting for so eagerly….

No, something was different.

Freya focused her eyes and looked at the other person again.

“… Mom?”

“What are you doing here, all tied up like this?”

The person was Freya and Skadi’s mother.

Frigg.