Ch.325The Man Who Decided to Become a Little Shameless.

“So that’s how I decided to date Iris.”

I came out about my relationship with Iris after everyone had woken up, eaten, and gathered upstairs.

While everyone seemed to have anticipated this development, the atmosphere in the room was far from celebratory or welcoming. This was because some shocking facts had been revealed through Iris’s mouth, far more impactful than a mere relationship announcement.

“W-wait a moment, please. My mind isn’t working properly after hearing so many shocking things at once.”

The person most shocked was, naturally, Phyllis.

The fact that the Sacred Tree, revered by the elves, had been controlling their minds much like the relationship between Lois Reich and the Dark Elves.

The fact that Iris’s mind was changing much faster than other elves, and that the time when her sense of self would fade was accelerating accordingly.

And the fact that Iris’s rush to establish a relationship with me stemmed from reasons similar to a terminal patient’s confession of love.

None of these revelations would be easy to accept with a clear mind.

“Are you saying we were no different from the Dark Elves…? That our sense of duty to protect the Sacred Tree and sanctuary, and the mental changes that come with age… were all due to mind control?”

“Phyllis…”

“Then what did Sister Airi and our kin who lost their lives five years ago die for…!”

*Rustle*

Iris gently embraced Phyllis, who was about to collapse with an agitated expression.

Like a mother soothing her young daughter, Iris stroked her younger sister’s head. With each stroke of her hand, Phyllis’s trembling visibly subsided.

“Calm down, Phil.”

“Sister Airi…”

“I understand this is shocking. But don’t think so extremely—calmly reflect on your memories. Now that I’m free from the Sacred Tree’s influence, do I seem like a completely different person from the Sister Iris you knew?”

Phyllis shook her head in response to Iris’s calm question.

It meant that although her appearance had changed, Iris’s heart and mind remained exactly as Phyllis remembered her sister.

“It’s true, the Sacred Tree may have had some influence on elven minds. But it’s clearly different from Lois Reich’s power that twists and corrupts people’s minds.”

“I’m not sure we can definitively say that…”

“Yes, we can. The proof is right there.”

Saying this, Iris slowly turned Phyllis, who was still in her arms, to face me.

“If our hearts were forced by the Sacred Tree to prioritize the safety of the sanctuary and the prosperity of elves, could I have chosen a human man who already has other partners as my lifelong companion?”

“……”

“Would someone who is merely being controlled choose to give up her position as Guardian Captain for a man who won’t live even a quarter of a quarter of your lifespan, accept polygamy which is difficult for elves to accept, and love that man enough to sacrifice her life for him?”

Phyllis seemed to regain her composure under Iris’s gentle persuasion. She slowly nodded and spoke with renewed confidence.

“Sister Airi is right. Whatever else may be true, I must believe that my feelings for Will and our companions are entirely my own. I’ve shown an unsightly side of myself.”

“It’s alright, Phil. You must have done far more outrageous things during your first night with Master, so I doubt anyone here would consider this unsightly by comparison.”

“W-what?! How do you know about that, Sister?!”

Phyllis glared at me with a bright red face in response to her sister’s sudden sex joke, but I had never actually shared detailed stories about my first night with her sister to Iris.

So I calmly shook my head to convey my innocence.

“Did you think I wouldn’t know? It started when you were about fifteen, right? Always locking yourself in your room and moaning things like ‘Oh harder’ or ‘You can take my body with those dirty hands, but my heart—mmph!'”

“Kyaaaah! Stop it, Sister!”

As Phyllis covered Iris’s mouth to prevent further exposure of her dark history in front of everyone, the previously heavy atmosphere completely disappeared.

“Well, putting aside Phyllis’s childhood stories—”

After the elven sisters’ minor squabble had settled, Jessica was the first to speak up.

“What are Will and Iris planning to do now?”

“?”

“What do you mean? If they’ve decided to date, isn’t that the end of the story?”

For Mina and Seti who had question marks floating above their heads, Phyllis, who had caught the meaning of the question, provided an explanation.

“Sister Airi has decided to become Will’s woman like the rest of us. However, she hasn’t given up on becoming the Elder of the Willow Sanctuary. Which means…”

“Oh.”

Even if Iris accompanies me as a lover on our journey now, she must return to the sanctuary before the current Elder’s life ends to succeed the position.

And according to the estimate of Bogus, the apothecary of the Willow Sanctuary, the “current Elder’s lifespan” would be at most about 10 years.

“You’re not planning to date Iris for just 10 years and then break up, right?”

“Of course not.”

“Do you have a specific plan?”

“More like a goal. Iris and I have roughly agreed on something…”

For now, we’re setting aside the issue of Iris’s mind rapidly assimilating with the sanctuary.

Since this assimilation is ultimately closely related to the Sacred Tree, Iris, who has now broken free from the Sacred Tree’s control, can be considered in a “paused” state.

Iris agrees with this assessment.

“Frankly speaking, if it weren’t for the Willow Sanctuary issue, Iris could remain as a Dark Elf by my side indefinitely.”

“That’s quite a bold idea… but you can’t ignore the Willow Sanctuary problem, can you?”

“Here’s a quiz. What exactly is the [problem] that the Willow Sanctuary needs to solve?”

“?”

This is the core issue in my relationship with Iris.

It’s the key point to keeping her by my side even after 10 years pass.

Phyllis was naturally the first to answer this question.

“If Sister Airi fails to succeed the Elder position, the Sacred Tree’s protection over the sanctuary will disappear when Elder Shurain passes away. Then we won’t be able to block the invasion of black mana or use the Arachne Knot to prevent outsiders and monsters from approaching.”

“So it would be in a situation similar to the Western City when its barrier tower was destroyed.”

“To summarize simply, yes. Of course, there would be various other minor problems as well.”

“…Then would installing a barrier tower in the Willow Sanctuary solve it?”

Phyllis’s eyes widened at Seti’s muttered words.

Yes, that’s exactly what I wanted to address.

The Sacred Tree, the sanctuary, and the elven race are not inseparable relationships that have existed since the birth of their species.

They are merely means of survival against the black mana that suddenly plagued Grantis.

“When we went to resolve the Oak Sanctuary incident, Phyllis mentioned that even elves know the Sacred Tree isn’t immortal. And if they truly lost the Sacred Tree…”

“…They would either find seedlings of another Sacred Tree to relocate, or choose to live alongside pioneers like at Cotton Tail Trading Post.”

“Exactly. Then does that decision necessarily have to come after losing the Sacred Tree and sanctuary?”

There was a possibility that they might not have found Iris by the time the current Elder Shurain’s life ended.

In the worst case, they might have killed Iris or confirmed her death too late.

If that had happened, the Willow Sanctuary would have perished, and they would have had to relocate elsewhere or receive a barrier tower in time to become a second Cotton Tail Trading Post.

But what if they made that decision before the “destruction” was confirmed?

What if, while the Willow Sanctuary was still functioning as the elves’ home, they “borrowed” a barrier tower to replace the Sacred Tree’s function?

“Even if Elder Shurain’s life ends, the sanctuary… the Sacred Tree won’t be consumed by black mana. If the Sacred Tree can survive that way…!”

“The conclusion Iris and I came to is that she could succeed the Elder position at her leisure—not in 10 years, but in 30 or 50 years—without any problems.”

Of course, there’s the question of whether the New Continent Development Headquarters would readily lend a barrier tower to the Willow Sanctuary elves.

But I don’t think they would coldly turn away a licensed allied race facing extinction and asking for help.

We’re not asking them to permanently place a magic core in the elven sanctuary, just to lend one for a few decades.

And if I’m being a bit more ambitious, I’d like to discover exactly how the Sacred Tree’s mind control affects the elves through our future adventures.

When the Sacred Tree was first discovered as a solution, there probably wasn’t time to worry about side effects or elven rights issues, but now we have both an alternative means and an Elder successor who has broken free from the Sacred Tree’s mental control.

This means there’s now room for change in the elves’ survival strategy against black mana.

“Well, I’m making it sound grand, but to be frank, it’s just this.”

“This?”

“I can’t live without these women, so I’m asking the Willow Sanctuary to make concessions until my life ends.”

After all, without us, they wouldn’t have found Iris herself or a way to return her to an elf, right?

So I intend to make this request.

To continue my relationship with Iris not just for 10 years, but until the end of my life.