Ch.61Proof of Qualification #4

I received an answer that was far more interesting than expected.

The wind collapsed its pretense of solemnity and laughed uproariously.

As the laughter grew louder, the air that had been as calm as a quiet stream began to thrash violently like waves.

Naturally expanding in size, it eventually formed a whirlwind that, while not quite as grand as the Tower of Storms, was sufficiently fierce and large.

“Hahaha! Truly, truly amusing! How very entertaining!”

Though the wind spent most of its time in this spirit realm, it wasn’t ignorant of the outside world.

Like any pillar, it had acquired basic knowledge, and thus understood perfectly well what a concubine was.

And throughout history, not a single person had ever risked their life to become one.

Not one in the long, long history of elves.

“Risking your life for a mere position as a concubine? How ridiculous and fascinating.”

It was an intensely personal motivation. Comparable to those who sought power out of greed, or perhaps even more dangerous.

The wind glimpsed such madness in Ellen’s eyes.

Yet the wind laughed. It rejoiced as if celebrating a victory feast.

“Whew… I’ve laughed so much that chaos is breaking out everywhere. This won’t do.”

With a deflated sound and a wave of its hand, the wind dispersed the raging whirlwind into a gentle breeze.

It had decided not to ruin what could be called a fated encounter.

“…Have you decided?”

Accept or decline. That was the only thought in Ellen’s mind.

The intense madness clouding her judgment was so thick that she didn’t even blink when the whirlwind raged around her, nearly sweeping her away.

“Yes. I’ve made my decision. I shall entrust my breath to you.”

Had the wind felt a sense of duty to maintain balance, it would never have accepted Ellen’s proposal, but the wind was free.

Though the wind wasn’t the only free entity, one thing was certain: its decision, based on interest, was unwavering.

Entrusting its breath meant allowing her to draw upon its power whenever needed.

“Thank you.”

When the supreme being among the most familiar wind spirits granted permission, Ellen bowed her head in sincere gratitude.

She might have jumped for joy, but instead felt a belated sense of relief at having overcome a hurdle, or perhaps at having saved her life.

Fortunate. And good.

Ellen felt newly grateful that the wind, which she felt more familiar with than other spirits, had reached out to her.

Among various spirit magics, this was the one she was most confident in handling, so she could expect to adapt quickly to its power, no matter how great.

“By the way. Since such a promising child has come, shouldn’t we hear the opinions of the others as well?”

The wind called to the others while gazing at the dark elf who had finally proven worthy of surviving here.

Though they had been quietly sleeping in their own domains, the wind wanted them to witness this too. She was, after all, a woman full of entertainment value.

◎◎◎

“Water and wind…”

Two of the great beings who divided and maintained nature had lent her their power.

Ellen smiled with narrowed eyes, satisfied with results that far exceeded her expectations.

Not only had she gained their powers, but she had also learned how to connect with their souls.

This was an element that could attract Helena’s attention more than anything else, making it her greatest achievement.

While the persuasiveness of simply gaining power might have been around 60%, now her chances of success approached 90%. Naturally, she was elated.

Let’s go.

Ellen climbed up from the Crystal Valley without hesitation, moving from light through darkness and back into the light.

The process seemed to briefly mirror her own life, as her eyes trembled with fear and hope.

“Did she just… come out of the sanctuary?”

“Seems so. But she probably just looked around.”

“She’s clearly not a cleaner, so she must have just gone sightseeing.”

Elves whispered among themselves as they watched Ellen with her hood pulled low.

Strangely, none of them suggested that Ellen might have obtained a legacy.

That’s how rare and unbelievable such an occurrence was.

But Ellen considered this fortunate.

They seemed to dismiss her as a mere tourist, and if they had known she had obtained a legacy and survived, it would surely have caused an uproar.

“Huh?”

However, as soon as Ellen left the village with urgent yet measured steps, a strange sense of discomfort crept over her skin.

Her stride seemed wider than before, and each step felt oddly weighted compared to before.

Most tellingly, Ellen, who had been so short she had to look up at horses, was now at eye level with them.

It was impossible not to notice such a discrepancy.

“I’ve… grown?”

Only then did realization dawn on her face with shock.

She discovered that her clothes beneath the robe had torn, unable to contain her enlarged body, and that walking was difficult due to two large pairs of flesh.

Ellen reached inside her robe and felt her entire body to confirm the changes.

She was too rushed to even think of using water spirit magic to see her reflection.

Heavy, elastic, dense but expanded with firm muscles.

Ellen now possessed a curvaceous body comparable to Helena’s.

This was the result of forming a contract with a being that could be called a king of spirits.

“Neigh!”

The horse nudged Ellen’s head as if to say this was no time to be standing frozen with hands on her chest.

Snapping back to reality, Ellen quickly stroked the horse’s mane to calm it, then mounted and took the reins.

She needed to reach a human city quickly to buy new clothes.

Though it would have been much faster to get them directly from the elven city, returning there might cause unnecessary complications.

Having reached this conclusion, Ellen’s hand showed no hesitation as she whipped the reins.

“Yes, let’s go!”

◎◎◎

Is she really alright? Has something happened to her?

Olivia worried about Ellen, who hadn’t returned after several days, sitting with her arms crossed and head bowed.

Though she knew Ellen had left because of her pushing and that returning would take time, she couldn’t help feeling belated concern.

She even regretted her past words.

“Sigh…”

“How can you push her away and then act like this? Calm down and trust her.”

“I regret doing that now.”

At Dana’s sharp admonishment, Olivia’s head drooped even lower.

For the first few days, she had maintained the composure of a seasoned mercenary, living as usual, but as time passed, her worries had only grown.

This wasn’t unique to Olivia; the other dark elves felt the same, though they weren’t as visibly anxious as she was.

Perhaps they felt less guilty since they hadn’t been involved in pushing Ellen away.

“Ellen isn’t the type to die in some foreign land.”

“That’s true, but…”

“No buts. Even though Ellen is strong, anyone can die with bad luck on the battlefield. Ellen has lived longer than us in such battlefields and eventually secured this land for us. That means she has not just skill but also luck.”

Judging by the saying that luck is also a skill, Ellen’s abilities were undeniably exceptional.

She had survived countless blind arrows and unexpected blades from blind spots.

The group, including Olivia, nodded in agreement with Dana’s cool-headed words, feeling somewhat lighter.

“Right. That’s true. Not just true for a wife, but actually true.”

“If you understand, then wait patiently. Soon…”

Neigh!

Like the saying that nobility never arrives on time, before Dana could finish speaking, a familiar horse’s neigh was heard.

Though such sounds generally seemed similar, elves who had spent long periods together could distinguish the differences.

Thus, their faces bloomed with smiles instead of worry.

They instinctively recognized the sound of Ellen’s horse.

“She’s here!”

“I know!”

Ironically, Dana, who had been the calming influence on the group, was the first to rush outside excitedly.

The rest of the group, including Olivia, looked at her retreating figure in disbelief before following her out of the cabin.

Though the nights were still chilly, it wasn’t as cold as winter, so their light clothing seemed adequate.

“Whew…”

They saw a robed woman sighing as she dismounted from the horse.

Though it was clearly Ellen’s horse, the person dismounting looked quite different from the Ellen they knew.

She had grown much taller, and the voluptuousness visible through the robe was dramatically different.

“I’m back.”

However, the moment they heard that unmistakably familiar voice, their slight doubts melted away like snow. As a result, the dark elves joyfully approached Ellen, roughly opened her robe, and bombarded her with questions.

“What’s with this body?! When did you get such large assets?!”

“And when did you grow so tall? You were the shortest among us, but now you’re almost our equal?!”

“Wow, look at that firm backside… Is this really the girl-like Ellen? I’m speechless…”

How dizzying. Ellen smiled awkwardly as she tried to calm them amid the barrage of questions from all directions. Despite the chaos, she was happy to be welcomed so warmly.

“Come on, everyone, let’s go inside. I’ll tell you everything once we’re in, okay?”

Distracted by the promise of answers to their curiosity, the group wordlessly surrounded Ellen and entered the log cabin.

They immediately seated her on the sofa, the most honored seat, and surrounded her. It almost looked like an interrogation.

“So, first of all, what happened to your body?”

When the most pressing question was asked, Ellen nodded as if she had expected it.

Even she had taken days to adjust to the shock of her transformed body.

“As I told you, I entered the sanctuary and obtained a legacy. I don’t know the exact process myself, but I think this transformation happened as a result of gaining that legacy. There’s no other explanation.”

“I knew it! I knew Ellen could do it!”

The group offered belated congratulations and encouragement to Ellen.

It was evidence that they had overcome the shock of facing her voluptuous new body.

Some even had tears in their eyes, grateful for her safe return, revealing how much they had worried.

“Thank you all for believing in my stubbornness and waiting for me.”

“If we can’t trust Ellen, who can we trust? We’re grateful to the people here, but Ellen is still the best.”

“Indeed, indeed.”

The group each added their own words, expressing Ellen’s importance to them.

Though they felt great gratitude toward the locals and benefactors like Krauser, they hadn’t forgotten their priorities.

“Ellen. Are you planning to talk to Duke Krauser tomorrow?”

Abruptly.

Perhaps recalling something momentarily forgotten in the warm atmosphere? A cold, sharp edge appeared in Ellen’s eyes that had been warm moments before.

Beyond her focus on achieving her goal, one could glimpse an even deeper obsession.

Yes. That’s why I spent extra time in the Monster Forest taming this power.

Ellen recalled past events that flashed through her mind like a mirage and nodded firmly, as if nothing more needed to be said.