My body floats through the air.

I get closer to Elise, who is falling with her black hair flying wildly.

I don’t take my eyes off her.

I reach out my hand.

“….!”

In the midst of this, my eyes met with the falling Elise.

Pupils widely dilated.

As if she hadn’t expected this development at all, her greatly agitated face washed away the fatigue that had settled in my body.

Yes, don’t cry, just make a face like that instead.

With a broad smile, I caught Elise in mid-air.

“You…!”

“Excuse me for a moment!”

Although I want to tease Elise as much as a mountain, right now I don’t have the luxury to leisurely exchange jokes.

Because we’re still falling.

Using Natural Mirror, I gauge the distance between me and the ground.

Roughly estimating, 7-8 meters.

Considering the time it takes to form Dolyeok solid enough to bear our weight… now!

I form Dolyeok as softly as possible at a height of 1 meter.

The calculation is perfect.

“Urgh…!”

Just when we were about 2 meters away from colliding with the ground and taking a friendly trip to the afterlife together, an invisible, formless cushion caught our bodies.

Fortunately, there’s only a pain that momentarily makes my chest feel tight; it seems neither of us will be injured.

I breathe a sigh of relief. After that, I spoke to Elise, who was sitting on top of me, looking at the ground with trembling eyes.

“Haha, this has really taken ten years off my life. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“…I never asked you to save me.”

Her trembling eyes gradually stabilize, and Elise looks down at me and slowly opens her mouth.

Her face, half-biting her lip. She seems very troubled.

“Haha, seeing that you still answer so coldly, it seems you haven’t injured your head at least.”

“Why did you save me?”

Ignoring my joke lightly, Elise met my eyes and asked.

Still, those empty eyes.

“What? Well, when someone is about to die, of course I should save them…”

“Cut the crap.”

She firmly cuts off my hollow words.

“You don’t know anything. What kind of being I am. What kind of thoughts I have… You don’t know anything.”

With wide-open eyes, she glared at me as if she would devour me.

“Shall I tell you one thing? I’m a bad person. An utterly bad person. Someone born evil from birth. Everyone… everyone will think of me that way. If I confess my identity to someone, a hundred out of a hundred will try to cut ties with me. Some might even try to kill me.”

She grabbed my collar.

“I’ll ask again. Now that you know what kind of person I am, do you regret saving me? If you could go back to one minute ago… would you still throw yourself to save me?”

Elise’s quiet outcry, seeming to imply that she is a demon.

But my answer has already been determined long ago.

“Of course. No matter how many times I go back to the past, I will save you, Lady Elise.”

“…Why on earth?”

Emotions seep into Elise’s empty eyes.

Doubt and fear.

“No one in this world… regardless of whether they’re good or evil, would climb a building and throw themselves to save someone they’ve only seen once. Especially if it means risking their life.”

“……”

“Just what… what makes you act like that? I can’t understand.”

“Hmm, well. I’ve never thought about it.”

The motive that moves me.

The reason that led me to save Elise, who is half-demon.

The source.

It is simply.

“There isn’t any particular reason. Just the thought that I wanted to save you. That’s what made me move.”

“…That’s why I told you, didn’t I? I’m not a weak little girl who knows nothing. Even now, there are people all over this world dying to kill me. I am an evil being. What do you want from me?”

Elise’s slightly trembling voice, full of distrust. But then her eyes widened greatly.

“So what if people in the world condemn Lady Elise as evil? Even if they think that way, do I have any obligation to think like them?”

This isn’t pretense. It’s my pure sincerity.

I dislike this simple yet cruel way of thinking prevalent in Grand Fantasia, where people disparage others simply because they’re of a different race.

Therefore, I don’t think Elise is evil.

Of course, this only stands on the premise that she hasn’t committed evil acts harming others.

“…No, you don’t know anything. If you knew my true identity, you would eventually regret saving me too.”

Her expression returns to how it was before.

A face that seems like an empty shell without any will again.

She mutters as she moves her body.

“Let me down. I won’t make a mistake this time.”

Seeing Elise trying to head toward death again despite being saved at the risk of my life makes my heart ache.

Sigh, can’t be helped.

I didn’t want to say it if possible, but now is the moment when shock therapy is needed.

Erasing the grinning impression I had maintained until now, I opened my half-closed eyes.

“Do you intend to render your parents’ sacrifice meaningless?”

Very slightly, but Elise flinched.

“…What did you just say?”

“I asked if you intend to render your parents’ sacrifice meaningless.”

Elise grabbed my collar again.

But it’s different from before.

I can feel a definite killing intent.

“Lady Elise’s parents sent you to Luin Academy, an educational institution in a foreign country, for your safety. Would they want Lady Elise to face such an unglamorous death?”

“…How do you know that?”

“Hmm, I wonder. Maybe I heard it from a passing child? I might have seen it in a dream while sleeping. Or perhaps being Lady Elise’s hidden sibling wouldn’t be bad either.”

I speak while meeting her turbulent eyes.

“Who I am is not important, Lady Elise.”

I smile broadly.

“What’s truly important is considering how to kill the enemies of the pillars of the Trahan royal family, that is, Lady Elise’s parents, isn’t it?”

I place my hand on Elise’s hand that’s grabbing my collar.

“You must become stronger. Strong enough to protect yourself, and beyond that, strong enough to avenge your parents.”

I can feel the strength gradually leaving Elise’s hand.

“At least that’s much better than the stupid idea of falling to your death from a rooftop. Don’t you think so too, Lady Elise?”

“……”

“Foolishly committing suicide alone where no one knows can be postponed until after you’ve avenged your parents. Of course, the role of avenging must be taken by Lady Elise herself. It’s enough for me to be a significant helper who assists Lady Elise a little from behind.”

I can see those eyes still looking at me, but now I can find the will to live in them.

“Lady Elise, don’t you want to become the protagonist?”

I asked, and she answered.

“…What are you saying. That’s cringeworthy.”

Ack, did I go too far?

“Hmm, I thought it was cool in my way…”

“Still, it’s not bad. Certainly, dying without even seeing the faces of those who harmed my mother and father would be regrettable.”

“But I thought there was nothing I could do alone. In reality, there was nothing I could do alone. But now it’s different.”

A voice full of vitality.

“You say you’ll help me? I don’t know how useful a mysterious collaborator will be, but it’s better than nothing. I’ll use you relentlessly.”

Elise smiles faintly.

“I’ll kill you if you betray me.”

When that beautiful face smiled, I had the illusion that the fatigue lingering throughout my body was melting away.

[Hidden Character — You have successfully prevented the death of Elise Midriandje]

[Hidden Character — Elise Midriandje has developed a slight affection for you]

[You gain 1500 points as a reward]

“Do people usually say such chilling things with a smile…?!”

“It’s better than saying it with an expression like I’m really going to kill you.”

“Looking again, you’re like an angel. This is fine.”

Seeing Elise’s response, fortunately it seems I don’t need to worry about her committing suicide anymore.

“Ah, if you really become queen later, how about giving me a suitable position? Surely you can give that much bonus to your mysterious helper, right?”

“I’ll think about it after seeing how you do.”

“Haha, I’ll do my best to assist you moderately, Your Majesty.”

And so I became Elise’s mysterious helper. It’s not like I’ve become entangled in a troublesome affair. I needed to interfere with the Trahan Kingdom to some extent anyway.

If the Trahan Kingdom is left as is, the values of the Trahan Kingdom, which pursues harmony among all races, will collapse, and then the balance between humans and demons within the continent will break, leading to another great war.

If that happens, my peaceful and happy daily life would become nothing but a bubble.

This is actually fortunate. When playing the game, I had to go through all sorts of trouble to become acquainted with high-ranking figures in the Trahan Kingdom, but now I’ve become close to none other than the princess of the Trahan Kingdom.

This means I won’t have to struggle later on.

“But wait, you said you lost your memory, right? Then how did you know I was the princess of the Trahan Kingdom? Don’t tell me that saying you lost your memory was all a lie?”

Elise asked me as I was grinning with a satisfied smile.

It’s a natural question for her to have.

“Haha, that’s not it. Certainly, I’ve lost my previous memories. But if you ask how I know information about Lady Elise…..”

Elise held her breath and listened to my words.

“It’s a secret.”

“…Forget it. I was a fool to expect you to tell me.”

Elise, who sighed deeply, looked at me and said.

“Then promise me just one thing. That when the time comes, you’ll tell me everything.”

“Haha, since Lady Elise asks so earnestly, I’ll consider it.”

Elise made a displeased expression and shook her head.

“…It’s strange to be curious at this point, but how are we floating in the air?”

She glanced at the ground, slightly frowned, and asked.

Ah, she’s talking about the Dolyeok.

“It is certainly strange. You should have been curious much earlier. Aren’t you often told that you’re slow on the uptake?”

“Well, I often hear that my hand is hot, but…”

“…This is a modest ability I possess. The power to form objects that are invisible to the eye.”

Elise nodded her head slightly and said.

“Even from just hearing about it, it sounds incredible.”

“I’m not yet familiar with this power, so I can’t block strong attacks and such. But don’t worry, it can easily bear the weight of us two….”

Just then, as if on cue, I felt the Dolyeok supporting us gradually failing to maintain its form and collapsing.

• • Thud!

As the Dolyeok dispersed, naturally, Elise and I fell to the ground. Elise was sitting on top of me, so she wouldn’t be in much pain, but I, who was underneath, felt considerable pain.

“Ugh….”

“A-are you okay?”

Elise was momentarily confused, then discovered me underneath her and got off with a frozen expression.

So this person can also make a face of concern for someone.

Looking at Elise who was worried about me, I patted her shoulder as if I was fine and said.

“Urgh, Lady Elise, by the way, how much do you weigh?”

“…Just get lost.”

Regardless, I saved Elise.