episode_0065

“A favor?”

“… … Could you help the princess too?”

“What?”

The story about Evelia froze me for a moment.

“… What help?”

At least it wasn’t something Evelia herself said, but a separate request from Elena. There is a high probability that it will be something you don’t really want to do.

Elena spoke slowly.

“If the princess crosses a line that should not be crossed… It may be a burden, but can you stop the princess with the hands of a warrior?”

“Please stop me. What do you wish for?”

“I will take responsibility for whatever you do. I will tell you that no matter what you do, you will think that you are under my control as before. So, if something happens, the warrior please come forward.”

Elena’s expression looked quite determined. Even though they added the condition ‘what if’, it feels like they already know that something big will happen at Evelia’s hands.

They said they were aiming for the devil’s power. Has something already happened?

“If you know anything, tell me. If something happens, don’t gloss over it with words like this. Tell me everything you know.”

“The power of the Demon King that the hero must accept is the power that the princess is aiming for.”

“I remember. So, did you get it?”

Elena shook her head with a shadowy face.

“Not yet. But if things continue like this, you will find it soon. I said it well, but if something like that happens… I hope the warrior can stop it.”

Even if Evelia did not break her stubbornness in seeking the power of the Demon King, there was no way for Elena. As the princess of the kingdom, he has no authority to stop her, nor any power to kill her.

The best future for them would be for Evelia to do nothing and for me to receive that power again, but the bigger a person’s greed is, the more difficult it is to be easily defeated.

“Nothing has happened yet, so it may be my worry for no reason, but I thought it would be better to tell the hero in advance when I have some free time like now.”

“Yes, if that happens, I will definitely… I’ll stop that guy.”

And again, I felt that Elena was quite smart.

Right now, I have a grudge relationship with Evelia where I can kill her without the slightest hesitation even if she goes berserk under the power of the Demon King.

There was no reason why I should hesitate in doing this, either for the sake of the kingdom or my duty as a warrior to protect human life.

“But what is he trying to do with it?”

“… … The princess wants power worthy of a ruler. It’s still strong, but even stronger… Power that goes beyond the limits of ordinary living things.”

It was roughly similar to the image of the devil.

“It looks like you want to become the devil.”

“To put it in a bad way… Yes, that’s right.”

If Elena immediately admits it, Evelia’s obsession with gaining power seems to be quite strong.

“Okay, anyway, try blocking it too. Don’t depend on me.”

“I understand. If possible, I will do my best to prevent the warrior from having to do anything inconvenient.”

With that promise, we left Elena’s room.

As soon as I came out, Arna, who had been quietly listening to the conversation the whole time, immediately grabbed my arm.

“Let’s go outside too.”

She dragged me up onto the deck.

It was a windy night, and it was in the middle of darkness with nothing visible except the moonlight in the sky.

We saw some sailors watching the surrounding area to see if there was anything to see, so we passed them and approached the railing where we could see the sea.

So, the seal that was not easily visible was revealed.

The person who was leaning on the railing and looking at the sea turned his head when he heard the sound of us approaching.

“Huh? Did you come out too?”

Leah grinned and looked at us.

“Isn’t this your first time floating on the sea, Arna? So you came out to see?”

“Yes. Leah, have you ever crossed the ocean?”

“Yes, several times.”

We stood side by side next to Leah.

Leaning on the railing and looking at the sea, I saw a boat crossing the current and the moon floating over the sea.

The night sea seen from the boat was like an abyss looking for something to swallow. I felt a strange sense of fear, as if I would be sucked in if I continued to look, so I raised my head and looked into the distance.

“I’m going because the friends I met at that time said it was dangerous. A few years ago, we went to the Rodian Kingdom together through the introduction of humans we met here.”

Leah leaned closer to the railing with a happy smile as if she was remembering that incident.

“Did you say that the hero defeated the devil back then? Anyway, these guys were going back to their hometown for that reason. But after that, something happened again like it did now, so I don’t know if I’ll be safe or not.”

It was probably after I disappeared that the Demon King was declared gone. I also had to leave Rodian almost as soon as I returned from fighting the Demon King.

I feel a little sorry, but I can’t help it. Because at that time, I had really done everything I could.

“Even if I’m dead, there’s nothing I can do about it. Still, I’m curious. Well, now that I think about it, why are you guys going? Shall we guess?”

I was just going to give an answer, but I started thinking seriously and decided to wait until he answered.

“Well, a sense of justice! Right? Young elves often think like that because they can’t control their power, but they’re nice and obsessed.”

“No.”

Arna answered with a straight face.

“Oh? okay? Umm… .”

“There is no big reason for us.”

“So it seems like you are familiar with the woman who brought you on this boat? Isn’t that human the Rodian representative who came to get us?”

Yes. To say that there is no particular reason is that we have already been treated separately by Elena and are on our way to this ship.

“As representatives of Ende village, we are on our way to help. I had a little relationship some time ago… This is how we got on a separate boat.”

“Wow, I see. Haha, thanks to you, I think I’m going a bit more comfortably. I didn’t like other boats because they seemed very narrow, but here there are no people and it’s nice.”

Arna nodded her head vigorously, as if she quite sympathized with that part.

Most elves seem to dislike being in the same room with many people.

“I guess I’ll just go in and sleep. Have fun on your date!”

Leah greeted us brightly and entered the cabin.

When the two of us were left alone, Arna grabbed my arm and looked at me.

“Jihoo.”

It seems like he’s worried about me again. I keep feeling sorry for worrying Arna so much because of what happened in Rodian.

“Give me a kiss.”

Arna grinned as she saw me worrying.

“It’s nice to be standing here with Jihoo. I think it would be better if the lips matched too.”

Arna smiled, her hair fluttering in the wind. Arna closed her eyes while brushing away her flying hair.

As I took a step closer to Arna, the wooden deck made a creaking sound. At that sound, Arna twitched her lips as if she was about to laugh.

Seeing her expression as if she was asking me to come quickly, I immediately grabbed her arm and kissed her lips.

The cool sea breeze passed between our lips that lightly touched each other. I kissed Arna’s smiling lips again.

Arna narrowed her eyes and looked at me.

“Do the same thing when you come back.”

When I return… … .

I nodded without thinking for a long time.

“Okay, let’s do the same when we come back.”

–

The time on the boat was boring yet fast.

Fortunately, the weather was good the entire way, so we were able to arrive at Hevel Port in Lothian without any major problems. Even on the day of arrival, the sky was clear, and the harbor in the distance looked peaceful.

Behind the ship we were on, many transport ships were entering the port. At the same time, people at the port were seen busy waiting to welcome them.

“Huh? Doesn’t seem like a big deal than I thought?”

Leia leaned forward, almost hanging on the railing, and smiled as she looked toward the port.

“Wow, I finally came back here.”

Larisa, who had been cooped up in the cabin the whole way, shook her head, exhaling softly as if it finally felt real that she had returned to Rodian.

I was also strangely excited to return to the land of the Rodian Kingdom, which was so far away.

The boat we boarded docked in a quiet place without people.

We headed straight to Hevel Castle without being disturbed, and Larissa hid next to us with her hood pulled down.

“As expected, I came here for no reason.”

“What are you talking about as soon as you arrive?”

“The air is bad in Rodian. It’s hard to breathe. As expected, I like Ende Village because it is refreshing.”

There was no further response to Larissa’s babbling. So it became quiet on its own.

And we were able to enter the castle right away.

As soon as we passed the castle gate, a soldier quickly ran towards us.

“Seo, saintess! You came at the right time.”

“What’s going on?”

“Yes, Princess Evelia is said to be coming here in person to encourage the volunteers.”

At those words, Elena immediately turned to me.

I shrugged my shoulders as they looked at me asking what I was going to do.

“Uh… The person who came with me… Yo, are you a warrior?”

“Yes.”

Elena grabbed the soldier’s head as she answered. Her hands glowed, and the other attendants took us away.

“Shouldn’t we go quickly and tell the people at the port that the princess is coming?”

“Yes? Ah, that’s right. What was I doing here? Haha. Let’s go!”

After the soldier left, Elena smiled and looked at me.

“I will take good care of it so that there are no inconveniences for the time being.”

“Uh, yes.”

It’s reassuring to hear that they’re doing something like that. I burst out laughing and followed their guidance again into the castle.

“Who was Seongju here?”

“Ah, the position of Lord of the castle is currently vacant. I am handling important tasks, and for other mundane tasks, officials are dispatched from the royal family.”

“I see.”

Elena looked at Larisa, who was looking at her with a shy smile, and said.

“For the crime of missing Larissa running away… He has stepped down from his position as the governor of the castle and is fighting on the front lines.”

“If you are stupid, your body suffers.”

Larissa shrugged her shoulders as if she wasn’t interested and stood firmly in line towards me.

“In any case, we will take steps to ensure that there are no problems with your resting within the castle.”

“Yes. What should Evelia do? What do you want me to do?”

Actually, it doesn’t matter if we meet. Still, I think I need to see that face again to get used to it.

“If it doesn’t make you uncomfortable, I’ll talk to you again when I see the princess.”

“No, tell them to see you.”

Elena and Larisa seemed nervous at my attitude and couldn’t say anything.

“What, what’s wrong?”

Leah intervened in the silence, and Arna caught her.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Ah, yes. Well, I was just next to him and got caught and ended up here all of a sudden. I’m going! See you again later!”

Only then did Leah leave separately for the purpose she came here for.

“Then, I will go and prepare to welcome the princess.”

Elena left the castle, instructing the castle servants to guide us.

“Hey, Jihoo. Are you okay? Evelia is a bit different from me and Elena.”

Larissa said in a worried voice. It was awkward for this guy to say this, but it didn’t mean I couldn’t understand his feelings.

“What if it is different?”

Still, it’s different now.

Arna hugged my arm.

“Is that the person who harassed Jihoo the most?”

“… … That’s right.”

“I see.”

Arna nodded with a strange look in her eyes.