episode_0101

Obsessive Love

“…. Eli?”

I was dumbfounded when Eli appeared in the room. What is this…? What exactly is going on? No… now’s not the time to think about that… it’s actually fortunate….

“Eli! Hurry and untie me! I think I was kidnapped again, and I’m tied like this… wait a minute….”

I frantically tried to ask Eli for help. But then, a thought suddenly crossed my mind, and feeling that it might be true, I looked at Eli in utter shock. No way… no way….

“Eli… surely this… was this all your doing…?”

The thought that all of this might be Eli’s doing left me utterly astonished. Part of me hoped it wasn’t true, while another part felt certain that Eli was behind it, and my mind began to grow confused. Then Eli tilted her head and asked,

“What are you talking about, Mister? Me? Why would you think that?”

“….. If not, then how could you have come directly here? To this space where I’m trapped. Aria would have reached this place faster than anyone. And besides, the lights went out as soon as I was kidnapped.”

“Oh… the fire that was burning brightly in the plaza? Mister, you were kidnapped for two days….”

“Don’t lie!!!”

The moment Eli tried to explain that I had been kidnapped for two days, I snapped at her. But Eli just smiled and stared at me, regardless of my shouting. Then she tilted her head and said,

“Lie? Why do you think that?”

“…. First, even if two days had passed, it makes no sense that Aria couldn’t find me. And… the people I saw before I lost consciousness… their eyes were unfocused. They were like dolls. If they were in that state, the answer is obvious… mind control.”

Based on the unfocused eyes of the people I saw before I collapsed, I realized that the villagers were being mind-controlled. There was no room for doubt because it was the same state I had seen when Aria was controlled by Cecilia. Moreover….

“Moreover… you also have the ability to control minds, don’t you? The Siren’s Song… Am I wrong?”

“Hmm… saying I did it is still a bit of a stretch, isn’t it…?”

“And what was that smile when you just came in here? Wasn’t it the expression of someone full of anticipation? You put out the fires to cut off Aria’s line of sight by removing the light around the village. And… what are all these torture tools around here? What are all those potions?”

I pointed to the torture tools and suspicious potions in the room with my eyes. Then Eli suddenly let out a laugh and bent her upper body forward. Then, she suddenly started laughing maniacally in that position.

“Puhahaha!!! Ahahaha!! Ehihihihihi….. Hehehehe….. Haaah…. Mister… you’re really quick-witted… That’s right…. I’m controlling these villagers by singing the Siren’s Song. To notice it as soon as you regained consciousness… You really are amazing, Mister…”

I hoped it wasn’t true. Everything clearly indicated that Eli had done it, but I had hoped it wasn’t her…. When Eli laughed maniacally and praised me, I was utterly shocked. Why did she do something like this…?

“Surely you’re not… doing this because we stopped you last time, are you…? You haven’t abandoned that greed, have you? Is it about money….”

“Money? Puhahaha!!! Don’t be mistaken, Mister. What I desire is not revenge, nor money, nor anything else. Just one thing. Just one single thing.”

“Just one thing?”

“That is… you, Mister. Zeke Looprian, I’m talking about you.”

“….. What?”

When Eli said she wanted me, I was so flustered I couldn’t speak. She wants me? What is this nonsense? In this utterly incomprehensible situation, I didn’t know what to say. What could I possibly have that she wants? Surely…

“Are you after my exploration journal, perhaps? Or the valuable items I’ve received as gifts?”

“No… you’re not very sharp in this area. You’re slow, Mister. That’s why that Saintess is still such a mess….”

“This area? What exactly are you talking about?”

“You see… back in Melodian… from the moment you stopped us… from that very moment… Hehehehe….”

Eli suddenly recalled our first meeting in Melodian and began to laugh maniacally again. Wait a minute… that reminiscent face… and that maniacal laughter… I’ve seen that somewhere before…!!!

‘S-surely…’

“You see~ from that time~ I fell for you, Mister~ It was the first time… someone genuinely lectured me… seeing someone genuinely worried about me and scolding me… my heart really… really pounded, you know?! Isn’t this what love is, Mister?!”

‘This reaction… it’s the same reaction as Aria… especially when she was mentally unstable at first…!!’

For a moment, Eli’s current appearance and Aria’s mentally unstable appearance overlapped in my mind. No… it wasn’t just for a moment… they’re identical… But somehow… Eli now seems even more extreme than Aria back then…? Realizing this, I was too shocked to close my mouth.

“Ahhh…. It’s finally a relief that that damned Saintess is gone…. I’ve been waiting and waiting for a moment like this, just the two of us…. When three months passed after parting ways with you, I thought I was going crazy, you know?! Because I missed you so much!! By the way, when you realized that I was behind this… I wasn’t flustered… I was even happier, you know?!”

“What in the… ”

“Isn’t it obvious?! It’s no different from the person I love understanding my feelings!!! I’m so happy I can’t stop laughing!! Because realizing my plan at once means… that you and I are on the same wavelength!! Hehehehe!!!”

She’s crazy. Honestly, I had never truly thought Aria was crazy until now… nor had I genuinely thought that about Melian… but seeing Eli’s face, filled with such ecstasy, I genuinely thought Eli was crazy. It was the first time in my life I’d ever thought something like this.

‘Cecilia and Yuria, who had powerful abilities, liked me normally… though I still don’t understand why… And even Aria, though a bit excessive, didn’t love me enough to do this. But… but a normal fairy… just getting one ability and going this insane…’

“Ahahaha!! I’m so happy I can’t stop laughing!! Hehehehe….”

As Eli rubbed her ecstatic face with both hands and looked at me, I felt a slight revulsion for a moment. No matter who I was, there was a limit to what I could accept… and this seemed like a limit no one could accept. When I made a greatly astonished expression, Eli looked at me and said,

“Why are you making that face, Mister? It’s a truly joyful moment! I, who genuinely loves you, am right here beside you, so why are you making that face?”

“Aria wouldn’t even go this far… And Aria also genuinely loves me….”

“Don’t talk about that Saintess!!! Don’t even mention that Saintess!!!”

At the mention of Aria, Eli suddenly stopped laughing and began to rage like a fire. Damn it… now that I think about it, the reason Eli couldn’t join my journey was because of Aria’s watchful eye… Did I touch a raw nerve for Eli…? The moment I realized I had made a huge mistake, Eli slammed her fist on the armrest of the chair, her eyes narrowed in a glare, and said,

“Listen carefully, Mister. It seems you can’t admit that my love is stronger than that damned Saintess’s love… That Saintess kept waiting for her chance, but I’m different. I intend to live a dream-like life with you right now. Unlike the Saintess, I love you while facing reality!!!”

“Right… when it comes to craziness, you’ve beaten Aria, Eli… in terms of obsessive love, that is…”

“….. So you’re going to keep siding with the Saintess, aren’t you? Then… I have no choice, Mister.”

“What…?”

Eli suddenly grew serious and tilted her head, heading somewhere. Then, my eyes saw Eli slowly pulling out a skewer placed in the corner, and when I saw that the skewer was as thick as a person’s forearm, I was greatly alarmed.

“What are you trying to do?!”

“You don’t love me, do you? So… even if it’s painful, I… I’ll make you like me. Didn’t you understand why I confined you here? You didn’t expect what all these torture tools would be used for… right?”

“Surely not….”

Eli’s words sent shivers down my spine. The torture tools and potions I saw around… Were they really… meant to torture me?! But didn’t she just say she loved me?! Is she really going to torture the person she loves?!

“Didn’t you say you loved me?! But you’re going to torture me?!”

“That’s right. Until you say you love me… you’ll bear the pain, won’t you? No… if I keep poking… and poking you… maybe you’ll understand my love… right!?”

“You… you’re insane….”

I was too shocked to continue speaking. When Aria was controlled by Cecilia, she only said she would confine me… she never said she would torture me like this. Eli’s current madness is even more severe than Aria’s madness that I feared. In other words… Eli now is the very embodiment of terror!! The moment I was greatly alarmed by Eli’s madness, Eli approached me with the skewer in her hand.

“Then… I’ll just poke your arm, Mister. That way you won’t be able to do anything foolish. Next, your foot… then your leg… Let’s go in that order. So… quickly tell me you love me?”

“You crazy…!!”

I was greatly shocked when Eli actually tried to poke my arm with the skewer. And the fact that she was trying to do it with an ecstatic face was utterly chilling. It was enough to make me think that Aria, who had been controlled by Cecilia, was better. The moment I was greatly shocked by Eli’s actions, Eli began to thrust the skewer. I instinctively closed my eyes.

“Ugh…!!”

“….? Huh…? What’s this?”

The moment Eli tried to poke my arm with the skewer, the skewer was blocked by something and instantly bounced back. Eli tried to poke my body repeatedly with the skewer, but it kept bouncing off something on the surface of my body. When I heard the sound of something bouncing off, I opened my eyes and began to assess the situation…! This is!

‘Aria’s divine shield! She must have secretly cast it on me when I held her hand earlier!!’

“Ah… that damned Saintess keeps getting in the way… Hmm… I guess there’s no choice then. I’ll just have to make you understand my love through words! Mister! I’ll explain everything about how I knew you’d come here, and what I did… all the things I did for you!!!”

As the skewer was continuously blocked by Aria’s shield, Eli threw the skewer to the floor and smiled broadly, saying she would explain her plan. She wasn’t giving up until the end… I had already felt it with Aria… but in Eli’s case, it seems to be several times worse.

“First of all… because of the Saintess, I couldn’t accompany you… so I controlled my older sister and Tiara with the Siren’s Song!”

“What…?”

I was once again utterly shocked when Eli revealed that she had controlled her own family to meet me. My hope that she wouldn’t touch her family, no matter what, instantly crumbled, and I shouted at Eli.

“What?! You touched your family?! Are you crazy?!”

“That’s right! I’m crazy for you, Mister!! That’s why I could do something like this! Anyway!! After controlling my older sister and Tiara, I became a wandering bard and kept searching for you!! As a result, I was able to meet you in Alteon!! But because of that damned Saintess, I couldn’t convey my true feelings to you….”

….!! So that’s how Riera and Aria could meet me in Alteon…!! To control her older sister and turn the entire family into wandering bards… A wandering bard is a profession that travels the world singing songs… but it’s a profession rarely chosen because one could be attacked by monsters and die, so I was curious… and it was because of Eli!!

“So… I… I thought long and hard!! If I could create a place where the Saintess couldn’t interfere, I could convey my love to you!! And I thought we could live together, just the two of us!! So… since the Criton region was impossible to reach, I mind-controlled an entire village at the end of the Herloss region!! With the Siren’s Song!!”

“To control unrelated people too… Did you have to go this far?!”

“Of course!! You know how strong that woman is, Mister! I needed power!! So I could separate you and her!!! So I kept waiting for you to come here. Then… I heard the news that she was participating in the Last Point Tournament held in Luam.”

“….!! How did you know that?!”

“Because I was near Luam at the time!!”

The fact that Eli was near Luam left me speechless. It felt like I had been hit hard in the back of the head. How many more shocks does she intend to give me…? I almost didn’t even want to know Eli’s subsequent actions. But…

“But you’re not relaxing because of this, are you, Eli? Before, Aria didn’t know my location and was at a loss… but it’s different now, isn’t it? The location of where I’m trapped now, to Aria now, is…”

“Mister~ I… I made a lot of preparations, you know? Did you really think I wouldn’t have considered something like that?”

“…. What?”

When Eli grinned and said she had already anticipated it, I was dumbfounded. What in the world did she mean…? While I was bewildered by Eli’s words, in a dark village alley, Aria began to explain everything that had happened to Riera. Then, Riera was greatly shocked to learn that someone had been controlling her.

“I… I was being controlled…? Since when…?”

“I don’t know that. After my abilities grew stronger by receiving Sir Zeke’s heart, I seem to have become able to perceive the state of others. That’s why I felt a strange sensation when I arrived here, that everyone was being controlled by something. Well… I didn’t care as long as it wasn’t Sir Zeke, but… seeing even you being controlled made me think something was strange.”

“But… who… who controlled me?”

“The one person who could use the Siren’s Song and didn’t give off that feeling to my eyes like the others. Your sister, the yellow-haired fairy.”

“Yellow-haired… E-Eli?!”

Riera was greatly shocked by the fact that she had been controlled by Eli. Then, she suddenly remembered something, furrowed her brows, and held her head with her hands, saying,

“Now that I think about it… in my last memory, I saw Eli singing…. Surely Eli… for what reason….”

“…. It seems she was targeting Sir Zeke. Just a moment ago, Sir Zeke’s location was clear… but I don’t know what kind of magic she used, now I can’t locate Sir Zeke at all.”

“Huh…?”

Riera was greatly flustered when Aria said she couldn’t locate Zeke now. Then Aria frowned and muttered,

“What kind of magic did that damned fairy use…?”