Soon enough, the briefing came to an end.
Honestly, despite the emotional whirlwind—anger, calm, frustration, surprise—it felt like we came away with little. We still couldn’t understand what the Elven Nation Alfheim, especially the Council of Elders, was thinking.
At first, we’d intended to unwind with some tea afterward, but the atmosphere wasn’t quite right for it. Hajime-san, bound by her role, couldn’t risk getting too friendly with us and saying too much. So, for now, we agreed to regroup and gather information on our own fronts.
Cliche-san’s team would handle the Guild’s response, Noah’s side would prepare the kingdom’s measures, and the elves would take a well-deserved rest.
As for us—the Hatano family—we’d figure out how to deal with Alfheim’s intentions.
※※※
The inn we rented was spacious, with larger rooms and more rooms than at home. The kitchen was fully equipped, allowing us to cook to our hearts’ content. Still, compared to our house, it felt a bit unsettling, and I couldn’t quite relax.
「I didn’t know Hajime’s father and Viole-sama knew each other.」
That night.
After unloading the luggage we’d left in the lizard-drawn carriage, assigning rooms, eating dinner, and bathing, Pochi and Mint settled to sleep in the garden. Karen, Mother, Grandma Seralinde, and I sat in the lounge with tea, discussing the day’s events.
Incidentally, Four Seasons-san had returned to the Fairy Realm, Tir na Nog. Leaving behind a soft haze and a ‘See you tomorrow,’ he’d disappeared.
Convenient, really…
In any case, our main topic was, of course, Hajime-san’s final words.
‘To avenge Luis and Exea.’
「That girl’s father… Emishi was the heir of Aquano at the time. He and Luis and Exea were childhood friends, though I must admit, Kazu and I weren’t particularly close with him.」
Luis and Exea, Karen’s parents, had struggled to adapt to the atmosphere of Alfheim and had come down to earth to make a living as adventurers. That’s how they met my parents and grew close enough to call each other best friends.
Even if they despised the stifling environment of Alfheim, it was still their beloved homeland—and their old friends still lived there.
Emishi, Hajime-san’s father, was one of those friends.
「Straight-laced, rigid… well, I don’t need to get into his personality right now.」
Mother’s tone was sharp, likely a remnant of her own memories from back when she still distrusted humans and long before she’d married my father.
「…Karen. This was when you were born. They returned home to have you, and we went with them.」
Mother’s lips pressed into a thin, tense line, as though she was bracing herself—recalling something painful.
「After the birth went smoothly, and once Exea’s condition had stabilized, we decided to stay in Alfheim for a while. Luis and Exea returned home, while we took lodgings a bit further away.」
「Chocola was already there back then, right?」
「Bark?」
「Yes, he was still tiny. Just barely toddling.」
「Bark… kwunn…」
Hearing his name, Chocola nestled up to Mother.
And Mother—she held him close, tightly, just as Karen had done earlier.
As if trying to ease the pain constricting her heart.
「…There were mutants. A swarm of bugs.」
「In Alfheim, the Elven nation…?」
「Yes. Perhaps it was unprecedented, even in their history—a massive outbreak of mutated insects in the middle of the city. And in a floating city, where there was no escape.」
I couldn’t help but gasp.
A swarm of mutated insects in a densely populated city, isolated in the sky? I didn’t even want to imagine the damage it must have caused.
I glanced at Karen and Grandma. Both of them looked serious, but not surprised. It seemed I was the only one hearing this for the first time.
Mother continued, her voice strained as she stroked Chocola’s fur.
「…The Founding Six Clans’ residential areas were separated from the common districts by walls. Procedures were complicated, the layout was a maze, and even in normal times, it took a long time to get through. And with the outbreak, chaos took over. So…we were too late.」
There’s something I’ve wondered about for a long time.
Karen’s parents, who supposedly died in an accident.
The words father spoke to Novium-san’s master when he went to have the Magic Sword Ridill forged—how he ‘failed to protect a dear friend and his wife’.
Was something like that even possible?
Father was strong. And so was my mother. How could they have failed—missed the chance to save lives they’d wanted to protect? I couldn’t imagine it.
Hearing the story, I bit my lip.
It was misfortune stacked upon misfortune.
Time, distance, timing, place—every factor had aligned in the worst possible way.
How they must have felt. The regret they must have felt.
My father and mother—though we possess the magic to alter fate itself. Though dark magic has the power to shift the future for the better. And yet…
「They were both strong. Although they only held the title of ‘Sage,’ they fought alongside us without being a burden. But…against a swarm of those mutants, there was nothing they could do. We didn’t make it in time. We rushed to them with everything we had, but it was too late.」
And so, Karen had been entrusted to father and mother by Luis-san and Exea-san.
Perhaps…at least they’d made it in time to say their last goodbyes—but there was no point in my speculating further.
「Viole-sama. My father and mother…they died in an accident, right?」
「Yes, that’s how it was deemed. They were caught up in the outbreak of the mutated insects. Everyone who died during that time was listed as a victim of the same accident. But…」
Yes, but.
This incident, long dismissed as an ‘unfortunate event’ or as something that ‘couldn’t be helped’, might now be on the verge of being overturned.
「Emishi’s message was to ‘avenge’ them.」
Avenge.
That meant there was an avenger.
「Are you saying…that it wasn’t an accident?」
No one could answer Mother’s murmured question.
The ticking of the pendulum clock on the wall filled our silence with an unsettling hum.
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