Chapter 302
Chapter 302. Kinfolk
It was warm and sunny in the garden.
The colorful flowers were beautiful. Ah, a butterfly has landed.
Drawn to the vivid patterns on its wings, I reached out to smell it.
“Wuff?”
The butterfly flitted softly and perched on my nose.
Before I knew it, I was cross-eyed, staring at the butterfly intently.
“Woof woof.”
I tiptoed slowly, trying not to scare the butterfly, and brought it to show him.
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
He was reading on a bench, and as soon as he looked up, he burst out laughing.
“Ahahaha. How cute!”
Proudly sitting with the butterfly on my nose, he closed his book and knelt to match my eye level.
Gingerly… he reached out toward the butterfly on my nose.
But just before he could touch it, it puffed away.
“Ah…”
He rubbed his blue-skinned fingertips together, looking a bit disappointed.
“Wuff…”
We both looked up at the sky. The yellow butterfly flitted away into the blue expanse.
“That one’s got freedom.”
He smiled wistfully, gently hugging me and stroking my head.
So comfortable—so happy—
“Liliana.”
“Wuff.”
“You are free now, too.”
…Huh?
Suddenly, it felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over me.
The surroundings turned pitch dark, and the warm garden disappeared.
“Take care.”
His figure stood up and began to fade away, getting farther and farther away.
No, not just him. The gentle white dragon girl and the fluffy white tiger girl, everyone…
“Wouu! Wouu!”
Wait! Don’t leave me behind! I ran to chase after them, reaching out my hand—
“Ah…”
My hand. An empty hand.
Ah, right. I’m no longer…
a dog—
†††
“—Alex!”
Liliana shot up, finding herself in the forest. A swaying, living vine hammock. The tranquil sounds of birds chirping.
“……A dream.”
Lifelessly, she flopped back onto the hammock.
The dappled sunlight felt annoyingly bright.
—Yesterday, after breaking through the mountain range, Liliana escaped into the alliance territory and immediately fell unconscious in the forest at the foot of the mountain from exhaustion.
She barely remembered extending vines into the trees to make this resting place.
By the time she descended the mountain, the sun was beginning to set, so even if she had fallen asleep in the evening, it meant she had been out for nearly half a day. Using magic non-stop and going full throttle up the mountain without a break was too much even for a high elf.
Conversely, the frightening thing about her was that even after such reckless behavior, she could completely recover with just half a day’s sleep—
“Alright, let’s go.”
For now, she munched on some dried fruits for breakfast. Additionally, she half-heartedly used transformation magic to disguise herself as an ordinary forest elf.
“Let’s see…”
Peering into the water mirror conjured by magic, she saw a tanned forest elf with slightly longer hair staring back.
Her skin had changed color, of course, her ears had shortened, and her magical energy had faded to a manageable level.
“…This magic seems like it could be used for all sorts of mischief, depending on how it’s wielded…”
I wonder if pure humans can even learn this magic? Such a late concern crossed her mind, but there was no way to confirm.
Adjusting the load on her back, Liliana snatched some fruits she spotted along the way, biting into them as she continued through the forest toward the road.
She passed by groups of farmers and beastman hunters, instinctively tensing at each encounter. However, aside from exchanging light greetings, no one spoke to her.
After walking for a while, she reached the town she had seen from the mountain summit.
And then—she found a camp set up outside the town walls, occupied by a brigade of forest elves.
“Ah…”
Tears welled up as she beheld her sun-kissed kin.
Was it already eight years since she last met her kind? For a long-lived high elf, it was barely a moment, but for Liliana, it felt like an eternity.
“Hm? I don’t recognize that face.”
“What’s the matter?”
“What happened? Are you alone?”
As Liliana stood there, tears trickling down her face, the forest elves approached her with suspicion.
Curious gazes—because of her clothing. Liliana wore the hunting gear stripped from the Izanis tribe’s warrior. In other words, demon clothes adorned with animal furs. Typically, forest elves wove only fabrics made from plant-based fibers.
“I… well, I ran away…”
She faltered, standing before so many forest elves. Youngsters with pointed ears and golden skin.
However, unlike the youth she was familiar with back in her village, they carried a somewhat grim atmosphere. Perhaps they were dispatched forest archers with real combat experience—
“You ran away…? What’s your name? Where are you from?”
A male forest elf who seemed to be their leader asked cautiously.
“My name is… ‘Tachiana’.”
As she answered, Liliana began to weave her magic. The shining aura of magical energy—
The forest elves murmured quietly.
‘Tachiana’ was a name of an ancient human princess appearing in the forest elf’s epic. Fleeing under her stepmother’s threat to her life, she disguised herself and found refuge among the forest elves, only to remain hidden until her stepmother died of illness years later. Ultimately, she returned to her homeland and became queen—her tale was one of an extraordinary fate.
Among the forest elves, she was synonymous with a “noble disguised due to unavoidable circumstances,” and the magical energy Liliana had just woven reflected the patterns illustrated by the forest elf poets at the beginning of this epic.
In other words, Liliana hinted that this name ‘Tachiana’ was a pseudonym steeped in the epic’s context and that she possessed some underlying circumstances.
At the same time, her ability to weave complex magical patterns in an instant—something that would take an ordinary forest elf a few breaths—proved that Liliana was a master of the instructor level, hailing from the elite ranks of the forest elves, worthy of being a “noble in disguise.”
“…Lady Tachiana. Is there anything you wish for?”
In a more formal tone, the leader asked again.
“I wish to head to Sancta Shiro.”
Liliana replied. The Forest of the Holy Great Tree, it was equivalent to the capital of the Holy Great Tree Alliance. The High Elf Queen resided there, serving as the forest elves’ ultimate defensive stronghold—
“However, I must apologize, as I’m presently in my traveling attire, akin to the ‘Garden of Erimos’…”
This was also a unique expression among forest elves. It referred to a tale of a human king who, in constructing a flower garden for his queen, felled trees but ended up with the surrounding area suffering from drought, leading to dire conditions for the kingdom. In short, it indicated she was penniless.
Given the season, Liliana could survive as long as she had the forest, but since the journey wouldn’t continuously be in deep woods, there could be tolls in some areas. Without any passes or travel permits, lacking some traveling funds could lead to troublesome situations.
“As we are a humble brigade, I cannot assure we can meet your expectations…”
“A little is all I need, of course, I’ll put it in writing.”
“And also, if it’s not too much trouble, I’d accept some clothes from the archers.”
“Thank you for your kind consideration.”
Thus, kindly hosted, Liliana received some traveling funds and a full set of forest elf-like attire, continuing on her way to her homeland—toward the Forest of the Holy Great Tree.
