Chapter 492
Chapter 492. Suspicious Character
[Previous Summary]
“Wan (Unmatched in the World)”
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I couldn’t believe my eyes.
She… Liliana is here! Right in front of me!
With slightly short ears, a well-tanned wheat-colored skin, and yet unmistakably the face of Liliana. The same appearance as when I last saw her escaping from the Demon Lord Kingdom—proof that she had disguised herself as a regular forest elf using transformation magic.
The possibility of her being a completely different person who just happened to look like her was dismissed with a single word: “Wan.”
That possibility was crushed.
But Liliana’s personality should have returned to normal, right? Why is she saying “Wan”…!?
Is she really Liliana…? I had prepared myself for the possibility of never seeing her again. Even as I was hit with a wave of intense nostalgia, I was still somewhat skeptical. What if I hadn’t really recovered from the poison and was just seeing hallucinations?
No, but Leila looked as shocked as I felt, and Antendeixis had dropped his usual cheeky persona, now wearing a serious expression—this felt far too real to be a dream or an illusion.
But if this is real, then why is Liliana here in such a remote village…!? This is way too coincidental! Besides, she’s glaring at me with those sparkling eyes, clearly having come here for me! How did she pinpoint my location? That’s actually a bigger issue!
Damn it, I should be overjoyed to reunite, but there are too many other concerns, and I can’t concentrate…! More than anything—
“Wow…”
Liliana squatted down.
—Here it comes!!
“Wau wau oah oah oah wau wau wau wau wau ah ah ah ah ah!!”
She charged at me!
She pounced!
Fast!! It was like a tackle embrace! And yet she enveloped my little frame so gently that I didn’t get hurt at all!
At my current state, I had no way to resist, and I fell down in a tangle with her!
“Wauon wau wau aun wau aun aun!!”
Lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick!!!!!!!
Wow…! This is amazing! A true miracle of power, the tide of life!
It surged through me—running all over my body, bringing energy to the very tips of my limbs! I felt warmth spreading throughout!
Even though the Old Priest had detoxified me, my body, which had been battered by poison for the past few days, felt fundamentally healed.
Ah… This truly is a glimpse of the miracle of the gods of light. I felt tears welling up. Such protection by the light should never have been reachable for someone like me, a creature of darkness…
“Ku-oon ku-oon wauuuu!”
But it’s so embarrassing!!!
“What the—!?”
“Who is this… What the heck is going on!?”
“We’re being attacked… right!?”
Everyone was staring—!
It was a daily routine back in the Demon Lord Castle, but having spent so long in the company of friendly folks in the alliance, my sense of ethics had returned to a normal level!
Moreover, right now I’m devoid of the mask of being a Prince! The bare embarrassment was piercing through the innocent eyes of the rural folk—!
The villagers seemed completely taken aback by Liliana’s bizarre behavior and overwhelming energy. Honestly, this was way more provocative than Antendeixis’ dangerous juggling…!
If it had been a rough-looking old man pinning me down like this, I would have been treated like a pervert and beaten to a pulp, but since it’s the divine-looking beauty of a forest elf… even the villagers and the Old Priest didn’t seem to know how to react.
Usually, Antendeixis would be cracking jokes like “Beautiful women always have an advantage,” laughing his head off as if it was none of his business, but it seemed even the great Demon God was caught off guard by this, nervously watching the situation unfold with a grimace.
Oh man……… What do I do now?
“Waoh— ku-oon… kyuun…”
No matter how shocked everyone around me might be, or how intense their stares could be.
I couldn’t possibly shake off Liliana.
After seeing her crying while licking me all over…
“——”
I can’t call her name. I don’t know what kind of setting she’s in right now, and I have to pretend I’m just a child brought along by a traveling performer.
The only thing I could do without raising suspicion is to…
“……There, there.”
I gently stroked her. Liliana’s fluffy blonde hair-covered head felt much larger and warmer than I remembered. At six years old, my little hands seemed more like a comb rather than a gentle pat.
“…………!”
With stunningly tear-filled eyes wide open, she nuzzled my chest, purring away. Those beautiful, clear blue eyes gazing up at me were more captivating than any jewel.
I wanted to keep staring—
But I couldn’t help but feel concerned.
Where did my reason go?
What happened to the “Saint” Liliana who should have returned? And how do I even resolve this situation? The initial shock had passed, and the surrounding villagers were now coldly aware and shocked.
The phase where I could just brush this off has ended. What am I supposed to do?
“Kid…”
As I was at a total loss, petting Liliana while glancing around, I made eye contact with a gatekeeper old man who looked slightly apprehensive.
“Is that your act…? A beast tamer, or should I say, a wild beauty tamer…?”
“I don’t know about that!”
I’m neither a beast tamer nor an illusionist, but a filthy necromancer over here…
—And then.
Tap, tap, tap—a stuttering sound approached from the crowd.
“Li-… Lily…”
“Princess… where are you…?”
With a chorus of “Whoa!” and “Gah!” the villagers parted like waves, creating a path.
Two forest elves with wheat-colored skin came running, exhausted and panting—Even the previously simple villagers now regarded the forest elves with suspicion.
“…Wait, Lily!?”
One of them, a young female forest elf, drenched in sweat and looking completely worn out, recognized me being licked by Liliana and widened her eyes.
Hmm… I don’t recognize her face. She doesn’t seem to be someone from my previous life. And “Lily” — isn’t that Liliana’s alias? That’s helpful!
“Well now… this is something…”
And beside her, a male forest elf wiping his forehead— I was taken aback.
He was an old man.
With long white hair and a rare beard for a forest elf. Above all, the deep wrinkles etched onto his face! I had rarely seen an old forest elf like this even in my previous life.
Forest elves live long lives, often hundreds of years, retaining a youthful appearance over long periods. They only begin to age noticeably as they approach the end of their lifespan.
And an elderly elf that could pass away any day would rarely leave their forest homeland—
So he must really care for Liliana.
It was easy to imagine that he was something akin to her guardian.
“Ho ho ho…”
While stroking his beard, the old forest elf let out a somewhat cheerful laugh, but—
The light in his squinted eyes was far from friendly.
It was sharp, like the tip of a sharpened arrow.
He wasn’t even glancing at Liliana, who was currently displaying a certain kind of disgrace or indecency; he was simply fixated on me.
—He was trying to see through me.
I could feel it clearly.
Even now, as Liliana poured her exceptional healing power into me, I couldn’t help but feel a chill creeping along my spine.
†††
(What the hell is this girl doing—!!)
I was already exhausted, and it felt like my head was about to throb even more.
Just when I thought I had finally caught up to Liliana—this is what I get!!
This sweet, innocent-looking girl was going all over the place, licking a child in front of a crowd!
(My reputation—!)
Though my fatigue clouded my thoughts, I’d phrase it something like this if I were to try to articulate it.
—It’s been a few days since Liliana made a contract with Odigos.
Under the influence of the “Guide” authority, they had literally been on the move day and night; they had kept on traveling for days.
Even though Heléna was a powerful forest elf, being one of the elite, she had never experienced such a grueling journey— not even on the frontlines! —I’m sure this was beyond her limits.
However, it was Liliana’s boundless healing powers and Odigos’ guiding authority that made it possible. …And it happened!
Continuously applying healing power and refreshingly rejuvenating both mind and body (by force), apart from meals and short naps, they had simply been running nonstop for several days.
Fortunately or unfortunately, despite being in this almost “puppy-like” state of joy at reuniting with her beloved master, Liliana wasn’t so heartless as to leave Heléna and Orderju behind.
(Seriously… constantly…)
They were made to run.
Even though aging forest elves become tougher due to the increased ratio of magical reinforcement, mental exhaustion is still a beast of its own, and Orderju seemed to be struggling as well.
(No more of this, ever again…)
But there was no time to feel exhausted.
(That human boy…!!)
The boy Liliana was clinging to and licking. He bore an unremarkable outfit that seemed completely out of place in this rural area but had a polished appearance.
At first glance, I was certain.
(Zilbagias Reiju…!)
Or perhaps Hero Alexander.
He must be that person.
Considering that Liliana was happily licking him here, it was almost a sure gamble—if I were to push for further evidence, it’s that he boasts considerable magical energy for his age and race. Those with dull magic senses, including priests, didn’t seem to realize, though…
(And those two girls over there…)
Whoa…! One pale girl covering her mouth in tension and a mischievous, cheeky brown-skinned little girl. Both had considerable magical energy.
The feisty brown girl had no clue, but the pale girl matched the features I had heard from Liliana.
She’s almost certainly the daughter of the White Dragon…!
(Damn it, I wanted to avoid standing out for no reason…!!)
It was already too late! It stood out as much as it could—would there be no way to resolve this? I really wanted to question Liliana about how this mess escalated!
(No more attention can be drawn to this boy!)
A genuine feeling of crisis.
At first glance, he appeared to be a naïve boy being licked with a face of acceptance.
But he was a creature of darkness who had wiped out every last hero from the Holy Church, which was supposed to be his home.
And beside him, the White Dragon—whose violent side symbolized the power of light—had burned hundreds of imperial soldiers.
Two monsters, wearing innocent expressions.
If their true identities were to be revealed here, I can’t even imagine what would happen.
(I need to somehow calm this situation down…!)
But how? No, think rationally. There’s nothing I can do about standing out now. But if that’s the case, then at least I should make sure all the blame falls on the one who caused this!
—In other words, I’ll pin it all on Liliana!
“Geez! Liliana, you can’t help it, can you!!”
With a smirk.
“—You sure love those cute little humans, don’t you!!!”
With a grin bordering on reckless, Heléna declared.
“Huh.”
“Eh!?”
“Eh…?”
“Ku-oon ku-oon kyuu… eh!”
The surrounding onlookers were super shocked.
Not to mention, even Liliana looked like she was saying, “That’s outrageous.”
Liliana had returned to her senses.
