Eve moved with quick steps, slicing through the approaching monsters like a yellow bullet.
These were the stragglers from the great migration.
They were no match for the strongest blood fighter.
Flicking blood from her blade, Eve returned.
"You don't… look completely unharmed."
Eve's fur was heavy with absorbed rain.
…She had chased after me through that downpour.
"You really couldn't just stay put, huh."
I hadn't been completely certain.
But I had anticipated it.
Eve has a stubborn side.
In a good way, she is serious.
Her sense of responsibility is stronger than most.
This type has its pros and cons.
Still, it is far better than being irresponsible.
That is what I think.
"I'm sorry… but it was still my fault for drawing the monsters—"
I raised my hand to stop her.
"I've heard enough of that. One apology is plenty."
The corner of my mouth relaxed.
"…You really do have a strong sense of responsibility."
I started walking.
"Come on, let's go."
Eve followed silently behind me.
She was giving off an awkward, uneasy atmosphere.
As if something that should be there was missing.
"Why… won't you scold me?"
"Do you want me to scold you?"
"N-no, that's not what I mean… but…"
"I had already anticipated it… and in the end, I was saved thanks to you. Now then… it's going to get dark soon. I'm counting on your support with night vision."
"…I left markers. I shouldn't lose my way back to Seras and the others."
As expected.
"Since you're here, I take it you managed to persuade Seras."
"Your advice was helpful."
"Good to hear."
"Indeed… Wait, that's not the point!"
Eve brought the conversation back on track.
"You—"
"Are you saying I'm too soft?"
"N-no… I know you are not the kind of man who is soft by nature… but I feel you are a little too lenient toward me."
I let out a breath.
"What exactly are you using as the standard for 'lenient'?"
"St-standard…?"
"By my standards, it doesn't warrant any punishment."
Yes,
"That's all there is to it."
Eve does not act with malice.
…Well, there is such a thing as well-intentioned evil in this world.
That kind is extremely troublesome in its own way.
Besides,
Eve is not unaware of her own actions.
She reflects on them and even has a self-punishing side.
"There is no point in scolding someone who is already capable of reflecting on their own actions any further."
"…Touka."
"Besides,"
A small chuckle escaped me.
"I'm not such a fine person that I can wave around half-baked arguments and scold others…"
If I tried to scold her, it would only come off as ridiculous.
Eve remained silent for a while.
She quietly followed behind me without saying a word.
The veil of night was beginning to cover the Demon Zone.
A heavy, earthy scent tickled my nose.
The smell of rain mixed with plants.
The cool air after the rain gently brushed against my skin.
Eve opened her mouth.
"Are Slei and Pigi-maru all right?"
"I think they'll be fine… but it might be better to have Seras take a look when we get back."
Eve gently stroked Slei's body.
"You and Pigi-maru did well protecting Touka."
"Pakyu~"
"I'll carry him."
Eve took Slei from my shoulder.
Moreover,
"…Me too?"
She lifted me onto her other shoulder.
At a glance, her arms did not look overtly muscular.
Yet this strength.
Once again, it was impressive.
I could not help but feel genuine admiration.
"Fufu, this is one of my strong points."
She spoke as if she had seen through my thoughts.
"If monsters appear along the way, I'll set you down once… or should I rely on your strength?"
"Yeah, leave it to me."
"Understood. Our master is reliable."
It seemed the weight in her heart from her sense of responsibility had finally lifted.
Eve advanced without hesitation.
After walking for a few minutes, she suddenly stopped.
As if she had just remembered something.
"Come to think of it, there is something I should tell you."
"Hm?"
"While searching for you, I encountered otherworld heroes besides you."
▽
"—Kashima and the Takao sisters, huh."
"The girl called Kashima did not introduce herself, but that is what she was called."
The 2-C group.
So they had come here.
Their goal was probably
"To kill golden-eyed monsters and gain experience points."
And they had gotten caught up in that great migration.
I felt a little bad that Kashima had been dragged into it.
But with the Takao sisters there, they had probably made it back safely.
"Touka, who exactly is that girl called Hijiri Takao?"
"Even if you ask who she is…"
"She is no ordinary person."
"…Yeah, I agree."
The Takao sisters.
The twins had been an unusual presence even within 2-C.
Even Kirihara and the others had consciously ignored their existence.
Even the womanizing Tsuyuri had kept his distance from those sisters.
…Well, Tsuyuri had actually been quite interested in the sisters for a different reason.
An untouchable existence.
They were inscrutable.
The younger sister, Ki, was still somewhat understandable.
But the older sister, Hijiri…
I could not grasp the emotions hidden in her depths at all.
"She did not refuse conversation, and normal dialogue was possible. She tends to use somewhat difficult phrasing, but the content itself was logical… That was the impression I got."
"When you put it that way, she sounds like a perfectly normal person."
"That is exactly the problem… but—"
"It didn't feel like you were talking to a 'human,' right?"
"Ah, yes… something like that."
Or perhaps,
Hijiri Takao might be missing several emotions.
It is also possible that she is simply bad at expressing emotions.
I had never interacted with Hijiri Takao in the original world.
I knew she had ranked high in that so-called "school's behind-the-scenes beautiful girl ranking."
One day, Oyamada had tried to tease the older Takao sister using that ranking as material.
But Hijiri had casually brushed him off as usual.
"I think people who enjoy that kind of ranking would be better off using those popular matching apps that are trending. Of course, only with people who actually want to participate."
She could also be seen as the type who has no interest in herself.
"Even so…"
If Kashima and the Takao sisters were in the Demon Zone,
"Then naturally the others are here too."
Kirihara Takuto.
Oyamada Shogo.
Yasu Tomohiro.
Sogou Ayaka.
Assuming none of them had dropped out.
"..."
Also, there was Ikusaba Asagi in 2-C.
That girl was dangerous in a completely different way from Kirihara.
In any case, Eve had been fortunate with who she encountered.
If she had run into Kirihara or Oyamada, who knows what would have happened.
I told Eve a little about the 2-C heroes.
"Understood. I just need to be careful around Kirihara, Oyamada, Yasu, and Ikusaba."
"Also, the girl called Ikusaba Asagi gets really annoyed inside if you call her 'Ikusaba,' so it's better to call her 'Asagi'… unless you want to provoke her and make her lose her cool."
"What about Sogou?"
"She's not a bad person… and I owe her a favor, in a way."
"Understood. I'll remember that."
And there was no need to make contact with them here.
Especially if the Goddess was with them.
I still had not obtained the forbidden curse that might serve as a counter to status abnormality skill nullification.
Until I got my hands on it, "Touka Mimori" needed to stay dead.
The 2-C heroes.
It was easy to predict they could become obstacles to my revenge against the Goddess…
No matter what form it took, the possibility of eventually clashing with them was by no means low.
"It was the right decision not to reveal my name to Hijiri."
"Hijiri is a very eloquent girl… The conversation was nerve-wracking."
"That one would probably be troublesome if she became an enemy."
"Hm, even you think so?"
"But well, there are others I absolutely don't want as enemies…"
Compared to that person, this felt many times easier mentally.
"To think there is someone who would make even you say that."
I looked up at the sky.
"Yeah."
My uncle and aunt.
If they became enemies, I would have no idea how to fight them.
I did not even think I could fight them.
"The only people I would unconditionally raise a white flag to are those two."
▽
Along the way, we encountered several monsters.
But we dealt with them without difficulty.
In this manner, we finally returned near the cave where Seras and the others were waiting.
"We somehow made it back."
There were monster corpses scattered near the cave.
They were not the ones Eve and I had dealt with.
Among the fallen bodies, some had arrow wounds between their eyebrows.
Eve and I exchanged glances.
"Seras."
"Indeed."
Eve, who had spotted the sword wounds, grunted.
"Splendid swordwork… She aimed precisely at the throat to prevent them from calling for reinforcements, cutting without letting them make a sound."
We approached the cave.
Then Slei let out a short cry.
"—Slei-dono?"
Seras appeared, sword in hand.
"To-Touka-do—"
The high elf's voice quickly gained color.
But then,
"—Touka-dono… I am glad you are safe."
Her tone immediately returned to its usual calm flatness.
She seemed to have quickly reined in her momentary excitement.
Seras made a small beckoning gesture toward the cave.
Liz poked her head out.
"Big sis… Touka-sama…"
Her expression was filled with warm relief.
But then Liz's face suddenly paled and she covered her mouth with both hands.
"Suu-chan…"
After being set down by Eve, I said,
"Seras, take a look at Slei."
▽
After finishing the treatment, Seras approached and sat down beside me.
"How is Slei?"
"There is no threat to his life."
"I see."
Good.
Pigi-maru seemed to be suffering only from severe fatigue.
He would probably be fine after resting.
"You really are used to taking care of horses, huh?"
"I have been around them since I was young. Slei-dono is a little different from normal horses, but up to his second form it seems similar."
Seras had also treated my wounds.
Right now, a bandage was wrapped around my shoulder.
"You can treat wounds, you have wide-ranging knowledge… you can use spirit power, you're skilled with a sword, and you're good with horses… There's nothing you can't do."
Seras hung her head.
Her expression was dark.
"…I am not a very interesting high elf, though."
It was so unexpected that I almost staggered.
"Why are you still worrying about that…?"
"What should I do to become an interesting high elf?"
"No… even if you aim to become an interesting high elf, the view beyond that would probably be pretty questionable…"
Seras made an eight-shaped frown and drooped her shoulders.
"Is it because of my innate temperament…? Or perhaps the original material is simply not good?"
"No… I think it's more about using the right ingredients for the right dish."
I let out a breath.
I poked Seras's forehead with my index finger.
"…Eh?"
"You're off in the weirdest places."
"So I really am off?"
"You're sharp-eyed and quick-witted, but…"
Seras widened her blue eyes.
She looked a little happy.
"Is that how I look to you, Touka-dono?"
Her tone was slightly different.
Was she excited?
"Being too unaware of your own good points will eventually come off as sarcasm."
Seras smiled wryly.
"…I remember being told something similar at the royal palace."
There was a hint of hesitation in her voice.
I see.
So she had trouble with so-called "witty conversation" in social settings.
"…Aren't you trying too hard to respond seriously?"
Adapting to the other person and playing a false version of yourself.
If she could not do that, it was probably easy to get mentally exhausted in those kinds of situations.
"…Well, that side of you is actually something I'm grateful for."
"Is it all right for me to stay as I am?"
"Interesting conversation isn't the only form of communication."
Seras smiled in a troubled way.
"U-um… is it all right for me to feel convinced by that?"
I twisted the corner of my mouth.
"Does it feel like I'm talking you into it?"
With her slender fingertips, Seras scratched her pale cheek.
"…A little."
I pointed at Seras's lap.
From under her hem, her neatly aligned thighs peeked out.
My jacket was placed there right now.
It had been torn in several places during today's battle.
Next to her thigh was a simple sewing kit.
"There are people who can sew and people who cannot. Sewing is impossible for me. But you don't think someone who cannot sew has no value, right?"
"Of course not."
"That's what I mean."
"Ah."
"No matter what you think, I am grateful for your existence."
"…Yes, thank you very much."
Then,
"All right."
Seras, who had been quietly motivated, picked up the needle and thread.
She began sewing busily.
She seemed to have cheered up after being praised for her sewing.
Her thin cherry blossom-colored lips were gently relaxed.
...
Was this what a domestic atmosphere felt like?
Strictness.
The capacity to gently accept and embrace others.
That was Seras Ashrain.
Perhaps those two qualities coexist inside this high elf in a delicate, well-balanced harmony.