ch5

“…Do you think she’ll allow it?”

Despite Demis’s growling words, Araya, oblivious, grinned and scratched at his nerves.

“She’ll allow it, won’t she?”

“Don’t even think about it!”

Demis stated firmly, his face still contorted in a frown.

“Actually, I already got permission from Mother. I came here to tell you I’m leaving.”

Araya raised her left arm and shook it, revealing a simple wooden bracelet.

But any High Elf could sense it.

The bracelet was strongly imbued with their mother’s energy.

Demis covered his forehead with both hands, then, as if that wasn’t enough, began to scrub his face roughly.

When he finally calmed down and lowered his hands, his expression was as blank as usual.

“No.”

“I don’t want to.”

“It’s dangerous.”

Araya, who was about to throw a tantrum as usual, read worry and concern in Demis’s usually unnecessarily handsome, expressionless face.

And that was an overwhelming joy for Araya.

That emotion was clearly love for his reckless sister.

“I’m happy.”

“I feel like I’m about to explode.”

Araya, watching Demis’s brow furrow, thought he would probably become a stubborn old man when he aged.

Though he’d probably still be handsome.

“Demis, you know, right? This vast forest that started from Mother’s domain will soon be within our control, and it’s almost fully harmonized. If that’s the case, then the Elves will eventually have to venture outside, not just stay in the forest they’ve been with for the past 10 years.”

“This forest is our land, the place we should live. Where are you talking about going, leaving this place behind?”

“Demis.”

Araya continued, with a rare serious expression.

“It’s one thing to do something knowing what it is, and another to refuse to do it without even knowing what it is.”

“Mother said it herself, she has siblings in this world.”

“Just as Mother was born with the mission of bringing life to the stars, maybe the others will do something in this world too.”

“If there are hostile beings among them, are you going to block those who arrive with animosity without even trying to learn about them?”

“Aren’t you starting to feel it? The ominous flow of mana coming from the east. It’s the energy of a delinquent who clearly doesn’t want to get along with most of this planet. It’ll probably be as nasty as Saras’s temper.”

“You know, right? The first and last mission Mother gave us when we were born.”

Demis joined in on the next words.

“”Benefit all widely.””

Araya smiled brightly.

“I love this world, Demis.”

“This world is always warm to me.”

“I love Mother, Demis, Ati, Saras, Pallas, Anat, Elmoni, and the other Elves too. I love this world that contains everyone who lives with me.”

‘Because it’s something I’ve never felt before,’ Araya recited in her heart.

“If it’s something someone has to do someday, and if I’m the most suitable person here, I’ll go.”

“…It’s not just because you’re feeling stifled here and want to run away, is it?”

“Well, there’s that too-☆”

At her honest and innocent smile, Demis finally gave in and chuckled.

“Let’s go down.”

“Huh?”

“We have to tell the others too. Anat, more than anyone, will throw a fit. It’ll be hard to deal with the aftermath, so make sure you handle it properly before you go.”

“Ugh…Anat definitely would.”

◈ ◈ ◈

‘That went smoother than I expected.’

She thought, watching the handsome back of his head that seemed to glow even in the night.

In fact, even if she decided to head outside on her own, the only person in this forest who could physically stop her now was probably Mother.

And since even Mother had given her permission, going out itself wasn’t a big problem.

However, as Mother said, she didn’t want to disappear without saying anything to her siblings and make them worry.

She sincerely considered her High Elf siblings to be her family.

It was a different feeling from the mutual affection of lovers, but she loved them.

It was different from her previous life, where she only had blood relatives and no interaction.

She was truly grateful for her new life, which gave her not only a healthy and talented body but also a new family.

She thought her personality in the past was unsociable, but if she called her sisters by nicknames, or if her way of speaking and personality had become brighter, it was definitely because she was surrounded by a happy environment.

‘…Honestly, there are many times when my emotions are so shaken that I can’t even control them myself.’

In all honesty, whenever she recalled that she was a man who had lived with bleak emotions in that desolate house, she felt a little nauseous.

Wasn’t it truly a bit disgusting to imagine a man who hadn’t even grown a proper beard, who barely exchanged a few words with the servants each day, acting innocently in the body of a 10-year-old girl?

However, separately from that, her actions and external personality were gradually changing to suit her body and environment.

In the end, the previous life was the previous life.

Now she was living the life of Araya, and unless she died suddenly, her Elf life would soon overwhelm her short life in her previous life.

Above all, her current life was overwhelmingly happier than her previous one.

Compared to the love given by her mother and High Elf siblings, her parents and siblings from her previous life wouldn’t be able to complain as if she was denying the past.

Both conscientiously and spatially.

“Huh? Araya?”

Ati, who was weaving fabric on a loom, seemed surprised as soon as she spotted them, but regardless, her hands continued to move the loom.

That was amazing in a way.

Along with a familiar presence from behind, something soft pressed down on the crown of her head.

“Araya- I came because I missed you, Onni!?”

And then, she put her hands under her armpits and lifted her up.

Instantly lifted up, she hung limply like a cat lifted by a maid in her previous life, then was spun around and around.

Meanwhile, Saras and the other guys glanced sideways and then ignored her and went back to doing what they were doing.

How heartless.

“Ahaha! Ahahaha!”

“Um…Anat.”

“Anat, put Araya down.”

“Huh? Why?”

Huh, why? People aren’t originally toys to be lifted up and shaken around, you know.

“I have something important to tell you.”

Anat, who had been making a slightly tearful expression at Demis’s solemn words, cautiously lowered me, whom she had been spinning around in the air.

“Araya is going outside.”

Thud!

As soon as those words were spoken, Ati’s loom, which seemed like it would never stop, came to a halt.

And even the heartless ones stopped what they were doing and turned their heads.

They all stared with surprised eyes.

Whenever this much attention was focused on her, she wanted to do something silly, but this was quite important.

“Yeah, well, that’s how it is. I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“What! I didn’t hear anything about that!”

Of course, you didn’t, Anat, I just said it.

But could you stop shaking me?

Basically, my body weight is less than 30 Rongeld (30kg).

Anat doesn’t do much fighting, but since she’s a High Elf, she can easily lift this much weight and shake me in the air without letting me get a foothold.

As I increased my weight with the secret of the Thousand-Pound Drop, she grunted at some point and finally put me down on the ground.

“Araya, that’s too much! Onni is hurt!”

Then she rubbed her cheek against me, and her excessive love was always appreciated and burdensome.

Pallas, who had the impression of a handsome loafer, approached and started a fight.

“Hey.”

“What.”

“When are you leaving?”

“I said I’m leaving tomorrow. Are your big ears blocked or something?”

Since Anat was occupying the entire area of my right side, I raised my left hand and tapped my ear.

Hearing those words, Pallas left with a stiff face.

“What…”

“…Going outside…is it because of that thing in the east…?”

Elmoni, who had been quietly meditating, asked with her eyes, which had been surprised, now half-closed as usual.

“Well, there’s that too. I’m also going to check out the outside world, killing two birds with one stone.”

“Killing two birds with one stone! Do you know what dangerous things might be outside? No! No! This Onni is against it!”

Since her ears were as good as their long appearance suggested, it was no joke when she shouted next to me.

I moved my ears to close them and dulled my senses.

Even then, I could still feel the vibrations of the sound.

Anat…a scary child.

“Hmm…the forest is definitely being taken care of, and it’s about time we knew what kind of world is outside.”

“Saras! Are you saying you don’t object to Araya going outside right now?”

“Ah- seriously, you little brat. You’re so damn loud. Anyway.”

“What if Araya gets hurt or…di…dies!”

“Dies? Her?”

I shrugged my shoulders at Saras’s gaze, which seemed to be asking, “You?”

“Back then, with that pack of big dogs! She might get seriously hurt again! But we can’t help her if she’s far away!”

Saras quieted down a bit when she brought up the example of Fenrir.

She had definitely been seriously injured back then, to the point where Mother had to help.

Mother’s power was so great that not even a trace remained, but normally, she would have died or, if she had lived, would have been left with a hideous scar across half of her body.

“Well, that was seven years ago. I’m much stronger now than I was then, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Onni will go too!”

“What?”

“Onni will go too! I can’t send Araya to a dangerous place alone!”

“No.”

“Why!”

He stated firmly with his own pace, not shaken at all by Anat’s whining.

“Because you’re weak.”

“……”

“You’ll only be a burden.”

He quietly stated only the facts. She soon looked at me with tearful eyes, looking dejected.

I deliberately avoided her gaze, which seemed to be saying, ‘Can’t you not go?’

Honestly, my heart wavered when a beauty who would make even Xi Shi pale looked at me with tears welling up in her eyes.

Then she burst into tears and clung to me again, shaking me.

“…What time are you leaving tomorrow?”

Ati, who had been quietly stopping the loom and thinking about something, asked when she had finished her thoughts.

“Um…um…right after I wake up in the morning?”

“It would be good to leave after eating lunch. Leave in the afternoon.”

“…Huh?”

“Leave in the afternoon.”

I nodded at her strange spirit.

As soon as she heard my answer, she stood up and headed somewhere.

“Well, is there anything you need to prepare?”

I shook the bracelet on my left arm like I did with Demis.

“Ah…Mother’s.”

She seemed quite surprised by the bracelet, which contained a considerable amount of energy, but she nodded, thinking it was somewhat natural considering I was going outside.

“If it’s that kind of thing, I might have something to think about.”

And then she left with a whoosh, like Anat or Pallas.

With three out of seven people gone, the space became quite empty.

Even one of them had closed her eyes and was meditating again after saying a few words earlier.

“Is this what it’s usually like to see someone off?”

“Well, you’re the first of us to leave. There’s no control group to compare it to.”

“Hmm…”

I was a little dissatisfied with the reaction.

A little dissatisfied, I grumbled, and Demis chuckled and ruffled my hair.

“Even if you’re leaving tomorrow, stay and sleep here today. You should spend your last moments with your family.”

“Yeah! Araya! Let’s sleep together today, Onni!”

Snorting, Anat picked me up again and tried to drag me to her room.

“Araya.”

“Yeah?”

“Sleep well.”

How silly.

However, perhaps because of Demis’s worry, I couldn’t sleep soundly thanks to Anat, who clung to me and chattered incessantly.