“…After driving Nefi away, I stayed and kept watch in that forest. I thought I’d never leave that place, but you ended up dragging me out of there anyway.”
“Milin is being hosted by your sister… and the Relic is in your family’s hands. Iyue… are you okay?”
Lian looked at Iyue with concern. Even though this past was so heartbreaking… there was no trace of pain on her face, as if she were a mere spectator.
“Me? I’m fine. The reason I’m telling you this is because it’s something you should know. I promised I’d tell you, didn’t I?”
Iyue blinked and smiled at him.
“Iyue, don’t push yourself. If meeting your sister or dealing with those people in your family makes you sad, I’ll go find Milin alone… and then get that Relic back for you.”
“Go alone?” Looking at Lian’s serious expression, the curve of Iyue’s lips grew wider.
“Let me ask you this… how exactly are you planning to move by yourself? Without me, you’re just a cute little girl in this form. The guards would probably mistake you for a lost child and send you to the forest patrol station.”
“I—I’ll have the Meliya Company arrange an identity for me! Didn’t that Captain General tell you that Meliya’s company is currently the largest human corporation developing the Sea of Trees? That’s probably why they’re paying special attention to Milin too.”
“So if I use the company’s identity to contact your family, they’ll definitely let me in. I can find Milin, convince her to come with us, and then try to gather information about that Relic for you.”
“…I didn’t expect you to think that far ahead. Have our clever and resourceful Hero, Lian En, returned?”
“What are you so surprised about? Wipe that look off your face!” Facing Iyue’s feigned astonishment, Lian shot her a glare.
“Anyway, if meeting them makes you uncomfortable… you don’t have to force yourself to show up. Besides, this whole thing is originally my family’s business—”
“Lian.”
Before he could finish, Iyue interrupted him sternly.
“You’re slipping back into your old habits. Why do you think I rushed to Northland as soon as I heard the news? And why did I come all the way here with you, telling you all of this?”
“…Because we’re family.”
“Yes, we’re family. No matter how difficult or rough the road, we face it together. And this time, we’re going to retrieve your daughter—our shared family—and then catch those demons trying to destroy the peace we built together… Do you really think I can stand by?”
“I understand… but I’m really worried about you.”
Lian knew saying this made him sound sentimental, like an overly emotional little girl… but after everything that happened at the Duke’s household and with Cyrus, he couldn’t bear to see his family or his former companions wear such painful, suffering expressions.
“I’m fine. Those things happened many years ago… even several times longer than the time you were gone. By now, I’ve long since let it go.”
Iyue’s expression now was vastly different from when they first entered the Sea of Trees.
The closer they got to Fenglin City, the more dissonant the smile on her face became… Lian couldn’t bring himself to believe it was a smile of release.
The midday sun filtered through the shade of the trees, spilling down in patches.
This was the most bustling area in Fenglin City—a massive zone formed by the intertwined branches of several towering giant trees extending outward, crisscrossing in a tangled mess.
At the center of this zone stood a huge plaza—
This was Fenglin City’s central plaza. People could use this plaza to reach several of the giant trees that served as the main urban districts.
An elf with deep violet eyes sat on the edge of the fountain in the center of the plaza, just like other tourists and locals enjoying the scene.
But unlike the others playing in the water, she leaned her back against the statue and the fountain basin, swinging her legs restlessly.
Her gaze wandered toward the lively open-air market in the plaza… as if she were waiting for someone.
Not long after, another elven girl emerged from the crowd in the market area and approached her.
“Here. Four servings of elven crepes, one of each flavor.”
With a resigned look, she handed the bag of food to the girl by the fountain. The violet-eyed girl’s eyes lit up as she took the bag:
“Thanks… Selene.”
“Sigh, just eat up… and make sure you keep that collar on your neck hidden.”
The elven girl who bought the food—more accurately, the Shadow Demon Selene disguised as an elf through Imitation—sighed and sat down next to Luc.
“Okay.” Reminded, Luc checked her neck again.
After entering the Sea of Trees, Selene had adjusted her Imitation to match an elf’s appearance.
But, like the problem they encountered before, the silver collar around Luc’s neck—designed to seal a demon’s magic—was faithfully doing its job, preventing the Imitation from covering her entire body.
Luc had replaced her previous scarf with a ribbon wrapped around her neck.
After all, now that they were in the warm Sea of Trees, bundling up like she did in Northland would likely draw unnecessary attention.
After confirming the collar was securely hidden, Luc tore open the packaging bag.
She seemed in a good mood… but when she saw the two pieces of paper in Selene’s hand, her expression shifted instantly.
“What are you looking at?”
“Wanted posters.” Selene replied, “Look. There are drawings of you and me. These seem to be the latest batch, already sent from Northland to our neighboring country, the Sea of Trees, and translated into Elven. Looks like humans aren’t planning to let us off.”
“…Humans can’t catch us with something like this.”
“That’s true. But the fact that my portrait is on the wanted posters means they know about what happened in that pine forest in Northland. And they’ve written in the poster’s description that our appearances aren’t fixed… As these posters spread, inspections in the Sea of Trees will likely get stricter.”
“That’s why we’re here… but we’ve been waiting for hours. Why hasn’t the person Lord Magus mentioned shown up yet?”
Luc glanced down at the moon-shaped brooch pinned to her chest.
According to Feiyin’s arrangement, after putting on these brooches in the plaza, they would be guided by a ‘contact person’ in Fenglin City.
Yet they had been waiting here for almost an entire morning, and no one had approached them.
“I think it’s strange too. But since it’s the Master’s orders, we should be patient.”
Selene also looked suspiciously at the brooch clipped to her collar.
Earlier, while buying food for Luc, she had deliberately walked around the plaza… but aside from merchants trying to solicit business, no one had initiated a conversation with them.
Luc finished her crepes quickly, and the two sat silently by the fountain, continuing to wait. As time passed, their anxiety grew—
“Would the two young ladies do me the honor of joining me for a drink?”
Just as their anxiety was about to reach its breaking point, someone approached them.
The invitation was abrupt, and its tone was frivolous, off-putting. Both looked up at the person who had issued the invitation, but they were simultaneously stunned speechless:
“Y-you’re that crepe stand owner from earlier?! How did you change into such an outfit—”
Selene was shocked because the vendor who had sold her the crepes was now dressed in an exquisite, elegant tailcoat, bowing courteously to them… Luc’s shock came from the fact that this man’s appearance was strangely familiar—
“I’ve seen you. That day at the mansion… you saved me.”
During the clash with the Hero’s Daughter at the mansion, she should have been the one to win. But just as she was about to strike the decisive blow, an enemy’s powerful reinforcement had knocked her out, leaving her unconscious.
Then, in a haze, she saw a young man in a white officer’s uniform fighting against that reinforcement protecting the Hero’s Daughter… and the last image she remembered was that man’s body being pierced by a silver light, shattering into pieces.
When she woke up, she saw Lord Magus. And Lord Magus told her that the young man who served as her subordinate had died… sacrificing himself to save her from the terrifying enemy.
“You’re alive…?”
Yet the face of this man before her was clearly identical to the white-clad young man who had saved her back then.
Although he now had an elf’s pointed ears, and although her vision had been blurry at the time, almost on the verge of losing consciousness… she was certain she hadn’t mistaken it.
“Hm? I’m quite sure this should be our first meeting…” The young man’s face showed confusion for a moment, but it only lasted an instant before he smiled in sudden understanding.
“So you’ve met another ‘me.’ From the looks of it, he did his duty well—protecting our beautiful ‘New Moon.’”