“Heh, an Adventurer party?”
Celthina, standing before her, gave a disdainful smile. “I have no interest in such things. They’re utterly pointless…”
“Uh… excuse me, but may I ask a question, Miss Elf? Why do you look so down? Did something happen to put you in a bad mood?”
Uh, as soon as she said it, Keti felt a twinge of regret. Had she been a bit too blunt?
However, the effect didn’t seem that bad.
Celthina’s wariness was indeed gradually decreasing. One could tell just from her expression. As for the logic behind it?
Well, Keti still didn’t quite understand it.
“What’s your name?”
“Ah? Are you asking me? I’m Keti. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“My name is Celthina. As you can see, I’m just an ordinary elf with mediocre talent. Other than living longer than a Human like you, I’m a good-for-nothing fellow.”
The Elf Maiden gave a bitter smile as she introduced herself. Keti was a bit stunned.
‘Ah, so she really is that Celthina, the future Mage Executive.’
However… for this future big shot to say she had mediocre talent was quite the dark joke.
“Why would you say that? Miss Celthina, I think you’re amazing. Um, you might not believe me, but I think you might even become a Mage Executive in the future!”
‘Man, time travel is the best. Knowing the future lets me make prophecies whenever I want.’
Keti narrowed her eyes with confidence. Little did she know, those words caused Celthina’s emotions to spiral out of control.
“Mage Executive? Heh, Miss Keti, you sure know how to joke. How could I ever become a Mage Executive? I… sob, I’m just an ordinary person. I…”
‘Eh? Something seems wrong.’
As she spoke, Celthina’s voice began to tremble, and it sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
“Why are you so unsure of yourself? Actually… I’ve heard of you. Your Magic Talent should be very high, right? You’re the Future Star of the Elf Tribe, so why do you think you’re ordinary?”
The silver-haired girl reached out and rubbed the Elf Maiden’s head to comfort her. However… saying that only seemed to make her more depressed.
“Talent? Keti… did you know? Talent is a relative thing. A person’s level of talent can’t be measured by a simple letter like S or A…”
‘Wow… hearing you say that makes a loser like me, whose Magic Talent used to be D and is now barely C, feel a bit down.’
Keti grumbled inwardly, but since she didn’t want to interrupt, she kept listening.
“Even with S-rank Talent, the differences between individuals are still massive… You’re right. Once, I truly was the most talented among the new generation of the Elf Tribe. The adults had high expectations for me, saying I would become the next Mage Executive…”
“I… I always made that my goal. I worked hard, full of expectation and pride, boasting about my exceptional talent.”
“But… one day, my younger sister came into this world… I really loved her when she was born. I hovered around her every day. Even our parents joked that we were inseparable.”
As Celthina spoke, a hint of nostalgia for that past happiness flashed across her face, but it vanished in an instant. She sighed and continued:
“I swore to work even harder to be an elder sister Sylvia could be proud of… But soon, the adults discovered… my sister Sylvia’s talent far surpassed mine… No, it surpassed every Mage Executive the Elf Tribe has ever produced…”
“Her talent was so high that she didn’t even need to put in any effort. Her strength grew exponentially without her even realizing it. Soon, that fellow surpassed children her age, the elders of the tribe, and… me…”
“Naturally, in that situation, I could no longer be trained as the future Mage Executive. Sylvia inherited all the expectations my parents, elders, and tribe once had for me. She became the new successor to the Mage Executive position.”
“I… I actually didn’t have a problem with that. Rather, when I realized Sylvia’s talent was far beyond mine, I already knew this would be the outcome… I didn’t want to care about it anymore, but… but…”
The Elf Maiden’s voice suddenly grew more tremulous.
“Why? Why does that fellow Sylvia insist on praising my talent over and over again? Why does she keep saying I’ll definitely become the future Executive?!”
“She should understand that the future I was supposed to have has already been snatched away by her! Why does she have to keep whispering those things in my ear?”
“I… I’ve tried so hard to forget the past, to forget everyone’s expectations, and my own ridiculous efforts, but… I can’t forget. And that fellow has never understood. Why… why…”
“Why am I Sylvia’s elder sister?! Heh… I… I’m not worthy at all. A useless elder sister shouldn’t even exist in this world, should she? If only I were the younger sister… Hey, don’t you agree, Miss Keti? If only I were the younger sister…”
“Ah… I see. So that’s how it is. No wonder I feel like you’re more like the Elf Maiden I know. You give me such a familiar feeling.”
Keti suddenly smiled and reached out to wipe the tears from the Elf Maiden’s face.
“Hey, stop crying, okay, Celthina? I want to tell you a story. Actually, I’m from the future~ Back then, our Adventurer party had an elven girl who was cold but a bit mischievous.”
“We met by chance during our journey and traveled together through many, many happy days.”
“There was a blonde Miss Alice who often taught you how to dress up, a purple-haired elder sister Layla who liked to have heart-to-heart talks with you, and me, your unreliable logistics support, always cheering you on in silence.”
“By then, you probably won’t care about these things anymore. Instead, you’ll be worried every day about my relationship with someone else. Ah, cough, cough… but that’s a story for another time.”
“Anyway, I’ve always been grateful that you joined our team. You’re the strongest comrade in my heart, and I’ve never doubted that for a second. But… I never knew your past like I do today. When I get back, Sylvia, please forgive me…”
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