The Witch and the Doll Swear

This day, early in the morning.

"Well... I want to ask for a day off today, is that okay?"

At the breakfast table, the girl raised her head nervously.

"Miss Tina, is there anything to do today—"

Salamanda, who was lying on the floor and biting a lamb chop, raised her head, her eyes were like fiery red agate.

"That... a little something..."

"Really?"

Wagging his tail, the Flame Elf, who was not very interested in this topic, lowered his head to fight with the lamb chop that was roasted on the outside and tender on the inside.

Unlike other elves, for Salamander, who embodies the characteristics of "salamander", the knife and fork used in western food are only auxiliary tools. Her method of dealing with such large pieces of meat has always been to hold a fork in each hand As a fix then straight to the bite.

"What work do you have today?"

Liliana and Ai didn't come down for breakfast today, so Alice was the only one who could take a break from Tina, who was a secretary.

She put down the spoon and fixed her silver eyes on Tina.

"Eh? I'm going to the Cetilin Academy of Ancient Languages ​​to find Miss Tessa to get the latest deciphered text... and some daily reports."

"Alice understands. Today, Miss Tina can move freely. Alice will go and get the text back."

The little puppet nodded and scooped up the ice cream in the cup.

"Thank you, Miss Alice..."

The blond girl breathed a sigh of relief, then, she quickly broke up the last three layers of lamb chop burgers in front of her with a knife and fork into small pieces and fed them into her stomach, then wiped the corners of her mouth with a paper towel, "Then, I'll go out It's gone."——So, go downstairs.

"Miss Tina, what are you going to do...?"

Until the footprints crossed the light snow that fell last night and passed through the towering black pine, Knight came to the window of the restaurant and stared at the distant figure with great interest.

"Is Alice going to follow Miss Tina today?"

Sylph dangles her little feet on the dining room chandelier.

"... Well, when she comes back, it won't be too late for Alice to get the text. Anyway, Lily doesn't have time to study recently."

Alice nodded.

"Hey, Alice, Sylph has a suggestion~~~~"

"?"

"Let Sylph follow Miss Tina today."

The little wind spirit flapped its wings and floated in front of the puppet that was similar to itself, full of interest.

Sylve's proposal made the elves turn their attention to the puppet sitting on the table.

It's not that Liliana and Alice didn't bring other girls to the tower before, and it wasn't that they didn't travel with other girls, but there was no doubt that they had never protected a girl so meticulously.

Of course, none of the former traveling companions was as weak as Tina.

Among them are a resolute knight, a devout priest, a humble magician who seeks knowledge, a princess who perishes, an orc lady who ran away from home, a certain pope of the Church of Virtue and a saint of the Church of the Holy Church, and even a goblin who wants to travel to the mainland. To turn Miss Witch into the most beautiful collection of dragons in the treasury...

Many of them are at the Noble Phantasm level, and they are even unknown in the mainland, but feared in some secret circles.

The elves still remember that Miss Witch picked up a little boy from the Goats when she came back last time. Time flies, that scabies-ridden scabies child is now crowned as the pope of the largest church in the mainland.

Every year he would take the opportunity of visiting the city of a thousand towers to secretly come to this high tower where he lived for several years, reminiscing with the elves and regretting that when he was young, he was full of justice, saving the world and destroying cultists, so he didn't stand up to the dolls The lady's dissuasion seizes the great opportunity and the beautiful witch has a development beyond the guardian and the ward...

And what about Tina?

Tina von Sia is an ordinary person through and through, so weak that a liar on the street, a gangster with malicious intentions, and even a slightly dangerous monster can make her disappear from this world, and she can't even arouse her. A water flower.

In Liliana and Alice's long journey so far, Tina is the only traveling companion who is so ordinary and so weak, so.

"……you?"

Alice's cold expression showed a little surprise.

"Because I'm curious, why Miss Tina can travel together with Princess Lily, why Alice, you not only don't discourage but also encourage..."

Akua held her face up, curiosity flowing in her pupils.

Therefore, the elves are also very curious.

Is she really that ordinary?

Or is there something extraordinary that they haven't discovered yet?

"Didn't Alice dissuade those traveling companions and those who were brought into the tower from taking the initiative to Princess Lily? Encouraged... Well, including Miss Tina, there are only seven in total?"

Nate raised his fingers one by one.

"We're curious about the reason for this."

"I want to know why."

Even Norm focused his distracted eyes on the puppet.

The elves are a curious species. They almost wrote "I'm curious" on their faces, and the silver-haired dolls stared at them for a long time.

"Ah, Alice understands?"

Suddenly the corners of his mouth curled up.

The elves staring at her immediately turned their faces away, and Noam, who was the most expressionless, blushed.

"Well, that's one of the reasons though..."

Salamanda stood up in some embarrassment, resting her small chin and hands on the wooden table, the flame on her tail turned pale pink and swayed back and forth.

Obviously, this was the guessed reaction. Miss Doll elegantly staggered her crystal high heels on the edge of the table, like a condescending queen looking down on her subjects. If Tina was still here, maybe she would be sluggish because of the expression on her face, which seemed to be frozen by millennium frost, revealed because of the silence of the elf ladies...

It's a touch of slyness that feels extraordinarily interesting.

"We are elves, not goblins..."

Being stared at by Miss Doll, Knight couldn't bear it anymore. The dark-skinned girl covered her face with a small tone of protest.

"We are too pure as living beings. Every time we are embraced by Princess Lily, we feel that our souls are filled with happiness, and our heads are about to break..."

However, this is obviously more like acting like a baby than complaining.

"Hmph... Ms. Tingna probably will take a long time to find out. As for accepting it, I don't know when it will be."

After all, that ordinary girl was born in human society, and the many influences of patriarchal culture have been subtly rooted in the deepest part of her concept through her parents, her friends, her teachers, and everything she has seen and heard since she was a child. Belonging to the ethics and morals of human patriarchal society.

It was these things that still bound her.

If you let her know that Liliana not only likes girls, but also has deep relationships with many girls, and often visits famous courtesans during the trip... that step will be even more difficult.

But speaking of it, I haven't seen Lily for a long time...

Of course, Miss Puppet is also very curious about what Tina suddenly asked for leave to do, and no matter what, she can't let Tina wander alone in the city of a thousand towers. In addition to the prestige among nobles and magicians, there is also a part of malice in the shadows.

The advantage of immortality is that as long as the opponent is not the same immortality, it is enough to live... But some hatred is not limited to one person, but for a period of time.

"Alice knows."

Thinking over.

If it's the City of Glory, it's another story, but this is not the shining utopia. Letting that powerless girl out of sight for a minute means more possible danger.

Without hesitating for a long time, Alice looked at the elves who were already eager to try, and nodded.

So within a minute, I followed Miss Tina secretly to see what she was going to do... Oh no, it was to protect Miss Tina from getting lost and the action plan was drawn up and implemented, and she left the tower with a whimper Alice looked at the elves that hadn't been cleared yet, and Alice was silent for a moment.

"...How long can they last without being discovered..."

Hold up the tableware with the snow wind and float towards the kitchen.

……………………………………………………………………………………

It is not difficult to find Tina. The elves all know that the whalebone amulet hung around the neck of Miss Secretary has the magic of positioning, which can make it easy for Alice and Liliana to find her. While running errands in Tower City, this petite daughter of Siwa, the Ice Queen, has been hiding in the cold wind, following her, silently guarding her.

They asked for a unique beacon for locating magic from Miss Doll, and soon caught up with a carriage waiting for a traffic light at the intersection.

"Ah, I found it~~~~ I don't know where Miss Tingna is going?"

The wind spirit fluttering in the cold winter wind led Aqua, who had turned into a water mist, and Laite, who followed her in the sunlight, first discovered the target.

"Don't let Miss Tina find out?"

At the same time, Knight has sneaked into the shadow cast by the carriage on the road. At the same time, he is also acting as a navigator for Norm who is integrated with the earth, and Salamanda who is with Norm. Vigorously looking around the long-lost city.

That's right, it's been a long time.

The last time I left Liliana's tower was the last time Liliana came back and picked up the boy a few years ago.

That was nearly a hundred years ago. During this period, the streets were redesigned, the old buildings were refurbished and remodeled, and some less ancient styles gradually emerged in the old Gothic style buildings.

The only two constants are probably the ancient trees that have taken root on the roadside for hundreds of years, and the atmosphere that hangs over the city and everyone at this time of year.

The big exam of the city of a thousand towers has come to an end. In the last few days, except for some colleges and towers whose exam time was set relatively late, most institutions have already begun to announce the fresh blood recruited this year.

Pedestrians still wearing gray magic cloaks were more anxious than during the most concentrated period of the exam.

They are people who have not yet received an admission notice, or have been rejected by the first few institutions that applied for the exam, or the exam results have not yet been announced.

Because of them, the business of taverns, rental apartments and restaurants near the city square is the best during this time. They eagerly hope to see the exact results one minute and one second earlier, and they will not hesitate to spend a lot of savings for this.

In stark contrast to these people are the clerks of various shops, the drivers of carriages, and the gardeners who pruned flowers by magic - the robes on their bodies have various colors and patterns, the ancient dragons of the Dragon Academy, the The balance, the tree of Kabbalah of Farmus Alchemy University, and the different coats of arms of the seven towers.

"That hasn't changed~~~~"

"No matter how long it takes, it will not change. In the past, as the most extensive staff in the city, the gray robes spent time working to survive and study. Among them, those who were more talented, endured poverty and spent more time studying stood out in the big exam. , When other gray-robed people left their posts in large numbers, rushed to take exams, and waited for the results, they supported the city's operation with wages that were several times higher than in the past."

Akuya looked at the almost completely divided crowd, and couldn't help expressing emotion.

Of course, these successful people are not the only ones at work.

People who failed this year's big exam early, or gave up without confidence will also return to their jobs, and get almost a month or even several months' salary in a busy week like those who succeeded.

Shiny gold coins will become resources and help for the winners to enter the fiercer competition, and will also become the capital for the losers to work hard in the next year.

"...It's fair. Only those who can't plan and can't see the reality clearly will fail in this trial called the big test. Of course, there is no need to change."

Wright has always commented on this phenomenon unique to the city of a thousand towers, and it has always been.

The light changed from crimson to emerald green, the carriage started, and after driving along the street for a long time, it stopped in front of a large theater covered by a glass dome. The blond girl got off the carriage and followed some gathered crowd Walked into the gate supported by crystal pillars.

This building is famous in the city of a thousand towers.

In the era when the dark sage who created the modern magic system was still a member of the magic emperor, this was her favorite theater, built entirely of glass and crystal, where the most beautiful opera in human history was staged day and night.

"War Dome? Why did Miss Tina come here?"

And when the sage gave the floating city-state to the Association of Magicians, it became the largest podium in the city, and countless academic wars broke out here. As a result, people gradually forgot the elegant and noble name. Call it the War Dome.

"And, this academic lecture is..."

Noam made a hole in the road under the carriage, and Salamander poked his head out curiously, seeing the title of the speech magically displayed on the dome, the flame elf couldn't help showing a puzzled expression.

"An Analysis of the Beliefs and Organizational Structure of the Sheep-head Believers"

It seems that this is an academic lecture on the most violent and craziest cultists on the mainland, but why would Miss Tina come to listen to this?

"Although Alice seems to have said that during the riots in Salt Sand City, there were activities of the Goathead Cultists."

"But Miss Tina has been with Princess Lily and Alice, and the family does not seem to be in any danger."

"...Miss Tina feels like an ordinary person who has nothing to do with this dangerous group."

The carriage that put down Tina quickly walked away, and the elves who had lurked underground and the elves in the sky were whispering in spiritual communication.

However, battles between two parties with different opinions will occasionally break out in this building. Even if this unexpected situation makes the elves extremely puzzled and curious, they cannot pass through the security magic here without attracting attention. Go to the war dome to find out.

"Could it be that the ordinary appearance is just a disguise, and he is actually a member of the cult?"

"In that case, Alice should have discovered it long ago~~~~~"

"...If even Princess Lily and Alice have been deceived? For example, Miss Tingna knows the identity of Princess Lily very well..."

"It's hard to imagine."

While they were waiting boredly, they changed the girl's identity from an ordinary person to a cultist and then to a mysterious figure who came out of nowhere with a tone of expectation that didn't match the content. In the building, people came out with the flow of people leaving.

His footsteps were a little staggering, and his face was ashen.

The nonsensical discussion immediately fell silent, almost at the moment when they realized that the girl's condition was abnormal.

"Miss Tina! You look very bad!"

"……What happened?"

Tina froze.

The elves of light and darkness supported the girl from left to right. Their appearance was too sudden. Looking at Knight and Wright who suddenly appeared in front of them and were focused by everyone's eyes, the girl could only act stupidly. An "eh" coming out of your mouth?

But immediately, her face flushed red.

This is obviously not normal.

"No, before that, why are Miss Knight and Miss Wright here."

"...This is not important now, what happened in the war dome?"

"That's right, there is obviously something wrong with Miss Tina's state. What happened? Could it be that she was involved in some strange situation again... Tsk, I don't know enough about human physiological structure, Aqua!"

Unable to sneak up on the Wardome, Knight had no idea what was going on.

She only felt that the temperature on Ting Na's face was rising, and her footsteps became sloppy. More importantly, the girl seemed to have received some strong mental shock, as if she was about to lose consciousness. The originally vain footsteps almost completely lost their strength. If she and Wright let go now, she will definitely fall down weakly.

The dark elf is knowledgeable, but human medicine is not in her knowledge reserve. In desperation, she turned her head directly, ignoring the surprised eyes around her, and shouted at Aqua who hadn't reacted in the sky.

"Eh? Come, come!"

And in the form of water mist, the water spirits brought by Sylph to float in the sky also panicked and regrouped and landed in front of Tina. Just as she attracted all the fountains on the square, she began to weave When the magic of healing is activated.

"So--wait for me!!"

Tina finally broke out.

"I don't know why you guys are here but at least put on your clothes!!!"

………………………………………………………………………………………

Some time later, in a bar somewhere away from the War Dome.

Although there are no major colleges or plazas where admission lists and notices are posted in the towers, but because the bars in those places are already full, this tavern is more popular than usual. Even in the morning, the first floor of the tavern is hardly visible. vacancy.

...only one layer.

Moreover, it was rare that these mages did not set up a layer of sound-proof barriers to isolate themselves in their own small worlds. On the contrary, it would be better to say that no one did so.

"Ah, you're down too."

"Don't be kidding, that kind of breath can't stay at all..."

"Who the hell is it... Even if the distance is more than ten meters, I feel the magic power rolling..."

"If you meditate, maybe your spirit will be pulled away..."

People I know, people I don’t know, people in gray robes, people with coats of arms printed on their robes, people with "The Art of Fire" in their hands, people who pile up magic books about the lightning system on the table...they The topic seems to be subtly unified here.

No one was talking loudly, the same topic, the same volume, even before the start of the big exam, the discussion of the new era that the steam engine may bring has never been so consistent and full of awe, to be honest...

"Mr. Hyde, what's going on..."

Even though she doesn't come to bars very often, the girl knows that this is definitely unusual.

The girl twitched her lips slightly, looked up at the empty second floor of the tavern, and asked the owner of the bar who had known her parents since she was a child.

"I should have just reserved a quiet corner..."

"It's all because of little Flandia, your guest..."

The old man who was wiping the wine glass showed a wry smile under his beard.

"……my guest?"

"Yeah, although I think it's really not good to ask such a thing... But who is that adult?"

In the second half of the sentence, the old man suddenly lowered his voice. At the same time, the discussion on the wine table suddenly fell silent. No one cast their eyes in this direction, but the power of the demon clearly sensed no less than twenty magic reactions. ——

Nine times out of ten, it's all eavesdropping magic, right?

"... Did Miss Von Sia do anything?"

But this made the girl even more confused.

What are these whispers saying? Even within a dozen meters of her, you will feel the magic power rolling, and if you meditate, your spirit will be pulled away?

It doesn't sound like a girl who can't even control magic power, but an archmage with terrifying power—and who specializes in spiritual system magic.

In her impression, the girl named Tina von Sia was just an ordinary person, and if she mixed into the crowd, she might not be able to find out through characteristics other than her height.

However, after listening to the girl's words, the old man fell into deep thought.

"Von Sia... this surname... I heard that Einstein's seventh seat has a secretary..."

Then, as if nothing happened, he showed a service smile.

Anyway, on the first floor, "Is the secretary of the members of the Supreme Council..." "In that case, this terrifying aura is understandable." Let's go to those big people..." "It's amazing for this girl to meet such a strong person." In these words that people don't know what kind of expression to face, Sephani is full of emotion. From the cornflower-patterned carpet to the second floor——

"That's why, in the city, even Miss Liliana will wear her clothes when she goes out. Although I know that everyone is worried about me, it's too exaggerated to appear naked in front of a square full of people. I was completely stunned!"

——I saw an ordinary girl preaching to six naked girls.

On the second floor of a tavern with no one there.

"..."

The girl turned her head silently, and began to think about where the nearest secret magic guard was and how to tactfully inform Miss Witch not to lead her out.

She was serious, but before the idea could be implemented, this whole layer of active elements made the girl give up such an idea.

The elements are restless.

Therefore, during meditation, the magic power generated by the resonance of the elements and the spirit also trembled, and the six active elements were moving around the six girls who were reprimanded by the girls with their heads lowered.

If anyone tries to use the spirit to perceive the reason for the restlessness of the elements at this time, he will undoubtedly be involved in this subtle but powerful turbulent flow of the elements, creating the illusion that even the spirit will be pulled away...

Of course, the more important thing is that the girl knows the wind elf who is looking around awkwardly, so the identities of the remaining girls who are obviously not human are ready to be revealed.

"Ah, the Flandian girl!"

When the girl saw her, Sylph also saw the girl wearing a two-piece dress with her belly exposed.

It was like finally seeing a savior, but the little elf scratched her head for a while but couldn't remember her name, and finally only called out this title.

But this is enough to interrupt the girl's "Lecture on Common Sense of Morality in Human Society". After regaining consciousness, the blond girl took a deep breath and squeezed out a blunt smile on her face after staring at Sephanny for several seconds.

The air is filled with unspeakable embarrassment. If I don't speak at this time, time will only be pushed into the embarrassment of silence. Although I don't know what happened, I can roughly guess some girls from the girl's reprimand just now. Pull out a chair and sit down.

"Am I late? Although I didn't ask Miss Tingna to come alone, the companion you brought is really unexpected." She said.

"Of course, what surprised me even more is that you actually reprimanded the ancient king of the six elemental planes like a child who did something wrong. Miss Tingna, are you sure you don't have the blood of an ancient dragon?"

She was much younger than Tina, but she was far calmer than a young girl—at least on the surface, while speaking, she held up a corner of the foreign group and saluted the elves.

"That, that is..."

"...It's really like what Princess Lily said, when the shame level exceeds a certain limit, Miss Tingna will completely change into a different person..."

"On the grassland, even Alice was overwhelmed by Miss Tinna's aura, and Princess Lily was said to be the goddess of Lingquan, and a whole group of nomads were severely repelled..."

The elves gracefully accepted the girl's greeting, but when they looked at the smiling girl, they patted their chests with lingering fear.

"Please, please stop talking! Miss Aqua! Miss Knight! I was so scared that my heart stopped because you showed up naked in front of so many people, okay?!"

Tina's face was already flushed, thoroughly.

"Looks like you've had an interesting life..."

There was no one else on this floor, and it was separated from the lower floor by a sound-proof barrier, so it didn't matter where you sat, but just to be cautious, Sephanny still covered this place with another barrier.

"However, I still have a subject to finish this afternoon, so hurry up, Miss Tingna, have you attended that lecture already?"

"Huh? Uh, uh..."

Recalling the speech that ended not long ago, Tingna's face turned slightly pale, and she subconsciously covered her mouth.

Less than an hour ago, the Sheephead Cultists had seemed to her nothing more than a bunch of lawless, demented criminals, and now.

She couldn't avoid prefixing it with every ugly and curse word she could imagine.

"Then, you should have guessed what the method I finally found was."

The wrapped paper bag appeared in the girl's hand, and Sephanny hesitated for a while before handing it to Tina.

"I will omit the principles and explanations that you may not understand. In theory, it is feasible for you to control the shadow demon lord in your shadow, as long as you use the method of 'gift' given to believers by the Goathead Cult— —that is, replacing the devil's organs with your body."

The girl who took the paper bag froze slightly, staring at the girl's pupils.

"Only...the only way?"

"There is only this method. Of course, the success rate is not high, but if it is Einstein's seventh seat, there should be contacts and methods to keep you safe and sound, Miss Tingna."

"What about the sequelae?"

"How much did Miss Tina know about the tragic end of this so-called 'gift' from the speech?"

Ting Na's expression froze slightly, those terrifying images flashed through her mind, making her shiver involuntarily.

After a while, he hesitated to speak.

"……a lot of."

"Miss Tingna, if you are determined to use this method, the sequelae will only be more tragic than those."

Sephanny said quietly.

Although it was a bar, neither she nor Tinna ordered drinks, and no waiter came up to disturb her. The girl's voice floated in the sunlight through the window sills. Neither of them explained the purpose of this meeting to the elves, but They already know.

"Whether you pay for hands or feet, eyes or ears, the [law and principle] belonging to creatures like shadow demons will fuse with you, Miss Tina, and give you the power to control shadows. In exchange, you will have a dark Organs can no longer be placed in complete darkness and complete light. When the shadow disappears, this organ also disappears, leaving wounds. The erosion of shadows will be all the time, and the tyranny and instinct of shadow demons will seep into your blood, your soul —Assimilation is always mutual, Miss Tina."

The girl shook her head, although there was not much dissuasion in that tone.

"You will become an ordinary person parasitized by Shadow Fiend, just like the seventh seat of Einstein never destroyed the soul of the Shadow Fiend Lord in order to save you."

Just feeling deeply sad.

Isn't it worth mourning? The only way for this ordinary girl to try to get to the witch is to erase what the witch has done for her.

Maybe the witch doesn't care, maybe the girl would rather pay such a price, but in the eyes of a girl who hasn't developed enough to understand love, no matter which side is pathetic.

no matter which side.

In silence, the girl got up.

"Agreement, I have already completed it. The paper bag contains detailed information about this method, no matter what you plan to do in the future... Miss Tingna should be able to think calmly after watching that speech, excuse me."

Sephanny left. At the spiraling downward stairs, she looked at the girl holding the paper bag in a daze for the last time, and immediately turned and went downstairs.

The footsteps disappeared, but the silence remained.

The elves waited quietly for the girl.

They knew that Tina liked Liliana, and Alice told them the story of Salt Sands City when the girl was seriously ill. At that time, the romantics Knight, Salamanda and Sylph all believed that Tina was really in love with Liliana, and this was the first love of a lifetime, although the two had different time scales and saw different things. world, but the girl still chased after her, after parting.

But they couldn't explain the girl's stagnation after a journey.

And the realistic Aqua, Noam, and Wright agree with Alice's opinion——Liliana's characteristics as a witch [magic charm] are changing with the passage of time and as the witch picks more flowers. Tingna, who is just an ordinary person with little experience, has been completely captured when she was a liaison officer. As long as Liliana gives an order, she can even sacrifice her life.

But they couldn't explain the goodbye kiss between the girl and the witch under the falling gray rain.

But there is always something that drives her to hold the witch's waist to meet the fire and rain in the sky, something that makes her clench her teeth when her fingertips are bloody, and something that makes her accept their blessings and go to that luxurious banquet like It is the rare monsters in the zoo that are watched by people.

Eyes alternated, Salamanda wagged her tail, Sylph also stopped fluttering her wings, the corners of the mouth of the blond girl's sluggish face were twisted tightly, and Hailan's eyes were slackened and closed tightly.

She hugged the paper bag tightly, which made Wright think of Liliana, who had just become a witch and was conspired to be pushed to the throne of a country, hugging the doll tightly under the blade of the assassin, and in the eyes of the water girl, it seemed It overlapped with the figure of Ai holding the witch tightly.

Even so, the princesses they serve have never extinguished the love that sprouted. Whether it is themselves or others, even such a ever-changing doll always watches with gentle eyes after dissuading them to no avail. In the end, they walk with the witch Pass the tombstones.

Or is it because they understand the weight of love in a long life that they treat every love so carefully?

they know.

But the elves don't understand.

Made of pure elements, they and flesh-and-blood races are fundamentally different creatures, like summer insects talking about ice. What keeps them and Liliana together is something deeper and heavier, love—if that's love, it's just a by-product.

This is also a matter of course, in the world of longevity species, the so-called love is just companionship from one moment to another. In the time of eternity and undead species that can be measured, love in the human sense is too fragile.

"Because life is short, don't regret it, because life is long, so don't regret it." The two words that are always on Alice's lips, are the words that are said now appropriate?

they know.

So now, they are silent.

"……ha……"

Until the girl finally let out a long sigh, put the paper bag on the table, leaned her whole body on the back of the chair, and opened her eyes.

"During that banquet, I asked Miss Sephanny to help me find a way to control the shadow demon and give me power. Yesterday she notified me with a magic carrier pigeon, but asked me to listen to the instructions before coming. a lecture."

The flickering eyes of the elves had already exposed their irrepressible curiosity, so the girl explained to them the reason why she asked for leave today.

She has to spend time to go to the lectures, come here to get the agreed materials, and then spend time to make a decision.

Tina thought it would take her all day just to make a decision.

"...but it took you less than five minutes to decide."

"Yes, it's decided."

"Because of the evil deeds caused by the use of this technology by the Sheephead Cultists?"

"Technology itself has no distinction between right and evil."

"I know that this sentence is written in every magic textbook and pharmacy canon. The college had an exam paper on this topic, and I got an A+."

Tingna glanced at the twins of light and darkness one by one, the silent earth elves, and shook her head.

"Just now I was thinking about the novels I read, because Miss Liliana is my 'first love', and I don't have any friends to talk about love, I can only find all the answers about love in those novels. But I found that the protagonists of these novels either have their parents dead, or their families are just irrelevant background boards, they can cut off their hands and feet, lose their eyes and voices for love, they can be desperate, but what about me?"

The girl grinned, as if she wanted to smile, but the curvature of her lips was slightly outlined and then smoothed out.

"My father and mother are still traveling in the northern lands. When I go home for Advent during Advent, if they see me disabled, what will they think and how should they say it? Hit me, scold me, Blame me? They won't do this, they will be angry and cry at night, but they will definitely take care of me until they are old... But at that time, I should be the one who takes care of them, how can I make them return to me What about hard work? Besides, Shadow Fiend will make me crazy and brutal... right."

"...born in light and living in darkness, they are monsters who hate light and long for darkness. Complete light and darkness will temporarily annihilate them and take away their bodies, just like people lose their five senses. Contradictions and perversions make them Crazy, if Miss Tingna wants to use the methods of the Goathead Cultists, madness will be your end sooner or later."

"So the answer is obvious, isn't it? Miss Wright, I might even kill my parents. Ordinary me can still stay by Liliana and Alice's side. I don't know how long I can travel with them, but that It must not be forever, but I am not ordinary but I may lose my family."

Ting Na picked up the paper bag and said sorry in a low voice.

"The choice was obvious at a glance, so I decided."

Then, throw it in the trash.

After finishing, Ting Na's expression seemed to be much more refreshed, she let out a long sigh of relief, and patted her cheek.

"...Then, Miss Tina, are you planning to give up?"

"Um."

"You won't regret it?"

"I'll find out later, but... Anyway, even if I am a burden, I can still like Miss Liliana and Alice. Liliana and Alice are also willing to take me on a trip... For now, let's do it for now. ...why are you looking at me like that?"

Ah, is that so?

The elves smiled at each other.

"It's nothing~~~~~"

"Uh-huh----"

"...In short, let's do our best."

"If you need our help, just ask, we and Alice are supporting Miss Tingna."

"Do not worry."

"That's right, as the older one, Princess Lily is very calm. It's okay for Miss Tingna to take her time. It would be great if Princess Lily could stay here longer."

"...It's weird to say thank you for such a thing..."

The overly blunt encouragement made Ting Na embarrassed, and scratched her cheek a little embarrassedly. At this moment, she suddenly remembered the question that should be asked the answer to the elves as soon as they appeared.

"Speaking of which, why did the fairies show up? I originally thought that Miss Alice would follow me today..."

"Well, why?"

This time, the elves avoided the question with one voice, and before Tina could react, they all disappeared in front of the girl.

Although it disappeared, it didn't seem to leave.

"Really, what's going on... go back."

The behavior patterns of the elves are completely incomprehensible, but there is no reason to stay here anymore.

Tina got up from the upholstered chair and headed for the stairs.

Before going downstairs, she took one last look at the paper bags that filled the trash can.

"Well, just start from scratch."

Gently pinching herself, the girl went downstairs and left here.

……………………………………………………………………………………

a certain day's story

"Speaking of which, Miss Knight, if my decision is not to give up, will you stop me?"

"Will Miss Tina give up if I stop it?"

"...If I decide to go to Liliana's side no matter what, probably...not."

"Then I will stop it, but I won't stop it all the time. After all, Miss Tingna is the one who makes the decision."

"Yeah……"

"If you make a decision, you have to bear the consequences of this decision. No matter who it is, this is the truth that even children should know, right?"

"……I will remember."