Lonis hadn’t seen how Elucia had attacked at all. But the village chief, who’d been utterly invincible just moments ago, froze as if turned to stone and couldn’t move.
Rip! The village chief’s body split in two, and he collapsed to the ground, stunned.
(Did it work...? No, someone’s coming.)
Elucia was incredibly skilled. She’d taken down the village chief in just a few moves.
But the noise from the fight had still drawn the villagers.
The first two young men charged into the hall, clubs in hand.
“Chief?!”
“Y-You killed the chief!”
“Sound the alarm! Someone killed the chief! Everyone, assemble!”
The villagers stared at the scene in shock. As things stood, Elucia had stabbed the village chief, so no matter what she said, it didn’t look like anyone would believe her:
“I didn’t kill the chief! Your chief was possessed by a puppet parasite long ago!”
“How could that be? The chief’s always been so kind and friendly... Just tonight, he said those two adventurers were acting suspiciously and that we should keep an eye on them. I can’t believe you really killed him...”
“!”
“You damn adventurers! You’ll pay with your lives!”
The villagers would obviously trust their chief over a pair of strangers... The two young men charged at Elucia in a rage.
But Elucia’s response was just as decisive:
“Slave maid, run!”
“Huh?”
“We can’t stay here tonight. Let’s get out of the village first.”
...
...
Since Lonis was in the shadows, it was fairly easy for her to hide.
But Elucia was trapped in the room with the magitech furnace. To get out, she’d have to make it past the villagers... Facing a little black-haired girl, they weren’t about to go easy on her. They swung their clubs with all their strength, trying to beat the poor kid to death.
And since Elucia couldn’t kill the villagers and could only defend herself, she was having a rough time.
Luckily, she was small. She could often slide right between someone’s legs, and by the time an adult bent down to grab her, Elucia had already gotten away.
...
And so, about fifteen minutes passed...
“Where did she go?”
“I think she ran down the road to the east.”
“Stop her! Those adventurers killed the chief. We can’t let them escape!”
...
The whole village was up in arms. The villagers carried torches and searched everywhere for the two of them.
But Elucia seemed to know the area well. She found a cave, took Lonis by the hand, and slipped inside without a sound.
“There. We should be safe here.”
As soon as they entered the cave, Elucia sat down... The little black-haired girl didn’t seem too shaken, but Lonis was so worried she was breaking out in a cold sweat.
“Huff... huff... That was really close... I almost got caught by the villagers.”
“Oh? Close, was it? Lonis, when you were a Hero, did you never face anything more dangerous than that?”
“Huh?”
Lonis froze for a moment, then answered awkwardly:
“I have, but this is the first time I’ve been chased by villagers... It feels completely different. When monsters chase you, you just run away. But when villagers chase you, it’s like you’re a thief.”
“Hmph. Didn’t you kill that chicken in Riverwood?”
“That chicken in Riverwood...?”
“Haah. You really are an idiot. (You’re not cut out to be a Hero at all.)”
Seeing Lonis’s bewildered expression, Elucia let out a long sigh.
“Anyway, you saw what happened. The village chief was being controlled by a corrupted puppet parasite. Corrupted monsters like that are our responsibility to destroy...”
“A puppet parasite?”
“A puppet parasite is a corrupted monster that looks like a leech. It crawls into a person’s mouth while they’re asleep. Then it gradually takes over their body and controls their mind... The chief had been under its control for a long time. There was no saving him, so I killed him without hesitation.”
“I-I see...”
Hearing Elucia say that, Lonis couldn’t help but tremble... Not because she was afraid, but because she felt sorry for what Elucia had been through.
Back when Lonis was a Hero, the villagers praised her whenever she completed a quest.
This little girl had not only repaired the magitech furnace but saved the villagers, too. And yet, in the end, they’d come to hate her. It was just too tragic.
“Elucia...”
“Haaah? When did I let you call me by my name?”
“Ah... M-Master... I mean...”
“If you have something to say, just say it. Don’t beat around the bush.”
“Um... Master, don’t you feel bad about it? The villagers will see you as their enemy from now on. They might even hunt you down.”
“...”
At Lonis’s words, Elucia furrowed her brow, as if to say:
‘You don’t need to worry about me, slave maid.’
But perhaps Lonis’s expression was just so sincere.
Elucia merely gave a cold snort and explained:
“Hmph. You can’t even put up with something like this?”
“Huh...?”
“If you want to become a Hero and save the world... you’ll have to endure more than just this kind of misunderstanding. You’ll have to make choices that are right, even when people hate you for them.”
“!”
“If you’re trying to worry about me, don’t bother... Those villagers will never leave the snowy mountains. As long as we don’t return to this village, everything will be fine.”
“Elucia...”
“Anyway, let’s make do with sleeping in this cave tonight. Honestly, why is everyone such a pain?”
The little black-haired girl swept the dust from the cave, seeming ready to flop down and sleep.
And yet... Lonis felt that she understood something now.
...
As she’d thought, Elucia wasn’t an artificial human. Something must have happened to her.
The way she’d killed the chief without hesitation and so skillfully evaded the villagers... It all showed that this wasn’t the first time Elucia had done something like this. She’d probably been misunderstood before.
And yet she still helped the villagers.
Even knowing she’d be misunderstood, she’d decisively killed the chief who’d sabotaged the magitech furnace.
If that was the case...
“Master Elucia!”
Suddenly, Lonis clenched her fists.
“Hehe. What is it? Want to be my human mattress?”
“N-No, that’s not what I mean...”
Lonis’s cheeks flushed, but she still lifted her head and looked at Elucia with determination.
Maybe what she was about to say would upset Elucia.
Maybe Elucia would take her actions as a challenge to her authority as her master.
But...
This was a feeling she had to express:
“Master Elucia, I-I know what you’re trying to do.”
“Huh?”
“So no matter how much people misunderstand you, at least I won’t. I know what you really feel. You’re a kind person!”
Lonis lifted her face and spoke with complete sincerity.
