"Hahaha! I never expected to meet an interesting child like you!"
Well, let's just assume that it was nighttime, even though the Abyss had no way to identify it. The Nymph Tribe was having a feast. People were playing music, dancing, singing, drinking, and some of them were also sparring lightly. And there, I was sitting on the lap of the Tribe Chief, Lilith, with her arms wrapping around my body.
"Uh… Why am I being treated like a kid?", I mumbled in a soft voice.
"Cuz you're still a kid! Hahaha!", Lilith shoved a spoonful of meat into my mouth. "It's not bad to have something like this from time to time…"
She looked lonely, and a slight of worriness also appeared in her face for a moment. I didn't have the courage to ask her why, since I was aware that I was an outsider. Yep, I was an outsider and she still treated me like this. The warmth of her body slowly slipped into mine.
[Be careful, Farenna. She has lived for thousands of years and evolved numerous times. She is indeed the peak of your race.]
"Wow, you also have a convenient skill like that…", Lilith widened her eyes. "The Gods nowadays are philanthropists, aren't they?"
"...!!!"
I was alerted real bad. How could she hear Dea's voice? I tried to move away from her, but she tightened her arms to prevent me from escaping. She didn't even break a sweat and just smiled.
"Don't worry, child. I have no intention to harm you.", she placed her right hand on my head and started stroking my hair gently. "I'm just interested since this is the second time I ever met someone like you."
Her voice was trembling slightly. I couldn't bring myself to speak even further, so I just stayed silent and tried to calm myself.
[Are you perhaps also connected to the World's system?]
Dea asked her in a cold manner. Her robotic voice was more stiff compared to how it usually sounded. I tried to listen to their conversation closely, since I thought that I would probably gain some useful information from it.
"Well, you can say it like that."
Lilith stopped for a brief moment.
"To tell you the truth, I foresaw this day would come eventually. Which faction are you from? Definitely not from the Alliance, right?"
Bullseye. She saw it through. Dea didn't respond to her immediately, and it was enough for Lilith to comprehend who we were.
"Let me guess… You're from the Romans, aren't you?"
Again, she hit the right spot. The music from the instruments made the atmosphere become more tense, at least that was what I felt at that time.
"Don't worry. As I've said earlier, I have no intention to harm you, child."
Her words were unbelievable, but somehow my instinct told me to trust her. When I was still contemplating with myself, Gia, who had been sparring before, approached us and kneeled.
"Chief."
She paid respect to Lilith. Who wouldn't, actually? Just Lilith being there was enough to be a symbol of strength and safety.
"Oh, Gia. What is it?"
Lilith asked her while continuing stroking my hair the whole time. I didn't know what Gia was feeling at that time but she seemed so troubled to the point big drops of sweat ran through all over her face. Or probably she was just tired from sparring. I didn't know.
"May I humbly ask a question?"
That Gia. That fucking Gia. How could she speak in a roundabout way and respectfully like that!? Wasn't she an idiot? The next moment, Lilith stared down at me and whispered.
"It's not good to judge someone solely based on their first impression, child."
Damn. Were my thoughts reflected on my face? Was it that obvious?
[Even a baby would understand what you were thinking.]
Dea's words stabbed my heart. I started sweating a little bit, yet Lilith didn't seem to want to let go of me.
"Ask away, Gia."
Just a simple permission from Lilith made Gia look extremely happy. She smiled and continued asking.
"What is that thi… Err… What is Farenna doing there? Is she your relative?"
Oi, you just called me 'that thing', didn't you?
"Hmm… It's quite hard to explain… Well, you can say it like that."
Oi! You scolded me for calling her an idiot but you ignored her disrespect towards me!?
"Gather everyone. I have something to announce."
Lilith ordered Gia and stood up. Strangely enough, she still didn't let go of me. It was hard to breathe, and my skin started to feel sticky due to the sweat. Hearing Lilith's order, Gia nodded her head and walked away.
"Everyone! The Chief has something to say!", Gia shouted loudly.
Just like that, the people who were having fun stopped their activities and gathered in front of us, even the children who were running around now stood still with anticipation. When every single one of them gathered, Lilith opened her mouth.
"My people, listen.", she took a deep breath before continuing. "I hereby announce, starting from today, this little one, Farenna, shall be one of us!"
"Huh…!?", I gasped.
"Eh!?", Gia and other Nymphs also gasped in harmony.
Her loud voice rang inside my head. I could feel Lilith's hand was sweating slightly. Even the corners of her lips were also trembling. This bitch… If you were that nervous, why did you do it in the first place!?
"And also, Gia?"
Lilith called Gia, who was still dumbfounded by her sudden announcement.
"I appoint you as Farenna's mentor. Teach her how to fight and live as a proud member of our tribe."
"Haaaaah!? Are you fucking kidding me!?", I couldn't stop my mouth from shouting like that.
***
A while later, the feast ended, leaving only me, Gia, and Lilith on the podium.
"Lilith! What is the meaning of this!?", I asked her without any consent. "Who are you to choose things for me!?"
"You dare open that darned mou—"
Lilith lifted her hand and stopped Gia from pulling out her sword from the sheath.
"Gia, can you leave this to me?"
"But, Chief! She's—"
"Are you perhaps doubting me, kid?"
Lilith's tone changed coldly. She glared at Gia and her usual gentle and carefree personality vanished, leaving an atmosphere that let out horrendous killing intent. I felt the surroundings being distorted due to how strong her killing intent was. Gia trembled in fear, as tears also started oozing from her eyes. I could barely hold on my consciousness and staggered, trying to stand still.
"A-As you wish…", Gia stepped backward and walked away slowly.
When we were finally alone, Lilith approached me and extended her arms. Again, she made a lonely and sad face.
"Forgive me, child. I really don't want anyone to hear us.", she grabbed my hand gently. "Let's go to my tent. There, we can talk as much as we want."
I nodded my head in agreement without saying anything. She then guided me to the biggest tent and we entered there. The interior wasn't luxurious but I kinda felt nostalgic after seeing it. A single king-sized bed made of leathers, a set of tables and a couple of chairs, a big wardrobe, several shelves full of books and rolls of paper, and a wide rag that covered the entire floor.
"I'm sorry if it's messy here.", she smiled gently.
"No, don't be. It's comfy here.", I replied and immediately sat on the chair.
She only looked at me while making a troubled face and sat against me. She took off her crown and placed it in between us.
"So…", I started the conversation. "Why did you do that?"
Lilith shook her head.
"No, before that, allow me to apologize on behalf of Gia.", she lowered her head and bent over slightly. "She's not a bad kid. She's just somehow awkward at dealing with people. Please don't be mad at her."
"No, no… You apologizing like this is also awkward for me. I should apologize for my rudeness earlier… I also called her an idiot."
I also lowered my head. I was sincere this time.
"Thank you, Farenna.", Lilith smiled gently.
Damn, she looked so beautiful. Her golden eyes made her look more elegant, paired with her majestic black horns. If she told me she was a Succubus, I would immediately believe it without doubting at all. She was just that tempting.
"Actually, I kinda wanna ask you something…"
"What is it?", she tilted her head a little bit.
"Why was Sue mad at me after I called Gia an idiot?"
"Ah, so Sue was…", Lilith stopped her words and touched her cheek. "Let me tell you a story then."
She placed her hands on the table and started talking.
"This happened around 5 years ago. Sue and Shea, Gia's little sister, had been best friends for a long time. Together with Gia, those three always did a lot of things together, from playing, sparring, and even hunting."
She paused for a moment.
"They grew up together and were inseparable. They were like real siblings, at least until that incident happened."
After hearing that, I remembered all the things Ann and I did in my past lives. Did we also look like siblings at that time? And I could kinda guess where this story was going. With a sad and regretful tone, Lilith continued her story.
"One day, Shea found a trace of a behemoth near the place they used to play. She told Gia and Sue and decided to hunt it together. At first, their plan was working smoothly. But then it happened."
"What happened?", I asked in a serious tone.
"They were trying to trap the behemoth by making a pitfall. Gia was baiting the behemoth and she tripped over a rock and fell down."
I gulped my saliva to wet my throat.
"Unfortunately, Shea could save her at the last moment but at the cost of her own life. The last thing Shea said was 'Idiot.' while smiling towards Gia and Sue who were unable to do anything. The behemoth trampled over her body, you can imagine it yourself for the rest…"
Fuck. I never expected the story to be this dark. It was hard to say anything.
"Ever since that time, Gia blamed everything on herself and started to hate cowardice acts. As for why Sue was mad at you, you can figure it out yourself, right?", Lilith smiled wryly. "I'm not hoping you will forgive those two after all the things they did to you, but can you at least not hate them for that?"
I stayed in silence and lowered my head. Drops of tears started dropping from my eyes. My chest felt hot and painful. Why did I feel like this? Was this what they called sympathy?
"I'm sorry… I didn't know they were like that…"
Lilith stood up and hugged me tightly. I cried in her embrace after that.