Having set the dark elf saint-Canaan as the next target to purify after
a not-so-calm discussion, I was hurrying to the elf village in
Vermillion Bird Form with Zana—who could purify his Sacred
Treasure—and Shiva-san—acting as our 'eye'—.
It was said the elven village was located in a great forest far
southeast of Estona, and at our current speed, we might be able to
get there ahead of Canaan.
Of course, if we could evacuate the elves and keep them out of
harm's way, that'd be for the best.
Though I hope we could run into him midway…
At that time.
"—By the way, have you come up with a plan to embrace her?"
""…Huh?""
All of a sudden, Shiva-san said something like that, causing Zana
and I to be stunned.
After which, Shiva-san said, "I'm sorry. I've made a miscalculation,"
and continued, "it's still uncertain, but it seems that you'll need to
unite with all the seven saintesses through " Superior Arms " in
order to defeat Goddess Phinis."
"Eh, but didn't you say I could if I had the seven false rare skills…?"
"Yes, I thought so until recently. That's why I told you to kill Phinis
back then, but… sorry. It turned out Phinis's power far surpassed my
expectation, and you had no chance of taking her down."
"Ehh…"
Then, if I had attacked Phinis-sama back then, far from being able to
kill her, I would've gotten all of us killed, instead…
I mean, Phinis-sama might be capable of killing me, even if I was
immortal…
Eeek, thank goodness she had released herself from restrain so
quickly…
Or else, I would've attack her…
As my face was turning pale, Zana sighed dissatisfiedly and said, "…
So, do you really need to be one physically with Exa in order to
activate that"Superior Arms"?"
"That's right. You can't get 'Phoenix Seal' otherwise, right?"
""!""
Shiva-san's words caused us to go wide-eyed.
That's right.
The important thing was not the act of embracing itself, but the
connection that was the Phoenix Seal which formed as a result of it,
huh.
But still…
"Uhh, I've got the situation, but embracing Elma is a bit…"
"Oh, is it because she's not to your liking? Certainly, her chest was
rather modest."
Mm, she sure knew me bes—wait, that's not it!?
"No, you've got me wrong… Sure, we've made up and all, but things
are still a bit awkward between us, and I think she's going to reject
the idea, to begin with…"
"Fufu, I wonder?"
"Huh?"
As I was dazedly staring at Shiva-san's eyes who had her lips curled
up in meaningful smile, Zana reluctantly agreed with her, "Yeah, she
seems to be the type that is weak against pressure and gap. If you,
who's usually gentle, aggressively make advance on her, she might
surprisingly fall for you real quick, you know? Oh right, why don't you
try kabedonher?"
"Kabedon…?"
"My, that's a good idea. Do try it when we get back. I'm looking
forward to it," said Shiva-san with a smile.
"No no no no…"
There was no way Elma would fall for me with just a kabedon…
Or rather, you just wanted to amuse yourself didn't you, Shiva-san?
◇ ◇
—Meanwhile, around the same time—
Magmell and the rest of the girls who remained at the inn in Estona
were spending their free time by training or having tea, but as you
might have expected, Elma's presence made the atmosphere a little
strange.
All of them was a bit of conscious her. Because she was the
childhood friend of their beloved Exa, and also the one who had hurt
him to the point that he had cut off his relationship with her.
"…Haa." Well, Arcadia who was sitting while holding her knees
against her chest in the corner was an exception…
"Um, Elma-san." In any case, if things kept going as is, the
atmosphere would become very heavy to the point of being
unbearable, so Magmell decided to talk to Elma who was also sitting
silently in one corner of the room.
"W-what is it?" She was probably surprised because someone talked
to her all of a sudden.
As she was wearing a confused look, Magmell said in as gentle tone
as possible, "Nothing, I was just wondering if it's okay to wake up
your companion."
"O-oh, that's it…?"
"Yes. If it's okay with you, I'll cast a healing magic on him; what do
you think?"
"Yes, please do. Thank you, Magmell… -san."
"Fufu, just Magmell is fine. Okay, now I'll cast the healing magic."
With a smile, Magmell began to cast healing magic on the rolledback-eyed man—Porco.
"…M-mm~…"
Because he simply fainted, Porco quickly regained his
consciousness.
"—!?"
"?"
When the figure of Magmell entered his vision, he opened his eyes
wide in astonishment, then he grabbed her hands and said, "M-my
goddess…"
"Eh...?"