Chapter 436: Retribution! (2) (Extra 8)
"Where did this come from?"
The pillows were soft and had pink and light blue star patterns, which didn't fit this tense atmosphere at all. Still, they couldn't ignore the unparalleled power and strong attraction they felt from it.
"Sister."
"You too?"
Looking at each other, Selvenus grabbed the sky blue pillow while Selenis took the pink one.
The intruders rushed at them all at the same time, finding the situation absurd.
The twins didn't hesitate to fight back.
『A certain innocent goddess cries out for retribution.』
"Retribution!"
"Retribution!"
They swung their pillows vigorously.
Boo-woong~
Unable to deflect their attack, they crushed their opponents' bodies along with their weapons.
They didn't even know how it was physically possible.
"Huh?!"
"Oh god!"
"Hey—?!"
The three closest to the impact were immediately covered in blood and rendered unable to stand up again.
Still, though they were stragglers, their opponents were active-duty Heroes.
Despite their comrades being obliterated instantly, they continued their offensive amid the gap their previous attack opened without hesitation.
Fyum!
Right after they swung their pillows, an arrow flew towards Selenis. With her posture unstable, she knew she'd be unable to avoid it.
"Sister!"
"Get away!"
She didn't want to feel pain, but she still stared right into the incoming projectile fearlessly.
'Be patient, Selenis. Be patient…'
Poing!
At that moment, her pillow stretched like a pancake and easily deflected the arrow.
"… Huh?"
The next onslaught followed as one of their foes uttered stupid nonsense in this bizarre situation.
"Fireball!"
Flame magic.
Its destructive capability was weakened due to the fire spirits' interference, but it was still powerful enough to burn everyone in this building.
Above all, it was shot up close.
Their family would be safe since the spirits would protect them, but the people who worked in the city hall wouldn't be.
The twins were already attached to them, but there was nothing they could do…
However, at that moment, the pillows they were holding shook once more, causing the air itself to tremble.
It wasn't just a simple sway.
Pshhh…
On the contrary, they created a gust strong enough to extinguish the fireball.
"What's this?! Fire! Water! Wind! Darkness— Kheugh?!"
The opposing magic specialist continued to cast spells, but much like the fireball, they all swiftly vanished. Soon after, he ran out of mana, causing him to bleed out and self-destruct.
"How dare you try to hurt my daughters…"
"Huh?!"
"Kh—?!"
Their mother, a former escort knight of the Elf King, quickly defeated most of the remaining foes.
As they expected, she was amazing as well!
With the dagger she had hidden inside her skirt, she accurately pierced her target's throats, executing them so cleanly and swiftly she gave them no time to even scream.
At that moment…
"Stop!"
Their enemy standing at the safest end of the battlefield shouted threateningly.
They wanted to ignore him, but they couldn't because of the ominous object in his hand.
A bomb.
According to the spirits around them, it was by no means ordinary either.
"Poison gas…?"
"Poison?!"
"That's horrible…"
If it were a magical or physical bomb, the spirits could've easily taken care of it, but poison was a different existence altogether.
Earth, fire, wind, water, soul.
It didn't belong to any of the categories.
If it exploded at such a close distance, their high-level mother and their grandfather might be safe, but the others would be infected by it.
Including the twins.
Fully aware of that fact, Elfheim and Alkaterina's expressions hardened.
"If you don't want to see your daughters die, put down your weapons." The straggler warned.
"If it were me in the past, I would have succumbed to that threat." She replied, her tone melancholic. "But I've become a different person after meeting the Hero. He would've done the opposite of your demand in this situation."
"Are you insane?!"
Instead of throwing away her dagger, she pounced at him, causing her target to spout out curses.
"I do not compromise with evil," She continued. "If I give in to intimidation here, this won't end with just losing my daughters."
"Damn it!"
Surprised by this sudden development, he hurriedly retreated away.
However, yet another unexpected event occurred.
"I'm—!"
Stepping backward, the straggler fell down!
"No!"
"This is bad!"
"It's going to explode!"
As a result, his grasp on the bomb loosened, causing it to fall to the ground and roll nonchalantly.
Whoops!
Ominous green smoke quickly engulfed the interior of the city hall not long after.
But it didn't lead to a major disaster.
"Again?"
"Seems like it…"
The pillows the twins held absorbed the poison gas around them like sponges, purified it, and exhaled it as fresh air.
"No! How could you nullify the poison I made?!"
Crack.
Without hesitation, their mom decapitated their opponent's head, causing it to fall on the floor. Swiftly after, she carefully surveyed their surroundings to check if there were any other opponents left.
"Are you okay?!"
"What's the situation?!"
Faculty officials arrived at the scene much sooner than the stragglers had expected.
However, the twins and Elkaterina cleared things up even sooner. Though there were financial losses due to property damages, there were no casualties on their side.
It was all thanks to their suspicious pillows.
『A certain innocent goddess is proud of her kind retribution.』
『A certain innocent goddess walks away, waving her hand.』
"Wait! Explain what this is…"
"I think she's already left, sister."
"… Ah."
The deity had left, but the pillows she gave them remained in their hands.
They questioned if it would be okay to continue using them, but their uneasiness disappeared after a while.
*****
"Following us to the bathroom is a bit…"
The pillows the goddess gave them were always nearby wherever they were, allowing them to bask in their addictive soft sensation.
The twins couldn't even determine the reason or cause behind it, but hugging them in their sleep made their stats rise.
Selenis wished they wouldn't follow them to the bathroom as well since it put them at the risk of getting wet, though.
"Huh? Didn't you know this pillow is waterproof, sister?"
"… Really?"
"Really," Selvenus said. Bathing in a large hot tub with her sister, she immersed her pink pillow in the water.
It rose to the surface like a floaty, but it didn't really get soaked at all.
"Grandpa said this pillow is made of Romantium alloy."
"When did you ask him about that?"
"When you were asking mom about our dad."
"…"
They were twins, but their personalities had subtle differences, just like how their pillows had the same shape but different colors.
"Ah! He also said our breasts are from our father's bloodline."
"He's human, after all…"
As they grew up, their chests became much bigger than their mother's.
A characteristic often found in half-elves.
However, according to their stats, their race was 'pure blood,' completely ignoring the laws of genetic inheritance!
Selenis wanted to delve deeper into it, but she didn't know who to ask.
"I think you're overthinking this."
She couldn't refute her words. After all, she had so many questions in her head about their new weapons she didn't even notice her pillow was waterproof.
"You're probably right."
Deciding not to think about it anymore, all that remained was the identity of their absentee father.
*****
"You should stop."
Selvenus thought Selenis was trying to live a very difficult life.
Their breasts were bigger than their mom's, but they were still children. Complex problems should be left to adults.
Just like kids should!
If there were anything finite about their elven immortality, it would be their childhood.
So shouldn't they cherish it?
They should act more like their age.
Their cuteness was enough for their grandpa, whose expression had relaxed, to be willing to give them the world.
Selvenus liked her life right now.
"Aren't you curious about who our father is?"
"Not at all."
Her sister's way of thinking was very similar to those of impatient humans.
Since they had eternal life, they should learn how to be patient.
If he kept living somewhere in this world indefinitely, they would eventually meet him sooner or later.
If anything, what she was most anxious about was how likely he'd disrupt her current peaceful life.
That was all.
Bang!
"Selenis! Selvenus! There's trouble!"
"Retribution!"
"Retribution!"
"Aaahh?!"
Throwing their pillows of justice towards their grandfather, who was about to break in and witness them bathing without their permission, he squealed and rolled down on the floor upon being hit by it.
"What going on?"
"Right! What is it, grandpa?"
They questioned him with only their heads above the surface of the water.
"To think you used to bathe with me and even scrub my back… I can't believe you built a wall between you two and your grandpa the moment your breasts developed nicely. This breaks my heart!" He exclaimed, a sad expression on his face.
"It's a crime now."
"Hehe! Grandpa is a pervert."
He acted pitiful, but all the elves trusted him.
Hence, unless there were a valid reason why he suddenly broke into their bathroom, they'd be a little disappointed.
"Selenis, Selvenus. Don't be surprised by what I'm about to say."
"… Is there anything more surprising than you barging in our bathroom?"
"I agree with my children. You should leave."
Their mother then came into the bathroom the moment he noticed him and pulled his ear.
He screamed as he was dragged away with ease, unable to resist since he was weaker than her.
"Ahhh?!"
"Are you not ashamed of being the father of all elves? Please reflect on yourself."
"I introduced you to the greatest man to ever exist! I've already done my duty as a father!"
"…"
Her face swiftly reddened as she let go of his ear.
Whenever their dad was the topic, she became infinitely weaker.
Paying no heed to her possible rage, he focused on the issue at hand, which was completely out of his character.
"There's trouble."
"What's wrong?"
"When are you leaving?"
Was there anything more important than his attempts to see his granddaughters naked?
"A proposal came from the neighboring human territory."
"For Selenis?"
"For Selvenus?"
The twins looked at each other in confusion.
Their grandfather shook his head and answered in a serious tone.
"Both."
"…"
"…"
『A certain innocent goddess senses the presence of a harem. 』
It wasn't that Selvenus didn't want to live a serious life like her sister, but…
The era of retributions had arrived.
*****
It was easy to determine what humans usually thought of elves.
As soon as they refused the marriage proposal, they began to penalize the elven race through multiple means, including imposing excessive tariffs.
And the number of cases revolving around their kind being beaten by unidentified assailants sharply increased.
What should they do?
If they invaded them like stragglers, their problem would be solved easily, but using force in this situation would cause dire consequences.
『A certain innocent goddess wants to exact retribution.』
"It's a bit hard to do that…"
"Right. That's a little difficult."
Many cases in the world couldn't be solved through violence alone.
『A certain innocent goddess feels depressed.』
But what if they had strong friends by their side?
『A certain receptionist pats a certain innocent goddess's shoulder and comforts her.』
『A certain relaxed deity goes out to help a certain innocent goddess.』
『A certain restless demonic god reluctantly supports a certain innocent goddess using durian.』
『A sad evil spirit foretells a fatal calamity in a certain country.』
…
Could the power of friendship really easily change even a turbulent world?
Selenis seemed to have given up thinking of a solution altogether.
And Selvenus could only laugh.