The next morning when Lenora awoke, yawning, she found a handsome elf right next to her, peacefully sleeping.
The sun was moderately up in the sky; probably 9 in the morning.
Lenora yawned some more and got off the bed, grabbed a hand mirror and tried fixing her hair. There was no water in the room, so she couldn't wash her face. Though it more or less didn't matter right now.
Fuck, I look shit.
"Drifus," she said. "Drifus!" She shook the elf who groaned and then awoke a minute later. "Did you not sleep last night?"
He had dark circles and looked to still be half asleep.
Head tilted, his eyes closed again, and he nearly fell over. Lenora sighed, and pinched his nose hard.
"Ow, ow," the elf groaned anew and woke up.
"We're leaving."
"R-right."
Lenora left first. "Let's move it!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming."
I shouldn't have worn make up… fuck… she kept groaning but what was done was done. She tried her best but her face was still… not in a great shape.
After some thorough washing, it was time to leave the inn and head to the mansion and figure out what the Viscount and the rest of the lords were doing.
"So, they didn't go after them huh?" Lenora asked.
A soldier had come for them and informed them what happened after they left.
Firstly, the reinforcements joined Crochetown's forces and together drove out the elves to the border lands and retreated back to the city. They could have done damage to the elves but that would have prompted the elves to go on full defensive which would have cost heavy casualties. So instead, they were going to go on an offensive this morning, or at least planned to but Drifus advised them not to which took a while, and then came back to sleep for the rest of the day.
In other words, the elf didn't get any more than half an hour's worth of sleep.
"You were doing that all night?"
Drifus attempted to say something but didn't bother. His brain wasn't working.
"Still, it's a bit hard to believe, they actually listened to you and didn't attack," Lenora said.
"Most of them agreed because of my status and what I did last night," Drifus said.
"And the rest?"
"Monsor vouched for me."
"Way to go, you just made a new friend." Lenora patted his back.
"Stop acting like my mother," the elf chuckled.
Lenora laughed too and they made way for the mansion. Again, on a carriage. Sadly, for Lenora and her guilty pleasure, this time the coach didn't vibrate as much. And when it did vibrate, it didn't hit the right spot.
Damn it! I'm never getting on these things again!
She was definitely going to get on coaches again.
***
All the lords were busy, so Lenora didn't get to speak with them. Granted, she played an integral part in yesterday's war, and probably the biggest role for that matter but as she wasn't nobility, she wasn't permitted into the meeting room.
"Let's go home, I guess," Lenora said.
They walked around outside the mansion, touring the garden.
The viscount had kept some small ponds and lilies were in full bloom.
"How? I was under the impression that the Demon lord's portals were only one way."
"They are but I do still have my cape, you know," she said. "It'll take a while but at least we'll get home."
"I honestly don't know why you'd call that place home…"
"It might not look like much but that place is still my home," Lenora said. "I have so many memories there."
"If you don't mind me asking…"
"Yes?"
"Who are you? You mentioned you were a hero, but."
"I'm Lenora Dean. I'm from another world and yes, that does indeed make me a hero by this Fabio's logic."
She spoke frankly, and without hiding her identity. Otherworders were rare, but they weren't unheard of. And she being one was probably going to be common knowledge sooner or later. Besides, to her, it didn't matter.
"I suppose," Drifus paused. "You said you can't see the future but you knew how things would play out, right? How did you?"
"I didn't. I knew what might happen. And we prevented it. Thus, the future's changed. Anything else that I might have thought would happen, are probably not going to happen."
The moment Lenora came back from the future, she knew the future had indeed changed. Things would be different this time around, and even small decisions would lead to massive changes. She knew all that yet for the longest of times feared nothing would change. She feared no matter what she did, nothing would be different. History would repeat itself and she'd lose everything again.
But she didn't.
The war wasn't instantly lost, and she prevented the first fallout. But root of the issues still remained and sooner or later the elves would be back. In other words, she only postponed the apocalypse. And yet, she wanted to bask in her success. She wanted to cherish this feeling.
With him.
Precisely why she wanted to return as fast as possible. To him.
"Lord Monsor will see you now," one of the maids said. And just when she was about to leave too.
Screw him Lenora thought with a smile. "We were just leaving."
The maid grabbed her hand with a similar sincere smile. "The lord… will see you now."
There was no getting out of that, no. Seriously, screw him.