Clank!!
I closed my eyes in fear of the blade, but the pain of death never came.
"yeah..."
I timidly opened my eyes. I felt a slight breeze and saw a huge, huge back. He raised his sword with one hand, then lowered it to fend off the king. Then he turned around. He looked apologetic, but I felt relieved.
"Sorry. I'm late."
"Y-Usha?"
The Hero let out a small, thin voice, and nodded, turning his back to her.
"Oh, it's okay. Don't worry, Nefia. But more importantly, Lady Elmia!"
Elmia responded to the voice and turned towards me.
"Do you need help?"
"No... I'm fine. I just woke up."
"Elmia!!!!"
I shouted at her. Feeling relieved, I felt I had to say something and raised my voice.
"I don't know what happened between you and him! But give up! He's already... unconscious. Our kind king is no more!"
A voice came from behind the hero. Even though I knew it was a pathetic sight, I couldn't help but shout out here and now. I somehow understood. Their relationship was that of lovers. So... I had to put an end to it.
"...That's right. I've gotten over it."
Elmia stood up, gripping her sword tightly.
"King Maximillian. Prepare yourself."
She readjusted her sword with both hands and slashed at him with force. This time it was Elmia on the offensive. The sound of a fierce exchange of blows echoed through the room. Fiercely to the right, violently to the left, forward, forward. She continued to attack with force. "She's strong," the hero commented, impressed by her speed.
"Your sword is heavy. Only a king can carry it!"
The black knight slowly steps back.
"But!!"
The black knight's sword was deflected left and right as he was on the defensive. Elmia's sword swing became even stronger.
"My feelings for you are strong right now!!"
Gakkin!!!
The black knight took a big step back. Elmia chased after him, continuing to swing her sword.
"Always...forever...I'll never forget this for years to come!!"
The black knight gripped the deflected sword with great force and swung it down. Elmia matched it by raising her sword. She put strength into her feet and slashed upward. The knight's sword flashed and hit the rusty sword.
GYAAAAAARRRRR!!
The swords met, and with a loud noise the rusty sword broke into pieces.
"HAAAAAAAHH!!"
Elmia deflected the sword and struck again, slicing the knight's armor deep inside. The black knight collapsed to his knees.
Crash!!
The armor separated the upper and lower halves of the body, revealing the inside. It was hollow. The body was no longer there, and Elmia slowly approached the corpse.
"Maximilian did not perish. Rest in peace....King."
He thrust the sword into the helmet, slowly and deeply. And then, Elmia stopped moving. Her body was trembling a little.
"Nefia. This has been settled, so let's go outside."
"Uh, yeah."
I followed the hero. When I turned around, I saw a girl with her hands on the ground, sobbing and crying big, big tears.
"...Nefia. We need to leave you alone. You can hear what happened later."
"Understood...…"
"What was her final strength?" I wondered in my mind, and slowly, the answer came to my senses. I was fascinated by her strength. I hoped that one day I would become a strong person like her.
*
A few minutes later, Elmia, eyes red, emerged from the throne room. It seemed the hero had neutralised the skeletons, so the return journey was not in much danger. They were able to safely escape the Demon City by simply returning the way they had come.
On the way, we passed a group of skeletons fighting each other. We left the Magic City in silence. After a while, Elmia spoke up.
"How did you know he was a nice guy, Nefia-chan?"
"I saw it in a dream."
He explains the events of the dream. It must be Elmia's memory. It must be his own blood, the incubus that is causing the trouble. The hero joins in, his hand on his chin in a worried expression.
"Dreams were definitely based on memories."
"Yes. I must have seen it."
"Nefia. You are... No, it's nothing."
"Hero. Speak clearly."
Elmia looked taken aback. "So you found out," I muttered.
"Are you sure? It's about your species."
The hero, Elmia, must have some idea. If so, there's no point in hiding it.
"Ah, that's right, a nightmare. My mother is a loathsome nightmare. She has the blood of a lustful demon in her veins. How horrible."
The hero scratches his nose.
"I see. I don't mind though."
"I don't mind either. I get it."
"...I am concerned."
I feel a little miserable. A mother who sold herself for a high price. A mother who was a prostitute. Not the mother I read about in storybooks.
"It's okay. I'm prettier than I was when I was a slave, right?"
"Huh?"
The hero cried out in surprise. I remembered that I knew, but the hero didn't. I'll ask him to tell me everything when I get back. Then, together with the hero, he'll understand.
*
During the journey, they were met by several knights who came to pick them up and returned to the mansion. The knights repeatedly asked Elmia in anxious voices if she was okay.
It was clear just from that that he was an important person to the Knights. It seems that he had followed after learning that I had gone to the Demon City on my own accord.
Then he borrowed the horse that the Knights had been using to chase after him, and galloped home late at night. Once he got home, he immediately washed off the dirt in the bath and fell asleep immediately, probably because he was tired.
I was so tired that I slept until noon. As soon as I woke up, Elmia called me to her bedroom.
"Thank you. I'll have the whole day tomorrow to prepare your reward."
"Yes! Now I can travel!"
"...The other reward is coming now."
"Yes, sorry for keeping quiet. That's why I wanted to go to the Demon City."
Elmia takes a deep breath and tells a story.
"I was originally a High Elf forest dweller."
I know. High Elves are only found there.
"But I broke the rules. I went outside to play. Far, far away. And then I met a human merchant. It was a time when there were more humans than there are now, and fewer monsters."
In the past, monsters were weak. It was a time when everyone carried a sword. That's why there was a lot of war.
"The merchant immediately captured me and subjected me to various training. If I cried or screamed, he would beat me. The lower half of my body was always covered in white stuff. I closed my heart off during those days, and I was eventually sold."
The hero had a complicated look on his face. It wasn't a pretty story. So the hero spoke timidly.
"...Could it be that you bought it?"
"King Maximillian. The country under Maximillian was at its height and was as powerful as the Empire."
"But they were destroyed. By monsters."
"Yes... A horde of new and stronger monsters gathered together. They were destroyed after a long, long battle. Towards the end, they used necromancy to animate the corpses, created a poisonous swamp and pushed the monsters into it, it was horrible. At first it was a human-like battle, but gradually it became a battle between the dead. And after the monsters fled, it became just a demonic city with no living souls."
Elmia took a sip of wine and looked out the window.
"A lot of people died."
Her profile showed an exhausted look. It must have been harder and more difficult than they had imagined. The hero urged her to continue.
"To the end in the Demon City?"
"No, we abandoned our country along the way. We broke through the siege of the monsters... and escaped to the Empire. Some were killed by monsters, some by bandits, and we were scattered. All the women and children lost their strength and died."
We listened in silence as she calmly recounted her tragic past, a past far more tragic than we could have ever imagined.
"Fufu, sorry. I was just feeling nostalgic. It's sad though."
Elmia chuckles. A heavy laugh.
"The nobles were weak. Broken by fear. They could only cling to King Maximilian. It was ridiculous. King Maximilian, in truth, wanted to run away himself. No one knew about King Maximilian..."
Elmia begins to talk about the past, reminiscing about happy times.
*
"Elmia...listen to me."
"Yes. What is it?"
"I'm scared of dying. Everyone has high expectations of me. I'm scared."
"You're with me, King. You reminded me that I'm scared of death."
"Because he had dead eyes."
"Yes, but the King woke me up."
"...Because it was beautiful. You should laugh."
"Then the King should laugh too. Today in bed too."
"Oh, is that an invitation?"
"Yes... The King is kind. This is the least I can do."
"...Hold me tight."
"Yes, King."
*
"Elmia... there have been a lot of monster attacks recently."
"Really? I'll fight too! With the sword the King taught me!"
"No, you don't have to fight. Just say a word of praise."
"The King is strong. Do your best."
"Thank you. I feel brave... A knight's job is to protect women and children."
*
"Elmia... I'm sorry. Run away."
"No! I can't abandon the King! I haven't even repaid him yet!"
"Elmia. Live... You must live."
"No way! Let's go all the way to the end together!"
"...No. You can't. There's something you have left to do. Keep the blood flowing."
"Blood? But you're telling me to protect the king's child? If even one of them survives..."
"No, that's not true. You have to survive on your own, to the best of your ability... And thank you for your courage. Maximillian is indomitable."
"king...…"
"I think the name should be Ash."
"King? What are you talking about?"
"It's nothing....Promise me you won't die. For me."
"...Yes. I promise."
*
Elmia finished telling the story of what had happened under King Maximillian in the past. Her eyes were a little moist.
"I had a lot of memories with him. I think I loved him so much that I still remember them. But I never said that I liked him or that I loved him."
"Uuuuuuuugh."
I was crying. The hero lent me a cloth and I wiped my tears with it. The story was about tragic love.
"And he entrusted it to me. His treasure."
Elmia rubbed her belly and felt nostalgic. Then she smiled.
"I miraculously gave birth to a child with him in the Empire where we fled. All of his children, both his legal wife and his concubine, were killed, leaving me as the only child he had. Even though I became a prostitute, I raised him. Then, before I knew it, I gathered together the surviving members of Maximillian and founded a country near the Demon City. His son died just as the country was getting on track, though, during the Empire's war of aggression."
However, the smile faded and Elmia closed her eyes.
"Ironically. In the end, I, the slave, was the one who survived. Elves have a hard time giving birth to children, but he was the only one who impregnated me. As a result, we were tied together... If it weren't for that monster attack, my child would probably have been killed. To become the official wife and concubine. That's the old story. The reason why I wanted to go to the Demon City is simple, isn't it? And the reason why everyone was trying to stop me."
I blow my nose. Because I'm dreaming, the tears won't stop.
"I know. I wanted to meet the King."
"Yes, that's true. I thought it would be okay if he died. But I also thought that we should let the king rest. When I heard that he was operating as an undead in the Demon City, I was worried."
"Miss Elmia... can we just be alone for a bit? Nefia, please wait in the hallway."
"Hero? What?"
"I just want to talk for a bit."
"Tokiya-sama. I want to hear it too."
"Hmm. Are you treating me badly? Zbibi."
"Nefia-chan. I'm sorry... I'll go and talk to you alone later."
"…I understand. I'll go back to my room."
I reluctantly left the room.