Chapter 16: Chapter 12: Return

“[…Did she really say that?] I thought I misheard it. Maybe I was distracted by alcohol and food…so I asked her again… [And what did she say?]”

Reilanis shifted uncomfortably, her face heating up and her heart beginning to pound. Reilan realized what her partner was feeling at that moment. Embarrassment... a lot, maybe too much, and a hint of happiness that she wanted to hide, but failed terribly to do so.

It took a long time for Reilanis to respond, trying to say the same words, even though it was hard for her to say them.

“The words she use were…” When I first saw you entering the city, I felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest, I felt dizzy and weak. I couldn't take my eyes off you, your elegant hair, your bright eyes, your incredible horns, and your beautiful muscles. I felt it was fate as if all the years I lived in this city were for the sole purpose of waiting for you. My whole body trembled and I was more than sure that if I let this opportunity pass, my life would be nothing but a waste. So, I just decided to take a chance and make this miracle happen."

“[…] …”

Silence.

Reilan was speechless. What kind of pick-up line was that? He knew some women like this kind of cheesy romance, but Reilanis wasn't one of those…was she?

As if in denial of his statement, Reilanis was silent, her face burning with blush and trying to hide the goofy smile that threatened to play on her lips. Reilan was more than surprised and amused by the Oni's reaction. But he decided not to press the situation. It was more fun that way

“[And what did you say to her?] …I… told her it was nonsense… there’s no way that would happen. […]”

If Reilanis was able to see the expression Reilan was making, she would surely feel shivers run down her spine.

“[Are you kidding me?] N-no, why would I? – replied the Oni, panicking. – I-I mean… In love with me? There is no way such nonsense would be true.”

Reilan sighed heavily, annoyed with what the Oni had done. The worst thing about this was the fact that she was denying Vistelia's feelings without even giving her the slightest chance and that was definitely something no one should do under any circumstances.

"[I don't know if you were just too dense or just being an ass.]"

Reilanis couldn't answer that. With her mind much clearer now, and reflecting on everything that happened, she could agree with that thought, but...

“It's not like I’m like that, you know? It just... it completely caught me off guard..." she replied downcast. – One day you enter a new city and suddenly a beautiful and sexy elf tells you that… can you seriously believe her? [That's a fair point, but at least I wouldn't tell her that her feelings are nonsense. You should know pretty well how hard it is to confess to your crush. And receiving that kind of overly cruel response is not the best way to answer.]”

Reilanis fell silent. She knew it. In her childhood, she had Mika, to whom she could never tell how she fell about her. She was too scared of everything to even try. That memory made her feel way more regretful. But it's not like she knew what to do either. Her mind was completely disconnected from that kind of thing at the time she first met the elf girl.

[Okay, look, at least it's still solvable, right? Actually, how long ago did that happen?] Umm about 4 years ago. [And you haven't told her anything else about it?] …no. [...I really can't understand why she is still with you… I don't even know how you accepted her after what you're telling me.] Ah, it was because of what she did after. She is definitely the best.

 

 

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“Leaving aside whether I believe you or not. I don't even know what kind of skills you have. I don't know what weapons you use or what magic. Did you just expect me to accept you when I know absolutely nothing about you?"

"Of course not. Let's see, I specialize in stealth, infiltration, and target assassination. My main weapon is a bow, but I can also use other weapons like daggers and short swords. I can use shadow magic and some wind and life magic. I am good at collecting information and reading maps. Umm, I don't know what else you want to know, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to prove myself. No matter what you ask for, I'll do it."

"I see. Then, if I told you that I want to kill the city governor or the adventurer’s Guild master, would you, do it?”

"Do you want me to bring you their heads in a bag or that no one ever finds a trace of them?"

The elf answered as easily as if she were talking about the weather. Her face showed the great determination of her words and she never took her gaze away from Reilanis. The Oni remained serious, watching her, waiting for some sign of hesitation, but the elf’s eyes showed that she would not back down and that she would do whatever Reilanis asked.

Reilanis sighed at this realization, but she still needed tangible proof that the elf would be useful to her. She thought for a long time, about what would she make her do to test her determination. Then she remembered something that she needed, that she had abandoned due to some circumstances.

“Very good, I can see that you at least look willing enough. There's something I need help with, and if you're as good at collecting information as you say, then you'd be the one I need."

Vistelia let out an excited expression, which quickly returned to her usual neutrality due to Reilanis' serious look.

"What do I have to do?"

Reilanis told everything she knew about Elisa’s past, without mentioning the girl directly, the men behind the entire experiment,  the lab, and the unknown town Elisa escaped from. Vistelia who had heard the whole story mentioned that she had done some work related to all that, especially capturing some of these magicians involved, but aside from capturing them, she didn't know anything about it.

“Good, since you know something about the matter, it should be easier to find what I need. Look up everything you can find about the whereabouts of the survivors, especially Aldorah Durin. I want to know everything you can find about him. If he has a family or disciples, everything you find is good for me. I'll give you a week to work, and depending on what you bring me, I may accept you with open arms.”

 

 

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“[Survivors?] In the city where I found Neminah, I heard some rumors about a sect of heretic magicians who, in their quest to create a perfect human weapon, experimented on children. They called themselves the "Divine Hand" and Aldorah Durin was their leader, or at least that's what the rumors said at the time. From what I found out, a country was financing them, but I never found out which was, until you told me. [Ah, you mean what I said about Bralmiria?] Exactly.”

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Reilanis let out a triumphant laugh. She seemed happy about the bit of information she'd gotten.

“Finally, after so many years, I finally have a clue that leads me to the real culprit of all this matter. If I can confirm that Bralmiria really was involved in all of this, then I can prepare to destroy them completely. Well, it's also thanks to everything Vistelia did."

 

 

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The two of them had parted ways shortly after Reilanis gave her this "mission," agreeing to meet at that same location in a week. And quickly those days passed.

Again, the two girls were at the same table, with a few mugs of beer, wine, and a huge plate of various kinds of meat. Reilanis didn't greet or say a word as she watched the elf expectantly. Vistelia looked anxious, her eyes, normally narrowed, were open, although her expression remained neutral. The only thing that showed her nervousness was the fact that she hadn't touch anything nor drink or eat since she arrived.

"So, what did you find?”

"..."

The elf remained silent, seeming reluctant to speak, even when Reilanis stopped eating and drinking, and gave her a stern look, the girl herself remained silent.

"What happened?"

“I… found much more than I expected. Something worse than I expected, actually."

 

 

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“And it really was. Long story short, Vistelia not only found the location of the vast majority of survivors, but she also learned that Aldorah had managed to become the court magician of a big country called Neradi, a kingdom that, curiously, is a country that borders Bralmiria. The rest of the survivors fled to the east and formed a new sect under the same name, doing the same disgusting experiments they had done before. Only now they seemed to be much worse, to the point where they attacked and kidnapped people from small villages. The human church was having trouble capturing them. They were more difficult to locate and always seemed to be one step ahead, escaping without a trace. [They sound quite troublesome. And this leaves me quite surprised… all this is new to me. Although I wrote quite a lot about all the characters, I didn't go too deep and didn't include all this background.]”

Reilan was overwhelmed by the amount of information that differed from what he knew. The differences between them, the lore that he had created for his characters and the reality, were too different. They were two different worlds.

“The most impressive thing is not only that. It's the fact that Elisa and Miriam are connected. [What!?] Part of the information that Vistelia gave me, was that this kingdom, Neradi, is responsible for making the subjugation request of Miriam's parents, and for stealing the egg from which she hatched. [That's…how the hell did…?] We don't know yet. Both kingdoms seem to have some kind of secret cooperation. Various rumors indicated that the vast majority of magicians belonging to that sect were from both countries. It is too big for being just a coincidence. Two neighboring kingdoms, with different cultures and that are involved in experiments of this caliber… [Do they know?] No, we haven't told them. Miriam might not care about it, after all, she never met her parents, so she doesn't have any attachment to them… but, Elisa is different. If she finds out, she might try something herself. That's why we decided not to tell them anything. [But you do intend to, don't you?] …I didn't intend to. [That's going to come back and bite you in the butt.] As I said, I wasn't planning on doing it. It's different now. All that information was causing me stress because I didn't know what to do next. We had hit a wall. We needed connections in both kingdoms to get more information, but we didn't know anyone and the information brokers didn't provide anything else, as if they were being paid large amounts to not say a word. I was hoping that if I kept it like this, something would show up eventually, but… [Yes, that's not possible.] So now I need to talk to her and explain everything, but first I need to talk to Vistelia about it.”

They both sighed at the same time. A single memory that began as an interesting anecdote had suddenly become a heavy topic. Neither of them was able to assimilate that having met Miriam and Elisa was a simple coincidence. And to that, Reilanis had added her own situation. A soul of a person from another world suddenly arriving in this one, with information about her and her mates, about the world and things nobody possibly knew about, was suspiciously way too convenient.

“After seeing that she had brought such a huge and useful amount of information, I had no choice but to let her join us. Although, Miriam was not happy with that. [I can imagine why.] You can? [Heh, and you said you're not dense huh?] *Cough* Anyway, meeting her that day could have been one of the luckiest things in my life. She is incredibly good at her job, she is funny, and she knows exactly which decisions to make, the best routes, names of cities, and kingdoms. She is a great archer and fighter. [She's beautiful and sexy] she is beautiful and has a great bu… [Hahaha]”

Reilanis fell silent, with only the echo of Reilan's laughter in the background. Her face had turned even redder than usual and her expression became complicated. She had been caught too easily and that had bothered her too much.

“Fine, fine, I admit it, I like the elf, and let her join because i tought she is sexy, happy now? [You can't imagine how much.] Damn you… everything I'm going through right now is already difficult, why do you want to make things more complicated? [Isn't it better this way? You may not know it, but having someone who loves you and supports you unconditionally does wonders in your life. Especially at times like this, where stress and the past hit hard.] Tch, you just want to make fun of me. [I will neither deny nor affirm that statement.]”

Despite sounding like she was upset, Reilanis was also laughing in amusement. Was this how it felt to have a brother? she wondered. Although she had already asked herself that same question a couple of times throughout this whole strange experience, she couldn't help but keep doing it. For her who never had a family, having Reilan there, despite the strangeness of the situation, had brought her not only peace of mind but even comfort. His help had been invaluable, and Reilan himself may never understand how important it was to Reilanis.

The two continued to talk for a long time, while Reilanis's body slowly recovered. Sometimes her gaze would return to the shelf, trying to think of what to do with all that stuff. Should she keep them or place everything differently? Maybe she even could allow the girls to enter and let them decide.

It took a while before Reilanis was able to move again. She felt as if she had spent several days in that room, though she wasn't able to tell how long she was there. Still feeling sore, she decided that she had been cooped up too long already, so, she slowly stood up and began to stretch, hoping to ease the stiffness in her body a bit.

“I guess it's time to get out of here. I need a bath and a change of clothes. I wonder, what will the rest think of you?"

There was no response, which confused Reilanis. She tried to call out to him again, but there was no answer no matter how hard she tried to speak to him. The Oni began to worry. "What the hell is going on?" She thought to herself, unsettled by the sudden silence.

"Reilan? Hey, what happened? Reilan? Answer me!"

Reilanis started yelling at him, hoping that would make him appear again. But nothing she said made him come back. Had everything that had happened so far been a lie? Had she…had she gone crazy and this was all her mind playing with her?

"[Sorry, Lani] Reilan!?"

That was the last thing they both said before Reilanis fell unconscious to the ground.

 

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