The number of people in this demon tribe’s village increased a lot since there were fewer external enemies.
As the number of people increased, problems occurred at an accelerated rate, so I had no choice but to show them examples of attack and recovery magic from common books and teach them how to fight, which in turn made me busy. It was troublesome.
The house that was prepared for me was becoming temple-like before, but now, for some reason, it became like a small castle. I could tell that I was welcomed strangely, but I couldn’t stay there long because the elders would bring troublesome things to me.
I heard about the Lich’s sudden appearance a few days ago, and although I’d like to say I’m glad I made it in time, to tell the truth, I was inwardly horrified, wondering what I would do if I was dealing with an Elder Lich.
A Lich was around level 50, but an Elder Lich was around level 80, so a one-on-one would be possible, but in the VRMMO, an Elder Lich would summon endless numbers of minions in battle and would rarely fight one-on-one. Fighting it alone would be really tough.
Therefore, I had put a great effort into preparing the battlefield, but eventually, it was just a Lich, and there were certainly many mobs, but it took me less than 5 minutes to finish the battle. I spend my spare time with Pochi to strengthen my skills, so my basic level may have improved.
Pochi had also grown stronger. I think he could compete with a Nidhogg now. In this battle, I asked Pochi to stand by for a surprise from behind if the opponent was an Elder Lich, but I was able to defeat him easily, so now Pochi was sulking and sleeping in a daze. Maybe I should bring Pochi some honey later.
Now, putting aside Carol, the player, and I, the aristocrat, after five years, I had grown up in my own way.
I stayed up until the late hours of the morning attending the banquet after I had defeated the Lich, but even though I had gone back to being a little Carol instead of my player body with its physical strength, I didn’t doze off during class anymore.
I was not a small child anymore, not even small enough to be called a chibi.
*
“Welcome, Carol-sama.”
Nicholas, Camille’s friend and chief butler, welcomed me, Camille’s fiancée, at the gate of the mansion.
When Camille’s fiancée was chosen 10 years ago, people said that it was too much to have a subhuman as his fiancé, and when they first met 5 years ago, people said that they felt sorry for Camille-sama because I was such a young child. However, their discomfort gradually eased as a result of me healing the knights with magic, and they were sorry for treating me with contempt, even though I was not at fault at all.
Behind the scenes, Nicholas had to work hard to keep the quiet girl in line with everyone, but it was not without its rewards, so he never thought of it as a hardship.
“Carol-sama”.
The other servants, with their heads bowed, glance sideways at the girl walking quietly in the young green dress given to her by Camille, followed by a faint sigh.
She still looked small in comparison to a 15-year-old daughter of the same age, but she was half a head taller and appeared to be about 13 years old. If she had grown this much at this age, she would not have looked so out of place next to Camille.
The main reason for the change in attitude of the servants, and the fact that many of them greeted her with smiles, was probably her appearance.
In the past, Camille was shunned simply for being a half-elf, but over the past few years, he has developed the kind of good looks that were rarely seen even among the elves, many of whom are good-looking, and he had become quite famous even among the nobility.
Nicholas was glad to see Camille now, knowing how gloomy he was when he returned from his study abroad.
“I’ve been waiting for you, Carol.”
“…hmm.”
Camille, who greeted me at the door, smiled in a way that made people embarrassed to look at him, but the girl returned it wordlessly as usual, though it wasn’t their imagination that she didn’t seem to be overwhelmed these days.
The girl did not seem too bothered by the age and height difference in their outward appearances currently, but time will tell.
As Nicholas walks through the door, followed by Camille who entered the mansion with the girl, Nicholas could faintly hear his friend’s voice in his ears.
“…Just 10 more centimeters to go until we are matched…”