An Elf’s Tears

The battle finished quickly. With Regina, an SS-Grade Valkyrie, taking part, there was no way a group of A-Ranks and B-Ranks could last much.

Her performance was so overwhelming that Liu Ying, who fought beside her, was completely overshadowed despite killing five B-Rank practitioners.

Well, it was normal considering that Liu Ying was just a B-Rank practitioner herself.

Actually, the fact that Liu Ying killed five B-Rank practitioners in such a short time was already praiseworthy. And she only managed to get such results thanks to the boots she got as a reward from the Great Savannah's king.

The boots' ability to teleport near an enemy was incredibly deadly in the hands of someone as lethal at close-ranged combat as Liu Ying.

Not even two minutes after the battle started, all the enemies were already dead.

"Master, it's done."

"Same here~"

Regina and Liu Ying reported to Bloed when they finished. Bloed nodded slightly and then he and the girls walked towards the elf princess.

"Miss Elwha, long time no see you."

The elf princess stared at Bloed and the other two with her eyes opened wide. But when she remembered the power Bloed showed during the competition, and the fact that Regina was a demigod, she smiled wryly.

"I guess I owe you another one."

"It looks like that. What are you doing here? I thought you were going to return to the Boerner Great Forest."

"… It's a long story."

Bloed raised an eyebrow when he saw Elwha's sorrowful expression.

He was not an idiot, so he immediately realized that something bad had happened.

And it should be very bad, judging by Elwha's current state.

However, he was not sure if he should ask her about it.

At that moment, a soft rumble sounded.

Bloed and the girls put on a strange expression and looked towards the elf princess. That sound…

Elwha blushed deeply and lowered her head in shame.

"S-Sorry… I have not eaten anything in the last two days, so…"

Bloed and the girls were speechless.

"… Should we bring her with us?" Liu Ying suggested.

Bloed and Regina looked at each other.

"Okay." Bloed nodded. "Before that, though, we need to take care of the mess here," He then looked at the tens of dead bodies lying on the ground. "We should hurry up before the barrier disappears. Otherwise, it will be troublesome if someone sees this."

"… Yeah. If that happens we will have the entire city after us tomorrow." Liu Ying nodded with a bitter smile.

Fortunately, Regina had a solution.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

Regina extended her hand and a small energy flame appeared on it. She then threw the flame towards the bodies.

Regina's control over the flame was incredible. In less than five minutes, the bodies had turned into ashes without leaving behind any traces.

In fact, even the blood that had splashed on the ground and the walls had disappeared.

Liu Ying whistled impressed.

"I guess we don't need to worry about leaving any evidence behind anymore."

But suddenly, the group heard a soft thud.

They hurried looked in direction of the sound, only to see a young man hiding behind a wall with a pale expression.

And judging by his clothes, it seemed like he was part of the same group of before. He probably had been hiding all this time and waiting for an opportunity to escape.

With a frightened look, the young man quickly turned around and rushed towards the barrier.

And surprisingly, the barrier allowing him to escape.

"Don't let him leave!" Elwha shouted in a panic. Regina nodded and created an arrow of energy on her hand.

But before she could shoot it, a shadow materialized behind the young man.

Then, a dagger slit the young man's throat, sealing his fate.

One second later, the shadow took the shape of a petite catkin young girl tilting her head.

"Am I late?"

Bloed chuckled softly.

"No, you are just on time. Let's go. Our elf princess is about to die of starvation."

…

Explaining Elwha's origin to the others was not too hard. Thanks to her disguise, Bloed and the others only needed to say she was their friend and Prince Calisto's bodyguards did not suspect anything.

Elwha's identity was very sensitive, so the fewer people knew about it the better. Due to it, only Bloed, Regina, Liu Ying, and Aya, knew her true identity.

It was not that Bloed did not trust Prince Calisto, but he was still a child, so Bloed was afraid he could reveal something accidentally. As for the bodyguards, there was a non-zero probability of one of them being related to the Church of Slaughter, so the less they knew the better.

After Prince Calisto heard that Elwha was one of Bloed's friends, he agreed to let her come with them. Thus, the group brought her to the house the people of the Great Savannah had prepared for them.

Instead of a house, though, it was a mansion with servants included.

Well, a prince would be staying here, so this level of accommodation was normal.

The first thing they did when they arrived was to get food for Elwha. The poor elf princess was so hungry that she devoured the food without caring about her image.

Only when she ended her third serving, she stopped eating and slumped on the chair.

But once she finished the food, it was time to answer Bloed and the others' doubts.

"Then, how did you end here?" Bloed asked.

Elwha's expression turned sorrowful. She smiled bitterly and started to narrate the story from the start to the end.

Her voice broke down slightly when she reached the part where they were betrayed and the demigods sacrificed to allower to escape, and her expression was a bit strange when she mentioned the Goddess of Fate helped her. Finally, when she mentioned the words of the Goddess, she stared at the group in hesitation.

Regina could not help but frown when she reached that part.

"Are you saying that the Goddess told you to find us and we would help you?"

Elwha nodded hesitantly. "… I know that our relationship is not that close, and you don't have any reason to help me. However, you are my only hope. I don't know who else to trust right now… Please..."

Elwha bowed deeply to the group. She did not seem to care about her identity as a princess nor her dignity.

Right now, Bloed's group was her only hope. If they did not help her, she was not sure how long she could last.

The expressions of the group were complicated. Liu Ying and Aya seemed like they wanted to help her, and Bloed seemed to be contemplating something.

Regina, however, had an ice-cold expression.

"Princess, you know that your request will put my master in grave danger, right? You should know how powerful Slaughter's forces are. They are so powerful that even I am not completely confident about being able to protect my master."

Elwha bit her lips and nodded. "… I know."

"Then, why are you planning to involve my master in something so dangerous? Why should we help you?"

By this point, Regina's gaze had turned incredibly chilling.

Liu Ying seemed like she wanted to say something, but when she saw Regina's expression, she sighed and shook her head.

As for Elwha, she lowered her head even more and put her forehead against the table.

"… I know that." She whimpered softly. "But I don't have more options... I can't do it alone, and there is nobody else I can trust."

At that point, tears slid down Elwha's cheeks, falling on the table sorrowfully one after another.

They were tears of pain and despair. The tears of someone that was completely cornered.

"So, please… Mr. Bloed, Miss Regina… Please help me... I beg you..."

Watching Elwha's tears, Bloed could not help but sigh.

Even Regina's expression softened somewhat. She still did not seem to agree with the idea of helping her, though.

Instead, she looked at Bloed as though saying she would follow whatever he chooses.

But when Bloed was about to speak, one of the bodyguards rushed inside.

"… Sorry for interrupting. However, someone important wants to see you, Mr. Bloed. And I don't dare to make her wait."

"Someone important?" Bloed was surprised. "Who is it?"

"… The Saintess of the Church of Fate."

...

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