Volume 4, Chapter 24 – Claire’s Pendant

Translator Note

there’s so much monolog… I’ll just let it be, not italicize it. it will looks weird if i do

It was Anastasia’s private matter, after all. It was better for her not to pry.

Letting out a light sigh, Fia pushed the chaotic thoughts from her mind. Leaning against the headboard, what Milu had said earlier slowly surfaced in her heart.

—Claire might be responding to me because she was influenced by the wish I made to the branch of the World Tree.

“That’s impossible, no matter how you look at it.”

Fia muttered to herself, lowering her head and focusing her attention on the hexagram-shaped jewel pendant nestled within her white nightgown.

On the surface, she had acted as if she didn’t care about what Milu had said, but that wasn’t the reality. It was one of those things that was fine if you never thought about it, but once it was pointed out, it was hard to ignore. After Milu said those words, a slight wavering had appeared in Fia’s heart.

She was certain that her feelings for Claire were real and uninfluenced by any external factors. But was it the same for her? The moment she thought of it, she became anxious. If Claire was only responding to her because she was influenced by the branch of the World Tree, how could she face her?

Should I find the branch of the World Tree again and make a wish to cancel the previous one?

Although it was feasible, Fia was unwilling to do it. It wasn’t because she was afraid that after canceling the wish, Claire would become distant, dislike her, or even hate her for forcibly twisting her thoughts. A belief deep within her told her that their feelings could withstand any test.

It was precisely this belief that made it impossible for her to seek out the branch. To say to Claire, “I want to cancel the wish I made to the World Tree,” would be tantamount to doubting her feelings for her. If she wasn’t influenced by the branch at all, then Fia would have hurt her.

Even so, she was subconsciously incredibly bothered by this. She didn’t want to twist Claire’s thoughts, nor did she want to hurt her feelings. These two contradictory desires appeared in her mind at the same time, leaving her in a dilemma. Her back even began to sweat slightly, and her hands clenched unconsciously.

If this continued, she would definitely be worrying about it all night, tossing and turning in bed until the sun came up.

“Milu, oh Milu, why did you have to remind me…”

Fia complained as she turned over in bed. If Milu hadn’t told her about this, she wouldn’t have even noticed.

Who would have thought that a wish made on a whim, or rather, from an inability to control her own emotions, would bear such bitter fruit at this moment. Fia felt the urge to clutch her head and roll around on the bed, whimpering. How could there be such a torturous choice in this world?

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—Though the truth was, she was already rolling around on the princess’s soft, large bed.

Ahhhhh, dammit! Aren’t I acting just like some sentimental little girl?

Finally unable to bear the suffering, Fia shot up in bed and took out the silver pendant with the hexagram-shaped ruby that Claire had given her from the chest of her nightgown, hoping to find a moment of solace from it.

According to Claire, after injecting mana into this ruby pendant, besides forming a defensive barrier that could withstand a Fifth-Rank spell, it also had another special function that would manifest when she thought of her.

She had always been worried that it was a one-time-use item and had been reluctant to use it. Now that she had arrived at the elf capital and had people searching for Claire, they would be reunited soon. Using it now shouldn’t be a problem, right?

Fia held the pendant up to the magic lamp on the ceiling. Because it had just been taken out from her clothes, the ruby still carried her body heat, feeling exceptionally warm and smooth. As if caressing a lover’s cheek, she gently grazed the delicate surface of the ruby with the pad of her finger. Although she had been wearing this pendant for over a month, she felt as if she could still smell the faint medicinal scent of Claire from the touch of her fingertips—and the soft feel of her palm against her chest that night…

Pah.

What kind of lewd things am I thinking?

Fia quickly suppressed the pink thoughts flooding her mind. Even though there was no one else in the room, she coughed pretentiously, as if putting on a show for someone else.

“Ahem. If not now, when? Once I see Claire, there will be no need to use it.”

After giving herself enough of a mental pep talk, Fia took a deep breath. Then, she stared intently at the ruby pendant in her hand and carefully sent her mana into it.

Her consciousness delved into the pendant like a tendril. She soon felt that she could activate it and generate the Fifth-Rank defensive barrier, but that wasn’t what she wanted. What she needed was the magic Claire had mentioned for “when you miss her.”

Could it be that it was just something she said to comfort me, and there was actually no second spell in the pendant?

A large question mark appeared above Fia’s head. She didn’t think Claire would lie about something like this. If she wanted to comfort her on her journey, she had other, better options.

Maybe my heart isn’t sincere enough.

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The moment that thought popped up, Fia couldn’t help but find it amusing. To think she would resort to such a spiritualist argument like “not being sincere enough.” But this was a world of magic, after all. Fia closed her eyes and tried to fill her mind with thoughts of Claire, then sent her mana into the pendant again.

Long silver hair cascading down like the Milky Way, a dark-colored dress adorned with a snow-white shawl, her whole body exuding a holy and transparent glow under the moonlight, and those pure, gentle, flawless jade-green eyes. The ethereal image of Claire, like a moon elf, made Fia’s heart tremble just by imagining it, to say nothing of the fact that she had also seen the beautiful, jade-like body of that moon elf beneath that otherworldly dress.

Vmmm—

As if in response to her fantasies, an extremely faint metallic hum suddenly echoed in the room. Then, before Fia could even actively use the magic in the pendant, the spell hidden within the ruby manifested on its own.

Almost subconsciously, Fia snapped her eyes open. And then, her red pupils, more beautiful than any gemstone, widened dramatically.

“This is…”

What appeared before her was a projection-like image. Although it had a faint cyan glow that distorted the original colors, compared to what the image was showing, that was nothing.

As for the content, it was a young woman, her shoes and socks removed, sitting barefoot by a moonlit lake. Fia recognized her at a glance. It was Claire, sitting in the depths of a deserted forest.

Is this a magic crystal that can store images? Or is it a magic that transmits content in real-time, like [Remote Message]?

Fia watched the figure of Claire in the image while adjusting the mana output to the pendant. She soon discovered that the content of the image would change according to her will. For example, when she imagined the camera zooming in, the figure of Claire in the image would become larger and clearer. And if she wished for her to stand up, the Claire in the image would let her dark-colored skirt fall into the lake and slowly rise from the shore.

“Hey, hey…”

Could it be that this is an item that can complete one’s imagination and project the images in one’s mind directly?

Fia’s heart trembled. Like a thief, she immediately scanned the door. Only after remembering that she had locked it did she proceed to the next step. She was so focused that she didn’t even notice she was on all fours on the bed, staring at the image before her.

She began to imagine the Claire in the image giving her a gentle wave.

Without the slightest delay, the moonlit Claire waved at Fia. The image was so vivid it was hard to tell if it was real or fake. If Fia didn’t know that this was just an image created by a magic item based on her imagination, she would have thought that she had established a real-time connection with Claire and that she was greeting her.

…Which means, if I wanted to, I could even make Claire… make Claire appear before me completely naked!

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No! That’s too lewd!

Fia quickly negated the thought, but the Claire in the image had already proceeded to the next step based on her previous thought. Not only that, but the projected Claire even showed a slight hesitation, lightly biting her lip. This hesitation instantly made the character more real and three-dimensional, giving it the feeling of a “living being.”

Then, the Claire by the lake slowly began to undress. First was the snow-white shawl, then she slowly pulled down the dark-colored dress from her shoulders. The whole process was incredibly long, yet it had a charm that made it impossible to look away. With the help of the calm lake surface and the bright moonlight, Fia could even see the reflection of what was under her dress—a mature style of purple fabric with a lot of frills and lace, mysterious and subtle.

This is bad.

If it can even do undressing, doesn’t that mean it can… do that kind of self-gratification thing in front of me?

A heat rose in her throat, and her breathing quickened. Fia subconsciously swallowed. She felt like she was doing something unforgivable, so much so that words like “perverted” and “lecherous” would be no exaggeration to describe herself.

—To actually use the keepsake given to me by Claire, without her permission, to fantasize about the projected her doing lewd things. If this scene were to be seen by an outsider, her reputation would be ruined, and she might as well start her life over. Then, not only the people around her, but even the ministers and servants in the palace would laugh at her.

No, no, wait, that doesn’t seem right.

On second thought, Fia quickly suppressed the urge to turn off the magic item.

She had already established a romantic relationship with Claire, and they had even had deeper interactions. So, even if she imagined the projected Claire doing all sorts of things, it was just fantasizing about her own lover. At most, it was shameless, but it couldn’t be called lewd.

Moreover, Claire had given this pendant to her knowing its function, which meant she had implicitly consented to her using it as she pleased. In that case, there was even less to feel guilty about.

Claire knew from the beginning that the pendant would be used for this purpose.

…Yes, wait a minute.

Fia fell into deep thought.

If Claire knew that she would use the pendant to imagine all sorts of things, yet she still gave it to her, does that mean she’s much more risqué than she appears? Come to think of it, before she left, she had said to use it “when you miss her.” The deep meaning behind that was simply self-evident.

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It felt like a girlfriend who wears sexy lingerie to bed with her lover but says, “we have to sleep properly tonight.” Her words say no, but she’s actually completely seducing the other person to take the initiative.

Come to think of it, on the night we confirmed our relationship, it was just like that. Claire was too afraid to accept my confession, yet her face was beet red as she wrapped her tail around my hand… wasn’t that completely seducing me?!

Only now did Fia suddenly realize that she had been played in the palm of her hand from the very beginning. Although it was very likely that she had no intention of playing her and it was all just her personality acting subconsciously—like wrapping her tail around her but saying that she would meet someone better in the future and that she would be content just watching her from afar—the result was that she was firmly attracted by this behavior of hers, this wanting to be with her but not daring to be with her.

It was impossible to win from the start.

Though, whether she won or lost, the result was that they would be together anyway.

With this epiphany, Fia shifted her gaze back to the image formed by the pendant. Her mindset had undergone a subtle change. She no longer had the initial hesitation. Since this was something Claire had intentionally given her to see, accepting it happily and gratefully was the proper way to respond to her.

But considering that when Claire comes back, she would very likely ask me with a mischievous, older-sister-teasing look, “Fia, did you use the pendant well?” or secretly whisper in my ear, “Was it nice to look at?”—such blush-inducing, heart-pounding, awkward words—I have to think of a countermeasure in advance.

As for what to do, the method was simple. She would take the initiative before Claire did. She would hold the pendant and pretend to be beet red and say to her, “Claire, you’re so lewd! Shameless!” Then, Claire would be the one to be embarrassed.

Not only that, but she could even use this matter to take the initiative at night and make Claire all shy. Like using the pendant in front of her to let her see herself in the image. The sight of her covering her face with her hands, too shy to look, would surely be incredibly cute.

Ah, I wish I could hold that version of her tightly right now.

Just thinking about it was exciting.

As for now…

Kneeling on the bed, Fia looked down. At some point, she had already clamped the princess’s pillow between her legs, under her nightgown. The warm scent of a young girl mixed with the fragrance of the fabric was seeping into her nostrils.

I should make good use of the gift Claire gave me now. It’s a good thing I held out until now to use it. If Anastasia or Liti had walked in on me on the road, I would have been the one who couldn’t show my face.

With a nervous and eager heart, Fia gave the next command to the Claire in the image in her mind. Her face gradually turned red, and her breathing slowly became disordered and warm, until the barely audible rustling of clothes became more and more obvious, and the temperature of the entire room quietly rose… ¹ (˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵)