Volume 8, Chapter 31 – Taking Responsibility

Just as Fia had expected, by the time she used teleportation magic to bring Lucitine to the surface, it was already night.

Limited by the teleportation distance, Fia could only first bring Lucitine to the teleportation point in the Land of Exile. Only by going through the Land of Exile and then the second teleportation point between the Land of Exile and Blossom could they return to Blossom. As a result, Lucitine got to see the now-expanded Second Abyss.

The earth, split open with deep ravines, resembled a giant beast, its fangs bared toward the sky, sending chills down one’s spine.

“Fia, wait.”

Fia was about to calculate the next teleportation, but Lucitine stopped her. The latter gazed down at the abyss below, a flicker of nostalgia passing through her eyes.

“I remember there was no abyss here.”

“There wasn’t, but now there is. Just as I said earlier, new abysses have appeared in Silvar. These abysses aren’t protected by the World Tree’s barrier, so Chaos could crawl up at any time. This is one of the newly appeared abysses, and also the closest among them to the edge of the World Tree Continent. It’s more dangerous than other places. The abyss we’re going to tomorrow is also this one.”

Actually, Fia could take Lucitine down to the abyss right now. However, there were still Eye tribe members down there. Without prior communication, if Lucitine encountered them, her plan would be wasted.

Fia continued to add.

“Moreover, this abyss was originally only one kilometer wide. Today’s earthquake made it become like this. I wonder if Lucitine felt the earthquake a few months ago—that was an entire landmass across from Blossom falling into the Primordial Continent. I suspect the cause of both earthquakes is the same. It’s possible the World Tree Continent is undergoing changes we haven’t noticed.”

“Can’t we go down and inspect it now?”

“Visibility is too poor at night to clearly see the Chaos’s movements. Better to go during the day.”

“Mm…”

Although she verbally agreed, Lucitine’s expression was troubled. One hand on her chest, the other resting on her chin.

“Couldn’t we use earth magic to seal this place up and stop the Chaos?”

Could the Queen of Death Anastasia mentioned really be Lucitine? Fia couldn’t help but steal another glance at Lucitine. There was no trace of pretense in her serious, contemplative expression.

“The Chaos will break through the restraints of earth magic sooner or later. Rather than burying a time bomb, it’s better to have people monitor it constantly. And that’s precisely why I’m seeking your cooperation. Don’t you think, Lucitine, that taking the initiative to attack is better than passive defense? Based on the information I have, the World Tree’s barrier won’t hold much longer. Chaos will crawl up eventually. Rather than waiting for disaster to strike before preparing, it’s more appropriate for us to proactively trigger this bomb, letting it explode at the time and place we want.”

“True, but how exactly should we do it?”

“That will have to wait until Lucitine has seen the situation below before we can conveniently discuss it.”

Otherwise, their thoughts wouldn’t even be on the same level. Without having seen the vast sea of Chaos below, Lucitine couldn’t imagine the Chaos’s combat power.

“Let’s go to Blossom for now.”

“No, wait a little longer.”

“What’s wrong?”

Lucitine avoided Fia’s outstretched hand. Taking advantage of the night’s cover, an embarrassed flush appeared on her face.

“I… I have something I want to confirm…”

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Given this reaction, it was definitely personal matters.

Fia couldn’t see the blush on Lucitine’s face, but her hesitant tone had already revealed much. After a day together, she had come to realize that Lucitine was a type with extremely strong contrast: extremely reliable on serious matters, yet exceptionally innocent in daily life.

She didn’t speak, but waited for Lucitine to voluntarily say what was on her mind.

“Aren’t I the Queen of Death that outsiders talk about? So I was thinking, if I just appear before the living like this, will I scare them? And making you my queen might bring negative feedback upon you, right? Ultimately, I’m not even sure if I can appear before the living. I think we should think ahead of some countermeasures—for example, not saying I’m the Queen of Death at first, saying I’m your friend instead, letting the people around you get familiar with me. After they can accept me, then reveal my identity. That way, everyone will realize I’m not so terrifying either…”

Are you like a wife afraid to meet her in-laws?

Fia couldn’t help but find it amusing. She waved her hand repeatedly in a helpless gesture.

“These worries are too superfluous. You’re the Queen of Death, revered by all. Just maintain your usual dignified demeanor that brooks no offense. If you appear easy to push around, it will instead diminish outsiders’ awe of the Queen of Death; they’ll think you’re not all that impressive. As for negative feedback toward me, those are just misunderstandings from those who don’t know. When they see me bringing you back to Blossom, the misunderstanding will naturally clear up. This is a feat no one in history has ever accomplished.”

“A feat…” Lucitine suddenly paused. Her already flushed face reddened even more. She murmured softly, so shy that she covered her face with one hand. “Just like Ruth said, bringing me back would make you a hero in the world of the living… then… then cooking the rice together really is also…”

“No, absolutely not.”

At the right moment, Fia shattered Lucitine’s fantasy with an exceptionally serious attitude.

“But Lucitine does remind me, although I’m certain you’re a living person now, we still can’t be careless until we’ve confirmed it. Let’s first go to the Land of Exile and test whether your death energy will infect others. Then we’ll go to Blossom.”

Treating the latter half of Fia’s words as wind in her ears, Lucitine stood there dazed. Her queenly, dignified cheeks were now like ripe apples, red enough to seem like they might drip water. Fia even thought she heard shy, incoherent groans escaping Lucitine’s throat.

“Fi… Fia heard that?”

“Elves have very good hearing and eyesight, so of course I heard. But didn’t Ruth also tell you I have three fiancées? I have my principles in this regard. I won’t see you’re beautiful and treat you as prey. I’ve always believed love should be mutual.”

“Th… that’s true…”

Lucitine nodded nervously in agreement. She began to follow Fia, descending toward the distant Land of Exile. After a moment of silence, as if feeling the atmosphere would be too awkward without saying something, Lucitine lowered her gaze.

“Fia looks younger than Ruth, but your inner self is more mature than most adults. Elves really are a long-lived race; appearance age and mental age cannot be lumped together.”

“Actually, I haven’t reached the age of adulthood among elves yet. I’m about ninety-five years old this year.”

“Huh?” Lucitine first blinked in confusion, then her pink eyes flew wide open. “I… I chose a child who hasn’t even come of age to be my queen? I—”

“This isn’t something to blame yourself about. After all, ninety-five isn’t that far from the adult age of one hundred. If we’re really talking about crime…”

Then Claire would be the criminal. A lolicon.

Fia muttered inwardly.

It wasn’t until they approached the Land of Exile that Lucitine finally recovered from the shock that Fia was underage. She barely regained her composure.

“That’s true… Fia does have childish characteristics. On one hand, you instruct me to maintain dignity in the elf kingdom, and on the other, you do the opposite in my country.”

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“You mean me not maintaining the dignity of the elf Eldest Princess? My situation is different from yours. Besides, I know all those people combined are no match for me, so I don’t take it to heart. When one’s status and strength are high enough, they no longer have the kind of interests that others can understand. That said, if something like Afla openly provoking me were to happen, I wouldn’t be polite either. We’ve already completely left the borders of the Netherworld. Lucitine, do you feel any unusual sensations? Like difficulty breathing, for example.”

“No, let me first dispel the death energy around me.”

As Lucitine’s words fell, Fia felt a strong wind blow upward from beneath her skirt. Obviously, Lucitine was deliberately controlling the airflow to flow upward, to prevent the death energy surrounding her from reaching the city below. But she had no idea how to be considerate of a lady. If not for the fact that Fia wore bloomers under her skirt to avoid exposure, and she wasn’t the type to get easily startled, anyone else would have screamed—on the contrary, because her gaze was fixed on Lucitine, Fia incidentally discovered that Lucitine wasn’t in the habit of wearing safety pants or even underwear.

Too erotic.

Casually revealing slender, shapely legs and the alluring lines of her calves—this was simply tempting people to commit crimes.

“There, it’s fine now… Fia, why are you staring at me?”

“I’m shocked that Lucitine isn’t in the habit of wearing safety pants. And that’s not even the most important thing. You’re the Queen of Death, after all. You usually wear high-slit gowns. How can you not even wear underwear?”

“Underwear? What’s that?”

“…”

Fia had initially expected Lucitine to be shy, but she had no idea what underwear was at all. Fia found herself momentarily speechless.

Thinking about it carefully, the undead had no physiological needs, let alone any concept of being inadequately clothed—a bunch of skeletons and corpses need not be mentioned in terms of clothing. It was only natural that Lucitine didn’t know what underwear or safety pants were.

She let out a long sigh.

“Haaah, when we get back to Blossom, let Anastasia teach you. I think it’s about time we set out for Blossom anyway. The people in the Land of Exile haven’t turned undead, which means Lucitine won’t unconsciously release death energy.”

Just as Fia had said, although the two were covered by thin clouds below them, through the occasional gaps in the clouds one could see that the exiles sleeping on the streets hadn’t turned undead; they were still sleeping soundly.

“I’ve heard that the living all sleep in beds, unlike us undead who can just dig a hole and sleep anywhere. Why are they sleeping on the ground? Is it an elf custom? Although I don’t understand the world of the living, this place could be called dilapidated, couldn’t it?”

“It’s the same difference as between the Netherworld and the kingdom of the dead.”

Fia briefly explained to Lucitine that the Land of Exile was a place for exiling criminals. The latter frowned, her previously curious gaze gradually shifting to disgust.

“Why not just kill these people? Simply making them live somewhere else hardly counts as punishment. Most of the souls that can’t cross the Wall of Sighs were persecuted by people like these, causing their souls to become tainted with resentment. They should be killed, and then their souls handed over to me!”

“No, the living aren’t as carefree as you undead. We need to eat and have warm, comfortable shelter. If these can’t be guaranteed, living each day hungry one moment and full the next, never knowing when death might come—this kind of apathetic existence is actually a form of torture. Since obtaining a living body, hasn’t Lucitine experienced hunger?”

Come to think of it, the kingdom of the dead didn’t look like a place with food from any angle. Where exactly did Lucitine get things to fill her stomach?

Fia’s curiosity instantly peaked. Her mind quickly jumped from food to another matter. Since Lucitine would be eating, that meant she would definitely go through the processes of digestion and excretion. As an undead who hadn’t experienced these sensations for tens of thousands of years, experiencing these things for the first time—would she be flustered, finding it exceptionally stimulating?

“Hunger? That’s right. I do get aches and pains from maintaining the same position for too long, so why haven’t I felt hungry…”

“Huh? Lucitine hasn’t eaten anything?”

“No.”

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In fact, Lucitine didn’t even know what chewing felt like.

“How strange.”

“Gurrr~”

As if echoing their conversation, Lucitine’s stomach timely let out a growl. Along with it, Lucitine’s expression shifted—a look both serious and distressed.

“Fia, I’m feeling unwell. It must be because I removed the death energy. Maybe I’m not suited for the world of the living.”

“…When you say unwell, do you mean your stomach hurts?”

“Yes.”

“That’s just being hungry. Probably because the death energy was wrapping around you before, it prevented you from feeling hunger.”

Although the idea that death energy could provide energy for the body was quite puzzling, Lucitine was still the Queen of Death after all; it was likely a special case.

“Aside from the stomachache, any other thoughts?”

“The air feels very sweet, I suppose?”

“You’re qualified. You can go to Blossom.”

The air felt sweet because the kingdom of the dead had a faint, foul odor floating around. The Land of Exile’s smell wasn’t exactly pleasant, but it was definitely better than the kingdom of the dead.

She stopped dwelling on it and directly activated the second teleportation with Lucitine.

…

A mere three minutes later, the Twilight Palace in Blossom’s royal capital welcomed a new guest.

Lucitine gave Fia the impression of a country girl entering a big city. She found everything novel. Not only did she exclaim that the scent of ink in the library smelled wonderful, but even encountering a maid whose skin wasn’t rotted, she couldn’t help but stop her, pat her head, pinch her cheeks, and even take off the maid’s headpiece to sniff it—sexual harassment that left the maid’s expression stiff. Fia began to worry if Lucitine might later become so perverted as to wonder what the maid’s shoes smelled like, stopping her and demanding she take them off.

Of course, the most noteworthy thing was how everyone, upon seeing Fia bring back a new older sister figure, observed Lucitine with alert and curious eyes.

Now, Fia’s group had all gathered in the dining room. Claire, Liti, and Milu sat across from Fia, while Fia sat beside Lucitine. Anastasia stood by as a maid. The pure white long table was laden with numerous dishes. Although they were all things like cakes and fruits that could be served immediately, it was more than enough for Lucitine.

“What’s this? It smells wonderful.”

“Rock candy. It’s not something you eat directly—hey.”

Before Fia could finish, Lucitine grabbed a handful of rock candy and stuffed it into her mouth. And then, predictably, like someone biting into a raw lemon, her eyes squeezed shut, her features scrunched up, her limbs frozen—for a long moment, she couldn’t utter a single word.

Serves her right.

Fia felt helpless. Having never tasted anything before, suddenly experiencing an intensely sweet food—the sensory stimulation went without saying. She took a water glass from the maid and handed it to Lucitine.

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“Here, if it’s uncomfortable, you can spit it into this cup. Rock candy isn’t meant to be eaten like that.”

“No… it’s okay… so this is what sweetness tastes like. It’s such a harsh flavor. I always imagined it would be so blissful…”

“Don’t force yourself.”

After swallowing the rock candy with a mouth full of saliva, Lucitine’s gaze fell on a cut green fruit nearby. Seeing this fruit, Fia’s expression turned strange. She had instructed Colita to bring out all the fruits that could be served, but she hadn’t expected Colita to also put bitter melon on the plate.

Considering that this was something Lucitine would remain curious about until she hit a wall, Fia didn’t stop her from reaching over with her fork. And then, Fia once again witnessed Lucitine’s features contort.

She felt like she was bullying Lucitine.

Fia could already feel skeptical glances from Claire and Anastasia. Bullying Ruth could be said to bring a sense of accomplishment, but bullying someone foolish was undoubtedly contemptible.

However, contrary to Fia’s expectations, after recovering amid a burst of “gah-uu” gibberish, Lucitine reached a surprising conclusion. Fia could clearly see satisfaction and nostalgia on Lucitine’s face.

“This flavor… It’s very much like the taste of the kingdom of the dead. Much better than that thing called rock candy just now.”

“As long as Lucitine can accept it. Colita, could you please help introduce these foods to Lucitine?”

“Certainly, leave it to me.”

Colita, with her golden short hair tied in a side ponytail, began introducing each item to Lucitine one by one. This allowed Fia to step away and explain to her companions about this pink-haired, pink-eyed woman beside her, who looked very mature but behaved like a child.

She straightened her back and said with a serious expression.

“This is the Queen of the Kingdom of Death, a Ninth-Tier powerhouse, Lucitine. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, she’ll be staying at the Twilight Palace for a while.”

“Sister really did take that step… but to turn the tables and become the host in just one day… truly worthy of Sister…”

“Saying it so openly also takes courage.”

Following Liti, who was quietly observing Claire’s expression, Milu nodded as if in praise, though her expression showed no signs of happiness whatsoever.

“No, no, it’s not what you think. ‘Queen’ was a misunderstanding. I also have no intention of developing that kind of relationship with Lucitine. Honestly, do I seem like the type to whisk someone away on the first day of meeting them?”

“Then why did Little Fia suddenly bring the Queen of Death back to the Twilight Palace?”

“Uh—”

This question alone Fia couldn’t answer. She couldn’t very well say she was keeping Lucitine in the royal capital to divert her attention, making it easier to move the Chaos from the second Nursery.

After racking her brains for a moment, she explained with righteous indignation.

“A while ago, I made a decision—I don’t know whether to call it a mistake or the right call—that resulted in Lucitine no longer being an undead, but a living person with a living body. So I want to take responsibility and let her experience what it feels like to have a home.”