Chapter 3: A New Start
Chapter 3: A New Start
I wake up in bed. The ceiling I see every day comes into focus. The Demon Lord’s mark is embossed there. It’s a skull with horns.
Wanting the Demon Lord’s seal to be the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see at the end of the day, I redecorated the ceiling myself. From good morning to good night, I devoted every day to the Demon Lord.
“Lady Elle!”
I turn toward the tearful cry beside the bed. Canna is staring down at me with swollen red eyes.
“Canna? What made you cry?”
“Are you really asking me that?! Do you know just how worried I was about you, Lady Elle?!”
“About me…? Oh, right, I…” I trail off as I remember what went down before I blacked out.
I wish it had all just been a dream, from the glowing magic circles to the truth about the Demon Lord. How am I supposed to take this news?
Do I even get an option after defying the Demon Lord’s law?
I had cast Delay Magic to break through the castle’s defenses. Everyone should already know that I infiltrated the magic sanctum.
So, that begs the question: Why have I been able to sleep away the day in my own bed? I expected to be discovered and in the middle of an interrogation for committing high treason by now…
“Canna!” I cry. “The Analian army hasn’t called for my arrest yet? Regulus’s henchmen haven’t come banging on the door for me?”
Canna shakes her head. “Pardon? Why in the magic aftermath would that ever happen? You are one of the Four Grand Magi, Lady Elle.”
Nothing’s happened?
Wait, didn’t Julius say something about casting Null? And how in the world did I get back to my manor?
“Canna, how did I get back home?”
“Lord Julius carried you here in his arms, Lady Elle. Like”—she cradles one of my pillows in her arms to show me—“the way a man carries his bride over the threshold. It took my breath away how very much the two of you looked like a fairy-tale couple.” She finishes with a dreamy look.
Julius carried me all the way back home? Maybe he cast Null to conceal my messy attempt at Delay. I’ve only mastered offense magic and suck epically at complex spells that require attention to the finer details. I don’t doubt Julius possesses the skills to smoothly infiltrate the castle without leaving a trace.
What stands out to me the most was the way Julius behaved. He seemed accustomed to visiting the Demon Lord’s—no, the room engraved with magic circles. That definitely wasn’t his first hurrah. He also knew about the magic circles and that the Demon Lord isn’t real…
“I’m gonna go see Julius. I need to confirm something with him.”
“Lord Julius is currently staying in one of the guest rooms.”
“He is?”
“He said he was tired after carrying you here and stayed in the manor overnight. I was informed he woke up a short while ago. I believe he should be having breakfast about now.”
Uh, where’s he get off having breakfast at my house without being invited?
“What would you like to do about breakfast, Lady Elle? If you don’t have an appetite, I can—”
“I’m fine. I can eat. I want to speak with Julius anyway. Make it happen, Canna.”
Canna helps me get dressed before I head to the guest room where he’s staying.
The double-leaf doors open on Julius gracefully sipping tea. He already finished breakfast, if the clean plates are anything to go by.
When I enter the room, Julius turns his singularly handsome face toward me and briefly comments, “You’re up?”
Don’t “You’re up (indifferently cool face)” me!
My head is exploding with information overload from what we went through together and a boatload of questions, and here you are drinking my black tea with your pinky finger held out like royalty!
So much crap I don’t understand has gone down in the last few hours that I’m getting annoyed with Julius.
Oh my Demon Lord! Worst of all, the fragrance of the tea leaves filling the room belongs to my favorite wild strawberry black tea. Of all things, they didn’t have to serve Julius the tea I’m most fond of!
I shoot a grudging look at the maid who served him and find her making googly eyes at Julius.
One good look around the room and every single maid here has flushed cheeks and dreamy expressions.
What the heck?! Weren’t they the ones who just recently said stuff like “Lady Elle is the best!” “The cutest!” “We love you!” I glower at Julius for capturing their hearts with just his face.
How dare he look so cool and aloof!
Ugh, I still need to ask him about what happened.
“Julius! What was the meaning of what you showed me?! That room—”
“Lower your voice,” Julius warns with a frown.
Coward that I am, the intensity of his command shuts me right up, giving Julius an opening to arbitrarily ask the maids to leave us. This is my manor. I’m the master of the house. Yet he’s giving the orders!
I shoot him an annoyed look for naturally taking control of the situation, and our eyes meet. He sighs and his whole face softens. Plainly put, he’s giving me a top-grade, swoon-worthy smile capable of melting men and women alike. Seeing this stone-cold face that almost never changes break into a sudden serene smile is enough to make my heart skip a beat—but it didn’t! I swear! I won’t succumb to his beautiful smile!
Nearly becoming a captive to his charms, I cross my arms to show that I won’t be daunted.
“Julius! We’re clear to talk now, yeah? What happened yesterday?! You know…what’s the deal with that…room? The Demon Lord…” I become less coherent by the second and drop my gaze to the velvet rug.
It’s too painful still. I’m struggling to accept the truth. I mean, the Demon Lord is nothing more than inanimate magic circles…
“There was no Demon Lord from the beginning. Or there may have been one at the start. At least, there was someone who created that magic circle when this country was founded. Perhaps that person is who we can call the Demon Lord. Of course, they’re from the distant past. They’re long gone now. What we believed in, loved, and dedicated our bodies and minds to never existed.”
Hearing him say it loud and clear thrusts an unbelievably difficult truth on me. I look up and stare at Julius’s face, searching for a lie I can’t find.
I see. So there really wasn’t a Demon Lord. When I gained memories from my previous life, I began to doubt the Demon Lord, and when I saw the magic circles yesterday, that doubt turned into conviction. I thought I could accept the truth. But having Julius’s affirmation that the Demon Lord never existed has plummeted me into despair after all.
The Demon Lord was my rock. My hope.
My body refuses to move and my eyes refuse to blink, just as my mind rejects the truth. Julius runs the pad of his thumb down my cheek. I lack the drive to knock away his hand and let him do what he wants. His thumb brushes under my eye.
My face feels wet. It appears I’m crying again.
I cried yesterday and I’m crying again today… I’ve become a crybaby. Am I going to do this every time I think of the Demon Lord?
“Elle.”
Tears threaten to overflow like a waterfall from my eyes at the sound of Julius’s unusually tender voice. I find myself wrapped in his arms without realizing he’d moved. Pressing the tears and runny nose I can’t suppress against his hard chest, I stifle my voice and weep.
Julius stiffly pats me on the back, seemingly not quite sure what to do with himself as I continue to shed tears in his arms.
After staying that way for an eternity, I feel oddly refreshed and rub at my aching eyes with a lace handkerchief. Julius’s shirt is all sticky and gross from my tears and snot.
He has been sweet from the moment I started crying until I stopped, but he scowls slightly when he sees the icky, wet stains I’ve left behind on his clothes. I think I’m starting to get the hang of reading his expressions, which I’d thought him incapable of.
“Hey, Julius? Since when did you know?” I ask after I finish blowing and wiping my facial fluids.
“When I turned twenty,” he says, looking straight into my eyes. “Something happened that made me question the Demon Lord’s existence, instilling a desire in me to see for myself. Young and naïve, I used a loophole in the castle’s magic defenses to sneak in. Those defenses were created by me at Steel Regulus’s behest. I had designed a loophole in it without anyone knowing.”
Julius pauses and takes a tremulous breath. “…I still don’t know why I went so far to see the Demon Lord back then. And when I discovered the true identity behind the entity I worshiped…I resented my skill,” he bites out, his face twisting with the memory as he casts down his eyes.
So Julius also felt conflicted when he found out. Same as me. But our reactions make sense. We lived our entire lives believing in one thing. Every person residing in Analia spends their every waking minute loving the Demon Lord.
“Is your loophole the reason why the castle guards haven’t discovered what I did?”
“It is. But you took a drastic measure sneaking in with Delay Magic. Honestly, I’m not impressed.”
I agree. Delay Magic can get you through the moment, but it’s a shoddy spell that will eventually give the user away. Not the best for hiding your tracks.
“I had to…because I suck at complicated spells! Besides, I didn’t care about what happened after. I didn’t give a jot about what happened to me if it meant meeting the Demon Lord…”
“Take care of yourself more. Think about the future, too.”
Julius said something so caring and out of character for him, I stare at his face.
Why are you saying such nice things to me…?! You’re stinking Julius! I know that behind those kind words is the cruel man who will call me the disgrace of the Grand Magi upon my death!
…But thank you. You’ve made my day even if it’s a lie. Having someone care about my well-being is freeing.
Because I have spent every day working my hardest believing the Demon Lord has always been watching over me… Ahh. This sucks. Thinking about it again is getting me all emotional.
Sniffling, I hold my head high.
“I know! I’ll never pull such a stupid stunt again!” I declare loudly. “So, Julius, did you not feel anything when you first saw that magic circle? How can you serve as Grand Magi in the Analian army like it’s nothing? What drives you now?” I press in a flurry of questions.
“I know no other way of life,” he replies, a self-derisive smile lifting his lips. “I clung to my prior lifestyle out of sheer habit. Ultimately, I ran from the truth.”
Hearing him say that makes me realize that Julius also grieved the Demon Lord’s betrayal in his own way. Unable to face the hard truth, he sealed it away.
What will I do? I…
“Julius, I don’t want to live out the rest of my life as a captive puppet of the Demon Lord—of a magic circle. So I’m going to leave this country. Can you let me go? I’m going to abandon everything given to me by the Demon Lord, from my duties to my rank, and depart this land.”
I may be the fourth and weakest of the Four Grand Magi, but I’m still a Grand Magi. Leaving that position open will bring hardship down on Analia.
This one action makes me the unmistakable disgrace of the Grand Magi. But I’m okay with that. I don’t care if it makes me a disgrace or anything else. I’m going to quit being Elle of the Demon Lord’s Four Grand Magi. I’ll become just Elle.
After quietly listening to my decision, Julius gives a slow and deliberate nod.
“…I see. It’s a sound plan. I won’t stop you. Leading you to that room is what brought about this decision, after all,” he says softly, a hint of visible regret lingering in his tone.
“Hey, Julius, tell me this one last thing. Why did you take me to the Demon Lord’s room?”
Surprise flickers across Julius’s face as if he never expected to be asked why.
“I’m not too sure why I did, either. Perhaps curiosity got the better of me. I get the sense I just wanted to know how someone other than me would react to learning that secret… But I am glad I brought you there. Watching you openly mourn the truth about the Demon Lord’s nonexistence helped me realize I’ve been in mourning all this time. I have your tears to thank. At long last, I know what it is I must do—that I wish to do,” he explains, giving me the ultimate sunny smile that melts some of the chill I get when I look at his face. It’s almost as if he’s been freed of some weight that’s been haunting him for a long time.
◆◆◆
“COME on! Hurry into the magic circle! Make sure you have everything! All set?” I call out as I stuff servants from my manor into the center of the teleportation circle.
That’s right—today is the memorable day we depart Analia! I’m leaving this land just like I told Julius I would. And I’m going to live how I want from now on! Staying in Analia will make me think of the Demon Lord whether I want to or not. But there is no Demon Lord, so it’s impossible for me to serve as a member of the Analian army’s Grand Magi with my current mindset.
That’s why I am going to live as a free woman! Surrounded by the things I love, without putting all my hopes and dreams in something else, I’m going to do what I want through my own strength. My destination is the outskirts of Gaea where I originally planned to send just my servants. It’s a weather-beaten, small plot of land at the foot of a mountain, but I’ll overcome any obstacle with my magic and gumption!
“We’re all set, Lady Elle!”
With Canna’s assurances that everything is set and ready to go, I slit open the back of my hand with a knife.
“Okay! Here we go! Be careful not to get teleportation sickness!” I warn and drip my blood onto the magic circle.
When a teleportation circle lights up, your vision is distorted and your brains feel like they’re being shaken up inside your skull.
I hear small cries and yelps from Canna and the others, but there’s nothing I can do to help them. I’ve heard you won’t get too sick if someone who’s skilled at teleportation spells sends you somewhere, but this spell is a huge undertaking that most people can’t pull off unless they’ve hit Grand Magi class or higher. In other words, I’m awesome just for using this god-class spell!
As I’m internally justifying myself to the screaming servants, my feet make contact with the ground and the quaking stops.
I open my eyes to the bright sunlight and a ginormous snowcapped mountain.
This is the frontier lands on the outskirts of Gaea. It’s quite a distance from where I lived in Analia, but close enough I can just barely check on things there with magic. Since this area is so far from central Gaea, I should be able to live here in secret without the local kingdom finding out as long as I don’t do anything conspicuous.
We’re gonna build a small village here…!
Heart set, I turn toward the plot of land and am dumbstruck.
“Huh…? Why are there so many shiny new buildings?”
Nothing was here when I last inspected the area. Now there are several dozen magnificent stone houses. I don’t sense any people.
“That’s our Lady Elle for you! You built us homes before we arrived!” one of the servants exclaims upon seeing all the brand-new buildings nicely organized into a village. The thing is, I, Elle, have no recollection of ever doing such a thing.
I head with the servants to the town with houses but no people, and I notice there’s a particularly large mansion at the back.
I activate the Presence Sense magic circle in my right eye.
Huh. I detect someone in that large mansion. More precisely, I detect a certain someone’s presence…
“Stay here, everyone! I have to check something first!” I tell the servants and take large strides toward the biggest mansion.
What in the magic backlash is he thinking?! What is he after, doing something like this…?!
I sweep into the mansion to the beat of my chaotic heart and throw open the doors to the room containing the person I’m seeking out.
“Hey! Julius! What’s the big idea?!” I storm in, yelling.
Julius lazily looks up from the book he was reading on a large, plush couch. “Finally here? You’re considerably late.”
His casualness ticks me off.
“Don’t you ‘You’re late’ me! I just asked what you’re playing at here! What is it?! Planning on arresting me for treason or the like after all?! Just so you know, if you do that, I’ll tell them that you rigged the castle defenses!”
“Arrest you? Why would I do such a thing?”
“Then what are you doing here?! I don’t want anything to do with Analia anymore! I’m going to live free here!”
“Yeah. That sounds good. Not a bad choice.”
“Right? Thanks for saying so— Why am I thanking you?! What are you even doing here, Julius?!”
“Need you ask? I plan to live here, too.”
“Huh?”
“Because your choice wasn’t half-bad,” Julius says with an approving smile.
No. No. No. No. This is bad. Won’t everything go to hell back home if Julius abandons Analia, too? I mean, he is the strongest of the Four Grand Magi and the commander of the Analian army.
Indifferent to my spiraling feelings, Julius places his book on the table, stands, and walks up to me.
“I look forward to the future with you, Elle. Let’s become good friends as fellow traitors.”
Hearing him say that and seeing his devious smile finally makes the situation clear to me.
“WHAT THE HEEEEEEEELLLLL?!” I belt out the most unbecoming of shouts for a proper young lady.
◆◆◆
I expressed my surprise over Julius’s unexpected decision with a string of unladylike curses before pulling myself together and sitting at the table nearest the door. Julius regally seats himself at the same table.
What in the world is he thinking? I can’t help worrying about the state of Analia with the top Grand Magi missing.
“Won’t all hell break loose if you leave Analia, Julius?” I ask. “What will happen to the war with Gaea?”
“Well, if it’s a matter of hell breaking loose or not, it most assuredly will. But it doesn’t matter now. On a more important note, I’m famished. Do you have anything to eat?”
“Oh, here are some cookies my chef Meide whipped up before leaving the manor, if you like.”
“Yes, thank you. I’ll gladly eat them,” Julius says, accepting the cookies I hold out and bringing one to his mouth with all the class of a ruler. He slowly chews the cookie, savoring each bite. “Fascinating. Your servants always prepare palatable food,” he observes, sounding quite satisfied. “There’s very little medicinal taste.”
“Right? Meide is amazing! Whatever she touches turns delicious. You certainly seem to have a sweet tooth, Julius. Never pinned you as the type.”
“I wouldn’t say I have a particular inclination toward sweets. It’s just that everything we have ever eaten always had a distinct bitterness to it, don’t you think? It appears I have a distaste for that.”
“Yeah, Analia’s food is disgusting because it’s bitter like medicine. Not that you can do much about it when Analia’s foodstuff is grown with magic potions. But it seems like you can whip up relatively tasty dishes with it if you know what you’re doing. Everyone at my manor is from Gaea, so they handle real ingredients like proper chefs.”
“I see,” he says, savoring the sweetness of the cookies—which isn’t what we should be doing right now!
“Can you stop being so easygoing for one second?! Two of the Four Grand Magi can’t disappear together! Are you serious about leaving Analia, Julius?!”
“I am. Hence my presence here.”
“You’re serious… Won’t Analia be doomed without you?!”
“Chaos will ensue with you gone. My leaving will merely amplify the chaos into greater chaos. Isn’t it unfair that it’s okay for you to leave but not me?”
No, well, when he puts it like that, it sounds unfair… I shoot him a spiteful glare and he just goes on enjoying the cookies with an air of innocence, unconcerned as unconcerned can be.
Some of the fight goes out of me with my sigh. I’m just as guilty of breaking away from Analia. It’s not my place to stop him.
“Whatever. I won’t make a fuss about you leaving Analia anymore. But why are you here?” I ask. “You even built houses… Those stone buildings were created with your magic, right?”
“I noticed the magic coming from your manor’s dungeon the day I escorted you home,” he openly shares. “I discovered the teleportation circle you drew there. Thus, I assumed you would use that circle to come here if you did indeed depart Analia. Don’t be bothered by the buildings I constructed in this area. They’re a present from me. You can call it a housewarming gift from a fellow resident.”
Why has he arbitrarily decided that we’re living here together? Did he feel lonely and discouraged abandoning his country by himself? I honestly felt that way until my servants’ decision to join me eased those concerns.
Learning that there’s a childish side to Julius has brought a smile to my face and silenced the irritation stirring in me. Thinking about it with a clear mind, I’m grateful Julius already prepared buildings that I had intended to build with magic myself.
But it’s despicable that he shrewdly picked the most luxurious mansion to be his home.
“All right. To be honest, the houses are a big help, and Analia’s got nothing to do with me anymore, so…I hope to be good neighbors with you. By the way, I can pick any house I want, right? You don’t mind if I make alterations, do you?” I ask, skipping excitedly over to the window. I take in the scenery beyond the glass.
Vast, infinite blue sky, majestic mountains, and stone houses dotting the empty, green plains. It’s kind of a strange sight when you look at it objectively. But I’m excited. This village will be my home.
All things considered, it’s annoying that the building where Julius will live is bigger than the rest. I wonder if he’ll let me alter another house to be even bigger with magic.
What area looks like it still has plenty of space around it…?
Julius quietly stands beside me while I’m sizing up the land.
“What are you talking about? This is your house, Elle.”
“What? This huge mansion is my house? Then where will you live, Julius?”
“Here as well.”
What is this former Grand Magi saying?
“Care to make sense of that for me?”
“What about it doesn’t make sense? You and I are engaged. Engaged couples live together.”
“Huh? Engaged? Our betrothal was selected by the Demon Lord—no, by the magic circle—as the optimal pairing. We’ve left Analia; our engagement is as good as null, right? Don’t feel obligated to go through with this when we’re both separating ourselves from Analia’s rules.”
It seems like Julius can’t shake the habit of blindly following the Demon Lord’s orders. I didn’t expect him to dutifully hold to our engagement. Our betrothal is null. Annulled.
But it looks like my announcement is a shock to him. This is the first I’ve seen surprise flash across his face as he covers his mouth with his hand.
“I see. Now that you mention it, that’s true. But…”
Seeing Julius painfully absorb what I said feels good for some reason. He can be pretty aloof most of the time, is a far better sorcerer than me, and tends to annoy me, but it seems like a piece of him can’t get past the mentality that everything the Demon Lord says is “absolute!”—a mindset that has been burned into us both from growing up in Analia.
I pat him on the arm to say “Cheer up.” I understand how he feels. The Demon Lord was our everything until a few days ago. I totally get it’s not easy to accept what the Demon Lord really is. Well, at least I’ve mostly gotten over it! Yes indeedy, I’ve successfully moved on.
“You saw how I reacted, but even I’ve decided to live free for myself now. I would at least like to choose my own husband! You should do the same, Julius! We’re finally free. It’s a waste to be bound to someone you don’t love,” I explain.
Julius is looking at me with the same surprised face.
“I see. Is that the way it works? …I think I get the picture. You may choose anywhere to live. I personally wouldn’t mind living here together.”
“Really? Okay, then I pick that house!” I exclaim, pointing out the window at one of the stone buildings Julius built. It’s at the edge of the village, so there’s plenty of space to make additions.
“I’ll alter that house with my magic! I’m gonna make it even bigger and better than your mansion! See you later, Julius! I look forward to being neighbors! Thanks for the house!” I skip out of the room. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of Julius’s face as dissatisfaction washes over it.
What’s he making that face for? Is he displeased? Seems more like depressed to me. Is he that upset about me building a bigger mansion than his?
Whatever. Not my problem. My house comes first! What kind of alterations should I make? I want to design the interior, too! I’m getting excited now!
◆◆◆
TWO days after moving to the new land, gardener Sam approached me with a suggestion. “Would you mind if I turned the northeastern plains into a field?”
Sam is originally a farmer from Gaea. He’s someone I kidnapped like the rest, and he says that the quality of the soil around the village is suitable for planting fields. It’s a timely suggestion, since I just finished making additions to my house and carrying in my things and was starting to think that we need to secure more food for the future.
I brought a decent amount of supplies capable of getting us by for a while, but it will run out eventually. We have to become self-sufficient if we’re going to rebuild our lives here.
I brought seeds and seedlings from Analia to make that happen. My plan to start anew in a different land is perfect!
Minds made up to cultivate a field, my former servants and I head outside together.
Following Sam’s advice, I find a good place to turn into a field, and blow a fine breeze into the ground with wind magic to soften and loosen up the soil. Now just gently raking a hoe through the ground will dig up the soil and easily pull out the weeds.
Everyone’s having fun sowing seeds in the prepared soil.
Watching them brings a sense of peace I haven’t felt before.
“You actually eat food dropped into dirt?” Julius asks in a scandalized whisper, ruining my peaceful mood as he watches everyone planting in the field. “Filthy!” is written all over his scrunched-up face.
Did he grow up in a box or what?
Then again, without my past life’s memories, I might’ve fainted when I saw the servants burying seeds in the ground.
All the crops in Analia are grown in magically enriched fluids. Pure and clean culture crops grown systematically, accurately, mechanically, and—quite literally—like magic. Truthfully, everything tastes horrible. When eaten raw, the food retains the bitter medicinal taste of the fluid it grew in.
But many of the people from Analia don’t care because they have never tasted good food before. Everyone lives by the idea that a meal only need supply them with the nutrients necessary for survival.
In my case, food made by my servants has given me a discriminating palate, making it so I can’t stand eating Analia’s food raw.
Even those vegetables from Analia that taste like chewing on aspirin come out pretty tasty when my chef Meide gets to work on them. But I was surprised to find the servants had secretly planted a field in a corner of my estate back in Analia because the food was unpalatable to people from Gaea.
Even now, they’re tilling and planting fields around the village we just moved into with the skill and speed of veteran farmers.
“Hehehe. You’ll get your first taste of something delicious by growing it in the ground, Julius,” I explain, in the best of moods spurred on by the thought of being able to eat good food again. Julius doesn’t look convinced, though.
“But it’s coming from the dirt? Insects and other nasty things will crawl all over it.”
Sheltered boy. Though I understand how he feels. I’m not resistant to the idea, thanks to my past memories. I’m actually more freaked out and scared that I’ve been eating food grown in some strange fluid I still don’t quite understand.
“Didn’t you say the food Meide made was delicious, Julius? Crops grown in the dirt are SUPER delicious even when eaten raw!”
“Super delicious, you say…?” Julius mutters, placing his right hand thoughtfully under his chin. “The food prepared by the servants at your manor was undeniably of good taste. I’ll overlook the unsanitary conditions for that reason. However, be sure to wash it thoroughly when you remove anything from the soil.”
It seems like I persuaded him, but calling it unsanitary conditions is quite the comment…
“We’ll obviously wash everything off with water!”
“Water isn’t enough. Use purifying magic potions—”
“Hell no!”
Precious fresh vegetables will become medicinal again! Julius is totally the kind of guy who would wash his rice with soap.
“Leave the crops to Mistress Elle here! I’ll show you what real vegetables look and taste like,” I say, confidently claiming responsibility for our food production. Julius nods reluctantly.
Like a child playing in a sandbox for the first time, Julius begins to play with the soil in the fields and imitates the servants, who are hard at work.
As for me, I’m making farming tools with magic at everyone’s request.
Julius, can’t you help me instead? You’re more useful here. I’m terrible at the more refined magic this kind of work requires, whereas Julius can pull it off in a blink of an eye.
Julius notices me resentfully eyeing him engaged in farm work and strolls over to me. Somebody’s enjoying himself.
“Elle, how long does it take for vegetables to mature in dirt? They reach maturation in about a week in the culture fluid. Is it about the same for dirt?” Julius asks, looking with pleasure upon the ground where he planted seeds with his own two hands.
It seems like he had a good time working the fields…
But this guy is so silly. There’s no way field crops will be ready for harvest in a week. Fluid crops are another story.
“It depends on the crop, but leafy vegetables that grow quickly will maybe be ready in about a month or two…,” I venture.
“That’s about what it takes,” Canna says, backing me up from where she’s been helping organize the tools I’ve created so far.
Julius expresses his surprise by opening his eyes so wide they might fall out. Silly guy. He’s become so expressive since coming here. Where did the frigid edge that earned him a reputation as the Prince of Glacial Beauty go?
“What are we going to do about food until it’s ready? You didn’t bring enough to last us that long, right?”
“We’re all good. This is a mountainside village. We can live off the natural blessings of the mountain. Also, while it’s a ways away, there’s a town in these parts that we can restock from.”
“…Live off the mountain? Are you suggesting we eat things that have fallen on the ground and have been beaten up by the elements…?” Julius nervously asks.
That’s exactly what we will be eating. Don’t look so grossed out, sheltered boy. Get used to it already.
“You don’t have to eat it if you don’t want to, Julius. But the food that grows on the mountain is really delicious!” I emphasize.
“It’s really delicious…? I see no alternative method—I must partake in this mountain food with you,” he says with a twinkle in his blue eyes.
This guy is quite the glutton.
Why do I get the feeling he’s imagining just fruit, nuts, and herbs as the only food we’ll be procuring from the mountain? He won’t pass out on me if I tell him we’re going to hunt boars and bears for meat, will he? He was practically raised in a greenhouse, like everyone else in Analia.
Just imagining the normally coldhearted Julius shaking as he whines “Hunting is barbaric! Scary!” gets me to look at him with a devious smirk.
“By the way, the mountain blessing is more than just fruits, nuts, and plants. We’re going to hunt boars and deer, too!”
Mwahahaha! Lemme see your face twist in fear, Julius!
I worded it in such a way to get that reaction out of him, but his expression remains unfazed.
“I see. We certainly will need to procure meat and other necessities from animals. I’ll join the hunters,” he offers, as if hunting is perfectly natural to him.
Huh. This isn’t the reaction I was hoping for!
“Do you actually understand what hunting is? To hunt means that you are going to do that! You know, killing and skinning boars and deer! Blood will spray everywhere! It’ll smell! Can you kill a living thing, Julius?”
“Hmm? Need you purposely confirm such a thing with me? You know who I am. I’m the former commander of the Demon Lord’s Army. I’m used to killing the living.”
Oh…right. I keep forgetting Julius was the strongest of the coldhearted and ruthless Four Grand Magi. He doesn’t want to eat food that’s fallen on the ground but is used to killing… What a detestable thing to grow accustomed to.
◆◆◆
AFTER that conversation, Julius said he wanted to try fruit from the wilderness about once every three minutes, so we took someone familiar with foraging with us up the mountain.
“These are wild strawberries. They are sweet and terribly tasty,” explains old man Anzef as he picks a strawberry.
Anzef used to be a hunter before working at my manor, and he’s incredibly knowledgeable about the mountain’s bounty.
I pick wild strawberries on my knees alongside Anzef and place them in a wicker basket. Anzef is a genius at finding food in the wild, and when he spots a berry in the distance, he says, “There are some over there as well.” He’s awesome. Thanks to him, my basket is full of berries ranging in color from purple to black.
I’m looking at my full basket with satisfaction when long, slender fingers steal three wild strawberries from it.
Hey…! I follow the hand to its owner to find a certain someone tossing the strawberries in their mouth and chewing on them with the contentment of a cat batting a mouse.
“Anzef is right. Wild strawberries taste good.”
“Hey! Julius! Don’t eat them!”
“Why not? You just picked three more.”
“If you keep eating them every time I pick more, we’ll never have enough!”
“It’s not my fault. Blame the mountain for producing too many delicacies.”
He just blamed it on the mountain! How does this guy’s brain work?! This is the same person who hesitated over eating freshly picked wild strawberries when we first got here, exclaiming, “You can eat it without washing it first?!” Since his first fearful bite, he’s become an expert food snatcher.
I hide the basket behind me to prevent Julius from stealing another handful. No more for him! I’m gonna have Meide bake me a cake using lots of berries.
Julius’s shoulders droop when I put the basket out of his reach. Is he a child or what?
Undisturbed by our war of the strawberries, our guide Anzef crouches by a different food source and beckons us with a wave.
Julius and I head over to him and look at the mushrooms he’s pointing to.
“This is an edible mushroom. It has umami and makes good soup stock,” Anzef explains, picking the whitish mushroom from the root.
“Does it? Then I’ll lend you a hand,” Julius says, sounding self-important as he sets about helping Anzef pick mushrooms.
Julius has been strangely hyper and overly excited ever since we came to the mountain. He’s like a kid going on his first picnic hike.
“Anzef…how about this one? Can we eat it?” Julius asks, holding up a brown mushroom.
“Not that one.” Anzef shakes his head. “It’s poisonous.”
“Fascinating. I thought it looked like the edible mushroom you pointed out…”
“It’s a different type even though they look similar. The color of the umbrella-like caps is exactly the same, but see how this one has white warts on it? The ones with these warts are poisonous.”
“I see. There’s more to mushrooms than meets the eye,” Julius murmurs as he stares at the fungus.
I’m glad he seems to enjoy harvesting mushrooms just as much as berries.
It’s nearing evening by the time we return to the village after picking fox grapes, wild apples, watercress, herbs, and other edible foods growing on the mountain.
“You brought back a lot, Lady Elle.”
“Yep! All thanks to Anzef!”
“You’ve made this old man’s day by enjoying my lessons, Lady Elle,” Anzef says with a smile, making me extra happy.
“Hehe. I’m so glad everyone came with me. I couldn’t have done anything on my own.”
“We are all very happy to have accompanied you as well, Lady Elle. All of us have been betrayed by the people of Gaea before. We are apprehensive about living within Gaea’s borders again, but…also feel just as blessed to be back in our homeland,” Anzef says, turning his eyes toward the village.
“Everyone can keep on smiling because of you, Lady Elle,” he adds, the corners of his eyes softening as he smiles with fatherly affection.
In the direction he’s looking I see everyone having fun in the field and laughing without reserve. Someone notices us and waves.
“Lady Elle and Lord Julius have returned!” Anzef announces, waving in return.
Being welcomed back with open arms and broad smiles brings a smile to my face as well.
“You’re loved, Elle,” Julius says at my side.
I’m loved…?
Those two words feel so peculiar to me that I return Julius’s gaze. I’ve lived till now thinking I was loved by the Demon Lord. It was reassuring and brought happiness to think that someone cared for me.
But the Demon Lord isn’t real. All that exists is a magic circle trying to turn us into the perfect puppets. So I started to think that I’ve never been loved by anyone in my life…
But was I? I’m loved? By someone else? There have been people who really see me and care about me.
Not some unknown, far away symbol holding the title of Demon Lord, but people who are always with me and smiling at me.
Is this true joy?
I want to live happily together with my favorite people from now on. This is different from just obeying some unknown entity’s orders without questioning them. This is different from making myself believe that happiness is what the Demon Lord says will make me happy.
This is happiness I chose and found for myself. Maybe this is what it means to be free. I want to continue having this freedom!
“I like everyone, too. I love them…,” I unconsciously say out loud.
Julius’s eyes go round.
Ugh. I think I just blurted out something pretty high on the embarrassing scale. I quickly look away from him.
And then I feel his hand on my head. Startled by how gently he’s stroking my hair, I look up at his face again. He’s turned that beautiful smile capable of bewitching anyone who sees his handsome face in my direction.
“Elle, I also—”
“Lady Elle! Welcome back!”
“C-Canna! I’m home.”
Whatever Julius was trying to say to me was buried under Canna’s loud voice as she ran over to us with a smile.
What was he trying to say…? I want to ask him to repeat himself, but an overly excited Canna won’t stop talking my ear off.
“Listen to this, Lady Elle! We thought up this village’s name while you were away!”
“The village’s name?”
“Yes. It’s inconvenient without a name. So everyone got together and voted on what we thought was best. Oh, but have you already decided on a name for the village, Lady Elle?”
“Nope, I haven’t. What did you guys choose?”
“We had a lot of good suggestions, but all of the villagers decided we wanted to go with something we all love and adore the most…”
Something everyone loves and adores the most? Like meat? They all love meat, so…Meaty Village? Ugh, that’s wrong on so many levels. No thanks.
“We ended up wanting it to be Elle Village most. What do you think, my lady?”
Heh. Elle Village, is it? What a relief, it’s not Meaty Village. Or Village of Meat. Or Meatland. I see, I see. Elle— What?
“Elle?! That’s me!” I cry.
“Yes, it is! The village is named after our favorite person!”
“What?! You sure my name is good enough? I mean, this village belongs to everyone…”
“I don’t see any problems with it. If you have to live somewhere, it’s most comfortable if it’s named after something you’re attached to,” Julius says, throwing in his support, so I try to give it a chance in my spinning head.
Elle Village—it’s extra embarrassing because everyone said it’s the name of the person they love and adore most. It makes me all shy. But…but…I’m so happy.
“It’s the name we came up with. Do you not like it?” chef Meide asks.
Everyone has gathered around me without my realizing it.
Aah, I knew it. I love everyone here.
What do I have to hesitate about? I take a deep breath.
“Very well. I’ll grant this village the honor of my noble name! From today on, this will be Elle Village! I, the almighty Elle, shall protect this village from whatever may come! That’s right! For I am Elle Falmil Gracedane. I love Elle Village the most! And Elle Village loves me most!” I declare in a loud and clear voice.
Everyone cheers around me.
And that is how Elle Village was established on the outskirts of the Kingdom of Gaea.