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“I didn’t expect Anne to make it to the finals.”

“What? You didn’t believe in my skills, El?”

With only the final match left for Anne, I was wandering around with my friends to cheer her on and ease the tension.

Of course, the great Anne wouldn’t be nervous, so it was just a casual hangout.

In the midst of this, I unknowingly muttered something that seemed to irritate Anne, who pouted and grumbled.

“No, that’s not it…”

It wasn’t that I didn’t think Anne could make it to the finals or even win; it was just that I wouldn’t utter such words.

I tried to come up with an excuse, but since I had blurted it out without thinking, I was flustered and at a loss for words.

How could I tell her the truth—that in my dream, she didn’t even make it past the quarter-finals? Of course, that was still a notable achievement considering the number of students at the Academy, but it was a far cry from winning or even being a runner-up.

In any case, it was all thanks to that damned dream. If only it were truly a prophetic dream! Instead, it’s just a vague manifestation of my subconscious, making things confusing for me.

“If the draw had been bad, it could have been risky. I saw that participant from the Magic Department who got eliminated in the quarter-finals, and I think if Anne faced them, it could have been really dangerous.”

It was an excuse I came up with quickly, but it wasn’t wrong. After all, the opponents Anne faced were all students from the Swordsmanship Department, so there weren’t many variables compared to wizards.

“And it’s quite rare for a first-year to make it to the finals during the Celestial Festival. If Anne wins, it would definitely cause a stir.”

Anne, who had already made it to the finals, would be a talent that all the knight orders on the continent would be drooling over. However, the unfortunate news for them was that since Anne was the legitimate heir of her family, she wouldn’t join any other knight orders anyway.

“Hmm… I can’t argue with that, but it still bothers me! I don’t think I’ll calm down until you buy me a chocolate shake!”

Well, the conclusion was that I wanted something sweet.

“Sure, sure. Since our Anne made it to the finals, what’s a chocolate shake?”

It wasn’t a big deal, but still, for my slip of the tongue, I hurriedly replied. In any case, Anne wasn’t seriously mad; her expression had already relaxed.

“How about we throw a small celebration party if Anne wins? Not grand or anything, just a modest cake in our room.”

While searching for a shop to buy the chocolate shake Anne wanted, I threw the idea out to my friends.

“That sounds good! Let’s gather in the room after the closing ceremony on the last day of the festival. It’ll be our own closing celebration.”

“True… El will have to leave for the closing ceremony, so it’ll be good to finish up the festival on our own afterward.”

“Yeah, let’s do that then…”

Just as everyone’s ideas were coming together, I bumped shoulders with someone walking from the opposite direction.

The streets were crowded due to the festival, so it wasn’t unusual to bump into someone while walking. I instinctively bowed my head and apologized to the person I collided with.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m the one who’s sorry.”

As I raised my head to find out who it was, I recognized the voice from somewhere.

“Ah!”

“Oh, hello?”

The moment I saw her face, I immediately recalled the owner of the voice. It was hard not to recognize her; the pointed ears that caught my attention belonged to only one person I knew.

It seems I wasn’t the only one to recognize; upon seeing my face, she grinned in recognition.

“…Lindy.”

“Wow, wow! I never imagined I’d run into you here. Well, I did come to meet you, but I didn’t expect to bump into you like this.”

The elf holding half-eaten skewers of chicken was Lindy. Our first meeting was inside the carriage heading to Defel, and later, we met again at the general store in the underground of Defel city, where I went to retrieve the dead Guild Master’s pass.

But why on earth is this elf eating meat? Were those rumors that elves only eat fruits lies?

No, let’s calm down. This elf could just be a peculiar one. After all, she was a crazy psycho lesbian who had no qualms about hitting on a girl she didn’t know.

But…

“You came to meet me?”

“Yep! I came to enjoy the festival and also to talk about the thing I asked you!”

I couldn’t tell which was the primary reason, but at least it was clear she had some sort of purpose for coming to me.

“Um… El? Who is this?”

“Oh, sorry. She’s an acquaintance, but I didn’t expect to run into her here. Can I talk to her for a bit?”

Still, I couldn’t blurt out everything in front of my friends so I needed to excuse myself.

“If El says it’s okay… then we’ll head to the café first. We’ll be at Chocolate Lover, so take your time.”

“Hehe! If you take too long, I’m going to eat your share too!”

Though she seemed a bit hesitant, thankfully my friends quickly distanced themselves, leaving me with Lindy.

“It’s not something we can talk about here; let’s move to another spot.”

“Hehe, how about you follow me? I know a great place where we can avoid the crowd’s gaze.”

I nodded in response to her suggestion.

It might seem like an annoying demeanor, but since this girl knew I was an assassin disguised as a noble, it wasn’t a severe problem.

“Ah! Want this? I’ve only taken one bite so far.”

Just as I was about to step away to change locations, she reached out with one hand, presenting one of the chicken skewers she was holding.

Since both skewers showed signs of having been bitten into, it seemed she wasn’t holding two for a companion but was planning to eat both herself.

She was actually enjoying the festival, this girl.

“…Well then, I won’t refuse.”

It wouldn’t be polite to flat-out reject her, so I took the skewer from Lindy and took a bite. The sweet sauce and the savoriness of the skin blended beautifully; it was incredibly well-cooked chicken skewers.

Again, let me clarify that I accepted the chicken skewer purely as a matter of courtesy, and it was definitely not because I wanted to eat it.

“…Where did you buy this chicken skewer?”

Still, it was tasty. I had to remember to buy some for my friends on the way back.

*

“Come on in!”

The place we arrived at, following Lindy, was a high-end inn that ranked among the top three in the city. Lindy naturally proceeded up the stairs and opened the door to the best room.

She must have been using that room while staying in the city.

As someone who ran a general store in the underworld, she should have plenty of money, so the accommodation fee wouldn’t be a burden for her.

Besides, since it was an expensive room with proper soundproofing thanks to magic, I wouldn’t have to worry about our conversation leaking out. Though, I doubted anyone would be trying to eavesdrop anyway.

“What is it that you want to talk about with me?”

Instead of answering my question, Lindy brought over a bottle of wine and two glasses and set them on the table.

She swiftly uncorked the wine and filled the two empty glasses.

“Come on, there’s no rush. Let’s have a drink and chat slowly.”

While there was no need to rush, considering my friends were waiting, I quietly pushed the wine glass aside as a way to refuse. I wasn’t of drinking age, after all.

“Hmph, then I’ll drink alone.”

Putting on a visible act, she took a sip of wine and then bit into the chicken skewer she had put aside.

…Was that her snack with the wine?

“Now then, shall we get to the main subject?”

While she gulped down the wine as if she were drinking beer, Lindy leaned against the table and looked at me.

The oddball elf from earlier was nowhere to be found in her slightly smiling expression.

“What you asked for was surely the information on House Frentz, right, Lady Elysia?”

It seemed she easily pieced together that I was Elysia. After all, if she couldn’t figure that out, there would be no point in me asking her for information.

“So, if you’re here to find me, I take it you have satisfactory information?”

“Hehe, what do you think?”

She casually inquired but didn’t seem to be looking for a specific answer.

“First of all, House Frentz was destroyed eleven years ago due to the maids who wreaked havoc when the Demon King was partially resurrected. You know this, right?”

“…Yeah.”

Of course, I knew. It was a well-known fact, even though I wasn’t directly involved.

“And the only person who escaped by sheer luck was you, Elysia, right?”

I gestured with my chin for her to continue.

“Well, if we only take that into account, there’s nothing particularly wrong. Even if we look into it, all facts point to that. I think so too. But here’s the thing…”

She straightened her posture as if about to begin a serious conversation, looking at me with an intensity that was almost uncomfortable.

“I felt that what you were asking for wasn’t just this trivial information. To be honest, this kind of information is something a person like me wouldn’t bother to dig up; it’s something that could easily be obtained from a half-decent information broker in the back alleys.”

True enough, that might be the case. The now-destroyed Assassin Guild ‘Black Moon’ was known to manipulate information and spread rumors for assassination requests.

“The rumors surrounding you as the sole survivor seem too tight, so I decided to turn my attention back to eleven years ago, to the time when the demons invaded. It’s such a well-known fact that I didn’t even need to investigate it, but suddenly a question struck me.”

The corners of her lips lifted slightly.

“The demon invasion was definitely a threat. But… to say that it was enough for House Frentz to be completely wiped out is a stretch. After all, House Frentz was a relatively powerful family. So, while investigating there, I just happened to meet one of the survivors from that day. It’s no surprise that a little girl like her survived, is it?”

“She said some crazy people kidnapped House Frentz’s Lord’s son, your younger brother who was two years younger than you. Honestly, I didn’t believe it. Who would be crazy enough to kidnap a noble’s child? But thinking about it, the pieces of the puzzle started to fit together.”

“With the sudden disappearance of the Lord’s son, knights and soldiers scattered to search, and while that was happening, the demons attacked. The Lord and his family were killed in the empty house, and the suddenly headless army couldn’t even respond properly and was wiped out.”

“It’s a bit flimsy, but doesn’t it make some sense?”

Thud.

“Ugh…”

Is it because I heard too much? My head was spinning. As I pressed my temple with one hand, Lindy stopped talking and stared at me, so I raised my other hand, gesturing for her to continue.

“To complete the rough puzzle, I visited the Frentz territory again. It’s somewhat restored now, and they even set up a memorial hall at the place where the Lord’s mansion used to be. You didn’t know? I recommend visiting there sometime later since it’s the place where your parents sleep.”

She was rambling on and on, but the pain squeezing my head made it hard to focus. Still, Lindy didn’t seem to care about my predicament and kept on talking.

“Anyway, there’s a portrait of the Frentz family hanging right in the center of the memorial hall, and the moment I saw it, the last missing piece of the puzzle clicked into place. Aren’t you curious about what that piece is?”

She didn’t seem to expect an answer from me; she rummaged through her cloak and pulled something out.

“Here, this is the drawing I copied from the portrait. Do you want to take a look?”

She slid a piece of paper she placed on the table toward me. Even with my throbbing headache, I had to glance at the picture.

What I saw was indisputably a family portrait.

An adult male who seemed to be the father, an adult female who seemed to be the mother, and two children—a boy and a girl—standing in front of them.

In the portrait, there I was—‘Elysia Frentz’. The silver hair and red eyes. Even the smiling visage depicted in the portrait looked strikingly similar to my current self. It made sense that Yuli could mistake me for the real ‘Elysia’.

But…

What was that image of ‘me’ next to it? Why is ‘Third’ there?

“Who are you?”

Lindy asked me as I gazed at the picture.

 

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