I am not sure how this happened. 

“Marie?”

I mean, it wasn’t on purpose. I might have done that subconsciously since I am pretty sure at this point I am a closet sadist, and I am not sure what this tells about Alan, who stayed by my side all this time without asking questions.

“Marie?”

Ah, what should I do? It must a misunderstanding of such amazing proportions I might not be able to solve it by myself. I wonder if Percival-sama will lend me a hand as well. It’s not like it’s only my problem: there is almost the half of village’s population involved.

“Marie? What does this bunch of guys want from you?”

Damn you, dense idiot.

…

It was another normal day.

After the chimera incident, Percival-san ordered us to have some rest, so I went home to bathe and have a good sleep. Obviously, it was not the case for Alan, who was too preoccupied gushing over how awesome the battle was to the village folk.

As always, he entered my home as it was his own. And – as always – he had the worst timing possible, breaching my house when I was about to finish bathing. In fact, he somehow found in which room I was exactly and entered without hesitation into my bathroom with me inside, naked.

In novels, it would be an ideal moment for a heroine to scream embarrassed and hit him with the hardest thing in close vicinity. However, I wasn’t a heroine, so I simply asked what he wanted with me. His reaction, on the other hand, was surprising: Alan’s face turned red instantly.

Huh? So even he knows what shame is? Who knew…

“M-Marie! I was ordered to say that gramps is waiting for you to discuss the recent developments tomorrow morning!”

He retreated at the speed of sound after saying this message. Oh my, Alan was quite a maiden at heart this whole time, even though I cannot remember even a single occurrence when he showed at least some degree of consideration before.

And yet… I missed another flag! Even Alan can be sneaky sometimes.

[Next Day]

I dressed into more comfortable clothes instead of mage robes I always wear, so I started to attract everyone’s gazes on my way to Percival-san. Was it that strange to see me without a hat and messy robes?

It is a depressing thought, so I brushed it off before entering Percival-san’s house. There, in the living room I saw Percival-san and Wyrm-san playing chess, while discussing something between themselves. And, judging by Wyrm-san’s expression, it wasn’t something pleasant.

“Ah, here you are, Marie-chan. Come closer”

I obeyed his words and sat on comfortable sofa, waiting for my orders. At this point, I concluded that something was out of place.

“Percival-sama…”

“Yes?”

“We will be talking about the recent influx of encounters with demonic monsters, correct?”

I heard Wyrm-san’s gruff voice to my right.

“Oh? And why do you think so, girlie?”

“It’s quite simple. I may not be an active adventurer or a member of local militia, but Alan and I routinely encounter various adversaries as a part of our – ah – escapades, so I could see a recent trend”

“There are more and more of demonic monsters that ever before”

“Correct, Percival-sama. Usually, we were dealing with goblins, local fauna or occasional packs of bandits, but now it looks like a large-scale invasion. Ignoring the recent chimera awakening, there were already four encounters with skeleton warriors and three appearances of headless riders. It is not normal”

Wyrm-san nodded his head.

“I share this sentiment. I can see the signs; they are everywhere. After all, orcs are more attuned to this land that humans, so we can feel the sudden increase of demonic mana in the air”

“Is that so, Wyrm-san?”

“Yep. It’s a trait all orcs share. It’s what our shamanic believes and magic are based upon, so I can honestly say that no other race beyond orcs ever developed such a unique way of spellcasting. We are in tune with the mother-nature, as opposed to your barbaric suppression”

“Honestly, it is all fine, but is it superior in any way to the orthodox magic all nations practice”

“Yeah. Ours is better in any way, but an orc shaman needs to understand the notion of mana, hear the voice of nature, and this takes a lot of talent, so not anyone can practice”

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

“So, can I…”

“No, you are not allowed in our tribe. I have nothing against you personally, but I don’t want my people to go extinct in one generation, girlie. No hard feeling, but this is my duty as the current chief”

Huh? Why would I make the Ladon Tribe extinct with my presence only? It’s not like I am a carrier of some kind of strange disease. I mean, numerous human merchants were allowed, but not me. Is this because I am an elf?

I guess, it’s a cultural thing I should ask Warm-kun later. It’s so good to have a friend like him, who always has interesting topics to talk about like agriculture or importance of education. He also has such nice smile when listening to me. I am sure he is popular among orcs.

“Ignoring the last statement, I have something important to tell. Say, Marie-chan, do you know about the previous war against the demon lord?”

“Umm, I do. It happened ninety years ago, when the third demon lord appeared to cause discord, assembling numerous armies of monsters and demons. He was defeated by the united armies of humans, dwarfs, beastmen and elves alike with the hero spearheading the assault. Is that correct?”

“Brilliant. Ah, but do you know who exactly the hero was?”

“No, there are no records about the hero’s race, gender or name since nowadays they and their accomplishments are used as a symbol of unity among all races”

“Heh, you know your info, girlie. I always hated the way your nobles lie through the teeth”

“Is the hero’s identity of any importance, Percival-sama?”

“Why yes, Marie-chan. You see, previous hero was my late father, Bors Muller, and, as the hero’s descendant, I have some political weight, and so does Alan”

Alan? I can’t picture him as a part of the senate. I think that he would accept any idea no matter how crazy it would be. I can already imagine this:

You know, why do we even need army, if we are not at war with any country? Let’s abolish it, so we will have more funds to give more food to poor people!

“As I said, I am a respected figure not only for my heritage, but also for my exploits during the recent war with our neighbors. Thus, I believe that our king will believe my words, and both you and Alan will act as my representatives. I hope you will be a good influence on his, Marie-chan”

Ah, so Percival-sama believes in my abilities. What a great day! To be recognized by such a splendid person like Percival-sama is a great praise. I am not even against babysitting Alan along the way.

“You should go home and begin preparations: your road to the capital will take almost two weeks, so take all you consider necessary. I already contacted Merlin, so he will be waiting you two in the capital”

After this, I excused myself calmly, but I was nearly simmering with happiness on the inside. However, when I was on my way home, I met Warm on the street. He asked me if something good happened, so I told him the whole story.

Somehow, he wasn’t pleased at all. Hey, you can be more supportive for your friend. However, he said something incredibly 

outrageous instead.

“I want to be with you forever! Marry me! I love you!”

Instantly, a mob of guys appeared around me, surrounding me from all sides and cutting my escape path. I don’t know the reason but they started to quarrel.

“Hey, newcomer, you got some guts to confess like this to our angel!”

“Yeah, don’t think you have an advantage because you are so exotic and muscular!”

“Pretty boys like you should just die!”

Wow, people even started to scream, but a loud clap somehow silenced them all. Nice save, Warm-kun. I may even forgive your joke from before…

“Marie-chan will be leaving soon with the bastard, so it’s our last chance to confess our feeling, you lot! Thus, we will do so in civilized manner, and Marie-chan will make her choice one by one. Is this fine with you?”

I heard murmurs and agreements among the crowd that soon turned into a very long queue.

“So, what is your answer, Marie-chan?”

U-u-u… What should I do? I don’t want to cause a misunderstanding, but I don’t want to have start relationships with someone either, man or woman! Alan, save me somehow!

“Marie? What does this bunch of guys want from you?”

Damn you, dense idiot.