The castle was exactly like she remembered it, but it somehow felt unfamiliar. The servants and guards inside kept an eye on her as she passed by, just like they used to, but their gazes felt colder. The hallway to the guest room where Greta was staying was the same length as ever, but seemed to lengthen as she prepared to go down.

She was finally here to see Greta, but now what? What would she say? Was there anything they had to talk about? All Elise really needed was to confirm that she was still alive. She had already done that. What was the point in staying longer?

It was too late to back out now though. She was in the belly of the beast with Jonas guiding her deeper in. They reached the stone door, and Jonas knocked. There was no response. Elise was relieved. Greta must have been asleep. She could just go inside and take a look and make sure she was alright, then leave. No need to talk to her.

After a few seconds, the door opened, its hinges moving way too silently for how much it must have weighed. In the doorway, Elise saw another familiar face, this time Kristofer, Greta’s son.

“Oh, Elise,” he said softly. “Just a moment. I’ll wake her up for you.”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to,” said Elise quickly. “I just wanted to see if she was doing alright.”

“She’ll be happy to see you,” said Kristofer as he turned away. “She’s been talking about you every day.”

Elise wanted to protest more, but what else was there to say? Kristofer had shut down her only legitimate excuse. She couldn’t just tell him that she didn’t want to see her. She went all the way there for that express purpose. She couldn’t back out now.

Still, she couldn’t bring herself to go into the room. She heard the rustling of sheets and Kristofer’s low voice telling Greta to get up, but those sounds were soon overtaken by the sound of her own heart.

She couldn’t do this. She was just like Emilia, manipulating everyone to achieve her own goals. How could she face Greta anymore? What would she even say?

“Elise?” said Jonas next to her. “Are you going in?”

“Y-yes,” she said.

It was too late to turn around. She came all this way. What would they say if she just turned around and backed out now?

She flew into the room, slowly, and saw Kristofer helping his mother sit up. Greta looked like she had lost 20 pounds, and she wasn’t exactly plump before then. She wasn’t quite skeletal, but compared to how she looked just a couple months before, it was a serious downgrade.

“Brat,” she said. “What are you doing all the way over there? Come here.”

Her voice was weaker than it used to be, but it was still full of life and energy, and her eyes were just as sharp as ever. Elise reluctantly flew toward her, doing her best to avoid further eye contact.

“Sit,” said Greta, patting the bed next to her.

Elise obeyed without a word, and waited for her to continue.

“What’s wrong, brat?”

“N-nothing.”

“Don’t give me that. You did it! You accomplished your goal! The war is over! So why are you moping?”

“I-it’s just-”

Elise didn’t know what to say. How could she explain what she was feeling? Maybe it would be best to just rip off the bandaid right then. She could tell Greta the truth, and then probably get yelled out of the room. At least it would be over then. Yes, that was the best plan. She took a deep breath and resolved herself.

“T-teacher?”

“What is it? Spit it out already!”

“I’ve been manipulating you,” said Elise. “From the first time we met, I’ve been using my skills to try to get on your good side. And I did it to everyone else too. I’ve been using those skills as much as possible to make people like me.”

She braced herself for the old woman’s reaction, prepared for a verbal, or even physical attack, but it never came.

“Is that all?” asked Greta.

“Wh-what?”

“Is that all? You’re moping around because of that? I already knew all that!”

“You did?”

“Brat, I’ve been working for the royal family for a century and a half. You think you’re the first to try that on me? Do you know how many people have approached me over the years doing the exact same thing?”

“Then why didn’t you say anything?”

“What was there to say?”

“Why didn’t you tell me to stop?”

“Why would I? You were just trying to survive, and it wasn’t hurting anyone.”

“But I manipulated everyone!”

“You didn’t manipulate anyone,” said Greta. “Those skills of yours can’t change how people feel. They only break down superficial barriers. You think I kept teaching you because you manipulated me into doing so? Ha! I taught you because it was fun.”

Elise didn’t know how to respond. Greta said she knew already and didn’t care, but was that the whole truth? Maybe she was aware of it, but didn’t know the full extent. Or maybe she was overestimating her ability to not be affected by it. Elise was using {Charm} on literally everyone. She convinced people who despised fey to tolerate or even like her just by spamming their minds with artificial appeal.

“I don’t think you understand,” she said.

“Oh, I think I do,” said Greta. “You used your little skills so much that you’re worrying that every relationship you formed was fake.”

“H-how did you-?”

“I’ve been there before,” continued Greta. “I didn’t get to be the royal historian just because I was good at history. I had a few tricks of my own I used to get where I am today. And you know what? I don’t regret it one bit.

“Those skills of yours only affect superficial perception, but those aren’t real relationships. Relationships are built on time. You can never really know someone until you’ve spent a lot of time with them, and when you’ve spent that much time with them, those skills have no effect. Even without those skills, what people appear to be is never what they really are.

“You’re worried that our relationship is fake because you used something like {Charm} to make yourself look cuter? So what? You’re not Elise the cute white rabbit. You’re not the benevolent Rune of Fate. You’re not the Great Fey, as the drow would say.

“You’re a rabbit who can’t make eye contact when she’s embarrassed. You’re a rabbit who makes things up when she doesn’t know the real answer. You’re a rabbit who pretends she likes the dried mushrooms I give her so she doesn’t hurt my feelings. You’re a rabbit who lies about her dreams to keep others from worrying about her. You're a rabbit who would risk her life to stop a war between people she barely knows. You are Elise. You are a brat, and one of my best students, and no amount of skills can change that.”

“T-Teacher, I-”

“Now come here, you brat.”

Greta held her arms out and Elise jumped into them, letting the old woman hold her and stroke her head as she wept. They stayed in that position for a quarter of an hour as Elise released all her feelings in an ugly, cathartic mess of an embrace. When she pulled away, Kristofer was gone. He must have left at some point while she was crying, but she was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn’t even notice.

“Feeling better?” asked Greta.

“Y-yes,” she said.

She didn’t quite feel good yet, but she felt much better than she had before. The guilt wasn’t gone, and neither was the fear that she would become like Emilia, but those worries had been pushed to the back of her mind. Maybe she did use a bit of manipulation, but it was nothing like what Emilia did. Emilia was an unempathetic psychopath, and Elise was not. Emilia manipulated to kill, while Elise did it to save.

Maybe what she had done was still wrong. She still didn’t feel great about directly interfering with other people’s minds and changing their perceptions. That was something she’d have to think about more in the future. For now though, she was at least comfortable that she wasn’t alone.

“Thank you, Teacher,” said Elise.

“Hmph,” said Greta. “This is my job. I’m supposed to teach you these things. Brat.”

Though she pretended not to care, Elise could see the corner of her mouth curl upward a bit. She jumped back into the old woman’s arms for a more peaceful embrace for a minute or so before pulling away again.

“How are you feeling, Teacher,” she asked.

“Fine,” said Greta. “I’m dying, but I’m fine.”

“H-how long?”

“The healer says at most 3 weeks.”

“Is that all?”

“All?” she asked. “That’s more than enough. The runt says we’ll be reaching the surface in 2 weeks. I’ll have a whole week of sunlight and stars before I go.”

Elise contemplated silently. Her divine power channeling was still on cooldown for another 4 weeks. If Greta was still alive then, maybe she could extend her remaining time, but she knew that wouldn’t be happening. As much as Greta was trying to act normal, Elise could tell she wasn’t doing well. Her heart was weak, and though she was trying to hide it, the longer they talked, the raspier her breathing got. Those few minutes they had spent together were already taking a toll on her.

“The stars are very beautiful,” said Elise. “I can’t wait for you to be able to see them.”

“Neither can I,” said Greta.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

“W-well, I need to get going,” said Elise. “Hallbjorn said he wanted to see me too.”

“You’re leaving me for that runt?”

“No, I just-!”

“I’m just kidding. Go. I know you have important things to talk about.”

Elise leaned in toward Greta one last time. “I’ll see you later, Teacher.”

“I said go, brat,” said Greta, smiling.

Hallbjorn was waiting for her in his office. It looked just like she remembered it, with its massive stone desk covered with a seemingly random assortment of papers and books. Hallbjorn was sitting in a chair behind it looking gaunt, and there was a healer standing beside him looking very concerned.

“Elise, you’re here,” he said.

His voice was hoarse, and very weak compared to usual.

“Are you okay?” asked Elise. “You look like you should be resting.”

“Bah, I don’t need rest,” he said. “The most important event since we came underground just occurred. I can’t be laz- lazing around-”

He broke down into a coughing fit, and the healer behind him dashed in to infuse him with some mana. After a few seconds, he sat back up straight.

“Excuse me,” he said. “So, how are things on the drow side?”

“...Peaceful,” she said. “You really should be resting.”

“Yes, he should,” said the healer. “But he insists.”

“I’m not going to lay in bed while the rest of the kingdom is busy,” he said. “So stop bringing it up.”

“Fine,” said Elise. “Greta says you’ll finish the tunnel in two weeks.”

“Ten days,” said Hallbjorn proudly. “As soon as we get the mess by the wall cleaned up, we’ll be going all in on the excavation. We were saving resources by keeping our mining operations running at a half capacity and the smiths working on weapons and armor as much as tools, but with the treaty, we can now afford to neglect those and focus our efforts on the tunnel.”

“That’s great!” said Elise. “What do you plan on doing once you get there?”

“Well, first we need to find a place to live,” said Hallbjorn. “After that, I don’t know. We don’t know what has happened on the surface since we fled down here. It’s not really something we can plan for.”

“I learned some,” said Elise. “I… I went out once, and learned a fair amount about the history. And I know what happened to the enslaved dwarves in Albionia.”

“You do? What happened?”

“They were freed. They have their own land now. I saw it myself.”

“Oh,” said Hallbjorn. “Well… Hmm… Well, we’ll just have to figure it out once we get there. Whatever the case, we won’t be stuck down here any longer. And in the worst case scenario, we have enough resources to negotiate for some land for ourselves.”

“That’s good,” said Elise.

An awkward silence followed.

“Was there anything in particular that you needed me for?” she asked.

“Right,” he said. “Yes. Two things. First, I believe you promised me an explanation. That… man gave me one, but I want to hear it from your mouth.”

“Of course,” said Elise.

She launched into an explanation of everything that had happened since they last saw each other, starting from the moment they parted. She didn’t intend to say as much as she did, but at some point, she found herself gushing, and she couldn’t stop. It was almost cathartic, finally being able to tell someone about everything that had happened to her and all her fears and concerns. She was half-worried that she was annoying him by talking so long, but his face stayed earnest and interested until the very end.

The only things that she left out were her dreams of Earth, and her time at Ostra, though she talked about the rest of what she had seen outside the caves.

“...and now I’m here,” she finished.

“I see,” he said. “You’ve been thr- through-”

He broke down into another coughing fit that the healer hastened to end.

“You’ve been through a lot,” he said when he could breathe again. “So it’s true that the whole war was started by that one fey?”

“Yes,” confirmed Elise.

“Then for all these years… It was all for nothing? So many people died just for one person to level up?”

A heavy silence fell over the room. Elise knew Hallbjorn was thinking about his wife, and it would be better not to interrupt him.

“Well,” said Hallbjorn. “It’s all over now, thanks to you. We owe you a great debt.”

“I didn’t really do all that much.”

“If you ever need anything, I’ll do anything in my power to get it for you,” he said, ignoring her.

“You don’t have to go that far.”

“Also, We’re working to prepare a reward for you,” he said.

“I said-” started Elise.

“I don’t care,” said Hallbjorn. “We’re rewarding you for your efforts. I have a few things in mind, but I still need to narrow it down a bit. And when I do pick it out, I’d like to invite you to a celebration feast so I can present it to you.”

“A celebration feast?”

“Yes. Right now, the mood isn’t right, but in a few days, once the city is cleaned up and it’s really sunk in that we’ll be leaving, everyone will be in high spirits. I’m preparing to hold a celebration feast for the entire city, and I’d like you to be there, so I can officially announce you as the main contributor to ending this war.”

“I don’t know,” said Elise. “I wasn’t really the main contributor. Freddy did the work actually stopping the war.”

“You defeated the evil fey, right?”

“I helped defeat her.”

“You said you healed that other drow that helped you. What if you weren’t there? That drow would be dead, I would be poisoned, and the war would still be going on. That fey would still be alive, and the demon wouldn’t have stepped in.

“You could have left us and went on your way, but you didn’t. You stayed, and spent a month and a half with the gho- with the drow, working to prevent the war. If you didn’t do that… well at the very least, I wouldn’t be here.

“So, we will be rewarding you, and we will be announcing your contributions to the city. I’d like for you to be at the feast and accept the reward there, but if you’re not comfortable with that, it’s fine. However, if you try to leave without taking it, I will send my men out into the world to search for you until they find you and force it on you if they have to.”

“...Fine,” she said. “I’ll accept the reward.”

“Wonderful!”

“Just don’t go over the top. Also, I can’t really carry anything.”

“We’ll think of something,” said Hallbjorn with a grin. “And the feast?”

“I’ll think about it,” she said.

“I hope to see you there. In the meantime, come back anytime. I heard about the incident at the gate with Ben. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again. You’ll be a guest of honor.”

“Thank you.”

“Well, if you don’t have anything else for me, that’s all I had for you,” he said. “I don’t mean to kick you out, but I have work to get to.”

Behind him, the healer frowned.

“...Hallbjorn?” said Elise

“Yes?”

“I used {Charm} on you,” she said. “A lot. Back when I was living here, I wanted to make sure you didn’t start to dislike me, so I used {Charm} to make myself look better.”

Hallbjorn waited for a few seconds before responding.

“Is that it?” he asked.

“Yes,” said Elise. “I just felt bad about it. I want to apologize”

“I have a skill that nullifies the effects of those kinds of skills,” he said, waving his hand dismissively. “Kings need to be able to think for themselves without being swayed by those around them. Most of the Council has that skill as well. If you were doing it to them, it wouldn’t have worked there either.”

“Really?”

“Yes. And even if I didn’t have that skill, I would understand. You were doing what you needed to survive. I would do the same in your position. I do do the same sometimes during Council meetings when it gets too rowdy. I have a few mental skills myself.”

Contrary to Greta’s words, Hallbjorn’s didn’t feel comforting at all, and if anything, they made her feel worse. He didn’t care because her skills didn’t work, but was that just hindsight talking? Would he feel differently if he didn’t have whatever skill it was that blocked her {Charm}?

Her doubts started to creep back in as she questioned whether there was any acceptable level of mental manipulation. Even if, as Greta said, she was only affecting superficial perceptions, where did those superficial perceptions end and true feelings begin? At what point should she stop? Should she start at all?

Before she got too deep in her own head, she realized that she still hadn’t responded to Hallbjorn yet.

“Thank you,” she said. “I’ll get going now.”

“Come back any time,” he said.

“Thank you. Goodbye.”

“‘Bye.”

On her way back to the drow, she ran into Sindri again on his way back from delivering the antidote. He hadn’t stuck around for very long, and understandably so, but he mentioned that the drow now had the antidote and knew how to use it.

She confirmed this when she returned to find the drow crowded around the exposed root where the poison had been administered while one of the elders applied the antidote. She watched long enough to see it applied, then flew off to be on her own. She had never really enjoyed crowds or parties much, and right then more than ever, she wanted to be alone.

She didn’t have a particular destination in mind, but she somehow wound up out in the forest next to the stream in the same place where Emilia had taught her how to use {Suggest}. There were no cows there this time, but if she looked closely, she could still see some bloodstained rocks hidden in the grass.

What now? She thought

Her whole species revolved around manipulation. Her most effective skill was {Suggest}. {Magic Missile} was strong, but with just that, she would only be a quarter as effective of a hunter, if that. And did it really matter if she was using manipulative skills while hunting? She was reluctant to do anything that could have her following in Emilia’s footsteps, but they were just animals.

Also, she really only acted in self defense before. She wasn’t like Emilia, manipulating two entire cultures into warring for centuries, just so she could gain experience. The more she thought about it, the more confident she became that she would never reach that point. There was no way she could possibly justify doing anything like that. So was that danger even real?

Sure, she had done a little bit of manipulation to get the dwarves to like her, but that was all self-defense. They wanted to kill her. She wasn’t good at negotiating, so she didn’t really have a choice. She wouldn’t have done it if she thought she would be fine without it. And even though she did do it, as Greta had said, what she did wasn’t even that bad. {Charm} barely did anything. It was like putting on makeup, or wearing a nice dress. It wasn’t like she was forcing people to obey her.

That’s a slippery slope, she told herself.

Slippery slope or not, it’s true, she replied

She took a deep breath, and a mental step backward to look at her dilemma from a different angle. She was so focused on the bad aspects of manipulation, that she wasn’t even considering the positive sides.

If used correctly, her manipulative skills could actually be much better for resolving conflicts than any direct strength would be. She thought back to the first time she tried to leave Dokkalfheimr and used {Suggest} to distract her escorts. What if, instead of {Suggest}, she just had another direct attack spell? Would she have been able to get out at all? It would have been much more difficult to do so without hurting anyone. With {Suggest}, it was simple and bloodless.

And if she followed that route all the way to its end, she could end up similar to Freddy. His contracts were powerful. He was only able to create the treaty between the dwarves and drow because he himself was powerful as well and the threat of his wrath was enough to guarantee good behavior, but could she do something similar? She managed to trick Emilia into agreeing to a deal with {Fey Bargaining}. Emilia could break out because she was much higher level, but what about once Elise evolved more? She could stop fights, or maybe even resolve wars with a few sentences.

Besides, she had already locked herself into a manipulation-based evolutionary line. Maybe she could choose something different at her next evolution, but what if it didn’t offer anything non-manipulative? The System had said that evolutions were offered based on actions taken by the user, and she hadn’t done much direct fighting. Just manipulation and ambush hunting.

More importantly, what if the evolutionary line that took her toward a human form was also a manipulation-based one? She wouldn’t really have a choice there. And it wasn’t the end of the world, was it? Even if she was locked into being a manipulator, she could still avoid becoming like Emilia. It was impossible to say what the future would hold, but she could prevent the worst just by being conscientious and not doing what Emilia did.

She still had a few doubts, but she waved them away. Did she really trust herself that little? The fact that she was worried about hurting others at all meant she was already better than Emilia, who had no empathy at all.

I can do it, she thought. I can be better than her.

It wasn’t a very high bar, but as soon as she thought those words, her mood brightened. She would be better than Emilia. She wouldn’t manipulate people for personal gain. Not in any way that would harm them at least. She would never stoop to that level.

She couldn’t say she was completely confident in her decision, but the fact that she had made a decision at all made it feel like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. It hadn’t even been that long since she started worrying about it, but it felt like it had been ages, and now that it was gone, she felt light as a feather.

As if in answer to her newfound resolve, she heard the sound of dozens of creatures approaching from the nearby forest. She wiggled the stumps where her back legs used to be in anticipation. It was time to level up.