Without even realizing it, I’m no longer in that stable.
I’m in a different place… it’s an elegant room, almost royal. There are many unfamiliar flowers, and I notice tree branches in the windows.
Outside the window, I see a beautiful forest, something I’ve never seen before.
I hear a baby crying and look behind me.
A beautiful elf, very similar to my patient, is holding the baby in her arms. The scene was lovely: an elegant elf with her newborn child surrounded by her family.
The midwife who handed the baby to her mother says that it’s a girl and that she was born as a high elf, which is a symbol of power and status among elves.
The midwife asks the mother what name she will give her newborn, and she replies:
“Raiza Leiva.”
At this point, I realize that the baby is my patient and I think aloud:
“Wow, she has a surname, so she was indeed a noble… but how did that high elf girl end up with me?”
An elf dressed as a priest approaches the baby with a strange orb. I hear him say that it’s the Orb of Destiny.
He takes the baby’s hand, makes a cut, and places his bloodied hand on the orb, which shows a series of characters I don’t understand because they’re in elvish.
The elves look horrified, the mother cries, and the elf who seems to be the father falls to his knees. The midwife says loudly:
“By the Goddess, if we were human, this would be a blessing, but for a Hero to be born among the elves is a true misfortune.
We know that the Demon King’s dominion has been expanding, although we also know that he won’t reach our lands… But what will happen when the Demon King learns that the hero is an elf?”
The mother shouted, “Take her away, this girl could be the reason our lands are destroyed!”
The baby’s father responds:
“Dear, calm down. At this moment, the high elves must remain calm. You’re right that we must remove her from the forest, but we must not kill her. If the races hostile to the Demon King’s expansion learn that we killed their hero, it could be worse than the Demon King himself…
Give me the child, I know what to do.”
The elf took the child delicately with the love of a father carrying his child.
He carefully bathed and dressed her in delicate baby clothes.
Once the child was ready, the high elf met with two elven soldiers who looked very strong.
The three elves dressed in black and began an undercover journey.
Since I am linked to the baby’s memories, I had to accompany them as a spectator.
...
The group of elves left the elven forest through a dense fog. They passed through several human villages until they reached the capital of the Dredprism kingdom…
An empire that saw the birth of the greatest and most powerful knights of the continent. The elves entered the capital city incognito until they reached the royal palace. I was amazed at how the elves bypassed the palace security to reach the royal chambers.
The King of Dredprism, holding a glass of wine in one hand and a book in the other, looked at the three hooded elves entering his royal chambers and calmly exclaimed:
“Assassins have infiltrated the palace. I always wanted to die in battle, but well, I’m a bit old now. Just avoid damaging my face; I’d like to have an open-casket funeral.”
The high elf interrupted him: “You’re mistaken, I am King of the Elves Kykoo Leiva and I’ve come to negotiate with you.” The king drank from his glass of wine, placed another glass on his nightstand, and poured the elf a glass of wine.
The two kings drank the fine wine in the royal room. Then the King of Dredprism noticed the bulge in the elf’s chest. He looked at the baby sleeping peacefully and said:
“Ah, being a king and a father… you seem to be a very versatile man.”
The elf responded to the emperor:
“Let’s skip the formalities, I want to get to the point.
This baby is my daughter. Normally, it would be a reason for celebration, but the Orb of Destiny prophesied that she would be the hero who would defeat the Demon King, and we are not interested in his war of good and evil.
We only want to live our lives in peace, and with this baby, that would be impossible, so I brought her to you… A man who loves to show off on the battlefield so that this girl can be his hero on the condition that you keep us out of this.
You’ll say she’s a half-elf, that an elf came out of the forest and had some fun with a girl in your lands, and that’s it!
You keep us out of the conflict. This conversation never happened, just say that one of your spies did the job.”
The king remained with his eyes wide open, trying to process the elf’s words. He took the bottle he had just begun to drink, corked it, and handed it to the elf.
“I don’t want to drink anymore. Take the bottle and give me the child. We don’t need to keep talking, am I wrong?” The elf took the bottle and handed over his daughter. Before leaving, he kissed the baby’s forehead.
I’m not sure if there was love in the elf’s actions, but as soon as he handed over the baby, he disappeared with his companions. The baby didn’t cry, but I noticed a tear running down her cheek. It wasn’t the baby’s tear; I think it was the elf’s, which must have fallen when he kissed her forehead…
I suppose there was some love in his actions, or at least I want to believe that.
The King of Dredprism exclaimed loudly: “I forgot to ask the baby’s name… what should I call her?”
Then the baby started to try to speak, but it was just babbling. The king noticed that on her baby clothes was written in human language Raiza Leiva.
“So, your name is Raiza Leiva… Well, you can’t have the surname Leiva; that might tie you to the other elves, but I will respect the name Raiza, for your father wrote it.”
The king had the smile of a grandfather holding a grandchild, though the king wasn’t that old, he gave the impression of being a good grandfather.
...
I continued delving into Raiza’s memories…
The king kept his promise. The elves were not mentioned, and he cared for the child like a little noble, with a subtle difference...
As soon as the child could speak, she was taken to the headquarters of the Dredprism kingdom. It was a building that oscillated between elegance and practicality, with physical training fields, classrooms teaching military strategy, and exercise halls.
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Not only that...
There were also furnished rooms so that the most important soldiers could live comfortably while working at the headquarters.
In one of those rooms within the headquarters, which seemed like a small apartment, young Raiza lived at the tender age of 5.
The king appointed two guardians for Raiza, Brigadier General Albert Corddian and his sister, military strategist Christina Corddian.
The king put her in their care so that Raiza would have them as parental figures. Since they were siblings, the family environment would be good for the child, and she could be educated to become the best soldier in the Dredprism Empire.
...
The king was a clever man, and his plan succeeded.
Raiza graduated as an imperial soldier at the age of 15 with honors and as the best of her class. She already stood out for being apparently a half-elf, but she was well accepted by her peers for her strength, as in the Dredprism Empire they greatly admired strong soldiers, and Raiza was the strongest of her class.
“Mama, Papa, did you see? I was the golden student of my generation!” Raiza exclaimed with a goofy smile on her face, looking at the Corddian siblings during the military academy graduation ceremony.
Christina looked very proud of the child she had raised, and her brother Albert was crying so hard that he could barely be understood. The love in that family was evident...
I wonder if this is what the elven king wanted for his daughter.
...
After the graduation, the Corddian family was having a pleasant family dinner to celebrate Raiza, but the atmosphere was somewhat more serious. Christina was calm, but Albert was restless.
Raiza asked, “Mom, Dad, is something wrong? I notice that Dad seems a bit uneasy.” Christina replied, “Raiza, it’s time for us to have ‘the talk’.”
Raiza, with a goofy smile, said,
“If it’s because I’m adopted, I’ve noticed. It’s not just that Mom and Dad are siblings, but that I’m an elf, haha. Or is it about my period? It’s still a bit more time away. As I said, I’m an elf, and well, it will take more time, haha.”
Raiza tried to lighten the mood, but it didn’t work…
Christina took over the conversation with a very serious face,
“Raiza, there is something we need to talk about. It’s about your destiny. Do you remember that there’s talk of a hero being born in this city according to prophecy? I know you’ve heard rumors, since it was announced that the hero was in our country, but their identity wasn’t revealed. That was to protect them… to protect you.”
Raiza, with a serious look, said, “Mom, are you telling me that I’m that hero?”
Christina was speechless, and Albert said, “Daughter, it’s not easy to say, but we want you to know that everything we’ve done was to protect you. We wanted you to have a normal childhood and well…”. Albert was interrupted when Raiza shouted...
“I’m the Hero! It’s no joke, haha! No wonder those idiots could never stand up to me. I’m the strongest, I’m the hero, haha.”
Christina slammed the table, her face showing great anger, and shouted,
“This is not a game, it’s very serious. Many people will want to take your life, both demons and humans. You will not have a day of peace. Even if you defeat the Demon King, many people might fear you for that very reason. Do you understand how messed up that is?”
Christina had tears in her eyes; she spoke not as a soldier but as a mother. I don’t think this was in the plans of the King of Dredprism, but interrupting my thoughts, Raiza said...
“Yes, I thought about that, but the Demon King could destroy the Dredprism kingdom, and in case of a conflict, we as soldiers would go to the front lines in the battlefield.
I don’t want to see my comrades, my friends, or you, my parents, die. If, once the Demon King is defeated, my destiny is uncertain… I would be happy knowing that everyone can have happy lives.”
Raiza had tears in her eyes and, along with her parents, cried. It was a beautiful and sad scene… even more so knowing Raiza’s fate.
Then I understood why the king entrusted Raiza to the Corddian siblings… so they would be her reason to fight. That seemingly sweet old man had a rather Machiavellian side...
…
After five years of training, Raiza, at the age of 20, was officially named the hero of humanity, supported by the Kingdom of Dredprism and the Church of the Holy Word, in an elegant royal audience presided over by the King of Dredprism.
Raiza was kneeling before the King, who exclaimed:
“Raiza Corddian, you have grown into a lovely young lady and, even more importantly, into a powerful warrior. Intelligence, strength, dexterity, you have excelled in every test, and if that does not prove you are the hero of humanity… I asked the Church of the Holy Word to bring the Orb of Destiny.
Place your blood on the orb and let the whole country see your destiny.”
Raiza, with a knife, cut her hand and placed her blood on the orb, revealing that she was indeed the hero of humanity.
Everyone in the audience was shocked; they were witnessing the hero who would defeat the Demon King, and the Kingdom of Dredprism stood out as the leading power opposing the demonic army’s advance.
…
The Demon King’s fighting style is very curious. Most of the deaths in this war were not at the hands of demons, but due to the cold…
We live in a place called the Yamatory continent, a vast area currently divided into ten countries, with Dredprism being the greatest power, located right in the center of the continent. The conflict is in the north of the continent, which has always been a very cold place… but with the arrival of the demonic army, it worsened.
The demonic army does not specifically aim to kill humans; they only gain territory as they go, and this territory becomes more… much colder, a cold that literally kills.
The northern countries tried to fight against the demonic army, but the demons, with a strategy of attrition, prolonged the fight by making the cold climate put humans in a tough spot, causing citizens to migrate to the central countries, allowing the demons, slowly but surely, to gain territory in the north.
If the Kingdom of Dredprism recovers that territory, it would gain power and influence. Therefore, using Raiza, the king planned how to win this war.
…
The king prepared an army with infantry soldiers and mages specialized in fire magic to combat the cold of the north, announcing it while also bestowing upon Raiza the title of hero of Dredprism. The king said all this while giving his speech:
“I also announce that my dear son, the fifth of my children, will join Raiza in fighting the demons. It is my pleasure to present to you the second prince and the youngest priest in the history of the Church of the Holy Word, Kang Dredprism.”
I felt my throat dry and a chill run down my spine… I couldn’t believe what my eyes were seeing… My shock was so great that I lost my concentration and my spell broke, bringing me back to reality.
…
…
…
It was like waking up from a nightmare. Vince was trying to calm me; I think he noticed my surprise. I still couldn’t believe everything I had seen…
Then the elf, Raiza, got up from the table and said, “Your name is Ester, right? Thank you for healing my body and mind.”
I couldn’t understand anything and said, “Wait, how do you know who I am and what I’ve done?”
Raiza replied, “What does it matter to you, you silly man? I’m hungry. Vince, give me something to eat; maybe with a full stomach, I could talk more.”
I couldn’t believe the audacity of that elf.
Reluctantly, Vince and I started cooking breakfast. It had taken me all night to heal this stupid elf.
It was already past noon, and on top of that, I had to cook breakfast for her…
What the hell?
How is it that she was the hero and my teacher is a prince?
What the hell is going on?
Raiza, noticing my anger, said, “Hey, you’re burning the eggs, shorty.” With an incredulous face, I said, “Could you shut up, you ungrateful pig?”
I served the fried eggs with toasted bread and some sheep meat and cheese for the three of us to eat. Although the elf is very rude, I noticed her table manners. Even a simple farmer’s breakfast like this, she ate with great elegance.
It’s a shame that’s the only good thing I have to say about her…
Raiza said, “I know you have many questions, but be patient, I still have a lot to think about. First, we should meet with your friends. We’ve already bothered the retired priest enough.”
Vince exclaimed, “Take your time; I don’t mind helping Kang’s friends.”
Raiza frowned and said, “Friends…? Well, I suppose so. Anyway, we’ve finished eating, let’s go.”
I thanked Vince and went to the inn to see my companions.
…
I was thinking about how to explain everything I discovered last night to my companions, but I only found an empty room; only my small backpack with my personal belongings was there. Still, fear took hold of me when I didn’t find my companions. I grabbed my things and hurried out searching for any clue about their whereabouts…
I spoke with the innkeeper and asked about my companions. The innkeeper told me with a laugh:
“Your friends left very early. They said they were in a hurry to leave before shorty arrived.”
Still shocked, I asked if they left me a message or anything, and amid laughter, the innkeeper responded: “They didn’t leave any message for you, shorty”…
So he found out about that incident… Why does everyone remember what happened last night?
Raiza, noticing my sadness, glared at the innkeeper with murderous intent, and he, scared, said to me:
“I think I heard them say that it was the governor who ordered a mission or something like that. You might want to talk to the man and ask him for the details.” The man took advantage of that exchange to hide behind a door and leave me alone with that elf…
I really felt too depressed to do that; I just wanted to think about something else.
I looked at Raiza and noticed that the slave clothes didn’t suit her, and well, I had my personal savings, so I said: “Raiza, let’s go get some clothes.”
…
Well, that’s life. One day you’re with your best friends on fun adventures, then you realize that the woman you love has a short dick and it’s bigger than yours.
You’re the butt of your friends’ jokes and they abandon you.
But, well, let’s look on the bright side…
I’m the personal servant of an elf who doesn’t respect me…
Leaving the inn, I went with Raiza to a second-hand clothing store. She bought a one-piece dress, very flexible and good for combat. Raiza insisted on also getting fighting gear. I wasn’t in the mood for adventures and she basically dragged me to the blacksmith.
She bought cheap second-hand gear, but I noticed she had a good eye for weapons.
With Raiza now equipped for combat, she headed straight to the adventurers’ guild and used my license to take an escort mission to a country to the west. It’s a long and dangerous journey, but with my silver adventurer rank 2, it was easy to accept.
The pay seemed good, but I don’t think this elf accepted the mission for the money.
“Hey, Raiza, I don’t know if you realize, but I don’t feel like being an escort. My companions abandoned me, my heart is broken, and I want to die… could you not involve me in your business?”
Raiza ignored me and made me board the merchant caravan as the rank 2 silver adventurer and Raiza as my assistant and apprentice, though under the false name of Victoria.
I suppose she has her reasons for hiding her identity, and I couldn’t care less.
…
The first day in the caravan was normal; there were ten escorts including me, not counting Raiza.
On the second day, we encountered a pack of wild wolves. Unlike normal wolves, these could grow up to three meters tall, and their teeth were sharper than an iron sword…
Previously, there were no such monsters in these lands, but when the Demon King froze the northern countries, not only humans but also monsters fled, making the central countries more dangerous and overpopulated.
For this reason, merchant caravans require so much escort.
Raiza stretched out her single arm, took her second-hand sword, and said, “I know you’re very busy being a pathetic man. Let Victoria handle this.”
The other escorts were preparing to fight, but before they knew it, the wolf pack had been defeated. Even the merchants were astonished as Raiza said:
“Master Ester, I did well. This Victoria is a good warrior. Oh, I almost forgot, merchants, I know that wild wolf pelts are highly valued in the lands near the north. I didn’t damage their skins, and if you give me about two hours, I can skin these beasts for you.”
The merchants were amazed by Raiza’s strength and cunning. She certainly can pretend to be a sweet girl when it suits her; she’s a very intimidating woman.
Anyway, this is my life now, and among all the thoughts running through my mind is the question:
“How are my companions?”
They’re probably having a great time without someone as useless as me…
At that very moment, some adventurers were badly injured in front of a powerful fire dragon…
It was Eduard and Amelia; there was no trace of Yubel, and the two of them were about to be devoured by that great and dangerous dragon… redder than the flames of hell itself…