-Leon's POV-

And... There she goes.

The girl who took me in as her sibling disappeared into the horizon along with the silhouette of the carriage. I expelled a sigh and turned around, but I was met by a curious pair of grey eyes.

What does he want? This fucking bastard... he really has the talent to tick off a half-demon such as me. I rarely cared about other beings but this guy... He's different than the rest.

No... could I even call him different? Rather than abnormal, he's exuding an air which bear no resemblance with anything. He smelled unlike anything I've encountered in the past, and I loathed it. Very much so.

What's so different between me and him?

Why is big sis attracted by him?

What is so good about this unknown bastard?

I would have liked to kill him since he seemed to be big sister's biggest suffering, yet, I realized I'm no match to him. At least for now. I snorted and walked past him, and I heard series of footsteps.

"........."

I went into the school premise, going to the backyard through the main building, and...

"The fuck are you three doing!?" I yelled at the dumbasses who were behind me.

The expressionless mage, the idiot, and the shorty are lining there! Why!? Is this a military drill? Since when did I become the captain of a squad!!?

"I want to have a date with you!" The idiot announced.

"I would like to ask some things to you but I wish to change the location first." The Mage answered.

"E-eh, err...! Lily is... Lily has no class today, so... she wants to be with Onii-chan..." The shorty lowered her head.

For the love of Blaze, women! Just how selfish and wicked are they!? Is this a punishment?! Have the gods taken notice of my evil deeds and decided to push big sister's responsibilities to me?!

While it might be wrong, big sister has always been the one who kept these three on tight leashes. If left alone, they would wander and create havoc! Not to mention two must have a certain someone dead.

What about the Mage? She has something to ask so I dare say she intended to interrogate me before killing me, and the Idiot... well, she's an idiot. Nothing more or less.

Come to think of it, the Idiot and the Shorty is incomparably weaker than big sister and the Mage. They gave off a different scent I am unhappy about and they have the bearing of a genius acting as a fool. Though the Idiot has always been an Idiot so she's a thoroughly genuine prodigy of an idiot.

"You thought of something rude, right!?" The idiot shouted.

Well, maybe I am but I don't care. I have no time with these humans and I don't give a damn about them. Honestly, I wanted to find some demons to kill but I'm quite certain it would spell my end if seen by these three.

Walking into the hallway, my footstep resounded with the three humans'. But once I was feeling fed up about it, my arm was yanked and sensed a heavenly degree of softness. I glanced only to find the Mage wrapping my right arm with her arms and pushing it into her bountiful chests.

"Don't ignore me. Come with me." The Mage said.

What in Blaze's name...?! What is she trying to do!? Seduction? A plan to assassinate me by using her charms? I admit she has larger sizes than big sister but I have no interest in flirting! This is a trap!!

"...hm? You..."

I sniffed something strange, and it held... nostalgic impression. The scent came from the Mage but why? Why does it feel I know her scent...? Isn’t this…

"Ah, no fair...! I want to hold his hand too, Alia!!" The Idiot shouted.

"Wh... eh... Err...! Uuh...! Alia Onee-chan... So... so aggressive...!" The Shorty stuttered with flushed cheeks.

Fuck. I'm going to hate how things will proceed... and how is this Mage so strong!? I couldn't even resist her and when I stopped struggling, the Idiot grabbed my other arm and snuggled it around her unfortunate washboard.

"I have them! Stop looking at them with those eyes, Leon...!!"

Actually, it's rougher than the Mage's. I wanted to retort her but I felt a tug coming from my back. I turned around only to find the Shorty nearly in a burst of tears clinging to me like a small animal.

"...what... what the fuck...!? You three, get off me!!"

"I won't until you listen to me."

"Leeeoonnn...! Let's go out today! Let's have a date!!"

"Onii-chan...!"

Shit! Women are fucking troublesome!! This is why I hate associating with them (big sister excluded) and I hate humans!

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I sneezed and felt a small shiver across my shoulders. What the heck...?

"Is something wrong, Lady Charlotte?" Elliot asked.

"Uh... the air seems to have grown chilly." I hugged my arms and glanced up.

The sky was darkening with stars growing visible in the eastern horizon. Mr. Rudolph said that the path still went on so maybe we're not going to arrive in a day.

"Hm... I admit traveling at night will bring dangers. Do you mind if we camp out for today, ladies?"

I shook my head and Seina snorted. She didn't say anything so I guess it is fine... right? Looks like she's still scared by the prince's cold demeanor.

And so the carriage stopped. Father's aide went down and displayed his skills in making a camp but I didn't expect it to have remarkable designs. As expected, the royalty must have lived with ease despite the vastness of the Continent.

Still... with the slavers from before being taken care of by Mr. Rudolph, the travel was surprisingly full of obstacles. Monsters, accidents, or anything that could be classified as obstructions for ordinary carriages happened often. Had I not felt something was wrong then we would have to walk all the way to the meeting place.

...I wonder if the spiky haired highschool boy is around. Somehow, I started to think that fate has something against me.

"Well, can't mull over it forever." I shrugged as I quickly chopped deer's flesh into chewable pieces and skewered them with a wooden stick.

"Mi-Milady...?! What are you...!?"

Oh, it's Mr. Rudolph. I told him I wanted to cook dinner tonight but he shook his head.

"Please leave such work to me! Milady should not dirty her hands..."

...such a person showing fearful expression made my impression of the butler lesser than before.

"Aren't we all the same? We are not in our kingdom, much less nobles in this place. It's better for us to work together."

"Even so..."

I smiled wryly, then I heard nearing footstep. Seina popped out from inside the tent and she looked restless.

"...hm? Is something wrong, your highness?" I asked.

She choked upon seeing me. Batting away her gaze, she resembled a kid caught doing pranks. How surprising, I thought she's just a snob...

"Err... Nothing!" She yelled and fled back into the tent.

...I exchanged looks with Mr. Rudolph and we shrugged in wonder. What a weird elf, just like Melinda. As soon as I finished cooking with the help of Mr. Rudolph, I called out to Elliot who was keeping watch of the carriage in addition of Seina.

Surrounding a campfire, skewered deer meats were being grilled and I smelled the aroma which nearly let loose a growl of the beast in my stomach. I have to hold back as I am in the presence of two great figures, but I have no chance to restraint my hunger as I eyed the grilled deer intensely.

"Hm... It does smell good." Elliot muttered with a light smile. "To be honest, I never thought traveling outside could be this exciting."

Oh? So his highness isn't an outdoor person?

"Pardon my rudeness, but... Your highness, is this by any chance your first time camping out?"

The boy chuckled. "Indeed, I rarely ventured so far away from the kingdom. The last time I walked outside of the palace, it was due to a subjugation mission given out by my father. I think it was when I was still nine and the place was only a day travel from the kingdom."

Subjugation... Ha, haa... that sounds tough. I nodded down and glanced to Seina, but she scoffed.

"Elves are all children of nature, the gentle mother Gaia's descendants. We have no reason to build structures by altering nature, and never will we ever dare to."

...so she's an environmentalist. I see... I noted this information into my mind and I proceeded to throw a dry wood into the campfire. Hazes scattered, then the flame grew brighter while warming my skin.

"What about you, Lady Charlotte? You look like you have a fair share of life in the wilderness." Elliot muttered and earned me a point of interest.

Well... I think he's just trying to be nice while it could last. I don't even know where exactly we're going to and there's nothing worse than being stuck with a couple of greenhorns in battles. Also an old man.

I hugged my knees and stared at the campfire.

"If you could call it as a travel, then I might have been walking back and forth around Death's door for five years."

My words created confusion above their heads. I coughed once and decided to tell a short version of my past until now. About Fei, about Ivory, about Takeru and Leon... as well as the recent spring incident.

Once I was done, though...

"My deepest apology... to think Milady has suffered for so long yet unrewarded for all this time... This old man has been acting as a fool, truly."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Eek! I don't need an old man doing a dogeza in front of me!! Since when did your refined aura crumbled into smithereens, Rudolph-san!!

"...So that was it... You have gone through... so many hardships, Lady Charlotte."

"Even your highness too!?"

I looked to Seina for help but the elven princess is... at the verge of tearing up a whole bucket with snots and red cheeks. The moment she noticed me, she turned away and shouted.

"I-Im not crying! I don't sympathize you at all...!!"

...ah. She's being dishonest. What a stereotype, this girl is... I breathed out in resignation after a while, but then I felt a piercing gaze coming from Elliot.

"Setting that aside, Lady Charlotte... Are... are you alright...?"

"I am fine. At the very least, I do not intend to participate in this Quest when I am at the worst condition."

Since my illness has a quirk whenever people I am close to are around, I think it's related to my mood or mental condition. The last time the relapse happened, my mind was also in a messy state so I could draw up the conclusion fairly easy.

That's why... All I need is to stay calm and collected. Uhm, it's very hard for me but I think I can do it. At least it's not impossible.

"Setting aside my story, would you mind to share a slice of your life stories, your Majesty?"

The boy's smile froze for an instant before thawing back to normal. I and Seina were gazing at him with the look full of interests and he said.

"Well... I have nothing much to boast for, ladies. It might be boring..."

Not at all! Seina yelled and I also shook my head. The young prince let out a wry laugh and he told us about his life.

Elliot was born as the only son in the royal family where his siblings were twin princesses younger than him. His father's remarriage budded a rather strained bond with his father when he was only at five, especially considering how his mother, the late queen, died from assassination only a month before the second marriage. He lived a disciplined life as the son of the Warrior King but he rarely stepped out from the kingdom.

Whenever he could leave, it was always when he was tasked to display his strength or to give him experiences in battlefields. Still, he thought of it as a good experience. He fought strong opponents, resolving problems in the frontiers, socializing with the people directly and living under the same roof with his allies. He even showed a bright smile while recounting his life!

But... his expression clouded once he told me about the raid five years ago and a civil war happening ten years earlier.

"It was horrible. So many tribes tried to overtake the kingdom and many died in vain without being granted with solace. There was no time to mourn and we had to fight our former allies who had turned into undead while fending off the warlords."

...ah. I also heard it. A Warlord declared his region's independence right in the smack of the Territory and reinforced his army with many mercenaries, rogues and slaves. He even gathered capable tactician as well as elites including a few Royal Knight from Raumia. In fact, many from Raumia joined the Warlord and the flames of war razed two-third of Human Territory for three years.

The only question was how and why a Warlord suddenly gained so much power unnoticeably. I tried to ask father through mails yet I never got clear responses too.

"Though I was not born in the same era, I had seen and heard the tales left behind by those who are scarred by the tragedy." Elliot said.

...ah. Unlike Fei and Leon, this person seemed to be blessed. He even loved the kingdom which was his home. Somehow, I imagined Elliot as a patriotic person and I almost mistaken him as a charismatic leader had he not lowered his head further.

Before long, his grief turned into complaints and I heard various things like corruptions or daylight slavery in the workplace of every noble he came across with. Yet he couldn't do anything with his image being the crown prince and that he must have the assistance of all nobles rooting for his coronation.

"...unlike me, you are a strong one, Lady Charlotte." Elliot interjected.

What? I looked in bewilderment at the boy but he was shading a fake smile.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Exactly as I said. You are a very strong one, Lady Charlotte." He repeated.

...Is he mocking me? I frowned at him and spat out.

"Your praise is wasted for me. I am not strong at all. Not for the least bit."

"What are you saying...? Lady Charlotte, you are a strong person."

"No I am not!"

I half-shouted and it surprised everyone. Oh, damn...! Why do I have to lose my bearing now of all time!? But, once I looked around, everyone was perplexed by me. Even Seina was stunned.

The first one to recover from daze was Elliot. He stood up and with a solemn gaze, told me.

"Lady Charlotte, though I meant no harm... Why are you against accepting the truth...?"

Wh... Why are you staring at me like that?

"I know that you have seen many... horrors. But that does not mean you can degrade yourself like this..."

Me? Degrade myself? I stared hard at Elliot and he proceeded on.

"Lady Charlotte, you are strong. If not, you would have never been able to live for this long, nor would you be able to choose the path to bloodshed."

"......what do you know about me?"

"I know nothing. But you should know that there are people who are grateful for your help. Regardless of their intention, you tried to extend your hand. Even I am most grateful for you cremated the knights..."

I turned away and left the three. Saying "Enough. I have no interest in hearing your pretty words any longer, your highness."

I threatened, thus shutting up the three. I knew that I was being very rude but I couldn't take it anymore. My appetite vanished and I retreated into the tent to rest.

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-Seina's POV-

What's with her...? How disgusting. I could not believe she's the daughter of the Heroes who ended the Warlord Rebellion.

"Don't make that expression, Seina. It is unbecoming." Elliot said.

What? Why does he always know what I am thinking? As expected of my chosen vassal. He has the proper bearing for one such as me, but I don't like how he pronounced his words.

"Why? She's nothing but a bumpkin raised in the edge of Territory. Even with her experiences, she's nothing like us."

"And that's why your kingdom wanted to form alliance with us. Your arrogance has brought you down, no?"

I... became silent at that. Because it was true. Because what this human said was...

"The elves live in harmony with nature, but ever since you annexed the Dwarven tribes, your race has forgotten how to live under constant fear."

And because of that... he paused. I bit my lips and clenched my hands in anger. I was about to lash out when a sigh was let out.

"A country is indeed precious, but... if confronted by dangers, one would rather save themselves if not those close to them. Only the almighty could find a way to save everything, and… she is one who wanders within the line separating two choices."

"......I know that. That's why I don't like it. She's just hesitating and acting as if her life has no meaning until she achieved what she wanted."

I hate fools, but I hate indecisive fools the most. Doubting their selves, loathing their incompetence while being unable to perceive their true values due to mad pessimism. We elves could see people's true nature as easily as blinking our eyes but never have I once seen a severe case like this.

Really. She's truly a fool. Even though the answer is so obvious—

"Saying is easier than doing. Seina, restraint yourself." Elliot muttered.

"Ugh...! You sure do have some bravery to order your mistress around...!" I hissed.

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Night grew older with the stars shining above, and under the blanket, I told myself.

I'm not strong at all. If I were strong, then I would have been able to prevent Ivory . I would have been able to help Leon in his personal revenge. I would have been able to save more students, and...

If I were strong, I would have been able to ease Fei's suffering.

I clasped my hands and clenched them. I cursed myself for being weak, and I wanted to be stronger.

I want to save myself from this chain. I want to help my family. I want to protect everyone dear to me. I want him to acknowledge me.

In this world, I could never be the strongest. In this life. I could never hope to be what I wanted to be. I knew that there are so many things I could have, but I have to cross the river Styx if I truly wanted them. I have to struggle for it... and never have I ever succeeded.

I don't want to end like this. I don't want to stay like this till I die. I hate the current me because I could do nothing other than being a burden for everyone. For him.

That's why... that's why...

"...I have to be stronger. No matter what..."