CHAPTER 4 – QUESTIONABLE ENCOUNTER

A calming light, gleaming faintly in the distance, yet the darkness trailing closely behind.

I slowly made my way towards glow, but it never reached my grasp. And before long I was engulfed by the abyss, lifeless, dark and vast.

Blank figures surrounded me, yet none could hear my plea. I tried to call out but to no avail. I received no reply. I could only hear the whispers in the depths of the abyss cry...

'You’re not worth it. You’re not worth a damn... You can try but you won’t succeed, so why even bother? In the end, for everyone else, you’re nothing but fodder.'

With every word, the faint light faded away, as the darkness took its place. I tried to run, but there was no escape, the abyss held me tightly in its sweet embrace.

I want to go home...

——————————

I woke up.

I’m… crying?

What was that? A nightmare? It didn't feel like a regular nightmare. I would know, as I've had plenty of those before. I don’t understand...

The morning sun shone through the window and lit up the dusty room, painting glorious rays across the interior of the small inn room. I was still in the other world. It seems like I’ve really died after all. Still, I can't let melancholy take me over now...

There was a bucket of cold water next to my bed, but Seth was nowhere to be seen. Did he notice me having nightmares? Perhaps he had already gone down to have breakfast?

I quickly washed my teary face with the cold water and left the room.

I don’t want to experience anything like that again. It felt way too real to be just a dream. I still feel a bit dizzy too, but I guess I shouldn’t let that worry me too much.

Making my way down the stairs, I could hear Seth talking to someone. A woman? And one that sounds extremely cute too!? Go explode...

⌈Eh, you’re looking towards becoming adventurers? Aren’t you a little too pretty for that.⌋

Seth tried to get his game on.

⌈Oh! That’s the first time someone told me that! But I don’t really care about appearances. Nee~, are you going to become an adventurer too!?⌋

⌈Yeah! I’m going to go to the trials with a friend of mine. Actually, I’m pretty worried about him. The kiddo’s a bit of an oddball. I found him yesterday in the middle of the forest covered in numerous wounds and soaked in blood. This morning when I woke up, he was squirming in agony in his sleep.⌋

⌈Oh.. Nightmares, perhaps..?⌋

Another woman!?

Just who did I team up with? Casanova!? This time, the voice was much calmer. Actually, tired might be more accurate. Regardless, with her silky smooth voice, she sounds like a beauty. I wanted to look. Badly. But I guess I’ll just keep listening to the conversation for now..

⌈No, I don’t think it was ‘just nightmares’. It damn near looked like someone had cast a damn curse on the poor guy. I thought about waking him up, but I honestly didn’t know how to go about it.⌋

Oh.. Seth sounded pretty remorseful. He called me his friend again, too. Could it be that I found someone special? Or rather, someone special found me.. Perhaps I should put a little more trust in him? No.. I’ve only known him for a day after all…

⌈How awful! That’s really bad.. We should go wake him up! Maybe some breakfast would make him feel a little better!? The food in this inn is really good after all!⌋

The cute voice eagerly replied..

⌈Say, does this friend of yours happen to like eavesdropping..?⌋

⌈Huh? The kiddo? I don’t know about– Wait, what?⌋

As Seth realized what the calm voice had just asked him, I started sweating buckets. Fuck, this is bad.. I meant no harm of course! This wasn’t an invasion of privacy, we're at an inn after all. It’s a public place!

⌈Oh… It seems like I hit the nail on the head. I sensed a presence behind the staircase, and it became overwhelming at the mention of eavesdropping..⌋

The calm voice continued her onslaught..

A-Amazing!? Figuring out someone's position just like that? The girl with the beautiful voice really was something. The cute voiced girl seemed to be just as confused as I was though, going all ‘Eh?’ and ‘Huh?’.

⌈Hey, kiddo! If you’re really there, you should just come over here.⌋

⌈Nee~, why are you hiding!? Come here! I wanna see you too, weirdo!⌋

Weirdo… That struck me harder than any of the times Seth called me an idiot. I lost the last bit of confidence in myself I didn’t even know I had. Who would’ve thought a cute voice calling you names would hurt you this much. Mildly depressed, I made my way down the stairs.

I was awestruck. Sitting on the same table as Seth were two young women. The cute voice seemed to belong a dark elf. Apart from the obvious elven features such as unbelievable beauty and long, sharp ears, she had short and wavy, creamy blonde hair, that contrasted amazingly with her milky chocolate colored skin.

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She was wearing an outfit that seemed... a little too revealing!? It was a greenish garment that covered her ample breasts, wrapped around her sides, and converged around her hips to form a skirt like bottom part, conveniently leaving the midriff bare. She had visible abs, too. Though I'm a bit intimidated, I am also very much intrigued..

The calm, beautiful voice seemed to belong to a breathtaking beauty from the snow elf race. She seemed to have smaller ears than the dark elf. If the cute voiced elf was the chocolate, she would be the vanilla. Her skin was fair and light, almost translucent. Her eyes were bright turquoise, and wouldn’t pale in comparison to the highest grade gemstones.

She had long flowing platinum blonde hair with a short braid on the right side. Her eyelashes shared the tranquil pale color of her hair too. In comparison, her clothes were more modest than those of her darker counterpart. She wore a lightweight white tunic that was as elegant as it's wearer. It had string ties that ran along the sides, revealing her slim figure at a glance. To top it all off, she wore nigh white thigh high boots, leaving a slight portion of her thigh, between the boots and the tunic exposed, starkly contrasting with her otherwise shy appearance.

A happy go lucky dark elf dressed in revealing clothing living in blissful ignorance of her ‘merits’ and an elegant, calm snow elf whose appeal was fair and modest. Both beautiful enough to call living works of art.

Elves really were something… But there was a problem.

Just how am I, who never talks to other people, much less other girls, supposed to talk to girls of that caliber? And to two of them at once? After one of them caught me listening to their conversation in secret!? Not happening, not in a million years.

…Is what I thought until Seth dragged me by force to greet them.

⌈Uh… H-Hello? I’m Light, nice to meet you.. I guess?⌋

⌈Oooh! You really are weird, eh? What’s with the hair? And why didn’t you just come over? The food here is super good too! Here, eat up.⌋

The dark elf was trying to get familiar. Fast.

The snow elf wasn't having any of it though..

⌈Aren’t you a little too friendly to someone who just eavesdropped on us..?⌋

⌈He isn’t a bad guy, I know that much. But he sure is weird, you should watch out for that.⌋

Seth defended me. Well, kind of...

⌈Oi! What’s that supposed to mean!?⌋

⌈You know... You got that weird eye and you said you came from another world and all.⌋

The reactions of the two elves were worlds apart. The dark elf seemed extremely interested, while the snow elf barely even expressed her indifference...

⌈Eh, eh!? Another world! You really are weird! And what’s this about an eye? Show me!⌋

⌈…⌋

I almost got a positive picture of Seth for a moment. There was no way he would actually be nice and reliable, absolutely none. He could’ve just, not told that..? I guess I could show the Eye of Origin though. Here goes..

【Grace – Dark Elf Female – Age: 20】

【Equipment: Dress of the Boreal Forest, Hide Boots.】

It hurts, but it’s more tolerable than yesterday. That being said it still burns like a sin, but I can handle it.

【Lumi – Snow Elf Female – Age: 18】

【Equipment: Winter's Veil, Pale High Boots, Aquamarine Earrings】

【Special Skills: Presence Detection】

Guhhh..!? That hurt a lot more than previously..

Special Skills: Presence Detection? Oh.. So special skills exist? The ages really don’t match up to their appearance though. I knew that elves had long-lasting lives, and their beauty certainly would suggest them being my age at the very least, but they were way too unblemished and pure. Especially compared to Seth… No offense, buddy.

⌈Ah! It really lit up! Wow! Cool!! Now I know why they call you Light!⌋

⌈That was certainly interesting.. Though I wonder. Just what exactly did you see? I hope you didn’t do something like look through our clothes, because if you did…⌋

The scornful gaze of Lumi was frightening. Snow elves really are cold… Heh. How did she come to a conclusion like that though!? I mean, I would if I coul– I mean, no! I’m an honest man that respects privacy. Ohh… right.

I seem to be an expert in cornering and contradicting myself.

⌈Hold on just a minute, Lumi! There’s no way I’d do something like that.⌋

I instinctively replied to her baseless accusations.

⌈Eh!?⌋

The girls let out a unanimous gasp. Without realizing, I used the name of the person I had read with the eye before actually hearing it from the person in question first once more. Even the calm and composed snow elf was a bit startled.

⌈Hold on just a minute! I haven’t even told my name to your friend yet! What exactly did you see!?⌋

⌈Well... You don’t look eighteen, for one.⌋

⌈Tsk.. You’re the worst..⌋

Her hesitation quickly turned to contempt. That was a horrible idea. I shouldn’t have said that.. Grace seemed amused though. Seth, however, was frozen solid. He probably didn’t dare to say a word.

⌈Haha! You’re pretty cool, weirdo! It’s not often I see my little Lumi frown like this anymore. Nee~, what did you see about me!?⌋

⌈I have a name, you know.. You’re a dark elf named Grace. You’re two years older than Lumi.⌋

⌈Oooh! You did it to me too! Are you sure you didn’t peek under our clothes though!? You can’t do that yet.⌋

YET!? Just what are you trying to imply!?

⌈I’m not able to do that, no.⌋

I convinced Grace.

Seth joined in on the worst possible moment imaginable. He somehow always manages to hit me where it hurts..

⌈Oh, so you tried?⌋

⌈But you were the first person I read! Dammit, Seth.⌋

⌈Heeh!? Are you two in that kind of a relationship!?⌋

Grace interrupted our beef. Though her tone seemed slightly, how do I put it, disappointed..?

⌈Nope! Not a way in hell.⌋

⌈Yeah, there’s not a way in hell.⌋

We replied in unison.

Once again, I'm glad we agree.

⌈Hehehe~! I was just kidding. Say, do you have any plans for today? We arrived here from the northern settlements just yesterday. If you two want to, we could go on a double date around the city!⌋

⌈Sure! We arrived here yesterday too. I don’t have it in me to decline an invitation from two beautiful girls after all.⌋

Seth switched his internal gear back to Don Juan.

⌈Oi, Seth! Shouldn’t you ask me first before deciding?⌋

⌈I don’t recall inviting anyone anywhere either, especially not that pervert..!⌋

⌈Ooh, what’s this? You two are starting to get along nicely already! Then it’s decided! We’re going after we’ve eaten!⌋

What do you mean by ‘you two are starting to get along nicely’!? She just called me a pervert for no reason!

Grace looked like she didn’t have a care in the world. She stood up in excitement. And made a striking pose. For better or worse, she sure was a high energy girl.

She got along pretty well with Seth, as their personalities were somewhat compatible. I don’t think I’d survive five minutes with Lumi though. For a variety of reasons... We ate, geared up and headed out of the inn. As we started walking down the street I saw a young beastman charging towards us at full throttle.

It was Green!

⌈Hey, Wyvernslayer! I promised to guide you today, so here I am! So, where do you wanna g-go… o.. ooh..!?⌋

His eyes damn near started sparkling the moment he saw Lumi. An understandable reaction considering her beauty, but…

⌈Oh… Excuse me! Nice to meet you, miss girlfriend!⌋

Girlfriend!?!