Chapter 127: A Change of Direction
“Thanks to all of you, many of the pending requests have finally been cleared up. I truly appreciate it.”
The one offering his thanks was Loin-san, the same person who had helped us during the Hydra subjugation.
“I hear you’re heading to the royal capital next. I look forward to seeing your success there.”
“Thank you.”
After handling several requests in the town of Randall, we were finally set to depart for the royal capital. Upon hearing this, Loin-san and his party had gone out of their way to come and see us off.
Just as we were climbing into the carriage, a group of familiar female adventurers came running toward us—Lua-san and her companions.
“Do you need something?” I asked.
“Oh, we heard you’re leaving the town, so we came to see you off!”
I braced myself, half-expecting them to stir up trouble or some new grudge. But Lua-san fidgeted awkwardly for a moment, hesitating, then spoke in a barely audible voice:
“…D-Do your best, okay?”
It was so quiet I had to strain to hear, but it was clear: they’d come simply to cheer us on.
After bidding them farewell, we finally climbed fully into the carriage and prepared to depart.
“Neigh—!”
Caro, with her usual enthusiasm, started pulling the carriage forward. Of course, as always, there was no real weight to pull; it was more for show than anything else.
“Hey… hey, doesn’t that carriage look… a little strange?”
The voice came suddenly from one of Loin-san’s party members, Baluze.
“Strange? What do you mean?”
“Look… doesn’t it seem like the wheels aren’t moving?”
“That can’t be…”
At his words, Loin-san’s attention shifted to the wheels of the carriage as it disappeared into the distance.
“…Y-You’re right…? But there’s no way it should move forward like that…”
Sure enough, as Baluze-san had pointed out, the wheels didn’t seem to turn at all. Loin-san tilted his head, puzzled by the mysterious phenomenon.
Several days passed as we drove our makeshift garden-cart along the roads. Soon, a massive wall appeared on the horizon.
“There it is. That’s the royal capital.”
“Yay! We’re here, we’re here~!”
“It’s my first time visiting.”
“Same here. And wow… as I heard, the walls are massive.”
Anii was right—the walls were easily twice the height of Arcel’s. They stretched endlessly east and west, giving the impression that we were approaching a city built for giants.
It was also my first time in the royal capital. Among our group, only Sarassa had visited before, having graduated from the capital’s magic academy and continuing to come regularly.
“But for now, it might be better not to enter. The castle gates are about to close, and this is when the crowd is at its worst,” Sarassa advised.
“Yeah, it seems smarter to head back to Arcel for now,” Anii added, watching the long line of people queued at the gates.
Sena groaned in dissatisfaction.
“So, should we line up in that queue?”
“Onii-chan, you line up! I’ll stay home and sleep, and you call me if you get inside!”
“Then that would be outright trespassing. If you want in, you have no choice but to queue with us.”
“Then I won’t!”
Rolling my eyes at Sena’s sudden change of heart, we turned the carriage back toward Arcel.
The next morning came, and we were finally ready to head to the royal capital—until Shifa arrived at our home, unusually flustered and tense.
“I’m sorry… I can’t go to the royal capital.”
“Huh? What happened?”
“I have to go see my mother.”
“…Your mother?”
Shifa had lived with only her father since I was little. I’d always been curious about her mother, but it felt intrusive to ask, so I never had.
“Your mother…?”
“She’s living in the Elf Village now.”
“Elf Village…?”
Elves, as I understood, were a race of long-eared beings mainly dwelling deep in forests. Why she would be there…? Anii, standing beside me, answered my unspoken question.
“Shifa’s mother is a half-elf.”
“Really? I didn’t know that.”
“Yeah… I didn’t tell you?”
No, she hadn’t. Elves were said to be beautiful, both male and female, so perhaps Shifa’s own beauty came from that lineage.
“That’s why her ears are a little long.”
“Oh… they really are.”
Shifa lifted her hair to reveal her ears. Indeed, they were slightly longer than a human’s and pointed at the tips—subtle enough that I might never have noticed if she hadn’t shown me.
“My mother left the Elf Village when she was young and became an adventurer. That’s where she met my father, married him, and began living in a human city… but she missed the forest too much and eventually went back.”
It seemed this wasn’t a case of divorce; the human city life simply didn’t suit her, perhaps because of her mixed heritage.
“We still keep in touch, and I’ve even visited her before. But recently, I hadn’t received many letters. Then this morning, my grandfather sent me a letter… Mom’s been unwell for a while, and if things continue, it might get dangerous…”
I understood now—the situation explained everything.
“Then we’ll go together. With my garden-cart, we can get there much faster.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
Anii, Sarassa, and even Sena seemed to feel the same way I did.
“Besides, without Shifa, the adventure can’t really continue anyway.”
“I have no objections either.”
“So… where exactly is this Elf Village?”
And just like that, our destination changed on the fly. We set out not for the royal capital, but for the Elf Village, determined to see Shifa’s mother and make sure she was safe.