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Once I finished reuniting with my friends, the moon had already set and the sun was rising. I had essentially spent the entire night wide awake. Sure, I was tired, but I wasn’t so exhausted that I couldn’t handle one night without sleep.

Grrr, a small noise came from my stomach.

“Ahaha… It seems I’m in this state just from skipping one dinner last night. What about you guys? How’s the Saint doing?”

It wasn’t just that I missed dinner while heading out to take care of some low-level demonic creatures and ended up captured, ultimately staying awake all night and starving. Of course, once we returned to the table, there would be food left over from yesterday, even if it had gone cold, it shouldn’t be a big deal.

But it wasn’t just me; Selian, Yuli, Anne, and Mariel were all in the same boat. I couldn’t just fill my belly while leaving them hungry. I suspected my friends must be hungry too, so I asked them.

“Definitely… I’m feeling hungry. Should we go out for breakfast if we find a restaurant open in the morning? Do you know any places?”

“I know some, but… there’s no need to go out and eat. I’ll prepare breakfast myself; just wait a little. After all this time, I can’t just serve you fast food.”

Not that eating out was bad, but I knew that a restaurant open for breakfast would just be a cheap place catering to adventurers. I couldn’t serve that to friends I hadn’t seen in three years. It would be nice to show off my cooking skills this time, especially since not only my sword skills had improved over the last three years.

“Oh, no! We’re fine! It must be tiring for you, so we can just grab something quick! If it comes down to it, missing one meal is no big deal! Right, Anne?”

“I-I’m not hungry!”

However, Yuli and Anne seemed to vehemently refuse my offer to cook for them, perhaps to spare me from the effort. Even Anne, with her stomach clearly rumbling, insisted she wasn’t hungry.

“And the Saint?”

“Merciful Goddess Serena, your servant earnestly wishes…”

Huh?

For some reason, Mariel was fervently praying with both hands clasped together. I guess she has a habit of praying every morning.

But still, there was one more person left to hear from.

“So, Selian, what will you do? Do you want to eat out, or should I cook for you?”

“I’ve already made up my mind. El’s cooking… Hehe, I’m looking forward to it.”

The only one who understood my desire to cook for them was Selian. With Anne and Mariel abstaining from the vote, it was one to one. I turned around, pondering which option to support.

“Um… Selian? Your hands are shaking? You’re sweating…”

Selian’s complexion suddenly didn’t look good. She appeared as if she were sick.

“Huh? Huh, why are my hands suddenly…?”

It seemed Selian was surprised by her own sudden deterioration. As a Sword Master, she should be far stronger than an average person, so to appear noticeably unwell was quite serious.

“Saint!”

Fortunately, the one here who was best at holy magic was Mariel. No matter how serious Selian’s condition was, even if she had been poisoned without knowing, it shouldn’t be a problem.

“And so the blessing of Goddess Serena…”

“Saint! Pray later and check on Selian right now!”

I shook Mariel’s shoulders, urging her to snap out of her prayer-induced daze. Finally, she regained her composure.

“Oh my, you look like you’re about to faint. Are you alright? Just hold on a bit. I’ll cast holy magic on you right away…”

After folding her hands in prayer, a powerful holy light surrounded Selian.

“I’ve cast the strongest healing spell I can use in haste, so you should be alright now.”

“Phew. Thank you, how do you feel, Selian? Are you alright… Huh?”

Even as I asked if she was alright, I realized before finishing my sentence that she was not alright at all. Selian was still trembling like someone in severe pain.

“I’m perfectly fine…”

Seeing that even Mariel’s holy magic had no effect, it seemed to be quite serious. Perhaps Selian bore a curse from a high-ranking demon that even Mariel’s holy power couldn’t dispel. Or it might be some nasty curse from a Great Wizard.

As it involved magic, I figured Frecia, being an expert, could help, so I headed straight for the door.

However, before I could step out, someone opened the door and walked in.

“Breakfast is ready. I know you guys have a lot to catch up on, but eat something first. Elysia, you didn’t eat dinner last night either.”

It was Lindy, coming to check on me and telling me to eat. But right now, breakfast was the least of my concerns.

“No, more importantly, Selian…”

“What about her?”

Lindy was so nonchalant, I felt flustered. I aimed to point to Selian in the back and explain how urgent the situation was. However, when I turned back to Selian, her condition was completely different from what I had expected.

Gone was the sickly visage – Selian looked utterly at peace. Her body, which had been trembling, was now completely still.

“It seems the Saint’s holy magic took a bit longer to react. I wasn’t in pain before, but now my body isn’t shaking and I’m really alright.”

“Still, just in case…”

“Wait a minute, El.”

Yuli, who had been watching the whole situation, intervened and stopped me. She walked up to Selian and started whispering something.

“El… cooking… eat…”

Her voice was so low that I couldn’t catch the details of what she said. But in that moment, Selian’s hands started trembling again.

“Yeah, you don’t have to worry too much. Now let’s go eat the breakfast prepared by the elf girl.”

“But Selian is… Huh?”

Was Selian playing around? Trembling then stopping, trembling then stopping. It was hard to keep up with the dramatic changes in Selian’s condition, but it had calmed down again.

“I’m not in any pain, so there’s nothing to worry about. It seems even if I didn’t consciously recall it, my body did.”

“Let’s hurry and go eat! I’m starving!”

Apparently, I was the only one who didn’t grasp the situation. Everyone else seemed to understand what had happened to Selian. I was about to demand a more thorough explanation, but Anne seized my hand and pulled me outside.

Wait, didn’t Anne just lie earlier about not being hungry…?

—

“So, it seems I’ll need to step out for a bit again.”

After breakfast, while I was explaining about my old friends and Mariel to our companions who had been waiting all night, Lindy suddenly brought it up.

Now that she was passing on her role as the representative of the Information Guild to her successor and planning to travel together, I wondered what the rush was about.

“Why? Is it something urgent? Didn’t you say all the handover was done?”

“Yeah, as I mentioned, that part’s done, but… during the fight yesterday, I felt a lack of power.”

“Lack of power?”

Since Lindy had been tied up in the shack, I hadn’t seen her fight, but knowing her skills from what I had witnessed before raised some doubts.

“Yes. I was lucky to get through safely yesterday, but I can’t guarantee I’ll be as fortunate next time. I can’t afford to regret later.”

“But isn’t it a bit much to leave your spot to train? Who knows how much better you’ll really get… not that I’m belittling Lindy.”

Of course, training is a good way to improve one’s abilities. However, it sounded like Lindy had set her sights much higher than the current level, and such a level couldn’t be achieved solely through training.

“Well… the truth is, my current strength isn’t my full capacity. Due to certain circumstances, I’m restricted in how I handle spirits.”

Now that I thought about it, I had never seen Lindy use spirit magic. Given how impressive her archery skills were, I hadn’t paid attention to that aspect at all.

Naturally, as an elf, she would be an exceptional ranger and also a remarkable spirit mage. So to learn she had unexplained reasons for not utilizing spirit magic was rather enlightening.

“That’s why I plan to visit the Elf’s Forest. I’m not sure it’ll solve anything, but it’s worth a try.”

“Well, if that’s Lindy’s choice, I can’t argue against it… but do you have to go alone? Can’t we all just go together? Ah! Is there some rule that outsiders can’t enter the Elf’s Forest?”

“That is somewhat the case, but Elysia, as a Hero, should have no major issues visiting. The reason I want to go alone is, putting aside whether I’ll be able to fix my problem, I can’t guarantee how long it might take.”

“Well, we can think that over when the time comes. So, there’s no other problem then?”

“I might make a fruitless trip…”

“Come on, why worry about that among friends? I think everyone, including me, wouldn’t mind that little effort.”

Of course, Lindy’s new friends and Mariel might hesitate about it, but knowing their personalities, they’d likely agree.

“Our relationship… right! For Elysia’s sake, I’ll definitely aim to lift these restrictions!”

Watching Lindy smile brightly in response to my trust made me feel a tiny bit guilty. Not that I was lying. I genuinely wanted Lindy to succeed.

Still, I couldn’t help but keep one part of my thoughts to myself.

The Elf’s Forest is undoubtedly a place that stirs curiosity. Throwing away a once-in-a-lifetime chance is absolutely nonsense.