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“Support ends here. I can walk the rest myself.”

As soon as I stepped out of the inn, I quickly distanced myself from Lindy.

It made sense since at first, she had simply draped my arm over her shoulder to support me, but then the hand holding my arm began to stroke my hand, while her other hand, which was supporting my waist, started to sneakily slide down.

Anyway, she was a woman showing kindness, yet someone I could never let my guard down around.

“It’s a bit disappointing… but it can’t be helped.”

“Well, since that’s settled, are you heading back now?”

“Oh my, are you feeling regret now? But I said earlier too, that I’d enjoy the festival as a side note. I probably won’t head back until the day after tomorrow, after the closing ceremony.”

Looks like it was genuinely a side thing. Considering she was roaming the streets with chicken skewers in both hands before she bumped into me, it seems sincere.

“If you ever need anything, do drop by the General Store. If it’s hard to visit in person, you can always contact me through the Adventurers’ Guild. Then I’ll arrange for a special delivery just for our business partner.”

I thought about just equipping a regular communication magical item, but considering revealing this elf’s identity to my friends would be the least of my concerns, I swallowed the words that were about to come out. I was also worried she might use it for something unexpected.

“Alright. Anyway, thanks for today. Have fun for the rest of the festival.”

After a brief wave to her as she waved goodbye, I headed straight to the café where my friends were waiting.

It wasn’t far to begin with, so I arrived in less than five minutes but paused for a moment before stepping through the entrance.

I caught a glimpse of myself in the café’s glass door. I lifted the corners of my mouth slightly to check my expression. Thankfully, nothing looked awkward. My headache wasn’t completely gone, but it was bearable enough to manage a smile.

Maintaining my smile, I pushed the glass door open and walked in with the jingle of bells ringing.

“Ah, El! Over here, here!”

I must have caught their attention with the sound of the bells because my friends spotted me before I could spot them.

Anne was waving energetically from one of the tables inside the shop. It was pretty typical of her not to notice the attention of those around her even while gathering the gaze of the people nearby.

“Sorry. Did I keep you waiting?”

“No, not really. It’s only been 21 minutes and 32 seconds, 33 seconds, 34 seconds since you stepped out.”

“Wait… you were timing that? S-sorry.”

“Hehe, just kidding. I’m not a clock, how could I keep track of that?”

Oops. Selian’s serious expression momentarily tricked me into thinking she was serious too. Looks like she also has a knack for acting, just like me.

“So, did you have a good chat?”

Yuli slid a plate with a slice of cake towards me, which was untouched, indicating she must have ordered it while waiting for me.

“Ah, yeah. Thanks to you.”

I took a new fork that she handed me and popped a piece of cake into my mouth while replying to Yuli.

“By the way, I saw an elf for the first time!”

Anne, her eyes sparkling with excitement, seemed to be thinking about Lindy from before.

Of all the elves to see first, it had to be Lindy. I had a lot to say knowing her true nature, but it’d be rude to shatter Anne’s innocent impression, so I decided to keep quiet.

“Have you two seen an elf before?”

“Well, I’ve heard my father mention that elves visited our territory for a meeting, but I’ve never seen one myself… how about you, Sel?”

“I haven’t seen one often, but they aren’t completely absent.”

As expected from a hero candidate, Selian spoke as if it wasn’t a big deal, showing her experience.

“Oh really? So, what’s the personality of an elf like…?”

I leaned on Selian to help cleanse the image of elves tainted by Lindy, asking her to describe them.

“Um… well? Since elves are a race gathered below the World Tree, even if there are individual differences, their basic values are generally similar. They might be glorified a lot in textbooks, but they probably won’t differ much from what’s written. You know this elf I just met, right?”

“Yeah… that’s true…”

Lindy really was a special elf.

An elf who enjoyed carnivorous meals and sexual harassment while running a General Store in the underworld… listing it all out makes it even more ridiculous. Except for her appetite for meat, it’d be safe to say she’s simply an oddity among elves.

Recalling Lindy led me to think of the information she brought up.

As I ate the cake Yuli handed over, I glanced around at my friends’ faces one by one.

So… Selian, Yuli, Anne… These three aren’t my friends of the same age, but two years older sisters? Being among pretty sisters rather than friends made me feel a little embarrassed.

Speaking of which, Yuli often mentioned a memory of “Elysia,” and “Geno” was frequently involved too. I thought it was someone else’s story, only to find out it’s ultimately my memory. I should ask Yuli to tell me more about it when I get the chance.

That being said, while it makes sense to consider Selian and Yuli as older sisters, I can’t quite accept Anne as one… rather, it feels completely off.

“Huh? Why?”

Anne, sipping her chocolate shake through a straw, seemed to sense my gaze on her and looked up while still holding the straw in her mouth.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just seeing you enjoying it makes me happy.”

Of course, I couldn’t mention that I was staring at Anne’s youthful appearance… so I changed the subject.

However, Anne seemed to take my words seriously, releasing the straw she had been holding and thrusting the shake toward me.

“I-I can give you a sip… if it’s just one.”

Knowing how much Anne loved chocolate, I understood how big of a decision this was for her.

I almost turned her down, but I recalled how Mariel got embarrassed and ran off after I rejected her kindness, leading me to accept Anne’s offer.

“Then, could I just have one sip?”

I slid forward in my chair, leaned in, and took a small sip from the straw she offered. After all, it was just to taste.

Seeing that hardly any of it was consumed, a bright smile bloomed on Anne’s face, as if she felt relieved.

“By the way, shouldn’t you be preparing for the finals soon? It’s great to see you so confident, but don’t let your guard down.”

“Hehe! El, you still don’t trust me, do you? Just watch! I’ll win splendidly!”

“That would be great. I’d prefer awarding someone I know rather than a stranger.”

“You really don’t have to worry. As far as I know, the opponent who made it to the finals is a swordsman similar to me.”

If that’s the case, then I don’t need to worry at all. I can confidently say there isn’t a student who’s an upgrade from Anne in this academy. Regardless of their strength, I can assert that among those with a fighting style similar to hers, Anne would be at the top of the academy.

“In that case, I should let the Saint know in advance.”

“Huh? About what?”

“I heard from my friend that if she entered the tournament and won, the Saint would pay a little more attention and grant a blessing.”

“The blessing… you mean that thing from the opening ceremony?”

“Um… probably something like that?”

During the opening ceremony, the saint, Mariel, kissed my forehead to bless me while I, as the hero, kissed her hand in return.

So, would Mariel lay a kiss on the winner’s forehead just like she did mine? Thinking of a random person receiving Mariel’s blessing made me feel oddly displeased. I had one more reason to cheer for Anne now.

“So you’ll be presenting the awards with the Saint, right…?”

“Yep. We practiced for the award ceremony with such intensity.”

“I’m definitely going to win!”

“Very well, I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Until now, she had been confidently casual, but now she seemed to burn with determination, which I found quite admirable.

“Man… I didn’t see this coming. If I had known, I would’ve joined the tournament too…”

“Right? I could have secured victory with Lindy’s help somehow…”

Both of them declared their withdrawal from the tournament calmly, yet now they were frustrated that the saint promised a special blessing. Unfortunately, the opportunity had long since slipped away.