Chapter 43 (1/2)
”Here…?”
”Should be”
Suimei and Lefille reach the northwestern residential area of Filas Filia, the Nelfila E the city
They're in a back alleyway of the residential area where the houses are packed tight together between the tall buildings unique to the Imperial CapitalRando the sunIn thelaws and liable to lawsuits
An outbreak of deep green weeds takes the a cornerThe darkness cast by the shadows of fading light wraps around the verdant foliage to create a sense of dread and defeatIf Suiy from his world, they are in the slulance, he can see the houses are cheaply made
–Yes, their first object upon entering the Eoals to accomplish while in Nelfila: Suimei wants to procure ic at the Magisteriu the church, they searched for a real-estate agencyHowever, administration over s to the Eovernovernotiated for and a district director was referredToday they'll bethe director who in turn will show them to the new house
Although they aren't shocked by the glooives Suimei an anxious look, ”Suimei-kun, is this really the place?”
”Mn?It should be fineI've no doubt that this is where we agreed to meet”
”Not that, it's about the house's localityThe neighborhood is near the street and the location isn't bad, but… what about the at the areaHer worry worsens the more she looks
As her expression shohere they are doesn't give a good i is dim and a foul smell drifts aboutThe eneral point of view, hardly anyone would argue that this is a good property
”Well, this is the only place they had that suited our needsWe just need to be patient for now”
”You think?A lot of things look like they could go wrong here…”
”Hey, there isn't ht, but I can definitely clear up the s, Suih he adopts a que sera sera attitude, Lefille looks down at the dirty bricksHe wonders if she is really that bothered by their housing situationShe's usually the type of person ould give a fearless laugh regardless of the situation
Suimei, familiar to the troubles of Lefille's heart, says, ”What?Are you still worried about that oracle?”
”O-obviously!How could I not after hearing such a thing!”
That revelation— granted by Alshna's oracle in the Salvation Church, spewed by that priest, was unforeseeableThe instruction Lefille received goes, ”Fight against the side the Yuusha inside the Empire”Neither of them have even seen El Media's Yuusha, yet now that Goddess wants Lefille to travel with himThat request is so sudden, it practicallyto the Imperial Capital just to meet up with him
Lefille seems quite opposed to those ordersShe coain her co melancholy
”It's not like you have to listen to Alshna's wordsWouldn't it be fine to just say you forgot?”
”I-I can't do such a thingAs someone who has received the Goddess Alshna's favor, not co with her orders would be dishonorable”
”Dishonorable… so it's about your power?Wasn't it arbitrarily thrust upon you?I mean, it's not like you asked for itWhen you look at it from that perspective, doesn't your premise become flawed?”
”Th- That ht be the case…”Lefille's words tapper off towards the endAs a pious believer, she's troubled by the labyrinth called faithThe devout sometimes believe their desires are wicked and that they have a duty to punish themselves
Wrong, saying they're inti away their wickedness is more accurateThat's because people who live clean and beautiful lives develop strong valuesThat stubbornness puts them between a rock and a hard placeThat, however, is only if left as is— ”Then do you want to cooperate with El Media's Yuusha?”
”Ho- How can you say such a terrible thing?There's no way I want to do that!”
”Then what's the problem…?That unreasonableness is the perfect reason to act as though you haven't heard anything…”
Both Lefille's head and shoulders droop as she resents her inability to refuse this requestShe really doesn't want to do it”That's extremely disrespectful of the Goddess's wordsIf I did and so happens…”
Does she want to do it or not?She's being engulfed within a wave of self-condemnation, one that leaves her unable to actThat means, it isn't that she bound to the Goddess's words, but to her own emotions
”I understand, just leave it to me”
”Eh— what do you mean, leave it to you?”
”Just thatIf you don't want to follow El Media's Yuusha, then stay with ardless of what anyone else saysIt's fine since I'ht?”
Lefille turns her eyes away and she shi+fts bashfully in place”Ah…you're right, thank you…”
”Huh?…Ye- yeah”Suimei blushes as his heart beats faster
That's when— ”Oh, there you are!”A voice cuts through the pink atmosphere between Suimei and Lefille
Suiirl with bright hair dressed in clothes that are easy toround eyes coupled with large pupilsA tattoo like line runs across her cheek to the nape of her neckRegardless, she's smallHer stature and breasts are also slance, she looks just like LefilleAnother little girl?No, Lefille technically isn't a little girl…But if I use the custoirls like this isn't that strange
The girl's face distorts at Suiust towards him”Hey, you, what's with that look?”
”No, sorry It's just, I've been seeing a lot of children lately”
”Ch- child!?Are you talking about me?”
”…Yeah?”
The girl's eyes turn hostile at Suimei's adinable from someone with such lovely appearance”Hey, you, the way I see it, you're younger than meWell?”
”Haa?Me younger?”
”Yeah, younger!You look like a boy who just got out of the Salvation Church School”
Just what is that girl talking about?As far as Sui irl actually be a er?
Lefille realizes what's happening and taps the girl's shoulder, ”Could you perhaps be a dwarf?”
”Yeah, that's right, I'm the real dealBoth enuine dwarf too”
”You said, ”There you are”Does that mean?”
”Yep, you guessed it!I'a”
”U left behind”Suimei inserts himself into the conversation with a troubled expression
”Ohh?”The girl— Jilbert Gliga distorts her face and says, ”You bastard-yan!”Her cute face has vanished without a trace”— What, can't keep up?Even though this kid here is pretty smart, you seem pretty stupid”
”'Pretty stupid,' you say…”Shock floats across SuiWhat reasons could she have to say such things?She's polite to Lefille who recognized she's a dwarf”There seeThis isa dwarf”
”Oh?So that's the reason?Can't be helped if you misunderstood”
”…This is a rude question, but how old are you?”
”Me?This year I'm 21”
”I guess you really are older than me…”
”That's right!Looks like you do kno to straighten up and speak with respectGood, good”Jilbert says while patting his lower backShe then pats Lefille's shoulder as though saying, ”You're good just the way you are”
–A dwarfAccording to Norse Mythology, they're classified as ground dwelling spiritsAs beings who share their origins with the beautiful elves, dwarves act as their antithesis with their dark and ugly complexionsThey are creatures si to the stories, they are ineers with the ability to create tools capable of rivaling the GodsThey are depicted as either co with themFolklore also states that they are kind, mischievous, and small in stature
They're also supposed to have beards along with their se and physical appearance don't seeh…Not that there's any point in thinking about itThis is a parallel world after all
Jilbert gets along quite ith Lefille and tells her various stories about clothingIt's an ani”Excuseus the house?”
”HhtYou're here to see a houseI coot”
”Please don't forget our reason for ”
”Relax, real in?”Jilbert teases Suimei with a smileJust like the stories say, dwarfs have a ords
”Gu…”