To be blunt, it sounded stupid, but no more stupid than the idea that Emergias would pop up at Fort Aurora out of the blue, declare war on me, and launch an attack. And if nothing else, I was sure Daiagias would understand.
“One of my women went missing! Of course I searched for her!”
“Without a doubt!”
I could already picture Daiagias’s response to the whole situation. At the very least, I knew I could always rely on him.
This excuse meant that even if Liliana was seen in Alliance territory later on, my bases were covered. That said, the threat of her hiding within the kingdom’s borders would sow fear and chaos. Plus, any information she brought to the Alliance would bring great harm to the demonic kingdom. So, if she was spotted, people would likely try to pin all the blame on me. It was definitely in my best interests for her to stay undercover.
Beyond just being a high elf, she was immensely powerful. She’d stand out like a bonfire on a hilltop during the dead of the night, so the topic of how exactly she was supposed to stay hidden had brought about quite the lengthy conversation...
“Is this good enough?” Liliana asked one last time, transforming in front of me. Her hair turned from brilliant gold to a warm brown, her long ears shortened slightly, and her skin darkened.
“That’s perfect. You look just like an average, everyday forest elf.” Even her magic was weaker.
“Layla, please lend me some of your blood. I want to learn Anthromorphy as well.”
There was no reason a high elf would be unable to do so. She had mastered the magic in a flash. If she put her mind to it, she could pass herself off as a human without issue. However, any half-hearted attempt would just weaken her magic and shrink her ears a little, similar to how Layla still had her horns in human form. That allowed her to disguise herself perfectly as an ordinary forest elf.
So using that magic to conceal herself as necessary, she’d make her way back to the forest elves disguised as one of them. Once she could confirm no night elf spies were around, she would reveal her true form. Then she could speak with her mother, the queen of the forest elves.
“Here, Liliana.” As she returned to her high elf form, I handed her a notebook. “In there is everything I know about Necromancy. I hope it’ll be useful. Also...” I pulled a small bone from my bag. “This is...Sir Ordaj’s remains. Within it, his soul is sleeping at the moment.”
Liliana’s face twisted into a grimace. Such an item was far too horrific to be a parting gift, but there was no avoiding the matter. I also gave her a handful of magic stones with dark magic infused into them.
“Use these and you can probably wake him up. They should sustain him for a few days.” That would give them enough time to say their goodbyes. Though I didn’t say that much.
“Thank you, Alex,” Liliana said after a long pause. “I have a lot I’d like to say to him.”
I’m sorry...
After slipping the notebook and the bone into her bag, Liliana raised her gaze toward us. Once she returned home, she’d likely be sheltered to the point of practically being under lock and key. Chances of her crossing paths with any of us again was extremely slim.
It was impossible to shake the thought that this would be goodbye forever. I had no regrets...and we really didn’t have time for a drawn-out goodbye.
“It was nice meeting you, even for as short as it was. Take care.”
“I’m just glad you got better!”
Barbara and Hessel materialized with a pair of smiles.
“Thanks, you two. Sorry for all those times I tried purifying you...”
“Ha ha, don’t worry about it!”
“Though I’d be lying if I said it didn’t send chills down my spine...if I had one!”
Barbara gave a carefree smile, and Hessel told one of his usual undead jokes as Liliana apologized. They had only been able to converse properly for a few hours, but they talked like old friends.
“So, uh...take care,” Claire added, materializing beside them with a reserved expression. But that wasn’t surprising seeing how she had had the least contact with Liliana out of all of us. Even when it came to dog Liliana, she had barely gotten to know her.
“Thank you. I...really wish we could have talked more. I’d have loved to hear about what Alex was like before we met.”
“Yeah... I’d have liked that too. But without your help in his past life and his current one, Alex and I never would have reunited. So...thank you.”
Now in spiritual form, Claire couldn’t hide her expressions anymore. She wore a conflicted smile, mixed with sadness and gratitude.
“Please...take care of yourself, Liliana.” Beside me, Layla was starting to tear up, clearly at a loss for words. I could tell how she felt through Konectus during the flight here. She was sad that Liliana was leaving, but elated at the prospect of her getting to go home. And when it came to the idea of Liliana being able to see her family again...there was a slight sense of longing.
“Same to you. Thank you for taking such good care of me,” Liliana said, giving Layla a big hug. The sensation of being wrapped in Liliana’s arms seemed to break something within Layla as she hugged back with a wail.
Meanwhile, with an awkward clearing of her throat, Ante materialized beside me. Honestly, she had been very much against the idea of Liliana returning to the Alliance. Her greatest concern was information leaking.
“Despite everything I said, you don’t have to worry. I’ll keep an eye on him for you. So...see to it you get home safely. For this guy’s sake.”
Liliana gave a wry smile at Ante’s awkward goodbye. “Of course. Thank you. I’ll make sure to keep your secrets safe!”
Lastly, Liliana turned bright blue eyes on me. Stepping in front of me, she leaned over a little. And when she opened her mouth, out came a rather bizarre request. “Hey, Alex. Could you...pat me on the head one last time?”
I didn’t say a word as I reached out a hand to stroke her golden hair. At this point, the feeling was so familiar... Man, I was hopeless. Even I was starting to cry. I had really wanted to see her off with a smile.
Just as I noticed she was starting to tremble, Liliana jumped and wrapped me in a hug so tight it hurt. And I returned it just as fiercely.
“Goodbye, Liliana. Thank you for everything. Live on. Stay well. That’s enough for me to be happy.”
“Alex.” Liliana suddenly reached for my face and took it into her hands.
Huh?
She pulled her face close. And then, she kissed me. Her bright blue eyes, wet with tears, were more beautiful than I ever remembered.
“I love you, Alex,” she said, forcing a smile. “I’ll never forget you.” And then she danced back a few steps. “Goodbye.”