Twilight Manor, Loki Familia’s home.
The large mess hall was bustling that morning.
Many familia members pulled up seats while greeting each other, and the sounds of silverware and plates clattering echoed in the big room.
Some time had passed since Enyo’s mayhem, and Loki Familia was slowly returning to normal. While many found it hard to ignore how many seats were empty now, they were adventurers, and they knew that brooding and standing still would do nothing for their comrades who were no longer with them. They all had wounds that were not yet healed, but even so, they were filling their stomachs with cheerful smiles and laughter.
It was then that the double doors swung open.
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“Sorry for being late.”
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Turning to see, everyone in the hall fell silent.
An elven girl had stepped through the doors.
“Lefi…ya?”
That was Aiz’s murmur. Even she did not believe her eyes.
The elf was not wearing the peach battle clothes that had become her trademark.
She was wearing a new red-and-white outfit.
Each and every thread woven into it was imbued with magic power. The sheer amount of work that must have involved was enough to make any mage cry. This labor of love had created a piece of equipment that boasted extraordinary magic resistance while remaining very light. Riveria’s Fairy Queen’s Robe was also enchanted gear, albeit made of a different material. Also, there was a bangle on Lefiya’s right arm that seemed to be a magic item, and she was wearing a pure white set of thigh-high boots on her slender legs.
There were two weapons at her hip. She carried her newly made wand and midsize rod in her belt, almost like a swordsman. And hanging from her back was a single shortsword.
The first thing to come to Aiz’s mind when seeing her was a magic swordswoman.
White and red. Her magic outfit was a blend of Filvis Challia’s dying wish and Lefiya’s quiet passion. That was how it appeared to Aiz.
But the familia was not surprised because Lefiya sported new gear. Nor was Aiz. Nor was Tiona or Tione. Nor was Raul or Anakity or the rest of the second-string familia members. They were in shock seeing one thing in particular.
The hair that she had so drastically cut herself.
The beautiful bright blond hair that so many of her generation had been jealous of and that she had surely been secretly proud of herself.
Despite her ignorance of fashion and appearance, it had even caught Aiz’s eyes.
The long, bright blond hair tied back by a single hair clip was now so short that the nape of her neck was visible.
“………………………………………”
No one could manage to close their mouths, which were hanging agape. She was like a completely different person. It was not just her outfit or her hair. The air about her was more like a cool, clear spring than the gentleness she had evoked before. No one spoke to her as she walked between the tables. Loki alone let out an amused whistle.
“Lefiya.”
As everyone remained frozen, Riveria rose.
She walked over, stopping right in front of Lefiya, who also stopped.
“Barring exigent circumstances, the whole familia eats breakfast together. That is the familia rule that Loki set. Where did you go without notice?”
Riveria was always Riveria. Always. The familia’s second-in-command would not hesitate to reprimand any semblance of rule-breaking, regardless of Lefiya’s change in appearance and demeanor.
In response, Lefiya…looked a little bit confused.
“I left a letter addressed to Elfie in our room…”
“Eh! You did?!”
Elfie let out a little squeal when she was suddenly pulled into the conversation. Everyone’s attention focused on her, and she put on an awkward smile and mumbled to herself. “Right, there might have been a letter on the table…”
Lefiya raised her shoulders in frustration at her roommate, and then, facing Riveria, she bowed at the waist.
“I received a message from Ms. Lenore that the equipment I commissioned had been completed, so I went to pick it up first thing in the morning. I apologize for my selfish behavior.”
When she admitted fault so earnestly, it was impossible to yell at her about it.
“Be more careful in the future.” Riveria sighed before returning to her own seat.
The rest of the familia had been on tenterhooks watching the exchange, but with that, the mood in the room eased again. It wasn’t long before the quiet mess hall grew lively again.
“It’s wild that she cut it so all at once…”
“I’m surprised. I’ve heard that elves have a big thing about their hair.”
“Is this what gods mean when they say someone had a makeover?”
Anakity, Tione, and Tiona, who were at the same table, glanced over while talking. The fact that they kept their voices down, other than Tiona, who was chowing down on some bread and bacon, was because they could guess the reason Lefiya cut her hair. Aiz, sitting next to Tiona, also glanced over in concern.
Meanwhile, Lefiya’s expression did not change as she started walking again.
The end of breakfast was approaching. Most of the familia had finished eating and had empty plates, but she did not try to sit with them.
Curious gazes, concerned murmurs, she ignored it all—as if she had decided it in advance—and went to one person in particular.
“Mr. Bete.”
“…What?”
The werewolf’s gray hair swayed as his ears pricked up.
Slouching haphazardly in his seat, he looked up in annoyance at the girl standing beside him.
These two never sat together during breakfast.
Lefiya was usually with either Aiz or Elfie, and Bete always staked his claim to the farthest seat in the mess hall since he hated how noisy Tiona and the others around her were.
Bete probably did not expect to be called out, either, judging by the dubious look on his face.
Raul and Cruz, sitting with him, were visibly baffled.
But whether she knew what they were thinking or not, she continued:
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“Please teach me how to fight.”