Chapter 22

Around the time Lorna was leaving Aiphoné, Margrave Brau Guugelheit sat in his estate, feeling rather vexed. “Margrave… We can’t take any more of this. We quit.” “Wh-what…?!” A group of professionals were speaking through the communications crystal on Brau’s desk. Each of them were high-ranked skill bearers the family had gone to great lengths to employ. “H-hold on! What in blazes is going on?!” “You can’t be serious… You should know better than anyone!” “You fed us false info and sent us after that damn monster!” “You think our lives come that cheap, do ya?” “Monster? What are you talking about?” “Don’t play coy with us! We’re talking about Lorna Hermit!” “A-are you stupid?! Don’t say that name out loud! Call her ‘the target’ or something!” “Yeah, what if she hears us?!” “Wh-what…? You’re not making any sense…” Brau was growing increasingly confused. Lorna Hermit… That was the name of Brau’s daughter. He’d ejected her from the family a week earlier for the sin of manifesting an SSS-Rank skill, the weakest rank imaginable. And now, for some incomprehensible reason, she was notorious in the town of Aiphoné. The girl must have gone around telling everyone she was a Guugelheit, thought Brau. There could be no other explanation. How else could a weak vagrant like her become such a topic of conversation? That was precisely why the margrave had sent men with skills suited to assassination to take care of her before she could besmirch the family name. And yet… “Dammit! You’ve got some balls on ya sellin’ us a line about the target only having some weak skill. Were ya trying to get us killed?” “I’ve been sick of your crap for a while, but this is more than I can take. I’m done working with you lot. I’m outta here!” “This is your mess, so you deal with it! I dunno what the hell you did to make enemies with a monster like that, but we’re having no part of it!” “W-wait, what are you—? H-hold on—!” The communication ended before Brau could say anything else on the matter. For a while, he sat in confused silence. “Wh-what is going on…?” He began to tremble. This wasn’t the first time he’d had to deal with one of his hired goons hanging up on him. High-ranked skill bearers had been defecting on him all day long. “How…? How has it come to this…?” A week ago, everything was going swimmingly. He had successfully convinced the A-Rank skill bearer Elmina Manaflame to become one of his retainers, and he was conspiring with Zariché Venomgarden to bring the Hidden Village of the Elves to the brink of destruction. Everything was looking bright for House Guugelheit. But ever since he’d kicked his daughter, Lorna, out of the family, it had all gone wrong. The great mana vein had suddenly dried up. All manner of natural disasters had befallen the Ipple Woods. Elmina had betrayed him. Zariché’s plan had been thwarted. And now the members of his army of high-ranked skill-bearing thugs were leaving in droves… And amid all the commotion, one name came up again and again: Lorna Hermit. The daughter he had only recently abandoned in the woods. Wh-why…? Wasn’t her skill as weak as they come? It shouldn’t have been possible for her to do away with our high-ranked skill-bearing retainers… Not with a lowly SSS-Rank skill like hers. None of it made any sense. But one thing was clear: Leaving Lorna to her own devices would mean trouble. She clearly had some kind of power at her disposal that was proving to be a thorn in his side. But treating her with open animosity was clearly not a winning strategy. What if…I had her brought home? I’m sure if she were baited with the promise of returning to a noble life of luxury, she would come running of her own accord. And if she does have a useful skill, then I’ll just have her use it for my sake. The moment Brau devised this new plan, he contacted one of his underlings in Aiphoné. “Listen up! That girl—Lorna. I’m calling off her assassination. Bring her to my estate at once!” “B-but, Margrave Guugelheit…! I…believe that may be easier said than done…” “You dare speak out of line?! If I tell you to bring her here, then you are to bring her here!” “B-beg pardon… It’s simply that…Lorna Hermit was spotted speeding across the fields outside town, whistling as she went. And, well, the speed at which she runs makes pursuit all but impossible!” “What the blazes are you talking about?!” “I don’t understand it, either, Mar— Wait! What?!” “What’s the matter?! Answer me!” “Lorna Hermit, she’s… The girl has grown wings and has taken to the skies! Margrave, sh-she’s flying!” “Y-you’re not making any sense, man!” “I can’t believe it, either, sir!!!” It was no use—Brau couldn’t understand anything these people were telling him. What was going on with that girl? She’s flying…? I’ve never heard of such a skill in all my days! If what they say is true, then that ability alone is worth bringing her back to the estate. But…how would we even apprehend her? If she leaves our domain, our people won’t be able to give chase… Brau racked his brain trying to come up with a plan. But before long, he was interrupted. “Father! Come quick! There’s trouble!” The margrave’s son Rowser burst into his chambers in a panic. “What is it now?!” “Th-the estate… We’re surrounded! Royal knights! Elves!” “Wh-whaaaaaat?!” Brau screamed wildly as he ran to the window to see what was going on. He looked down and saw that countless elves had completely surrounded his home. “Eeeeek!” Even worse, while they were fewer in number, Brau could also see knights bearing the emblem of the royal family. That meant the king himself had ordered an attack on House Guugelheit. Wh-what’s happening—?! Don’t tell me the king discovered my scheme to destroy the Hidden Village of the Elves! Or worse, what if he knows about what happened to the great mana vein?! Dammit! Whatever it is, how did he find out so quickly?! Retribution had come far more swiftly than anticipated. The gathered forces were clearly here to eradicate the Guugelheit line. “F-Father! We don’t have much defense at the estate right now! We’ve no choice but to use our men as decoys while we flee underground!” “Y-yes…quite.” Though the Guugelheits had many high-ranked skill bearers as their retainers, those forces weren’t kept standing at the estate at all hours of the day. Aside from emergencies, the margrave had them take up important positions in the various towns of his domain. At this rate, the elves and royal knights would easily overwhelm them with numbers alone. But the elves haven’t made any moves yet. If we escape now, we can ask for help from our…contact. They’ll get us out of this bind… Brau tore the carpet from the ground, revealing a stone staircase leading down to a secret passageway known only to a select few in the family. Brau and Rowser had just begun the descent, when… “Gyaaaaah?!” “Rowser?!” …the margrave’s son let out a bloodcurdling scream that echoed up from the darkness. Then, in his place, a figure ascended the steps of this supposedly secret passageway… “So…it seems the Savior was right. There truly was a secret passage here.” “…?! I-it’s…you!” A dignified elf in regal garb emerged from the shadows. There could be no mistaking her. This woman was a hero spoken of in countless legends passed down through the ages. She was Level 70, the highest ever recorded in human history. And she was the very same warrior who had prevented Brau and his army from invading the Hidden Village of the Elves. It was Ellhar, Queen of the Elves. “Heh-heh… It certainly has been some time, little Guugelheit. Though I suppose at a time like this, the gods might say, ‘Hiii, bestie’? Or perhaps, ‘I weawwy missed u, uwu’?” “Wh-what are…you doing here?!” According to Zariché’s reports, the queen had succumbed to her poisonous pollen and was unable to leave her sickbed. But now she looked as healthy as could be. Brau cowered as the queen’s quiet, knowing gaze pierced him to his core. “Ngh…!” He reached for a nearby sword, but… “I suggest you not debase yourself in my presence.” The elven queen gently waved her staff. Fwwwtssh! Branches and vines grew out from the furniture in the room and, in an instant, wrapped themselves around Brau. “Gaaah! Ng…nguhhh…” The margrave was brought to his knees and bound in place. The powerful vines wouldn’t allow him to move so much as an inch. “Y-you…beast…!” Brau was by no means a weak man. He was Level 40 and master of the B-Rank skill Mighty Sword. Most would view him as a strong warrior. But the gap in strength between him and the elven queen was striking. He was like an infant facing off against a mature adult. “Wh-why are you…?!” “Heh-heh… ‘Why,’ you ask? A droll question if I have ever heard one. You harmed my people, didn’t you?” Queen Ellhar looked down at Brau, her eyes seething with rage. “And now I am, as the gods say, ‘big mad.’” Fsssshhh!!! The queen’s murderous aura overwhelmed the margrave. It was enough to make the very air tremble. Glass and pottery around the room shattered instantly, and massive fissures opened up in the walls and floors of the mansion. “Eeeek…!!!” Brau began to sweat uncontrollably. He struggled to breathe, desperately gasping for air. In an instant, he lost all will to resist. The difference in strength between the two was absurd. That was when Brau finally realized something. It was something he should have figured out long ago. One should never antagonize the elves. “Hmph. In any event, I’ve come to see you today for one reason, and one reason alone: You see, the Savior of my people, Lady Lorna, is quite vexed by your existence. As such, I’ve decided to rid this land of your presence once and for all in order to make it more hospitable for her.” “Ngh…! Why?! Why do I keep hearing that girl’s name everywhere?! And…Savior? Just what is that child?!” “Hmph… Then it is true. You’ve no idea, do you? How ironic. To think that one who craves power above all else would throw their daughter to the wolves, only for her to become the world’s strongest witch.” “Wh-what…? Lorna? The world’s strongest witch? You must be joking…” The elf queen looked down at the confused Brau with pity in her eyes. “Foolish human. Had you not abandoned your daughter so easily, without even looking into her skill… If you had only let her cook, you might very well have had your shot to unalive me. You would no doubt be popping off at this very moment.” “I—I don’t understand…” “In other words: ‘Lady Lorna is goated.’” “G-goats? What are you…?” Brau had been thrown into abject confusion. He couldn’t figure out how it had all come to this. Nor could he understand the words coming out of the queen’s mouth. Everything was so bewildering. Could she be speaking some kind of ancient dialect? “Now, then. This conversation has gone on long enough. It is time to end this.” “…D-dammit! Dammit, dammit, dammit! Damn it all to hell!!! My plan! It was perfect! This wasn’t supposed to happen! It wasn’t supposed to end this way! So…how?! How the blazes did this happen?!” “You want to know, do you? Then I have just the thing to offer as a parting gift. If you wish to know how this all came to be…” Ellhar then imparted the divine phrase Lorna had taught her. “…just google it.” As those words left her mouth, the vines tightened around Margrave Brau’s body and squeezed him until he lost consciousness. The queen looked over her shoulder and called out, “It’s over.” “Your Majesty! You have our gratitude for honoring us with your assistance!” The royal knights cautiously entered the room and bowed low to Queen Ellhar. She had sent one of her familiars to the human king and requested his help with the raid on the Guugelheit estate. She knew very well that, if the elves were to attack the House of Guugelheit without permission, it would be viewed as an international act of aggression. And so they had made sure to procure the king’s blessing first. Incidentally, she had decided to leave the family’s punishment to the royal knights. She figured that, based on the nature of their craven acts, they were certain to at least be stripped of their rank. “I—I never thought I would have the honor of meeting the legendary queen of the elves. Your Majesty has kindly helped us quell this conspiracy against our nation… We are truly in your debt.” “Heh… Then you would do well to remember this. In the language of the gods, one shows their appreciation by saying T Y, or the more formal T Y S M.” “…! The language of the gods?!” “I-incredible…! I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that Your Majesty knows the divine tongue…” “Heh. You are mistaken. I am not the incredible one—that epithet belongs to Lorna Hermit. She is the one who taught me these words. You also have her to thank for exposing the House of Guugelheit’s crimes.” “Lorna Hermit? If she is a human worthy of Your Majesty’s praise, then she must be truly formidable. Who is she?” “Indeed. She is a girl capable of communing with the gods. An oracle and a savior. But more than all that—she is someone to whom my people owe a great debt.” “The oracle Lorna Hermit…” “B-by the way. Would it be possible for Your Highness to teach us other phrases in the language of the gods…?” “…kthxbai.” “…!!!” The royal knights all scrambled to note down the queen’s hallowed words. And so it was that, unbeknownst to Lorna, word of the “Great Oracle Lorna Hermit” began to travel, along with the internet slang she had brought into the world. But that is a story for another time. Keeping one eye on the royal knights as they apprehended Brau and Rowser, Queen Ellhar glanced around the room. Let’s see… Her gaze fell on the communications crystal on the margrave’s desk. A magical implement… The technology is quite ancient. Between this and Zariché’s Queen’s Heart Rose seed…I smell something sinister afoot. The forces of darkness are beginning to grow in strength. It seems almost as if new enemies are being sent to our world from somewhere…outside of it. After taking a moment for solemn thought, Queen Ellhar stopped herself with a chuckle. But that is of little consequence… As long as Lady Lorna is with us, things are certain to turn out fine. Lorna, the girl with the knowledge of the gods. With her in their corner, the idea of shadowy organizations plotting conspiracies seemed laughable. That said, Lorna wasn’t a fighter. If possible, Queen Ellhar didn’t want to trouble her with such matters. And so… “……” The queen gently tapped her staff against the ground. In a flash, her army of elves appeared before her and knelt. “If Lady Lorna’s wish is to freely travel the world, then it is the duty of our people to help her achieve that. So, my elven warriors—spread across the land and support her from the shadows. Do I make myself clear? “““Yes, Your Majesty!””” And with that, her army dispersed. Each of them was among the strongest warriors in the world—Level 30 to 50, all. They were certain to prove useful to Lorna. It was time for the elves, who had long kept out of the public eye, to venture forth into the world once more.