“Are you awake?”
“?”
Lisir thought he was, but perhaps he was still dreaming.
That was the first impression that crossed his mind as he woke.
After all, the scene before him was nothing short of surreal.
Whoosh.
The curtains were drawn open with vigor.
Morning sunlight poured through the window, illuminating the maid who had opened the curtains.
Her silver hair, tinged with a soft pink hue, glistened in the sunlight, making it shine even more brilliantly.
And that smile.
“Good morning!”
It was a cheerful smile, as if it sought to fill the entire room with boundless energy.
“Ah, good morning!”
Lisir, caught up in the infectious energy, reflexively responded.
And with great enthusiasm!
“Who… who are you?”
The most pressing question only surfaced after he had spoken.
A cheerful maid ushering in the morning?
Even Lisir, who had encountered countless fantastical sights since leaving his family, had yet to conquer this domain of fantasy.
“Hmm?”
The maid tilted her head slightly, her eyes curving into a gentle smile.
“What kind of joke is this? If it’s one from you, my lord, it must be a very amusing one—but I’m sorry. It seems I lack the wit to understand. If you don’t mind, could you explain it to ?”
Her friendly smile radiated warmth, and her eyes sparkled with curiosity, as if genuinely intrigued by the “joke.”
Lisir thought to himself, If every woman in the world reacted to failed jokes this way, there wouldn’t be any more ‘wounded n’ left to worry about.
Almost disard by her positivity, Lisir barely managed to steady himself and replied,
“I was just saying that your appearance has changed so much that I didn’t recognize you for a mont, Tia.”
Even as he said it, Lisir wasn’t entirely sure.
Tia, the Dark Elf slave.
The last ti he had seen her, she was an unstable figure, worn down by years of slavery, showing signs of emotional desolation.
“Does it seem strange?”
If there had been even the slightest hint of pretense in her current deanor, Lisir might have agreed.
It would have seed strange—like she was forcing herself to repay him for the kindness he’d shown her (rescuing her brother, promising her freedom).
But there was no such pretense in her now.
Her current self was neither artificial nor unstable.
It felt utterly natural, and therefore, healthy.
Was this her true self all along?
There was no way to know.
What was clear, however, was that she looked far better now than she ever had before.
It seed that no word or action could mar the radiant, vibrant smile she wore.
“The change does seem rather abrupt… but one thing’s certain: you look much better now. You seem healthy.”
“Really? That’s such a relief... To be honest, I was worried. I wondered if you might find my changed appearance strange. But if you think I look good, that makes so happy!”
Tia burst into laughter and clasped Lisir’s hands.
“Let’s go! I’ve prepared breakfast!”
“...But, Tia. Where did you get that maid outfit?”
“Does it suit ? I was surprised when I saw myself in the mirror!”
“That’s not really what I ant…”
Well, whatever.
If it’s a good thing, it’s a good thing.
That was how Lisir concluded his thoughts about Tia’s transformation.
From then until the mont he left his quarters, she attended to him with unwavering dedication.
“Take care, my lord!”
Even to the last mont, she didn’t lose her bright and vibrant smile for a single instant.
***
The Dark Elf city of Kehlrin.
The Sahila family, which governs this city, commands two powerful groups.
One is the Crimson Sand Guard, which operates in the light to serve the city.
The other is the Moonshadow Knights, who act in the shadows solely for the family.
The leader of the Moonshadow Knights, Kairen, does not question those he serves.
The Sahila family, who built the Dark Elf empire from the remote outskirts of the continent, deserved reverence.
And Katria, the noble daughter of such a family, embodied the pride and nobility of Sahila.
Yet he was worried.
What would Lady Katria look like by the end of this journey?
One day, Drian, the third son of the Sahila family, vanished without a trace from Kehlrin.
They had anticipated from the start that this journey to find him would not be an easy one.
Beyond the southern border of the continent lay the human world—a realm filled with malice and hostility toward Dark Elves.
But even Kairen hadn’t expected the depth of malice Katria would face.
Drian...
Despite repeatedly encountering human cruelty, Katria had managed to hold herself together.
But upon learning that Drian had been sold into slavery, she completely changed.
Kairen could not forget the sight of Katria tornting Resha, saying she was returning the sa suffering Drian had endured.
Who in Kehlrin, after witnessing that, could recall the Katria they once knew?
Even more horrifying was that this was only the beginning.
Katria approached a human mage who lusted after her to find her brother.
How much more malice would she encounter—and absorb—in the process?
If it were up to him, Kairen would have acted imdiately, using his strength to protect Drian and Katria.
If only he could guarantee that doing so would ensure their safety.
Unfortunately, the human city was too vast.
Stirring up trouble prematurely could lead to the worst-case scenario of being forced to leave before rescuing Drian.
This nightmare was, for now, their best option.
In the end, Kairen had to accept it all with a heavy heart.
His own powerlessness.
And the changes in his lady.
The pure young woman Kehlrin had cherished and loved no longer existed.
Now, she was a pitiful and grotesque monster, consud by malice and the venom it bred—
“Kairen! Look at this! This is what human maids wear. Doesn’t it suit perfectly?”
“?”
Who are you?
The words almost slipped from Kairen’s mouth.
The Katria who returned from the mage tower was entirely unexpected.
Clear eyes devoid of even a fragnt of malice or venom.
A cheerful atmosphere untouched by gloom.
In every way, she seed the opposite of soone consud by malice.
On the contrary, she appeared... radiant.
“Hey, rember? Lisir?”
“Lisir...?”
“Oh! What am I saying? I don’t need to pretend to be a slave here!”
Katria burst into a peal of laughter, as though genuinely amused.
Kairen and Resha, who had been kneeling nearby, could only stare at her in stunned silence.
“Anyway! That’s not the important part! Do you know what happened after I followed him? Kairen, you won’t believe it even if I tell you!”
Surprisingly, Katria’s story was convincing enough to explain her transformation.
“You’ve already found him, Lady Drian?”
“Yep! Lisir made it his top priority!”
Him?
Kairen found her choice of words sowhat jarring but focused on her story for now.
The story of a human mage with a Dark Elf as his ntor.
As Katria recounted the tale, her initially cheerful deanor beca increasingly solemn.
“I suddenly thought… I want to be like them. Soone who brightens the lives of others.”
A simple yet remarkable story:
A girl tainted by wickedness ets a virtuous soul and, in the end, is profoundly changed by him.
“…So, Kairen, will you support what I’m about to do?”
Katria spoke with a precarious yet resolute expression.
“I need to correct my terrible mistake.”
She retrieved her belongings from Kairen.
Among them was a bracelet adorned with a large topaz.
It was the Sahila family’s most precious artifact, owned by the second daughter of their lineage.
The Hand of Verdandes.
This artifact, which sealed a powerful desert demon through a contract, fulfilled the user’s wishes in the form of a “curse.”
“Lady Katria, surely you’re not going to—!”
The Hand of Verdandes was a treasure steeped in the history and power of the Sahila family.
Its strength was enough to move a family and even a city.
As a retainer of the Sahila family, Kairen was obligated to dissuade her from using it.
“The Hand of Verdandes must only be used for the Sahila family!”
“That’s right. This is for the Sahila family.”
“What do you an—”
“If I can’t save him, then the Katria of Sahila will no longer exist.”
“…!”
A chill ran down Kairen’s spine.
Her cheerful eyes had montarily gone completely dark, as if extinguished.
In the end, Kairen failed in his duty.
-“State your desire!”
A desperate scream echoed from the topaz on the bracelet.
It was the voice of Verdandes, the demon bound by the contract.
Katria held a single strand of golden hair to the topaz and said,
“Can you neutralize the poison afflicting the owner of this hair?”
-“Wish for sothing else!”
“Why?”
-“He isn’t poisoned with sothing I can neutralize!”
“…”
Katria clenched her eyes shut.
She had feared this outco, but to think even the Hand of Verdandes couldn’t undo it...
But it was fine.
There was another way.
Sothing within the mage tower had already purified Clouded Truth.
If she could just find that, it was only a matter of ti before Lisir’s affliction was cured.
Yes.
A matter of ti.
Until then, she had to delay the poison’s progression as much as possible.
“Share your power with him.”
This request would make it possible.
-“How desperate you must be! Such a foolish wish! By contract, I must warn you: if I share my power, he will be dominated by it! This is not the result you desire!”
Verdandes was a mighty demon.
Anyone dominated by his power would require imnse risk and effort to save.
However, it wasn’t impossible.
Using Verdandes’ power to suppress the poison, finding the cure, and then removing Verdandes’ influence—
That was Katria’s plan.
“No, this is exactly what I desire. How long will it take for him to fall under your control?”
-“A week at most!”
“Good. That’s plenty. Verdandes, I command you to fulfill your role under our contract.”
-“Hahaha! Very well, scion of Sahila! The contract is fulfilled!”
With those words, the glow of the topaz dimd.
“…All right, Kairen. Let’s go.”
There was no ti to waste.
Verdandes’ power was already working to dominate the powerless human mage.
Though the tiline had stretched from two days to a week, it was still tight.
She had to find the mage tower’s purifying agent as quickly as possible.
***
It was that ti again—Lord ltas’ daily lesson.
Today’s topic: practical combat, a sparring match.
To be honest, I was looking forward to it.
With my current abilities, maybe I could hold my own even against a Master-level opponent.
“Ugh!!! Hah!!! Huff!!!”
Not even close.
Even though Lord ltas held back considerably, I couldn’t even graze a single strand of his braided beard.
“Why is your barrier!!! Huff!!! So absurdly durable!? Huff!!! It’s like the gaps in my teeth—huff!!!”
“Lisir, if you’re exhausted, take a mont to catch your breath. Or are you planning to pass out mid-rant?”
I couldn’t have imagined it.
No matter what, I hadn’t expected to fail so utterly against a casual wave of his hand.
After pouring every ounce of my energy into the fight, my mana reserves had hit rock bottom.
This happened in less than five minutes after the sparring began.
It was yet another mont to reaffirm Lord ltas’ stature as one of the most skilled among the Masters of the Tower.
“Well fought, Lisir. That’s enough for today.”
“Understood—huff!!! Lord ltas—you worked… wait, what?”
───
[You have resisted.]
[Your level has increased!]
───
“...”
Feeling a sudden, inexplicable shift, I stood and addressed Lord ltas.
“Lord ltas. My mana has recovered.”
“?”
“I’m not sure why, but it has. Shall we resu the sparring?”
“Are you ssing with ?”
The Dark Elf’s Practical Living Techniques
Wherever she went, the Dark Elf nad Pamon always had a place to stay.
This wasn’t so romantic notion of sleeping on the ground with the sky as her blanket.
This remarkably pragmatic thod began with identifying the residence of a corrupt, affluent figure within the city.
This not only alleviated any pangs of conscience but also preemptively eliminated the risk of being scolded by a certain adorable and precious soone.
Next ca thorough negotiations (mind manipulation) with the property owner.
And, lo and behold—magic!
The Dark Elf who had been turned away at the city gates was now a cherished guest of the city’s corrupt elite.
Temporary ownership of a mansion in the bustling city center beca a token of this newfound “friendship.”
This was how Pamon managed to stay in human cities where she was otherwise unwelco.
“Ah~ This bed. So soft. This is what living feels like~”
“Don’t be so grumpy~ You know how far the forest is from here, Duran~”
“Oh, Duran! Look at this wine color~”
Of course, Pamon hadn’t always been fond of such thods.
“Pamon, instead of this, why don’t you go into the city and rent a room?”
“I’d rather stay here, listening to the chirping of insects, than rest in so human space.”
In the past, Pamon directed the contempt humans showed her back at them and everything they touched.
Everything changed after she took on a disciple.
“But, but~ I want to have lots of stories to share when I reunite with Lisir soday~”
The desire to share more of the world with her disciple led Pamon to embrace human culture actively.
Yes.
It was all to beco a perfect ntor for her precious disciple!
“How could wine be this deep? What did they do to the grapes? What did they do to the soil? Pruning the vines and sucking the nutrients dry, I suppose? How terrible. Such a terrible thing should be destroyed.”
“Want a sip, Duran?”
And so, as Pamon diligently lived up to the image of the “terrible ntor” her disciple surely envisioned—
“Hm?”
While sipping wine and lounging on the bed, Pamon rummaged through her belongings.
A mont later, she returned with a parchnt and spread it out on the bed.
“Well, what do you know? A ssage from the Sahila family? From the young lady herself.”
“What nonsense, Duran~ I adore Lady Katria~”
“Oh no~ I just got scolded about relationships by a book~”
Pamon’s eyes followed the real-ti updates on the parchnt’s text.
“Aha~ So that’s why she contacted .”
“She’s asking , out of nowhere, how to neutralize Clouded Truth.”
“Probably because my master invented it?”
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