After seeing Rose off, Igni did not head to the Inn where Edward was, but instead, he headed for the Inn where the Elves stayed.
“Hello, Mr. Igni.”
Igni: “Hello everyone. Thank you for your hard work.”
At the Inn where many of the Elves’ supporters gathered, Igni could enter without anyone questioning him.
“What brings you here today?” Igni: “I needed to speak to Ms. Lura.”
And with that, he entered the Inn and headed to the room alone and…..knocked.
“Please enter.”
The door was not locked, and as Igni twisted the knob, it opened without resistance.
“Hello, Igni. What brings you here?” Igni: “.........Ms. Lura.”
Igni was careful to not let his voice be heard by others and spoke to Lura.
Though Lura was in the middle of working through some documentation, she looked up to meet Igni’s gaze.
Lura: “What’s wrong? You look like you bit through a bitter fruit.”
Igni: “.................why………..why did you push Lilly <to betray us>?”
Lura: “What’s that? I don’t understand.”
Lura’s expression did not shift an inch at Igni’s question and smiled back at him.
Trying to determine where to start, Igni thought for a moment before he spoke. In the end, he was going to speak of the events in chronological order.
Igni: “At first……...Ms. Lura, you mentioned that you were impressed with my Spell.”
Lura: “Yes I did. I can honestly commend you for getting so far……...especially this far, with just {Fireball}.”
Igni: “Yes. That’s why I initially thought that………...that was the reason why you chose me.”
Lura: “You make it sound like there were other reasons.”
Igni: “You……..<intentionally> paired me with Lilly so we would spend more time together. Is that correct?”
Lura: “.....................”
Lura continued to mask her expression with her smile and said nothing.
Igni: “I first thought it was odd……….on the 3rd night of our camp. It was obvious that only Lilly and my pairing unnaturally continued.”
Lura: “Yup. I wanted you and Lilly to get along better. In order for Lilly, who loathed humans, to get over those feelings, I needed her to establish a deep friendship with someone. Yup, just someone.”
Igni: “And……...that was me?”
Lura: “That’s right.”
Lura looks down back at her paperwork.
Igni: “Then………...then why did you bridge the communication between the [Demon Race] and Lilly.”
Igni couldn’t help but feel his voice rise.
Lura: “You shouldn’t speak in such a loud voice.”
Igni: “.........Kuro……..the [Demon Race] we captured said, [I gave the Crystal Ball to one of our supporters in the Elves’ group, but that wasn’t Lilly.]”
Lura: “Oh no～.....”
And that was when Lura’s smile strained slightly.
Lura: “So you know that much already～.....”
Igni: “She was complaining about [how much she had to pay up and it still ended up horribly]….’”
Lura: “I see. Well, if you figured out that much, then it can’t be helped.”
Lura looked up into Igni’s eyes.
Lura: “It was me who gave the [Crystal Ball] to Lilly.”
Igni: “Why………?”
Lura: “Igni, have you ever fallen in love?”
Igni: “.................”
Igni remained silent.
Lura: “Ohhhh, I see. You’re more innocent than I thought. How cute.”
Igni: “................”
Being told that he was cute, Igni felt his heart strings tug for a second.
Lura: “Love…….especially romance……..is a poison. It’s a poison that burns you whole.”
Igni: “What are you trying to get at?”
Lura: “You know as well, right? Elves can only give birth to <FEMALES>. And they can only bear children to the one person they fell in love with during their lifetime.”
Igni: “.........yes, I heard.”
Elves are a very special race.
Although they can live up to a 1,000 years, in exchange for their abnormally long lifespan……….they can only give birth to females, and it is not easy to conceive children either.
Lura: “That’s why…….they are a dying race.”
Igni: “..............”
The Elves survived the Great War.
The Fairies and Giant Races all went extinct during the Great War, but they did not.
But even so………...their numbers are few.
Igni: “That’s why you wanted Lilly and I to…….”
Lura: “You’re wrong. It’s true that <I hoped maybe something like that might happen>, but I never dreamed of it actually coming true.”
Igni: “Then why give Lilly the Crystal Ball……….?” Lura: “I wanted her to realize that she fell in love for the first time.”
That’s what Lura said.
Lura: “Igni, far faster than you even thought……...Lilly fell in love with you very quickly. Even I was caught off-guard. I never thought Lilly, who hated humans so much, would immediately start feeling attached to you.”
Igni: “..........I didn’t realize it at all.”
Lura: “And Lilly was the same. She was unable to realize her own feelings at all.”
Igni: “But how does that relate to your decision to give Lilly the Crystal Ball?”
Lura: “Because…..well, because she was so innocent and pure.”
Igni: “..................”
Lura: “Didn’t you find Lilly crying in tears unbelievably endearing?”
Igni: “..........that is, well, yeah…”
Igni was unable to deny that fact.
Igni: “..........but……..you did it <just for that reason>?” Lura: “<Just for that>? You wound me, Igni. It may decide the fate of my race.”
Igni: “You mean, I will?” Lura: “Of course. Aren’t you the grandson of the [Ultimate Light]?”
Igni: “.................”
Igni wasn’t expecting Lura to bring up his grandfather’s…….."ambitious" pursuit of relationships and apply it to him as well.
Lura: “I wouldn’t mind if you make as many Elves fall in love you as you possibly can……..in fact, I’ll support you 100%. How about it?”
Igni felt his heart LURCH forward 90% of the way at the jaw-dropping idea……….but he managed to refuse Lura’s offer.
Igni: “I’m sorry, but I already have prior commitments.”
Lura: “...........the [Demon King’s] corpse, huh.”
Igni: “Yes.” Lura: “You’re really going to do it?” Igni: “I made a promise to Rose already.”
Lura: “Well, if you’ve already made up your mind, it can’t be helped. Well then, I guess we’ll be seeing each other again in about a year from now.”
Apparently, she already decided that Igni WAS going to the Elves' country.
Igni quietly danced a victory lap in his heart.
Lura: “Oh, but I have a surprise waiting for you. I hope you like it.”
Igni: “A surprise……..?” Igni tilts his head to wonder, but there isn’t any more time for questions. He’ll be late to catch the carriage ride to go back home, and Igni leaves Lura’s room.
Next, he heads to Kurara’s room.
Kurara: “I see…..it’s……..already time……..to part…...it was…….quite enjoyable……..Igni.”
Igni: “Are you feeling better?” Kurara: “Yes………..I am…..well now…..but the others…….will not…..permit me……...to leave...”
Kurara quietly chuckles.
Kurara: “It has……...been a pleasure…...you are…….very interesting……...indeed…….thank you……….Igni.”
Igni: “I also got to know someone amazing, Kurara.”
Kurara: “Hehe……...next time……..we meet……..let’s have…….a proper…….date.”
Igni: “I’d be happy to.”
Igni shakes hands with Kurara and leaves her room.
He headed to Lilly’s room next……….but he did see Lilly there.
Igni: “............huh?”
He found it strange and looked all over the Inn for her, but Lilly was nowhere to be found.
Igni: “I really wanted to at least tell her goodbye～”
Yoori: “Igni! The carriage is about to leave!”
Igni: “Sorry! Be right there!!”
At Yoori’s call, Igni begrudgingly leaves the Inn behind him.
Igni: (……….I wanted to at least see her face one more time.)
Thinking about Lilly, Igni follows after Yoori.
And with that, the turbulent week abruptly ended.
<<<<>>>>
Lura: “Oka～y, it’s finally done.”
Lura looks at the completed documentation.
The first was a letter. It was addressed to her [Master].
Lura: “I bet Master Mira would be shocked at this～”
Although she hasn’t communicated with her for several decades now……..she’s sure that the odd outcast of an Elf will still accept her letter.
The second was a Compatibility Form.
It was documenting a Wizard’s talents in fine detail.
This is commonly submitted when a Wizard is moving from one organization to another.
Lura: “I’m sure Igni will love this gift I have for him.”
There is a specific Elf on the Compatibility Form.
The Elf’s age is 20, and her name is Lilly.
Lura: “It’s an <EXCHANGE STUDENT> from the Elves’ country…...I’m sure Master Mira would be shocked when she sees this! Yes!!”
In other words, it was the exchange student paperwork for Lilly to attend Rolmod Wizard Academy…….!
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