She, who was one of the Heroes of the Round Table within the guild,

Elaina, whom I met for the first time in a long while…

… uh… uh…

He slumped to the floor, wrapped his arms around my knees, and was pleading.

“Please don’t abandon me… I’ll do anything… Please, please… *sobbing*…”

***

Keyal couldn’t figure out what to do at all.

His hand unconsciously clutched his forehead, and he was busy feeling confused, as if overwhelmed by nausea and a headache without even realizing it.

Why is she looking so broken?

I had no choice but to flounder in the chaotic situation.

I admired Elaina, who was holding me in her arms and spreading a faint floral scent.

Elaina begins to smile while trembling all over.

She starts crying and laughing. When she wipes away her tears, she wears a shy smile.

Squirming in joy, he flailed his arms and legs several times, wildly thrashing his whole body as if he had lost his sense of direction.

As if struggling to refuse, yet not actually disliking it.

Keyal Klein’s memory awakens the value of her, Elaina.

The hero, who had lived like family, suddenly began to treat himself as a tool and willingly act as a slave.

Didn’t he say that himself?

No, rather, they seemed busy begging, clinging to each other, crying, and throwing a tantrum.

I’ll do anything, so please don’t throw it away…..

It does not matter if you use yourself merely as a vessel to contain everything, or if you use yourself for the purpose of spitting out snow-covered frustration in a fleeting moment.

He was pitifully pleading to just let him stay by his side.

The guild leader pulled her arm as she knelt and begged.

I moved with creaking steps, like a frostbite person, avoiding the harsh and stinging gaze of the employee who looked at me like the worst piece of trash in the world.

They say you can stab someone to death with just your eyes…

***

I got a room at a nearby inn and stepped inside.

She softened and vaguely explained the difficulties she had faced since Keyal disappeared.

I locked the door as tightly as possible and patted her back as she whimpered until just before we arrived at the inn.

As soon as he managed to soothe Elaina and sit her on the double bed, he looked at her as she immediately began stroking the shabby sheet pressed against her lower body.

“What are you doing…?”

Unable to bear the stifling feeling, Keyal asked a question.

“Ah…ah…th-just…just thinking that I can be by Master’s side again like this….”

Elaina’s touch, filled with wistfulness and a look as if she were seeing something she had missed all over again, looked very happy.

You know how this sheet looks so beautiful…?

They look at the messy and dirty sheets and say they are beautiful.

I suppose you could say it’s like a high school girl petting a cute, fluffy pet dog while walking down the street.

With his slightly eccentric appearance, the mature elf looked very clumsy for no reason.

“Is…is that so… If that is how it looks to Elaina, then it’s a relief, though…”

He is a hero of the ‘Edric’ guild, which was quite promising. I would rather tear up my own clothes and lay them down instead of making him sleep in a place like this, but

If I say this, it is clear that she will refuse.

Keyal condensed the shallow magic of his regretful heart into his hand and unwittingly spread it throughout her body.

Shamak

Keyal, who recited a short incantation

Shamak is an ability that condenses the basic magical energy used by demons; it is an ability that allows the target to be relieved of internal or external pain or to heal themselves.

The small magic began to examine every nook and cranny of her body.

Although she spoke as if it were no big deal, Keyal was deeply worried.

I guess I should get a thorough checkup…

The magic faded and scattered from Elaina’s body.

The results came out. And Keyal is…

“ …… ”

I couldn’t help but frown.

Keyal hurriedly tried to gauge Elaina’s body.

There were two black beads, three or four reddish-purple beads, and no blue light was visible.

The more murky the color becomes, the more it means that there is not a single intact spot.

Then, what does Black mean?

The answer is simple.

Elaina’s body had literally collapsed to the point where it was on the verge of ceasing to function.

On the surface, there didn’t seem to be any problem. However, even that must have been a trick to relieve my own worries.

Regulating body temperature with the power of the Four Spirits

If you summon the power of nature to cover and shape it, it is no big deal to make even a patient who is fully ill look like a vigorous, healthy person.

It was only when that thought crossed my mind that I realized Elaina’s physical condition was severely damaged.

Unlike the past, when one could heal the mind and body with a touch or two on the screen

The withered being before my eyes was feeling mental pain.

I suffered a wound that cannot be completely erased.

Due to the ignorance of my master, Keyal Klein, of all people…

Keyal hesitantly approached Elaina slowly.

“Ugh? Master…?”

Elaina, frozen in place.

He looked with puzzled eyes at my slumped posture, my hands curled up and gathered together, looking dejected.

Whenever that happened, Keyal felt a sense of guilt creeping up his back.

It made me realize that this place is not a world lacking reality, but a reality existing as fact.

Through the shattered appearance of a colleague with whom I had built a bond, of all things,

Fantastically looking at her tattered and distorted figure, with her mint-colored hair that had lost its luster and become brittle,

He stroked her glossy hair, which looked quite different from what was actually in front of him.

Elaina expressed gratitude for the Elf Queen’s perseverance and faith.

And I conveyed my embarrassment and apologies.

If I had known she would end up like this, I would have at least left a letter.

“…I’m sorry, Elaina. You’ve had a hard time because of that foolish master.”

***

It became a dark night.

Elaina, having changed into her pajamas, climbed onto his bed with the light footsteps characteristic of an elf and examined his bare face.

Master, who said to fall asleep first,

A face pale as if tormented by guilt,

As he fell asleep, he raised his eyebrows and called out the names of Elaina and the other Heroes of the Round Table.

Keyal apologizes to Elaina, shaking his body violently as the cold and nightmares overlap.

Holding my master’s trembling hand, I felt the warmth of Keyal, who was desperately searching for me in my dream.

“Haa… Master… It’s warm… It’s so warm…”

The corners of her mouth curved into a crescent shape, wearing a smile that had once again reached its peak.

Elaina, who feels gratitude for small joys

However, aside from that, Elaina could not understand at all what her master was saying.

How could the master apologize?

It is we who failed to live up to your expectations…

Elaina couldn’t understand.

He himself is a tool serving him,

It is a natural fact that if you desire more than that and offend your master, you will be abandoned.

Of course, I didn’t want to be abandoned.

It is only natural. Without the care of sunlight, nothing walking on the earth can survive.

enN1WnIzcFhHMVJuR0JvdkNPc013MkgvcExXZ1pDL2ZHMjdLYkNlSW93bnZTVEU1azhkYVd1cXNaKzhzMHA1eA

To him, his master was the sun and the light of the pioneers.

The sense of loss that suddenly struck on the day the sun, the master, disappeared, and the plummeting value brought back unspeakable pain.

We were sinners for failing to serve our Master and for hoping for more than He could give.

Losing sunlight as a consequence of carelessness in trying to extinguish the sun’s fire is a natural law of nature and an inevitability.

They simply shed tears of gratitude for the master’s generosity in forgiving their sins with a generous heart, and for the master’s benevolence in embracing them while they were immersed in sorrow and reaching out his hand once again.

***

I took a listless step out of the inn.

The village, having achieved a familiar medieval civilization, began to come into full view.

Elaina frowns in disgust as she gazes at the scenery of the impoverished village. To her, a hero of the Edric Guild, such a shabby beginner’s village would not look very appealing.

Keyal gave a bitter smile, not entirely pleased with the situation.

Then he began to deeply reflect on the current situation.

Just like Elaina, other heroes may be enduring the same pain as her.

He glared with wide eyes at the village, which had already regressed to a level worse than Baekmok.

He unconsciously felt an uncontrollable rage at the thought that the guild’s heroes might be suffering endlessly in the midst of their predicament.

First, would it be okay if I wore it to the Adventurer’s Guild for a short while?

Keyal held Elaina’s hand tightly.

As if to assure her that I would never let go of this hand again. I would never again neglect or cast aside the fallen elf.

“Hehe, yes. Anywhere you wish, Master.”