Chapter 238
Reno looked at me and asked.
“Isn’t that right, Your Highness?”
“Oh? Ugh, yes. That’s right.”
As I nodded involuntarily, Killis furrowed his brows. Soon, he sighed, turned away huffily, and said,
“Do as you please.”
Is he angry?
—He seems angry.
—Indeed. I don’t know what he’s saying, but I can feel the emotion.
So it wasn’t just my imagination. If even Vita and Natura noticed, then it must be true.
But I had no intention of retracting my decision.
‘I somehow feel like I have to go.’
It wasn’t an intense pull, but I felt like I’d regret it if I didn’t go.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes?”
“Would it be alright if I went to the temple to sprinkle the essence and came back? I’m still fine, but Isaac said he couldn’t understand the elves’ language.”
“We should probably hear what the elves have to say too.”
—We’re fine.
Reno said he’d be back quickly and took Isaac to the temple. Only after they returned did we, along with the elves, head towards the Nex habitat.
* * *
‘Indeed…… it’s not a pleasant sight.’
That was what I felt upon seeing the mutant Nex habitat. The World Tree’s trunk was diseased and its outer layer peeled off, and I had somewhat intuited it from the location where the Nex were lured.
‘Still, it’s worse than I imagined.’
There wasn’t a single intact tree trunk. Moreover, lumps of something were clumped together here and there. If Meliana hadn’t burned them all with magic, it would have been quite gruesome to look at.
—Here! Found one!
—Here too!
The shouts of elves echoed from various places. And in their hands were weapons like daggers and various ornaments.
—So this is all there is. I still thought we’d be able to find remains…….
—It can’t be helped. It’s already been over twenty years, and the Nex’s appetite is very strong.
It was when I was listening to the elves and looking around myself. Something caught on my foot.
“……?”
What is it?
As I paused, Reno bent down and picked it up. Then he wiped it clean with his sleeve and offered it to me.
“Here it is, Your Highness.”
“Ah, thank you. But are you okay? Your sleeve got dirty.”
“This much can just be washed.”
That’s good to hear, but…….
I examined what Reno had given me.
‘A pendant?’
It was a familiar object, but a bit unfamiliar to me. In the past, it was used as a classic locket necklace, but in modern times, I rarely had the chance to encounter one since people didn’t wear them.
It felt like something a protagonist would discover rummaging through an attic in an old movie.
It was curious and strange, and as I fiddled with it, my fingertip accidentally caught on a groove, and it split in half.
“Oh……?”
Did I break it?
Fortunately, the necklace wasn’t completely split. There was a small joint at the end of the oval, which had opened wide.
And,
‘A woman?’
Inside was a portrait of a woman with radiant blonde hair.
The delicately painted portrait looked, at a glance, as if it had been drawn by the hand of an excellent artist.
‘She doesn’t seem to be an elf…….’
Elves’ ears are quite long and pointed, so no matter how much they’re covered by hair, they usually stick out.
But the ears of the woman in the portrait were hidden by her hair and not clearly visible.
“What’s wrong, Your Highness?”
Reno showed curiosity. Isaac also looked curious, so I readily showed them the inside of the necklace.
“There’s a portrait in here.”
Reno and Isaac looked at the portrait. Reno paused for a moment. I tilted my head, wondering if I had seen wrong, when Isaac spoke.
“……Adeline?”
“Huh?”
“It’s written here.”
Isaac pointed to the portrait with his fingertip. The writing was so tiny it was surprising he noticed it.
“You’re right. Is this the lady’s name?”
“I think so.”
As I talked with Isaac, it was strange how quiet Reno had been since earlier. It was unlike him, and I was about to open my mouth when.
—What are you looking at?
“Oh, Vita. I picked this up.”
—That is.
Vita frowned slightly and said.
—It belongs to the Pinus brothers.
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