“It has nothing to do with this village at all, though...” Nephteros opened her mouth to speak, seemingly still on edge.
“I don’t mind. Speak,” Zagan gently urged. Emboldened by his words, Nephteros timidly began speaking.
“Do you... remember when you were about the same age as these children?”
That was a completely random question, so Nephteros’ attempt to avoid asking it made sense.
“Let’s see. Everything I can recall is quite worthless, but I do remember them, yes,” Zagan replied, nodding back toward Nephteros despite his confusion.
“...For example?”
“Like when I failed to run away after stealing food and nearly got beaten to death, or when I spent an entire week without eating anything and managed to find some moldy bread, but was left loitering around on the border of death due to disease, or when I got lured by food from a sorcerer, was abducted, and was nearly used as a sacrifice. Stuff like that, basically...” Zagan tried talking about various memories, but all of them ended up pointing back to food in the end. How embarrassing.
“Is only having memories of near-death experiences normal?”
“Hm... Well, I had so many of those experiences that I simply had to become a sorcerer. I guess that’s probably not normal at all, huh?” Zagan realized nothing about that was normal at all, but there was nobody around to point that out.
“Can I... talk about something a little weird?” Nephteros asked as she continued to languidly hug her knees.
“Go ahead,” Zagan instantly replied. He could tell that she was worried about something. Setting aside whether he could actually give her any advice, Zagan knew that he could at least hear her out. And upon being told to go ahead, Nephteros began speaking in a frightened voice.
“I don’t... remember anything from when I was their age.”
“You mean you lost your memories?” Zagan asked as he raised a brow.
“...I don’t know. To be honest, I never even thought about it until now.”
Serving under an Archdemon didn’t provide any opportunities to get involved with children, so perhaps that was only natural.
“And also, why does Nephy have the same face as me...?”
Zagan was actually the one who wanted to ask that question, but it seemed she didn’t know the answer herself.
“Who am I...?” Nephteros said in a trembling voice, sounding ready to burst into tears at any moment.
Ask someone like Chastille, not me... Zagan wasn’t even any good at comforting Nephy. He had no clue what to say at times like this. And so, after worrying about it for a while, he simply snorted in a bored tone.
“How worthless.”
“...” Nephteros silently slumped her shoulders as Zagan continued speaking.
“What kind of answer do you expect? Frankly, even I don’t know who I am or where I was born. But still, aren’t I just me? I mean, how can a person ever be anyone other than who they are in the moment?”
Nephteros stared at Zagan with a blank expression on her face. She was left confused, unsure whether he was making fun of her or admonishing her, and before long, she opened her mouth to try figure out what was going on.
“Could it be... Are you trying to comfort me?”
“Take it however you will,” Zagan replied nonchalantly. However, in the next instant, he opened his eyes wide in surprise. He was stunned by the sight of Nephteros’ mouth loosening up and forming a gentle smile.
“I see. I feel like I finally understand why Nephelia said that the way you worry about things is cute.”
“...Do you think I won’t kill you just because you’re a guest?” Zagan grimaced as he responded in a clearly agitated tone.
“For the time being, I suppose I should offer my thanks. I feel... just a little better now,” Nephteros said as she stood up with a bitter smile on her face. Zagan found her expression of gratitude quite embarrassing, so all he did was shrug his shoulders.
“By the way, what’s that?” Nephteros knit her brows as she questioned Zagan.
“What do you mean...? Oh, this?” Zagan exclaimed as he realized Nephteros was pointing at the mithril pendant. It was the one that was found alongside the journal about Nephy. Before he knew it, the chain had spilled out of his pocket, and it was dangling about.
Now that I think of it, I haven’t examined this thing yet... Zagan took the pendant out of his pocket as he realized his mistake.
“It was hidden in the elder’s manor. I haven’t looked into it yet, but it seems to have some mechanism binding it.”
“Really? Can I take a look?”
“I don’t mind, but don’t break it, okay?”
“I won’t,” Nephteros responded in an exasperated tone. Then, she took the pendant and began examining it, and after a while she raised a brow.
“It looks like it opens up here. Are you sure it’s locked?”
“What, really?” Zagan took a closer look at the pendant as that fact was pointed out to him. That was when he noticed that the pendant had a small gap in it.
“Can you open it?”
“I’ll give it a try...” Nephteros said as she tried picking at it with her nails a few times. Eventually, she seemed to find a clasp and pressed into it, which opened the pendant with a click. And inside, there was a single portrait and a short inscription.
“Is this... Nephy and her mother?”
The portrait was a painting of a baby with white hair being embraced by a young female elf. The older woman was likely Nephy’s mother, as they resembled each other. She also possessed white hair and azure eyes... which could only mean she was a high elf.
This wasn’t all that surprising, but the inscription posed a huge problem. Stunned by the sight, Zagan read it aloud in hopes of being corrected.
“To my beloved daughter, Nephelia — Titania.”
That was the name of the elf who had challenged Archdemon Orias hundreds of years ago and perished as a result.
Chapter IV: They Say No Child Knows How Dear They Are to Their Parents, but Parents Also Don’t Understand the Feelings of Their Children
“Titania... huh?” Zagan muttered as he held up the pendant that Nephteros opened earlier.
It was evening now, they had already finished dinner, and Nephy and Foll were chatting in front of the fireplace with acorns spread out before them. The acorns that Zagan baked that night on impulse were unexpectedly popular. He had used honey to cover up the fact that they didn’t really have any seasoning, but it seemed their curiosity made them forget about the bland taste.
Barbatos was practically drowning himself in liquor at a nearby table, and Chastille was attempting to stop him. Nephteros was in another chair, lost in thought over something while gazing at the fireplace. She was somewhat anxious due to what they discussed during the afternoon, but it did look like she had almost fully recovered. If it were to drag on more, then Zagan would have been forced to take care of her at his castle for a while.
Kimaris and Gremory weren’t around. After a serious round of rock-paper-scissors, it was decided that cleaning up after dinner would be left to them. And so, they were stuck washing the tableware while complaining about how cramped the kitchen was.
After checking on the condition of his companions, Zagan let out a sigh. What do I do?
There wasn’t much in terms of buildings worth mentioning left in the village. And because Barbatos and the others had investigated them all during the day, all notable books and goods were already gathered before him. All that was really left was to somehow escape and turn Nephy back to normal.
However, Zagan was worried about two things. First was the name inscribed within the pendant, Titania. This sorcerer was said to have passed away several hundred years ago, but the pendant indicated that Nephy was her daughter. In other words, Nephy was the daughter of Titania, but the discrepancy in time made no sense. After all, she battled an Archdemon. The chances of Titania surviving for so long after that without anyone kno
wing were rather slim. Archdemons generally weren’t interested in others, but they showed no mercy or sympathy for their enemies.
There was always the chance that Orias captured her, but in that case, she would have been used as a sacrifice or a test subject. Zagan was sure she would never have had an opportunity to be blessed with a child, or the stamina to give birth to one, under those circumstances.
Though, there was always the possibility that Orias was like Zagan and fell in love with Titania at first sight. Unfortunately, none of the Archdemons seemed all that kind. And with that ruled out, there was only one remaining possibility, but...
If I’m right, killing Orias might be a bad idea... There was an eighty or ninety percent chance that the culprit this time around was Orias. Their connection to Titania would have lead to them learning of this village. They must have turned Nephy into a child so that she could learn to harness her power from a young age. According to Chastille, the aura in this village was strong. Moreover, it lent its power to Nephy with little effort on her part. Even several Archdemon candidates gathered together would have trouble placing a curse on her at the moment.
Zagan thought about his predicament, realizing it would be difficult for him to bring down someone on his level without lethal force. Plus, would defeating Orias even be enough to return Nephy to normal? There were many issues that plagued his thoughts when he thought of his first problem. As for the other problem...
Zagan cast his gaze over to Foll and Nephy, who were smiling at each other. Nephy’s emotions were usually readily apparent due to the movement of her ears, but it was very rare for anything to show on her face. She likely could not do it due to her upbringing, but Zagan felt like her facial muscles were gradually loosening as time passed.
Still, this was the first time Zagan saw her smiling brightly. The direct cause of Nephy becoming expressionless was obviously the trauma of being abandoned in this village. However, the way the elves mistreated her also played a clear part. After flipping through the elder’s journal, Zagan could understand why Nephy lost her smile.
Now then, between this Nephy and the real Nephy, which of the two is happier? This young girl was still Nephy. She still possessed the desire to comfort those who were troubled, even as a child. And it wasn’t like she lost all memories of the time she spent with Zagan and the others.
Above all else, Zagan wanted to protect Nephy’s smile, and he knew returning her to normal would make it disappear. Sorcerers lived long lives. Given another ten or so years, Nephy would grow back to her prior state, so there was also the option of just waiting it out. Ten years were practically nothing to him, and that way, she could preserve her smile.
After seeing the heart-wrenching contents of that journal, he couldn’t help but want to wait. And while Zagan was racking his brains over the matter, Gremory and Kimaris returned from the kitchen. It seemed that it was troublesome to revert her age, so Gremory was still in the form of a little girl. Also, Kimaris took on his lion form in order to entertain the girls.
“We’ve finished with cleaning up,” Gremory reported.
“Oh, good work.”
“Huh...? What’s that? You’re making an awfully troubled face there. Is it really that difficult to break through the barrier around the village?” Gremory asked. Zagan realized he must have been making quite the expression for Gremory to pay him consideration.
“Do you know of Archdemon Orias?” Zagan inquired, shrugging his shoulders as he held up the pendant.
“W-Well, I at least know the name... Could it be...?” Gremory’s face spasmed as she spat out an answer.
“Yeah, Orias probably caused all this. So, I’ve been worrying about whether to kill them.”
“Ah... Like I thought...” Gremory put her hand to her face, losing herself in thought upon hearing his response.
“What? Is it someone you know?”
“Ah... Umm...” Gremory stumbled over her words as she desperately searched for an answer.
“Archdemon Orias is Miss Gremory’s teacher,” Kimaris cut in, answering in Gremory’s stead.
“Really?” Zagan exclaimed, nearly dropping the pendant as he heard that.
“...Umm, yeah...” Gremory nervously muttered.
“You... noticed it was Orias already, didn’t you?” Zagan stated as he watched the sweat pour down her brow.
“I just thought... it might be the case.”
Well, Gremory’s sorcery and the curse cast on Nephy had many things in common. Noticing the connection should have been simple, but Zagan was distracted by Nephy turning into a child, which made him overlook it.
“Let me just say this now, I didn’t know anything about this, okay? It’s been almost a hundred years since I last met Orias. Oh, and I didn’t leak any information, either,” Gremory claimed as she waved her hands about in a fluster.
“It’s not like I’m questioning you about any wrongdoings,” Zagan said. He understood why Gremory kept that information to herself. If it was known that someone related to the culprit was within the sealed space, they would instantly be labeled an enemy. That was why he had no intention of criticizing her for her actions. Instead, Zagan threw her a question.
“What kind of sorcerer is Orias?”
“Let’s see... The sorcery I use to manipulate my age is something I learned from my teacher, so Orias can use the same thing. Also... Ah, that’s right, my teacher is most likely an elf.”
“...Are you certain?”
“Yeah. Orias always wore a hood, so I never even saw their face, but I did catch sight of what was below it just once. The ears were unmistakably those of an elf.”
“I see...” Zagan responded.
“But, Sir Orias is said to have killed Fairy Queen Titania, right? Would another elf really do something like that?” Kimaris asked in a puzzled tone.
“...Isn’t it natural for elves to discriminate against their own kind?” Zagan knew that sounded harsh, but reading about how Nephy was treated by the villagers had angered him.
Kimaris groaned in response, like he wasn’t at all convinced, but Zagan simply nodded.
“It all makes sense now. You have my thanks,” Zagan said, expressing his gratitude.
“What’s that? You’re not going to get angry and say I should’ve told you sooner?” Gremory asked as she stared back at him in wonder.
“I’m the idiot for not noticing sooner. It’s not like it’s your fault or anything.”
“This form of mine seems to be quite convenient in front of my Archdemon, huh?” Gremory remarked as she looked down at her own childish figure.
“...Let me just say, I’m more than willing to kill children if they make themselves my enemy.”
“Keeheehee, I’ll tread lightly, then,” Gremory laughed pleasantly as she left to join Foll and Nephy in front of the fireplace. And even while glaring at her in an annoyed manner, he nodded slightly.
With this, I know how to deal with Orias... The only remaining problem was Nephy. As Zagan began groaning while gazing at the pendant, someone tugged on the hem of his robe. Turning to look at them, he noticed that Nephy had suddenly come up next to him with a worried expression on her face.
“Nephy? Shouldn’t you be playing with Gremory and Foll?”
“Mashter Zagan, did something happen? You’re making a very troubled face...” Nephy asked as she shook her head energetically to deny his question. In the end, this child really was Nephy. It seemed there was no way he could keep any secrets from her. And so, Zagan nodded as he resigned himself to his fate.
“Let’s see... Nephy, if something bad were to happen and you had the chance to do it over, what would you do?”
It wasn’t like he was entrusting the answer to the problem to Nephy herself, but he at least wanted to hear her thoughts.
“Doing it over... means it never happened in the first place, right?” Nephy asked.
“That’s right. To make it so it never happened, and do it all over again.”
/> With that, Nephy began puzzling over it deeply with a cute moan as if she was faced with a difficult problem. I see. The figure of someone worrying over things can be quite adorable, huh? Zagan highly doubted that he looked anywhere near as cute, but he at least thought that Nephy had a point. And before long, Nephy began putting her thoughts into words.
“Today, when I was looking for acorns with Big Shish Foll, I got really scared when I saw some bugs.”
When he thought back on it, Zagan remembered hearing Nephy let out a scream while she was out gathering acorns. It seemed she panicked upon picking up one that was being eaten by insects. Zagan made a mental note to burn that acorn to ash later.
“I didn’t like that, but if I made it so it never happened, wouldn’t that mean I didn’t go to gather acorns with Big Shish Foll? I think... I’d like that even less.”
“Even if you were still able to go gather acorns with Foll?”
“Yeah... I mean, when I was about to cry, Big Shish Foll took the acorn and threw it really far away to cheer me up. Isn’t that something I saw because I went through something bad?”
Upon seeing Nephy do her best to answer him, Zagan hoisted her up and set her down on his lap. And as he did, Nephy happily smiled with an ‘Ehehe.’
“I see. It’s just as you say. Even painful memories are formative experiences.”
“Yes!” Nephy answered him with a huge grin on her face.
“Remember how you said you love me, Nephy? Well, I feel the same way about you. But, in the end, I think that includes everything, from the painful memories we share to the road we’ve walked together...” Zagan stated in a grave tone.
This wasn’t just about the matters at the hidden village. It was also about when Zagan hurt her, and even about when she was hurt by Nephteros. Despite all the issues, those moments they spent together were precious memories to Zagan. And so, as he gently brushed her head while talking, Nephy looked back at him curiously.
An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride: Volume 4 Page 12