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Chapter 7: - Even if It’s a Forced Smile, It’s Much Better Than a Crying Face
“… Are you fine now?”
“Yeah. Sorry, Ed. Thank you.”
Tia sniffed and laughed, her eyes red and swollen. The look on her face was too painful, but still Tia started to tell me the rest of the story.
“I came out of a secret room in the castle of Notland. The soldiers of the castle seized me when I was distraught, and when I finally calmed down, the king heard what had happened and said with a very scary look on his face. ‘You didn’t come back. I’m going to pretend that the hero’s party was wiped out when they crossed the demon border.’ At first I almost yelled at him for saying such a thing, but when I saw the king’s sad face, I lost the will to do so.”
“I see. … Well, yeah. I can see how that would be a reasonable decision.”
Alexis’s last action was a selfish and wrong choice. If the Hero Alexis was still alive, he could have gathered new friends, reunited the hero party, and set out to defeat the demon king again.
However, for the sake of his own pride, Alexis saved Tia. It was a choice that no one with power should ever have to make, as he weighed the future of the world, the lives of his friends, or his own pride and he chose the latter.
But, but. How in the world could one deny the desire to help others even at the cost of one’s own life? I could never ridicule Alexis as a self-centered idiot for making the worst choice as a hero and acting more like a hero than anyone else at the same time.
However, that was because I had worked with Alexis for a while, and the world was different. Alexis made a foolish choice, and Tia was saved in Alexis’ place. There were plenty of people who would have slammed Tia with righteousness and justice, saying, “It would have been better if you had died,” and above all, Tia herself felt a strong sense of remorse.
If he had announced Tia’s survival, he would have had to bear the malice of both himself and others, and Tia, whom Alexis had risked his life to protect, might have taken her own life. In that light, the king’s decision was very appropriate.
“Hmm? Then you live alone in this remote place. ….”
“Yes. To hide my survival from the world. Especially since I’m an elf. Five or ten years won’t change my appearance at all, so the only thing I could do was to hide myself away in a completely inhospitable place. I couldn’t even participate in the three expeditions …”
“Expeditions?”
“Huh? You don’t know? In order to rescue Alexis, the allied nations centered on Nortland sent an army to the Demon Realm. However, they could not break through once, and on the contrary, the battle with the Demon King’s army became worse due to exhaustion of the force … That is not the current situation. Where were you really that you didn’t know even though I knew it?”
“No, no! Well, that’s the thing. It’s even more remote than this place, or rather, it’s really a countryside where you can’t get any information. …”
“What’s that! Fufu… Haha, I’ve talked to you for a long time and I’m a little tired.”
“I’m sorry I made you recall your painful story forcefully.”
“That’s fine. I wanted to talk to Ed too. …. I mean, after all this time, how did you get here? There’s really only a few people who know where I am, you know?”
“Ehh!? No, actually, you know, I got some kind of magic tool that helps me find people. So I tried to find out about Alexis and the others, but there was no response from …. the two of them. …”
“So …, Alexis and the others are really dead after all.”
Unobserved events could not be confirmed. Tia did not confirm the death of Alexis or Gonzo because she was forcibly transferred while Alexis was still alive.
But now, I’d come to visit her at her own place, which no one was supposed to know, and I’d told her the compass didn’t react. That meant that my actions had confirmed their deaths.
“Gosh, …, I …  feel bad now.”
“It’s okay. In fact, I felt rather refreshed. Well, I knew they were both dead at that time. Well, then I guess I’ll just have to――”
<<Guuuuuuuuuuuuu …>>
Tia was about to say something, but her words were interrupted by a loud stomach rumble. Instantly, Tia’s face turned slightly red up to the tips of her pointed ears.
“Ha, haha … this is, you see, different, okay? It’s just a little mistake …”
“Hey, hey. So? Do you want something to eat?”
“Eh? You’re making it for me?”
“Well, yeah. I’ve got all kinds of ingredients with me, so as long as it’s not too outrageous, I’ll be fine.”
“Oh, yeah. Hmm, but you know, …”
“Hmm? What? Don’t be shy, okay?”
“No, it’s just that I haven’t had much of an appetite lately, so I can only eat soups and things like that.”
“What? You just let your stomach growl like that?”
“Ed no Baka!”
Leaning forward lightly, Tia’s fingers pinched the tip of my nose. What atrocious violence!　But I’m not going to give in to this, okay?
“What’s with the smirk?! You’ve been such a bad boy, Ed …Oh yeah! That stew you made me a few times before! Can you make that for me?”
“Stew? Yeah, sure.”
“Yeah! Then, please.”
“Yokai. Please wait a moment, Ojo-sama.”
“Umu! Good luck!”
Tia smiled happily at me as I stood up from my seat and made a stylish bow. I’m sure she was not calm inside, but it was a good sign that she was behaving cheerfully, even if only in appearance.
“Well, if that’s the case, I’d better get to work.”
As I walked to the kitchen, I stuck my hand into the Stranger’s box and fished out the ingredients I had thrown inside. Let’s see, if we’re talking about a stew, we’ll need milk, butter, flour, ….
“Hey, hey, Ed? Your hands seem to be disappearing, or is it my imagination?”
“Hahaha, what are you talking about, Tia? How can a human arm disappear?”
“Of course not. But it’s been disappearing and reappearing for a while now, and the ingredients keep popping up.”
“Well, I am cooking, so I need ingredients. Or what?　Are you asking me to cook the air?”
“No, I’m not, but that’s not the point!”
“Hahhahhahhahha!”
“Mou~!”
I started laughing, and I couldn’t …. hear Tia’s pouting voice from behind me. That’s right, I was now a magician who was dedicated to cooking. I never thought that it would be too much trouble to explain, or that she would forget if I filled her up and gave her a nap.
Now, let’s take this milk out of the …… Magi Stocker(State preserver), which had not expired, right? There was a limit to the amount of magic that could be used to preserve the state, and it was time for a complete check. …… No, ma’am, you don’t know how many hundreds of them there are, do you?
“GYAOOOOOOOON!”
“Huh!?”
Suddenly, I felt a vibration from outside the house, as if a large, heavy object had fallen. A moment later, the sound of a high-pitched animal cry echoed.
“GYAOOOOOOO!”
“What the hell!? Oh, hey, Tia!”
I followed Tia out of the house as fast as I could and went outside too. And there she was… ….
“Dragon!?”
“GYAOOOOOOO!”
It was unmistakably the king of demonic beasts, a dragon, with a body covered in red scales and a fierce cry.