The young siren took off his shoes and raced down the circular corridor. He wanted to play with the glow-stones  as soon as possible. However, even though it was a low level spell, he needed to take the time to recite the incantation. By the time he lit twenty glow-stones, the first few had gone dark. He stopped and surveyed his results with dissatisfaction.
Maybe if I some help, I could do them all, Shelly thought, and ran back to his room.
The door to the next room was shut, but conversation inside could be heard.
âItâs been half an hour, Ellen. Just get up and enjoy the fresh air; you donât really need more sleep.â
âWell, the gentleman who didnât let me sleep last night shouldnât come to wake me in the morning. Please take responsibility.â
âTell me, what happened to the gentleman who said that heâd already slept for three hundred years, an hour or two less wasnât a big deal?â(1)
âOh, so hurtful.â
âAnd donât forget that weâre supposed to meet the Grand Mage this morning, Captain.â
âAh âŚâ
Shelly shook his head and scampered onward to his room.
âJulian.â
âWhat is it, Mr. Shelly?â
âDo you want to play with the lights?â
âHm.â The dwarf did not move, giving an absent-minded answer. âNo, thank you ⌠ah, this diagram is finished.â
As he spoke, there was a knock on the door.
âGood morning, Shelly, Julian.â Mrs. Cavendish smiled down at them. âCome along, please. Itâs time for breakfast.â They stopped next door to invite Ellen and Cain out, following as the Grand Mageâs wife led them down the stairs and explained, âRowenna came back late last night, so it may be a while before you can see her. Iâm sure sheâll be glad to receive Amyâs letter.â
The elf noticed that she used a nickname for the queen, which wasnât something an ordinary person could do. It seems that the relationship between the queen and the mage was closer than he imagined. To win over both the Mage Academy and the church- that sixteen-year-old may just be a political genius. Still, it could prove dangerous to involve those two forces in the kingdomâs power struggle.
âEllen,â Shelly gently pulled on his sleeve, breaking the elf from his thoughts. âAre you alright? You donât feel sore anywhere?â
âHm?â Ellen looked down with a confused expression. âI feel fine. How are you, Shelly?â The siren looked at him with suspicion before turning away.
âCain! Come with me.â The knight was inexplicably dragged away, the siren only coming to a stop when they were too far away for their conversation to be heard. He glared at Cain.
âYou have to take responsibility! Couldnât you see that Ellen was frowning?â
âHuh!?â
âI heard that the first time will hurt, ah, you should have let him sleep in! You should have brought him breakfast in bed!â(2)
âI donât understand what youâre getting at, but since itâs you itâs probably something bad ⌠tell me, Shelly. What is it that you think I did?â
âI heard Ellen complaining that you didnât let him sleep last night for one or two whole hours- hey!â
Cain reached out and pinched the sirenâs cheeks.
âListen, you! A certain someone didnât want to wait for his hair to dry before falling asleep! I just didnât want him to catch a cold.â
âJust that?â Shelly looked even more shocked after hearing the truth. âYou stayed in a room together all night and didnât do anything? Isnât that hard on you?â
The knight choked for a moment and glared down at the siren as he said, âWhy should spending the night together immediately make you think of things like that, huh!? Who do you take me for, Duke Elmond?â(2)
âI thought you liked Ellen,â the siren spoke sadly. âWas I wrong?â
Cain sighed. âOf course I like Ellen. Itâs just ⌠not the kind of like youâre thinking of. I donât want to do that kind of thing with him.â
âI didnât want to do that kind of thing with Raphael, either,â the siren seemed close to tears. âDoes that mean I didnât really like him?â
âHey, hold on,â the knight ruffled his hair. âDonât try and compare how you felt about Raphael to how I feel about Ellen. You should know your own feelings best.â
âOh!â Shelly looked relieved, then looked up and laughed. âGot it!â
âAlright?â Cain held his hand. âThen letâs go back; the others will be getting worried.â
âSo does this mean youâre still a virgin?â Shelly asked seriously.
!? Youâre still curious about that!?
âAh, poor Cain. Just when will you lose your virginity, anyway?â Shelly teased confidently. Cain let go of his hand and knocked him on the head. âOw! Cain, donât bully me ⌠Iâm obviously just worried about you.â
âGee, thanks. When I do lose my virginity, youâll be the first to know!â
âWell, of course.â
â⌠Itâs called sarcasm! Sarcasm! Your grasp on the human language is terrible!â The knight growled.
When they got back to the others, the breakfast table had been set. Sitting next to Mr. Cavendish was a woman who looked to be about twenty years old. Her brown hair curled up at her shoulders, and her eyes her brown as well. When the elf and his entourage entered, she stood up and gracefully saluted. There was no doubt that she was a beauty; her simple mageâs robes only added to her charm.
âRowenna Silva.â(3)
The one who was meant to receive the Queenâs second letter.
They all exchanged greetings; as Ellen spoke, her gaze swept over his ears and a look of surprise flashed across her face. But she didnât say anything, only nodding and accepting the letter.
Unlike last nightâs dinner, the breakfast table this morning was very quiet. Julian did not seem to have yesterdayâs enthusiasm, staying silent in the corner. Only after the dishes were cleared away did the Grand Mage broke the silence.
âNow, if everyone is full, I will speak. First, Rowenna, you are already aware of Shellyâs situation. I would like you to teach him mental defense methods, so that he may safely drive out the demon on his own.â
âAlright.â Rowenna looked over at the siren and nodded.
âAlso, there is something I would like to request of the Unicorn Legion.â
âCould you explain what you mean?â Ellen asked.
âThere was a forest in the Sunset Highlands,â the Grand Mage began to narrate. âIn the past, this forest was the birthplace of many monsters.â
âThe miracle of the forest,â the elf nodded. âThe mage trials.â(4)
âYes,â the Grand Mage replied. âNo matter if theyâre an apprentice mage, a mid-level mage, or a high-level mage, they refine their talents there. Although there no longer any magical creatures, the mage trials remain the same; weâve been using magical constructs instead. The system has been in place for nearly a hundred years, and was still in good condition, but since last week there have been a few problems.
âA high-level mage went to undergo the trials and discovered that the constructs were completely destroyed. The mages we sent to repair them were attacked as well. Although theyâve returned intact, theyâve lost their memories of the event, and we have no way of knowing what happened. In the surrounding forest, there was some evidence that magical creatures had been active in the area. We suspect that, deep in the forest, a powerful new species has appeared. It may even be capable of using very advanced chaos magic.â
Cain is referencing a conversation from chapter 24 of the first volume!I loved this lineâŚ. Shelly, youâre unexpectedly quite the romantic, huh?I was sure she was mentioned in one of the chapters translated by , but I couldnât for the life of me find said mention, so this is my tentative interpretation of her name, âç˝ćĺ¨ ĺ¸ĺ°çŚâ.I think this is what he said ⌠itâs very vague, so I may edit it later if we learn more about it.The plot thickens!! We even got to see Shelly being protective of Ellen, how cute!