25-180

EP.180 [Elizabeth Quietly Appears Beside Eugene and Jeanne as They Lie in Bed.] 

“Hm... I’m a little jealous, Captain Eugene.” 

Marie pouted as she worked on the Red Fox Mercenary Village project with Eugene. 

“Hm? Jealous about what? What could Marie possibly be jealous of when it comes to me?” 

Now that Eugene thought of Marie as a younger sister, he tilted his head at her confession of jealousy. 

“I always thought I was the closest to Priscilla in our mercenary band. But it doesn’t feel that way anymore. Lately, Captain Eugene, you seem to be the closest one to Priscilla.” 

Marie shared the reason for her jealousy with Eugene. 

Marie grew up in the slums without family; Thomas was the only person she could call family as a child. After starting her mercenary life, she met warm-hearted comrades and essentially gained a new family, so her sense of attachment is strong. She especially felt close to Priscilla, feeling pride in serving as a bridge between prickly Priscilla and the rest of the group. But lately, Marie has felt that Eugene has taken over that role, which is why she senses Eugene and Priscilla have grown closer. 

“Is that so? Hm... Now that you mention it, I do ask Priscilla for help a lot these days. And she’s usually willing to help. Thinking about it from your perspective, I guess I have gotten closer to Priscilla lately.” 

“Right? I knew it, Captain Eugene!” 

Eugene nodded thoughtfully, agreeing with Marie. 

“And Priscilla seems to be sharing more about herself lately, too. She even asks me questions sometimes.” 

“Wow! Elves really don’t talk about their private lives! I’m so jealous! I still only talk about work stuff!” 

“Haha! Honestly, that was a joke-I’m just like you, Marie. We mostly talk about work.” 

“Ugh... Still, I’m jealous... You’ve already reached the same level as me...” 

“Well, I’ll keep working on getting closer to Priscilla. Both of us are expert awakeners, so there’s a good chance we’ll be paired as a duo for this Drake quest.” 

To Eugene, Marie’s reaction was a positive signal. Since he and Priscilla are the strongest members of the Red Fox Mercenary Band, getting closer would only increase their synergy. That’s why he’d been making an effort to get to know Priscilla better, and now even others were noticing the results. 

So Eugene aimed to become a friend who could talk with Priscilla about personal matters. 

‘Priscilla is a princess?????’ 

The effect of these efforts was beyond what Eugene expected. Priscilla revealed not only that she was from the royal family of Elf Island Symphonia, but that she was an actual princess. Eugene, who had expected to chat about favorite fruit juices or travel destinations, was left with a shell-shocked expression. 

“Haha! Look at your face, you look so dumb! Of course you’re surprised. You’re just a human, and you’re seeing an elf princess.” 

But the self-absorbed elf Priscilla didn’t have the awareness to read Eugene’s expression properly. She’d revealed her big secret and, since it was such a huge deal, thought it was only natural for Eugene to be overwhelmed with gratitude. So Priscilla basked in her own self-satisfaction. 

‘She’s definitely not lying.’ 

In fact, this only convinced Eugene that Priscilla wasn’t making it up. 

“Wow... Priscilla is a princess. That’s really surprising. It’s so sudden.” 

“You can’t believe it, right? Not with how I look now. But if you saw my true form, you’d be convinced in an instant. You’d fall for me instantly, too.” 

Eugene played along, and Priscilla, pleased, became even more self-satisfied. 

“But why would you hide such an amazing identity? Are you worried too many men would chase after you because you’re so beautiful?” 

“Hm... That’s part of it, but that’s not the main reason.” 

Hop! 

Eugene was humoring her to learn more about Priscilla’s situation. Priscilla jumped back onto a rock and paused for effect. 

“In my true form, the consumption of spirit energy is intense. Just sleeping and resting isn’t enough. Usually, I’d replenish it in places that emit spirit energy, but there are so few of those left on the continent.” 

Priscilla, now speaking much more seriously, explained to Eugene why she moves around in her childlike form instead of her true form. 

“So I live in this form, which uses much less spirit energy. I want to travel here for a long time. Does that explain it?” 

Elves rely on spirit energy and put a lot of effort into replenishing it. They usually do this by staying in places or forests that emit spirit energy, which is why most elves live in groups in forests. In the past, there were many such forests on the Fedon continent, but as the Forest of Life turned into the Forest of Darkness, the elves’ territory shrank dramatically to Symphonia Island, where the World Tree is located. 

“So, by what you’re saying, only royal elves like you can use this method, but not other elves...?” 

“That’s right! You’re getting smarter.” 

“Isn’t that something anyone could figure out with a little thought?” 

“Just take the compliment, dummy.” 

But that answer didn’t satisfy all of Eugene’s curiosity. He immediately asked more questions, and the two, now much closer, engaged in even more lively banter. 

“There are three cases. If the elf isn’t strong enough to consume a lot of spirit energy, if they have an artifact that replenishes spirit energy, or if they have a partner-that’s it.” 

Priscilla, clearly determined, gave Eugene a detailed explanation. Elves have a certain amount of innate spirit energy, but if their consumption exceeds production, they need continuous external replenishment. Artifacts are the most common method for elves to replenish energy. Artifacts are symbolic items for elves, and they develop and use various types. 

“But power always risks overexertion, and artifacts aren’t unlimited. So there are lots of limitations. I don’t want to rely on those, so I live like this.” 

Priscilla, after all, had even joined a mercenary band-she was an extremely free-spirited elf. And even in her childlike form, she was a Sword Expert. Ordinary elves’ travel methods couldn’t keep up with her level. 

“What about a partner? How does having a partner create spirit energy?” 

Eugene asked about another means of spirit energy replenishment that Priscilla hadn’t mentioned yet. 

“It’s just as you think. When an elf has a relationship with a beloved partner, spirit energy is produced in abundance. Huhu! You don’t think I’m telling you this because I’m hinting at something, do you?” 

Priscilla explained, almost as if she’d been waiting for the question. Then, perhaps feeling a bit self-conscious, she turned the tables on Eugene, the one who’d asked. 

“Huh? I wasn’t thinking that at all. What’s going on in that little head of yours, Priscilla?” 

“S-shut up! If you saw my true form, you’d drool and beg to be my partner on your knees!“ 

Hop! 

Eugene, half exasperated, shot down Priscilla’s nonsense. Priscilla, unable to contain her irritation, snapped back and jumped off the rock. 

“Let’s be clear: if I really wanted that, I’d have already seduced you. I have the power to do it. The fact that I haven’t means I have absolutely no such feelings for you, got it? Huhuhu...!” 

-Tatatatatata!! 

With that, she fired off a rapid string of words and dashed off toward her tent. 

“......” 

It was, truly, a scene of utter ridiculousness. Eugene Schneider, greatsword slung over his shoulder, silently watched Priscilla run off as if fleeing. 

“So many documents? Jeanne, aren’t you overdoing it?” 

After his evening training and a shower by the river, Eugene stopped by Jeanne’s tent to help her with her work. Seeing the stack of paperwork, he couldn’t help but click his tongue. 

“Gotta think positive. The tide is rising, so I’m rowing while I can.” 

Jeanne was checking documents related to the Drake Special Quest’s detailed operations, but that wasn’t all. She also had to review and sign off on documents related to materials and payments for the mercenary village construction. And now that they’d started working with the Imperial Knights, other major mercenary guilds and bands were expressing interest. She couldn’t just reject them all, so she was drafting polite refusals even while heading to the western desert. Since Eugene had a good education, he was the best person to help with this after a tough day of training. 

“Ugh... I should do more before bed...” 

“That’s enough. You’ve worked hard since this morning. Get some sleep and go hard again tomorrow.” 

Jeanne soon entered knockout mode. Eugene tucked her in and soothed her to sleep. 

“I’m tired too, haaah...!” 

After about two hours of drafting letters, Eugene also lay down under a blanket next to the now-sound-asleep Jeanne. Even in summer, the temperature drops at night as you head toward the desert. 

‘Wow... Mina spent her childhood somewhere with even more extreme temperature swings than this...’ 

As he experienced a taste of desert climate, Eugene was reminded of Mina’s story-losing her family to a drake attack and leaving the great desert as a child. As he started to drift into a half-dream state- 

“Brother... You’re sleeping with sister, huh...?” 

A forbidden voice whispered in his ear. 

“!!!!!” 

Eugene Schneider’s eyes snapped open. 

“Hehehe...! That’s right, it’s me-your little sister Elizabeth, whose virginity you took.” 

Standing before him was, as always, his bold and crazy little sister Elizabeth.