Chapter 168

“Ha…”

Evan let out a deep sigh as he recalled the events that had just occurred.

Ever since that elf named Mirnel arrived, he felt dizzy, as if he might d*e from it.

She was a person he had never met before, yet she was showing him familiarity as though they were old friends, making him wonder if he had somehow developed a relationship with her without realizing it.

He couldn’t think of such a thing ever happening…

For him, elves were a race he had never seen before…

Now that he met an elf who showed such a friendly reaction, he couldn’t help but question if all elves were like this.

Even now, simply seeing her ignore his words asking for her to keep her distance and trying to cling to him was frustrating.

The elf who introduced herself as Mirnel Halberd didn’t seem to have any ill intentions, but it was clear that he had to think about how this affected Aria, the girl he liked, for just a moment.

‘I should apologize…’

Wouldn’t it make him look like a lack of integrity?

It would seem like he was straddling the line.

He openly confessed yet was so scared to hear a response that he even mentioned slaying the Demon King to get an answer, but showed such behavior instead.

If Aria were to be disappointed, it wouldn’t be unusual.

Just thinking about Aria’s surprised expression when she rushed out of the classroom after seeing Mirnel hugging him only made him feel that way more strongly.

Surely, it would be even stranger if she didn’t catch on.

No matter how much Aria claimed to be oblivious in that regard, if the guy she liked was with another girl like that…

It wouldn’t do.

Though it was almost time for class, he couldn’t continue being misinterpreted like this.

He didn’t particularly care about others’ gazes, but even if he was fine, he couldn’t let Aria get caught in misunderstandings.

She should never be hurt because of him.

At that moment, Evan faced Mirnel as she turned to look at him and opened his mouth with a serious expression.

“I’m sorry, but I would appreciate it if you would stop getting closer. We are strangers to each other and we’re not in that kind of relationship, are we?”

Despite Evan’s sharp voice, Mirnel simply continued to look at him with her typical blank expression.

It was clearly a strange sight.

Just a moment ago, she had eagerly approached him, and now she was only looking back at him without coming any closer, not even looking at him with a friendly gaze.

As Evan felt a sense of disconnect in her behavior, a sudden thought caused him to shiver slightly.

‘Now that I think about it, when she hugged me earlier…’

While her behavior did seem like something one would do towards someone they liked, it was a bit distant to say that Mirnel showed him any affection.

It was true she displayed favorable reactions towards him, but he would know even more definitively because he was the one involved.

Both when she hugged him earlier and even now, as she looked at him, there was a feeling that was somewhat…

Rather than containing romantic feelings of loving someone, it felt much closer to an emotion of missing someone while looking at him.

At that time, it was due to the shock of what transpired, as he had also thought about how it might have looked to the other students and especially to Aria that he hadn’t been able to think deeply, but looking back on it now, there were strange aspects that stood out.

Evan lifted his head and faced Mirnel.

Sure enough, Mirnel was still staring at him with an unreadable expression.

“Can you tell me why you acted that way as soon as you saw me?”

He asked cautiously, as politely as possible to avoid offending her.

Mirnel met his gaze and then…

“Well, it seems I must have indeed upset you. I’m sorry.”

She bowed her head and apologized rather easily, as if it was nothing serious.

This was entirely different from how she had acted earlier, seemingly unaware of her own mistake.

If that were the case, didn’t it mean that all her earlier actions were intentional?

Knowing enough to apologize right away for her wrongdoing raised questions for Evan.

“There’s no need to hide it. After all… don’t you think it’s strange to start as a second-year student, no matter how good your grades are?”

“…!”

Evan’s eyes widened at her words.

It was something he hadn’t paid much attention to, but now that he thought about it, it was indeed very strange.

Although he had only been a student at the academy for a year, he certainly wasn’t ignorant of its common knowledge.

However…

“There could still be the possibility of her being a returning student.”

Most other kids had hardly questioned her as they assumed she was simply a returning student.

It wasn’t unreasonable to think so.

Nevertheless, the fact that she brought this topic up implied that she was telling him she was not a returning student, so Evan chose not to continue the conversation.

Sure enough, Mirnel nodded and said, “Yes, as you said, most would think that was Argen’s intention.”

“… You know Dean Argen?”

Evan suddenly recalled the past of Argen Isis.

If she was an elf who was an acquaintance of the magician who was part of the hero party of salvation, there was effectively only one possibility.

The archer who served as the scout for the hero party of salvation.

She was said to handle a longbow with dexterity and quiet footsteps so smoothly that no one ever noticed, and her sharp blue arrows, shaped by nature’s magic, were said to pierce anything.

When she shot towards the sky, the arrows would rain down, piercing hundreds and thousands of enemies, and there were even rumors that a giant arrow made of magic embedded itself into a mountain, making her skills unmatched among elves.

“Mirnel… Hilberd?!”

As that name popped into his mind, he finally realized that the elf before him shared the same name as the legendary archer.

If he were to say that a common human shares the same name as someone from hundreds of years ago, one would think that their parents named them after that figure, but elves were different.

They were long-lived beings, living for hundreds of years.

For them, a name shared with someone from a thousand years ago wouldn’t be unusual at all.

“Are you… really Mirnel Hilberd?”

“Please use honorifics. Otherwise, how else could I claim to be a companion of the great magus?”

Mirnel effortlessly drew her longbow.

“Is this enough?”

It was the longbow that the legendary elf, Artume, had favored.

Evan should not have been able to recognize it, but for some reason.

As if entranced, he took the bow and looked around.

‘Why does it feel so familiar?’

“… Is there a problem?”

Evan, overcome by an unusual sense of déjà vu, trembled slightly, causing Mirnel, who was watching, to ask if something was wrong.

“Oh, no… I’m sorry.”

“Well… the reason I hugged you as soon as I saw you was for no other reason. The hero of salvation… you and he share a resemblance.”

At those words, Evan widened his eyes.

“… Me?”

Seeing Evan’s surprised reaction, Mirnel nodded and wore a reminiscent expression.

“Your appearance is entirely different, but the atmosphere was similar. As soon as I saw you, I couldn’t help but remember him. Well… it wasn’t exactly romantic love, but he already had someone, and with me, we were just the closest of friends.”

Is that so?

Wait a moment.

“…”

Then that makes even less sense.

While listening to Mirnel, Evan felt something odd in her words.

She said she didn’t like him and that they were merely close friends, nothing more, but that felt strange.

Isn’t it strange to hug someone of the opposite s*x if you’re only friends?

Evan cautiously asked her, “Um… why did you hug me if you didn’t like me?”

Mirnel looked at him as if to say, “Are you really asking that?”

Was there really such an obvious reason to prompt such a reaction? The thought crossed Evan’s mind for just a moment.

“It’s a human expression of affection. Affection doesn’t necessarily mean romantic feelings, you know?”

“…”

Evan was at a loss for words at Mirnel’s confident reply.

Elves, who only protect the World Tree, do not understand human hearts.

That was true even for Mirnel Hilberd, who was also a member of the hero party…