Chapter 6: Reunion
“Hmph!”
“Huff!”
A golden-haired and a silver-haired Elf Girl were rolling around on the couch, wrestling with each other in an unrelenting battle until they both became absolutely exhausted. At this point, Tillysha stepped in to separate them.
Tillysha didn’t really care about their scuffles; after all, these were just two kids horsing around. They didn’t even pull each other’s hair, which would be a basic move in a real “woman’s” fight. So, what harm could they possibly do? After their tussle, apart from their clothes and hair being somewhat disheveled, nothing else seemed out of place.
Kids have energy to burn. If they don’t let off some steam, they might end up bursting from all that pent-up energy. So Tillysha decided to sit back and watch the show, only stepping in when the two got too tired to continue and couldn’t find a way to back down without admitting defeat.
After the so-called “break,” though the fight was nothing more than kid-level nonsense, they had still burned through quite a few calories. Both girls sat at the dining table to eat, their squabble seemingly ended. However, the outcome didn’t differ much from before: neither girl wanted to give in nor looked favorably upon each other.
“Thank you for the meal, I’m full.” Sophia politely placed her utensils aside, wiped her little mouth, glanced at Yimi who was still eating, and casually said, “You eat so slowly.”
“Such gluttonous behavior, truly lacking in any kind of upbringing. How fitting for a child,” Yimi replied calmly while chewing slowly, her tone laced with a hint of disdain.
Tillysha, beaming with a smile, couldn’t help but internally roll her eyes at Yimi for earlier engaging in such a heated tussle with the kid, yet here she was picking on the girl’s table manners.
Aren’t they both kids?
“Hey, you’ve mooched enough food. I’m not walking you out. You should go back now,” Yimi declared rudely.
“Go back? There’s nowhere for me to return to. The school hasn’t assigned me a dorm yet.”
“Oh, so you’re not even an enrolled student yet, are you? What makes you think you have the right to intrude on private property?”
“This is the dorm of the team my sister belongs to. I was given permission by everyone on the team, so why can’t I be here?”
Tillysha had thought that the ceasefire meant a bit of peace, but after the meal, once their strength returned, the two picked right back up where they left off, arguing over every little thing.
“So, are you a member of this team?”
“I, I’m new here…” Sophia meekly lowered her little head under Yimi’s sharp questioning.
“And since you aren’t, aren’t you just some random stranger?” Yimi pressed on, unwilling to let the matter drop. “You’re not even a student at our academy, yet you sit so comfortably in the champion’s residence. How shameless.”
“You’re exactly the same! Who gave you the right to say so? I’ll have you know I’m starting school this year, and I was here first!”
“Bang Bang!” Both girls immediately ceased their bickering, their faces stiff as they simultaneously looked toward Tillysha, who was reading by the windowside. She smiled sweetly as she placed down her book, the sound resonating enough to be heard on the third floor.
“Oh dear, I just squished a pesky little bug,” Tillysha said cheerfully, lifting her book to blow at the desk surface before returning to her reading. “It’s really quite untimely of you two to bother someone who is focused on reading.”
“…” Both elf girls at the dinner table exchanged a glance, reaching an unspoken agreement. Sophia meekly sat without a word, and Yimi continued to eat silently.
After finishing, Tillysha put down her book, tied on an apron, and headed to the kitchen, where soon the sound of running water echoed through the house.
On the couch, both girls looked eye to eye, earlier chatty and now silent.
Let’s not even talk about Sophia’s “spider-sense.” Yimi could attest firsthand how unpleasant it was to irritate Tillysha.
There is likely nothing the woman could not achieve if she set her mind to it.
Time flew by swiftly, and two days passed.
Each day, Sophia would visit the estate under the pretense of having no dormitory yet. Each such visit inevitably led to arguments with Yimi, though thankfully, the arguments stopped escalating into full-on wrestling matches on the sofa, thanks to Tillysha and Aistride keeping a watchful eye.
After two days of sulking, Aistride slowly began to regain some of her energy. However, for some strange reason, whenever Aistride encountered Tillysha, she seemed to avoid her gaze.
Tillysha, on her part, was clueless as to what Aistride’s problem was.
Interestingly, every time Yimi and Sophia were about to go at it again, Aistride and Tillysha instinctively acted in harmony, each holding onto one of the girls.
Tillysha would restrain Yimi, while Aistride would stop Sophia. A big golden-haired girl holding a little golden-haired girl, and a big white-haired girl holding a little white-haired girl—it made for a scene that was eerily harmonious, almost looking like two mother-daughter pairs.
That day, Tillysha was slightly surprised. With only a day left before school started, the number of people in the dorm remained at three, with no signs of the two who had been missing all along.
Tillysha thoughtfully considered that it was not unusual for the ditsy Wenfu to oversleep or simply forget the start of school. However, it was entirely out of character for Princess Filisia, known for her meticulous nature, to be late.
Could something have gone wrong along the way?
While watering the flowers in the courtyard, Tillysha mulled over rumors she had heard at the fruit tea bar the other day.
The imperial army stationed outside Coleman City had been attacked, and apparently, there were significant casualties.
Venturing into Ruglien alone would not be wise. Yet, analyzing the current situation, it didn’t seem like the Demon Race intended a full-scale invasion of Caleburn any time soon. Consequently, Tillysha wasn’t particularly concerned yet.
Her powers had recovered significantly, and a solo reconnaissance trip to the Ruglien border zone should pose no significant risk.
In any case, she couldn’t help but worry about Ifen’s situation, even though she knew rushing wouldn’t change anything. With half a day left before school started, there was plenty of time to investigate.
With the flower language changing into a willow wood decorative hairpiece that tied her hair on the side, Tillysha casually mentioned to Yimi that she was going out for a walk, then stepped out of the Champion’s Estate, shielding her face from the bright autumn sunshine.
The last traces of summer’s heat continued to oppress the land. Tillysha sniffed the scent of scorched sprouts under the blazing sun.
The cycle of renewal was a natural law, as well as the rule of the Mother of All Forests.
At the dormitory district’s forked road, the laughter and commotion from the nearby dorms were faintly audible, and in the distance lay a lush green forest.
In Tillysha’s eyes, every season and scene held special meaning, just like the last vestiges of autumn’s abundance.
Stepping out of the Coleman Academy gate, Coleman City remained bustling with activity, seemingly unconcerned about the approaching Demon Race. Everyone seemed to enjoy the fleeting tranquility and peace.
As Tillysha approached Coleman Forest, the sunlight filtered through the gaps between leaves, creating a starry scene on the forest floor.
Every time she reached the entrance of Coleman Forest, Tillysha would recall her first visit when her memories were still lost.
Taking off her hairpiece, it transformed into a full-sized willow wood longbow with a hovering blue jewel as its eye. She activated her Realm, her school uniform vanishing, replaced by a light outfit. The amber-haired Elf Girl raised her emerald-green eyes.
A preliminary inspection revealed that Coleman Forest did show signs of some anomalies; otherwise, she wouldn’t have walked for so long without encountering any imperial patrol.
Upon entering the forest, Tillysha closed her eyes and attuned herself to the heartbeat of the forest, every plant and blade of grass acting as her eyes and ears.
Recalling the last expedition with her team into Ruglien, she first detected the camp where the imperial army was stationed within the jungle. What struck her as peculiar was the eerie stillness devoid of any signs of life.
Why was the army camp so unnervingly quiet? Could it be that…?
She opened her eyes again, confirming the location, then proceeded cautiously with her longbow in hand.
The soldiers might not be worth pitying, but if all of them had met with disaster, it would indicate something was amiss with her judgment. The Demon Race in Coleman Forest might have already set their sights on Caleburn!
Perched atop the treetops, Tillysha leaped from tree to tree, leaving behind streaks of dazzling golden light in the sky.
As expected, when she arrived at the camp, there wasn’t a single soul left—just extinguished campfires, charred waste wood, and abandoned iron pots.
All the tents had disappeared, leaving behind only useless items.
Tillysha sniffed but detected neither bl**d nor the scent of decay around.
Phew, it was all her misplaced worry.
Tillysha realized again that she had overestimated the discipline and integrity of the imperial soldiers. In the event of combat, their first instinct was to retreat from Coleman Forest without investigating or addressing the matter.
The empire stationed troops outside Coleman City under the guise of guarding the border, but when trouble came, these soldiers ran first with none of their usual arrogance when challenged by demons.
Nevertheless, it appeared that no significant incidents had occurred—there were no signs of large numbers of Demon Race soldiers invading Coleman Forest.
As Tillysha furrowed her brow, she sensed something from a certain direction.
Stepping with her bow drawn, the noise grew louder, and movement in the grass revealed several silhouettes.
Just as Tillysha intended to peek through the leaves for a closer look, a massive figure suddenly flew into view, accompanied by a potent wave of bl**d.
Turning around, Tillysha saw the mosaic of human traits lying on the ground—a mighty Orc clad in armor with a war club, split in half at the shoulder with its weapon likewise cut into two, forming a grotesque mosaic of sorts.
Clearly indicating the strength of whoever had struck it.
This was odd.
Tillysha looked into the grass and spotted two familiar figures.
“You two, you’d better hurry up. I don’t have all day,” the spirited amber-haired girl with a double ponytail declared, swiping the bl**d off her giant sword to address the remaining two armed orcs.
The orcs still seemed shaken by how easily their companion was defeated and eyed the human girl with a hint of dread.
Exchanging glances, they decided on a strategy to fight in relays—one would distract Filisia while the other attempted a sneak attack.
A standard orc soldier swung his massive axe toward the knight girl.
His intention wasn’t to immediately strike her down but to compel her to make the first move, thereby keeping her occupied and creating an opening for his teammate.
Idealistic plans often face the harsh reality.
The cat-eared girl behind Filisia clasped her hands together, praying, imbuing Filisia with a potent pink glow of energy.
Scattered around them were large and small luggage boxes, indicating they had just returned from a long journey.
“Swish Swish!” Good news was that the orc succeeded in forcing Filisia into an offensive stance. The bad news was that like his companion, he wasn’t able to withstand even one strike from her.
Might overpowering skill, coupled with Yimi’s enhancement, allowed the massive sword wielded by the amber-haired girl to slash downward, effortlessly slicing through armor, weapon, and flesh, turning the orc into minced meat.
“Filisia, watch out behind you!”
The force of the sword had left Filisia momentarily frozen, providing an ideal opportunity for the orc behind her. The latter proceeded to strike Filisia with the handle of his axe, aiming for her neck—not using substantial force, indicating an intent to capture.
His clever plan was doomed to fail. Before the orc could hit Filisia, a precise arrow struck the orc’s neck, killing him instantly.
Just as Filisia regained awareness and was about to strike the orc with her sword, she found him already unconscious, collapsing heavily into the grass.
Seeing the familiar arrow, both Yimi and Filisia turned their gaze toward the blonde elf maintaining the position of releasing the shot from the bushes.
“Tillysha!” It had been a long while since seeing her, the cat-eared Yimi remained as endearingly submissive as before, but upon her call, her confusion was evident.
“Are you really Tillysha?” Eyeing the characteristic elf ears, Yimi couldn’t help but wonder if she might have mistaken the person’s identity.
“Is this how you greet me after a mere holiday absence, little Yimi?” After confirming there were no other enemies around, Tillysha dismissed her bow and sauntered over, instinctively poking Yimi’s tiny nose.
Filisia didn’t bat an eye at Tillysha’s appearance; it was as if she’d known all along. Perhaps the whole team except for the clumsy one knew of her true identity.
The exchange with Filisia was simple. They exchanged knowing smiles and left the matter unsaid.
“Tillysha, you’re an elf??” Yimi realized this only after a pause. “Oh, I see. Where did you get those fake elf ears from?”
And with that, Yimi attempted to touch Tillysha’s ears, jumping up to grasp them.
“Huh? ……” They felt so real—cool to the touch, soft, like actual flesh…
“Yimi,” Tillysha gave her a mild whack on the forehead.
“Ouch!” Yimi clutched her forehead, her mouth pouting in disappointment. “So… they’re real?”
“You two, with school starting tomorrow, you still have time to go around teaming up to fight monsters?”
