I am back – Chapter 180

The Elven Council didn’t drag things out for long.

By human standards, it was relatively quick, but from an elven perspective, it was practically lightning speed. Elves, with lifespans that far exceed that of humans, tend to deal with everything at a leisurely pace… well, that’s pretty widely known.

However, I had never felt the elven leisure so vividly before.

The reason wasn’t that complicated; it was just that the situation when I came here was sufficiently urgent.

When elves are said to be ‘leisurely,’ it doesn’t mean they move around like sloths. Elves act just like ordinary humans when they choose to take action. The issue was simply that the difference in how they plan things is much larger than a human would expect.

What might take a human a lifetime to plan can seem like a short amount of time in the eyes of the elves, who have seen what humans would consider ‘history’ over lengthy periods. Sure, Arna did tell the elves that a day is a day and a year is a year, but it seems elves aren’t easily swayed from their tendency to make long-range plans.

During the war, the elves adjusted to fit human needs. Humans fought desperately because, on the battlefield, elves weren’t able to fight properly.

Older elves are wise. Having seen the dangers of humans acting recklessly during wars, which could be described as ‘history’ by human standards, they knew firsthand the perils involved.

Thus, elves repaid this by thoroughly assisting humans from the rear. Even after the war ended, they continued to provide supplies and, when necessary, offered labor as well.

Even now, the elves dispatched to provincial cities continue to assist humans in their own way.

And even by elven standards, inviting me was urgent.

To an elf, tomorrow might feel short, but considering the time I would take to come back after being here, it must feel incredibly pressing. Naturally, the Elven Council hurried my invitation.

As a result, not long after we attended the practical meeting, we were riding in a carriage heading toward the elven region.

“Is this even a carriage?”

But the older sister sitting next to me expressed serious doubts about that word ‘carriage.’

And it’s no wonder, considering that the one pulling this carriage was an exquisitely elegant white deer. It was a ‘carriage’ because it pulled a horse, an auto-driven cart with the deer pulling it; yet this was just called a ‘carriage.’

“It seems the term ‘carriage’ was directly passed on from Arlist.”

In fact, when I visited the elven capital, I did ride in a real carriage. I don’t know why the carriage we are riding now was pulled by a deer instead of a horse.

Moreover, this deer looked remarkably impressive and was undeniably a magical creature. Given they both have antlers, it seems to be a male deer.

“And it’s white too.”

“…True.”

Honestly, I had a hunch about this.

I heard from Arna that the original carriage was similar to the one I took to go to the elven region while I was in Irrelaysia.

That carriage was also a luxury carriage and was pulled by a magnificent horse, but… maybe they sent this special carriage because they heard that I had become a woman.

It’s possible they chose this carriage based on the gender of the guest. The carriage that the princess rides is also quite brightly colored.

Though that one was just pulled by a horse.

“Why? Is there something worrying you?”

Seeing my expression, my older sister asked with concern.

“Oh, um, no. Just thinking about this carriage.”

“Still, does the color of the carriage or the fact that it’s pulled by a deer mean anything?”

As my sister spoke with a worried expression, I managed a slight smile at the corners of my mouth, hoping to ease her worries even a little.

In truth, it wasn’t something to worry about.

If they intended to slight me, they wouldn’t have sent such a luxurious carriage, nor would they have borrowed such a peculiar animal instead of a horse. Additionally, they wouldn’t have prepared a carriage just for my sister and me.

This was likely to treat us with elven dignity.

Maybe… thinking like this is a bit excess, but considering the treatment I received upon coming back, it could be a special ride for some great hero.

At least, all the elves looking at us behaved with great courtesy.

I held my sister’s hand tightly.

It was warm.

When my sister subtly pressed against me, I could feel her warm skin through the dress. It was more beautiful, clean, and soft than the satin of this rounded dress I was wearing.

Thinking that I was alone in a confined space with such a sister made my heart race.

When both of us fell silent, the only sound in the carriage was our breathing.

The sound of hooves striking the ground could be faintly heard beyond the thick wood. Whether it was because of some luxurious magic or not, the carriage surprisingly didn’t shake too much.

“…”

As I looked down, I saw my sister resting her cheek against my chest.

“…Your heart is loud.”

She said with a voice mixed with laughter.

“…”

For some reason, her words seemed trivial.

I hesitated for a moment, then gently moved my hand, which had been resting on her waist, a little higher.

“Eep!?”

Startled by my sudden movement, my sister let out a scream.

“Are you alright!?”

Soon after, we heard a voice from outside.

Given it was loud enough to reach inside the thick door, it must have been quite a shout.

Which means my sister’s scream was pretty loud as well.

“Ah, no! I’m fine!”

My sister and I quickly pulled our bodies away from each other.

Shouting out the window, I saw that a knight had come by our carriage and nodded once before moving away.

“…You didn’t see that, did you?”

“…Now?”

My sister asked with a worried voice, making me reflect on it again.

It was a bit amusing that my sister, who had deeply kissed me in front of everyone at the ball, was now surprised at such a thing.

“I’m not talking about that! You… you…!”

I understood what she was trying to say.

“But you started it first.”

“I didn’t start it first!”

My sister looked at me with a somewhat incredulous expression.

“It was you who rested your face on my chest first…”

“Th-That’s different! You were using your hands—”

“Shh, shh!”

Seeing my sister’s emotions becoming exacerbated, I quickly raised my finger and placed it in front of her mouth.

She quickly shut her lips.

I sharpened my senses to investigate the surroundings. Of course, since we were inside the thick wooden carriage, I couldn’t feel much… but outside the window, the knights were keeping their distance from the carriage. It didn’t seem like they were looking this way at all.

Well, that’s natural. No matter how much of a VIP I was, it was the duty of the knights not to do things that the protected wouldn’t like.

Moreover, many of the kingdom knights held a great respect for me.

“They might hear us outside.”

Having pulled my sister’s waist to me with one arm, the other finger still pointing in front of her mouth, I said that, and my sister glared at me.

“…Bringing your face closer and touching with your hand are different.”

“…Isn’t bringing your face closer the greater offense?”

“…”

When I said that, my sister’s face turned bright red.

She looked incredibly cute.

I burst out laughing and hugged my sister tightly.

“And your heart must be beating faster than mine.”

Indeed.

I felt that when I subtly placed my hand in my sister’s chest just now.

Well, I couldn’t put my hand in too deeply since her dress was getting tight, and she screamed, so I quickly pulled it back.

But surely, my sister’s heart was also beating incredibly fast; I could feel it pushing against the ribs.

“…”

My sister pouted.

Thump, thump, thump.

I could feel her heartbeat.

Though my sister might say her face was red… I was definitely blushing just as much.

Actually, it was meaningless to argue about whose heart beats faster.

It was only natural for hearts to race when being with someone you liked.

Since we both realized how much we adored each other, and since the moment we shared our first kiss.

My heart had been racing nonstop.

If my heart didn’t race when my sister embraced me, I would have surely been in despair.

“…”

Does my sister know about this as well?

Seeing my sister’s face looking back at me, the slight bitterness that had lingered until just now evaporated in an instant.

Sitting side by side in this carriage, pulling each other in this way was not exactly a comfortable position.

It wasn’t the most comfortable position, but…

We ended up like this for quite a while.