Chapter 205: The Passion of the Maidens, Part 10

Alyusha-san is silent.

She looks at us and then looks down.

The conversation hasn’t progressed much since a few minutes ago.
So I just savored the tea Nazna-san had prepared for me.

—Come on, spit out what you have to say, so we’ll get it over with.

—Don’t talk to her like that, Alyusha-san is just a victim.

—Victim…?

At my words, Alyusha-san’s body began to tremble.

Tears once again gathered in her eyes as her lips trembled.
Then she wiped her eyes with her forearm.

Later she clasped her hands together and held them out to me….
What are you trying to do?

—I’m ready to surrender.
Do what you want with me.

—I don’t understand what you’re saying.

—You’ve come for me, right?! If only I hadn’t stepped on the ground that day… None of this would have happened… It was all my fault!!!

I see… So that’s what this is all about.

She has a strong sense of responsibility for what happened.
I guess she feels guilty for what happened that day, and that’s the reason she’s been trying to run away.

So I placed my hand gently on her.

—You are wrong.
It was all my fault, you are just a victim of this whole incident.

—You are very kind, Marianne-san.
But it was my fault that everything collapsed as soon as I set foot in the room.

—Yes, you’re right.
People of your race have very strong legs.

—H–Hey… That’s the wrong thing to say.

I’m deeply sorry to see that Alyusha-san is still the same.

I had started to believe that I would never see her again, and now she’s in front of me.

I’m the one who feels saved right now.

I couldn’t hold the urge and just hugged her.

—You’re hugging me too tightly! Are you trying to suffocate me?!

—I’m so sorry!

I accidentally hugged her tighter than necessary.

I’m at level 1500 now, and if I’m not careful, I could accidentally kill someone.
I guess it’s not such a good thing to be strong.

—I’m so glad to see you again.

—Me too.

—As I said before, you haven’t done anything wrong, so you don’t need to keep running away.

—Really? 

—Yes, let’s go home together.

Alyusha-san could no longer hold back her tears, and she clung to me and sobbed.

The regret and guilt she must have felt all this time must have been quite difficult for her to handle.

—Oh, I’m sorry, is this a bad time?

—Food!

Nazna-san had placed some saucers on the table.

And Monica-san, who was excited, sat down with great speed in front of one of the dishes.

Alyusha-san, who had a red nose, relaxed her face and began to smile.

******

—Did you find Luna?!

—Yes, and we also found Soarer, Pione, Ney and Lynn.

After we finished our meal, I told all the information I had to Alyusha-san.
I had to find a way to reassure her, and there was no better method than to tell her all the progress made so far.

—I guessed that they had all been transported one by one, but I didn’t expect that we would be sent to another continent.

—Well, this information is still unconfirmed, so I hope Toru-sama has succeeded.

—I saw Toru recently.

—What?!

Toru-sama?! Where?!

Alyusha-san took a piece of bacon bread and put it in her mouth while scratching her cheek in an embarrassed manner.

—I was really happy to see him again, but as soon as I saw his face….
I felt a little sorry for him.
I was so angry with myself, so ashamed and miserable, that I just decided to run away.

—You’re a girl with a lot of problems.

—Yes, that’s right, I’m a troublemaker.

Alyusha-san was depressed, her flattened elven ears showed it.

The mood seemed to be getting worse, so I decided to change the subject.

—Is the portal that brought you here nearby?

—Yes.
I was moved to a ruin further north of here.
I was too cold to think about what had happened, and Nazna saved me when I passed out in a blizzard.

—At the time I was very frightened when I found her.
An elf, in skimpy clothing, shivering as she wondered where I was.
I thought the forest gods were angry with her.

Alyusha-san’s face turns red.

Understandably, she felt confused.
It all happened so suddenly that she didn’t have time to prepare herself properly.

—It was thanks to Nazna that I learned that this was a different continent.

—Y… You came here by yourself?

Alyusha-san nodded shyly.

—Every time I got information that could give me a clue, I went there.
Thanks to that, I was able to locate two people who seemed to be Soarer and Ney.
But unfortunately they refused to see me.

—Did you find them?!

—I’m not sure, I think it was them.
But they were in a somewhat inaccessible position….
I wasn’t in a position to do anything for now, so I simply decided to look for other members of the group.

An inaccessible position?

If she could find them, I think she should contact them immediately.

A lot of doubts were generated in my head, so I decided to give her all the information I have obtained.

Alyusha-san folds her arms and ponders.

—…If I go to BixGear, will I be able to return to our home?

—If we get permission from the research team’s headquarters, you can ride Ruorik home.

Alyusha-san stood up with great impetus, but after a few seconds she sat down quickly.

—No, I can’t leave.
I must stay and keep searching, I am responsible for all this.

This is a dead end.
I wish she could go home, it would be one less task to perform.

But she could be of great help.
I don’t know my way around this continent, I don’t have as much knowledge as she does.

Monica-san, who had merely listened in silence, opened her mouth.

—Well, since we have found Alyusha, I can finally meet Toru.
I’m sure he’ll welcome me with open arms.

—Who is that goblin?

Alyusha-san is surprised at Monica’s words and looks disconsolate.

I thought I had introduced them both before we talked.
But it seems she didn’t listen to me at all.

At this, Nazna burst out laughing.

—Alyusha, even though you have big ears, you’re not a very good listener.

—Ugh.

—You should think more, instead of just running on impulse.
If only you had, you’d be standing next to Toru-sama right now.

—Uugh.

—I wouldn’t want people to think that I’m related to an elf like her.
The wind spirit feels very ashamed of you.

—That’s enough…! I’m going to cry…

I didn’t want Alyusha-san to be upset with me and stop being my friend.
So I stopped bothering her with those comments.

So I stood up, and bowed to Nazna-san.

—Thank you so much for saving my friend.
You have been a very helpful person, now I can’t do anything to thank you, but I will always be indebted to you.

—It’s okay, there’s nothing to be thankful for.
In fact, thanks to her my days have been a little more tolerable.
But if I ever need help, can I rely on you?

—Of course.
If you’re ever in trouble, write to me or come see me in person.

I wrote down on a piece of paper the location of the research team headquarters, and handed it to her.

Of course, this alone is not enough, so I plan to give you a suitable reward.

Nazna looks at the paper and smiles.

—Toru-kun… I’m looking forward to meeting him.