「Oh, Serena, you’re back!」

「Dad, I’m home.」

In front of me, Serena was hugging Yomi-san.

「Elt, you didn’t make Serena cry, did you?」

I was watching the scene when Phil called out to me. I wondered if it was my imagination that his eyes looked somewhat suspicious.

We’ve just arrived at the elven village after spending a few days in the Lost Forest.

Since we were in the Lost Forest anyway, we thought we’d take the opportunity to stop by and let Serena go home.

「Of course, I think we’re getting along great.」

I knew she would change as she met more people, but Serena got along well with Alice and Alicia, and they were chatting at night.

「There are so many beautiful women here. I guess these are the elves.」

While I was talking with Phil, Alice and Alicia were looking around the village with great interest.

「I have a souvenir for you. Do you mind if we borrow the square?」

「Un? No problem.」

We moved to the square. This was the place where they had held my welcome and farewell parties, but now the tables and chairs had been cleared and the place was spacious.

「I’m sure it’ll get dirty, so a rug would be nice.」

「All right, hold on a second.」

After a few people had set up the table, I brought out the corpse of the Silver Serpent.

「So this is the Silver Serpent. That’s quite a brilliant way of cutting it. As expected of Elt」

When Phil saw the Silver Serpent with its head neatly severed, he made an impressed sound.

「Ah, it’s not me who did it. It was Alice over there.」

「What did you say? There’s another human besides Elt who can do this?」

His eyes widened and he looked at Alice. Alice seemed to have noticed Phil’s gaze and bowed her head.

「Everyone, this Silver Serpent was killed by Serena and those two over there. Please accept it as a token of our friendship.」

Elves don’t have a very good opinion of the human race. I’ve been accepted in the village because I helped Serena, but I don’t know if Alice and Alicia will be accepted.

I talked to Serena about it, and she made this suggestion.

「It’s been a while since we’ve had a feast tonight.」

「I’ll have to get a knife to cut them up. I haven’t seen a Silver Serpent in about ten years?」

The elves were in high spirits and began discussing about dismantling the Silver Serpent. Apparently, the mission was a success, and some of the elf girls approached Alice and Alicia and started talking to them.

Watching the scene....

「Who are those two? What’s their relationship with you?」

I had left with Serena a while ago and returned with more companions, so it was understandable that she was wondering.

「The other one is Alicia, a childhood friend of mine. She came here to look for me after I went missing, relying on fortune telling.」

「I see, that’s the relationship.」

「What?」

I raised my eyebrows at Phil, who looked strangely convinced.

「No, no, I thought that if you got together with her, maybe Serena would give up and come back.」

Apparently, he hadn’t given up yet. I let out a sigh, knowing that Phil’s wish would never come true.

「Well then. I’d like to make a toast to Serena and Elt’s return home and to Alice and Alicia’s visit to the village!」

「「「「「Kanpa-i!」」」」」

In the evening, a banquet was held as usual. The main dish tonight is the Silver Serpent that the three of them had killed.

「It’s delicious. It’s more fatty than you’d expect and goes in easily.」

「Spirit Queen. Please eat this as well.」

At the table where the food was placed, Marie was already tucking into her meal.

「I’ll take it.」

The elves consider the spirits to be good neighbors. Marie is the Queen of the Wind Spirits and is therefore she’s someone they worship.

「Hee, it tastes more elegant than I thought.」

「It might be even better if you spread a thicker sauce on it and sandwich it between the dough.」

Alice and Alicia looked satisfied, and I was curious about what it would taste like, so I tried it.

「It sure tastes good.」

It seemed that only the scales were hard, while the meat was soft enough to bite into easily. As I chewed, the fat of the silver serpent spread in my mouth and I could feel the delicious taste.

It tasted like it would go well with sake. I wanted a drink, so I went to the table where the liquor was kept.

There was a bottle of wine on the table that I had bought in the royal capital of Erivan.

The liquor from the elven village was delicious, but I wanted to give him a taste of the wine made by the people anyway.

Perhaps it was a good thing that I had chosen a reasonably priced wine, because all the elves seemed to enjoy it.

Serena was enjoying the wine in moderation, as if she had learned from her previous drinking experience, and Alicia was happily chatting with the other elf girls.

They both seemed to be enjoying the place, and I was walking around aimlessly, enjoying the atmosphere of the place.....

「No! Phil!」

「What the! I can’t lose, you little jumping girl!」

I heard cheering voices, so I went over to them...

「Haa haa. You’re doing great!」

「Y, you too!」

Phil and Alice were having a match.

「I’ve heard about it from Elt, but it’s no wonder you’ve defeated the Silver Serpent. I haven’t been pushed this hard sicne Elt.」

「Well, that’s odd. The only person who has ever beaten me was Elt.」

Alice said, challenging Phil.

「Don’t say that. I haven’t been playing around since Elt left, you know. My beloved sister was taken from me right in front of my eyes, and I’ve been working on my skills to get revenge on him one day.」

「I’m sorry about that. But, I can’t lose either!」

「Wh!」

Alice took advantage of Phil and closed the distance between them.

「Damn it!」

Phil’s sharp sword catches Alice’s.

「It’s not going to work.」

Alice dodges all of Phil’s attacks as if she knew where they were coming from. And.....

「Yes, I’m done.」

She came down from the stage, out of breath and relieved.

「Oh, it’s you, Elt. You were watching, weren’t you?」

「It’s amazing. Phil is the best swordsman in this village.」

He’s also my sword master, so I know Phil’s skills better than anyone else. Alice smiled wryly and said.....

「Yes, that’s why I was able to win.」

When I explained this, Alice said something meaningful.

「What do you mean?」

「He was moving just like you. I know your speed, so it’s easy for me to read someone who moves like you. If I hadn’t seen you fighting before, I wouldn’t have gone this far.」

「That’s quite a feat.」

The fact that she remembers the way I fought is one thing, but the fact that she has the guts to try it in a real fight is amazing.

「I told you. I’m not going to lose to anyone but you.」

Alice smiled in satisfaction at my compliment.