Chapter 52 – Meanwhile, Kaya was bitten in the hand by Beary and cried

“…”

I feel it in my skin that the peaceful mood from before turned into a battlefield in the space of a second.

But unlike the danger detection sense that’s deeply ingrained in my body, my mind can’t follow that rapid shift. All I do is look at Ladimerie while still sitting on the chair.

“How about you say something, human?”

I don’t get the way she’s looking at me.

A girl I’ve never met before is looking at me with immeasurable hatred in her eyes, like I’m her arch enemy or something.

“…I’m not following what’s going on. Did I do something to you?”

Suffice to say, I don’t think I did. I’m not very proud of my memory or anything, but I’m pretty sure I would remember her by her hair alone if I met her in another city.

“Nothing in particular. Well, there is the fact that you’re alive… I don’t like that. Sorry, but can you please die? I could even do you the favor of killing you.”

She says while concentrating magic energy in her right hand.

“…!”

That’s enough magic energy to make me jump from my chair. I reflexively take some distance from her, and before I know it, the door is right behind me.

“Hold on, let’s calm down. I don’t get this. Why are you attacking me?”

I ask, to buy time while my head works at full speed.

Why is she looking at me with such enmity?

I don’t know.

Her strength? How much magic energy does she have?

I don’t know.

Is Ririi safe?

I don’t know.

“…I don’t get it.”

I mumble to myself. In all the countries I’ve visited, I’ve never felt such enmity from someone I just met. And that’s including Zenith.

“You don’t understand, human? The crime your kind has committed?”

It looks like Ladimerie is reaching her limit.

Her hatred boiling hotter than the lava in the Guena volcano is about to burst from her eyes, nose, mouth, and those long ears characteristic of elves.

“Please, just calm down. I just want to give Ririi a hat as a present.”

As I say this, my mind is regaining its composure, and I turn my attention to the door where Ririi disappeared.

I can’t sense her magic energy on the other side, and the bad feeling inside me gets stronger.

“If you don’t like me, I’ll leave right away, but give Ririi back to me.”

These bad thoughts permeate throughout my body very quickly.

My head is getting cooler… But my heart and body are getting heated. If I don’t do my best to contain them, I might jump at her right now and do something about all this.

Give Ririi back.

“You demand too much. And I think you’re the one who should calm down.”

Ladimerie looks calm and collected, but even just the way she speaks clearly tells me that’s not the case at all. Her eyes are glaring at me like a drawn bow.

Unfortunately, I don’t have the calm necessary to take those eyes in stride and smile.

“Where’s Ririi? Depending on your answer…”

I’ll kill you.

◆

“That girl is safe. Why would I hurt an elf?”

“I don’t know you well enough to answer that question.”

If this back and forth has taught me anything, is that this elf harbors a deep hatred of humans.

“What happened between you and humans? You can hate humans all you want, but don’t throw that hatred at me, or I’ll have to start brushing off those sparks falling onto me.”

To be honest, quarrels between different races aren’t rare.

They probably are in a country like Anheim, where only specific races can live, but in places like the capital and Zenith where a lot of different races live together, there are often problems about race.

Sadly, most of them don’t even have a clear origin.

I guess it just boils down to them not liking each other…

“…Do you want to hear why I hate humans? The unforgivable crime you people have committed?”

Ladimerie smashes her teeth together as she grinds them, no doubt remembering something bad. Unlike all the other disputes surrounding race I’ve seen before, it looks like this one has a clear reason.

…But what did humans do to make her hate them so much? The hatred I feel from her is like they killed her family.

“…My big sister…”

“…Ah?”

I didn’t catch that, so I take a step forward.

And then…

“You humans… Took my big sister!!!”

A big magic circle in front of me expands as an expression of her explosive emotions, and a fire spear that can easily blow away a person’s body burns the air as it heads towards me.

The fact that her magic circle has a pattern I remember seeing somewhere turns out to be terrible.

It catches my attention for a second, and I’m a step too late to react. I put up a defensive barrier, but it doesn’t block the impact.

“Gaha…!”

My back is thrown at full force against the door behind me, and I lose consciousness.