Chapter 12 - A Suspicious Chief Court Mage
Warning: Contains very lax blood-sucking behavior.
『Monsters』 is a general term for creatures that ally with the Demon Lord and attack humans.
Elenoa groaned under the night sky of the new moon. The sky, as if spilled with ink, was covered by stars of various sizes.
It was a starry sky one could never see in Japan, but given her current mood, it somehow looked cloudy to her.
"Of all places, the 『Nild Hills』..."
"It is perfect."
The reply was swift. When Elenoa turned around, Louis was there.
Sitting on a rocky outcrop with the starry sky as his backdrop, he gazed at her with a gentle smile. She felt she knew this scene from somewhere. Indeed, it was a still image she had collected in the game—『The Starry Sky and the Mage?』.
"...What is it?"
"Nothing. Let us finish practice quickly."
This place, the 『Nild Hills』 located northeast of the Royal Capital Grenole, was a location she had passed through several times in the game as well.
Although there were many monsters, passing through the Nild Hills was the shortest route for procurement from the port town of 『Seera』. She had heard that merchants constantly requested escorts.
The monsters that appeared were around level forty-five, subtly strong, and she had lost count of how many times she had been killed due to misjudgments during her playthrough in her previous life.
"Then, let us stick to water-attribute magic today."
"Yeees."
"Very well—then—"
When Louis held up one arm, a ball of light floated in his palm.
Monsters were drawn to artificial light.
After a few minutes, along with a lukewarm, restless breeze, two snake-like monsters appeared. They had dark green scales and slender bodies. Having no limbs, they moved by wriggling their bodies. They were mid-level monsters that crushed enemies with their developed fangs and jaws.
The moment she visually confirmed them, names and HP appeared in Elenoa's eyes.
『Python: 1500』
Text with such simple content floated above the enemies' heads in a slightly disordered font.
This was not her unique ability, but a 『combat scene』 specific to 『this world』. It was said to be a magical crisis-detection ability that intelligent beings had acquired through continuous culture and evolution.
It was easy to forget, but this was a game world.
The visualization of an enemy's stamina was a natural phenomenon.
"Teaacher, I have a question."
"Yes, Elenoa-san."
"I thiink Pythons were water-attribute monsteers."
"Yes, that is correct. You remembered well. Good, good."
"I thiink water magic had half potency against water-attribute monsteers."
"That is right. I will give you five points for that."
"I doon't thiink it is goood to bully fairiees!"
"The teacher respects the student's autonomy."
Louis's aim in this lesson was, in short, "You can get plenty of practice, right?"
Half potency simply meant that twice the amount of magic was required. And since one would inevitably want to aim for vital points, it also served as training for focused control.
No matter how much she complained, she could not afford to hesitate when enemies attacked. Facing the monsters crawling toward her with bared fangs, Elenoa steeled her resolve.
After rendering the enemies unable to fight, Elenoa let out a roar. Due to the unreasonable situation and her anger toward the teacher who was casually smiling and saying "Do your best!" from behind, the monsters that appeared had somehow turned into her punching bags.
"Humans are! Humans are!"
"It is a waste of magical power, so suppress your water power a bit more. It is becoming chaotic."
She had faced over ten monsters. More than half of them were water-attribute monsters, and the magical power she had used was equivalent to that of four average mages. Furthermore, Elenoa required a significant amount of magical power just to maintain her human size, meaning she was nearing her limit.
Louis stood up from the rocky outcrop and opened his mouth to stop the rampaging fairy.
—Poof.
It seemed there was no need to stop her. Having exhausted the magical power she had received from Louis, Elenoa blinked her eyes, returned to her original fairy height and width.
"...I reverted."
"Yes. Practice is over for today. Good work."
This was the signal for the end. Called over with "Come here," she obediently tried to fly to Louis's side.
However, she felt an ominous presence from behind and turned around with a rustle.
Her face turned pale.
"...Louis!"
The monster—a Troll—had appeared, drawn by her small back. Walking on two incomplete, hunched legs, it dragged a club unsteadily. Its skin was a faded, hard olive color. Standing about three times the height of a human, it fixed its bulging eyes solely on the powerless fairy. Its target was obvious.
As the exhausted Elenoa threw herself into Louis's chest, he gently enveloped her with his left hand as if to protect her.
At the same time, he cast his eyes upon the Troll. His pupils captured the opponent. And then.
It burned.
The massive red flames that covered the giant body resembled high-level magic.
The low-level magic, which should have had chants and names, instantly took shape in silence, possessing the maximum possible power, and was released with precise control akin to threading a needle.
Not even a piece of charcoal remained on the peaceful hill. Only the ear-piercing death throes echoed, leaving a lingering resonance. When even that faded, all that remained was silence. The natural landscape, restored to its original state.
The hills, as if to say the Troll had never existed in the first place, and the equally beautiful starry sky, felt somewhat hollow. And above all, Elenoa's spine stiffened at his emotionless eyes.
"Something wrong?"
"Eh, ah... no, nothing."
The expression directed at her was calm, leaving Elenoa's fear with nowhere to go.
Louis looked at her curiously as she put distance between them, her face still unresolved.
*
After handing a towel to Louis post-shower, Elenoa followed him fluffily into the bedroom. Knowing Elenoa was coming, he had left the door wide open.
Louis sat on the bed, waiting for her with a towel on his head. He wore a single loose-necked shirt and comfortable undergarments. Water droplets dripped from his wet, glossy hair, flowing down his collarbone.
Elenoa closed the door upon entering and immediately spoke.
"I think I've been found out. That I am not human. Because the people in town have been acting strange lately. They are starting to notice that I haven't aged in ten years."
This was one of the reasons why residents ignored her when she sought help in town.
Humans had different lifespans and growth rates. It was not that Elenoa had forgotten this, but she had taken it lightly. The passage of time was faster than she had thought.
"...Is that so. I thought that would happen eventually."
The general public in this world was different from NPCs—non-player characters. They had human feelings, emotions, and lives.
Even if there were people who spoke to her kindly, would they eventually look at her with disgust, finding her creepy? In contrast to the fairy who made a difficult face with a "Muu," Louis was optimistic.
"If it happens now, I am confident I can protect you no matter when your species is discovered. I did not become the Chief Court Mage solely for money. ...Though if I try to sugarcoat it nicely, ninety percent of it was actually for the money."
Once Louis finished drying his hair with the towel, he abruptly ended the conversation with a "Well then."
He reached out to Elenoa, who had a dark expression.
"Come here."
And he invited her. Whether due to the coercive power of his words or the undeniable difference in strength, Elenoa rarely disobeyed him when he used the imperative form. As always, she landed on his knees.
"Is it alright?"
"If you are that size tomorrow morning, you will not be able to make breakfast. I dislike being woken up early, so please 『eat』 now."
Louis cut his index finger with a fruit knife he held. Elenoa's eyes were glued to the blood that oozed out. Her eyes clouded with desire, and she gulped. She gripped the offered finger tightly with both hands.
"Um, let us eat."
Elenoa dutifully murmured and first licked it once, lap.
Immediately, she could focus on nothing but the magical power before her eyes.
Even though her body had become human-sized, she could not make the judgment to retreat from Louis's lap.
When she was held horizontally on his lap, she became greedy rather than shy. She somehow stabilized her body, wanting to savor the blood. But she begrudged even the time to shift her position—just then, he wrapped one arm around her shoulder to support her, so Elenoa did not let go of her 『prey』.
"Nn, nn."
Gulp, gulp, gulp. She sucked desperately. Louis's life fluid, single-mindedly.
Her eyes lost their reason, her cheeks flushed. Intoxicated by the sweet magical power, she looked even cuter than usual, and Louis's face bloomed brightly.
Even though Louis gazed at her with passion, she did not notice it.
With the pleasure of her body filling with magical power, Elenoa's strength drained away. When Louis placed one hand on her head and gently pressed her against his shoulder, she entrusted her body to him like a lover.
Through the thin clothes, she moistly felt a softness gentler than a stuffed animal filled with cotton. Unlike ten years ago, the pleasant moment when he could fully contain her in his arms was troubling no matter how she struggled.
"Nn, ...nnu."
"You must not make such a face in front of other men, you know?"
He knew well that such warnings were not being heard.
Deliberately including a color that would please a woman, even with whispers by her ear, he could not draw Elenoa's attention. She clung to Louis's magical power and would not let go.
The pure and inviolable fairy shamelessly sought the bodily fluids of a human man.
That sight gave Louis a dim joy.
"Haa."
Her eyes mysteriously moist, she reluctantly released his finger.
Regaining her composure, wondering if she had eaten too much, she looked at Louis apologetically. But looking down at her was a smile more radiant than ever.
"I always think this, but you look like you are having fun."
"Me?"
"Yes. When I am sucking blood, you look like you are having fun, or rather, happy?"
"...That might be true. Is it showing on my face?"
"It is showing."
"I always thought I was keeping a straight face."
—Ah, so he was aware.
Even now, while Elenoa remained silent, unable to find words, his smile was suspicious.
"Ah, sorry. You were still on me. I will get off now."
"............"
"Um, let go."
"No."
"Let go?"
"No."
The person inside Louis was supposed to be a citizen of their homeland, 『Japan』, but this felt like physical contact typical of a foreigner. Perhaps even more than that. Could the person in Louis's previous life have been a university student with maxed-out communication skills? She imagined Louis driving around in an open-top car going "Whee!" ...Probably not.
"I can't believe Louis-boy was originally Japanese. Is shame not something of the soul, but rather a matter of the body?"
"...Who knows."
"Nn, my body should be just Elenoa, though."
In the game, Eren and Elenoa were fairies loyal to the Hero. In the latter half of the route, they transformed into possessive characters who would try to touch or act spoiled toward the protagonist whenever there was an opening. This was the exact opposite of Elenoa, whose interior was Japanese.
"For something related to the character's body... I am not used to it, so perhaps it is not about bloodlines or the flesh. ...Yes, I am still not used to it, so please put me down already."
"No."
The posture, akin to that of lovers, was too stimulating for Elenoa in her right mind.