novelzi Chapter 156
Chapter 156
Self-Introductions
We walked in silence through the forest. The place the black-haired boy had teleported us to was already deep within a forest. Apparently, it’s the forest right behind the royal castle. So, that means the place we were at before was the royal castle... I wonder what country it is.
“Just a little further. Once we get past here, it’s like my backyard.”
“Okay,” I answered the black-haired boy. I’ve been exercising, now that I’m older, but I’m still a little girl. I was already out of breath. I mean, this is a forest, it makes me uneasy, and I’m also mentally exhausted! But I have to endure.
“Okay, move back a bit.”
I’m not sure how long we’d been walking. It felt like a long time, since we were worried about pursuers, but maybe an hour? He’d been matching my pace, so I don’t think we’d come that far...
The scenery remained unchanged, and then the boy suddenly stopped and said that. I could hear metallic sounds from afar, and it made me too scared to stop. “Why here...?” That question came to mind, but I had no choice but to rely on him, so I waited silently.
Then, he held out his hand towards a tree, channeling magic power into it.
“Whoa, amazing.”
“So there is a basement...”
The roots of the tree, reacting to his magic power, split apart, creating a large hole where there hadn’t been one before. I looked closer and saw simple stairs leading down.
“Go ahead. This will close once I pass through.”
He gestured for us to enter, and then, once we were all on the stairs, I felt the hole closing.
It was pitch black for a moment, but then the boy created a light. A warm orange light appeared, illuminating the darkness, and I sighed in relief. It seemed like a light magic tool.
We went down the stairs, the boy leading the way, and the path continued, but then he turned around and sat down.
“This is a secret passage that my guardian created. Pretty rare, right? You can’t open it without magic power, and it’s hard to find, so it’s safe. So, let’s take a break and chat. I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”
He smiled and said, “I actually used up quite a bit of magic power with that teleportation, I’m a bit tired.” It was probably true, but I could feel that he was also considering us. I had no objections, so I sat down across from him. The reddish brown haired boy did the same.
“I’m ninety-two...”
“Ninety-two!? Ah, Dwarves live long and mature slowly, right... Hmm, that’s hard to grasp. Are you an adult?”
“No, Dwarves become adults at a hundred...”
“Wow, it really is different...”
I listened absentmindedly to their conversation, my mind a mess. I wonder how old Elves have to be to be considered adults. Maybe around 200, judging by how slow I’m growing? Haa, I can’t deal with this without escaping reality a little... Ugh.
“Okay, you’re up next. Can you tell me your name?”
I’d been spacing out, and now it was my turn. Maybe because I look young, Licht softened his voice. Such a considerate boy. A far cry from Reki. Ah, just thinking about him makes me want to cry.
“It’s M-Meg...”
“D-D-Don’t cry...! It’s okay, we’re not scary. Right, Ronaldo?”
“Y-Yeah, we won’t do anything bad. Take your time, okay.”
The more I tried not to cry, the more the tears flowed. As expected of a little girl, still immature. But it must be a lot to ask of a boy to comfort a crying child. I need to stop crying quickly. I took out a towel from my storage bracelet and wiped my face.
“Ah, you... is that, a storage magic tool... !?”
“I’ve never... seen one...”
The two boys were shocked that I’d taken out a towel seemingly from thin air. Ah, that’s right. Storage magic tools are usually incredibly expensive items. I realized belatedly that I shouldn’t have used it so casually and panicked. Ah, the tears are coming back...!
“Ah, sorry! I was too loud, wasn’t I? It’s okay, it’s okay!”
“I-I’m sorry. It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”
In the end, I couldn’t stop crying, and continued to trouble the two boys for a while. Ugh, I’m such a troublesome little girl... I’m sorry, boys.