Chapter of Bottled Love: Midst of the Summer Storm

“I am truly grateful to you and your mercenaries, Mr Korwen.”

“We merely did what we were paid to do.”

“Hohoho, if you say so, then that’s how it shall be.”

Still hugging the two girls, Mrs Karker thanked Korwen.

“I, for one, am glad that my judgement was not wrong. Have there been any issues I should be aware of?”

“No further attempts on their lives have been made during their stay, after the initial attack in the forest.”

“I see. I see… I apologise, my girls. It must have been hard for you.”

Mrs Karker gently patted the girls’ heads with a smile.

“It’s fine, grandma… It was only a little boring!” asserted Elma.

“Boring, huh? Then I’ll have to make it up to you. Mm, I know. Maybe we should visit the Grand Spirit Lake for a small vacation. What do you say?”

“The Spirit Lake?!”

Elma’s voice rose when she heard her suggestion.

“Ahh, but… what about the Academy?”

“The Academy will temporarily close its teaching facilities. Many students and even several professors are… on a break, so to say.”

“Ah…”

A break…

“Then, I guess it’s decided. Hohoho, of course, Nela will come as well.”

“Eh? But I…”

“I will inform your parents.”

“... I understand.”

“Very well.”

With that, she let go of the two girls. Elma was smiling from ear to ear while Nela’s face was flushed from embarrassment.

“I will need to talk with Mr Korwen for a moment. The weather is still bad so how about we wait until the rain lets off a little?”

“Okay, grandma!”

“... That’s… okay…”

“Good girls.”

With a final head pat for the two, Mrs Karker turned to Korwen, who motioned her to sit down on a chair at the end of the table. Korwen himself quickly sat down on the chair at the end opposite Mrs Karker.

“Uhm… Lily!”

“Mh?”

Just as we were ready to listen to Mrs Karker and Korwen, Elma and Nela approached us, or rather, Lily.

“Thank you so much for staying with us!”

“Thank you!”

“...”

Lily stared at the two, dumbfounded by the sudden gratitude directed at her. But after a few seconds, she smiled at them-

“You’re welcome. I hope it was a little more bearable with Rina and me around.”

“It was!”

Elma asserted strongly her fists clenched in front of her, while Nela was nodding in agreement.

“If you ever need our help again, be sure to come by.”

“... I’m sure we will.”

“More like your grandma will, El.”

“Same difference!”

“...”

It actually was quite different but… Whatever. They were happy with it.

After delivering their gratitude to Lily once more, the two went off to Karen and Rina, probably to thank Rina as well.

“Mh, they’re cute girls, aren’t they, Yumi?”

“Nn. Don’t cheat on Rina.”

“I won’t. But I can at least appreciate cute girls, can I?”

“I think that’s something you should ask Rina, not me.”

“... I don’t think I’ll get a positive answer from her, though.”

Then she should seek a positive one even less from me. I didn’t want to get involved in that.

“By the way, Yumi.”

“Nn?”

“Where’s the Elder?”

“... Don’t know. She was speaking with the High Priest yesterday and I haven’t seen her after that yet.”

“... The High Priest? That High Priest?”

Lily’s eyes went wide in surprise.

“Are there other High Priests here?”

“... No. But, huh… Not something I expected.”

“Nn. Seems they know each other.”

“She knows the High Priest? Well… Thinking about it, I guess it’s not surprising they know each other but on the other hand, the elves are pretty reclusive… Or were. I wonder what the story behind that is.”

So did I. But it was hard to ask the Elder if she wasn’t actually present.

“Now I’m curious.”

“... Don’t do anything stupid, Lily.”

“I won’t. I’ll just ask her abou—”

A thunderous roar interrupted Lily. The unexpected ear-shattering thunder made both of us jump in surprise. A moment of silence ensued before Lily smiled wryly.

“That sure surprised me.”

“Nn… The weather really turned…”

“Sure did. Hopefully, it won’t last for days…”

“Days…”

It’d be a little problematic if it would last for days. The celebration at Will’s place was slated for tomorrow after all. With this weather… It’d be a bit of a damper.

Another flash, followed by a thunderous roar mere seconds later. The storm had approached us to the point it was very near now… The wind hadn’t slowed down any bit either and was still forcing the tent to tilt to the side regularly. The incessant rattling worried me quite a bit.

“The tent will hold, right?”

“... Probably.”

“That’s not very reassuring.”

“Hey, we don’t often have storms like this…”

And the first weather other than sunshine that I was experiencing in this world, turned out to be one such storm…

“Well, the captain doesn’t look too concerned, so it’ll surely be fine.”

“Nn…”

We both glanced towards Korwen, who was discussing something with Mrs Karker. We kind of missed the chance to listen in and by now I had no idea what they were talking about. Either way, they seemed like they were about to finish anyway.

“So, Yumi.”

“Nn?”

“Did you and Karen have any work left for today?”

“We’re on break for a few days.”

“Oh?”

Her eyes went wide and she grinned after a few seconds.

“A break, is it? Since I’m now in your squad, that means I’m on break, too, right?”

“... Maybe you should ask Korwen or Fenna about that.”

Speaking of Fenna… Ah, there she was, behind Korwen. She had assumed her position behind him just like the woman accompanying Mrs Karker had.

“Well, I think you’ll surely get one if you ask for it.”

Knowing Korwen, he probably would force her to rest either way. He surely knew how mentally taxing that guard job had to have been.

“I hope so… I’ll definitely need some sleep… Albeit, with this noise, I’d be hard-pressed to sleep…”

“Ahhh… Hopefully, it’ll be over soon...”

“Hopefully.”

If it continued until tomorrow, it’d be really a bother… And we still had to visit Wanda as well, for the dresses. Could she even work in this weather?

“Oh, seems they are done.”

“Nn?”

I turned around and saw that Korwen and Mrs Karker had finished their talk, the latter standing up from her seat.

“Thank you for your time, Mr Korwen.”

“No problem. Will you already return or do you want to stay here until the weather gets better?”

“The storm should let off later in the day, so I would like to indulge in your hospitality for a little while longer.”

“In that case, feel free to stay here. However, I hope you apologise that I have still work I need to attend to.”

“That is of no problem whatsoever, Mr Korwen. The girls surely can keep me some company.”

“... Don’t bother them too much. Greyward will complain to me if you do.”

Mrs Karker only laughed it off, causing Korwen to shake his head before he also stood up from his chair and walked over.

“Yumi, Karen.”

“Nn?”

“Yes, Mr Captain?”

Karen, who was talking with Rina, El and Nel, turned around when Korwen called out for us.

“You still need to see Wanda, don’t you?”

“Nn. We wanted to see her but in this weather…”

I glanced towards the curtain. Through the gap, I could see the rain hammering down outside, turning the usually dry earth into a swamp of mud.

“Mh, I agree that this isn’t the best of times…”

Another flash followed by an immediate thunderous roar.

“Right above us. Wait for a while until the storm travelled a little away and then be off on your way.”

“Nn, understood.”

“Understood.”

“Mm.”

Korwen nodded and then turned to Lily.

“Lily. I didn’t yet have the chance to tell you: You did a good job. Take a break with Yumi and Lily. Did you already hear about the new assignment?”

“Yes, Captain. I have.”

“Good.”

Having confirmed that, Korwen finally turned to Fenna.

“Fenna, take care of them. I still have some things to attend to. Merim, come with me.”

“Yes, Captain!”

“Sure, Captain.”

Fenna saluted and Merim, who had been waiting at the entrance of the tent, gave a leisurely reply before he and Korwen left the tent, disappearing into the storm. A few seconds later, we heard some cursing and that was the last we heard of them for now.

“Yumi, Yumi, he praised me!”

“Nn, he did, Lily. Good job.”

“Hehehe, you think papa will praise me too?”

“I’m sure he will. You didn’t meet him yet?”

“He’s busy with something…”

Lily was smiling happily at being praised. She reminded me a little of Maya or Emily. Then again, who wasn’t happy about being praised? Now, if only Greyward could praise her too. Well, he surely would once they met. Of that, I was sure.

---

For a good while, we spent our time in the tent, talking with Mrs Karker, El and Nel. At some point, the storm let off a little, so Karen decided it’d be a good time to visit Wanda now.

Since we weren’t sure if we were going to see El, Nel and Mrs Karker again anytime soon, we said our goodbyes, only for Mrs Karker to send us off with an “Until tomorrow.” and confusing half the room. So, we’d see her at the celebration tomorrow… I wondered if El would come too.

“Ugh, this weather…”

“Come, Yumi, the faster we get to Wanda, the less you have to stand in the rain.”

“I’m coming bu— Woah?!”

“Yumi!”

The slippery ground suddenly gave way and caused me to tumble forwards, straight into Karen’s arms.

“Thanks, Sis.”

“Jeez… Come, let’s go.”

“Nn.”

Holding my hand, we pushed through the rain, towards Wanda’s tent. One of the few that weren’t taken down and stored away. We literally sprinted the last bit, storming into the tent.

“Safe!”

“Woah, the heck are you girls doing?!”

Wanda, sitting at her work desk, turned around in shock at seeing our drenched appearances.

“We’ve come… Wanda…”

“I can see that. Spirits above, look at you.”

She stood up and fetched a towel, throwing it towards.

“Go and dry yourselves off before you catch something. Don’t need you getting ill now of all times.”

“Thanks.”

We gratuitously accepted the towels and began to dry our drenched clothes. And especially my utterly drenched hair. It felt like a heavy weight was pulling my head, that’s how much water it had soaked up.

“Just what in the Spirits’ name drove you to dash through the weather here?”

“Well… We wanted to visit you because of the dresses…”

“Getting ill would defeat the entire purpose, though. Haa, out of those clothes. Wear this.”

“Eh?”

She threw two baggy, oversized robes towards us. They were big…

“Hang the drenched clothes over there to dry.”

“... Thank you, Wanda.”

“Next time, think first.”

“But we had no idea when the rain would let off so…”

“That’s true but… Haa, you could’ve at least brought something to shield you from the rain.”

Unfortunately, the only thing that had been in the reception tent was Mrs Karker’s umbrella. And we couldn’t exactly ask for that one… Either way, we had been fated to get wet anyway.

Wanda returned to her desk, her back turned to us so we could change in peace. A rare moment of consideration from her. Karen and I stripped out of our wet clothes and slipped into the oversized, baggy robe.

“Ohh, this is surprisingly warm.”

The robe was made of thick fabric with only an opening for the head and in the sleeves for the hands. Excluding, of course, the bottom. Wrapping my arms around my body, I could immediately feel a comfortable warmth enveloping me. Even if I didn’t mind the cold as much as the others, I still preferred it comfortably warm.

“So, you girls came to checkup on the dresses?”

“Nn.”

“I see. Well, I’m making good progress so I should finish in time for tomorrow. With the lack of time, I couldn’t make anything elaborate, though. If you want, I can work on that some other time, though. Anyway, take a look if you want.”

“Nn?”

With her arm, she gestured towards her left side. Two black dresses, held up by several strings attached to a bar and covered in threads and a few thick paper pieces keeping them in form.

“Ohhh!”

“These are…”

Both of them were relatively simple in design. Both kept the shoulders free except for the straps and had no sleeves. Aside from that, neither allowed for much skin exposure, as they seemed to be long enough to reach down to our ankles.

“I’ll still need to do some things like adding simple decorations.”

“Nn...”

So, we’d be wearing these tomorrow. Karen’s was a little different in form, probably because she had a different physique. But both of them were relatively loose-fitting dresses from the looks of it. Like a child’s fancy summer dress. Especially in my case. Imagining us in them…. Yeah, it was something to look forward to.

“Since you’re here, I’d like you to wear them as a test. I still need to do some work first, though, so feel free to wait until then.

“Okay.”

“Nn.”

And with Wanda’s permission, Karen and I admired the dresses for a good while longer until we were satisfied. The more time we spent on it, the more I was looking forward to this. And Karen seemed to share my feelings in this regard.

“I hope the weather is going to be fine tomorrow.”

“Nn. It’d be a shame if it was still like this then.”

With that in mind, how would we even get there tomorrow?

“Sis, we’re… not going to walk there tomorrow, are we?”

“... I don’t know?”

Great…

“Did that old coot tell you nothing?”

“Nn? No…”

“... Seriously?”

Wanda stopped her hands and turned around, looking at us, exasperated.

“He said nothing at all?”

“Nn… Is there something wrong?”

“... He should have at least given you a rundown on basic etiquette and the schedule… That idiot… Haa…”

Now she was rubbing her temples. Apparently, this was… pretty bad?

“Okay, listen you two.”

“Yes?”

“Even if it is informal and you aren’t expected to know etiquette so well you could perfectly recite it in your sleep, you are still expected to know at least some of it.”

“”...””

Korwen! You should have told us that!

“And now I’ll have to drill at least the basics into you until tomorrow. This idiot, making my work even worse.”

Ahaha… I felt a little sorry for her but… if it really was that important, there probably weren’t many people we could turn to. Mrs Karker might be able to teach us, or El and Nel… But on the other hand, it felt wrong to ask Mrs Karker to teach us…

“Haa… I’ll finish this first so you can wear the dresses. Then you can at least practise a little in the dress.”

Scratching her head, Wanda returned her attention to her work, grumbling all the while.

“Ah, right, you brats, go wake that girl up. Over there.”

“That… girl?”

I looked towards the direction Wanda pointed at. There was a large bundle of blankets but nothing else...

“Since I’ll probably have to teach her as well.”

Now, that confused me even more… I exchanged a quick glance with Karen before she walked to the corner of the tent, where the said pile of blankets was.

“Hello?”

A little unsure about what to do, Karen pulled the blankets away, revealing a small figure underneath. Much to our surprise.

“Miss Elder?!”

“Mmgh… Mh?”

And a sleepy-looking elf rose up from the pile of blankets, yawning.

“Karen? Mm... Good morning… What is the matter?”

She stared blankly at Karen, who was taken completely by surprise. After she collected herself, she smiled wryly.

“Slept well?”

“That I did… But… Oh, Yumi is here, too. Good morning.”

“Good morning…”

A little awkwardly, I replied to her greeting, still confused about what she was doing here. No, in the first place, it wasn’t morning anymore…

“Miss Elder, what were you doing here?”

“Mh? Ahh, I was talking with Wanda here… However, I must have fallen asleep at some point, did I not?”

And then Wanda buried her in blankets… Well, she said she slept well so it probably wasn’t that bad.

The Elder stood up and stretched her arms, then her sides by leaning to the left and then the right.

“So, what is the matter? Did you need me for something?”

“Ah, no… Wanda just mentioned that we should wake you up…”

Karen explained to her what we had just talked about with Wanda.

“Etiquette, you say? It’s true that I am not well-versed in humanoid etiquette, so I would appreciate it.”

So, the three of us were going to learn from Wanda, huh...

“Miss Elder…”

“Karen?”

“If you are also joining the celebration, will you also be wearing a dress?”

“Something like that. Us elves do not have something akin to the dresses you humanoids wear. Or rather, we do but they are more… something we don’t wear on formal occasions. However, there are traditional clothes we wear for our rituals and celebrations, which I will be wearing this time.”

So, traditional elven wear? I wondered what it’d look like.

“One reason I am here is that I was consulting with Miss Wanda here about it. I am not familiar with the… dress codes that you humanoids have. Luckily, it seems that our ritual wear is good enough.”

“At the very least, it is better than your casual wear. Who in their right mind walks around half-naked?” interjected Wanda.

“So you say, but for most elves, you humanoids covering most of your body strikes them just as odd. Why cover your body that you were born with? Are you ashamed of your own body? That’s what most of them think.”

Ashamed of our own body? That’s how they looked at it?

“Miss Elder, you say what most think… Then, what do you think?” asked Karen.

“Me? I know why humanoids wear clothes so it doesn’t strike me as odd. Also, I have lived a long time among them, so… returning to our elven customs was initially a slight challenge for me as well.”

The Elder chuckled as she continued to reminisce.

“We elves are all born as females. There are no males. We are born from the forest, so there is no need for males. Our race will survive as long as the forest exists. As such, the complex relations of man and woman are something beyond most elves. Hehe, as such, it is a little amusing for me to watch them experience these feelings for the first time now.”

“Miss Elder…”

“Let me have that little enjoyment. Anyway, as you may have surmised, even if we don’t have a need for men as a race, our bodies can still serve those functions. They can still fall in love and bear a man’s child all the same. And now, they are slowly discovering this little truth. They’re like children, stumbling through their first steps towards adulthood. How could I not enjoy watching them?”

She chuckled once more, amused as she was.

“Be that as it may, we still have some ritual clothes. They’re made from our forest and are supposed to symbolise our life in harmony with the place that gave birth to us. I assumed they would be appropriate for this occasion.”

“Huh…”

Now I was even more curious about how she looked in them, though…

“But, I must say, what happened to the weather while I was asleep?”

“Ah, the storm? It started overnight and has been going on like this for a while…”

“A storm… In the midst of the summer heat. Those are the most ferocious ones.”

“Nn… But it seems to have passed over us already so it should slowly get better now.”

There was the occasional thunder roaring through the sky. The delay between it and the flash it followed after grew more and more with the passing of time.

“Is that so? It seems the worst has passed then, and this abode is still standing. We might have been in luck, then.”

“I don’t think sitting in a storm is lucky, to begin with.”

“Storms are a natural phenomenon. They come if you want to or not.”

“Well, that’s true…”

They could’ve come when we weren’t here, though… Ah, but considering the area they tend to cover, we’d still get hit no matter where we were… Was that what the Elder meant? Probably…

“We can just wait for it to calm down on its own. At least, a storm ends on its own.”

With that, she seemed to have lost interest in the weather, instead turning to Wanda, who was still busy at her desk. She watched her for a few seconds before directing her attention to me.

“Yumi.”

“Nn?”

“What did you think of the High Priest?”

“The High Priest?”

I stared blankly at the Elder for a few seconds, stumped by the sudden question.

“I don’t know… He did seem like a good guy… I guess?”

“Mm… A good guy.”

Why did she want to know about that?

“As you remember, I have talked with that brat who is now a High Priest.”

“Nn.”

She did. She even showed him around.

“While we talked, I discreetly consulted with him about… your situation.”

“Huh?”

She had talked with him about me? She said she did it discreetly but...

“Would you consider getting yourself examined?”

“... Examined?”

Once more, I could only stare at the Elder who suddenly threw such an odd suggestion at me. The Elder nodded in response before answering, her voice lowered so that Wanda wouldn’t overhear her.

“According to what he told me, the priests manage most of the healing magicians of the country. And that most healing magicians act as priests themselves. And that includes the High Priest himself. A healing magician needs extensive knowledge about the body so that they can use their magic to diagnose the problems. He might be able to shed some light on your situation.”

“Eh?”

I could barely contain my surprise when she told me that. He might be able to tell me about my body? Seriously?

“And I would suggest that same examination to that girl, Rina. Actually, I would say that she needs it even more than you. Either way, I know that brat since he was a child. He’s good at heart, albeit a little… touched in the head. I believe you can trust him. According to him, he is bound to silence by his oath to the Spirits when it comes to another’s ailments.”

Bound to silence… And considering how frantic he was going on about the Spirits… He probably would honour it, would he not?

“Of course, whether you do or not, I will leave that decision to you. And obviously, you will need Mr Korwen’s permission as well.”

“...”

I was left speechless… I did wonder often about my body… But I always thought that the only one who could shed light on it would be Yumias at most. The healing magicians… Ignoring that I did not even know of their existence, I didn’t even consider getting examined by them once I learnt of them. Well, I did intend to keep my existence as secret as possible but as Korwen had said, that wouldn’t be easy in the long term.

They’re like this world’s doctors, aren’t they? And she said they had extensive knowledge about the body…

That professor had helped us with some general knowledge about monsters and how they worked. But obviously, I didn’t get examined by him. But if it was a healing magician…

“Think about it. But it’d be better to decide before we move on from this place. I believe you can trust the High Priest but that doesn’t mean you can trust any healing magician. Furthermore, I know well that he is skilled enough.”

“So… You say, if I want to, this would be the best chance?”

“That I do.”

“...”

In that case, there was little choice, was there?

“If it’s possible, I’d like him to examine me.”

“... Yumi. Are you sure?”

“Nn, I am, Sis.”

I wanted to know what I was. And this was maybe one of the best chances I had to do so. Even if he couldn’t tell me what I was exactly, he’d probably be able to tell me what was going on with my body. Like, my bones, for example.

“That was a quick decision. But I have to ask as well: Are you sure?”

“Nn. You said this is the best chance, right? And honestly, I think he is a good person, too. Albeit a weird one.”

“... In that case, we should ask Mr Korwen for permission once we see him.”

The Elder smiled gently. To me, it seemed like she was relieved that I accepted her suggestion. Maybe she had been worried in her own way about me. It made me happy to know that.

“Thank you, Miss Elder. I probably would have missed that opportunity myself.”

“You are very much welcome, Yumi.”

Rinne

Hope everyone stays healthy, and thank you for reading!