Chapter 186 Okay, I Truly Did Not See This One Coming

'W-wood... I'm sitting on actual wood...?'

Asa felt delirious, being in the presence of the Hero while comfortably relaxed on a luxurious surface. Sure, she had seen and even experienced the comfort of wooden furniture in the past, but none even came close to this quality.

The nervous girl felt her body stiffen as her nose picked up the nice wooden smell of her chair. It was exquisite.

"Asa, did you hear what I just said?"

The Hero's slightly raised voice finally brought Asa from her dazed state, instantly causing her to yelp while blushing in embarrassment.

Fortunately, Asa wasn't present so only two of them were in the room. Though, that in itself presented a problem for the nervous young lady.

"A-ah, yes. No... not really. I'm so sorry!" Her squeaky voice sounded funny, but Asa was not in the condition to pay heed to that.

"It's fine. I understand why you must be dazed. However, there's no need to be so flustered. Just remain calm."

Asa nodded obediently. With her head awkwardly hung on her shoulders, she waited for the Hero to repeat himself.

'Or should I just speak?'

"Asa, there's something you're keeping from me. I'd like to know what it is." The Hero's soothing voice greeted her ears, and Asa felt her muscles stiffen even more.

It was finally the moment of truth—something she had been expecting.

'He already knows what I'm about to say, so I might as well...' Asa took a deep breath and decided to pour her heart out.

"Hero... I mean, Sam, you are correct. I am indeed hiding something from you—no, from everyone in this city." As she spoke, Asa removed a ring that was on her right finger.

The object gleamed brightly as it came off, shimmering golden dust-like energy around her body. Slowly, Asa's body—well, mostly her face—took a peculiar new form.

Pointy ears grew, and her eyes turned bright luminescent green. Her hair also turned longer, and it had a nature-like allure to it. Her skin kept a moderately light glow, and her face looked a dozen times more youthful.

Her current appearance—the beauty and elegance displayed—was evidently not human. It was something more.

"I am an Elf. My true name is Asariel Lucielle, sole daughter of the late Elven Chief and native of the Elf Sanctuary."

The Hero was silent, and his fierce blue eyes remained stagnant. Asa felt like she knew why.

'He already knows my identity. He wants me to spill everything. Very well...' She took another deep breath, closing her eyes to summon more courage.

"I need your help, Hero. My people are suffering, oppressed under the tyrannical rule of my Uncle who forcefully took over our nation. I barely managed to escape with my life, so please..."

The Hero's calm face told her she wasn't wrong. He was indeed aware of all of it.

"... Please help me, Hero! Save my people!"

*********

'Ah, shit. Things just got more complicated than I thought.

I had known Asa was an Elf since her name was added to the Character List, but how could I have foreseen this development? She was a runaway princess who had a murderous evil uncle and a nation that needed saving.

Just how much more cliche could her situation be?

'Oof, this sounds pretty rough.'

The original storyline never mentioned anything like this, so it couldn't have been plot-relevant, but... just looking at the desperate expression Asa was making made me feel how serious this stuff was.

'Asa—or should I say Asariel Lucielle—is in quite the pickle.'

Why?

Because unlike the events of the past—where I had at least some idea of what I was doing, or the people involved—I was quite clueless here.

'The original Novel only slightly mentions the Elves, and that is when Damien encounters a survivor. According to the survivor, the Elf Sanctuary was destroyed.'

That event happened about two years after Damien appeared in the fantasy world, so I had to guess the Elven civilization wouldn't be destroyed until some time later. Why and how were never mentioned in the story, so I had no clue.

'I'm just shocked and confused.'

Never before had I been utterly clueless.

"I understand your situation perfectly, Asa." Of course, I wasn't going to tell the young Elf that.

She was looking at me with her sweet pearly eyes. What was I supposed to do? Tell her she came to the wrong person?

'Besides, I pressured her to talk. She was clearly going to keep this to herself. It's my fault for causing this awkward scenario...'

That meant it was up to me to fix it... even though I'd rather not.

'Welp, you wanted something interesting, Sam. Here it is!'

"You did well by speaking. You must have suffered a lot, keeping so much of this bottled down for so long..."

Asa nodded, tears dripping from her face as she sniffed pitifully. Seeing such a pretty lady cry so hard made my heart melt and ache at the same time.

"I... I... I've been having so many nightmares lately. I feel like so many horrible things have gone wrong in my absence. I'm so scared. I only ran away to become stronger! Strong enough to liberate my people! I never... I never..." She sobbed even more, and I watched powerlessly.

"... I never meant to abandon them!"

I had never seen Asa so emotional before. The sincerity behind her words was enough to buy me over. I would be worse than a jerk to turn her away when she presented me with such a case, wouldn't I?

"Do not worry. Dry your tears, Asa." I rose from my feet, ensuring my flashy Hero smile remained active.

Asa's bright green eyes were now fixed on me with both surprise and hope. I could feel her ragged breath from where I stood. Despite how awkward it was to stare at such an Elven beauty for so long, I kept my cool.

'I'm freaking out internally, so I'm grateful it's not so obvious!

"I will help you." My grin broadened, and her face softened.

"Y-you will...?" Asa looked at me with such an innocently surprised expression that even I couldn't resist any longer.

'S-so cuteeee!' I squinted my eyes at the brightness of her cuteness.

"Indeed. So do not worry..."

Her tears dried and she nodded with such excited fervor.

"... Just trust your Hero!"