Volume 3 - CH 9

「…………」

「…………」

――It's too awkward.

There was a deep silence in Mars' 【Treasury House of Dreams】.

The cause of the commotion was Lucille's discovery that Lilia is an elf.

The usually lively living room was filled with an unrest atmosphere, like a cloudy sky.

Lucille is a princess, after all, and when it came to protecting her ― not only from monsters and traps but also from adventurer men ― it was easiest to have Lucille spend time in the treasury with her.

「A-aren't you hungry!?」

「You're both angry because you're hungry-nya?」

「I-I don't think it's like that, but......」

Hazuki was flustered, trying to calm them down somehow.

But this is a conflict between races, and the problem is quite deep-rooted.

Two hundred years ago there was a war between the elves and dwarves. That is what has created the current awkwardness.

Carelessly touching it would likely deepen the feud between the two, and Mars was also troubled inside.

The day's search came to an end when the follow-up team led by Onyx caught up with them.

The majority of the 500 or so adventurers camped in the dungeon.

Some of them were dungeon conquerors, and only they were resting in their own 【Treasure House of Dreams】.

The treasure house of Mars was expanded after conquering one of the Seven Great Dungeons, and has a living room of about 40 tatami mats, with another 12 rooms of about 20 tatami mats. It also has separate bathrooms and toilets.

In the living room, there is a private room for everyone, one room is filled to the ceiling with weapons and armor, two rooms are filled with treasures, and four rooms are filled with food.

The extra room is currently not planned to be used, and one of the rooms will be used as a guesthouse for Lucille.

The private rooms are furnished with clothes, etc., but not much is used.

Most of the time, they spend their time in the living room, and when they go to bed, they gather in Mars's room and sleep together.

「Let's have dinner for now. And don't fight. ――I'm sorry Lucille-chan, but if you're going to fight, I'm going to have you leave.」

「――I won't. Elves are the race that killed my brother, so it just makes me sick to breathe the same air as them.」

「That's not happening in Lilia's times, is it?」

「That has nothing to do with it. Elves are Elves and Dwarves are Dwarves.」

Lucille replies in a sarcastic voice, making Mars want to hold his head in his hands.

There is probably an unbridgeable gap between dwarves and elves.

I understand that, but it's very annoying to be brought into a dispute that has nothing to do with the dungeon attack.

Lilia also has a bad habit of letting her pride get the better of her at times like this.

Mars makes eye contact with Hazuki, who looks troubled, and then cocks his chin and instructs her to deal with Lucille.

「L-Lucille-chan, why don't you come to my room? I have a lot of books there!」

「...... I will do that.」

「Do you want to come with us, Nemu-chan?」

「Nemu hasn't finished yesterday's homework yet, so she'll study here-nya」

Hazuki glances at Lilia, who is sitting on a chair looking down and pushes Lucille's back to lead her to her room.

At the dining table in the living room, Nemu was grunting and groaning as she worked on the homework assigned by Mars and the others.

The content of the homework was at the middle school level, but considering that Nemu is only 15 years old and there are few people in this world who have received an education, it was at a high enough level.

「Lilia, can you help me prepare the meal?」

「Sure. I'm in the mood to try something a little more complicated today.」

「I-I see」

Mars calls Lilia over to prepare the meal with him.

She was unusually Buddha-faced and her grumpiness was sticking out like spikes from her whole body.

「You know, you don't have to answer me, but...... what kind of food do the dwarves like?」

「They are omnivorous, no different from us. So I thought they like everything. If I had to guess, I would say that they are not so accustomed to eating fish. Seafood is regional, so they probably don't eat much of it here in the mountains.」

「Then maybe meat and vegetables mainly. It's a dungeon with no sunlight, so it's better to have a lot of vegetables.」

In the dungeon, vitamins tend to be in short supply.

And since you will be there for a month at a time, if you don't take vitamins from fruits and vegetables, you are at risk of diseases such as scurvy.

Wherever you are, it is the food you eat that builds your body.

Lilia has been so absorbed in her work that it is not much for Mars to do.

He wanted to avoid irritating her too much right now.

So Mars makes sweet fruit water and offers it to Nemu.

「How's it going?」

「――Nemu has no idea-nya. She wants you to teach her-nya.」

「Let's study together until dinner is ready. Hazuki-chan's math? At that level, I don't understand it either. To be honest, if you're not interested in it, I don't think you have to do that much.」

「If it's homework, it's done-nya? ――What she doesn't understand is why Lilia-nyan and Lucille-nyan are fighting-nya. Lilia-nyan didn't do anything wrong-nya?」

Nemu, with a wrinkled brow and clenched fists, asked Mars with a serious face.

Mars wasn't at all confident that he could answer well.

「...... Good question. Lilia didn't do anything, and I'm sure Lucille-chan didn't do anything either. But their parents and the old people had a fight.」

「Don't you think that doesn't matter-nya ......? If the old people were fighting, why should the kids have to fight too-nya?」

「I wish everyone could feel that way. This is what happens when you have a country, a position, and all that stuff.」

「If they are not fighting each other, they should be good friends-nya. Everyone is an idiot, right-nya?」

――You're absolutely right.

Mars also thought it was stupid that Lilia and Nemu were discriminated against.

The difference in race is nothing compared to the difference in the world they were born into.

From Mars' point of view, all beings in this world are equal.

The only ones who are different are reincarnated people like Mars. They are outsiders in the true sense of the word.

「It's not that simple. ――I know the story of the murder of the Dwarf prince. I didn't even know he was her brother. That was before I was born.」

「Can Nemu ask who won-nya?」

「Both lost. They just wore each other out, and it was never settled. ――That's why there is only a feud now. If the winners and losers had been clear, things might have been a little different.」

「So they remain stagnant-nya ......」[TLN: くすぶったまま/ Conflicts and other issues continue unexposed and unresolved altogether/ Status, condition, etc., remain stagnant, remaining at that stage.]

The spark was left behind and continues to this day.

In the case of these women, who are of long-lived races, even if it was hundreds of years ago, there are probably still living witnesses.

Moreover, from Lilia's point of view, she is the daughter of the enemy general.

In fact, Lilia was generous enough to be working with her now.

「Nemu, can you go get the two of them?」

「Okay-nya!」

With a pyoi, Nemu jumps off the chair and runs to Hazuki's room.

Mars guessed that Lilia had sent Nemu to Hazuki's room because she knew that it would make a scene if either Mars or Lilia went there.

Hazuki arrives with Nemu, followed by an awkward-looking Lucille.

To be honest, Mars thinks it is Lucille who is to blame.

Although Mars has a certain fondness for Lilia, he is not fond of people who suddenly become aggressive because of their race.

And Lilia is not a party to this, just because they are of the same race(?).

「............」

「............」

「This is also delicious-nya. Do you want eat-nya? Nemu will take it for you since it's so close to her-nya.」

「R-right, Lilia-san's pies are delicious! As expected, if you have boobs makes you better at making pies, huh?」

「Hazuki-chan, that's a bit too old-fashioned, don't you think?」

In the midst of the awkwardness of the meal, Mars and Hazuki do their best to somehow liven up the atmosphere.

Mars lightly made a joke to Hazuki's old man gag.

However, no laughter was generated, and in fact, the awkwardness seemed to have increased.

「I'm good.」

「The part with the chin(アゴ?) on it is so delicious-nya! If you are picky about your food, you'll stay small-nya?」

Nemu, not taking into account the limits of the growth of living things, seemed to think that Lucille was small because she is picky about her food.

Lucille, a dwarf, is about 150 centimeters tall, but she is not small in her family, in fact, she is a bit on the large side.

「Because ......」

「――I didn't put any poison in it. I didn't make it for the Dwarves either. You don't have to eat it if you don't want to. It will be a light meal for tomorrow's attack.」

Lilia's attitude is cold from beginning to end.

It becomes clear that she no longer likes the Dwarves, but Lucille personally.

「Lilia-nyan and Lucille-nyan are alike, aren't they-nya?」

「How could I and that stone lover be alike?」

「That's right. Don't compare me with the forest ears.」

「But you know-nya? The way they eat, the way they talk, sometimes they are very similar-nya. Nemu isn't very good at it, but the way they use the knife is the same-nya.」

Lilia's eating style is so elegant and refined that it is hard to believe that she is a former slave.

Mars also noticed that she was properly educated and that she had chosen the mannerisms used when dining with humans.

Naturally, different regions and races have different dining manners, but Lilia clearly behaved in a way that did not offend Mars ― a human.

In fact, Nemu ate with her hands when they first met, and Hazuki did not understand table manners, such as how to use a knife. Nemu was a slave, and Hazuki was a commoner.

In other words, Mars can assume that before falling into slavery, Lilia was living in a somewhat high-standard living environment.

Not only the food, but also the way she spoke, how she made tea, the way she dressed, and her high standard of education was far from that of the general public.

Hazuki would surely believe that she was educated by Mars.

Now that Mars is working hard to educate Nemu, Hazuki may assume even more so. She thought that Marts was educating Nemu in the same way as Lilia.

But while Mars may have been taught by Lilia, the reverse was not true.

「Also-nya? They are similar to both Kruse and Julis-nya. Nemu doesn't know what their similarity is, but the atmosphere? Nemu thinks they are similar to each other on that-nya.」

「Lucille-chan and Kruse-san are similar? What do they have in common......A little too dark!?」

With a Ha! Hazuki says as if she had an idea, but Lilia doesn't respond.

――I had been aware of this for some time. Lilia was surely not just an elf.

I could have looked into it if I wanted to, but I didn't.

I could understand why Liia did not give Lucille her last name, Silvestri.

――Because Lucille-chan surely knew Lilia and Lilia's house.

In the first dungeon 『Sekhmet』, which Mars conquered with Lilia and Hazuki, Lilia had said, 

She said that the elves were natural-born archers and that Lilia was the descendant of the most valiant and supreme of them all.

At that time, Lilia was just so excited by her first battle with Hydra that she spoke out of turn, and she basically never talks about herself.

――One of the Seven Great Dungeons is the dungeon of the World Tree, the largest giant tree in the world.

The forest of the World Tree was once the territory of the elven nation when it existed, and Lilia, an elf, was supposed to know more about it than anyone else.

But she would not suggest it as a candidate for the next dungeon, nor would she even mention its existence.

Hazuki, who could not read the air, also seemed to be aware of this, and on that basis tried not to mention it.

Hazuki herself knows firsthand that there is a secret in Lilia's past that she does not want to talk about, a wound in her heart that she wants to hide.

「My name is Lilia Silvestri. ――I am royalty. Master, I am sorry I have been so silent about my past before.」

「You killed my brother, the Elven royalty ......!」

Lilia bowed deeply toward Mars as she said this, and refused to raise her head.

Lucille looked at Lilia accusingly and made no attempt to hide her anger.

Mars was not surprised to hear that she was royalty.

It was a question that he knew the answer to, only he had not yet answered it.

Hazuki and Nemu were aghast at the sudden turn of events.

「It's not my generation, but you can resent me all you want. I know how you feel.」

「Because of you guys, I have lost my way of life other than being a princess! I will never forgive you!」

「I have heard that it was a Dwarf prince who attacked to take the forest. The elves only returned fire.」

Perhaps feeling some guilt, Lilia says in a concessive tone.

It was a so-called mature response, but Lucille did not do the same, standing up, pointing a finger, and denouncing Lilia.

It is not a matter of blaming only one side. Dwarves killed elves, too.

To put it bluntly, Lucille was taking it out on Lilia.

Even Lucille knew that she had not lost her way other than as a princess because of Lilia.

She understood better than anyone else that Dwarven reason had forced Lucille to choose that path for the sake of the survival of the races.

Even so, because there is an object in front of her that she can blame, her emotions run high and her voice gets louder.

She has found a point of frustration that she could not vent before.

The blade that thrusts against the shield of legitimacy is sharp and will gouge out Lilia's heart.

「Besides, why are you the only one alive ......! I heard that you were all killed when you lost the war against the humans, including the royal family! ――I heard that the race of elves was destroyed!」

The root of Lilia's hatred of humans.

Mars learned when he was studying history to teach Nemu that it was not because they were slaves.

The World Tree Forest, which was managed by the elves, was targeted from various directions.

The abundant natural resources, mainly plants, the animal resources they provided, and the abundant water sources that nurtured living creatures were all attractive to a nation seeking to expand its territory.

The lands of the elves, who cherished the preservation of nature, were as good as untouched mineral deposits.

The history of mankind can be described as a history of invasions.

Even today, there are very few alien races living with the same rights as humans.

The reason why humans, who are no match for other races in terms of simple ability values, have been able to dominate the world to this point is that humans are numerous and, although their lifespan is shorter than that of other races, their reproductive cycle is faster, which is why they have evolved by repeatedly passing on technology without relying too much on individual abilities.

Many of the other races tend to live longer and rely more heavily on the qualities of individuals.

The current prosperity of the human race is the result of using numbers and technology to deprive other races of their habitats and to kill off those who stood in their way.

The elves were also victims of this, the history books said.

「......They haven't been destroyed. More of them were sold because they were useful slaves of the long-lived races.」

「That's not what I'm saying. ......! I'm saying if you are royalty, why are you living so carefree? You don't take responsibility for your defeat, for the suffering of your people, and you live such a luxurious life.......――don't you think anything of the death of your parents and friends?」

Mars thought he heard the air crack.

A sound like a rupture in the space. He knew immediately that it was a hallucination. It was a sound that rang in his own mind.

――I knew that Lilia had unhealed wounds. So I wanted to spend every day cheerfully so that she could heal as much as possible. Until one day she would tell me herself.

There is information that changes the world before and after you know it.

Lilia's past was just such information.

I wanted to know, but I did not want to know.

Lilia's past was painted in blood by the same people who had done it to her.

「............!」

Lilia, who had been slumped over, slammed her arms down on the dining table with all her might.

With a loud clang, the food on the table is overturned and scattered on the floor, and the air is frozen in contrast to the loud noise.

No one can take their eyes off Lilia's every move.

「I ......Do you think that I do not feel anything!? I, who was too young to be a party to it, who only kept seeing my precious things being lost, who kept being taken away from me!?」

Lilia jumped on Lucille with the loudest voice Mars had ever heard, pushed Lucille to the floor, and tried to punch her in the face as she mounted her.

But Lucille was superior in simple muscular strength, and her fist was stopped.

However, the limiter that was removed by Lilia's anger surpassed even the difference in muscular strength between the two races, and her fist slowly but surely moved closer to Lucille's face.

Lilia's bare fury, which took no account of maintaining a beautiful face or what others might think of her, was being unleashed.

「Just because you lost your brother in a faraway land!? I saw my parents, my sister, my relatives, my nanny who took care of me, and my loved ones, their heads cut off from their bodies by humans right in front of my eyes!? Do you know the temperature and smell of the blood of your own relatives?! Have you ever seen the eyes that turned into glass balls after death!?」

「Gughh ......」

「You know nothing! What do you mean, "I want to live as an adventurer," or any other life besides being a princess! I, too, wanted to live as a princess like you! I wanted to fulfill my duty!」

Crying loudly, Lilia relaxed and slumped down on top of Lucille.

Lilia, who always hides her emotions behind a cool face, was in a state of intense emotion.

「I, I am still alive because that in itself was torture! I was kept alive because I would suffer longer if I were allowed to live, and if my people saw their royalty living like trash, they would be discouraged from rebellion. ......! I was not allowed to do anything, I was just given time to think all the time! That I was fools and wished I had never been born! All the leading elves who were not executed had their minds broken in this way! Until I met my master, I lived as if I were in a dream, unable to recognize morning, noon, or night! I didn't live my whole life reading adventure stories in the comfort of my own home, like you!」

Lilia, who had regained some composure, said, tears falling down Lucille's face.

The slaver whom Mars had bought Lilia from no longer seemed to even know it was for that reason.

He even despised Lilia, saying that she was just an unsellable commodity.

Everyone knows that Lilia has lived all her life, flowing with the current, crushed by guilt for so long that no one remembers Lilia's origins.

Lilia must have various feelings of guilt: disgust at herself for being able to live even if someone she knew and cared about died, disgust at being able to live and enjoy a normal life, disgust at being the only one cared for, disgust at being too lazy to think about what she might be able to do.

These feelings must have carried immeasurable weight as she lived alone for such a long time that she was able to successfully hide the wounds in her heart and show that she was fine without pain.

「If only I could have fought by the side of those involved ...... if only I could have died with them ......! I was given no choice whatsoever! I couldn't even be a princess!」

She repeatedly slapped Lucille's chest with her hands and sobbed and sobbed.

Her usual beauty was gone, and there was the child Lilia.

「Lilia, you should take the rest today. ――Hazuki-chan, I'm sorry, but could you please clean up after this place?」

「O-Okay ......」

「Nemu will help too-nya.」

The living room was a miserable mess of scattered dishes, broken dishes, and fallen chairs. Mars took Lilia in his arms and carried her to her private room.

Her body, nodding weakly, was light and her slender shoulders felt too fragile to carry her clan on her back.

Lilia, exhausted after such a short time, is laid down on the bed.

She seemed to be conscious, but she did not speak or move. Only her soul seemed to have gone away.

Mars remembers that there were many times when Lilia was like a doll in the early days of their acquaintance. At that time, she must have had negative feelings like she does now.

He sat on the edge of the bed and waited for Lilia to respond.

After a while, Lilia speaks to Mars in a faint voice.

「......Master, can you leave me alone today?」

「Sure. Take a good rest.」

「――Did you become disillusioned with what I hid from you?」

「Nope. I'm on Lilia's side, and it's not Lilia's fault. ――Besides, I knew even a little about elves.」

Mars brushes Lilia's bangs as she lies there, and says a few comforting words.

Her fine hair, moist with sweat and slightly warm, slips through Mars' fingers.

Lilia thought it was comforting because Mars' words did nothing to solve the problem.

Mars could help. He could distract her as he had in the past.

However, there is nothing we can do about the underlying experience that we have lost.

Lilia herself will have to come to terms with it.

――What can I do?

「In fact, she is right. I did not think about recovering the clan. I did not try to save my clan because I was too dependent on Master. I am not worthy to become royalty.」

「What choice do you have? In reality, it's not easy to rebuild a country. First of all, there are no people. There is no territory. That's what Lilia thought, too, which is why you didn't think about rebuilding a country.」

Lilia nodded lightly without saying a word.

Mars, a commoner in both his previous and current lives, has no understanding of the royal family's situation, but he understands that a weak existence can't establish a country all by itself.

「You should go to bed today.」

「Okay...... I am sure that tomorrow I will be able to behave as usual......」

Being able to behave is not the same as being okay.

If Lilia had to hide her painful emotions and act out, Mars thought that in the worst-case situation, they should consider leaving this dungeon.

In the current situation, it might be better to go to yet another dungeon.

With Lucille here, she must be reminded of this over and over again.

When Mars returned to the living room, Hazuki and Nemu were cleaning up the dishes that had fallen on the floor.

Lucille, the cause of the incident, was still lying on the floor, and like Lilia, she showed no sign of moving.

「It's a waste of food-nya.....Nemu thinks you can still eat this-nya」

「I'm cleaning the floor properly, so it's totally fine, right?」

It was obvious that Hazuki and Nemu were trying not to mention the conversation earlier.

Especially Hazuki's eyes were red and swollen.

She may have cried a little after hearing Lilia's story.

「Both of you, give up and don't eat it because I don't want you to get sick in the dungeon.」

「Nyaa...... Nemu couldn't eat at all,...... Lilia-nya is fine-nya?」

「No. ...... I don't want her to go into the dungeon in that state of mind, so depending on the situation, we'll leave the dungeon.」

Mental health has always been important to Mars in the dungeons he has been in.

The reason for this is to be as fully prepared as possible for the challenge.

If you are distracted by other things, you can easily lose your life.

「I didn't know about ...... Lilia's past ...... even though we are friends.」

「I didn't know either. I guess she didn't want to tell us for a long time, so it's no wonder we didn't know.」

Mars guess Lilia didn't intend to tell them until the time was right until the only dungeon left was the dungeon of the World Tree.

Even then, she may not have intended to tell him about her past.

「It's not my fault. It's the job of royalty to die.」

「――!」

Lucille, who was lying on the floor, blurted out these harsh words, and Hazuki, without hiding her anger, lunged at her with all her might.

Hazuki grabbed Lucille by the chest and slapped her defenseless face.

The loud slap sound told Mars that Hazuki was not going to go easy on her at all.

「I-I thought I could be friends with you, Lucille-chan, but I can't! My friend's enemy is my enemy! ――I hate you!」

「What kind of a thing to do to a princess―」

「Don't be a princess only when it suits you! This is normal for adventurers!」

Slap!

Crying out in anger, Hazuki slapped Lucille's face over and over again.

Her brown skin turned bright red and Lucille also began to cry.

Even though Hazuki looks frail, she is a skilled adventurer who has conquered multiple dungeons. Compared to other girls in the area, she has stronger muscles.

However, Lucille cried not because she was in pain, but because she felt guilty about what she had said.

It was the elves who had wronged her.

But it was the elves as a whole, not Lilia personally.

And Lilia did not even exist at the time the war broke out.

Even Lucille knows this.

Even though she knew this, she still turned her anger toward her emotion.

Naturally, when she cooled down a little, she felt a strong sense of regret.

Lucille's shallow comment had brought out Lilia's trauma.

No matter how much you dislike the race, you can at least sympathize with personal tragedy.

But Lucille's mind was not mature enough to retract and apologize for the words she had once uttered.

After the commotion calmed down, Hazuki went to Lilia's room.

Nemu and Mars watched over Lucille, who was still lying on the floor.

Nemu was studying at her own pace, and Mars was a little impressed by her boldness.

「It was Lucille-chan's fault earlier. I'm sorry, but I can't defend you.」

「...... I know.」

――I wonder if she understands.

Her voice sounded unfaithful as if she could sense regret but not remorse.

「Why did you say those things?」

「――Jealousy. I'm getting away from my princess duties and living the life I want to live. Besides, I envied her being cherished by you, even though she wasn't a princess or anything.」

*sob* Mars heard her cry.

Lucille seems to be aware that she is taking it out on Lilia, and Mars can sense that she regrets it.

Lucille could have defended herself as much as she wanted against Hazuki's slap, who, despite her physical strength, is an amateur at fighting.

The reason Lucille did not do so was because the desire to be punished was on her part.

「The words that you had uttered would not disappear. ――Let's apologize properly tomorrow. We want to get along, too, if possible.」

「......yes.」

The reality is that Mars doesn't want her to sleep on the floor forever, so Mars took Lucille in his arms and carried her to her room.

Lucille also had a small body to hold a country and a clan like Lilia.