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"It\'s been a while, Shina."

"Yes it is, Triforium-sama."

"Don\'t be such a stranger. I\'m practically your parent."

Triforium Root

An old elf who is Shina\'s great-grandfather.

He is one of the elders who govern the elven refugee village and is in a high enough position to participate in this opening festival.

He is the only remaining blood relative and guardian of Shina, who has lost all close relatives.

"Rauls-sama, it\'s been a while."

"Yeah, it\'s been a while."

Rauls Forium.

A young elf who came to Arcazam as Triforium\'s attendant.

Of course, he is also an influential person who participated in the opening festival.

His position is that of a negotiator between the elves and other races.

For the elves who have been forced to live in other lands after being driven from their homeland by the Great Invasion, negotiations with other races are essential, and for that reason, this young elf has a very important role to play.

"It\'s a little noisy in here. Let\'s go outside."

After Triforium told them so, he turned away and began to walk away without waiting for Shina and Rauls to respond.

Rauls and Shina followed him in silence.

The three of them left the venue and turned their steps toward the garden of the reception facility.

The garden was illuminated by the moonlight, the magic lamps were lit for illumination, and the quiet breeze made the hustle and bustle of the party venue echo faintly.

"That dress suits you very well."

"Thank you. This dress was a gift from my friend\'s father, and I am sure my friend would be delighted to hear it."

Rauls expressed his compliments with a sweet voice and a smile that could melt one\'s heart.

Shina, however, curtly returned a polite bow but did not change her expression even a twitch.

Shina\'s curt response made Rauls smile wryly.

"The same as usual, huh? I\'m your fiancée, you know ......"

In fact, Rauls is one of the prospective fiancées addressed to Shina.

For the elves, whose entire race has been in decline since the Great Invasion, it was imperative to nurture the next generation.

"Rauls-sama, you are indeed one of my prospective fiancées, but it has not yet been made official. Besides, I have not yet made my decision on my future husband."

In response to Shina\'s curt reply, Rauls raised his hands with a look of disappointment. It seems that he is used to this kind of attitude from Shina.

The one who frowned at Shina\'s attitude was Triforium.

"Shina, I will say it once again. Return to the village of your brethren."

"I must decline. I have my own business to do."

Having originally opposed Shina\'s coming to Arcazam, Triforium\'s tone of voice toward her was rather stiff.

On the other hand, Shina had also anticipated her great-grandfather\'s words, and she immediately expressed her refusal.

Hearing Shina\'s response, Triforium showed an expression that could be taken as either exasperation or frustration.

"You\'re still saying that? What can you do on your own!?"

"I am not alone. I have friends I can trust and rely on."

"Friend? Trust? Are they of another race?"

"Yes"

"You\'re believing another race whose words are deceitful and whose smile hides a dark scheme behind it? That\'s ridiculous."

Triforium dismissed Shina\'s words.

Triforium\'s belief was that, from the elves\' point of view, other races that can only communicate through the roundabout way of words and cannot understand each other are not worthy of trust.

"Triforium-sama, they are a race that has difficulty living with spirits. It is understandable."

Rauls, standing next to Triforium, offered his advice, but his words were tinged with a sense of bias toward the human race.

The reason why elves are so stubborn toward other races is due in large part to the presence of spirits, beings who understand each other even without exchanging words.

Since they were raised in an environment where such a being has been by their side since they were young, other races that can only use the roundabout way of words and cannot fully communicate with each other will seem inferior.

Moreover, if they had experienced being deceived by conspiracies, they would have an even stronger view of this.

"But isn\'t that way of thinking the very reason why we have lost our home?"

"…………"

Triforium fell silent upon hearing Shina\'s words, which could be seen as a counter-attack.

She is right, because objectively speaking, that idea is one of the reasons why the elves lost their homeland.

They could not believe in another race, and when they were invaded by the demon beasts, they refused help from anyone other than themselves until the very end. As a result, they were put in a worse predicament than ever immediately after losing their homeland.

Precisely because Triforium, too, knew how it ended, which was why he looked as if he was biting down on a bitter bug.

"Okay, both of you, just calm down for a minute."

Rauls intervened between the two, who were beginning to radiate a dangerous atmosphere.

"Triforium-sama, you know she won\'t listen to you when you put it like this, don\'t you? Shina, you too, you need to calm down. I know what Elder said sounds harsh, but it\'s out of concern for you."

In response to Rauls\' words, Shina and Triforium awkwardly averted their gazes.

Both of them, however, seemed to have no intention of changing their opinions, and their mouths were turned back into a straight line.

Seeing Shina and Triforium like this, Rauls shrugged his shoulders as if to say that he had no choice. Apparently, it was not the first or second time he had stepped in between them like this.

However, Rauls quickly put on a serious expression and turned to face Shina.

"But I agree with Triforium-sama. You shouldn\'t be in this city right now."

In response to these words, Shina\'s eyebrows, which had been tense, furrowed even more.

"That\'s not true. I even got my contract with the spirits back..."

"That\'s a lie, isn\'t it? No, maybe you really did get it back, but at least the current you can\'t make a contract with the spirits, can you?"

"... What are you trying to say?"

"It\'s no use trying to deceive me. Rather, you are weaker than you were before you came to this city. That\'s the reason why you couldn\'t even manage to deflect that level of fireball in today\'s combat training."

"…………"

Hearing Rauls\' words, Shina stiffened for a moment as if she had been shot through the heart.

As he said, it was now difficult for Shina to even cast her own magic, let alone make a spirit contract.

"The reason why Triforium-sama allowed you to go to Arcazam despite his inner objection was because you were able to defend yourself reasonably well with just that magic power alone. But what on earth can you do in such a state where you cannot even exert that magic power?"

"…………"

"Is that young man the reason?"

"~ !?"

Having caught her off guard, Shina\'s face, which was as white as a snow, turned completely pale.

The cause of Shina\'s poor condition. It was because of the blood covenant ritual between her and Nozomu.

Nozomu\'s unique ability, the [Soul-Sealing Chains].

A powerful ability that could seal even Tiamat, even Shina\'s soul, which was connected through the blood covenant ritual, had been affected and her ability had been significantly reduced.

"I knew it. And by the looks of it, it looks like you\'ve even gone so far as to perform a blood covenant ritual."

"...... What did you say!?"

"I felt it earlier when you were talking to that boy. I felt a strong contract between the two of you."

Rauls\' ongoing words drive Shina even further into a corner.

Rauls is also extremely talented, as he is the only person who can serve as a negotiator with many different races.

With his eyes, he was able to see the strong contract between Shina and Nozomu.

"What a thoughtless thing to do....... An elf and a human race, two different races, and on top of that, a blood covenant ritual ......."

"Shina! Are you willing to devote your life to such a human being!?"

Perhaps feeling a bit overwhelmed by Shina\'s actions, Rauls put his hand on his forehead and looked up to the sky.

On the other hand, Triforium was already losing his composure, drawing closer and throwing spits at Shina.

"... My intentions remain the same."

Shina, having been exposed to all the facts she did not want to be found out, turned her head down and said only one sentence of rejection, as if she was trying to keep her resolve firm.

Seeing Shina like this, Rauls let out a sigh of regret, and turned to Triforium.

"Triforium-sama, let\'s back down for today. It seems that whatever we say to her now will be of no use."

"Don\'t screw with me! How can I leave such an important matter as it is!"

Does he think that his blood relatives have been humiliated?

Triforium was so enraged that if push came to shove, he was likely to direct his anger toward the original culprit, Nozomu.

In the face of such an elder, Rauls maintains his composure and states in a matter-of-fact tone.

"This is Arcazam. It is unwise for the elves to harm him who is under its protection."

From the perspective of the elven race as a whole, causing a disturbance in Arcazam would do a lot of trouble, and nothing good would come out of it.

For Rauls, who was in charge of negotiations with other races, harming Nozomu, the main cause of the trouble, was not an option.

However, for Triforium, it was a matter of his great-grandchildren. In his current state of boiling head, Rauls\' arguments alone would not be effective.

"Even if we force her to come back here, she won\'t be convinced either way. Besides, Sheena herself can\'t continue to stay in this school in such a weakened state. Let\'s be quiet and wait for her to give up."

That was why he tried to persuade him by bringing up Shina\'s current situation into the conversation.

Shina\'s abilities had been greatly reduced, and it would be almost impossible for her to remain at the Solminati Academy.

Perhaps convinced by Rauls\' words, Triforium reluctantly turned on his heel with a grim expression on his face. As if he had nothing more to say.

Shina\'s expression was bleak and she looked as if she might collapse at any moment.

"Shina. I understand how you are willing to give up your dreams and make the blood covenant. I, too, believe that friendship with other races is necessary for the future of the elves. But we elves are already on the brink in terms of numbers. We should have refrained from making careless actions."

The number of elves had been severely reduced due to the Great Invasion, and the number of adults needed to sustain the race had been considerably reduced.

If for some reason the population were to decline again, even the minimum viable population to sustain the race would be in jeopardy.

This was the result of the negative effects of their long life span, which made it difficult for the next generation of individuals to be born.

If the number of elves were to continue to decline at this rate, the elven race would disappear from the face of the planet. This situation was a reality that was not too distant for the elves.

Another major factor in the fluctuation of a race\'s population is environmental change.

For the current elves, the villages in which they are taking refuge are not a comfortable environment to live in. In order to maintain the population and increase the number of the next generation of elves, it is necessary to reclaim their homeland forest, and for this purpose, cooperation with other races is indispensable.

Naturally, Shina understood this reality.

Shina\'s dream of reclaiming her homeland was not only about revenge for her family, but also because of this environmental change and the problem of the minimum viable population.

"I came to this city despite the objections of those around me, and I thought you would understand ..."

To reclaim her homeland.

For Shina, who had been harboring this wish for a long time and kept pushing forward, Rauls\' words pierced deep into her heart.

Because she was faced with the reality that her dreams had been closed off.

==========================

Even after Triforium and Rauls had left, Shina still stood alone in the garden of the reception facility.

Shina was then confronted with another problem.

"Shina, what does that mean?"

A dress-wearing Mimuru appeared in front of Shina.

Shina\'s expression turned flustered due to the unexpected appearance of someone she had not expected.

"Mimuru, why are you here…"

"You went out into the garden with an unusual atmosphere, so I followed you... So, what does that mean?"

A moment of silence passed between Shina and Mimuru.

"It\'s noth-..."

"How could it be nothing? By the way, I was listening to everything you said."

"~ !"

Shina was speechless at the revelation of a fact which she had been hiding from the others.

While biting her pale lips, she clenched her hands which were wrapped in blue silk gloves.

"I thought you were in a bad shape during today\'s combat training, but I didn\'t expect that you couldn\'t even use your magic power at all…"

She had noticed that Shina seemed to be in bad shape, but she probably never imagined in her wildest dreams that she was in such a bad state.

With a confused expression on her face, Mimuru put her hand on her forehead and looked up to the sky.

"And the cause of the problem is Nozomu... Does he know?"

"... He doesn\'t know."

Upon hearing these words, Mimuru silently turned on her heel.

Shina, who felt a strange sense of intimidation on Mimuru\'s back as she stepped toward the reception facility, tried to hold her best friend back with a frightened voice.

"... Wait, what are you going to do?"

"Isn\'t it obvious? I have to tell Nozomu about your condition. I don\'t know much about spirit contracts, but it\'s definitely no good if things go on like this."

"~, No! Don\'t do that!"

The moment she heard Mimuru\'s words, Shina was struck by a sense of fear that welled up like an eruption.

She immediately rushed toward Mimuru and grabbed her hand to stop her.

"No? Why not?"

Shina\'s eyes wavered as Mimuru looked back at her with a reproachful gaze.

"Right now he\'s got his hands full with Tiamat. We can\'t put any more burdens on him..."

"Is that why you want me to keep my mouth shut? Shina, you\'ve got to be kidding!"

Mimuru\'s outrage shook Shina\'s wavering heart.

For Mimuru, who was honest and straightforward in expressing her affection to her beloved person, Shina\'s behavior was absolutely unacceptable.

"... You like Nozomu, don\'t you?"

"L-, like, you say..."

"You think I don\'t know that? Isn\'t that why Shina, who is a hard-headed elf, even went so far as to make a blood covenant ritual with him, because you wanted to help him?"

A feeling of love that has been in her heart for some time, that has grown and that she has only just become aware of.

Shina\'s best friend easily saw through and expressed the feelings, which she had been trying desperately to hide.

However, for Mimuru, the feelings of her best friend, who was not used to being in love, were too easy to understand.

She has been in love with Tom, her childhood friend, for a long time.

Looking at this point alone, Mimuru has a hundred times more experience than Shina.

"I can totally understand the feeling of wanting to help the person you love. But you can\'t do it like this. If you keep silent about this, Shina, you will definitely regret it."

This was why she couldn\'t let her best friend\'s mistake go on like this.

Because Mimuru believed that she would regret the consequences of pushing her feelings away, no matter what the consequences might be.

Even so, Shina did not want to let go of Mimuru\'s hand.

Mimuru, who was getting impatient, tried to force Shina\'s hand away from hers.

"Shina, enough of this ......"

"No, even so, I don\'t want you to tell him."

Mimuru\'s hand, which had been putting all her strength into it, now stiffened.

It was a weak plea that was hard to believe coming from her best friend, who was usually stubborn and scolded her for misbehaving as if she were the committee president.

Mimuru looked back and saw Shina staring at her with tears welling up in her eyes as if she were clinging to her.

"If he were to find out about this ritual, it would drive Nozomu-kun even further into a corner. It\'s just that he has turned his blade on us twice, making him so impatient..."

Mimuru, who had spent a fair amount of time with them at the academy, could sense the frustration that Nozomu was having these days. She also knew about his reckless training.

He had directly asked the Lord of the White Dragon to become his apprentice, and from early in the morning, his whole body was filled with intense fatigue and the scent of Nozomu\'s own blood.

At the same time, she could imagine Shina\'s bad premonition.

The mention of "destroying Shina\'s dream" would be like a powerful drug for Nozomu, who was now in a state of frustration.

Especially for that kind-hearted young man.

If Nozomu were to be possessed by Tiamat once again, she would not know whether or not she could bring him back this time.

"Don\'t worry, I\'ll be fine..."

Shina smiled, pushing away all her dreams and her own love for him.

Mimuru could only bite her lip in front of the forced, crumpled mask of a smile.

==================================

On the other hand, at the reception facility, Nozomu was confronted by a certain person.

"Nice to meet you ... or not. Nozomu-dono."

A lady whom he met once before with Irisdina.

She was dressed in a navy blue dress with a wide back opening, and her silky purple hair, gently waving, created the most bewitching atmosphere.

Once one met her, she was unforgettably beautiful. At the same time, however, her smiling, beautiful countenance harbored an icy coldness.

"You are..."

"I\'m Mekria. It\'s been a while. Shall we have a brief conversation?"

She pointed to the stairs leading to the salon located on the second floor.

Nozomu gulped as he was met with a spine-chilling gaze.