The Fake Saintess and the Elf Warrior

The middle-aged man, displaying an unusually timid demeanor for his age, dragged his weak legs and slowly crawled past Tatsia. He then crawled out of the barrier through the opening Naka had created. At this moment, only Naka and Tatsia remained within the barrier.

After explaining about the monsters, Naka shut her mouth. If Tatiya were to question her about how she managed to break through the barrier, how she could heal herself right under the noses of the Demon King's assassins without being attacked, or how she withstood the attack from "Elf Paradise" unscathed, Naka had no intention of offering any explanation or cover-up. She knew she couldn't explain herself.

If Tatia learns her true identity, Jasmine will surely find out too. If Jasmine knows, everyone in the school will know. If everyone in the school knows, then the entire human kingdom will be filled with the news of her appearance and the fact that "the Demon King has infiltrated the human world." At that point, she will no longer have the possibility of continuing her journey with them. When Tatia realizes what's happening and attacks her, that will be the moment Naka bids farewell to her journey in the human world.

Naka silently closed her eyes, recalling the moments of the past two years. At first, they were merely insignificant beings, like ants, yet somehow they had come to occupy an exceptionally important place in her heart. Tatya, Jasmine, Sister Jess, the old man who gave her medicine for free in the rain, the old man who kept their secret by the lake, and the villagers of that village… Thinking of them, Naka felt a deep sense of reluctance to part with them.

However, Naka didn't regret it. She saved Tatya, who was destined to become a murderer, and that was enough. When she returned to the Demon King's castle, their next meeting would only be on a battlefield where they would fight to the death. Her only regret was not finding the prophesied hero.

Tatia looked at Naka, who had her eyes closed and an expression of relief on her face, and spoke the words that Naka should have been saying, but which were not actually the pronouncements of the end of her journey.

"Sister Naka, I did a great job, didn't I?"

"...What?"

"Look, Sister Naka, I've awakened the Fairy Paradise once again!"

The words she actually spoke were completely different from what Naka had imagined. This made her murmur with doubt. Tatya skipped and hopped to the discarded holy sword on the ground and picked it up. Holding the holy sword, she examined it carefully.

"Wow, that's amazing... No matter what I tried before, I couldn't get it to awaken. I was almost ready to give up. But after you came, Naka, it really awakened! Thank you, Naka!"

Then she planted her sword in the ground, opened her arms once more, and embraced Naka warmly. The more Tatsia expressed her goodwill, the more an unbearable bitterness welled up in Naka's heart. Tatsia hadn't yet considered the truth, and Naka even tried to remind her...

"No, Tatia, I..."

"Hmm? What's wrong, Sister Naka?"

"Don't you... have anything... to say?"

"What do you want to say?"

After a moment of deep thought, Tatya suddenly remembered something very important that she hadn't yet told Naka. She bowed deeply to Naka and apologized.

"I'm so sorry, Sister Naka! That night a few months ago... I lost my temper! I had no intention of hurting you, Sister Naka! Please forgive me!"

"No, not this..."

Although Naka couldn't say she had completely forgotten about that incident, what she wanted to remind Tatya was not such a trivial matter that was insignificant in the face of major issues of right and wrong.

"Don't you... don't you think there's anything strange about it...?"

"Strange? If I had to say what's strange... oh, right!"

Reminded by Naka, Tatsia finally remembered the most important thing at hand. She pointed her index finger at the necklace on Naka's chest.

"It's this! Mom's necklace! It's what awakened the Fairy Paradise!"

"....ha?"

Tatsia ran to Naka and took the necklace from her neck. Tatsia could now clearly see the light emanating from the necklace pointing directly to the Fairy Paradise. When she brought it close to the Holy Sword, the sword and necklace seemed to resonate, flashing an even brighter light, and blinking continuously at the exact same frequency.

"I knew it! No wonder I couldn't awaken it on my own. Mom's necklace was the 'key' to unlocking it!"

"key?"

Back in the mansion, when facing the giant green wolf demon that Tatsia's mother had transformed into, this sword underwent its transformation. Naka remembered that Vilia's corpse was wearing this necklace. In other words, when the three conditions of "necklace," "Tatsia," and "sword" are simultaneously present in the same space, this piece of junk will transform into its true form.

Tatia quickly reached this conclusion based on the available information. To test its validity, Tatia took the necklace and ran a short distance away. Sure enough, the gleaming sword immediately returned to its original form. When Tatia ran back, it had transformed back into the enormous holy sword.

The sword was planted straight in the ground; even if one ran away, the change in its appearance could be clearly seen from a distance. After repeated verification by Tatsia, she fully understood the reason and the trigger for its change. The moment her greatest problem was solved, Tatsia drew the holy sword and let out a heartfelt cheer.

"Great! Now... now I can freely control the Fairy Paradise! The power of this sword is finally entirely mine! I can defeat Oz and become Naka's most powerful ally!"

"Tasia..."

Even now, Tatya was still preoccupied with her. No matter how much she hinted, Tatya wouldn't consider the glaringly obvious suspicion. Naka herself could no longer tolerate it, so she simply placed her hand on the excited Tatya's shoulder. Instead of hinting, she directly confronted Tatya with the issue.

"Don't you find it strange! Why am I here... Why am I unharmed after your attack... Haven't you ever wondered why?!"

By bringing these questions up herself, Naka has already shown that she is blinded by the guilt of deceiving Tatya and has completely lost her rationality. Secrets that should have been kept hidden are being repeatedly mentioned to Tatya, as if Tatya's ignorance of her true identity as the Demon King would displease her.

But Tatsia looked at the increasingly hysterical Naka with unwavering eyes and calmly asked...

"Sister Naka, is there anything you want to say?"

"...What?"

"Do you want to tell me your reasons for doing these things?"

"No, no, this..."

"If Sister Naka doesn't want to talk about it, then I won't ask."

Because of a disrespect she showed months ago, they hadn't seen each other for months. Tatsia missed Naka terribly and wanted to cherish every moment they spent together. Now was the best opportunity to repair their relationship. Although it might seem like overcorrection, she chose to respect Naka to the greatest extent possible, even though she did have many questions. But if Naka didn't want to talk about it, Tatsia decided to grit her teeth and refuse to ask rashly.

"I think it would be better to explain it to you."

Tatya's sincere gaze prompted Naka to speak. However, she ultimately couldn't bring herself to say, "I am the Demon King." After much hesitation, all Naka uttered was a clumsy lie.

Naka's fabricated lies were so unbelievable that even she found them utterly far-fetched. They included statements like, "I had a premonition that you might be in danger," "The barrier might not have been properly set up, leaving a gap," and "I used a physical enhancement spell on myself"—excuses that almost anyone with a normal thought process wouldn't believe. But after hearing them, Tatsia smiled innocently.

"Oh, I see! Thank you for saving me, Sister Naka!"

This was by no means a lie. Even if it was a blatant fabrication, Tatsia accepted it entirely from the bottom of her heart. Naka held an irreplaceable place in her heart, and she would unconditionally believe whatever she said. Thoughts like "doubting Naka" or "questioning Naka" never existed in her mind. She would believe anything Naka said. She would obey any order Naka gave, no matter what she was ordered to do. Even if it meant killing someone, Tatsia would carry it out without hesitation.

Her trust and infatuation with Naka went beyond being terrible; it became pathetic.

An unfortunate agreement

The two, who should have split up to continue their assessment, had simply put the matter out of their minds because they hadn't seen each other for so long. They sat cross-legged together in the barrier, where no one would return to disturb them. They both wanted to confide in each other, but neither dared to look at the other first. Naka and Tatya avoided each other's gaze, keeping their heads down in silence.

Naka wondered, was it really okay for Tatya to continue like this? Even an excuse that would confuse a three-year-old would find perplexing, Tatya completely believed it. Naka understood that Tatya was currently in a state of madness, having lost herself. Even when Tatya smiled at her now, it wasn't the simple, kind, and sincere smile that Naka had once seen on her face.

Her words, like spilled water, had already provided a false explanation, and there was no going back on her promise to be the Demon King. Moreover, in her momentary lapse of judgment, Naka also blamed herself for having thought for a fleeting instant that "it wouldn't matter if she knew my identity." She still had things she wanted to accomplish in the human world. She absolutely could not be exposed and forced to return to the Demon King's castle.

More important than the trivial matter of Tatia's indecent assault on her a few months ago was what truly bothered her—what Jasmine's teammate had said not long ago...

Tatya, too, had her own worries. She looked up, glancing left and right, before directly asking Naka about her other questions.

"By the way, Naka, you said something was parasitizing Retti... so what about that parasitic monster?"

"Huh?...You mean that parasitic monster?"

The sudden break in the silence caught Naka off guard. She looked around and walked to the rock where Nubron had hidden after separating from his host. There was nothing there now. Naka shook her head.

"I don't know. Maybe it was burned to death by the aftershocks of your attack, or maybe it escaped in the chaos when I blocked your attack and Reti was terrified. Although the size of parasitic monsters is visible to the naked eye, they are not easy to spot if you don't pay special attention. They always like to sneak around like this, carrying out dangerous missions such as assassinations and intelligence gathering. Even if they fail, they can just abandon their bodies and find a crack to slip away."

"Is that so... Sister Naka, you really are very knowledgeable."

"...Because I've been adventuring for a long time and have seen many kinds of monsters."

Naka's excuse was readily believed by Tatsia without a second thought. However, the thought of being targeted by a monster, and the monster's fate being unknown, filled her with some unease.

"Sister Naka, I'm so sorry... The Demon King's army found out I'm an elf."

"....Yeah"

"When and how was it leaked? Are there Demon King's soldiers among us? I really don't know when they found out my identity. But since they made their move, it means the Demon King intends to eliminate me, the last elf..."

At this point, Tatia felt a little disappointed. Actually, the answer to her question was quite obvious. Aside from Mitian, who only learned her identity at the start of the semester, there was only one person who knew her true identity before enrollment, was still alive, and had the ability to bring the assassin before the semester even began... and that was Naka standing before her.

While the facts differed slightly, it was indeed through Naka that Fan, far away in the Demon King's castle, learned of the matter. However, for Tatia, who was unaware of Fan's existence, the only possible culprit was the saintess who had always been by her side. A little thought was all it took to reach this conclusion. But Tatia, who trusted Naka with a level of trust no less than that of her own parents, had completely ruled Naka out of the suspects from the beginning. Naturally, no matter how much she thought or recalled, she couldn't arrive at the truth of the incident. Recalling the deadly battle that had just occurred, which might be repeated in the future, Tatia said with some self-reproach.

"If that assassin is still alive and has escaped, he might possess someone else and come after me again... I really don't want to cause you any more trouble, Naka. If following me puts you in danger too..."

While her own life and death were important, having mastered the "Fairy Paradise," she wasn't afraid of anyone challenging her. Naka, however, might not be so certain.

If that parasitic monster attacks Naka, or even parasitizes Naka and attacks her, what should she do then, and how can she save Naka? This is an extremely difficult and severe test for Tatsia.

Naka gently placed her hand on her shoulder. This small gesture was meant to give her immense courage.

"It's alright. It won't come back."

"Huh? Why?"

"...Just trust me."

Naka... to be precise, the Demon Queen: Nama Karenla's orders are absolute. No demon dares disobey. She has clearly ordered Nubron to halt the mission. Even if Nubron had a thousand times the courage, she believes it would never challenge her authority as the Demon Queen. Tatia, who trusts Naka completely, no longer asks for a reason. She readily accepts her baseless explanation, nodding and smiling at her.

However, thinking of this, Naka was once again certain that she still had a heavy responsibility to bear. Even though she was the Demon King, even mindless monsters would instinctively sense the vast difference in status and strength between themselves and her when faced with her after her "disguise" was removed, and would be controlled by her. However, there was only one exception... that was the monsters that had been modified by Tatia's mother, Vilia.

They do not obey Naka's commands as the Demon Queen. Instead, they act purely on their ferocious killing instincts and the commands of the similarly modified higher-ranking demons. This means that Naka's absolute rule as queen is being challenged. Therefore, Naka will never let go of the true instigator behind this experiment. She must find him and punish him.

She realized how foolish and thoughtless her earlier self-destructive behavior had been. To kill the prophesied hero, and to eliminate the humans who dared to lay a hand on the monsters, the Demon King's identity could not be revealed to anyone. No matter who they were. Naka clenched her fists, silently encouraging herself. Her journey through the human world still had a long way to go.

"Alright, I'm going to meet up with Sister Jasmine and the others. She and that warrior both looked down on my sword, thinking I wasn't good enough. I'm going to show them this Elf Paradise and make them look at me in a new light!"

With the doubts dispelled, Tatia's heart was now filled only with the joy of regaining the Holy Sword and reuniting with Naka. Unable to contain her excitement at showing off her power to others, she drew "Elf Paradise" and was about to run out of the barrier.

"etc"

But then Naka called out to Tatsia. If she hadn't brought it up, fine, but now that she had, Naka wanted to express her opinion on the matter.

"Takia, I met Jasmine and the others before I found you... I heard you weren't very respectful to Jasmine?"

"ah..."

Of course she remembered that she had become unusually irritable these past few days, and felt inexplicably annoyed with everyone except Naka. Moreover, Jasmine was constantly clinging to Naka, and in Tatya's eyes, her rival in love. Naturally, she harbored even greater hostility. Therefore, she said some very unpleasant things to her at the start of the assessment.

However, Tatsia didn't want Naka to know about this. Naka's unexpected question completely stumped her. She was left speechless.

Seeing her reaction, Naka understood that the warrior's words were indeed true. Since that day, Tatya had indeed become very strange. She was completely different from the Tatya who had accompanied her on missions before enrolling. But Naka didn't know about her changing state of mind, nor what she had experienced in the past few months. Without knowing the reason, she couldn't offer any entirely correct advice, and speaking rashly would only backfire. However, Naka felt she should be honest with her about some things. Because at this moment, the only person who could say things that might even make this already deranged girl listen to anything was Naka herself.

"Takia, I don't know what you really think of me or how you feel about me. I still can't understand what you did to me a few months ago. But I know my reaction wasn't what you wanted, and it made you feel terrible. But I hope you won't take it out on strangers. Jasmine may not have fought alongside you, but she's a good friend of mine, and she's given you a lot of help and advice since we teamed up. Was it really appropriate for you to say those things to her? Jasmine told me not to worry about it, but I can tell she's deeply hurt. She wants to continue being friends with you amicably, not be hurt by your pent-up negative emotions. She hasn't done anything to wrong you, so shouldn't you think about how to treat her?"

"...Yes, I understand."

Looking back now, she realized she had indeed said some very hurtful things to Jasmine. She saw Jasmine as a thorn in her side, yet Jasmine had always shown her, a young boy, great care. Her words before the assessment weren't meant to belittle her, but rather to genuinely care about her safety. And in her moment of weakness, she had uttered some harsh words. She had also taken it upon herself to let Jasmine know her gender. What would Jasmine think after that? Tatya couldn't bring herself to put herself in her shoes. Could their past relationship ever be repaired? That was even more unimaginable.

Taqia's bland answer failed to ascertain whether Naka had genuinely understood or was merely offering a perfunctory response. She could only sigh and offer her advice.

"Go apologize to Jasmine and your teammates. No matter what, the responsibility for this is entirely yours. You should take the initiative to say something instead of waiting for others to come to you. As for whether they will forgive you, I can't guarantee that."

"OK..."

"Oh, right, there's one more thing."

Naka flicked her palm away from Tatsia, her fingers slightly curling back.

Give me back my mother's necklace.

"Huh? A necklace?"

"right"

She was referring to the relic of Vilia, which had originally hung around Naka's neck but had been taken from her by Tatia for experiments on "Elf Paradise." This item was the key to activating "Elf Paradise." Having confirmed this, Tatia naturally didn't want to let go of it easily. Faced with Naka's request, Tatia looked hesitant.

"But...this..."

"You originally said that you would give it back to me after you became a brave person capable of standing on your own. In my opinion, you can't be considered capable of standing on your own yet."

"Why? With this sword, I'll be invincible! No matter who my opponent is, I'll definitely defeat them!"

"That's exactly why. With this sword in hand, you can unleash the immense power your mother left you at will... but right now you don't know how to use it correctly. You were so eager to show it off to others, but you didn't consider how to explain the source of this power, did you? If Jasmine and the others ask you why this sword has such immense power, how do you plan to answer?"

"this..."

These words struck a nerve with Tatsia. So focused on showing off, she hadn't considered the bigger picture. This sword possessed power beyond human capabilities. A hastily made-up excuse wouldn't convince anyone. And once the school learned of this and began to investigate, the elven power hidden within the "Elf Paradise" would inevitably be discovered. At that point, Tatsia's elven identity would be exposed. These questions revealed Tatsia's current lack of composure.

Of course, that wasn't the only reason Naka decided to take back the necklace.

"If I'm not mistaken, you're planning to use it in your graduation exam, right?"

"Is...is there a problem with this? This is my power, part of my strength..."

"Of course. But have you considered your opponent? You'll be fighting your classmate, not a mortal enemy you have to fight to the death. Do you know that if you use it in actual combat, it could kill your opponent? You almost killed Retti just now. If my physical enhancement magic hadn't been strong enough, I would have died by this sword too... I don't think you have the ability to perfectly control this."

"Can..."

"There are no 'buts'. Great power is only truly powerful if it can be used rationally and properly. If someone immature and doesn't think things through gains power, it will only be a disaster for that person and those around them. In my judgment, you haven't become that yet. So, give it back to me. Go to the exam with this sword in its original form."

Even when Naka made the request, Tatia didn't immediately agree, and began to hesitate. It was a tremendous power she had painstakingly regained. It was the power that would guarantee her victory in this exam. More importantly, it was the power that would allow her and Naka to continue their journey together. For Naka's sake, she didn't want to give up so easily. She gripped the necklace tightly in her hand, refusing to let go, and expressed her refusal in a broken voice.

"No...no...don't...this is...my mother's stuff..."

This girl, who trusted her so much, even had the audacity to defy her will. Naka quite admired this. But since she had made a decision, she was determined to take it back. Therefore, she coldly provoked her...

Are you scared?

"Wh...what?"

"You're afraid that without this sword, you won't be able to defeat Oz and won't become the number one draft pick... right?"

"No...no! I, I'm not afraid of him at all!"

"I couldn't tell. You got a really bad beating from him that day, and I saw it all. At your current pace, you won't be a match for him even by graduation exam day. Unless you can use the power of this sword... that's what you think, right? That's why we're experimenting with how to awaken it."

Tatia's eyes widened in surprise. She didn't want to admit it, but everything Naka said hit the nail on the head. Her thoughts and plans had been completely seen through by this saintess who seemed to have the ability to read minds.