The Paranoid Elf Queen Turned Me Into Her Sister

Volume 3, 26 ~ I Am Who I Am, No Longer Hiding

“The timing shouldn’t be wrong. I came more or less just in time.” The silver-haired girl on horseback reached out her hand to the exhausted Yimi.

“Miss Piece??” I lifted my head, staring at the remnants of the sunset. Looking at the familiar girl before me, I felt a hint of surprise mixed with joy. “Why are you here?”

Hadn’t she already gone back to the cabin? How could she just happen to appear here again?

“My mission isn’t yet complete, and there’s still some time left. This probably… is part of that too.” Piece said with some meaning.

“You… came deliberately to get me?”

“No. Before I saw you, I didn’t know what had happened over there.” Piece glanced at me, noticing how rushed and disheveled I looked.

She wasn’t lying. At that moment, she had simply gotten bored of staying cooped up in the cabin, wanted to go out for some air, and decided to take a walk.

Perhaps this was fate. In the past, even after doing experiments in her cabin for several days straight, she’d never felt bored—yet today she suddenly had the urge to step outside.

Maybe it was because after she saw her, her state of mind wasn’t as steady as before.

Even she would occasionally lose her composure, becoming a bit more restless.

“You seem to still have something important to do. Do you need me to take you part of the way?” Piece asked, gathering her thoughts.

“Yes, please. I need to go to the original site of the Corpseblossom.”

“I see.” Piece understood almost immediately after hearing that. She pulled my small body up onto the horse, and the two of us galloped across the wilderness.

“Hold on tight.” Piece instructed. I instinctively wrapped my arms tighter around her slender waist.

One rider, a trail of dust. I didn’t know how long I’d been jolted around on horseback before Piece pulled the reins, commanding the horse to stop.

“We’ve arrived.”

I hadn’t yet recovered from the swaying and bumping on horseback. It was my first time riding a horse, and in travel mode no less—the horse’s back rising and falling under me, every jolt nearly tossing my small frame into the air.

Considering my current state, Piece dismounted first, then picked me up like a child, setting me gently on the ground before finding a wooden post to tie the horse to.

“…… Thank you.” Though I didn’t like being treated like a child, the horse was tall—the distance from saddle to ground was a bit too much for my petite body.

Steadying my still-dizzy vision, I immediately spotted vines stretching across the banks not far away, and petals scattered all over the ground.

A misfortune with a sliver of luck: after several days, the petals of that flower hadn’t been blown away by the wind or swept away as trash—after all, there weren’t many living people left around here.

I was just about to ask Piece for help, when I saw her already walking over, crouching to pick up the petals, softly murmuring something as she worked.

Had she known from the very beginning why I came here??

I felt a bit surprised, but there was no time to ask. I went over and crouched as well, my twin ponytails swaying up and down like golden butterflies as I moved.

Piece even thoughtfully found a brocade pouch, using her pale fingers to pinch and gather the petals into the pouch, signaling for me to do the same.

After we had collected all the petals in sight, Piece delicately placed them into my small hands, closing my palms around them.

“Be careful, don’t spill them.”

“Mm, thank you, Miss Piece.” I glanced at the sun already setting beyond the horizon. As night fell, a stifling heaviness pressed onto my heart.

“Come on, back on the horse.” As if she had read my thoughts, Piece mounted again and lifted me up, setting me behind her.

I carefully tucked the brocade pouch into my chest, holding it close over my heart, not daring to relax for a moment.

The galloping horse sped across the sand as if it were flat ground—fast, but the jolting made my backside ache.

“Piece, where did you get this horse?” Suddenly I realized Piece didn’t seem to keep a horse. How had she suddenly come by one?

“Found it near Kanz City. It had been separated from its original owner. I fed it some food, and it refused to leave me after that.” Piece explained simply how the horse had come to her.

“Strawberry, a bit faster.”

“Strawberry?”

“That’s this horse’s name.” Piece explained.

“Is that its original name?”

“No. I gave it that name. Anyway, it understands when I call it that.”

“……” I didn’t say anything more, but I looked at Piece with a slightly strange expression.

Was it my imagination, or had she changed since I first met her?

For instance, picking up a horse to raise, giving a random horse a name—those seemed like things the Piece I first met would never do.

I imagined it—if it had been the Piece from before, she probably would have said something like, “Raising a horse is unnecessary and meaningless,” or “Best not to leave marks on another creature’s life trajectory,” along with a string of riddling phrases you half-understand, half-don’t.

“Miss Piece, are you… feeling lonely?” I thought for a while before asking suddenly.

“… Lonely? What do you mean?”

“You’ve been living in that cabin on the outskirts of Kanz City for hundreds of years, maybe even longer, right?” I said. “For that long, living alone, self-sufficient, the same routine every day—don’t you ever feel bored or lonely?”

“……”

Hearing that, Piece paused slightly.

If it had been before, she would have answered without hesitation, “What does loneliness or boredom have to do with living alone?”—but now, she didn’t think quite the same.

Lonely, bored?

Ever since she reunited with her, since she’d spent even just one day under the same roof, returning to solitude again, Piece discovered that her mindset had changed.

Gazing at the wide bed, she would involuntarily think, If only that figure were here again, sharing my daily life.

Easy to go from frugal to extravagant, but hard to go back again—one’s solitary life could be monotonous forever, but once it was colored with even a single day of brilliant hues, going back to gray monotony was enough to leave her restless, haunted by memories of the time when someone had been there.

Piece didn’t speak. She understood many truths—and she understood that she too had been affected.

Whether human or Elf, both were social creatures. Living alone forever wasn’t possible.

Those who said they didn’t fear loneliness were usually those who had never known the taste of companionship, thinking life was forever the same shade of gray.

Piece closed her eyes slightly. Maybe she shouldn’t have met her again at this moment in time, but…

If she had to choose again, she still wouldn’t want to miss that last encounter.

“Up ahead should be your destination.” Feeling the ground trembling more intensely, Piece pulled the reins.

“I can only take you this far.”

“Miss Piece, won’t you go and say hello to that person?”

“No need.” Piece shook her head—she feared that if she saw her, she would be reluctant to part.

Such feelings, for her—for a fragment that wasn’t even supposed to have a self—were too extravagant.

“Then, thank you for your help.” I didn’t know what Piece was thinking then, and didn’t try to persuade her. Maybe she had something urgent to do. And the path ahead was indeed fraught with danger—it might be better if Piece didn’t go.

“Miss Piece, it’s thanks to you this time. We won’t forget your kindness.” As I was about to leave, I spoke earnestly. “Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.” Piece looked deeply at my back, and only when I had gone far did she whisper softly, “I hope… this won’t be the last time I see you.”

After a long moment, she spurred the horse and left.

Not far away, the commotion was great, proof that Teresa and the conglomerate of grudges were still fighting.

By the time I ran to the scene on my own two feet, I discovered that aside from me, another group of “spectators” had arrived.

This group of spectators was none other than the Imperial Army.

And the leader—someone I actually recognized.

Wasn’t this the same Uncle Gran I had seen just days ago?

Although I didn’t have a good impression of this uncle with his outdated, witchcraft-scorning views, compared to the company he kept, he was indeed one of the more reliable Imperial officers—and my impression of his personal conduct wasn’t too bad.

I remembered that Uncle Gran’s legion had been stationed in Corint City. But days ago Corint City had been razed—I thought he and his legion had perished with it.

Now, Uncle Gran stood there, leading his soldiers, all of them staring blankly and hesitantly at the “god-tier battle” between the two “monsters” in the center—completely unable to intervene.

Their instincts told them the grudge-spewing centaur monster was their mortal enemy, but the other one wasn’t normal either.

All the soldiers saw it—the sharp Elf ears of the girl flying through the air, clashing again and again with the monster.

An Elf.

Why was an Elf here??

As they had rushed to the scene, the soldiers under Gran were collectively stunned, their eyes locked on Teresa.

This Elf girl seemed to possess a strange charm, making these Imperial soldiers feel as if their souls were being drawn away—as if they were seeing the most perfect dream lover in their hearts.

Even with a deadly enemy right there, their eyes were glassy, their demeanor less like disciplined soldiers and more like a gang of leering bandits.

Their vacant stares practically wrote the words “I’m in heat” across their faces, and I suddenly realized the problem.

Elves were one of the ancient races, and among them, the Gold Elves were the purest in bloodline and the closest to the Elf Mother Goddess—a sublimity that emanated from their very blood.

This transcendent aura could draw in mortals, pulling their attention and hearts irresistibly.

At first, Teresa had been fine. Covering her ears was like masking the “privilege” of being an Elf, and her own lack of identification with being an Elf dulled that perception almost completely. But now…

Teresa’s sense of identity had changed. She no longer even bothered to hide, discarding the cover and facing the grudge conglomerate in direct, one-on-one combat.

Fully accepting her identity, making no attempt to hide it—this meant she no longer avoided any part of her past. Her power was now on a different dimension entirely, and naturally, her allure as a Gold Elf had become extraordinary.

“Lord Gran, it’s—it’s an Elf!”

“Whoa—how is there an Elf here?……”

“So this is an Elf? Hah, well, she’s just… a little prettier, that’s all… nothing really special…”

“So strong! I’ve never seen a battle of this level before.”

“This is the body and beauty blessed by the Mother of the Earth? My own old hag at home can’t compare at all…”

While his soldiers muttered and gawked, completely unable to help, Gran himself remained silent.

As a Divine Child, his mental power was far beyond ordinary people—he had some resistance to a Gold Elf’s sublimity.

With his vast knowledge, he stared at Teresa as she danced like a butterfly, toying with the grudge conglomerate, frowning deeply.

Unlike the other soldiers, he saw instantly that this wasn’t an ordinary Elf.

Though he had never seen one himself, based on old descriptions, he was certain—this was most likely a Gold Elf, extinct for over four hundred years.

He used Divine Appraisal on the Elf girl, but all he got was blinding garbled text—confirming his suspicion even more.

Things were growing stranger by the day.

Cultists were rising up all across the land, more frequently than ever—and now, even Gold Elves thought to be extinct had reappeared.

Was there an inevitable connection between these things??

As he pondered, his gaze caught the little blonde girl walking toward them.

That girl?

Gran remembered her—she was a student of Coleman Academy. When he’d seen her before, she’d been with a male student.

Because they were both students of Coleman Academy, she’d left a deep impression on him.

Seeing her heading for the center of the battlefield, Gran immediately shouted, “Don’t come any closer! It’s dangerous here!”

But the girl ignored him, continuing toward the golden-haired Elf.

Teresa had already sensed my approach. Using her arrows as stepping stones, she landed lightly beside me like a butterfly descending.

“You came earlier than I thought.”

“Not really.” I glanced at the gathered spectators not far away. “The seats are already full.”

Without wasting more words, I handed Teresa the petals I carried.

“I think you shouldn’t have taken off your cover—it’ll bring a lot of unnecessary trouble.”

“Trouble? Since it’s trouble, it’ll come knocking sooner or later—why gag myself in fear of choking?” Teresa took the brocade pouch, her tone easy and confident. “I am Teresa. That won’t change. Since that’s the case, why bother hiding? I am who I am.”

I stared blankly for a moment, gazing at the Elf girl before me, smiling with elegance and confidence. It was the same person, and yet somehow she seemed different.

Perhaps this was the feeling of finding yourself—of no longer being lost.

“Elf Lady, danger!” Gran’s voice came from behind, accompanied by Teresa’s movement—her right hand holding a blade.

With a light flick, she deflected the falling spear shaft, its powerful wind brushing past her, lifting the strands of the Elf girl’s hair.