The Paranoid Elf Queen Turned Me Into Her Sister

Volume 4 – Chapter 4: News of the Demon Race

“I wasn’t sure where you usually leave your books, Astrid. So I put the one you forgot by your bedside. Try not to forget next time, okay?”

“Thank you for the thought, Teresa.” The silver-haired girl clenched her pale fists and curled her toes into the floor. If not for her dignity, she might have bolted straight back to her dorm covering her face.

“Speaking of which, Astrid, I didn’t expect your artistic taste leaned in that direction?”

“…What do you mean by artistic taste?”

“The kind made up of pure and innocent girls?” Teresa flashed her a harmless smile.

“So that’s the kind you like. I didn’t see it coming. We should discuss it sometime.”

“…Princess Teresa, did you… see the contents?”

“Mm-hmm. I couldn’t hold back my curiosity and flipped through a few pages. If that makes you uncomfortable, please accept my apology.”

“…No, it’s fine.” Under Teresa’s smiling gaze, Astrid stared up at the ceiling, expression empty.

So this… was the punishment laid upon her by the Mother of the Forest?

Indeed, even the merciful, all-forgiving Mother of the Forest could not pardon her impure thoughts.

“Astrid?”

“Princess Teresa.” Without warning, Astrid bent at the waist and spoke in a hollow voice.

“I’m sorry for letting you down. I’ve disgraced the Elf Tribe.”

“…?” Teresa blinked in confusion. “Why would you say that?”

“No need to explain. I understand now. Please let me reflect on my sins alone.”

“Until tomorrow… I don’t want to be spoken to.” With that, Astrid hurriedly ran upstairs, closed the door, and went quiet.

With her keen Elven hearing, Teresa caught the soft thud of something landing—a certain Elf lady had probably thrown herself onto her bed the moment she got in.

Who knew what kind of tantrum she was throwing now.

Originally, Teresa had intended to ask Astrid about the Moon Elf leadership’s attitude toward Gold Elves. But it seemed the other party was in no mood—perhaps unwell today.

Which was perfectly normal. Every month came with those few days, after all.

Aside from Teresa, who’d stayed on campus during the break, Astrid was among the first to return. Felicia and Wenfu were still preparing to return—maybe they were saying goodbye to friends and relatives. In any case, it was good that the dorm had some life again. For a while, it had just been her and Yimi.

Over the break, Yimi had snuck into Teresa’s room more than once under the excuse of “assassination attempts” for some “late-night attacks~”. Teresa had more or less gotten used to sleeping with a cold, jade-like body pillow pressed against her.

Now that the new semester was upon them, Teresa figured it was time to draw up a new plan. She was, after all, still the Divine Child of this team—certain responsibilities fell on her.

As for the now-unavoidable fact that “Teresa is Dylin”—she no longer actively hid it. Whether her teammates figured it out or not didn’t matter much to her.

In fact, Teresa already had a plan in place. Her intended practicum site for the new semester would once again be Ruglian.

With her recovered memories and a clear sense of self, Teresa had begun to form a rough plan for what she needed to do in the future.

That girl—she should still be in the depths of Ruglian, where the Elf Sacred Tree once stood.

Now that her memories were back, Teresa remembered that childhood friend’s name and fragments of her past.

The Gray Elf girl was named Ifan Lanyel, daughter of the Gray Elf chieftain, and a friend from long ago.

They’d once been close. But after disagreements arose, the rift between them grew, and they eventually parted ways for good.

Though Teresa understood they could never go back to how things were, she still wanted to see Ifan again.

She realized that, ever since their fallout, the two had never truly sat down to talk—never shared their feelings honestly. That lack of communication had driven them apart.

Of course, this desire to visit Ifan was Teresa’s own. She wouldn’t drag unwilling teammates into danger. Before deciding on the practicum project, she would explain everything and seek their consent.

With a few days left before the new term started and the house no longer empty, Teresa left the estate and strolled down the city streets. The academy town was already livelier than a few days ago. During the break, the streets had been utterly deserted.

Many students had returned from their hometowns, preparing for their second semester.

The increased crowds were most obvious in the bustling streets filled with students coming and going.

It was the height of summer in September. Teresa, wearing her Crown Uniform, stepped into a fruit tea café. Her golden hair shimmered like silk beneath the crystal lights, reflecting a dreamlike glow.

She casually glanced around—plenty of people were here. Close friends, reunited after the break, were chatting away at cozy tables, enjoying the atmosphere.

Since she’d stopped hiding her identity, Teresa no longer wore any disguises when out in public or even at home.

This change brought about a noticeable effect. When the campus was still empty, it didn’t matter much. But now that the crowds were back, the difference stood out.

As she stepped onto the fruit tea shop’s wooden floor, Teresa instantly felt a dozen gazes focus on her.

“Wow… is that an Elf?” someone whispered.

“Her skin’s like snow…”

“Look at those lashes—like little fans! Her hair looks so silky… I wanna touch it…”

“Then go ask her. If she likes your face, maybe she’ll let you?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t want to come off as some kind of cree~p.”

Even though they whispered softly, not a single word escaped Teresa’s sharp Elven ears.

“Why does that Elf look kind of familiar? But also like I’ve never seen her before…”

“Crown Uniform… Wait! Isn’t she—Teresa?!”

“Teresa?? The one from Clarity of Sun and Moon?!”

“Yeah! The Coleman Champion from this year!”

“Those Elf ears… Are they fake accessories? They look so real!”

“Wait—don’t tell me she’s an actual Elf??”

Thanks to the presence of a few enrolled Elves at the academy, walking around as an Elf wouldn’t cause a major stir. But attention was still inevitable.

From a human perspective, Elves were all the same. Blond Elf, golden-haired Elf, brown-haired Elf—they were all “Elves.” Few had detailed knowledge of the different Elf subraces. Some didn’t even know subraces existed. At best, they’d just assume she was a Wood Elf.

But among Elves themselves, the distinctions were obvious.

Wood Elves and Gray Elves were the most common. Wood Elves were what most people imagined when they thought of Elves.

Gray Elves were the easiest to identify—their skin was darker, often tan or wheat-colored, while most other Elf subraces had fair or rosy complexions.

Moon Elves were known for their silver hair and violet eyes, glowing faintly under moonlight with a near-luminescent shimmer—hence their name.

Gold Elves were the opposite: golden hair and emerald eyes. Under morning sunlight, their hair sparkled brilliantly.

But since Wood Elves could also have silver or golden hair, most humans couldn’t tell the difference between High Elves and Wood Elves.

Teresa recalled reading in a book about how to distinguish Gold Elves from Wood Elves.

If there’s no sunlight, look at the eyes and eyelashes.

Gold Elves usually had golden hair and emerald eyes, and their lashes matched their hair color. In contrast, golden-haired Wood Elves had duller lashes and less vivid hair color.

Clearly, most people in this shop had no real knowledge of Elves. Though they loudly claimed to love elegant, beautiful Elf girls and dreamed of marrying one someday… they couldn’t even distinguish subraces.

Teresa suddenly remembered a phrase she’d learned in her second life: “Duke Ye loved dragons.” (meaning someone who claims to love something but fears or misunderstands the real thing.)

She had worried earlier about exposure—but clearly, she hadn’t needed to. Even if she stopped hiding her identity, most people would just lump her into the generic “Elf” category.

“One strawberry cream pastry, and one mango fruit tea. Thank you.” After ordering, Teresa politely handed back the menu to the blushing server whose eyes kept darting away from hers.

She returned his awkward glances with a graceful, formal smile.

The server blinked, then stammered her order back and hurried off—his mind full of the golden-haired Elf girl’s dazzling smile. Clutching his chest, he couldn’t help but wonder:

She smiled at me. Does she… like me?!

Teresa took a window seat, sipping her fruit tea slowly. Whenever she looked up, she’d catch several gazes quickly turning away.

She chuckled behind her hand, pretending not to notice.

“Hey, did you hear? Something happened near Coleman Forest.”

“Huh? What could possibly happen there? Don’t worry about it. Every country has troops stationed on the forest’s border. If anything did happen, it’s their problem, not ours.”

“I am talking about those troops! I got back a few days ago, right? When I passed the imperial military camp, I saw several soldiers carrying stretchers. More and more wounded were being carried out of the forest!”

“Are you serious?? That’s not something to joke about.”

“Dead serious. If those Imperial troops hadn’t driven me off, I’d have stayed to watch more.”

“The Imperial Army suffered losses?? Those guys act like mafia thugs—people usually avoid them. Who’d dare go up against them?!”

“You still don’t get it, huh? It wasn’t one of the light races!”

“You’re saying… the Demon Race is stirring?!”

“Shh! Keep it down! I’m not 100% sure, but it’s very possible. The Imperial Army is the biggest force stationed near the city. If it had just been troops from another country, there wouldn’t be so many casualties.”

“Besides, while there have been skirmishes these past 400 years, there’s never been a full-blown war. Everyone’s afraid the Demon Race hiding deep in Ruglian is just waiting to pounce when Kaleburn’s guard is down.”

“The Demon Race… Are they finally launching their final attack?” Another voice joined in, nervous.

“Damn… are we going to war?”

“Who knows? If it breaks out, we’re screwed. Coleman City is so close to Ruglian—if the demons come pouring out, this’ll be the first place they hit. The Imperial Army? They’ll probably be the first to flee. Don’t count on them.”

“That’s terrifying… Hey, does the academy even know about this? School’s about to start. Shouldn’t they give us another vacation and let us go home to hide?”

The students at the table behind her were whispering, but Teresa’s hearing caught every word. She sipped her tea calmly, while carefully listening.

Whether their info was accurate or not, Teresa wasn’t surprised that something had happened in Ruglian.

After all, it might have been her doing.

During her last trip to Ruglian, she’d used [Sacred Oblivion] to wipe out all the monsters in the Forest of Gluttony and purged the lingering resentment within.

Looking back, that forest seemed like a manifestation of collective grudge born from those who’d gotten lost and starved to death—humans or other races.

Coincidentally or not, that forest had acted as a natural barrier, keeping the outer demons separated from the central and deeper regions, creating a strange kind of balance.

Now that the forest—once forbidden territory—was gone, demons would quickly discover it could be traversed freely. Encounters and conflict between central demons and fringe dwellers were inevitable.

Teresa knew the Demon Race was born from mis-evolved light races, so of course they weren’t united. There were all kinds of internal rifts. Some of these demons hadn’t even seen each other in centuries—if they met, they might just insult each other’s looks.

Naturally, some demons had already started seeping out of the forest, running into those thug-like Imperial soldiers—and when those two sides met, it was bound to be a dogfight.

Judging by the quality of the Empire’s troops, Teresa guessed the demons near the forest were probably just small squads or isolated individuals. If it had been a larger force, those Imperial clowns wouldn’t have lasted long enough to grab their weapons—their pants would’ve been soaked before they even drew steel.