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Volume 10 Chapter 295

Hero and the Elven Princess

「By the way, Tet, where are we going?」
「I thought we’d go to Alheim」
「Oh, the country of the elves that Eliza mentioned?」
「Yeah! The elves have lots of beautiful gemstones」
「But, Alheim was at war with this country, right? I already got my guild card here…… Is it okay?」
「I think it’ll be fine?」
「Really? Well, if Tet says so, then I’ll go……」
「Yeah. Let’s go! Akari, say『Teleport, Alheim』」
「T-Teleport, Alheim—!?」
Following Tet’s instructions, Akari activated the skill.
Unlike the pseudo-teleportation used by Haruto, as long as she knew the names of places in this world, Akari could instantly teleport anywhere. It was a genuine Teleportation skill.
Akari felt her body being strongly pulled towards somewhere, which surprised her. But, in the next moment—
「Ta-dah!」
「Eh…… Huh!?」
Akari and Tet had been teleported to a grassy plain near Alheim.
The capital of Alheim. Akari was captivated by the enormous World Tree that covered it completely.
「That’s the World Tree」
「The World Tree… …It’s amazing」
Akari, overwhelmed by the enormous tree, could only gape in astonishment.
「Akari, let’s go」
「Y-Yeah」
Prompted by Tet, Akari made her way to the checkpoint for entering the capital.
Unlike the Aplistos capital, which only had the functions of a capital, the Alheim capital also had vast farmlands and mines within its borders.
Furthermore, due to the history of the elves being frequently attacked by other races, the defensive wall of Alheim was many times larger than that of Aplistos.
「The wall is really big too」
「Yeah」
As they approached the checkpoint on foot, the guards stopped Akari.
「Young lady, are you a human? Do you want to enter this country?」
「Yes!」
「I see. Then while touching this, state your name, where you’re from, and your purpose for staying in this country」
Similar to what she did in Aplistos, Akari looked the guard in the eye and expressed her desire to enter the capital. However, elves had a high resistance to mental attacks.
Also, since she still couldn’t fully control , she couldn’t charm the guard like she did with Eric.
As instructed by the elf guard, Akari touched the offered gemstone of truth and declared.
「My name is Akari. I’m from A-Aplistos. I came here hoping to receive some gems and other similar things」
The gemstone of truth glowed blue.
Which was the problem.
「Aplistos… …Young lady, you come from Aplistos?」
The guard’s expression turned stern.
Akari had a bad feeling about this.
While the damages to Alheim had been compensated when Haruto drove out the Aplistos national army and when the Fifth Prince ascended to the throne, diplomatic normalisation hadn’t been achieved.
Although citizens of both countries could freely travel back and forth—
「I’m sorry, young lady. Those who come from Aplistos need to undergo a brief interrogation」
The guard grabbed Akari’s arm and tried to escort her to the guardhouse.
「Eh?」
「What, it’ll be over soon」
In fact, the interrogation was just a matter of being asked in detail about what she would do in Alheim. If she had no criminal record, she would be allowed to enter the capital.
Furthermore, whether or not a human from Aplistos needed to undergo an interrogation depended on the guard stationed at the checkpoint at that time.
Akali was unlucky enough to be one of them.
This checkpoint was manned by several border defence soldiers who were killed by Aplistos during the war and resurrected by Ryuuka’s Resurrection. They were allowed to harass humans from Aplistos a little as part of a secret agreement between Alheim and Aplistos to alleviate the grudges the slain soldiers held against Aplistos.
Being firmly grasped by one of these soldiers and being taken away frightened Akari.
「Te-Tet—」
「Wait a moment, guard」
As Akari, feeling uneasy, tried to talk to Tet, a beautiful elf woman with long hair tied into a ponytail approached and spoke up.
「R-Rifa-sama!」
The elf woman was Rifa, the second princess of this country and Haruto’s wife.
The guard who had been about to take Akari away was surprised by Rifa’s sudden appearance and hastily released Akari’s hand, dropping to one knee.
「Is this child from Aplistos?」
「It seems so」
「I know about the agreement with Aplistos. Of course, I’m aware that you hold grudges against that country. However, do you really need to treat such a young girl like this?」
「I-I apologise……」
「I will take this child with me. There shouldn’t be any problems, right?」
「Y-Yes!」
After hearing the guard’s consent, Rifa took Akari’s hand.
「I’m sorry for scaring you. I am Rifa Elnor. I’ll assure your safety while you’re staying in this country」
「Eh…… Th-Thank you very much」
「For now, let’s move. While we walk, I’d like to hear more about you」
「About me?」
「Yes. Now, let’s go. Welcome to Alheim」
With Rifa gently leading her, Akari decided to follow her.
──＊＊＊──

「So, Akari only stopped by Aplistos yesterday, she wasn’t originally living there, right?」
「Y-Yes. But, I’ve already got my guild card, and from now on, I plan to use Aplistos as my base……」
Led by Rifa, Akari entered a stylish café on the main street of the capital and had cake with her.
「In that case, it’s fine. Since you have nothing to do with that country when they were planning to wage war」
Although Rifa couldn’t bear to see Akari looking like she was about to cry, she couldn’t help but help her. But she was relieved that she had helped her.
Rifa understood all too well that the guards who had been killed by the Aplistos people would hold strong grudges against them.
「Akari, do you dislike this country now?」
「N-No! Not at all!! More importantly, I’m really happy to be able to talk to such a beautiful elf lady like you」
Even though Akari, who had seen elves in light novels and anime, was genuinely moved to see real elves in person.
「Well, I’m glad. Thank you」
Akari was captivated by Rifa, who smiled elegantly.
Even among the beautiful elves, Rifa, a high elf and a member of the royal family, was exceptionally beautiful.
「By the way, Akari, did you come to this country to mine gemstones?」
「Yes…… but, it costs money to even be allowed to mine gemstones, right?」
Akari realised that she had come this far without much thought, but she couldn’t freely mine in the mines within the capital city, and it dawned on her that she couldn’t.
「That’s right. Even foreigners can use the mining sites in this country if they pay, but whether or not gemstones can be mined depends on luck, and the usage fee is quite high. Akari, do you have any money?」
「Not much……」
Even though she had come this far, feeling a little scared, she had hit an insurmountable wall.
「Well, then. Here, take these」
Saying so, Rifa took out eight gemstones and handed them to Akari.
「Eh!? I-I can’t accept……!」
「As an apology from our country’s soldiers for scaring you, won’t you accept them?」
「B-But……」
Akari had only ever seen real gemstones that her mother owned, but the gemstones that Rifa handed her were even more beautiful, shining brighter and larger than her mother’s.
Seeing Akari hesitating to accept the gemstones, Rifa came up with an idea.
「You’re going to make equipment using these gemstones and sell them, right? If you absolutely refuse to accept the gemstones for free, how about giving me the earrings you made in exchange? As a trade!」
「I-If that’s the case… …but, it’s really nothing special, these earrings」
「It’s fine, it’s fine. Come on, show me!」
Prompted by Rifa, Akari showed her the earrings she had created using her skills.
「Eh, amazing…… Did you make this?」
A finely crafted pair of earrings.
Rifa felt an incredibly strong power from them.
「Th-These and gemstones don’t match at all, right?」
「That’s not true! If anything, I should give you more gemstones. But, I only have these for now」
「R-Really!? T-Then, it’s okay. These are more than enough!!」
Saying so, Akari handed the earrings to Rifa. In return, she decided to accept the gemstones.
──＊＊＊──

Later, Akari, who planned to tour Alheim, and Rifa, who had some business to attend to, parted ways.
「If you ever have any trouble in this country, come to the castle over there. Just tell the gatekeeper to call for an elf named Salion, and I’ll make sure you get taken care of somehow」
Rifa explained, pointing towards the royal castle.
「Understood. Rifa-san, thank you for everything. But still, eight gemstones for one earring doesn’t seem fair, so if I make something else, I’ll bring it to you」
「Is that so? Then maybe I’ll prepare something other than gemstones next time. I’m looking forward to trading with you, Akari」
Rifa wore the earrings she received from Akari on her ears.
「Akari, see you later」
「Yes. Rifa-san, let’s meet again!」
As Akari disappeared into the crowd of the capital after leaving the café, Rifa watched her back until she could no longer be seen.
「Sorry for the wait, Rifa」
「Ah, Haruto-san. Thank you for coming to pick me up!」
When Akari’s figure had completely disappeared, Haruto came to pick up Rifa using teleportation.
「Oh! Those earrings suit you so well. Are they new?」
「Hehe. I got them from a new friend I made today」
As Rifa happily accepted Haruto’s praise, the magical equipment, the legendary Protection Earrings shone on her ears.