I Picked Up the Hero Who Banished Me - Chapter 53



52 – [In the Land of Elves – 20]

The morning sun was already bright, and it was time to meet Titania.

“……”

Livia was silent.

She kept staring at the door of the lodging, as if waiting for someone.

There was no need to say who it was.

“Lois.”

“Yes.”

“I probably wouldn’t even be happy if I took revenge.”

“I suppose not.”

If he were the type to get joy from that, he’d have drawn his sword in fury the moment they met.

More than anything, he was so forgiving of attacks aimed at him, that he just laughed everything off.

It wasn’t exactly a good trait, but it did tend to work to his advantage a lot.

“But that moment is coming, the moment I have to.”

“Yes.”

“Was I expecting too much?”

“……I don’t think Livia did anything wrong.”

Livia smiled.

“Thanks… Let’s go, I should talk to Titania one more time. I feel like the conversation might go well today.”

“That’s quite the good omen.”

*

“You’ve come.”

Titania opened her eyes, which had been closed, and looked at me.

Lois and Silphy were beside me, and unlike yesterday, only Les was beside Titania.

“I heard the story from Lois.”

“Alright, my only condition… is to enter the World Tree and make a contract with its spirit.”

“If we do that, you’ll give us the sap?”

“There’s no reason I wouldn’t.”

“And please, talk to Sylphy properly, too.”

“…Sylphy.”

“Yes, Grandmother.”

Titania slowly rose and walked to stand before Sylphy.

Seeing them like this, you could really tell they were family.

They looked so much alike.

Especially with Sylphy’s more feminine features, it felt like they were even more alike.

Aside from their eyes and hairstyles, you could say they were the same person.

“Do you resent me?”

“It would be a lie to say I didn’t.”

“Yes, of course you would. …What happened with you half-elves is all my fault.”

“Your fault?”

Titania looked momentarily sad.

Royce and I took a step back, wanting to give them their own space, just for this moment.

Les seemed to understand as well, stepping back, leaving the center of the audience chamber as a space for only Titania and Sylphy.

“I’ve made selfish, foolish choices, countless times, all in the name of protecting the elves. I’ve even made choices I can’t undo. And while those choices have resulted in the maintenance of Elvenheim as it is now, I still believe it wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t the worst decision either.”

“I suppose…”

“One of those decisions of mine was the expulsion of the half-elves.”

“…Was there a reason?”

“Are you willing to listen?”

“Yes.”

“First, I want to say this isn’t an excuse, you… No, all half-elves, including you, have the right to condemn me. It’s a pathetic story born of my own cowardice, something I just gave up on.”

“…….”

I didn’t understand very well, but Royce made a hmm sound, looking as if he did.

Hmm.

What to do.

I decided to try and make a similar face to Royce.

I don’t understand any of it, but he said he’d explain, so I guess I’ll get it if I listen.

“It’s a bit of an old story.”

*

After the war ended.

Elvenheim was chaos itself.

War was a break-even at best if you won, and utter ruin if you lost, that was the rule of the world, and Elvenheim hadn’t lost, but it hadn’t won either.

More than anything, because of the slavery that occurred before the end of the war, the elves’ hatred of half-elves was beyond Titania’s control.

To make matters worse, Titania, who had become king as a war hero, had a fairly weak and shallow base of support, save for being a ‘war hero.’

A support base that could easily crumble.

From noble mtl dot com

A hatred that couldn’t be controlled.

The war had ended, leaving Elvenheim in chaos.

Scarce resources.

A depleted workforce.

Relations with humans.

Monsters.

There were far too many points demanding attention. At that juncture, Titania faced a choice.

Embrace the half-elves, steeling herself to control the turmoil.

Or banish them, resolute in her efforts to suppress the chaos.

Titania, under the banner of ‘peace,’ chose the vile option.

“…….”

She lacked the confidence to control her own senseless hatred towards the half-elves.

Too much to do, the priority was Elvenheim – under that pretext, she accepted the half-elf hating consensus, banishing them from Elvenheim.

So many had died in the war, that almost no generation, save for Titania, remembered actual fighting, rather than just the ceasefire.

In the end, Titania chose to cast them aside.

No.

It was an excuse.

She didn’t want to see.

Sylphie, who looked so much like her daughter.

Those half-elves with their scent.

Ultimately, the racial conflict festered within Titania’s own heart, preventing her from steeling herself to accept them.

“My daughter was raped by a human and bore a half-elf.”

“That’s Sylphie, right?”

“Yes… and my daughter eventually hanged herself. It was none other than me who found my first daughter who committed suicide… I ended up banishing the half-elf, who did nothing wrong.”

“……”

“Especially Sylphie, I ran from you who reminds me so much of my daughter.”

“……”

“And I still haven’t been able to fix it.”

Titania thought, of the many mistakes she’d made, banishing the half-elf was undoubtedly the greatest.

But what if she had accepted her in that chaos?

The cold, ruthless Titania asked herself that, and the answer was always the same.

If the time to choose came again, she would probably abandon her all the same.

“Then, did you banish her from Elvenheim because you feared she’d live in hatred?”

“……”

Titania smiled at Sylphie’s words.

“You are kind, you know.”

“Huh?”

“The treatment of half-elves isn’t good, even among humans. To banish you without any blessing was no different than saying ‘I don’t care if you die anywhere’.”

“……”

“Well, that’s the end of my story. Now, let’s hear yours.”

“My story?”

“If there’s anything you want to say to me, or any resentment, forget that I’m Titania just for this moment, and say it.”

“……”

A moment of silence.

Sylphy opened her mouth.

“Uh, there’s not really anything to say…?”

“……”

It was Titania who was surprised, rather.

“No, you’ve heard the story, haven’t you?”

“Yes, I’ve heard it.”

“You’ve heard that I said I abandoned you because I didn’t have the confidence to embrace you half-elves?”

“It was a nation after a confusing war, right? Honestly, I think you could do that. No, well… I can’t speak for all the other half-elves, but personally, I don’t really think anything of it.”

“……”

Titania had at least braced herself for insults, even blows.

But Sylphy’s reaction was exceedingly dry.

More like, why would I need to resent you so much? was etched on her face.

There was a desire for resentment, but it was at the level of just ‘a bit uncomfortable’.

“Rather, isn’t this an opportunity now! There are many other half-elves who want to come to Elven Heim! Half-elves still can’t even get proper jobs outside!”

“Hmm.”

“Now, compared to the past, there’s less hatred, and the Demon King has been defeated, so it’s an era of peace! Now is the best time!”

“……”

Titania smiled.

“It’s as if my daughter has returned.”

“Uh, well… I don’t really know much about my mother.”

“She possessed an innocent goodness, just like you. She saw and seized the good in others better than anyone, but was blind to their bad.”

Titania smiled, as if missing her.

“Good.”

“Titania?”

“I swear on my name. When this is over, I will nullify the law that bars half-elves from entering Elvenheim, under my name. I promise to accommodate you in every way I can beyond that as well.”

“Titania!”

“I can’t make up for the pain they’ve suffered, but I will at least do what I can.”

“Really?”

Titania smiled at the rejoicing Sylphie.

Sylphie’s mother, Titania’s daughter, overlapped with Sylphie, and it was as if she was speaking at that very moment.

Like she was scolding, asking when they would stop being like that.

“Then, first of all, Royce, I will grant you permission to enter the World Tree. Nothing will progress if you don’t save the World Tree, no matter what else.”

“Understood. Honestly, I’d prefer it if Titania just did it herself.”

“Even though I look like this, I’m old you see… Compared to my prime, my reaction speed and everything else is weakening. Do you want to put an old woman through such hardship?”

“Royce! Do your best! There’s nothing I can do, not for this at least.”

“It’s a spirit user’s job, after all. Honestly, I don’t know if the spirit of the World Tree will take a liking to me or not.”

Though he possessed a wealth of power and experience as a spirit user, he didn’t know if that would be enough to satisfy the spirit of the World Tree.

The fact that no history mentions a World Tree Spirit meant the ‘World Tree Spirit’ had never left the world, which, in turn, meant it had never had a contractor.

It was questionable whether such a World Tree Spirit would even hold Royce’s hand.

Like I said, if they didn’t like you, those spirits would rather die.

“Alright, that’s it.”

“That was surprisingly simple.”

“I only gave you permission to pass through the barrier. So, hurry…….”

“……!”

Olivia was the first to feel the unease.

And then Titania felt it.

“Sylphy!!”

*THWOOM!!*

*CRASH!!*

Something like a spear flew through the window, aiming for Sylphy’s head.

A loud crash echoed, but the attack didn’t reach Sylphy.

The spear, made of magic power, pierced Titania’s chest, vanishing in an instant, causing blood to pour from Titania’s wound.

“Titania!!”

Les rushed to Titania in a panic, while Olivia quickly grabbed her Holy Sword and faced the window.

“You idiot…! This is Elven Heim! Inside the barrier…!”

Could it be an attack from outside the barrier?

When Olivia looked up, she saw countless shadows.

“Wyvern.”

Olivia stared blankly, then finally frowned.

“Sylphie!! Les!! We don’t have time!!”

“Ah, yes!”

“Get someone who can heal her right now and treat Titania! She’s not dead yet!! And tell Elven Heim that there’s a wyvern invasion!!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Olivia frowned again.

‘This is weird, I’ve been thinking this since the last attack at East Port… The Demon Lord is dead, so the monsters should have lost their power.’

When the Demon Lord dies, all the monsters weaken.

And they rarely launch large-scale attacks until a new Demon Lord is chosen.

But this magical power…

‘Is there a high-ranking Demon Army officer?’

This timing.

No matter how much she thought about it, it was strange.

Why are the monsters still this strong?

She was briefly thrown into confusion, at odds with history, but Olivia quickly shook off her thoughts.

“Royce!”

“……”

Royce hesitated, looking at the fallen Titania, but then he nodded to Olivia.

If they succeeded in reviving the World Tree, the elves would be blessed, and at the same time, the sap could heal Olivia’s condition.

That way, at least the worst could be avoided.

The judgment was swift.

“Leave it to me, I’ll complete it as quickly as possible and return.”

Olivia watched Royce leap from the window and sprint toward the World Tree, a smile playing on her lips. Then Olivia, too, went out the window, but unlike Royce, she ascended.

“…Hah, for real.”

The number of wyverns is massive.

Absolutely massive.

Enough to call it an army.

“Weren’t you guys supposed to get pathetic after the Demon King was defeated? It’s bewildering that you suddenly abandoned that habit… You b*stards.”

Questions remained.

Unresolved emotions churned, too.

But those were for later.

Olivia’s gaze sharpened, and light pulsed from her holy sword.

“I’ll slaughter them all.”