I Picked Up the Hero Who Banished Me - Chapter 67



66 – [A Brief Rest – 06]

“This is Elvenheim.”

“Lady Lyris, no matter how I think about it, this doesn’t seem right.”

“Why?”

“It’s one thing for a regular person, but for a royal princess of a nation to enter Elvenheim without permission…there are all sorts of issues that could arise.”

“I told you, if what I know is the truth, this is truly a minor problem. Let’s just go. Ugh, but walking on these wooden paths is really rough.”

At first, it was a normal path, but somehow, it became a path that looked like it was made of tree branches.

Lyris, to be honest, wasn’t exactly athletic.

Not making excuses, but since childhood, she was frail and unable to participate in many outdoor activities, including exercise.

So, the exercises Lyris did weren’t to get stronger, but to stay alive. Luckily, she didn’t have to worry about food, clothing, or shelter, so she could exercise at her own pace.

Still, the fact was that she was more fragile than others, so this kind of mountain path was hell.

And it wasn’t just any mountain path, but a path made of unstable wood.

“Please be careful, it’s really dangerous if you fall.”

“E-elves just walk on these paths like it’s nothing? W-what if they fall…?”

“Elves hardly ever fall from trees.”

“T-they have no consideration for outsiders…”

“Elvenheim is a closed-off nation, and anyone who comes here would have been fully aware of that.”

Lyris was underestimating things.

It was higher and more dizzying than she’d imagined.

If someone weak like Lyris fell, they could die.

No, they *would* die.

“The hero, Olivia Reinhart, has a high probability of being in this Elvenheim. Even if she isn’t, we can gather information in various ways. I have to find her somehow and prove whether Alex is the unethical scum I think he is.”

For Lilith, Alex had always been unlikable.

He was always busy showing off, and his eyes seemed to flicker with a bad kind of desire.

But still, she recognized that he worked hard for the kingdom every day, so even if she didn’t personally like him, she thought of him as a necessary talent for the kingdom.

But if it’s true that Alex betrayed Olivia, then this is something she can’t just let slide.

“Hoo, this old man is starting to find it hard to keep up with you, Lady Lilith.”

“You used to be quite the knight in your day, wasn’t you, Sebas.”

“That was decades ago. You really are a troublesome one. You were always frail but such a tomboy since you were little.”

“S, shut up! Children are supposed to be like that… Oops.”

“Lady Lilith!”

She slipped.

Ah.

She must have spaced out too much in a place where even a normal person could have serious trouble if they weren’t careful. The moment she stumbled, she heard a sound like she was catching the wind.

*Thump,* someone grabbed Lilith and landed safely on the ground.

“Whew, that was close… Are you alright?”

“…….”

Who is this woman?

She was beautiful.

Elves are said to have many beautiful people, but she was still surprised. This woman was more beautiful than any elf Lilith had ever seen.

No, her ears are shorter than an elf’s.

In other words, a half-elf.

And on top of that, being rescued in this crisis.

It was the kind of situation that would appear in the romance novels Lilis loved, but unfortunately, the one who saved her was a woman.

Even if it was a woman, being rescued so dashingly did bring about a little flutter, but unfortunately, Lilis didn’t have that kind of preference.

“Ah.”

She had been lost in her daydreams, and hadn’t properly thanked her.

“I am Lilis. Lilis Clifort, thank you for saving me.”

“Clifort, you say?”

The half-elf looked surprised.

Well, it was understandable she would be surprised.

But beyond that, a very slight wariness flickered in her eyes.

Clifort was the family name of the current king of the kingdom, Cromwell, and everyone knew Lilis was his daughter.

“Ah no, you said, Lilis-nim, right? I apologize… I just heard the name Clifort and momentarily…”

She was wary of the name Clifort.

But when she heard the name Lilis, her wariness faded.

Was it safe to be certain of that?

“Lilis-nim! Are you alright?!”

From noble mtl dot com

“Sebastian, I’m fine… this wonderful half-elf saved me.”

“Goodness… how should we ever thank you…”

“It’s alright, more than that, I’m relieved you’re safe. Please, follow me.”

“Huh? But to get to Elvenheim…”

“That’s for outsiders. There’s another way.”

Right.

Wait, hold on.

Come to think of it, why is a half-elf here?

It was common knowledge, even Lilis knew, that Elvenheim didn’t accept half-elves.

Could Lilis be getting tricked right now?

Could she have stumbled into a bad person’s net?

“Follow me carefully. You’ll fall if you trip on the tree roots.”

*‘Just play along.’*

Look at that beautiful face.

How could that be the face of an evildoer?

Lilis was confident in her looks, but compared to this half-elf woman, she felt almost pathetic. At least her figure was better, she thought stupidly.

“Come to think of it, I didn’t catch your name.”

“It’s Silphy.”

“Silphy, that’s a beautiful name.”

“Is it?”

“Um, Silphy-nim… I know it’s incredibly rude to ask this of my savior, the person who rescued Lilis-nim, but… may I ask a question?”

“Yes.”

Sebas said, answering Silphy.

“A half-elf, in Elvenheim…?”

“Yeah, I don’t know why I’m here either… This adventure I stumbled into kinda just led me all the way.”

“I see…”

That was a reply with some kind of romance to it.

Lillis, convincing herself that surely a lot must have happened, nodded.

“And… I think I’m also noticing faint traces of combat…”

“Yeah, we were actually attacked by monsters. A whole bunch of them.”

“Huh?”

“….!”

This time, Lillis’s eyes widened in surprise too.

The Demon Lord was dead.

If so, then the monsters should already be weaker, and big incidents like invasions usually wouldn’t happen. But suddenly, they attacked Elvenheim?

Indeed.

Something’s off.

If Olivia did it, then the Demon Lord must surely be dead, but it felt like after his death, the world had changed weirdly.

She didn’t know what it was, but it was definitely not something good for humanity.

“Um, this might sound strange, but hasn’t, like, a super pretty person with white hair come here?”

“Just say ‘the Hero,’ it’s more common that way.”

“Sebas, you’ve got no romance.”

“Hmph.”

“Haha, if it’s about Lady Olivia, she’s here.”

“She’s here!?”

She was alive, after all.

Liris felt her legs give way for a moment.

Sebas steadied her, and Liris gasped for breath, looking at Silphy.

“Oh, Olivia… where is she now…”

“She’ll be here soon, right?”

“Silphy~ I told you not to run off alone, we can’t pinpoint people’s locations in the forest like you can, you know? I just trusted my gut and ran.”

“You got it right with that gut feeling, so you are, as expected, Livia.”

“Right? You fell for me again, didn’t you?”

“Again? Doesn’t that imply you’d already fallen for me once before?”

“This guy, he’s seriously difficult…!”

As if they were used to it.

A man and a woman walked over, chatting like they were close friends.

Olivia’s appearance was dreadful.

One eye was covered with a bandage, her complexion was poor, and, most of all, she was missing an arm.

Liris could see bandages beneath the cloak too, realizing that her injuries were far more severe than they appeared.

“Oh, Olivia…”

“Liris?”

“You’re safe, I knew it… I knew it… there’s no way you could have died…”

Dropping formalities, Lilith spoke, voice trembling.

Olivia smiled awkwardly, stepping closer to Lilith.

“It’s been a while, what brings you here?”

“Your arm…it’s gone… What… Did Alex do this to you? Right? What happened? I’m going crazy with curiosity, I swear I want to beat the hell out of Alex right now!”

“Well, Alex isn’t exactly weak, so you probably couldn’t beat him.”

She replied, still not caring much about the emotional side of combat.

“There were a lot of things happening, yeah… so many things happened, too much to summarize in just a few words.”

“I see… Well, I’m glad you’re safe.”

“Thank you for your concern.”

“…….”

*Thud*, Lilith froze for a moment.

“Oh, Olivia is thanking *me*! Sebas!”

“I see it… Well, that is rather surprising.”

“Just what the hell happened to you… Olivia!”

“If you’re this surprised at Olivia-nim being grateful, then what kind of life *has* she been living….”

Olivia smiled awkwardly at Sylphy’s words and turned her head away.

But then she turned back to face Sylphy.

“I know I’ve been a bit oblivious, and pretty shameless, acting like a crazy, out of control nutcase!”

“You don’t have to go through all that pain to admit it! It was my fault!”

‘Olivia has changed a lot.’

The sharp edge from before was gone.

The Olivia that Lilis remembered was more like a blade, honed to hunt the Demon King.

But now, Olivia seemed like a woman, expressing joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure plainly.

“Ahem.”

The man who came with Olivia coughed, as if trying to draw attention.

‘Wait, somewhere…’

It felt like I’d seen him before.

Or maybe not.

“It’s a little awkward to talk here, let’s go inside for now.”

“Okay.”

“Oh, Olivia… Who is this?”

“Huh? This is Royce, the guy I stupidly banished from the hero party.”

“Ah, the one Felix recommended… But why is he here?”

A natural question.

Olivia smiled.

“He saved me, so we’re together.”

“Really? He saved you?”

“Yeah, isn’t it like fate? That the place I was dying was near where Royce lived… Doesn’t it seem like something from one of those romance novels you like?”

It was like that, but somehow it also felt a little different.

“So he’s your savior, is that it?”

“That’s just a bonus now, my goal is to finish this job and live peacefully with Royce.”

“……”

She was so confident, it left Lyris a little stunned.

“Uh, so… you like that man?”

“Yeah.”

It was the attitude of someone being asked something obvious.

Lyris felt a slight dizziness.

“How about being a little embarrassed? Other people are right here listening.”

“Ah, it’s okay.”

Sylphy gave an awkward smile.

“It’s not like anyone wouldn’t know if you watched for even a little bit… yeah, even a kid would know….”

At Sylphy’s words, Lyris looked at Olivia, her face twisting.

“Olivia, you didn’t just charge in like you were catching a monster, confessing your love and then like…pounce, right?”

“It wasn’t that bad.”

“R-right?”

“It’s about 80 percent similar though.”

“So, it *was* like that!”

“There’s still 20 percent different, you know?”

Lyris suddenly felt a headache coming on.

Olivia had definitely changed.

He seemed more like a person, and more relaxed than before.

Still.

Olivia was Olivia.