I heard Sa-san whisper it. Looks like we found the Lamia we have been searching for. She is a beautiful serpent woman with long hair and a slightly languid expression. The long-haired Lamia, who had been watching us suspiciously, opened her eyes wide in shock. Sa-san dispelled her transformation magic and returned to her Lamia form. Sa-san’s older sister twisted her face and tried to flee. (She’s fast.) (Makoto) As expected of the athleticism of a Lamia. “Wait! Big Sis!” (Aya) Sa-san started to chase after her. But I already knew from my Clairvoyance that her sister would try to escape, so I made the first move. “Great Water Spirit, Dia, catch her.” (Makoto) “I already have, Our King.” (Dia) Dia had already bound Sa-san’s sister with chains made of water magic before I even finished asking. Sa-san’s sister thrashed around violently. Sa-san slowly approached her. At that moment, Lucy tapped my shoulder. (What is it?) (Makoto) (I’ll keep my distance. There are probably things she would rather not have overheard.) (Lucy) She whispered in my ear. “Hey, Calmira-san. Since it seems like Aya and her sister need to have a deep family talk, want to go somewhere else with me?” (Lucy) She spoke to Calmira-san, the dark elf. “Yes, I understand. By the way, Lucy-sama…” (Calmira) “Drop the honorifics. You’re older than me, right?” (Lucy) “Still, I couldn’t possibly be so casual with the Dragon King’s wife…” (Calmira) “Oh stop it. ‘Wife’, you say. Makes me blush.” (Lucy) The two of them walked off, chatting. “By the way, Lucy-sama, your surname is Walker, right?” (Calmira) “Yup. My great-grandpa’s name was Johnny Walker. Heard of him?” (Lucy) “Actually… my full name is Calmira-san J…Walker.” (Calmira) “My great-grandmother apparently had a relationship with Johnny Walker… But since he was a member of the hero’s party that defeated the Demon King, we didn’t broadcast the name too loudly…” (Calmira) “No way! You’ve gotta tell me more!” (Lucy) “Of course. I’ve actually been wanting to talk more with you, Lucy-sama.” (Calmira) “Hey, just call me Lucy already!” (Lucy) Their voices grew more and more distant. Now I was curious about their conversation too. We were supposed to be searching for Sa-san’s sister, but somehow ended up finding one of Lucy’s relatives too. (Johnny-san sure has a lot of descendants…) (Makoto) Now that I think about it, Anna mentioned that the day before we fought the Demon King, Johnny had stayed out all night with a dark elf woman. Johnny-san often told me, “Makoto-dono, you’re always so calm and fearless no matter the enemy.” But honestly, he wasn’t one to talk. Meanwhile, Sa-san and her sister’s conversation grew more intense. “…You came here to kill me, didn’t you?” Sa-san’s sister had slumped to the ground, as if giving up on everything. Sa-san stared down at her captured sister with cold eyes. (Should I…leave?) (Makoto) I hesitated, then started to head in the direction Lucy had gone, keeping the water chains binding Sa-san’s sister in place… “Takatsuki-kun, stay here.” (Aya) I guess I shouldn’t leave. I stayed quietly in place. Sa-san’s sister looked lifeless. Her eyes had given up on both escaping and living. (As an outsider, maybe I should stay silent, but…) (Makoto) “Um… Sa-san?” (Makoto) I couldn’t take the silence and ended up speaking. Follow current novels on 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⚫𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖⚫𝕟𝕖𝕥 “Big Sis… Why did you do it?” (Aya) Sa-san finally spoke, her voice quiet. This time, her sister looked away and said nothing. Sa-san and I silently waited for a response. Dia had quietly disappeared. Maybe she sensed the mood. The silence continued. Finally, the Lamia opened her mouth. What came out were words of apology. Sa-san’s previously composed expression suddenly changed. “Wrong!? Our Esteemed Mother and all our sisters are dead!! Because you told the Harpy Queen where our hideout was!!” (Aya) “…I misjudged them. We’d been in a territory dispute with the Harpies for a long time… but I never thought they’d control human mages and massacre our entire family… I just wanted to scare them a bit… Before I knew it, they tried to kill me too… I barely escaped.” The voice of the long-haired Lamia was weak and trembling. …Grit I could hear Sa-san grinding her teeth. “I’ll ask again. Why did you do it?” (Aya) Sa-san’s tone was restrained, like she was holding back her rage. This time, the reply came quickly. “I was jealous of you! You were the youngest, but the strongest! You always defied me, and then you started leading the clan on your own. I thought I was supposed to succeed Esteemed Mother! But… At that rate, I was the one who’d be cast out. So I… even if it meant borrowing the Harpies’ power… I did something stupid. It’s all my fault… So go ahead… Kill me.” At first, her tone was defiant. But her voice gradually faded, and in the end, she just hung her head. Sa-san stepped closer and looked into her face. They were now so close they could have touched each other if they reached out. (Isn’t this dangerous?) (Makoto) I thought so for a moment, but from what I could tell, the sister had no real magic or fighting spirit left. She already lost the will to fight. “…I have something I need to tell you too, Big Sis.” (Aya) Sa-san’s sister looked puzzled. “I… was reincarnated from another world. I used to be human.” (Aya) “…What are you talking about?” “I was stronger than the other sisters because the Goddesses gave me powerful skills as someone from another world. I was cheating, basically.” (Aya) “…I’d heard from Esteemed Mother that you had skills. That’s not a bad thing, is it?” “I always planned to leave someday. I didn’t want to attack humans, and I never meant to lead the clan.” (Aya) “…I see. Then… What was I even doing all this for…?” Sa-san’s sister muttered bitterly. “That’s right. You didn’t have to do anything. I would’ve left eventually. You were the one who was supposed to succeed Esteemed Mother. You did something really stupid.” (Aya) Her sister looked down, unable to respond. “Bye, Big Sis.” (Aya) Her sister lifted her face in surprise. “Let’s go, Takatsuki-kun.” (Aya) “Are you sure, Sa-san?” (Makoto) Taking revenge on the sister who betrayed her family had to be one of Sa-san’s goals. At least, that’s what she told me when we reunited in Laberintos. “It’s fine. I just wanted to have a word with her.” (Aya) Her sister, who’d been quiet all this time, started to struggle again. Sa-san didn’t answer. “You’re not going to kill me!? I betrayed the family… Everyone’s dead because of me!!” “What you did had no meaning in the end.” (Aya) Sa-san replied coldly. “Then…kill me! With your own hands!!” Her attitude had completely changed. I thought she was afraid of revenge, but it wasn’t just that. “If I have to live on in disgrace in a place … It would be better if you kill me!” I spoke to Sa-san, who had turned her back on her sister. By the way, the water magic binding the sister had been released. If she wanted to run, she could —but she didn’t. (She…wants to be punished?) (Makoto) Sa-san turned around and slowly walked up to the long-haired Lamia. This time, the Lamia didn’t try to run. They stood face to face. Her sister was slightly taller. But in terms of battle aura, the difference was like 100 to 1. If Sa-san got serious, her sister’s head would fly in an instant. Maybe she realized that…her body was trembling. “Go… Go ahead and kill me…” Her sister said, shaking. …Sa-san silently raised her right hand. A loud sound rang out as the long-haired Lamia was sent flying. She bounced several times across the ground, then collapsed. “This ends it.” (Aya) Her sister staggered toward us with a dazed expression, as if she couldn’t comprehend what was happening. “…It’s fine now. I’ve said my piece.” (Aya) Sa-san’s expression was dark. “It’s not fine! Because of me, our family died. You… You should kill me!” “No way!! Why would I kill my only sister!? I absolutely won’t!” (Aya) Sa-san shouted louder than her sister. “You… Don’t you hate me…?” “I do hate you! I resent you! I want Esteemed Mother and our sisters back! But… But now, you’re the only family I have left…” (Aya) Sa-san and her sister stared at each other in silence from just a few steps apart. Her sister was still swaying, probably from being blown away earlier. She looks like she might have a mild concussion. “Water Magic: [Heal Water].” (Makoto) I cast healing magic on her. She looked at me, clearly surprised. “Sa-san, are you okay with this now?” (Makoto) “Yeah, thanks, Takatsuki-kun.” (Aya) Sa-san started walking off briskly. Her sister stood frozen in place, still looking surprised. Will she just go on living alone in the Dim Forest forever? The living conditions here don’t seem great…and the location was hard to find. Maybe the two of them will never meet again. At that moment, something occurred to me. “Takatsuki-kun? What is it?” (Aya) Sa-san called out when she noticed I wasn’t following. “There’s something I want to ask real quick.” (Makoto) After hesitating briefly, I spoke to her sister. “Would you be interested in working in the Demonic City?” (Makoto) >Now, the will be a massacre~! -My original plan was for revenge. But after thinking about it thoroughly, it ended up in this fashion. Calmira-san is the child of the descendant of the dark elf woman that Johnny-san had a night with 1,000 years ago in the Demonic City.