As Naohara looked at the Elf girl clinging tightly to him and the familiar face only inches away, his mind went blank with shock.
Before this, he had imagined countless possibilities.
He had wondered if it might be some young guy playing a gender-swapped character, or perhaps another Guild member, but he had never expected it to be her.
"Cartethyia... no. At a time like this, I should call you Akemi."
Akemi. Her full name was Yamase Akemi.
Her in-game name was Cartethyia.
She also had an older sister named Yamase Maiko.
Back in the game, her sister had been none other than [Yamaiko], one of the Forty-Two Supreme Rulers of Ainz Ooal Gown.
This really was a surprise.
Though perhaps calling it a shock would be more accurate.
"Naohara-nii, you can call me whatever you want. But it's been such a long time since anyone called me Akemi, so you get one extra point on this beautiful girl's favorability meter."
Akemi tilted her graceful, snow-white neck and looked up at Naohara without blinking, a soft smile on her face.
She was still as mischievous as ever.
Naohara couldn't help thinking so.
He had to admit, Akemi really was beautiful.
From her loose, flowing golden hair to the delicate braids woven through it, every strand gleamed with a natural luster.
Her Elf ears, with contours distinctly different from those of humans, not only gave her an air of mystery and nobility, but also emphasized her affinity with nature.
The thorned crowns around her head, wrists, and ankles further enhanced her distinctive charm.
From her features to her clothing, from her accessories to her expression, every detail reflected extraordinary refinement and artistry.
It was as if the girl's very existence were a feast for the eyes.
If Naohara had to describe the girl before him in a single sentence, it would probably be this:
She was noble yet lively, her tall figure elegant without sacrificing softness or approachability.
Naohara reached out and quietly wiped away the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.
"Four hundred years. You must be tired."
He gently stroked the girl's head as he spoke.
There was no question in his words, only concern.
And those few words instantly shattered Akemi's emotional defenses.
"Come on... Naohara-nii, you really haven't changed at all..."
"Saying something like that... is kind of... unfair..."
Akemi lowered her head and rubbed it against his chest, murmuring almost to herself.
Then she looked up.
From where she stood, she gazed directly into Naohara's eyes. After several seconds, her tearful expression suddenly broke into a smile.
"Heh, but since it's you, Naohara-nii, I guess I can't help it. I'll give you another point."
Akemi tried to suppress the strange fluttering in her chest.
She could feel an unfamiliar emotion stirring within her.
Was it because her four-hundred-year wait had finally come to an end? Or was it simply the joy of hearing someone call her by name and treating her so gently?
"Oh, right. Momonga should have come to the New World too, shouldn't he? Didn't he come with you?"
Akemi drew a soft breath, calmed herself, and changed the subject.
Because of racial restrictions, she had been unable to officially join Nazarick as a Forest Elf, but she had still been invited to visit Nazarick as a guest.
She knew most of Nazarick's members and had even added several of those she got along with to her friends list.
It was during those visits that she had met Naohara-nii and started talking with him, eventually becoming the kind of friends who would occasionally chat together.
"How were you so sure that Momonga and I would come here?"
"Because I checked my friends list before the Server Shutdown. Both you and Momonga were shown as online. Since I ended up being transported here, I figured there was a good chance the two of you would be transported too."
"But the gap was so long. So long that I started wondering if I'd guessed wrong, and whether everything I'd done had been pointless."
"But I held on in the end. After all, if we really did meet again, I wouldn't want you two to find me completely out of my mind."
She had arrived alone and helpless in an unfamiliar New World.
Even someone far more mature would inevitably have felt lost and anxious.
And back then, she had still been only a young girl.
[It's been so long... I'm so lonely... How much longer...?]
[It's already been hundreds of years, hasn't it? Maybe I'll have to keep waiting for hundreds more.]
[I never imagined waiting could be this painful... Have I already reached my limit...? No...]
[Big sister... I miss you so much... Anyone will do... Please, just talk to me...]
Whenever the nights grew deep and silent, countless whispers would rise from the depths of her heart, becoming more intense with every passing year.
To keep herself from losing her sanity, Akemi could only put herself into a deep sleep and use it to endure the long, seemingly endless wait.
After all, as long as she continued waiting, there was still hope.
Roughly once every fifty years, she would briefly awaken and use the World-Class Item to observe the outside world. If she found nothing, she would return to sleep, repeating the cycle again and again.
(If the protagonist hadn't come, Akemi would have awakened on her own two years later and discovered the existence of the Sorcerer Kingdom.)
Then, during her eighth slumber, things finally changed.
"Naohara-nii, Akemi is really, really happy to see you again."
"So it was all real after all. I really did once live as a flesh-and-blood person. I had parents, an older sister, friends, and a completely different life."
Akemi felt like a piece of rotting driftwood floating alone on a vast ocean, liable to sink into the pitch-black depths at any moment.
But thankfully, she had finally found someone like herself.
In this wrong era, she had finally found the right person.
Her tears began to fall uncontrollably.
"Don't worry. You won't have to go through that anymore. From now on, we'll face whatever comes together, okay?"
Naohara sighed inwardly.
How had she ended up crying again just from talking?
Well, what else could he do? He could only find a way to comfort her.
"For a lifetime?"
"Mm-hmm. For a lifetime~"
***
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