Miss Ohara knew that she was overthinking right now, so she took a roundabout way to give her some reassurance. Really, it made Eriko feel a bit touched.
To be honest, Eriko didn't trust Melanie that much, because she didn't believe that such a good person existed in the world, spending so much energy for a useless Half-Elf.
Such a saint could not exist.
And Leticia seemed much more real. She didn't hide her dissatisfaction with Eriko, this baggage, and had repeatedly threatened to throw Eriko to the Elf Race.
At first, Eriko was indeed startled by Leticia's words, but now, hearing such words made her feel quite at ease, because she knew that when Leticia said such things, she would definitely not hand her over to the Elf Race.
This was the self-cultivation of a tsundere.
"Not straightforward... Where am I not straightforward? Let me tell you, if it weren't for that person surnamed York stopping me, believe it or not, I would throw you right back into the forest of the Elf Race!" Leticia was so angry that she bristled. This Eriko was just too annoying.
She changed her mind; even if this person was Evangeline, she would make her suffer a bit.
"Calm down, calm down." Melanie quickly grabbed Leticia, who had started rolling up her sleeves. Although it was a bit hurtful to say, Melanie really didn't think that the current Leticia could beat this Miss Eriko.
"You're actually helping her!" Leticia indignantly gave Melanie the middle finger. "I'm telling you, don't let me find a chance, otherwise I will immediately drag her away and throw her back to the Elf Race."
This sentence, which should have made Eriko feel threatened, came out of Leticia's mouth and instead gave Eriko more of a sense of security.
Since she dared to say it to her face, what was there to be afraid of? One had to know, this was Miss Ohara, who never told the truth in front of others.
"If Miss Ohara really wants to send me back to the Elf Race, I won't have any complaints, oh." Even, Eriko was in the mood to make a little joke.
After talking to Leticia, she felt the big stone in her heart drop, and the pressure on her body dissipated all at once.
Before, when Melanie promised not to abandon her, Eriko was skeptical and didn't quite believe it, because she knew she was a Half-Elf, while the one poisoned and in danger was a human, and that human had some relationship with Melanie.
Using herself to trade for the life of a human girl, Eriko felt, no, she was certain that Melanie could do such a thing, because she was not human.
But when Leticia said to her face that she would abandon her and let the Elf Race take her away, Eriko felt at ease.
Miss Ohara's words were meant to be understood in reverse, so she really hadn't been abandoned.
"Um, Miss Ohara, when I meet with the people from the Elf Race later, could you please accompany me?"
"Ah? Me?" Leticia was stunned for a moment. She pointed her finger at Melanie beside her. "Isn't this guy more suitable?"
"I also think I'm more suitable," Melanie muttered softly.
But Eriko still insisted on her own view, "But, I think Miss Ohara is better."
"Then how about it be you," Melanie said helplessly to Leticia. "Anyway, it's just sitting on the side listening to them talk, just treat it like watching a play."
"That's fine, it's still more interesting than standing outside doing nothing... Then what are you going to do, stay here?"
"I'll go check on the detoxification situation in a while. If everything goes smoothly, I will come back." Melanie looked down at the time and replied, "They are here; I will go greet them first."
After saying this, Melanie got up and left the room.
After Melanie left, only Leticia and Eriko were left in the large room. The two looked at each other in silence. After a long while, Eriko, unable to endure this strange atmosphere, couldn't help but speak, "Miss Ohara..."
"Don't ask, don't speak, wait for them to come over." Leticia interrupted Eriko. "The elves meeting you this time are not the elves who launched the attack; their methods should be relatively gentle, so you don't need to worry too much."
Right, speaking of this, Eriko was a bit confused about the situation. She didn't think her identity could attract the covetousness of two different Elf Race factions. A plain, ordinary Half-Elf girl, Eriko—what was there to be concerned about?
"But why did they attack here?"
"I think you are the one who knows the answer to this question best." Leticia's gaze lingered on Eriko's necklace for a while, and then she said with some deep meaning, "For example, they are very concerned about something on you."
Eriko subconsciously covered her necklace, "Impossible."
"Why impossible?" Hearing Eriko's answer, Leticia asked curiously.
Eriko's answer was full of vigor. In her heart, she completely did not believe that the Elf Race was chasing her because of this necklace, but Leticia could basically be certain that this necklace was the artifact housing Flora's consciousness.
The news Luna received was that a Half-Elf had stolen an important item from the Elf Race and fled to the Human World.
The two pieces of information corroborated each other, narrowing the situation down to a very small scope.
First, Eriko was definitely the Half-Elf who stole the item, a fact acknowledged by both Melanie and Leticia. Second, Leticia could conclude that the stolen item was Eriko's necklace, the artifact housing Flora's consciousness.
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So now the question arises: how could Eriko subconsciously say the words "Impossible"?
Why was she so confident?
A disguise? That seems to be the only possibility.
Eriko's appearance must have been disguised; she looks much worse than Evangeline right now, but what about the necklace?
Was the necklace also disguised?
No, that doesn't explain why Eriko would subconsciously believe the Elf Race wasn't coming for the necklace.
Could it be... that this girl didn't just steal one artifact?
Flora's artifact was indeed not what the Elf Race was looking for; they might not even know of its existence. What they were actually looking for was another artifact that Eriko brought out.
Why did Eriko dare to assert that the Elf Race wasn't here for the necklace? Because the Elf Race had no idea the necklace even existed!
"I think I might be in big trouble," Leticia said, looking up at Eriko quite seriously. "Tell me the truth: what did you bring out from the Elf Race?"
"I already threw that thing away. Now, no one can find where it is." Eriko's eyes darted away, but there were no signs of lying.
She really did throw that thing away.
"Then, what is your necklace? I know what it is... Don't be afraid, I won't steal your things." Leticia stopped mid-sentence, suddenly noticing Eriko's emotions beginning to fluctuate violently, so she quickly interrupted herself to comfort Eriko.
"That is your property, and I won't steal it. Think about it: if I really wanted to steal it, would you still be able to sit here safely and talk to me?"
"Sorry, I was too sensitive." Eriko clutched her chest, her heart pounding. "This is a gift from my mother, and I only learned of its purpose not long ago."
"Oh, I see. In other words, no one else knows about this?"
"Yeah, I haven't told anyone about this. When my mother gave me the necklace, she herself thought it was just a very ordinary, worthless necklace." Eriko's expression darkened. "She has never liked me."
This necklace was her birthday gift, yet it looked gray and dull, not pretty at all. Eriko even suspected that her mother had just fished it out of her own trash pile on the spot.
"Is that so? I understand." Leticia pressed her forehead in distress. Now, things were going to become super troublesome.