"Yes," Auel said. "There's still one place I want to investigate"
"Where is it?" Veyn asked
"The Dark Elf Village"
Veyn rubbed his chin
"But is there really anything left to investigate there?" Rikka asked
"We already know the poison came from that village"
"And if the culprit really is a Dark Elf" Gill added "they wouldn't hide in their own village, would they?"
"You're right" Auel answered "But there nothing wrong to investigate there too, right?"
Gramm nodded
"Auel has a point. We've only heard one side of the story so far"
"If there's even the smallest clue left, we should look for it"
Veyn smiled
"Well, it's getting late. Let's head back to the inn and continue tomorrow"
They all nodded and went back to the inn
By the time they returned, the girls were already waiting in the inn's bar
"Hey, you guys came back?" Ashley greeted them
"So?" Helen leaned forward excitedly "Did you find anything?"
"We actually did" Rikka replied proudly "While you girls were busy sightseeing"
Helen laughed a little bit
"And what exactly did you find?" Sylffie asked
"Well... first of all, the story about the Forest Sovereign creating the royal crown is actually true"
The girls froze
"The Sovereigns are real!?" Ashley exclaimed
Sylffie blinked
"Wait... that's the surprising part?"
"For elves, maybe not," Helen answered "But humans always thought they were just legends"
Sylffie nodded slowly
"Hmm… So how come you said it's important?"
"And after hearing that, Auel came up with a possibility"
"He thinks the culprit may have used God Magic"
Erin immediately stiffened
"G-god Magic, but tha-"
A sharp pinch landed on her arm beneath the table
"Aww"
Helen tilted her head
"Erin? Are you okay?"
"N-Nothing." Erin forced a smile "I... I've just never heard of God Magic before"
"Well, to make it simple God magic is a really strong magic that can surpass human understanding" Veyn said
"A magic capable of doing the impossible," Gramm added
"Most people believe it's only a myth"
"But now that we've confirmed the Sovereigns exist..." Helen muttered
"...its possible God Magic exists too" Gramm finished
Sylffie crossed her arms
"So, the King got taken down by God Magic, but who?"
"And according to the legends" Helen added "the caster dies after using it, right?"
Gramm sighed
"Well, that's still the problem, we still don't know who is the culprit"
"But then, we got into another information, which is the librarian is poisoned using the poison which can only be found in the Dark Elf village"
Helen blinked
"So, the culprit is from the Dark Elf"
Sylffie's voice immediately sharpened
"Hang on, hang on, Veyn you know that it's impossible for the Dark Elf to do that right?"
Everyone looked toward her
"The King was the one who always supported the Dark Elves"
"Why would they kidnap the only person helping them?"
"And even if they wanted to... how could they get into the palace in the first place?"
"Hey calm down a bit, we're not accusing them" Veyn tried to calm her down
"They wanted to talk with the Dark Elf about their opinion, maybe they could find something important there"
"And how exactly are you planning to reach the village?"
Sylffie stared at him
"Just the usual road, how hard can it be"
"With all those guards?"
"...Guards?"
"What? Don't tell me you forgot what we have in the next three days"
"Three days? What's happen anyway?"
"Are you-"
Sylffie covered her face
"We have festival for the King birthday in three days, how come you forgot about your own King birthday"
Veyn's eyes widened
"What? That's what? But the King's, why are they still holding the festival?"
"Arghh… Don't ask me, the Cardinals the one who said that the festival still going to happen without the king"
"And because of that, they sent more guards to secure each gate of the country, and they also sent guards to locked the way to the Dark Elf village"
Veyn thought for a moment
"Hmm… Then we sneaked to get there"
Sylffie let out a long, exhausted sigh
"Sometimes I honestly can't tell if you're a genius... or just hopeless"
"So, what happens during the festival?"
"Please tell me there's food."
"Are there foods there?"
Sylffie couldn't help smiling
"Umm… yeah, it just a normal festival like humans usually had"
"And the King usually walk down the street to meet the people, but now he is gone I don't know what going to happen"
Helen clapped her hands
"Well, that means tomorrow we are going to the Dark Elf village and then we are going to enjoy the festival"
"Hang on, do you always think that this is a vacation?" Gill asked
Helen grinned
"Well, I mean it's nothing wrong in enjoying your quest, right?"
"Yeah, she is right" Veyn added
"You guys need to chill down from the quest a little bit"
"You came here yesterday, checked the Palace, and wanted to go to the Dark Elf village"
"No need to rush to clear the quest"
"So, you guys can take a rest for today, and prepare for tomorrow ok, I'll meet you guys again here in the morning"
They Veyn and Sylffie went out of the inn, and everyone get back to their room
Before entering his room, Auel quietly glanced at Erin
"Come with us"
Erin nodded
The three of them entered Auel and Rikka's room
"Why did you pinch me back then?" Erin asked
"Don't tell them anything that know about God Magic" Auel asked
She blinked
"Why?"
"The less people who know, the better"
"And it could be troublesome if the truth about God Magic is leaked"
"But… I don't think that Gramm's party will spread that information"
"Well… it's not that I don't believe them" Auel added
"We are the only one who have contact with Sihr during that day"
"And I think that he already targets us from the beginning"
"If anyone's going to get dragged into whatever he's planning... it'll be us"
"I don't know what going to happen if anyone know about him without his own will"
He folded his arms
"So, until we know more... everything about that day stays between the three of us"
Erin slowly nodded
"I-I see…"
Silence filled the room for a moment
"By the way Auel, did you know about Sylffie's story?" Erin asked
"Sylffie? You mean about her past friend?"
She nodded
Auel shrugged
"I don't really care about it, it just a mere incident"
"But what if it's not" Rikka said "I mean Veyn said that she found the same person again and again right?"
"Yeah" Erin added "I also don't think that a coincidence"
"She told me some of her past friend, and I think they have the same traits"
"And I'm different" Auel said
"Y-yeah, but I think you still have some of their traits, like you always help people, right?"
Auel sighed
"It's what adventurers do, and also that girls shouldn't stuck with the past"
"What do you mean?" Rikka asked
Auel let out a quiet sigh
"She always saw a person as her past friend, and if she kept doing that, she will be stuck"
"She should let it go, and think the everyone as a new person, not the same as her past friend"
"But I think it's hard to do that no?" Rikka asked
"Like let go of the past¸ and keep going"
"But every person deserves to be seen as themselves"
"Not as someone else's replacement"
His expression never changed
"She'll live for hundreds of years"
"If she spends all that time clinging to people who've already disappeared..."
"She'll only keep hurting herself"
"So, she should let them go"
"Not because they weren't important, but because they were"
Auel stood up
"Enough"
"Get some sleep"
"We're leaving early tomorrow"
Neither Erin nor Rikka said another word
The room fell silent