Interlude 26
◇◇◇
Purume realizes this is a dream.
The girl before her—Angelica—appears younger than she is now.
In recent years, Angelica has grown rapidly, becoming a beautiful woman with an outstanding figure.
「Hey Puru! Your full name is ‘Purume En Dynast,’ right?」
Ah, that’s right… No, wait, not exactly. My parents… Well, never mind.
It’s not important here.
「Doesn’t having a middle name mean you’re royalty or high nobility? So are you royalty, Puru? Could you be the Elf Queen?」
In the Arcana Kingdom, only royalty or high nobility have middle names. However, that’s a human custom, and elf names are naturally different.
「Oh, so human and elf naming traditions are completely different. Then what’s the meaning behind your name, Puru?」
Elf names are simpler compared to human names.
In her case, it indicates that she is Purume of the Dynast clan from the En region, which exists in a certain great forest far away.
「Wow, that’s interesting. There must be more than just one or two people from the Dynast clan in the En region, right? So if we went there, everyone would have the same ‘En Dynast’ name as you, Puru?」
In reality, her name has been abbreviated for certain reasons, and if those parts were included, it would be a much longer and more complicated name even in elf society.
That aside, there are indeed many 「En Dynast」 individuals. In fact, almost the entire community is 「En Dynast.」
Still, why bring up names now, out of the blue?
「Oh, well, you see, I was thinking about dropping the name Honest and taking on ‘En Dynast’ like you, Puru.」
Purume remembers this scenario.
Angelica, blushing with embarrassment and hiding her face with her hat—how did Purume respond to her?
What feelings led Angelica to tell Purume this?
As these thoughts cross her mind, Purume wakes up in her bed.
◇◇◇
The day of Angelica’s departure is approaching.
Perhaps because Purume has seemed irritable lately—though she doesn’t realize it herself—Angelica begged her this morning to finish her midday work early and spare some time.
After hurriedly completing her paperwork in the office, she heads to the guild’s training ground at the time specified by her daughter.
「It’s been a day. Thank you for the snacks you brought.」
Yamada and Angelica, waving her hand, are waiting there.
Although Purume frequently brings them snacks, she rarely stays long. It’s her way of being considerate, thinking it might be awkward to linger when her daughter is with her male friend(?).
As she’s about to ask why they called her, the boy in front of her suddenly bows his head and says,
「Please allow me to take Angie… Miss Angelica with me.」
Purume’s mouth opens and closes wordlessly.
What is this boy saying?
It’s as if he’s a boyfriend asking for permission to marry. Purume isn’t dense, so she realizes they’re asking for permission to travel together after conquering the Light Dungeon.
「Sigh… What nonsense are you suddenly sprouting? You don’t need to ask me for permission… It was already decided… or rather, that was my intention when I introduced you in the first place.」
「Puru, that’s not it. That’s not what we mean.」
Angelica explains that they want to set out as a hero party, after reassuring Purume.
「Well… I understand what you’re trying to say. So, how do you plan to put my mind at ease?」
Purume asks, shrugging her shoulders.
◇◇◇
First, Yamada hands over a lump of metal to Purume.
「T-This is…」 Purume’s surprise is understandable. The lump is mithril. Such a quantity would be invaluable.
Angelica turns to Purume with a tense expression.
「Puru, watch this.」
Purume nods and says, 「Alright,」 following her daughter’s words and waiting for a moment. Yamada attaches the mithril lump to a target in front of them and forms a circle with both hands.
Angelica casts a spell that even Purume has never heard of.
「Aqua Divide!」
An incredibly powerful stream of water shoots out from Angelica in a laser-like form, cleanly slicing through both the target and the mithril.
「That’s not all.」
Angelica says to the astonished Purume, nodding once at Yamada. In response, Yamada also nods and takes out a monster material from his magic bag.
In his hand is the giant scythe part of a Large Mantis. It’s said to easily slice through even A-rank masterpiece weapons and shields, a nightmare scythe with a razor-sharp edge.
Yamada throws it into the air as Angelica begins her chant.
「Mille-feuille!」
With Angelica’s incantation, the scythe is trapped in a spherical ice barrier, and then—
「Implosion!!」
As she announces this, the sphere formed by the barrier gleams red and explodes. Not even a speck of dust remains of the Large Mantis’s scythe.
◇◇◇
That evening is a feast.
It’s a celebration of her daughter’s growth and a farewell party wishing her well on her journey.
The three of them are in high spirits, and naturally, the amount of alcohol increases. Yamada, in particular, seems weak to alcohol and passes out. Angelica, whether out of politeness or drunkenness, is helping the waitstaff clear the table.
「I’m going to get some fresh air outside.」
Purume hands over more than enough gold coins and steps outside.
After breathing in the night air for a while,
「Puru,」
A voice calls from behind.
It’s Angelica.
「Hm?」
「Thank you. For always watching over me and helping me all this time.」
「What are you saying? We’re family, aren’t we?」
Purume realizes that now she can express what’s in her heart smoothly. So she continues speaking.
「Do you remember when you told me long ago that you wanted to take the name ‘En Dynast’?」
「Yes, I remember.」
「You could aim to become the head of the prestigious Honest family. In fact, there’s still a significant faction within the Honest family supporting you as the wise one, even if it’s behind the scenes. So I’ve been agonizing over which path would be better for you.」
Angelica listens silently.
「But it’s fine now. I’m tired of worrying.
Angie, come back here once you’ve conquered the Light Dungeon. I’ll have everything prepared by then. So, if your feelings haven’t changed, you can take the name ‘En Dynast.’」
「You mean—」
Angelica covers her mouth with her hand.
「To begin with, I’ve always thought of you as my child. Still, it seems there’s a big difference between saying it out loud and putting it on paper.」
Overcome with emotion, Angelica hugs the smaller Purume.
◇◇◇
Two days later, she departs from Greeneyes.
Thinking of themselves as parent and child, Purume doesn’t feel lonely.
About a week later, a letter arrives by wyvern mail.
Although it must cost quite a bit, letters arrive every three days.
Half the content is about the Holy Knight boy, which sometimes makes Purume grind her teeth, but overall, she enjoys reading the letters in her office.
Then, on the day they were supposed to enter the Light Dungeon, a letter arrives.
◇◇◇
「By the time this letter reaches you, I believe we will have conquered the dungeon.
I will surely return to you.
Angelica En Dynast」
◇◇◇
Soon after the letter arrives, news spreads throughout the country that the hero party has conquered the Light Dungeon.
However, communication from her daughter ceases, and she doesn’t return.
◇◇◇
Purume gathers information about her daughter.
It’s said that she defeated the super-class monster in the Light Dungeon.
He publicly announces their individual achievements, and Angelica comes to be called the wise one, while he is referred to as the sage who guided her.
Purume fears that if she were to see her face directly, she wouldn’t be able to suppress the mix of emotions—sadness and anger—that would surface.
Call her a coward if you will, but whether to meet or not, she decides to try contacting her at least once before making a decision, sending letter after letter.
However, the letters that were once exchanged so frequently never receive a reply, no matter how many times Purume sends them.
「Ah, I see…」
And so Purume understands.
Her successful daughter must have been unable to fully abandon the Honest name and left her side.
◇◇◇
About a year passes.
The country is abuzz with reports of the conquest of various Newly Constructed Most Challenging Dungeons, but Purume feels as if a hole has been left in her heart since that day.
◇◇◇
From a reliable source, she learns that the hero party will be attacking the Blade Dungeon, known for its extremely high difficulty, that day.
Even so, Purume prays for her daughter’s safety.
Perhaps her prayers are answered, as her daughter survives even after defeating the dungeon’s boss.
Yamada defeats the Claidheamh Soluis, and Eris overcomes the Dragon Bone Swordsman. Despite various complications, the moment Yamada rushes towards Ryūgūin and the other party members—it happens.
Something occurs in the world.
To be precise, no one could understand what it was or when it happened—except perhaps the person who caused the event—but something definitely occurred, arose, and engulfed the entire world.
And Purume breaks.
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