“Sir Knight?”
“Sir, Sir Knight?”
After calling out several times in a row, Flav finally realized that Alet wasn’t following behind her at all.
She looked around as she called for him.
After searching for a long while, she finally spotted Alet crouched at the edge of the town, staring intently under a bush as if looking for something.
Before he left, he hadn’t said a single word to Flav—he just ran off without a sound.
This left the poor Elf lady searching for him for ages.
“Seriously, you promised you’d stick close to me!!”
Flav’s cheeks puffed up in anger, just like an enraged pufferfish.
And after that vague, lingering anger faded away, what Flav felt…
Was loneliness.
“As I thought.”
“No one ever really cares about me.”
“Not even… Sir Knight.”
Flav’s eyelids drooped, and a glimmer of tears sparkled at the corners of her eyes.
When did things start to become like this?
It seemed like it had always been this way since birth.
Dozens of years ago.
At that time, Flav had never left the settlement belonging to the Elf Clan.
She was the daughter of the Chief of the Elf Clan, and also the youngest sibling.
Among the Elf Clan, the men excelled at archery, the women at singing and dancing.
Born into such a family, from the start she had to face much more pressure than others.
Big Brother and Second Sister were both outstanding members of the clan, natural-born leaders.
And Flav?
From the moment she was born, she had been placed under a Curse.
Because of it, her body was unique—monsters were easily attracted to her.
Her family feared she’d bring a Monster Horde upon herself if she went out, so from a young age she was confined to her room.
No one paid any attention to her.
Her parents treated her as if she didn’t exist. Big Brother and Second Sister were the same.
At mealtimes, she received her own food. Beyond that, she had nothing.
No parental love, no care from her siblings. Because of her long-term confinement, she had no friends.
Even learning to read was something she did by picking up the books her brother and sister no longer wanted, secretly teaching herself.
It was as if she was a person abandoned by the world.
Her family acted like she’d never been born.
Most outsiders didn’t even know a girl like her existed.
Her only companion was a very, very old Mandolin.
No one taught her how to play, so she secretly studied old scores and books to learn to play it herself.
If she was caught now and then, her family would call her noisy and use that as an excuse to beat her.
Because of this, Flav became more and more timid and cowardly.
Even speaking, she did so with utmost caution, afraid of angering her parents and siblings.
But the more careful she became, the more her family despised her.
Elves were proud by nature, but she was completely different—she was a misfit, a disgrace to the Elf Clan.
Days passed, she grew older day by day.
She always looked forward to the coming-of-age ceremony.
Twenty years old—that was when Elves became adults.
For the long-lived, sparsely populated Elf Clan, that day was especially significant.
Almost every Elf held a grand celebration on their coming-of-age day.
She hoped that on her own coming-of-age, she could receive even a little “attention.”
Even just a word of blessing would be enough to satisfy her.
But things didn’t go as she hoped.
Just as always, no one cared about her.
She was forgotten in the corner of the world; even after waiting eagerly from dawn till midnight, she didn’t receive a single word of blessing from anyone.
But that night, deep in the darkness…
A Sorcerer crept into Flav’s room.
From his mouth, Flav learned a shocking truth.
The one originally Cursed was her Big Brother.
Back when they competed for the position of Chief, to break her parents, a rival used a dirty trick and laid a Curse upon her then-young Big Brother.
At that time, her parents had a son and a daughter; Big Brother was their most beloved child.
To lift the Curse, they used a Forbidden Spell.
And so, Flav was born.
As the third child, she had never been treated as a real person.
She was merely a vessel to transfer the Curse.
And this Sorcerer—he was that rival from back then.
Years had passed, but he still bore a grudge against Flav’s parents.
So, he presented Flav with a condition—
The Sorcerer had long observed a migrating Monster Horde.
Tonight, that enormous Monster Horde would pass right by the edge of the Elven Territory.
Now, the Sorcerer wanted to use the Curse that attracted monsters to Flav, drawing the Monster Horde into the Elven Territory, causing disaster.
All Flav had to do was follow the Sorcerer to the designated place and stand there for a while.
Once it was done, the Sorcerer would lift her Curse.
Not only would he get his revenge, but he’d lift her Curse as well.
No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like a good deal.
But in the end, Flav only pretended to agree, then escaped the territory under cover of night.
It wasn’t that she didn’t resent her parents, she just couldn’t drag the innocent into it.
After that, she wandered about, and by the time she arrived near Dice Town, all her money was gone.
In the end, she took a risk, broke into the dungeon, and encountered Alet.
This heavily-armored knight saved her from the Monster Horde.
He did his best to recommend her to the Captain, and gave her a place to stay and a way to make a living.
“I really, really want Sir Knight to look at me just a bit more.”
“But why…”
“Even you don’t really seem to care about me…”
At this thought, Flav sighed softly, a lonely and bitter smile curving at her lips.
“Maybe I just have too many unreasonable expectations.”
“It’s fine, if Sir Knight didn’t follow, I’ll just go back and call him.”
“It’s fine…”
Flav wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes with force, and only after making sure there was nothing unusual about her appearance did she walk toward Alet.
“Sir Knight! Sir Knight—”
“We’re going shopping! Don’t just space out over there!”
She shouted loudly for Alet while walking toward the edge of Dice Town.
After hearing Flav’s voice, Alet’s whole body jerked violently.
Then, his face—completely hidden behind his metal visor—turned toward Flav.
But then, Alet did something Flav could never have expected—
He drew his greatsword from behind his back and, striding forward, charged at Flav at full speed!
Even clad in such heavy armor, Alet’s speed was terrifying.
Only when facing Alet head-on could Flav feel that overwhelming sense of pressure.
“Eh? Why all of a sudden…”
Before Flav could react, Alet had already sprinted up to her.
That towering figure completely blocked out the sunlight, casting a deep shadow that swallowed Flav whole.
The next instant, this fearsome iron giant raised his greatsword and slashed down at Flav!!
Seeing the greatsword hurtling down at her, Flav was paralyzed on the spot.
“Why?”
In that moment, memories flashed through her mind—her parents beating her for being noisy.
This was the closest she had ever come to death.
But in the next split second—
The greatsword swept past Flav’s left shoulder and crashed into the ground with a thunderous boom.
Right after, a sharp, piercing howl came from beneath the greatsword.
Only then did Flav realize—
At some point, a Goblin had silently snuck up behind her.
The Curse that attracted monsters had once again taken effect without her noticing.
“Flav! Are you alright?”
“Are you hurt? Did that thing touch you?”
After finishing off the disgusting creature, Alet immediately grabbed Flav’s shoulders and nervously checked her all over.
Flav’s heart trembled fiercely.
Then, whether from fright or for another reason, a tear slowly slid down from the corner of her eye.
“I-I’m fine!”
Though she had just barely escaped a monster attack, Flav instead forced a smile at this moment.
The tears she’d shed before didn’t contrast with the smile—on the contrary, they blended together perfectly.
“Thank you, Sir Knight!”