Ryuu crouched down and looked into Fern's eyes, but the girl instinctively took a step back.
"..." Ryuu didn't understand why she had backed away.
Is she afraid of me? she wondered, confused — after all, Fern had been the one looking for her.
"U-Um…" Fern stammered before finally saying, "It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Fern."
"Yes, I already know. Tiona told me about you. It's nice to meet you," Ryuu said with a gentle smile. "So, what is it that you need? I heard you've been waiting here for days just to see me."
Ryuu found Fern incredibly cute.
She wanted to pinch her cheeks.
"Tiona didn't tell you?"
"No. I told her I wanted to hear it directly from you. So?"
"..." Fern glanced nervously at Tiona, and Tiona stepped closer to Ryuu. She placed a hand on Ryuu's shoulder and said,
"Don't pressure her so much. Why don't you two sit down? I'll go get some tea."
Tiona pulled Ryuu aside and whispered,
"She's just a child. Don't bombard her with questions. She's very cautious."
"But she's the one who came looking for me…"
"Even so. Talk to her gently."
"Alright, fine."
Ryuu cleared her throat and walked back toward Fern—but didn't get too close.
"Let's sit down, shall we? You can take the bed, I'll sit in the chair."
Ryuu grabbed the only chair in Tiona's room and sat down, while Fern quietly sat on the bed, still avoiding eye contact.
Silence filled the room.
After a few minutes, Fern finally spoke.
"I want you to take me to the Elven Forest."
She said it plainly. She kept her gaze averted, not daring to look Ryuu in the eyes.
I'm so nervous… she thought.
"You want to go to the Elven Forest?" Ryuu's eyes widened in surprise.
Why would a child like her want to go there? What could she be after?
Was she one of those humans fascinated by elves—their beauty and power?
No, that didn't seem right. There had to be a reason behind this.
"My father… I mean, my master. He was someone close to the elves."
"Your master? Who was he?"
"Heiter."
"Heiter?" Ryuu's eyes widened even more. That Heiter was her master? Since when had he started taking care of a child? And why was she here alone?
"Yes. When he died, he told me to look for the elves…"
"Heiter died?" Ryuu was stunned. She hadn't heard about that.
"He drank a lot, but I didn't know he was ill."
"He got sick for a few months before he passed away…"
"I'm sorry…" Ryuu noticed the girl's hands trembling. She stood up and sat beside Fern on the bed.
"Heiter was a very kind man," she said softly.
"You knew him?"
"Of course I did. Heiter was a gentle old man—very gentle."
Fern's eyes lit up when she heard that.
"Is it true that he once lived with the elves?"
"Yes, it's true. Though I wasn't there when that happened. Serie would definitely remember."
"Serie? You know her? Is she still alive?" Fern had heard so much about Serie. Aside from Frieren, she was the person her master admired the most—he thought she was incredibly talented and powerful.
"Of course she's still alive," Ryuu chuckled. "Serie is a very powerful elf, you know? Far stronger than me—or any elf in this city. Only our queen surpasses her."
"Oooh~~" Fern's eyes sparkled with admiration. She wanted to hear more about Serie.
And so, an animated conversation about elves and Heiter unfolded between them.
####
When Tiona returned to the room carrying three cups of tea, she was surprised to see the two talking so cheerfully. It was hard to believe Fern and Ryuu had just met.
They were so absorbed in conversation that they didn't even notice her come in.
"Ahem… Ahem…" Tiona coughed to catch their attention.
"Oh, Tiona! Sorry, I didn't see you come in."
"It's fine. You two seemed to be having fun."
"I was just telling Fern about the elven village—what it used to be like in the past. There was so much to tell that I got carried away."
"Don't worry, it was really fun! I'd love to hear more!"
"Well, if you'd like, I can keep going~~" Ryuu said with a bright smile.
Watching them, Tiona felt an unexpected pang of jealousy.
"Fern, didn't you have something to ask her?"
"Oh, right! I completely forgot. You said you wanted to go to the Elven Forest, didn't you?"
"So she already told you?"
"Yes, she did."
"So what will you do?" Tiona asked, expecting Ryuu to refuse. She didn't believe Ryuu would actually take the girl there. But then—
"I've decided to take her," Ryuu said, smiling warmly at Fern.
"Huh?" Tiona blinked in disbelief. "Are you sure? Won't the other elves be upset?"
"It's fine. I can handle it—and protect her if anything happens. If things get dangerous, I'll bring her back to the Familia."
"Do you think they won't like me?" Fern asked, suddenly anxious. Her nerves were visible.
"This could be dangerous, Fern. Maybe you should think it over," Tiona said.
Ryuu looked at Tiona and understood. She didn't want Fern to leave.
Ryuu smiled teasingly, stepped closer to Tiona, and whispered in her ear,
"You've gotten quite attached to her, huh?"
Tiona's face turned bright red.
"That's not what you think! Are you crazy?" she blurted out, flustered.
Ryuu laughed out loud, while Fern tilted her head in confusion.
"Hm?"
####
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Next chapters: Chapter 46 - Five days. War? / Chapter 47 - I didn't know a God could feel so much fear.