Chapter 13 – A Yellow Flower That Blooms Between Stones (2)

”What’s on your lips right now?”

Surprised by her words, I looked towards Leo’s lips. Something very small but shiny caught my eye.

“What are you talking about?”

“The one you put on your lips. What is it?”

“What does that matter? I just…”

“Leo.”

Eli slammed his arm and stood up from her seat. And she stepped back step by step.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not weak like Nadia, nor naive like Sarah. I’m not stupid like so many country girls you’ve been tricking.”

“Ellie. What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Leo reached out her hand to her again. But Ellie did not allow him access.

“You said you left town because you needed money. But you’ve never sent money along with a letter. Are you sure you left your hometown on your own?”

“That…”

“And if you cared for her sister like that, you would have looked for something you could do in the village. You dared to leave that young child behind to find mercenary work?”

“Let me explain. I…”

“In the first place, does that little sister really exist?”

“Ellie.”

He wiped the something from his upper lip and stood up.

“… I can’t say that what I said is 100% true. But what she said about her sister is true.”

“Anyway, you lied.”

“Should I say that? It’s just… So many things are hidden.”

“Why did you come here and tell me this? And while lying to evoke cheap sympathy?”

“I just wanted to get to know you better.”

“What are you up to? Like Rick and Bobby did?”

“Ellie.”

Suddenly, Leo’s voice was very quiet. But he had no hostility in him. It just sounded like he was very tired.

“It’s a ulterior motive. I don’t know why you’re using such a vulgar expression. What do you think all the actions I’ve done so far have come from?”

“If not, then what?”

“It’s just pure good will. Do you think there are only guys like Barbie and Rick in the world? There are people like me who want the love of the other person innocently. Not the body, but the person’s heart.”

“You…”

“Okay.”

He scratched his head shyly. And he said, closing his eyes.

“I didn’t want to say it this way… But I love you too, Ellie. Just like Luca. So I wanted to get closer to you.”

A word that would have felt shocking at any other time came out. But now was not a good time to confess. Even when the other person caught me trying to do some trick.

Leo seemed to be feeling that too, and continued scratching his head in annoyance. Ellie looked at him like that and answered in a slightly calmer voice.

“It always feels good to confess your love to someone. But right now, I’m not happy at all. It’s more than embarrassing, it’s even unpleasant.”

“Was it a bit sudden?”

“There’s that, too. But that mysterious liquid on your lips makes me even more angry.”

“Can you give me a chance to explain?”

“No. Because you just got dumped.”

In response, Leo shrugged his shoulders. Then he asked playfully, just like he joked earlier.

“The reason is?”

“There’s no place for you in my heart.”

“Ahaha.”

Leo suddenly burst into laughter. Then he pointed in my direction and asked.

“Does that stone even exist in his heart?”

“Be careful with your words.”

“Why. That’s right. A lump of stone. Do you still see that as Luca?”

“Leo.”

Ellie’s voice had become chilly before she knew it. She said, clenching her fists as if suppressing the anger in her heart.

“You know Luca is alive, too.”

“She’s only alive.”

He especially emphasized the word ‘man’.

“So, when will the petrification be lifted? One year? Ten years? Or, 100 years? It’s a curse that the Four Heavenly Kings, whom we didn’t even know existed, risked their lives. You know very well that it won’t be easily solved.”

“I don’t know. Maybe not long.”

“Well, have you found out anything about that curse so far? After investing so much time, I only learned that it is a very powerful and difficult curse to break. I see it.”

Ellie couldn’t help but open her mouth. Even I, the party to the curse, couldn’t find any grounds to refute. Leo leisurely enjoyed her silence, then she took a step forward and said.

“Ellie. It’s us, not Luca, who are under the real curse right now. They say we’re trapped in this land, tied to a rock that might be released someday. Fortunately, Nadia and Sarah found a way to break free from that curse. They’re still trapped here. It’s just us.”

“…Now. Are you saying that the evil that Rick and Bobby did was right?”

“I don’t have anything to say about the process, but it turned out well in the end. Thanks to you, Nadia and Sera both got rid of their obsession with Luca. Now it’s your turn.”

He took one step closer. And he held out her hand to Ellie.

“It’s okay to give up at this point. You can’t be chained to that stone forever. If love is the reason, I’ll give you a reason to escape.”

Ellie made no objection. She just stared at her outstretched hand. She hates to admit it, but maybe that was her last escape.

“…Great.”

A heavy word fell with a thump like a stone mass. Ellie spoke in a clear voice to Leo, who was smiling brightly.

“Me and Luca are going to leave this party.”

“…What?”

Leo was paralyzed just as he stretched out his hand. Ellie opened her mouth with her fists clenched.

“I understand what you mean. Nadia and Sarah. In fact, you may have found your own happiness now. But I’m different. My happiness was only one. It can never be replaced by anything else.”

“Ellie.”

“Goodbye everyone. I wanted to defeat the demon king together, but it’s a pity. Either you go to the demon castle by yourself or go back to your hometown as you like. I’ll be waiting for Luca here.”

…

Even between the crevices of stones, flowers bloom. However, the flower never leaves its place for the rest of its life.

Her heart was so heavy that it felt like she was about to shed tears.

Haha…”

Suddenly, Leo’s dejected laughter rang in his ears. He shook his head and laughed, then let out a deep sigh.

“As expected, Ellie. You’re an accessory that’s too pretty for a country boy like that. At first, I thought you were just pretty, but it even shines.”

Ellie didn’t answer. But Leo went on with her.

“Actually, I didn’t think it would come over so easily. I didn’t think it was an opponent that could be fooled so easily.”

He lifted the sword he had set down on the floor. Then he looked over Ellie’s shoulder and said.

“Isn’t that Nadia?”

Nadia?”

At that moment, a shadow hiding in the darkness came out like a shot. And a hard club was swung over Eli’s head.

“This…!”

Blood gushed out with a thud. I screamed at the sight.

The thick blood that spurted from Ellie’s head clung to my eyes and blocked my vision. I clutched my thumping chest and waited for the blood to dissipate.

Ellie. No. Please Ellie.

Perhaps. Maybe it’s really now. Now or never Please move please Lord!

But God was still silent. Eventually blood ran down her eyes for a long time and I finally saw Ellie lying on her floor, scattering her bright yellow hair.

…Sunny yellow hair?

“Damn Ellie.”

It wasn’t Ellie who fell to the floor.

It was Nadia.

“To attack an unarmed opponent from behind. Your pride as a knight has already disappeared. Nadia-san.”

Blood trickled down Eli’s forehead as he spat bitterly. Although I was hit by Nadia’s attack, fortunately it seemed to stop at the line where my forehead was torn. Ellie slowly raised her hand, and her air churned and an unusual wind whistled.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone. So back off.”

“I never thought what Bobby said was true. It’s amazing.”

“It’s just that Nadia is weak.”

Ellie looked down at Nadia with her contemptuous eyes. She was still lying unconscious. Leo relaxed her neck muscles a little nervously and raised her sword.

“Okay, Ellie. I didn’t want to hurt her as much as possible, but…”

Ellie also caught her breath and fixed her gaze on Leo. Light blue smoke permeated through the exhaled breath.

“Let’s see how far we can go.”

At the same time as Leo kicked off the ground and jumped, Rick, who was hiding in the dark, jumped out at the same time and rushed towards Ellie’s back. Ellie slammed the ground as hard as she could with her hand, which she had lifted, without a hint of her distress.

Bang!

The ground shattered with a heavy sound, and piles of snow and dirt erupted into pitch-black darkness. The rising dust obscured the starlight, and Leo and Rick paused in embarrassment. Ellie took the opportunity to reach out her hand towards Rick.

“Ugh!”

As she clenched her fists in the air, Rick grabbed her neck and choked her. Soon, an invisible hand lifted his torso and hurled it straight toward Nadia. He rolled over two or three times before Nadia hit her head on the armor she was wearing and fell limp.

“Damn it. Bobby! Sera! Stop Ellie!”

“Haaaaap!”

This time, with the sound of cheering, lights shot up from both sides. Seeing a pillar of fire on one side and a ray of light burning on the other, Ellie gritted her teeth.

“Sera…!”

As the storm of light and fire approached, like two huge swords, Ellie gritted her teeth and spread her hands. In an instant, the entire space around her turned white, robbing her of all her original color.

By the time even the night sky lost its color and turned pale, she gathered her hands together and swung as hard as she could toward the sky. Light and fire sizzled on the snowdrifts and steam rose frantically.

“Haha…”

Ellie gasped for her breath, but she had no time to rest. Before she knew it, Sera, clutching her dagger, and Bobby, holding her staff, charged from behind her.

“Eliyi!!!”

Sera, who reached it first, let out a high-pitched scream and stabbed her with her dagger. Ellie lifted her leg and wrapped herself around her stabbing knife and sat down. Caught in her joints, Sarah tangled with Ellie and fell to her floor, her Bobby’s wand narrowly brushing over her.

“You…! Ugh!”

Sera was about to say something, but staggered as Eli hit her right in the fist. She stunned her Sarah with another punch of her chin, then reached her hand this time towards her bobby. Then, like Rick, Bobby flew towards the other side of her, holding her by the neck.

“Aww!”

But Bobby raised her wand just before it flew away, sending out a blast of light that blinded her. Ellie staggered, closing her eyes tightly at her unexpected attack. She barely shrugged off the light and opened her eyes, but Leo’s blade was already rushing over her head.

“This!”

Just as his sword was about to cut off her arm, Ellie managed to pull her space together to form a shield for her. However, Leo’s power to press down was too strong, and the space that had been sucked in gradually contracted, and the sword pierced through the defense.

“Give up. Ellie.”

“Ugh…!”

Ellie, who poured out too much power in an instant, gradually collapsed, and Leo pressed the sword even harder. It seemed like a matter of time before Ellie was overpowered.

“Ellie. You’re really hurt like this. You…”

“Huh…”

At that moment, Ellie took a deep breath, clearing her breath. Deep blue smoke mingled with her lifeless breath and blazed like a blue flame.

“No, what kind of mana is visible…!”

At the same time as Leo’s astonishment, the air around Ellie was distorted, and her space was shattered as if glass were breaking, and a violent explosion sounded. In an instant, a huge barrier opened up, and Leo and his gang were thrown out of it. Soon, the noise subsided and the silence that had originally ruled the night returned.

“Haha…”

Ellie inspected her barrier, shaking her hands, and when she saw it spread out perfectly, she collapsed.

“Ha…Huh…Ugh…!”

Ellie hung her head, clutching her head, as if she overdosed her. Then her blood trickled down from her nose and landed on her to the ground. Unlike the overwhelming momentum from before, it was a very pitiful look.

“…You’re much more amazing than I thought, Ellie.”

Then, hearing Leo’s voice, Ellie quickly wiped the blood from her nose and jumped to her feet. Fortunately, Leo was outside the barrier and her sword was also retracted.

“But how long can she hold out there? With her alone forming such a strong barrier.”

“…Ha…Huh…”

She glared at Leo in silence, unable to hide her rapid breathing. He smiled and tapped her hand on the barrier. There was a thump and a sound like iron banging.

“Take a break. I’ll come back. If you change your mind…”

“That’s not going to happen…”

“…Come over. I don’t want to hurt you more.”

He looked lovingly at Ellie’s figure, then slowly disappeared behind her. Ellie waited until her back completely disappeared before lowering her head.

“Haha…”

She caught her breath and calmed her quivering body. Blue smoke was still rising from all over her body. Even I, a stranger to magic, knew that was a bad omen.

But she quickly got up and came towards me. And she checked meticulously to see if there were any broken places. As she stroked it here and there with her careful touch, she let out a sigh of relief and said:

“…It’s okay, Luca.”

She then gave a thin smile as if to reassure him. But it seemed infinitely dangerous to me.

“I’ll be sure to protect you.”

Her promise to protect me did not reassure me at all.

It wasn’t that she was ugly. However, she just thought that the one she really needed protection was Ellie.

Ellie’s nosebleed did not stop easily. She seemed to be getting better, but when she got up to check the barrier, it poured out again. Although he didn’t know it, it seemed that even a genius wizard would find it burdensome to use such powerful magic.

…A genius wizard.

The truth poured out in a short time made my head hurt. So, is everything Sera’s been doing so far actually an achievement of Ellie? She entered the academy at the top of her rank at a young age, and saved our party from danger with her genius magic skills at every decisive moment. All Ellie?

Then, what Sera had enjoyed as a genius wizard until now had to actually belong to Ellie. But Ellie conceded all of that, and she silently accepted the disregard and contempt Sarah should have received.

Why? Even if she wanted to ask, her stiff mouth wouldn’t open. Was it because she cared for Sera that much? Or not…

…

To have a headache. For the first time since I became a stone, I longed for rest.

But it was Ellie who really needed a break right now. Her body, which felt particularly small today, was shaking uncontrollably from her fatigue and cold. Even so, Ellie, who had brought her tired body and perfectly repaired her barrier, sat down at her feet as if to fall.

“Ha…Ha…Huh…”

Blue smoke was still rising from her body. The color was lighter than before, but the amount did not change. Ellie took her trembling hands and tried to calm her down before resting her head on my lap.

“It’s okay Luca. I’m not dying.”

Then he looked at me with a light smile. If it was just a joke, it was the worst joke Ellie ever made of hers. Please, don’t say such things, even as a joke, Ellie.

“I’ll be fine if I take a little rest. If I really only sleep for 30 minutes… I don’t normally sleep well…”

It was a lie. Even in my hometown, I couldn’t wake up well if I didn’t wake up every morning. Even so, it was clear that fatigue had accumulated from staying up almost every night these days.

“Just 30 minutes…The barrier will be fine for that time. You can leave it alone for that long. Yes…So it’s really fine…”

Ellie muttered incessantly to herself as if to reassure me. The exhaustion she must be feeling was dripping in her fading voice and muffled pronunciation towards the end of her life.

I understand, so please sleep. Ellie. Then I might really die.

“Then… I’ll get up after a really little sleep. Luca…”

I don’t know if she read my mind, but Ellie finally shut her mouth. As soon as she closed her eyes, she seemed to be asleep, and soon she heard the sound of comfortable breathing. Please. I longed for Ellie to be able to rest for just one more second.

But she wasn’t even allowed a moment’s rest.

Kang!

The sound of a piece of iron striking the barrier resounded harshly. Ellie jumped up as if she had been burned, and lifted her hand toward her when she heard it.

“No way already…!”

Have you already recovered? I too was nervous and turned my eyes towards it, but there was only one person standing outside the barrier. The attacker confirmed that Ellie had awakened her from her slumber, and as soon as she slowly lowered her sword she was holding it. Even in the deep darkness, her bright yellow hair gleamed like sunlight.

“…Nadia.”

Ellie gritted her teeth and called her name. She spoke in a voice full of will, as if she did not want to reveal her weakness.

“I’m sorry, but Nadia-san’s ability can’t break this barrier.”

“I know.”

Nadia crossed her arms and looked Ellie with her eyes.

“You look tired, Ellie.”

“Nadia doesn’t look well either.”

Ellie pointed to the bandage around her head and said.

“Thanks to you, Ellie. She’s very ruthless.”

“I’m sorry, but it was Nadia who started first. I didn’t expect that noble knight to follow the orders of a mere mercenary.”

There was clear hostility in her voice. Nadia shook her head and patted her barrier with her hand, she said.

“How long do you think she can last here? Stop it, come out and Ellie. You’ve done enough of being nice now.”

“Well, at least I think I’ll last longer than Nadia.”

Ellie stood up straight and continued her words without wavering the slightest bit.

“What does it mean?”

“Literally. How long did it take for Nadia to fall for that bully? A month? A week? Maybe a day? I don’t know, but I know it didn’t take long. Really, in an instant, you became his plaything. .”

“Ellie.”

“I thought you were a trustworthy knight. Just like Luca thought. But that day, the very day you stopped asking about Luca, you changed. What the hell happened to Rick? What happened? Was it because he was beaten that he stabbed his colleague in the back of the head and had his legs spread by a third-rate bully?”

“Ellie!”

Nadia screamed in rage. But Ellie wasn’t angry at all. Rather, she even looked sad.

“You’re not this kind of person, Nadia. You took up the sword to defeat the demon lord and joined us to protect our honor. Please wake up. Don’t be swayed by the words of Leo or Rick and come back.”

She appealed. If it’s Nadia, she pours out stories that will bring her to her senses.

That is, if it was Nadia in the past.

“…Ellie. You really don’t know anything.”

Nadia untied her arms. Both of her arms fell helplessly.

“Yes. I don’t know anything, so I guess I can talk like that. I’ve never tried to understand the feelings of a weak person, so I can say that. Right?”

“It’s not like that, Nadia.”

“No, it’s nothing. I just saw your performance very well. Even if a bitch like me ran into 10 people, you would never be able to win. Why have you been hiding that kind of power until now? You’re so strong, but why are you pretending to be weak and useless? Are you?”

“Nadia. That’s a story…”

“Shut up Ellie.”

Nadia gritted her teeth and cursed.

“Fuck bitch…How much did she laugh at me behind the scenes? It must have been very funny to see such an insignificant bitch acting out as a captain? How idiotic it must have been for him to trust only his inferior strength and ignore himself and look down on him. Isn’t that right, Ellie?”

“Nadia. It’s a misunderstanding. I’ve never thought of it that way.”

“You’re screwing, slut. While I was clowning in front of you, you were only watching from behind. Did you wait until I passed out? Then I wonder if Luca and I can stick together more comfortably?”

“Miss Nadia!”

“Don’t call me by my name!”

Nadia screamed and slammed into the barrier.

“I thought you were just an innocent and nice girl. But I wasn’t. Just thinking about how you mocked me behind the scenes makes me nauseous. Wasn’t that the case too? It was so funny that you were robbed of the back hole by that bastard who could blow it up with one finger, so I asked to laugh at it.”

“Nadia, you’re not normal right now. Please listen to me.”

“Isn’t it normal? You’re the one who’s not normal, Ellie! If you were me, do you think you could have done anything in that situation? No. If it were you, you’d have cried like a slut as soon as you got stuck once? You’re still like me.” It’s just pure luck, so don’t act like you know everything!”

After Nadia had poured out all her words, she stumbled and leaned her body against her sword. Then she laughed hysterically and started scratching the barrier with her fingernails.

“Yeah. You’ll understand how I feel after you’ve been beaten like me. When the time comes when you’ll give in like a bitch and beg me to let you in just once, you’ll know it all eventually.”

Ellie didn’t open her mouth any longer. Nadia looked at her intently and said.

“When that time comes. I’ll laugh at you too.”

Her hatred, expressed along with her inferiority complex, floated in the air for a long time. When all of that melted into the pitch-black darkness and turned dark gray, her low words pierced my ears.

“Today’s night watch is me. Ellie.”

Nadia raised her sword again with her sneer.

“So. Don’t think about going to sleep today.”

Her words resonated cruelly. Ellie sat down helplessly and hugged her lap.

The sound of knocking on the barrier echoed through the night. As Nadia professed, Ellie did not sleep until the sun came up. But, as always, I couldn’t beat the morning and fell asleep. Watching Ellie face the nightmare with her eyes open.