48. Is there still a need to think about this?

In that moment, when Izalis faced the imminent danger of death and instinctively summoned the power to resist, I found myself doubting whether I had seen it correctly, or if there was some hidden truth about Izalis herself. However, the unfolding script clearly revealed a fact: I had not been mistaken. Just now, Izalis had used a certain power that only fairies possess to deflect Princess Edrel’s ambush—this was not merely an illusion!

[The Fairy Saintess Izalis is of fairy lineage!]

The script indicated that shortly after our arrival in this era, we encountered the Fairy Saintess, who was not only a “key” and “main line” in the narrative but also a fairy herself!

In truth, upon learning this, I felt more than just “surprised”; rather, the revelation of Izalis’s fairy identity resonated with some of my own feelings. After all, the “key” and “treasure” in the main storyline were an unknown fairy, a situation I had already experienced several times before. This time, however, the fairy in question was none other than the Fairy Saintess I had spent some time with!

After the initial shock, I managed to calm down and refrained from speculating about Izalis’s identity. But… the two princesses of the white-haired elves were a different story!

“Big sister, she…”

The original ambush had been “bounced back” by the fairy power Izalis wielded. Clearly, they could have pursued her further, yet Princess Edrel merely stood there, wide-eyed, watching as Izalis silently ran to my side, returning to safety.

This action alone was enough to demonstrate just how astonished she was by Izalis’s fairy identity.

Equally taken aback was her older sister. Even though she had been furious enough to want to kill the Fairy Saintess, the eldest princess, Urasilu, maintained her composure. Yet at this moment, she too displayed a look of surprise and disbelief regarding Izalis’s identity.

“It can’t be wrong; that is indeed fairy power. It seems she possesses characteristics similar to those of elves. Hmm, a fairy…”

Earlier, I had sensed from the actions of these two princesses that the white-haired elves seemed quite exclusive. As for me, an outsider with no affiliations, I was already disregarded. Now, the very Fairy Saintess they had intended to eliminate had revealed her identity as a fairy, one that was even beyond the white-haired elves. This meant that the two princesses would be even less inclined to let the Fairy Saintess go!

Moreover, the troubling part was that Izalis’s exposed fairy identity provided these two princess sisters with a perfect “handle” to grasp. Even if the situation was currently in our favor, how could I still have the confidence or reason to negotiate with them about ensuring Izalis’s safety!?

Sure enough, the next moment, the gaze of the elven eldest princess fell upon me!

Now that they knew of Izalis’s fairy identity, how desperately they must want to eliminate her! At this point, they even chose to tolerate my and Kfeir’s and Nilu’s “foreign” identities!

“Lord Oqilide, as you can see, the situation of the Fairy Saintess has exceeded our expectations, and it is clear that you are also in the dark. Therefore… could you please hand her over to us? In exchange, I will not make things difficult for the three of you regarding your previous actions.”

[Urasilu wants to eliminate the Elf Saintess Izalis.]

The script appeared, devoid of any superfluous content, enough to prove that the white-haired Elf Princess before me was not lying—so long as I handed over the increasingly suspicious Elf Saintess Izalis, our group would not encounter any sort of betrayal or backstabbing.

However, accompanying the other party’s words and the script was the subtle action of the Elf Saintess Izalis behind me, who quietly clutched my arm. Meanwhile, Kfeir and Nilu gradually calmed down, their questioning gazes directed at me, waiting for my decision.

In an instant, all the “pressure” piled onto my shoulders; my every word and action would likely alter the course of the upcoming “script”!

I… could only remain silent for now.

After all, in the brief moment that had suddenly turned everything upside down, even with the script’s warning, I couldn’t devise a perfect plan on the spot! Nevertheless, regardless of the Elf Saintess Izalis’s identity, she was undoubtedly the “key” in the script I was currently experiencing.

As for the two white-haired Elf Princesses, whether they would actually “let us go” was of no concern to me; how could we, who did not belong to “this era,” fear such threats? The reason we appeared here was entirely to prevent the Elf Three Sisters from committing certain “evil deeds” in this time, severing the death script at its roots.

Ultimately, stepping back and setting aside positions and purposes, if I were forced to “choose” between Urasilu’s safety and the threats from the two Elf Princesses, I found it wasn’t that difficult to arrive at an answer.

“……”

I took no action, but… this in itself was already an answer to Kfeir and Nilu. I hoped the two of them wouldn’t overthink it too much, as my choice to… continue protecting her was not due to some reason like “being enchanted by Izalis.”

“Sorry, Your Highnesses.”

I cast my gaze toward the distant Princess, providing my answer.

“Why!?”

Though the other party seemed somewhat unwilling, wanting to chase after me for an answer, it was too late; what was I supposed to say, Your Highness?

“There’s no reason, because… she likes me?”

“!”

The Princess furrowed her brow; being resented by someone of such troublesome caliber did not please me at all. Fortunately, it seemed she had temporarily exhausted all her trump cards meant to eliminate the Elf Saintess, and now, faced with this completely unfavorable situation, she had only one choice left.

“Adrel, we’re leaving.”

In the next moment, the Princess did not turn away but instead retreated while looking at us.

“But sister, she…”

“We are princesses, not assassins. Do you still not understand?”

Immediately after, she took the somewhat reluctant second princess and swiftly left our sight. Although the script of Izalis’s death had temporarily vanished, I couldn’t feel even a bit of happiness, because just now, I had come to the same understanding.

【The elven princess intends to eliminate Izalis.】

The dangerous script still existed. Combining the recent actions of the two princesses, I had already guessed their intentions: their departure was merely a temporary retreat due to being outmatched, and afterward, they clearly planned to use Izalis’s exposed fairy identity, leveraging the power of princesses and the kingdom to eliminate the saint herself!

So now was not the time for us to celebrate. Because… the death script aimed at Izalis that those two princesses were heading towards would surely reignite, which meant: I had not completely stopped their “malicious deeds.” To prevent the future “death script,” what I was doing now was far from enough!

“Izalis, you don’t have anything important left at your residence, do you?”

After a moment of silence, I turned to the third girl.

“We can’t go back to your place. Hurry, we need to leave here!”

“We’ll discuss everything that happened today once we’re safe. If we don’t hurry, we might not be able to get you out of the main city, Izalis!”