Tears Welling

Episode 24

Though it had only been a day since she last saw him, the mere fact she could see the Minister again made Celine’s steps light as she headed to work, only to be met with shocking news.

“That crazy elf b*tch was here?!”

“Yes…”

Celine bit her lip until it bled at the words of the intelligence officer, who was trembling as he reported.

Jessica Bleifreu. Amongst the countless women who shamelessly clung to the Minister, she was, without a doubt, the worst.

She was an elf. The only child of the elven queen, no less.

Even a Minister had to tread carefully when dealing with such a person.

‘To think she waited, plotting meticulously, for me to leave work before coming!’

If she had been here, she would have come up with any excuse, prevented her from meeting the Minister, no matter what.

If necessary, she would have lied to drive her away.

“Ugh, is Minister safe?”

Remembering the mad elf’s actions from before, Celine asked her question, and the intelligence officer, who was worried about the same thing, hurriedly nodded.

“Ah, yes. Minister is staying at his residence with that elf.”

“Again?!”

Celine cursed Jessica inwardly, feeling that there was a limit to how shameless someone could be.

Every time she visited the Capital, she would take it for granted and resolve her accommodations at the Minister’s house.

A Minister’s house where even Celine hadn’t spent the night yet.

Just the two of them.

‘Ugh…!’

To cool her head, which felt like it was about to explode, Celine forced herself to regain her composure and asked if the Minister had left any word.

The intelligence officer then relayed the message he had received from the guards.

“He, uh, said he doesn’t think he can make it into work today, since he has ‘company’ to attend to…”

Hearing that much was enough.

“Just in case, I’ll head to the Minister’s residence myself! Tell everyone to come there if there’s an urgent matter!”

Leaving the intelligence officer, who hastily answered that he understood, behind, Celine’s feet halted as she was about to rush to save the Minister.

She realized that, should something like last time truly occur, she wouldn’t be able to stop that elf alone.

‘This time, I have no choice!’

She felt a surge of anger at the act of humbling her pride and asking for help, but it was pointless to lament over what she couldn’t do.

“Have the Owls returned from their mission?”

“Huh? Oh, I think so? They’re probably on standby at Intelligence.”

Hearing this, Celine finally dashed out of the Minister’s office and raced towards the Owls’ nest.

John and Alexander were on other missions, so unfortunately, they weren’t all gathered, but three should be enough to face Jessica.

“Celine? What’s the rush?”

Kristina asked, her eyes wide, and Celine, breathless from rushing, spoke without even taking a moment to catch her breath.

“Haa, haa, haa… That, that woman is here.”

“Woman? Who?”

“That damn elf is here again!”

Kristina immediately understood the situation.

“Let’s go.”

“Haa, huff… Wait. There’s one more person we need to call.”

“In this dire urgency, who else would you even call!”

“Precisely *because* of the urgency, I’m calling!”

Even if only temporary, the more allies the better, after all.

—

They often say that elves perceive the flow of time more slowly than other races, but I’m starting to think that’s a load of hooey.

It feels like I just finished breakfast a short while ago, and already lunch is drawing near.

Feeling that the day was passing far too quickly, I voiced my suspicions to Ervin.

“Ervin. Is that clock perhaps broken?”

“The clock is perfectly fine.”

“Are you certain?”

“Certain.”

Ervin cherishes me greatly and would never lie to me. So, the fact that the clock is working must be true.

Therefore, there is only one conclusion.

This world is flawed.

“When will you be leaving?”

“There’s no need to be impatient. I’ll leave as late as I possibly can.”

“Not impatient.”

That’s a lie, but it’s not *really* a lie.

It’s more like a smokescreen to conceal his embarrassment.

In truth, when he asked me, Ervin glanced at the clock.

He’s afraid because he doesn’t know when I’ll be leaving.

…If he’s afraid of me leaving, he could just come with me to the Elven Kingdom.

“Hmm? A visitor perhaps?”

Upon hearing the knock, Ervin started to rise from his seat.

A foreboding feeling washed over me, and I desperately wanted to pin Ervin down with mana, preventing him from moving, but I knew that would earn me a serious scolding. Instead, I kept the door from opening.

“Remove your mana.”

I was caught right away. I don’t know how he sensed my mana when he isn’t even a mage.

Truly, Ervin is remarkable.

However, I think being *too* charming is also a problem.

“Minister!”

“Chief!”

“Erwin!”

“…I’m getting déjà vu, or is that just me?”

Before Erwin, who tilted his head in bemusement, stood three she-dogs on heat.

Wait a moment. Last time, there were definitely two, excluding that pervert.

It seems another one sprouted while I was briefly away.

Truly, Erwin is incorrigible.

“What is it, descending upon me like a pack?”

To Erwin, who frowned, his precious time with *me* interrupted, the three she-dogs began to yap, utterly failing to grasp the atmosphere.

“W-we have urgent matters to report!”

“Me too! I, too, have something to report!”

“I… well, the, the Grand General had a message for you!”

Each one reeked of lies, but Erwin was ever so gentle.

“We have a guest, so keep it brief.”

Not even telling them to leave immediately… far too lenient.

Why is Erwin so kind to everyone, I wonder?

Since he loves me, he only needs to be kind to me.

This matter will require appropriate education after the wedding, I feel.

“Oh my, the elf princess who kidnapped the Chief before is here.”

The moment she entered the house, one of the she-dogs started picking a needless fight.

I could ignore it, but corrections must be made where necessary.

“It was not a kidnapping. It was an accompaniment.”

“Stunning someone senseless, stuffing them into a sack, and fleeing is ‘accompaniment,’ not kidnapping? Is that some kind of elven jest?”

I’ve thought it before, but she’s a truly irritating woman.

“Celine, this matter you needed to report?”

“Ah, yes. It’s here…”

The sight of her approaching Erwin, answering in a voice so sweet it was practically dripping, was simply unacceptable.

It seems I must demonstrate to them just who he belongs to.

Rising from my seat, I walked between the two of them, then nestled my rear between Erwin’s legs, settling down to sit.

“…What exactly are you doing right now?”

“What am I doing? Merely occupying my seat.”

In a way you, in a way *they*, could never manage.

A prickling, murderous intent radiated from three directions simultaneously, but such things mattered little.

This seat is mine.

Eternally.

As proof, Ervin himself doesn’t tell me to move.

“Out of the way. You’re blocking the view.”

Perhaps conscious of the many eyes upon him, Ervin, more bashful than usual, reached for my armpits to lift me, but I resisted with mana.

If I didn’t indulge him this much, he wouldn’t be satisfied. Ervin should be more grateful to me.

By the way, his fingers are grazing my chest a little.

Manipulating Ervin with mana is forbidden, but for the sake of providing a certain degree of service, it should be fine.

So, as I attempted to guide Ervin’s hand forward, I was suddenly hoisted into the air.

“Didn’t you hear? The minister said to move.”

I’d forgotten. There was a gorilla here.

No, comparing that monstrous woman with her brute strength to a gorilla would be an insult to the gorilla.

To effortlessly lift me, who was restraining myself with mana.

I wonder what she eats to become like that. A subject for study.

Meanwhile, another demonic hand was reaching for Ervin.

“Hey, Ervin. If you’re free, how about having dinner with my parents sometime?”

“I refuse. Besides, didn’t you say the grand general had a message for me earlier?”

“Ah, I misspoke! The grand general wants us all to have dinner together!”

If you’re going to lie, at least wet your lips first.

What, and in what possible way, does one mess up to the point that the grand general becomes one’s parents?

At this rate, I can’t return home with peace of mind.

I’m considering just living here instead.

As I pondered if there was any solution, Ervin, having noticed something, stood and opened the window.

A bluebird flew in through the window and fluttered before my eyes.

I’m screwed.

Though I lack the apparatus for screwing.

Immediately following, an impossibly loud shriek echoed through the house from the bluebird’s beak.

[Jessica Bleifrei! You went to the Institute again without permission! Return at once! If you don’t, I’ll fry you in oil and feed you to the dogs!]

Fried food isn’t exactly suitable for dogs.

I’m not entirely sure how she plans to fry me in oil if I don’t return in the first place, but my mother is an elf who sees things through.

Sadly, for the sake of both Ervin and my future, it seems best to call it quits here.

“Then, I shall take my leave.”

—

When Jessica boldly seated herself on Ervin’s lap, Celine felt a prickle of tears welling up.

It took Ervin a full four seconds to tell Jessica to get off.

For anyone else, including herself, it would have been, at most, a mere 1.5 seconds, barring a miracle.

He was distinctly different in his treatment of her.

When Ervin asked Jessica to move, Christina bit down on her frustration.

Even if almost imperceptibly, the tone of his voice was higher than when he spoke to her.

Considering Ervin never varies the pitch of his voice under any circumstance, this difference was inevitably significant.

When Ervin reached out to her, to lift Jessica, who sat between his legs, Francesca was seized by a profound shock.

She had never imagined that he, a man who avoided even the slightest skinship with anyone, could so naturally touch another person, a woman no less.

‘Surely not…? He’s just being careful because she’s the child of the Elf Queen. Yes, that must be it.’

‘A misunderstanding? Yes, a misunderstanding. I must have misheard.’

‘It’s Ervin, after all. Even if he touched her, it must have been with the same sensation as touching an object… I couldn’t bear it otherwise.’

While they desperately rationalized and soothed themselves, Jessica, having been scolded by her mother, left the mansion to return home.

Her desired goal had been achieved. The work she’d used as an excuse was finished too.

Now they, too, should be heading back.

However, they lingered, hesitant and aimless, without returning immediately.

The three shared the same sentiment.

They didn’t want to leave.

They wished the other two would depart, leaving her alone with him.

‘If that were to happen, if it only could, how blissful it would be.’

Of course, unlike their desires, reality proved brutally unforgiving.

“If your business is concluded, all of you, depart.”

Upon receiving his chilling dismissal, the three women slumped their shoulders and could only return to their respective homes.