Chapter 208: The search, part 1

When I returned home after another long day of work, Lyla wasn’t there to receive me at the door. The only person I found was an elf sulking alone at the back.

「What do you want?」

「What do I want? I already informed Lylael-sama that I would be coming today. I heard the noise at the door, but turns out it was just you… hmph.」

Rodje heaved a theatrically loud sigh.

「So where’s Lyla?」

「Isn’t she out shopping? She was already gone when I arrived a little past noon.」

We searched the entire house, but she had well and truly disappeared.

「Just where did Lylael-sama go? Don’t tell me… she’s been kidnapped again!?」

「Since her powers have been restored, she can use a ‘Gate’ at will」, I said in an attempt to calm her down. 「She can visit places such as the royal capital easily.」

「So she isn’t nearby at all? She definitely knew that I would be coming over today. Not being at home despite having acknowledged my visit… she’s never done that before!」

As Lyla’s bodyguard, it was understandable that Rodje could not rest easy as long as her master’s whereabouts were unknown. She was right, too — it was unlike Lyla to stand her up like that.

「Any ideas, human?」

「…」

Ideas…? Come to think of it, she had suddenly asked about the Kingdom of Jorvenssen. It came to mind immediately, though I wasn’t sure if it actually had anything to do with her disappearance.

「Rodje Sandsong… has Lyla asked you anything about the Kingdom of Jorvenssen?」

「Jorvenssen…? Nope, not at all. What about it?」

I explained all that had happened recently, beginning with the appearance of the doppelganger and ending with how Elvi, who he had tipped off about Lyla’s identity, had brought the other party members to my house to have a chat.

「T-Then it must have been someone from the Heroes’ Party! The ‘Bastion Girl’ carried Lylael-sama off! I just know it!」

I assumed that ‘Bastion Girl’ was a nickname they had assigned to Elvi.

「Calm down, idiot. I doubt there’s anyone who can carry Lyla off easily.」

「Then why isn’t she here?」, wailed the elf.

She was about to cry. Recalling how I had searched for traces of magicka when she spirited Lyla away, I tried doing the same but came up empty.

「…」

I then remembered the presence that had been snooping around of late. We had assumed it to be one of Elvi’s lackeys that had been sent to deliver her letter. But that no longer made sense — if the letter had already been delivered, then what use was there to stay and watch?

Could there be someone else who wanted something from us…?

As we sat and pondered over where Lyla could have gone, a visitor arrived. Visitors, actually — they were an unlikely duo.

「Since Commander Rodje’s here, I’m sure tonight will be really, really fun!」, exclaimed the vampire, looking at the princess next to her. 「You invited this one, too?」

「A vampire and an elf…」, said Almeria with a squint. 「Just what are you planning?」

「You must have time on your hands, your Royal Highness.」

「Shut up.」

「I’m sorry, but there’s no fun and games today. Lyla has gone missing.」

Ara-ara, said Dee. Almeria, on the contrary, looked rather gloomy.

「Any ideas, Almeria?」, I asked.

「Nope. Well… El has been acting strange lately. That’s why I’m here, actually… to have a chat with you about it.」

「Elvi?」

「Yeah. Though we should have settled everything back then, she’s been more and more caught up about it recently. That could be the reason why Lyla is nowhere to be found.」

I knew that Almeria’s suspicions weren’t unfounded — Elvi wasn’t one to change her opinion on a whim. But she had learnt all she wanted to know during our previous meeting, hadn’t she?

「I need to talk to her.」

「I’ll follow you. She’s acting really strangely.」

「Me too」, said Rodje.

Of course she would, I thought. Her expression would make you think she was bracing for a full frontal assault. Since we had to work together, I decided to introduce Lyla’s subordinates to Almeria.

「This elf is Rodje Sandsong. She usually appears as a dark elf, but this is her original form. She comes here often to visit Lyla, who is her master.」

「I see. And the same goes for this person?」, asked Almeria, glancing at Dee.

The vampire waved without breaking her charming smile.

「Yup, me too. I used to be part of the Demon King’s Army. Now I’m an adventurer, and Roland-sama are, like, bedfellows!」

「…」

Almeria looked at her with thinly veiled disgust.

「I’m sure there are better ways to phrase things, Dee. This is Candice Meinrad. Out of all the adventurers under my wing, she’s one of, if not, the best.」

The princess sighed.

「There must be many former army members like you walking among us.」

She wasn’t wrong. Many soldiers were still keeping a low profile as they had been stranded on the mainland after the war.

「It makes me happy to work alongside Roland-sama!」, said Dee.

「There’s a time and place for everything, Candice! But not now.」

「Ara-ara. Battle and play are synonymous, you know?」

「Wait, really?」

[T/N Note: This joke only works in Japanese, where the same kanji can have multiple pronunciations.]

Dee guffawed at how gullible the elf was.

「Will they be okay?」, asked Almeria, who had grown concerned after watching their exchange.

「They’ll get their act together when the time comes.」

I wasn’t so sure about Rodje, though.

「Alright, let’s go.」