What The Hero Left Behind

“Ah, how careless of me—I haven’t introduced myself. I am Quylindra Alverich, chief of the Elf village.”

After giving her name, the chief—Quylindra—smiled warmly.

“Ah, I—I’m Jonah!”

“Jonah, is it? Thank you for looking after Cia. My, my… you’re almost too adorable for her, aren’t you?”

“W-w-w-wah!?”

Quylindra stroked Jonah’s cheek as she said this to Titancia.

But her verdant eyes held something faintly seductive.

“Mgh… Mother, don’t come any closer.”

Sensing danger, Titancia pushed her mother away.

It had been less than a week since they met, but Titancia had already learned two things: Jonah was earnest and incredibly cute—

Seeing her own mother act like this, Titancia finally realized she might lose Jonah if she wasn’t careful.

Proof being that she clung to him far more than when they first met—

Because of that—

“T-Titancia… I can’t breathe…”

“Ah…”

Titancia had pressed him so tightly—against her modest chest—that Jonah struggled to breathe.

“Oh my… that Cia is being like this…?”

“Ignore it. A-anyway, let’s finish the matter quickly. Here.”

Reluctantly releasing Jonah, Titancia took out five wooden boxes from her bag and pushed them toward Quylindra.

“Uhuhu, thank you.”

“Mother, you should’ve had the villagers retrieve them instead of dumping the task on my sister.”

“Unfortunately, it isn’t that simple. If we left the Forest, the Swart Elf would ambush us. And even within the village, many still hold disdain not only for them, but for humans as well.”

“…Honestly, the Elf are stubborn and outdated.”

“True… I can’t deny it.”

Titancia frowned while Quylindra lowered her gaze.

From their conversation, Jonah understood: the Elf were not only proud but strongly conservative and elitist.

Which is why something bothered Jonah.

“Um… in the legend of the Hero and Demon King, one of the Elf traveled with the Hero and helped defeat the Demon King, right…?”

“You know your history well. Yes, an Elf did accompany the Hero.”

“Right. But the Hero was human like me, so I don’t understand why the Elf now hate humans…”

The more he spoke, the stronger the contradiction felt.

The legend stated the Elf companion was a woman who initially did not get along with the Hero.

But through the journey they built trust, and during the final battle, not just she but all Elf united with humans.

So how had they become so disdainful of humans now?

“…It’s foolish, really. The Elf worked with humans only because they shared a common enemy—the Demon King. Once the threat vanished, everyone simply reverted to old prejudices. Both humans and Elf benefited from the Hero, yet they forgot that.”

Quylindra must have carried this disappointment for a long time; her shoulders sagged as she spoke.

“…I know you’ve been trying to rebuild harmony between the Elf, humans, and all races. But I grew tired of those who refuse change. That is why I left the village… and abandoned the name Alverich.”

“I know… but still, I’m glad to see your face again after all these years.”

“……”

At Quylindra’s words, Titancia awkwardly looked away.

Jonah guessed that Colette, Titancia’s sister, had engineered this meeting by assigning her the delivery.

And even though Titancia had abandoned the family name, she clearly didn’t hate her mother.

Otherwise she never would have brought Jonah here.

“Still, with these—collected by Colette and delivered by Cia—we can save the Swart Elf and finally restore our relationship with them.”

Quylindra smiled warmly at the wooden boxes.

But Jonah felt uneasy at her use of the word save.

Yes, the Swart Elf were persecuted and exiled centuries ago—but calling reconciliation salvation seemed strange.

Meaning there must be a deeper cause—as to why the races remained divided even after 500 years, and why Titancia was attacked.

And the key to that reason lay inside the boxes.

“So… what’s inside the wooden boxes?”

“…Nothing a boy like you needs to worry about.”

Quylindra’s soft demeanor vanished, replaced by a sharp glare.

Clearly, the contents were extremely important—and Jonah’s question had triggered her caution.

But then—

“Jonah. Inside the boxes are barrier stones—relics the Hero left behind for the sake of the world.”

Titancia revealed it without hesitation.