Otome Game no Heroine de Saikyou Survival (LN) - Book 6: Chapter 2

The Two’s Bond

Going back slightly in time──.

.

Elena and I got dragged into Teleport sorcery and sent to an unknown land.

Dry wind. Small grain of sand that clung on the skin. Bright morning sunlight without even any cloud to block it, illuminating the vast ruins city that looked hazy due to the dust cloud. Elena muttered that ruins’ name when she saw that.

「……Resvel?」

「Y-yes……I too had only read it in book and never actually saw it myself before this, but if we’re still in Thurs Continent, then I don’t know any other city ruins located in a desert other than that.」

The ancient ruins enveloped by sands like a bride’s veil…….

Elena told me about the ancient ruins that she knew from book. It was unknown how old the ruins was. At the very least it was something that had existed before this continent’s indigenous people, Cruz people formed a nation. It was uncertain what kind of race was living in this continent before that.

This city had different architectural style than the Cruz people who lived in the west region of the continent and the long lived forest elf. Even though it was completely built using sandstone, other than the outer coating it still hadn’t gotten eroded by weather until now and left behind complicated structures that told us how it must have looked at the ancient time.

The greatest trait of this city ruins was its immense size. Its vastness even rivaled a small country. It would take a month just to cross it. Not a single person knew the city on the whole. It was even said that there was dragon living in its depth.

「There’s no human?」

「Perhaps……at the ruins.」

Elena’s face looked pale under the morning sunlight. It mustn’t be just because of the fatigue from getting attacked.

If this place was that Resvel, we would have to travel a distance that was equal to crossing more than four foreign countries at least in order to get back to Claydale that was located at the southeast region of the continent. Elena was maintaining the balance of the kingdom’s internal affair. If her wellbeing continued to be unclear for a long time, it was possible that it would result not that differently than if the evil race successfully kidnapped her alive.

Elena was feeling frustrated, because she couldn’t die in the way that left no doubt to everyone.

At that time, if I followed Elena’s will and killed her with my own hand rather than Gostoura, at the very least the neutrally leaning nobles would support the crown prince. It wouldn’t be the best result, but it might be able to maintain the status quo.

But, I wanted Elena to keep struggling to live until the very end.

「Let’s go home, Elena. If it’s just death then you can do that anytime. Claydale Kingdom too isn’t a weak country that’ll be ruined in just several months.」

「Aria……」

Elena lifted up her head when she heard my words. My face was reflected in those blue eyes.

I wanted her to stay alive. That was my selfishness. But I wouldn’t give up. I would bring Elena back before the country fell into chaos no matter what.

Perhaps my determination was conveyed to her. Her usual strength returned into her eyes.

「We did……promise. To not give up.」

Elena smiled just a little.

「I understand, Aria. But, just promise me one thing……. If I get into a situation where I won’t be able to return back no matter what……kill me, and return back even if only by yourself. Tell everyone of my death.」

「Elena……」

She was strong. There was the radiance of strength hidden inside her frail figure. When my hand reached out toward that, Elena wrapped both her hands over mine as though she was praying.

「Please……」

「……Got it.」

We both leaned on each other. Then after a while we slowly parted and stared at each other while turning forward. Then we nodded together.

「Let’s decide our plan.」

First was to reach a place where people lived. It would be great if that place had magic tool to contact faraway place, but the possibility of that was exceedingly small. In the first place such magic tool was very rare. Elena estimated that we wouldn’t be able to find a communication magic tool that could communicate through long distance between countries unless we went until Carlfan Empire.

「This is just guesswork but, with the ruins here, it’s possible that there are also adventurers combing through it.」

Most likely they would also have a base near the ruins. Elena said that there was a high chance that there would be a settlement south of the ruins, the direction where Carlfan Empire was at.

「Roger. First thing is to find a settlement. After that is finding a way to go to Carlfan Empire. We’ll think more after finding a settlement.」

「I don’t mind. Also we’re going to work together from here on, so can you please treat me as a comrade?」

The two of us would return. Elena became forward looking with that objective and her expression looked somewhat delighted. The situation was like this, but that was exactly why her original brightness came out seeing that she was a strong girl.

「Roger. Then……sleep Elena.」

「……Eh?」

Elena made a puzzled face because she thought that she would assigned a task to do. But, this too was an important work of “adventurer”.

「Elena hasn’t slept right? Besides the temperature is low right now, but it will become high quickly when the sun climb up. We’ll move at evening.」

According to that woman’s “knowledge”, the temperature difference during night and noon at desert was extreme. I didn’t know whether that knowledge could also be applied in this world, but at the very least I was feeling with my skin that the temperature was increasing slowly right now.

「We’ll get back a little and find a place to rest. Sip water frequently in small amount.」

「Y-yes.」

I returned to the rocky mountain’s forest with Elena hurriedly following behind. I also took some roasted nuts from my [Storage] and handed it to her.

「……[Water]……」

Perhaps because the air was dry, I couldn’t see much water magic particle with my eyes. The amount of water I could get with livelihood magic wasn’t much. But seeing that, Elena who had water attribute produced water for my portion too.

Although I called it forest, it was near the desert so it was more like a thicket with only rocky place around. The trees were straight and thin with only few leaves, so when I found a spot that seemed passable as cover, I took out my cloak from [Storage] and handed it to Elena.

「We’ll nap in turn. I’ll wake you after two hours so until then……」

「Go sleep first, Aria.」

Elena interrupted my words and pushed back the cloak I held out to her. Her face looked a bit angry.

「There are some dark circles around your eyes. Perhaps you haven’t slept for several days correct? I’m still alright so you go sleep first.」

「……Roger.」

I was still fine if it was just for staying awake but, it was true that my stamina had been decreasing considerably. Besides Elena had the personality of someone who wouldn’t change her mind, so I rethought it and accepted her offer.

「Then take this. Sorry that it’s my second hand but, it should be better than that thin thing.」

Right now Elena was only wearing thin sleepwear with my spare cloak on top of it, along with the loafers that I used at the academy. It would be problematic if she kept dressing up like that from here on.

I took out my academy uniform from the Storage and handed it to her.

It wasn’t the third type uniform for noble’s servant, but the first type uniform that I rarely wore.

The academy’s uniform was different from the dress that noble wore. It was made to last long. That was in consideration that the students were wearing the uniform everyday for a long time. But not only that, apparently it also had the function to balance the wearer’s temperature although it was slight.

Different from dress and uniform for servant, the skirt’s length reached until the calf, but long skirt would only be in the way for walking through desert.

Elena accepted my uniform while acting a bit strangely, then she suddenly looked puzzled.

「Your Storage……was it? It has clothes and even food in it. Its capacity is really big isn’t it?」

「That so?」

When I first activated Storage, it only had the capacity of a single bag. But, the level of my magic power control went up and my dark magic also reached level 4. It was a level where it became possible to create a spatially expanded bag. By using it over and over and getting used to it, the capacity grew until it was as large as a somewhat big dress cabinet now.

Bacteria couldn’t live inside [Storage] so even food was like it was in a canned state inside there. Clothes also wouldn’t smell and hard to become damaged in there, so I put in almost everything that I often used into there.

My magic power control had also become level 5, so if it was now then perhaps I could put in a bit more.

「Then, I’ll rest first. Wake me up right away if something happen.」

I leaned on a rock and curled into myself by hugging my knees. Then my consciousness quietly sunk into darkness while listening to Elena’s voice.

「Sleep well……Aria」

***

Elena’s lips smiled slightly seeing Aria falling asleep immediately.

She was strong and beautiful. Anyone who looked at her figure would let out a sigh. But now that she was asleep, her sleeping face looked childish which was unimaginable from how she usually acted.

Looking carefully, not only Aria hadn’t slept for several days, there were also wounds that hadn’t fully healed on her arms and cheek. Her glossy hair and skin were also dirty with blood and mud.

「……[Clean]……」

Elena whispered the chanting of sorcery to purify the filth on Aira. But by doing that, it made her realized once more that Aria was more skilled in using Clean.

It was thought that sickness was caused by the filth in the air and the mischief of spirits. But Aria said the true identity of filth was living thing so small that the eyes couldn’t see them. Apparently it was possible to stay healthy by moderately purifying them.

「What a mysterious child……」

Elena caressed the cleaned up pink hair of Aria who possessed such strange knowledge. She also erased the remaining wounds on Aria using [Cure].

Just how fierce the fight that she had gone through……. Aria fought Grave who was said as the strongest in the black ops, and then she immediately came running to save her. Elena was healing the wounds remaining on her body while feeling like tears would escape her eyes.

From here on the two of them would have to work together. But, her Clean and Cure were below Aria who was more knowledgeable about human body. And that difference was even bigger when it came to battle.

(……I want to get stronger.)

Elena earnestly wished that. At the very least she wanted to be able to protect herself. So that Aria wouldn’t need to become even more injured than this…….

.

After Aria’s wounds were healed, the sunlight got stronger just like she said.

Elena quietly stood up. She was thinking to finish changing her clothes while the shadow was still long.

Among the daughters of high ranked nobles, there were also those who left changing clothes completely to their maid from start to finish. As a royalty Elena too was living like that until she was four years old, but she changed her way of thinking after her mother cut her off, and due to meeting Aria when she was seven years old, she was practicing so that she could do the bare minimum by herself.

She took off her thin sleepwear. Then when she picked up the uniform that Aria lent to her, she recalled that it was something that Aria had worn and a bit of embarrassment reared its head inside her.

A princess like Elena had never shared anything with other person. Her clothing, her chair, and even the cup she used to drink tea, everything were treated as exclusively hers.

Even when she was eating outside the palace, Elena’s maids would bring her own cutlery and tableware for her use. But, from here on she would have to eat even food that wasn’t hygienic, but the current Elena wasn’t feeling that disgusted by such prospect.

When Elena enrolled into the academy, she was surprised seeing the girls from middle ranked noble houses sharing things with their friends like it was only natural. She even felt jealous with that.

Elena had no friend. There were noble daughters who she regularly talked with, but their relationship was nothing more than a princess and her subject. Her cousin Clara was her friend who was like her real sister before, but now there was crack so big between them that it would be difficult to restore that relationship.

Aria was the only one who was in a nearly equal relationship with her, but she was her like-minded comrade. There was a line separating the two of them as a princess and a bodyguard.

But……now that she was borrowing her private object, it was as though…….

(……Like we’re……”friend”)

That thought sent a ripple into Elena’s heart.

She was always watching Aria so she understood how to wear the uniform. Her heart was drumming loudly when she put her arm into the sleeve for the first time. Even so when she finished wearing it, she found that the sleeves and skirt were too long for her because of the difference in their height.

She was unable to wear it neatly like Aria, which made her felt somewhat down. Even so a smile formed on Elena’s lips because this was her first experience sharing something with Aria.

「…………」

The truth was she was scared. Although she had the resolve to die, she never thought of wanting to die. The heavy pressure of being a princess, the resolve of shouldering the country, she was able to endure them because she had seen the way Aria struggled and she wanted to stay at her side for her.

She wanted to go home together with Aria. For that she wished to become strong while quietly sitting down beside the sleeping Aria. Then she leaned her head on the girl’s shoulder just for a little bit.