Welcome to the Special-Grade Guild! ~ The Beloved Elf Poster Girl Soothes Everyone’s Hearts ~
Chapter 182

182. Licht’s Place

Dad, Gil-san, everyone at the guild, how are you doing? As for me, I’m… not doing well! Ah, no no, I won’t complain!

“Hauuuuuuuuu~…”

“Come on, Meg! Just a little more! You can do it!”

“Okiiiii~…!”

But I will let out some groans, please forgive me…!

It’s been about a week since we left the city of Uula. Since that day, I’ve been diligently training every day. Crossing rivers, climbing trees, even scaling cliffs. Aside from crossing rivers, there wasn’t much need for the others, but I’m doing it as training to build strength and learn how to move my body.

On the first day, I couldn’t do any of these at all, but now I can do them to some extent! Hehe. This body seems to be quite high-spec, learning things pretty quickly. It’s completely different from when I was Megu!

It would be even easier if I could use nature magic… but it’s because I can’t that I’m able to focus on training my body. I feel like if I could use magic, I’d get lazy right away. Occasionally, I’d hear the voices of the spirits cheering me on from inside the magic stones, which also helped me keep going.

“Nnngh, just a… bit more! I-I climbed it!”

“You’re doing great! You did it on your own today. Good job, Meg.”

And Ravi-san’s balance of carrot and stick is amazing. When she’s strict, she’s so strict it makes me want to cry, but all of it is worth it for this head pat when I succeed. I did my best!

“Haa, my hands are bright red!”

“Fufu, proof of your hard work. Meg, you have medicine, so it’s easy for you to heal it, but…”

“I’ll keep it!”

“Is that so? Then, if it gets too painful to bear, heal it, okay?”

It’s been a while since I’ve felt this kind of pain. Everyone at the guild tries to heal me even if I just get a scratch. They were kind of becoming bad parents, you know? I’m realizing that again these days. Of course, it doesn’t change the fact that I love them all!

But having someone guide me strictly and generously at times, like Ravi-san, is kind of… ticklish. It’s fresh, and it makes me happy. It really feels like having a mother. …She’s too young to be a mother, and I don’t really know what it’s like to have a mother, but still!

“Alright, let’s head down. It’s time for a meal.”

“Okay!”

Ravi-san said that and descended the cliff first. The way she lightly and safely climbs down is still cool.

Me? I can descend faster than I climb, you know? Just not as much as Ravi-san. I climb down quickly, stepping on the bumpy rock protrusions, grabbing sturdy vines, and lightly jumping! I’m grateful to my athletic parents. Megu? Apparently, her lack of athletic ability was from her mother…? Heh.

With days like this, I think I’m becoming quite wild. I was too well-mannered before! I want to continue this kind of training every day, little by little, even after I return to the Demon Continent. I wonder who I should ask… Gil-san, Saura-san, and Schlie-san are also too overprotective. Actually, maybe everyone’s about the same. Juma-kun? I thought about it, but he doesn’t know his limits, so I’ll pass. I don’t want to die yet!

“I guess Dad’s the best choice…”

He’s as overprotective as the others right now, but I feel like I can convince Dad, who raised Megu. As I muttered that to myself, Licht chimed in.

“What is? Something about your dad?”

“Ah, um, I want to keep training even after I get back, so I was wondering who I should ask…”

When I answered that, Licht crossed his arms with an understanding look on his face.

“Because everyone around you is overprotective? Well, I’m sure your real father could be strict.”

Strictly speaking, I don’t think I can call him my real father, but I’ll keep quiet because the circumstances are too complicated. In terms of soul, he can be called my real father, right? Right now, he’s supposed to be Demon King-san… though I don’t really feel the dignity or reality of it. Sorry, Demon King-san.

“My… old man was strict too. But I understand now that he was strict because he was thinking about me.”

Licht started talking about himself. Licht’s father… he must be in Japan, right?

“Licht’s father is…?”

But there’s a possibility. So I tried asking, just in case. I wasn’t sure if it was okay to ask, but…

“…I probably won’t see him again.”

“Probably?”

“Yeah. I don’t think I can ever go back to my hometown…”

Licht looked so sad that I couldn’t help but hug him tightly.

“Whoa, Meg? I’m okay, you know? I’ve known this for a long time…”

“Time doesn’t matter!”

Something this sad and painful, time probably won’t heal it. Sure, there are things that time resolves, but with things like this, no matter how much time passes, it’ll tear at your heart when you suddenly remember it. Even now, when I remember that Megu died, it still hurts.

“Painful things are painful. Licht, you want to see your family, right?”

“Th-That’s… true, but…”

“Trying to deceive your heart by saying you’re okay now, that you’re fine, is painful, isn’t it?”

Saying you’re fine now, that you’re okay, even though it still hurts, doesn’t really solve anything. You’re just telling yourself that, pretending to be strong. I still do it a lot too.

Then what should you do? …It’s to feel happiness in the “now.” To have a place where you can feel safe “now.”

“Licht, you’re already like family to me. I don’t think it can be solved, but… I want you to share your sadness and pain with me. I’ll listen, you know? No matter what you want to talk about.”

“No… but…”

Licht’s eyebrows furrowed even more. Well, he might be troubled being told this by a little girl like me. Even though we’ve been through a lot together, we haven’t known each other for that long. I’m the type to trust people easily.

But I hope he can at least think that it’s okay to trust me. Whether he can return to Japan or not, I want him to meet everyone at Ortus and create a family here. …I might not be very convincing since I have my real family with me no matter what, but…

“When we go to the Demon Continent, I want you to meet my family. There’s someone I want to introduce to you, Licht.”

“…Yeah, I see. Thanks, Meg. You’re always thinking about others, aren’t you… I feel kind of uncool.”

Licht said that with a wry smile and reached out to ruffle my hair.

“Give me a little more time. Someday… I’ll tell you.”

“…Uh-huh. I’ll wisten anytime.”

“Pfft, that wasn’t very smooth.”

“You’re supposed to ignore that part!”

I was talking quite smoothly, but I stumbled at the very end. H-How pathetic…!

But, well. If it helped Licht feel a little less awkward, I don’t mind being laughed at a bit.