WHFIO 24

Chapter 24

The ladies who attended the tea party at Count Lorte’s mansion exchanged farewells with the hostess before returning home.

“The tea today was wonderful. The flavor was truly exquisite. I’m curious—where did you get it?”

“If you liked it, I’ll send some to your home.”

“Oh, you don’t have to go through the trouble.”

After the guests had left one by one, Baroness Herban was the last to remain.

Like everyone else, she approached Countess Lorte to say goodbye.
But before she could speak, Countess Lorte addressed her first.

“Baroness, is something troubling you at home?”

“Ah… well, it’s nothing serious, really…”

“You look so worried. If you don’t mind, perhaps I could lend you an ear?”

Countess Lorte gently led the baroness into the drawing room.

With a warm cup of tea in hand and the Countess’s kind attention softening her heart, Baroness Herban began to speak—almost as if she had been waiting for someone to ask.

“You know my elder brother passed away not long ago, don’t you?”

“Yes, a terrible accident. I still grieve for him.”

“My brother left behind a nephew. The poor boy lost his mother when he was still very young.”

“Oh, you mean the Duke of Rittenhouse’s fiancée?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’ve often visited him out of concern, but lately, I simply can’t understand what’s going on in his mind.”

The baroness’s voice grew heavy with sorrow as she continued.

“He’s never managed money in his life, so I was going to handle his finances until he was old enough to run the household himself… but he treated me like some sort of swindler.”

“Oh my, is that so?”

“He was always such a sensitive and fragile child. And now, after losing his father, I fear that grief has completely twisted his heart.”

Countess Lorte listened to the Baroness’s words with gentle sympathy and clicked her tongue softly.

“It’s only natural that the shock would be overwhelming—losing the parents he’s depended on his whole life, all at once.”

“…….”

“When I lost my own parents, even though I was already grown, it still felt as if the sky had fallen. I can still remember vividly how wretched and hollow that feeling was.”

“It must have been a very painful time for you.”

“It was. If only I’d had someone to lean on back then, like I do now…”

The Countess’s eyes turned distant for a moment, as though reliving an old memory. Then, as if struck by an idea, she suddenly grasped the Baroness’s hands.

“That’s it. It would do Lady Rohan a world of good to find faith in a time like this.”

“What do you mean…?”

“If she could come to understand that when He returns, all sorrow and wealth will lose their meaning…”

A serene smile touched Countess Lorte’s lips as she spoke of “Him.”

“I’ll invite you both to our next gathering. You can meet Lady Rohan there and speak with her.”

“Would that really be all right?”

“Of course. So please, don’t worry too much.”

Her voice was warm and kind, but the faint, strange smile on Countess Lorte’s lips carried an unsettling undertone.

Elseze struck the finishing blow against the enormous pink slime before her.

Her attack, powerful enough to shatter the ground itself, completely annihilated Mamalung and ended the battle.

Jack, who had been following behind her in case she got into danger, stood frozen in shock for a moment before snapping out of it and hurrying over.

“I realized this yesterday, but you’re really strong. How in the world were you hiding that kind of power all this time?”

Only then did Else realize she might look suspicious. She quickly came up with an excuse.

“Oh, I’ve known I was a bit stronger than most people since I was young, but I didn’t realize how strong until recently. I ran into a monster in the forest, had to defend myself… and, well, it turned out I was stronger than I thought.”

Once she started lying, the story flowed from her mouth easily—smoothly enough to sound almost rehearsed.
Even she thought it sounded convincing.

Fortunately, Jack seemed to buy it.

“You were born gifted, I see. As expected, my eye for talent is flawless.”

“Did Perth notice too?”

Jack flinched slightly, her words hitting right on target.

“Well… I did notice that your aura was unusual. But, you know, you’re small and delicate…”

Else chuckled softly.

She was glad that Perth had seen through her abilities, but she didn’t hold it against Jack for not doing so—anyone would have thought the same, seeing her slight frame.

Then she noticed something amiss.

“By the way, where’s Perth? I didn’t see him at the guild earlier. You two are always together.”

“Oh, that guy. Sometimes he disappears for a while—usually when someone’s looking for him.”

“Looking for him? Like… family?”

“Not family. What was it again…? Maybe the family of a benefactor or something like that?”

“I see.”

As Else listened, she placed Mamalung’s core onto the quest scroll.

The scroll opened its mouth-like seal and swallowed the core whole.

The absorbed item was stored within the scroll’s own inventory, and a report was immediately sent to the quest’s client.

All that remained now was to deliver the scroll to the guild to complete the job.

The two divided the remaining slime materials.

Else tried to hand all of it to Jack since he already had the core, but he refused, saying he hadn’t done much during the fight, and insisted she take his share instead.

Elseze tucked her portion into her inventory pouch.
It looked no bigger than a palm, yet expanded wide to swallow everything she placed inside.

By the time they left the forest, the sun was already setting.

Else spoke to Jack, who glanced back at her while climbing into the carriage first.

“You go on ahead, Jack.”

“What about you? Aren’t you heading to the guild?”

“I’ve got a place I need to stop by first.”

Jack waved and left, saying he’d see her tomorrow.

Once the carriage started moving, Leti—who had been silent all day—slowly emerged from Else’s pocket.

From the guild to the battle with Mamalung, Else had been surrounded by others the whole time, leaving Leti no chance to come out.

Now sitting across from her, arms folded, the little doll tilted its head up at her.
Its expression couldn’t be read, but its posture radiated discontent.

“Why did you say you’d help him? I don’t like him.”

“Him?”

It took Else a moment to realize that “him” meant Astaire.

Is it because their very natures conflict? Leti especially hates Astaire.

Watching the doll sulk, Else suddenly remembered a question she had been meaning to ask.

“Still, Leti, there’s something I wanted to ask you.”

“What?”

“You heard what they said at the guild earlier, right? About people trying to resurrect you.”

“I heard.”

“Do you know who they are?”

“I have no idea. This body returned to this world by my own power—not by the hands of mere humans.”

Leti’s tone carried a touch of wounded pride, as though insulted by the suggestion that he’d needed human help.

That reaction alone told Else that the mysterious group clearly wasn’t acting under Leti’s command.

Then Leti’s head tilted slightly, as if recalling something.

“But… there was something strange.”

“What was?”

“When we came back into this world, that was around the same time I began to feel the otherworldly energy grow stronger.”

“And before that?”

“I didn’t feel it at all before then. If I hadn’t sensed that energy just in time, I might have died with you.”

Else’s eyes narrowed slightly at that.

A group attempting to resurrect a demon.
The dimensional rifts that had been appearing more frequently.
And Leti’s return to this world around that same time.

The timing was far too precise to be coincidence.