“We should inform the Public Security Service or the temple that a monster has appeared, but I think it would be better not to tell them that Lorina is involved, Debbie.”
“why? I’m going to tell my mother right now and tell her to sue Count Dardil!”
“Your family…There is an investment from the Count Dardil family. I don’t know if you got hurt but in the
in the current situation, your parents won’t be able to make much of a difference.”
“why…?”
“That’s the situation for adults.”
Debbie whimpered and cried with a shocked face, and Elaine carefully hugged her and rubbed her back.
And then she heard the sound of wings fluttering in the sky, so she looked up and saw Rabes looking down at her.
[Are you fine?]
Although Rabes’s voice seemed a bit strange, as he didn’t seem too worried, Elaine nodded as she continued to comfort Debbie.
Returning to the picnic site, Debbie informed her nanny, who was far away, that a monster had appeared.
Of course, as Elaine had advised, she didn’t mention that Lorina had let it loose.
Debbie’s nanny and servants, as well as the park managers, were shocked to hear that a monster had appeared in the count’s private park.
Everyone who was enjoying the late summer in the park hurriedly packed their bags and went back, and the soldiers and Holy Knights of the Public Security Service who had been contacted, came out and searched Paddleton Forest.
Thanks to this, a large wild boar-type monster was captured without a single victim.
* * *
That evening, Debbie invited her friends who had gone on a picnic with her to her dorm room and declared to everyone in front of Elaine.
I will no longer be Lorina’s friend. “No, I have never been friends with her before, so it won’t make any difference to me.”
The other saints were taken aback by the sudden change in attitude.
That’s because Debbie was the girl who admired Lorina the most among her group of friends.
“What’s going on, Debbie?”
Debbie took a deep breath in response to her friend’s question.
“I have something to confess to you guys about today’s picnic.”
Although she also had to expose her own secrets of accepting Lorina’s instigation despite knowing that it would harm Elaine, Debbie confessed everything, prepared to be criticized.
She told them everything: how Lorina had come to her out of the blue and told her to be nice and befriend Elaine, how she had told her to bring Elaine with her when she heard they were going on a picnic, how she had told her to drag Elaine into Paddleton Forest no matter what, and how she had encountered a monster there.
“But I swear to Lord Bara, I had no idea she was planning to do such a terrible thing. When I see a monster, it means she was trying to kill me and Elaine.”
Debbie’s closest friends, Avril, Danae, and Melina, were shocked to know that the monster that Debbie and Elaine encountered had been sent by Lorina.
“Oh my god! How can that be?”
“I couldn’t tell you guys in detail during the day because I was afraid you would be surprised, but in fact, while running away from the monster, I tripped on a grass root and fell. At that moment, I really thought I was going to die.”
“Aaaah! oh my god!”
The girls who were listening to the story trembled as if a monster was approaching them.
Debbie paused for a moment in front of those friends and then spoke in a serious voice.
“But Elaine defeated the monster by reciting the Lord’s Prayer!”
“what? really?”
“Elaine wrapped her arms around me when I fell down and even yelled at the monster to get out of there right away, and the monster whined and ran away. If it wasn’t for Elaine, I would have died on the spot.”
“Oh my god! She’s like a paladin from legends!”
The envious eyes of the girls, including Debbie, turned to Elaine.
“Oh, no, I’m not that great of a person! I was so scared that a prayer came out without me even realizing it.”
“I heard that sincere prayers contain the power of God. I think Bara was impressed by the way you tried to save others even in dangerous situations. Thank you so much for saving me, Elaine.”
Debbie squeezed Elaine’s hand and thanked her again.
Avril, who had been listening from the side, smiled warmly at the sight, then suddenly turned serious.
“By the way, did you tell the adults that it was Lorina?”
“I told my mother and father, but I decided not to tell the Public Security Service or the temple.”
“Why? They should know so she can be punished!”
Dabbie glanced at Elaine, so Elaine explained more calmly to her friends, who had the same reaction as Dabbie.
“You don’t think Lorina could have brought the demon here on her own? Count Dardil must have had a hand behind the scenes, and there’s no way they’d just admit it was their doing.”
“But—!”
“They’d rather attack Debbie or Baron Mason for treating Lorina like a criminal when they have no proof.”
With Elaine’s further explanation, the other girls realize that this is not a simple matter.
And that the world they lived in was run by family power.
Debbie spoke up, trying to lighten the mood.
“As you’ve seen today, Elaine isn’t as weird as Lorina says she is. She’s sweet and kind. I think we should accept her as one of our friends.”
The other girls looked at each other at that suggestion, and then smiled.
“Of course! She even saved Debbie’s life!”
“Aren’t we already friends? We had so much fun together at the picnic today.”
“Yes, and I’ll make one more suggestion: I think you guys should draw the line with Lorina, I don’t want to be around that horrible girl anymore.”
“Right, right!”
Debbie’s friends all agreed with her, and unlike in Elaine’s previous life, they turned their backs on Lorina.
‘I can’t believe I’m actually going to make friends…!’
‘I was expecting it, but I didn’t really think it would happen.
Even though Elaine accepted Debbie’s favor, she was always ready to lose her heart.
When Elaine started to hesitant, Debbie looked at her and said.
“Well, of course, of course, this is all possible only when Elaine forgives me. I’ve been mean to Elaine since I’ve only listened to Lorina…”
“No, Debbie, I’m so happy to be your friend. And one more thing, if you ever have to betray me because of your parents’ demands, I will never blame you.”
“Elaine, we will never betray you!”
“There’s no such thing as ‘never’ in life, Debbie. But it’s so nice of you to say that.”
It was a very grown-up thing for a girl her age to say, so Debbie and her friends looked at Elaine with admiration, rather than embarrassment.
“That’s Cool, Elaine.”
“As expected being an academic top student is different.”
Elaine blushed, realizing that her tone was not childlike at all, but her embarrassment gradually turned to happiness as the other girls hugged and patted her on the back.
That night, Elaine called for Rabes only after she was sure Debbie was completely sleep.
“Rabes. About the day’s events…”
[You mean the encounter with the monster?]
“Yes, to be precise, the monster ran away from me! What happened? Did I use magic without realizing it?”
At that, Rabes smirked.
[You are bad at remembering].
“Did I? I don’t think so….”
[I told you when I first met you, the mark on your forehead].
“What’s this mark?”
Elaine rubbed her forehead, as if to touch an invisible mark.
[Who can see that mark?]
“Rabes and…..monster!”
[Yes, and monsters are my prey, now do you know why he ran away?]
“But I don’t eat monsters.”
[That monster messing with a dragon contractor. I admit they’re stupid, but they know their life is valuable. Besides, you’ve got my power in you, and I don’t think there’s a single monster that’s stupid enough to ignore that and attack you.]
Ranes snickered in amusement.
And Elaine smiled as she felt reassured.
“I can’t believe the monster can never attack me, I think I’ve become very strong.”
[That girl Lorina can run amok and no one can blame her because she’s the daughter of a powerful man, or something like that, but you’ve got something stronger than anything else in the land].
At that, Elaine said nothing for a moment and stared at Rabes.
She’d never imagined having someone back her up. She probably wouldn’t have thought of it even if her mother were still alive.
“I’ve always felt safe with you, but I’ve never thought about that…..It’s a very strange feeling.”
[What’s weird? Just enjoy it! Whatever you do, I’m behind you].
“Thank you, really…..”
Elaine smiled broadly, but didn’t know how to respond to rabes, so she trailed off.
And for some reason, the tip of her nose got sour.
[Uh? Hey, why, why are you crying?]
Elaine was smiling, and then a tear rolled down her cheek.
Rabes was a little confused, but Elaine couldn’t stop smiling or crying.
She was so happy that she had found such a warm and supportive existence, that her affection for that dragon was unstoppable.
* * *
Awwww bb Elaine 🥺