Chapter 11
Let’s Be Strangers Now
Episode 11
“……Elisha?”
A very familiar voice drifted into Elisha’s ears.
Her eyes widened as she stared blankly at the man in front of her.
Pale blond hair, violet eyes like pansies, and that characteristic vacant expression.
It was undoubtedly Dante Renaud.
‘But why is he here?’
As soon as she identified him, her mind began to race.
If Dante had come here specifically to find her, he wouldn’t be staring at her with such a shocked face.
No, if that were the case, he wouldn’t have approached her so carelessly in the first place.
‘Even so, that reaction…….’
He must know that she left Erich’s side on purpose. If he didn’t, he would have greeted her normally first.
Elisha let out a small breath.
Whatever the case, there was only one thing she had to do now.
Leave this place immediately.
Even more so since the person who discovered her was Dante Renaud.
In the next moment, just as a magic circle began to manifest beneath her feet—
CRACK-BOOM!
Suddenly, a fierce lightning strike poured down over Elisha’s head. Elisha instantly neutralized the magic she had been casting and deflected the lightning.
At the same time, with a loud crunching sound, a large crack formed on one wall of the inn.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Dante smoothly spoke as he summoned another magic circle. He even wore a fresh smile on his lips.
“You should already know why I left.”
She tilted her head after deploying a physical defense barrier and a soundproofing spell.
‘Jonathan shouldn’t be able to hear us now.’
As soon as the thought crossed her mind, the majestic heat of a fire-attribute spell brushed past Elisha’s cheek.
Elisha frowned slightly and deflected the incoming magic once more.
And Jonathan, who was watching the whole scene with trembling eyes—
‘They’ll put it back the way it was later, right……?’
He decided to give up on thinking.
Regardless, the two continued their exchange of offense and defense, heedless of their surroundings.
To be precise, it was Dante’s one-sided assault.
“Elisha, I missed you so much.”
He spoke affably, the smile never leaving his face.
In one hand, he held another fire-attribute spell.
Dante knew very well that he couldn’t defeat Elisha with such minor tricks.
The number of spells she could use and her casting speed far surpassed his own.
‘But if it’s just to keep her here, it’s not impossible.’
He quickly scanned the surroundings while firing another spell near Elisha.
The walls were all made of wood.
Since he had been firing fire magic continuously, the temperature around Elisha must have already reached a scorching level.
‘Though she herself looks perfectly comfortable.’
It was natural since mages developed an inherent resistance to attributes.
Still, that only applied to the inside of the body.
A blue light flared around Dante Renaud.
Then, before Elisha could even grasp the situation, he fired dozens of small water arrows in all directions.
Simultaneously, beyond the vision blurred by the resulting mist—
“There’s someone else who wants to see you, too.”
Dante, having teleported right in front of Elisha, grabbed her arm and pulled an artifact out of his robe.
It was the communication stone Erich had given him.
He didn’t know why Elisha was here, but now that he had found her, his task was clear.
Stop Elisha from escaping and contact Erich.
‘If I can just do that, a sweet paid vacation will be mine…….’
But it was the moment he tried to infuse mana into the communication stone.
“Dante Renaud.”
“……?”
“You’re not the only one who can use magic.”
Suddenly, Elisha fired a localized fire spell at the communication stone Dante was holding.
Startled, Dante immediately threw the stone to the floor and looked back and forth between the artifact and Elisha.
This was an artifact that was said to be scratch-proof against most magic, and she had just shattered it in one go?
“What the— Hey! Do you know how much this costs?!”
Besides, he was told this would be showcased personally at the upcoming Allied Nations Conference. He had even been warned not to lose it!
“Stop bothering Erich.”
Unaware of Dante’s inner turmoil, Elisha spoke in a low voice.
Dante blinked, momentarily unable to comprehend what he had just heard.
Stop bothering Erich?
After disappearing like that, she was telling him not to bother Erich?
“Don’t you guys bother me……”
Dante muttered in a voice that sounded like he might burst into tears at any moment.
This was truly a hellish situation.
One guy tells him to search the entire continent alone to find his fiancée.
The other person, the very one who caused this whole mess, says things like, ‘Stop bothering Erich.’
No, this was mostly because Erich had been running his mouth wrong since a long time ago.
‘And she was definitely trying to run away until just a moment ago.’
Now, ironically, she was the one holding onto his arm.
“Can we let go of this for a second and talk?”
Dante smiled awkwardly as he twisted his arm, which was now gripped by Elisha.
Elisha tilted her head calmly.
“If I let go, you’ll head straight for the Imperial Palace.”
“And you’ll run away in the meantime.”
“Yes.”
“I think it’s better if we just keep holding onto each other.”
He couldn’t let that crazy thing happen again.
His mind working fast, Dante twisted his wrist and grabbed Elisha’s arm in return.
He felt like he was going insane at how tangled things had become.
The communication stone was broken, and since this was a mission given only to him, there was no one he could call for help.
Even if he tried to use teleportation, he couldn’t do it as long as his magic skills lagged behind Elisha’s.
‘In the end, persuasion is the only answer.’
Just as Dante let out a small sigh and was about to speak—
“As you already know, Erich has wanted me to leave for a long time.”
Elisha spoke first, clutching Dante’s collar.
“I simply kept that promise.”
“Wait, Elisha. That’s……”
“Don’t go stirring Erich up for no reason.”
“I have something to say about that……”
“I only stayed here temporarily because I hadn’t decided on a destination yet. Since things have turned out like this, I’ll leave for somewhere secluded even if I haven’t decided. So there’s no need for Erich to concern himself.”
“Hey, Elisha. Listen to me for a second.”
“Not that he seems to be looking for me anyway……”
“Elisha!”
Finally, unable to take it anymore, Dante’s eyes snapped open and he yelled.
Only then did Elisha stop talking and stare blankly at him.
“I swear, I’m going to die young because of these uncommunicative bosses!”
Both Erich and Elisha always just said what they wanted to say and disappeared.
Stuck in the middle, he couldn’t do a thing and just ended up getting cursed at.
‘His Majesty Bernhardt was the only window of communication in this world of silence…….’
But that wasn’t what was important right now. Persuasion—no, correcting the misunderstanding—came first.
Dante, briefly lost in nostalgia, shook his head vigorously and spoke with determination.
“Elisha, you’ve got it all wrong.”
“…….”
“Erich has been looking for you this whole time. Of course, I’m the one who’s been overworked.”
Having finished, Dante gazed intensely at Elisha with sorrowful eyes.
Then, Elisha muttered as if she couldn’t believe it.
“He made you…… look for me?”
“Exactly.”
“But then why are you here……”
“There’s a long story behind that, too. It’s related to the communication stone you just blew up.”
Dante glanced at the miserably charred communication stone and smiled.
Elisha’s brow furrowed slightly, then she spoke with a face of realization.
“The Allied Nations Conference isn’t far off.”
“Right, that’s it.”
“That’s why he’s looking for me.”
“I wouldn’t say that’s the only reason……”
Dante tilted his head with a doubtful expression.
Come to think of it, the reason Erich was looking for Elisha wasn’t exactly clear.
He had just vaguely guessed that since she was a Grand Mage, her disappearance would be a national loss.
“If he’s looking for me for that reason, I can’t go back.”
While he was lost in thought, Elisha spoke in a very firm voice.
Dante snapped out of it and grabbed Elisha’s shoulder with his other arm.
She can’t go back?
She can’t go back?!
“Thinking about it, I don’t think it’s just for that reason, Elly. You know how much he cherishes his people.”
“Dante Renaud.”
“Of course, he treats me like trash, but that’s because I’m a competent subordinate, so it can’t be helped. Anyway, to you……”
He used to sing about how much he hated her since they were kids—that damn 365-day-a-year-puberty brat.
“I’m not doing this just because of a childhood promise.”
While Dante fell silent as the contents of the letter suddenly came to mind, Elisha continued in a calm voice.
“Erich has been delaying the national wedding all this time.”
