Day 18 Interlude - Liselotte

I was really surprised to see Eriza alive. We were friends. No, maybe not quite friends, but closer than just acquaintances. I first met her years ago, during my time at the Healers’ Pavilion. I was only fifteen at the time, and she was two years younger than me. So thirteen. I was considered talented. She was considered a genius. Unfortunately, she had no talent for healing magic in particular.

I remember trying to help her. Maybe my encouragements in regards to using potions instead of magic inspired her. I couldn’t know. When the next time we met, I was still working at the Pavilion, while she was apprenticing at the local brewery in Askala. I was often sent over to procure poultices and simple potions, and we used to talk during those times. I liked to chat with her. She was a very lively girl. I often visited her place even after I started working with Sir Roland and the others.

I could still remember how worried I was when I heard she didn’t return from her journey into the Abyss. I wanted to convince my comrades to search for her, but we were waiting for the materials collected from the previous venture to sell, and so we had no funds for supplies. I felt so guilty about it. It was such a relief that she was all right. I had to ask her how she survived for so long, but I waited until Smaragd led us to our hut.

I say our hut, as I've been staying with her for the past couple of days. She was a strange girl. It was hard to believe that she was an adult goblin. She insisted on it though, so I was forced to accept it. Deep inside, I still considered her a child. When we were alone, she often cried, missing this Mafter girl. She reminded me of the freshly orphaned kids I used to see in the Pavilion, but unlike them, she had a boundless optimism that always dragged her out of the clutches of melancholy. She was so certain Mafter would return to her, and in the end, she was right. I often wondered what gave her that determination? Loyalty? Love? Either way, it was hard not to be swept up by her ceaseless enthusiasm. I couldn’t not like her.

Finally, we reached our hut, and Smaragd and Eriza put down their bags. I sat down on the furs laid out on the floor and waited for them to finish.

“Smaragd will bring water and meat! Don’t go anywhere!”

Saying so, the green skinned child waved at me and skipped out of the hut. It was cute, so I returned the gesture. Eriza looked at the entrance suspiciously for a while before she sidled up to me.

“How is she?” she asked in a tense whisper. It was a strange question, so I didn’t know how to answer.

“She is quite adorable.”

“I don’t mean that!” she hissed again before she raised her hands to her mouth and leaned closer. “I mean, is she dangerous?”

“No, of course not,” I answered, still confused.

“Are you sure?”

“Not to us,” I stressed after I thought I figured out what she meant. “She saved my life, but I know she is strong. I saw her lift logs I couldn’t even budge. I think if she had a weapon, she would be very dangerous.”

“She saved your life?” Eriza whispered again. Her behavior was a little eccentric, but I figured it might have been the effect of living in the dungeon for so long.

“Yes. I was…” I paused, then shook my head. “I was captured by the White Widows.”

“Ah…” Eriza gasped and visibly paled. After a moment of hesitation she reached out and took my hand. “I… I don’t know what to say. I am so sorry…”

“Nm, it’s all right. It’s in the past,” I told her while I squeezed her fingers in return. “I can’t remember much of it. I don’t want to remember it. It’s better that way.”

We both stayed silent for a few seconds. Then I spoke the question that was on my mind since I first saw her.

“What about you?”

“What about me?” she asked back innocently. I slowly looked over her in turn.

“Your clothes. They don’t look like you've been wearing them for months. It doesn’t look like you're starving either. At first I thought you were also rescued by the goblins, but you don’t seem to be familiar with Smaragd.”

“So?”

“So, where were you in the past half year?”

She glanced aside and then back at me, then she huddled closer and whispered, “Have you heard of the [Demon of the First Floor]?”

I nodded. Of course I knew about it. It was a rumor everyone who ever descended into the Abyss was familiar with. It spoke of a huge, powerful demon occasionally appearing on the first floor. They said it was stronger than ten men, its command of fire could put the wizards of the Virovine Isles to shame, and that its mere presence would strike down the weak-willed. Of course, I didn’t know anyone who actually saw the demon, but everyone knew about it. It was something of a legend among my peers.

Eriza looked me in the eye and then said, “He's real. His name is Lord Raznok, the master of this floor. He is just as great as the rumors say, no, greater!”

“Really?”

“Y-Yes!” She became flustered for a second before she continued. “He saved me, you see? I was about to be killed by… erm… I was attacked my monsters. They took us by surprise and I would've been killed if he didn’t intervene.”

“Really?” I repeated myself, this time a little less doubtfully.

“Yes! I tell you, he is an amazing man! He is amazingly strong too, and he is always looks so gruff and grumpy, yet he can be surprisingly kind at times. And gentle. I should introduce you to him and… no wait… if I do that you might… No, forget what I just said! The important part is that Lord Raznok is very, very powerful, and the rumors don’t do him justice.”

“Really?” I repeated for the third time, this time with extra incredulity.

“Yes!”

“I see,” I told her, not finding any better words. She didn’t seem to mind, instead she leaned closer and began whispering to me.

“But that’s not important right now. Listen, you have seen Mafter, right?”

“Of course I have. She was right in front of me.”

“I don’t mean it literally! I mean, you saw what she could do.”

“She used a [Rejuvenation] spell without a chant. Is she the high-priestess of some goblin goddess?”

“I have no idea, but listen! She cast that spell on me four times today!”

“Four?”

“Yes! Just so that I could keep up with her crazy pace! We walked through half the floor in just two days! Two. Days! I thought I was going to die, but whenever I was about to collapse, she just cast the spell on me and we continued on! We barely even slept or ate on the way!”

“That’s peculiar,” I spoke softly, “I thought [Rejuvenation] spells had a daily limit set by the gods.”

“Peculiar? Is that really your only impression?”

“Yes. Why?”

Eriza groaned right into my ear. It was rude, but I didn’t mind, instead I urged her to continue.

“Listen now. Remember what I told about Lord Raznok?” I nodded, and she continued, “Mafter makes him nervous.”

“So?”

“So? So?! Lord Raznok is an amazingly powerful being of peerless power! And Mafter makes him nervous!” She realized she was shouting, so she leaned closer again and resumed her whispers. “Also, you haven’t heard the scariest thing yet. She can summon… an Elemental.” She must've been looking for some kind of reaction. I didn’t know what kind, so I stayed put. “Do you think I'm lying? I swear to you, to the name of Lord Raznok, that I've seen her just wave her hand and summon a fire Elemental out of thin air! Multiple times!”

“Ah,” I exhaled with the realization. “You're talking about the Little Flame.”

“Yes, the…” She stopped talking mid-sentence and looked at me strangely. “You know about it?”

“Smaragd sometimes talked to him, but I couldn’t see anything. At first I thought he was an imaginary friend. You say he is an Elemental?”

“Yes! I saw it with my own eyes!”

“Fascinating.”

Eriza stopped leaning in and gave me a strange look.

“Why are you so calm! There is an invisible Elemental, maybe right here, in this room, right now, that a goblin can summon at her leisure, and all you can say is ‘fascinating’?! What’s wrong with you?”

I actually gave a thought to her question.

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. After second I continued speaking in a lower voice. “I think it’s that… You see, I don’t know how long I've been captured by the White Widows.”

“What does that…?”

“I can’t remember the details.” I interjected, maybe a little forcefully. “I told you that already. I sometimes see flashes in my dreams, but I forget them again by the time I wake up. But there is one thing I can clearly remember: I wanted to die.” I looked Eriza in the eyes, and she paled. “I can remember the despair. The horror. The feeling of utter helplessness. Being robbed from even the choice of death. Feeling like I was better off dead than having to live with the pain. And then… And then I was rescued. By a pair of beautiful, green-skinned girls and a tribe of goblins. Does that sound crazy to you? I thought it was. For a while I thought I was crazy, that I was delirious or dreaming. But I never woke up. And they didn’t just rescue me, somehow… they saved me. They gave me back my will to live. Because of that, I decided that I don’t care about who or what they are. So you say they can speak to and summon Elementals? I don’t know how you think I should react, but to me it just makes them all the more fascinating. Those are my true feelings on the matter.”

Eriza was silent for a while. After she finished ruminating over my words, she nodded, weakly.

“I understand. I just… I just wanted you to know. Whatever happens, don’t make them angry.”

“I’m not planning to—“

“I’m back!”

I was interrupted by Smaragd as she returned with a pair of platters full of raw meat in her hands. Surprisingly, she was followed by Mafter.

“M-Mafter!” Eriza jumped to her feet in a hurry and walked over to their side. “Please forgive me, I-I didn’t expect you so soon!”

Mafter gave a skeptical look to her in return. It was a strange sight. She looked almost exactly the same as Smaragd, whose features I became very familiar with in the past few days. Yet, she looked different too. She had a kind of presence to her. It was in her bearing. When combined with her fine clothes, she reminded me of a young noblewoman. Though they wouldn’t be wearing pants, so maybe an effeminate young nobleman? Also, when she stood next to Smaragd, she made her wild, innocent charm shine even brighter in contrast, and Smaragd made her appear more regal in return. They complemented each other. I liked that image.

“Why are you apologizing again? I only told you to wait for me.”

“Y-Yes, but… Lord Razok told me to serve you like I was serving him, w-wi-with certain exceptions of course, and I was neglecting my duty! Please forgive me!”

Mafter let out a sigh and glanced at me. She was obviously ignoring the bowing Eriza. There was something in those eyes that both gave me the shivers and made me feel strangely at peace at the same time. She picked up her bag, walked over, and sat down on the fur rugs in front of me. Then she turned to Smaragd and said, “Please cut the meat into pieces of about this size. I brought some spices. I'm curious if I can make that rat-meat palatable.”

“Yeeeeees!” Smaragd answered with a happy grin.

“Have you looked at the injured?” I asked while Eriza and Smaragd was cutting the meat into smaller bits in the back. It felt like they were competing for some reason. Mafter looked up from her bag and the corner of her mouth twitched into a small smile.

“Oh, the goblins? They are fine.”

“Fine?”

“Indeed. I originally wanted to heal them one by one, but it would've taken too long, so I just blanketed the entire building in a healing spell. I will do it again once we ate, and with that, everyone should be back to full health.”

“You healed the entire hall at once?” I asked for confirmation, and she nodded while she took out a few spice bottles from her bag. “Fascinating.”

“Is it?” She glanced back at me questioningly. “You see, I'm not very familiar with the ways magic works here. If I do something that seems weird or impossible, please tell me.”

“I will strive to do so.”

As I said that, Smaragd and Eriza returned with two small piles of red meat on two platters. They worked fast. Mafter looked over them and nodded with satisfaction.

“Good.” Next she reached into her bag again, and after some rummaging she took out a cooking pot that seemed way too large. Her bag must have been enchanted.

“T-That’s from our kitchen!” Eriza complained, but Mafter only shrugged her shoulders.

“I'm only borrowing it. Razzie told me I could take anything from the mansion I deemed necessary. Speaking of which…” She reached into the bag again and took out a tripod. She placed the pot on top of it, and then used a [Ring of Fountain] to fill it up halfway. “Can you cook?”

It took me a second to realize she was talking to me.

“Yes, a little.”

“That’s good. Listen, I'm also unfamiliar with the spices of this… let's say 'area'. I just grabbed a couple of bottles before I left, so can you help me with the seasoning?”

“W-Wait! I'm the one who is supposed to cook!” Eriza protested with a shaky voice.

“No,” Mafter told her bluntly. “This is something Smaragd and Liselotte are also going to eat from. I don’t want you to slip something in there and make them sick.”

“U-Uauuu…! I am sorry! I told you it wasn’t my idea! Please forgive me!”

“What is Red talking about?” Smaragd asked curiously.

“It’s a long story, I'll tell you about it later.” While she said that, Mafter extended her hand under the tripod. There was a popping sound, and then there was a blue ball of fire underneath it.

“Fire magic? Without a chant too?” I muttered, but before I could ask, the flame abruptly turned crimson.

For a moment I felt like I was hit in the chest by a large stone. It was hard to breathe. My palms felt sweaty. I gasped for air, and as I did so, I found myself staring at a pair of bright, emerald green eyes. I closed my eyes and opened them again, but it was still there. It looked like a snake, except it had large eyes with round pupils and several wings. And it was on fire.

“Little Flame…” Mafter grunted with an exasperated voice. “What did I tell you about not eating my fires when I was trying to cook?”

The fire-serpent glanced over at her and made a mournful noise, but then he faced me again and began happily waving his entire body back and forth. Or, at least, for some reason I thought he was happy.

“Is he the Elemental?” I pointed at Little Flame, and the three people in the room gave me nods of varying enthusiasm.

“Little Flame says Little Flame likes Lotte!” Smaragd exclaimed.

“He does?” I asked in surprise, and She nodded. I looked the Elemental in the eyes again. I felt a little nervous, but at the same time, excited. It is not every day one can meet an Elemental. “Hello. Nice to meet you.” Little Flame let out a low purring noise and leaned even closer. I cautiously extended my hand. Even though I could clearly see the flames twisting around his body, the air around him didn’t seem too hot. “Is it safe to touch him?”

“I don’t remember Little Flame hurting anyone without provocation, so go ahead,” Mafter answered half-heartedly while she was busy making another fireball.

I took a deep breath and touched the head of the snake. It was… pleasantly warm. Like a stone left out on the sun on a long afternoon. He purred again and before I could react he smoothly slithered up my arm and rested on my shoulders like a scarf. It was a ticklish sensation.

“Little Flame really, really likes Lotte!” Smaragd echoed.

I smiled at the gentle Elemental on my shoulder and said, “I think I like him too.”