Chapter 18: Townsman A Becomes the Savior of the Elven Village

“W-W-W-W-What?! I-I-I-I’m no virgin, I tell you!”

I had no idea where the topic of his virginity had even come from, but the suspicious man had just let the cat out of the bag all by himself.

“So, old man, you really were a virgin.”

“I-I-I-I’m not a virgin! Besides, I have the fine name of Loringas, given to me by my very own parents!”

Based on the name alone, the guy practically reeked of a criminal record.

“So, what exactly are you doing here, Mr. Loringas?”

“I’m glad you asked! I simply wanted to meet a Spirit in the Elven Village!”

“And?”

“Even though Spirits live for thousands of years, they take the form of young girls! In other words, they are legal lolis!”

“……”

What should I do? No matter how I sliced it, the man was a complete and utter deviant.

In my distress, I looked toward the Queen.

Please. Help me.

However, the Queen had her hands clasped in front of her chest, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at me.

Please, stop that. I don’t have the skill set to handle a creep of this caliber.

“Listen, you perverted lolicon. For now, just stay away from this village.”

Ah, damn. My true thoughts slipped out.

The man’s face twisted into an expression of genuine shock.

“H-How rude! I am simply admiring them from afar without touching!”

He didn't even try to deny the lolicon part.

“You were just trying to grab her with everything you had!”

“I-It’s a misunderstanding! I was maintaining the ultimate distance—maximum proximity without actual contact!”

“Chasing her around like that makes it even worse! Can’t you see she’s terrified?!”

“W-What?! I was scaring her? What have I done…”

“Sigh. If you get it now, then get out of this village and the Forest of Bewilderment.”

I spoke sharply to the now-dejected pervert.

“T-That I cannot do! I must pass through the Forest of Bewilderment to reach the Elven Village!”

“Wait. This is the Elven Village.”

“Eh?”

He stared at me, his expression turning completely blank.

“What?! Truly?! That is wonderful! Now I can finally brew the Secret Elixir! I must go to the Queen of the Elves at once. Er, and you are?”

“I’m Allen.”

“Mr. Allen, you must guide me to the Queen!”

I pointed toward the Queen. The pervert immediately tried to bolt toward her, but I grabbed him by the collar to hold him back.

“Listen, you’ve got so many wicked thoughts that the elves literally think you’re an evil spirit.”

“What?! Is that so? Then I must ask you to act as my proxy, Mr. Allen. To brew the Secret Elixir, I require Petals of the Spirit Tree and Elf Honey.”

“Hmm. If I get them for you, will you leave the village?”

“Of course!”

“Fine. Queen! This guy says he’ll leave if we give him some Petals of the Spirit Tree and Elf Honey. Is that alright with you?”

Immediately, audible sighs of relief like “Ohh…” rippled through the crowd.

“Of course. Someone, bring out the Petals of the Spirit Tree and the Elf Honey.”

A short while after the Queen gave the order, a small pouch and a glass jar were delivered to us.

“I am eternally grateful. Mr. Allen, I shall never forget this debt as long as I live!”

And with those parting words, the pervert vanished from the village.

“Um, was that alright?” I asked, turning back to the Queen.

“Lord Allen, thank you so much!”

“Lord Allen!”

“As expected of the Holy Child favored by the God of Wind!”

“H-Humph. Not bad, I suppose.”

I felt like there might be a tsundere in the mix, but whatever. With this, I figured I could get the elves to help me navigate the Forest of Bewilderment, which should make things go a lot smoother.

In any case, I found myself receiving a hero’s welcome for saving the village.

＊＊＊＊

The next morning, the Elven Village was in an uproar.

“Queen, what’s going on?”

“Incredibly, a Light Spirit has been born!”

Wait, what? Wasn't the Light Spirit supposed to be born the day after Amy finished the event to save the village?

Since I couldn't exactly explain that I knew the plot of a video game, I decided to play along and ask a follow-up.

“Uh… that’s a big deal, right?”

“Yes, it has been eight hundred years. This may be a sign that a Saint has been born in the human world.”

The Queen looked absolutely delighted. The Saint would be the heroine, Amy, but I was certain an event like this wasn't supposed to happen yet.

What is going on here?

“Look, the one playing over there with Mililurella is the Light Spirit. Ah, Mililurella is the little girl next to Sherilralra—she’s Sherilralra’s younger sister.”

Sure enough, a tiny girl with faintly glowing wings—a textbook fairy—was fluttering around a child of about three or four.

The fairy noticed us and flew straight in our direction.

“Mr. Allen! Yesterday was a huge help! Thanks to you, I finished the Secret Elixir and successfully became a Spirit!”

“Huh?”

“I realized that if I wanted to master the path of the loli, I had to start by becoming a loli myself! Thanks to you, I think I’m finally grasping the true essence of loli-dom!”

“Hey, weren't you Loringas? You—”

“Mr. Allen, I am no longer Loringas! I have formed a contract with Milly-tan, and my name is now Ro-chan!”

“Wait… Uh, Queen? This guy is saying he went and formed a contract with Mililurella-chan on his own…”

“My, is that true? How wonderful! Milly, come here for a moment—”

The Queen ran over to Mililurella.

Wait. Wasn't the Light Spirit supposed to contract with the heroine, Amy? Or was it just a blessing?

...Well, whatever.

I decided to stop thinking about it. I didn't remember the details perfectly anyway, and besides, these events were supposed to happen after the Villainess Condemnation Event. It had nothing to do with me.

“Mr. Allen, I am truly grateful. I have dedicated my life to mastering the path of the loli, and I feel I have finally reached that higher state of being. Please, take this as a token of my thanks!”

The pervert-turned-Ro-chan handed me a scroll.

“What’s this?”

“It is a ‘Chantless Scroll’ I created. I originally intended to give it to a loli, but the opportunity never arose. I no longer have any use for it, so I shall give it to you for your kindness, Mr. Allen!”

“O-Oh… thanks…”

──── Name: Chantless Scroll Description: A scroll that allows the user to learn the 【Chantless】 skill. Disappears after a single use. Grade: Epic ────

I checked it with Appraisal, and it was indeed a Chantless Scroll.

How exactly am I supposed to process these complicated feelings?

＊＊＊＊

“Well then, thank you for everything.”

I expressed my gratitude to the elves who had come to see me off, and—begrudgingly—to the pervert Ro-chan as well.

“Lord Allen, you are the Hero who saved this village. You are welcome here at any time. This is a special amulet crafted with the prayers of the elven people. It is a symbol of our friendship and gratitude, so please, keep it with you always.”

The Queen handed me the amulet.

“Thank you. I’ll come back to visit.”

With that, I climbed into Vuitol and started the engine.

“System all green. Vertical engine, attitude control engine, start.”

Vuitol maintained a delicate balance as it gradually gained altitude. Below me, the villagers were all waving goodbye.

I gave a small nod and engaged the propulsion engine. Vuitol picked up speed, racing through the sky above the Forest of Bewilderment.

I set a straight course for Luluden and pushed the throttle forward.

================

〇 Regarding Multicast and Chantless

Multicast allows for the parallelization of magical power paths required to activate a spell. This does not mean the user's mind is split to chant multiple spells at once. With sufficient practice, it becomes possible to use multiple spells simultaneously, but its true potential is only unlocked when combined with Chantless.

Chantless allows the user to bypass the verbal process of describing the magical manifestation, enabling instantaneous activation.