"Well then, take care. You're welcome to come back anytime, Son-in-Law."
Optis offered those words with a smile to Rei, who stood before the carriage, and the next moment gave a small bow.
An instant later, a shockwave generated by a Wind Spirit passed through the spot where Optis's head had been just a moment before.
That said, it wasn't a particularly fatal strike — a weak one, no more forceful than a light tap from a fist.
"......Grandfather, please don't mess around too much, alright?"
"Foh foh foh. Is that so? I was being quite serious, you know. Besides, there are the World Tree materials... and above all, the will of the World Tree to consider."
Optis's gaze drifted toward the Light Sphere, which was pulsing more quietly than usual at Rei's side.
While no one could decipher the Light Sphere's exact intentions, everyone present could guess that it was sad about Rei and his group leaving.
That impression only grew stronger considering how happy it had seemed the day before, when they went to collect several World Tree leaves — embarrassed, yet clearly delighted.
"Lord Rei, and everyone — thank you for everything. Honestly, my first impression of you all was so poor that I wasn't sure how things would turn out, but..."
Ragdo, looking slightly sheepish, bowed his head toward Rei and the others.
Ragdo had clashed with Marina over how to protect the settlement, but in the end, the settlement had been saved.
If Marina hadn't brought Rei, the World Tree would almost certainly have withered.
And the reason they'd been able to repel the massive monster army that surged toward the settlement was largely thanks to the power of people like Rei, Elena, and Vihera.
...Though the fact that the Giant Cicada had grown to such enormous proportions because of Rei's magic power was still something Ragdo had mixed feelings about.
"Yeah, a lot happened."
While talking with Ragdo, Rei glanced around and spotted Jusura, Odoban, and others exchanging words with Marina.
Odoban, who had come all the way to Gilm to fetch Marina, and Jusura, who had been rescued after being captured by Bandits.
There were other familiar faces from the battle as well.
Rei's eyes caught sight of Elena, Vihera, and Ara chatting with Dark Elves they had apparently grown close to.
Rei had been feeling slightly at loose ends when he noticed four Dark Elves approaching him — children, at that.
There was no need to see their faces to know who they were. Ian, Kalja, Mirus. And the children's leader, Lugdus. The four of them.
"Bwother, bwother! No go 'way!"
The first to speak among the approaching children was Mirus.
With the same lisping voice as always, Mirus tugged on Rei's Dragon Robe.
Rei had no idea why the child had taken to him so much, but it was hard to feel anything but warm toward someone who adored him this genuinely.
"Um... are you really leaving? Couldn't you stay a little longer...?"
"That's right. You could stay a bit longer, you know. If the elder says anything, I'll talk back to him for you!"
Kalja and Ian both called out to Rei as well.
"Hmph."
And Lugdus, while clearly paying attention to Rei, made a show of pretending not to and snorted.
As someone who held complicated feelings toward Rei — both his romantic rival and his savior — Lugdus simply couldn't bring himself to be honest here.
It wasn't that he was unhappy about Rei disappearing from before his eyes, but at the same time, that also meant Marina — whom Lugdus had fallen for at first sight — would be gone too.
Those feelings tangled with gratitude, leaving him unsure of what attitude to take toward Rei.
It wasn't that Rei particularly understood Lugdus's feelings, but while patting Mirus's head, he spoke up.
"Lugdus, if you're the one looking after these kids, then protect them when something happens — just like you did when you fought the Goblins."
"H-hmph! I know that even without you telling me!"
Lugdus said that and averted his gaze from Rei.
Whether by coincidence or by Lugdus's own intent, his wandering gaze landed right on Marina.
In any case, still patting Mirus, Rei repeated himself.
"You protect them."
"...I know!"
Lugdus shouted that he didn't need to be told.
Watching Lugdus's demeanor, Rei suddenly felt a gaze and turned toward it.
There stood Odoban.
Their relationship was by no means a good one, but Rei didn't let it bother him much.
After all, from Odoban's perspective, Rei had interrupted her reunion with a friend she hadn't seen in roughly a hundred years.
Furthermore, Odoban fully understood that Marina was unconsciously drawn to Rei, which only stoked her jealousy further.
"......"
To Odoban, who silently bowed her head, Rei gave a small nod in return. After that, he spent another twenty minutes or so exchanging farewells with the other Dark Elves before it was finally time to depart.
Lastly, Rei quietly reached out his hand toward the Light Sphere circling around him.
He knew he couldn't touch it, but right now, he felt the urge to reach out anyway.
This Light Sphere had been born from Rei's magic power. In a manner of speaking, it was something like his own child.
...And yet, the Giant Cicada had been created from Rei's magic power combined with the World Tree's sap and roots, so in a sense, that too could be called a child of Rei and the World Tree.
(Hm? So that means I had a child called the Giant Cicada with... no, let's stop right there. That's definitely not a line of thought that leads anywhere happy.)
Shaking off the thought that had crept into his mind, Rei addressed the Light Sphere.
"I'm heading back now, but stay healthy."
The moment he said that, the Light Sphere began flashing intensely.
It understood — Rei was about to leave, about to disappear.
As if begging him not to go, it flew circles around him, flashing over and over.
Despite the sorrow behind it, the sight was undeniably dazzling, and the Dark Elves watching were equally captivated.
But while it might have been a dazzling spectacle from the outside, for Rei standing at the center of it all, it was unbearable.
"Settle down... hey, it's too bright, settle down."
After calling out to the Light Sphere a few times as it orbited him, it finally stopped moving and drifted to a halt right in front of his face.
"I can't stay in this settlement forever, you know that, right?"
"I wouldn't mind at all if you stayed in this settlement as long as you like. You could even stay as Marina's hus—"
"Grand-fa-ther?"
"Gebuh!"
Marina's fist sank into Optis's torso for his unnecessary remark.
She didn't normally possess that kind of strength, but even now, Rei's residual magic still lingered within Marina.
It had boosted her physical abilities across the board, and her strike easily silenced Optis.
Watching the exchange between grandfather and granddaughter from the corner of his eye, Rei continued his persuasion of the Light Sphere.
"It's not like this is a lifelong farewell, right? If I come back here, we'll see each other again."
At Rei's words, the Light Sphere flashed once more.
Rei thought it seemed to be asking, "Really?" and gave it a nod.
"Yeah, so stay healthy until I come back. Then I'll play with you again."
At those words, the Light Sphere finally seemed to accept it. It began flashing slowly.
Seeing it pulse in what looked like agreement, Rei decided it would be all right. He turned his gaze back toward Optis.
Optis had been groaning in agony from Marina's blow, but he must have recovered by now — he was regarding Rei with his usual composed and dignified air.
(No, would you even call what Optis does "composed and dignified"? ...No, you wouldn't.)
What crossed Rei's mind was the thought that, given everything he'd seen of Optis's words and behavior during his short stay in the settlement, "composed and dignified" wouldn't be the right description.
The Light Sphere fluttered around Rei, flashing.
Its sulking mood from the earlier exchange seemed to have lifted, and now it was energetically making its desire for Rei's attention plain.
"...Rei, we should go soon."
The one who said that was Marina — who under normal circumstances would have wanted to linger a bit longer saying her farewells to the people of the settlement.
Perhaps judging that they would never depart at this rate, she said it with a touch of bravado.
Marina was usually the very embodiment of the word "alluring," but right now, in a rare departure, she exuded a faintly lonely air.
"Yeah, you're right. Well then... take care."
Those words were for the Light Sphere, for Optis, and for the other Dark Elves as well.
At Rei's words, every Dark Elf bowed their head.
A few of the children looked around as if they didn't quite understand what was happening, but the people who appeared to be their parents gently pressed their heads down.
"Lord Rei... there are no words sufficient to express our gratitude for saving our settlement. Our clan shall never forget this debt. If there is ever anything we can do to help, we hope you will seek us out without hesitation. For there is no gate we would ever close before Lord Rei."
Optis's manner of speech was entirely different from usual.
It was the demeanor of this settlement's elder — its de facto leader.
He ordinarily called Rei "Son-in-Law" or simply "Rei," but the fact that he now addressed him as "Lord Rei" was proof enough of that.
Toward the assembled Dark Elves, Rei offered a smile and spoke.
"Don't worry about it. This was a job... no, that's not right. I just did it because Marina asked me. As far as I'm concerned, if it's a request from Marina, something like this is nothing at all. Besides... I've already received my reward."
At Rei's words, a faint blush crept into Marina's cheeks.
Rei had meant the World Tree branches, leaves, and sap as his "reward," but what had crossed Marina's mind was her kiss with Rei.
Seeing his granddaughter's reaction, Optis seemed to vaguely understand what had happened. With a smile befitting a good-natured grandfather, he bowed his head once more.
...Though he never said it aloud, that bow carried not gratitude for saving the World Tree, but a silent plea — to take care of his granddaughter for all time.
Whether it was fortune or misfortune that Rei failed to notice this remained an open question.
In any case, with Optis still bowing, Rei and his group climbed into the carriage.
Only Ara headed for the driver's seat.
With the Dark Elves seeing them off, the carriage at last began to move.
The Light Sphere alone chased after the carriage, and as they neared the Protective Barrier, a hole naturally opened up in it.
The one doing this was the Light Sphere — the will of the World Tree.
Since the World Tree itself maintained the Protective Barrier, opening a hole large enough for a carriage to pass through was no trouble at all.
"I wasn't needed, huh."
She must have sensed through the presence of spirits that a hole had been opened in the Protective Barrier. Marina murmured from inside the carriage.
On the sofa where Marina sat, Rei was right beside her.
Given everything that had happened over the past few days, it wouldn't have been surprising if Elena and Vihera had tried to stop Marina from sitting next to Rei — but right now, just for this moment, they didn't.
Marina hadn't originally left the settlement because she was driven out. It was purely out of curiosity about the outside world.
In other words, she could have returned whenever she wanted... but it was also true that during her time working away, various obligations had piled up.
As a result, she hadn't been able to come back easily, and this visit had been her first in roughly a hundred years.
Even for a Dark Elf — one who lived a long life, and who carried a denser bloodline than most, with a deep connection to the World Tree — a hundred years was still a considerable span of time.
That was why, as she set out from the settlement once more, she couldn't help but feel something akin to nostalgia.
To fill the loneliness in her heart, Marina leaned her weight against Rei beside her.
Today, Marina was wearing a party dress with a deeply exposed chest and back.
Leaning against him in such an outfit naturally meant her ample breasts pressed flat against Rei's arm, the deep valley between them compressing to emphasize their softness.
"Hey, Rei. You really saved us this time. ...As thanks, shall I give you an experience like nothing you've ever had before?"
The moment when Elena and Vihera would cry out in reaction to Marina's blatant provocation — her feminine allure unleashed to its fullest — was just seconds away.
(Right now, I just want everyone to be noisy and help me forget — to fill this loneliness.)
Thinking that, half-convinced she would give her body to Rei if he wished it, Marina continued her seduction.
A short distance away, Byune — wanting nothing to do with any of it — was slowly savoring dried fruit received as a souvenir from the Dark Elves... and then the screams of two maidens in love, having reached their breaking point, echoed through the carriage.