I Became My Healer Elf Character - Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Coerced Request
The following morning and the days of travel after their little endeavor, the smile would not leave Kurayami’s face. The two had inevitably become closer than ever before, and now their little display was even more apparent. The two held hands almost the entire way back to the kingdom’s capital.

However, when Hikari got back to the capital, she quickly hid behind a stack of hay. She gestured her comrades to keep silent and waved them over to the hiding spot.

“Master, what’s wrong?” Kurayami whispered.

“That pervert is here. See, she’s walking with her little band over there. Let’s wait for them to pass.”

It had been a while since Hikari had seen Kyra and her friends, but she was very reluctant to meet them again, especially since the face of that priestess was already turning strange colors. It was as if the girl could sense the divine energy of Hikari through some perverse skill.

Once they finally passed, Hikari breathed a sigh of relief. She waved over the group and ran towards the castle. She ran fast enough that Esalda and Alfa could hardly keep up.

The guards at the castle instantly recognized the group. They quickly opened the door and saluted the girls’ entrance.

Hikari was glad to see the throne room mostly vacant. Usually when she came there were too many people. Now, it was just the queen sitting on her throne.

The queen stood from her throne and walked over to the group. She smiled at them and looked towards Hikari. “Thank you for taking care of them all of this time. Did you make a decision in regards to the goddess’ request?”

Hikari narrowed her eyes at queen Ieffy.

“Don’t be so serious. She contacted me about it. She wants you to take my daughters, right? Well, I am not against it. In fact…”

The elf held her palm towards the queen. “The answer is no. I have thought about it already. My privacy is very important to me, and I do not want to be tied down to a single cause.”

“Hmm, you are quite willful. You know a lot of men and women would kill to be able to have a shot at marrying my daughters, yet here you are denying the opportunity.”

“Mother! Don’t say such strange things. Hikari already has her.” Alfa gestured towards the dragon.

“Oh, but aren’t they just a master and subordinate? If you were to engage with Miss Hikari…”

Hikari once more put her hand up. “I am going to have to ask you to stop. Kurayami cannot be compared to a mere subordinate.”

The queen raised her eyebrow. Meanwhile, on the side a faint “master” could be heard. Ieffy sighed once more. “I suppose there is nothing that would change your mind. Well, what about the other request?”

“You even know about that one?”

“I don’t know the details. She only told me that it was important.”

The elf nodded. “I will consider it, but it is all up to my discretion.”

“Well then, Miss Hikari, our time together has truly been short, but I can sense that you will fly away like a free bird. I truly envy you.”

Alfa smiled. “Please come back to visit as much as you can.”

Esalda gave a bow. “Miss Hikari, I wish you a pleasant journey. You are always welcome here or in my manor. If you have need of anything, my father will be able to provide.”

Hikari didn’t give a good bye speech. She was never good with people to begin with. Whether it was in this life or the past life, she was always an awkward fellow. The elf felt like this was something she’d probably take to her grave. Instead, she gave a smile and a small wave before walking out of the castle.

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Hikari reached the adventurer’s guild. She made sure while on the way to keep a sliver of her mana as a watchful eye for those adventurers she’d met when she first arrived in this world. It wasn’t that she disliked them or anything, but she really didn’t want to have another scene. Thankfully, the group was doing their own bit of sightseeing around the churches of the capital.

The small elf pushed open the adventurer’s guild door. Though, when she found the cat woman at the tier 4 desk, the woman’s eyes widened. “I really thought you had disappeared forever! Where have you been? So many adventurers have been looking for you.”

Hikari’s eyes widened, and she felt her heart rate increase a bit. Had they figured out that I destroyed the dungeon?

“Why are you spacing out? I am telling you, the guild is promoting you to the 6th tier.”

“Huh? Why? I don’t remember doing many quests besides that one in the dungeon.”

“Hey, don’t say something so silly. News of many of your deeds had traveled from the queen to guild master personally. Do you realize how hard it is to take on an army of skeletons? Not to mention… That time when the city was under attack.”

Hikari deadpanned at the white cat. “I can assure you. That was not me.”

The cat gave a knowing smile. “Right…Well, we can’t really figure out the person who did it. Besides, you are new around here right? You use light magic and healing right? You wouldn’t happen to know who destroyed that dungeon core, would you?”

Hikari shook her head rapidly. “I have no idea. I saw a bright light in the sky, and in the next instant, the whole thing was vanished.”

“That’s the crazy part. No one reported seeing a priestess looking elf after the incident. No one even remembered how those materials were acquired. There are some serious offenses in this person’s wrap sheet. Man, if only we knew who did it.”

Hikari laughed awkwardly. “If only…What is it that you want? Do you have a specific goal here?”

Essah smiled brightly with half closed eyes. “Well, there is no proof of anything, but I am willing to forget everything entirely. After you hand me your guild card, there is a request that I would like you to take.”

“Are you threatening Master? I will destroy you, little cat.”

“Ohhhh! How scary!? This swamp monster is going to eat me! Boo-boo-boo…” The cat woman twisted her fist against her eyes as if wiping tears.

Hikari could feel the air turn cold as she looked at her dragon. Before the dragon could erupt, the elf tenderly grabbed her hand. “Fine, you have a deal. Just as long as the request can be taken in the north.”

“Oh, that’s just perfect! Now, hand me your guild cards.”

Hikari reached into her inventory and pulled out the card, followed by Kurayami doing the same thing. Essah used a different black stone and placed both of the cards on it. A shining white light broke through, and soon after, the process was finished.

Essah clapped and handed over the cards. “Congratulations on your promotion to the 7th tier.”

“Wait! You said sixth?”

“Did I?” Essah asked while sticking out her tongue. “I’m sorry, I can’t demote you without a valid reason, so you are both stuck at 7. If you want, you could go around and do something silly like blow up a dungeon. Maybe you could wipe some memories or something like that. You might end up really getting demoted at that point.”

Hikari felt a pang in her chest every time this Essah character spoke. It was like each sentence was an arrow that attacked the goddess’s lack of common sense.

“Hmph, Master has no need of these mortal rankings? By the way, if Master was truly ranked according to your system, she would easily surpass 100 tiers. So, don’t lump her up with those small ants at Tier 7.”

Essah broke out into a laugh. “You’re funny for a swamp lizard.”

“Alright, alright,” Hikari said, “can you please tell me the request.”

“Oh, you only have to escort a merchant to the north, cross through some potential brigand territory, and arrive at the elven forests.”

Hikari grinned. It was such a perfect request. Her destination had already been to go to the elven territory. The whole reason she went to the adventurers guild was to see if she could find a request.

If it came to escorting people, the dragon had a near perfect defense, and Hikari could easily heal any of the wounded. Then as soon as she got there, she could explore on her own.

“It’s just a one way trip, right?”

“We would prefer it if you took the way back as well, but one way is fine. All you have to do is guard the leader of a merchant’s guild. They plan to do some trading with the elves over there, so it was decided that you’d be perfect for the quest.”

Hikari didn’t feel great about being used, but since their destinations aligned, she’d not deny the request. As soon as the merchant group left the forest, they’d be on their own, and Hikari would be free to explore as she sees fit.