I Became My Healer Elf Character - Chapter 66

Chapter 66: Reunion
The next night, the auction house was lit up for the event. Hikari stood by herself outside of the venue. It was the first time in a while that she’d been by herself. Even though she could have brought her companions, she didn’t. Kurayami and Mizuko had already investigated much of the city. In a day, they learned more than most could learn over several months.

They learned that the city was ran by a man named General Trent who also happened to be the sword saint of the Empire. This garrison was about 30 thousand soldiers strong with him as the lead, and each battalion held about 5 thousand with their own commanders. From there it tapered down.

Much of the city ignored the dealings of the Thieves Guild. As long as the Guild didn’t do excessive things like kidnapping or taking hostages, the city mostly turned a blind eye to petty thievery. The Guild knew which commanders they could trust and which ones would try to incarcerate them.

The garrison commander General Trent was a bit of an enigma. Mizuko was able to find that the rat Doenel had been staying under his roof, but Hikari refrained from taking action immediately.

General Trent was said to offer them something at this venue, and the elf was curious. She didn’t believe it was likely they’d produce anything capable of capturing her heart, but she’d have to wait and see.

A bouncer thwarted people trying to gain entry without a pass, and Hikari herself was no exception. Upon reaching the doorway, the bouncer spoke.

“Provide proof of status for entry.”

Hikari handed the man the ticket she’d gotten from the inn.

He looked it over before nodding and opening the door behind him. “Someone will escort you to your seat.”

Another man’s voice answered from behind the door. “Actually, I will take it from here.”

“General?” The bouncer asked surprised.

“She’s an esteemed guest.” General Trent smiled before bowing towards Hikari and extending a hand. “Lady Hikari, General Trent, my pleasure.”

Hikari reluctantly took his hand, but she swore that if he kissed it, she’d send him flying through the roof of this venue. Thankfully, such an event didn’t happen.

Instead, Hikari took in the large place. It was even bigger than she expected inside. After traveling down a flight of stairs, they entered a large theater, and a red curtain covered the stage. However, the seats weren’t normal. There were large boxes with several seats on each row for privacy, and the front of these boxes had an opening for the people to see the stage.

It happened the Hikari ended up in the largest box in the venue. There was a row of comfy seats that the general lead her to, and in one of them there was a rat. Another seat had Laslo the merchant and owner of the Ocean Tide Inn. Though that wasn’t a surprise.

As Hikari waved to the man, he stood up and smiled. “Greetings. Did you have a rough time getting in?”

“Not at all, today it will be only me. I’d have brought the others, but for one reason or another, they have abstained.”

“Really, and what about the children?”

“In the first place, I am not really related to them,” she said, purposefully looking towards Doenel who was making himself small. “That pink-haired one is taking care of them.”

Laslo nodded and gestured to one of the plush chairs. “Please, make yourself comfortable while you are here. A very interesting guess is soon to arrive.”

“Really? Who?”

“She is a woman named Ayase.”

///

Ayase sat inside of a large snake shrine. While this place was technically a part of the world, it was almost impossible to reach for mortal people. It rested high above the clouds on a mountain from the western continent. However, it wasn’t cold at all.

No, it was quite warm and humid at the summit. Torii stood at several entrances, protecting this place from the monsters and yokai below. Ever since Ayase had found a home in this place, she’d rarely left. Except now, things were different.

The girl paced back and forth wondering how it was possible. What were the odds that the person she loved would reincarnate in another world, and it ended up being the same one?

Well, if she remembered how light novels worked, then it was a surprisingly high chance, but even still she couldn’t stop how her heart beat furiously inside of her chest. One would assume that dying and reincarnating would make a person forget their love over time, but Ayase still always held that longing.

Her pupil Momo had delivered the news to her, and now she was flooded with temptation and reluctance. She was reluctant to go for several reasons.

What if Hikari had forgotten about her? What if her love wasn’t reciprocated? Yet at the same time there were so many questions she wanted to ask. Ayase wanted to know how the other woman had lived after she died.

In reality, Ayase thought that she might be insane. What kind of person would fall so deeply for someone they barely knew?

Momo had told Ayase that her love was traveling with companions. However, relationships with multiple people in this world were quite normal. Though, it might be shameful, Ayase had even tried things with Momo before.

However, that never amounted to much. It was amazing that the two could remain as master and student after that small fling.

“Master, are you going to leave any time soon, or will you keep walking in circles? The bidding should be starting as soon as the venue opens. Even though, we have a portal, you cannot delay forever. What happens if you miss the opportunity? From my understanding, that woman is quite aloof and can disappear at any time. Moreover, can you even be certain it’s the same Hikari that you know?”

“Of that, I am certain. Even if she became an elf, there is no denying that it’s the person I once knew.” Ayase took a deep breath and donned her own witch hat. “Alright, I suppose I should not waste anymore time.”

She walked down to one of the Torii at the edge of the summit. Inside of it there was a glowing purple portal. As soon as she crossed, the world folded before her, and she found herself on the sands of a familiar yet distant continent.

The person guarding the venue didn’t even need to check her status. The moment he saw her, he opened the door.

All of the onlookers gasped in surprise. Indeed, Ayase was quite the star herself in certain groups. However, it was surprising that many people from this age knew about her. All of her deeds should have been swept a long time ago. But she supposed that the scholarly people of the Empire would be aware.

Most of the people at the venue were nobles, scholars, high profile merchants, or people like Ayase. Then there was someone like Hikari who was an enigma herself. And it was one of the many questions that Ayase wanted to ask.

It didn’t take her long to find the elf in question. The moment Ayase entered that room, Hikari looked at her.

The woman’s stunning silver hair seemed almost ethereal in nature, and her face had become even more stunning. However, there was no denying it. Ayase knew that this was the same person. The person that she longed for in both of her lives stood right in front of her, making it hard for her to find the words.

Hikari’s eyes widened slightly on seeing the witch before her voice flowed sweet and serene like a gentle river. “Long time no see, Ayase. You look exactly how I remember.”

Ayase gulped as she was urged on by her student. “Y-you changed a lot more…You’re even more stunning now.”

General Trent stood up, cutting off their reunion. “You two have met before? I see, you’re an even bigger person than I expected, miss Hikari.”

“Actually, I am the one that’s surprised. Momo here said she would be coming, but I didn’t expect it to be at this timing. If I had known in advance, I’d have prepared an appropriate place to talk.”

In conjunction with Hikari’s words, the venue began to become more lively as the curtain lifted. On the other side, a human with a black and white tuxedo performed a bow before grabbing a magic microphone.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for joining us in this special occasion. Tonight, we will be hosting the 100th annual Seafaring Auction. Items from all around the world have made it to our empire tonight! Many of the most high ranking officials have joined us to bid. Do not fret, we have hired the best security in all the Empire. Even the sword saint himself joins us tonight.”

Hikari gestured to a seat right next to her as the man continued yapping. “We have a lot to catch up on…”