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“No, this can’t be… Let go of me!”

Astard said this as he moved Merc’s hand away from his collar and furrowed his brows.

“Just who do you think you are talking about the Gust of Wind like that? How dare you impersonate him?! You must be really foolish if you believe you can outwit me with that!”

Astard spoke as Mana began to accumulate at the tip of his wand. He was able to cast a spell at a moment’s notice.

Merc didn’t pull out her weapons despite the situation.

“Astard, I just want to know the truth. I heard that you disbanded the party right after defeating the Falgaro. Why did you do it?”
“Take out your weapon! Do you want to be burnt?!”
“The way your speech shifts when you become flustered hasn’t changed at all.”
“……”　

The tip of Astard’s wand trembled the second he heard that.

“I won’t hold it against you if you have a good reason. I want you to persuade me. I may be blowing my own trumpet here, but I feel our party was the most powerful. You should have been able to continue working together even after losing a single member.”
“Just what do you know? How long do you intend to make fun of me? You don’t even share Estert’s gender! So be it then. You can die while believing you are Estert.”
“Did you tell Iriem, the Saintess, how you feel?”
“…?!”

Astard swallowed his words just as he was ready to begin chanting. Rather, to Astard it felt as if the chant he was going to utter had been shoved back down by someone.

That was just how much Merc’s remark had impacted him.

“W-What?!”
“You, yourself, said that after beating the Falgaro, you would confess your feelings for the Saintess. Was that a drunken lie?”
“I-It was not! I truly do love her!”
“Did you tell her that?”
“Before I could… T-That doesn’t matter! Why do you even know this?!”
“How could I not? You told me, at Selcolus Hill.”
“Selcolus Hill…”

Astard halted and his eyes widened when he heard Merc mention that.

Selcolus Hill was a tiny mountain with scarce vegetation located in the southeast part of the Kingdom of Kushilia. It was there that Estert and the other members of Gust of Wind brought the Falgaro down. Estert had listened to Astard’s drunken determination to confess his feelings on the eve of the fight in Selcolus Hill.

As a result, it was unlikely that anybody other than Estert was aware of Astard’s determination. After all, Estert had died the following day, so there was no way he could have informed anybody about it.

“But, that’s just… You look completely different… I can’t believe this…”
“That makes two of us. When I learned I’d been reincarnated as an elf girl, I also thought that I was dreaming.”
“An elf girl? You… You were reborn as an elf?”

With disbelief, Astard glanced at Merc. Merc, for her part, raised the side of her hair.

“See? Elf ears.”
“Y-You’re right… No wonder you’re this beautiful. I see… An Elf… You’re an elf!”
“I never imagined I’d live to see the day when you’d call me beautiful…”

Merc, despite the circumstances, was repulsed by Astard and covered her body with her hands. That being said, Astard just looked at Merc as if he was studying her, not with any ulterior motives in mind.

“Still, reincarnation huh…”
“What? You still don’t believe me? Then how about a quick spar?”
“Huh?”
“I don’t have my regular weapons, and I can now use magic, so my combat style is completely different, but there should be some traces. Wanna give it a go?”

After hearing Merc’s proposal, Astard froze completely. The tip of Astard’s wand, which had been pointing at Merc, had suddenly dropped to the ground, but Merc hadn’t noticed that.

She just drew out her wooden stick and sword and held them in each hand.

“Come on then. If you’re still not certain then let’s get it on. You see, I’m quite pissed that you disbanded the party. So how should I say this… I won’t hold back.”
“…! W-Wait! I got it! So, please, stop! I understand! I’m convinced you’re the real Estert based on those words!”

Astard remarked this as the barrier that surrounded him repelled a wooden stick swung down with full power. Merc, who had predicted that her strike would be resisted, launched a barrage of attacks in an attempt to shatter the barrier, but when she noticed that Astard had given up, she halted her efforts.

“So you believe I’m Estert, and that I’ve reincarnated?”
“To be honest, it sounds ridiculous, but that’s what makes it believable. After all, it’s not something you’d ordinarily consider.”
“So you really believe me?”

With astonishment, Merc gazed up at Astard. Astard, on the other hand, just pretended not to notice and put his wand into his robe.

“I believe you. You know things that only Estert could have known, and you took actions that only Estert would have taken. Furthermore, I have a hunch about why you reincarnated¹.”
“What? Are you serious?”　
“I am. That said, it’s only a hypothesis so I can’t confirm it at this time.”
“That’s still fine. I want to hear your opinion on why I was reincarnated as an elf.”

Merc had assumed that her reincarnation as an elf was owing to the gods’ whim up until now, however, it appeared that Astard had a different perspective on the situation. Astard took a step closer after Merc’s query and responded with a question of his own.

“I don’t mind sharing my theory with you, but are you actually Estert?”
“I am. Although, currently I go by Merc. What is it? Are you ready to cry because you’re so moved?”
“That’s not it… It’s just that I’m not the kind to hit a lady, but since it’s you, I don’t think it will be a problem.”
“What?”

Before Merc could realize what Astard was trying to say, she had already sheathed her weapons.

“First of all… Don’t f̲u̲c̲k̲ with me you b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲²!!!”

Astard clumsily swung his weakly clenched fist and hit Merc’s left cheek.

1. Robinxen: Oh no… did the Saintess do something…
2. Robinxen: Oh that’s something that’s been held a long time.