My Servant Is An Elf Knight From Another World

Chapter 1005: Nothing Matters

I had a lot on the mind. Too many thoughts to even focus on just one. The moment I stop to contemplate one thing, another thing would barge right in to become my new brief second fixation. Repeat ad-nauseaum and it really was a mystery how I hadn’t yet slammed to the ground headfirst with how dense it’s gotten.

Dense. That’s probably the word here that perfectly encapsulates everything that’s transpired so far; the scope of Ruria’s true sentiments, revelations of past lives that I’ll probably never get to know more of beyond a surface glance... and I’m almost certain the more I uncover, the less likely I’ll ever have an empty head again.

A faint sigh broke the quiet. Ruria adjusted her stance, losing a little of the intensity that permeated her every move.

"That’s all I have to share," she said, her voice empty of feeling, depleted even of that anger that always accompanied it. "Will that suffice?"

Dad’s attention was elsewhere, however. Like some marble statue on a swivel, inch by inch he spun a full circle in place, taking in the desolation in another moment of silence that only he seemed to occupy. I wondered if he had even heard her.

"Yes. Yes, that’s enough," eventually came the voice from somewhere behind the back of the head facing toward us. "Thank you for sharing this with me, Irene."

Then for the first time in what felt like an eternity of time, Ruria and I met each other’s eyes, and it seriously felt like I caught her by surprise or something, as if I hadn’t been standing just a couple feet from her all this while. I didn’t know what the expression on my face was or what exactly it was telling her, but it sure doesn’t bode well that she averted her gaze first.

"Adalia," she called out to the vast nothingness. "You can stop now."

All was right again in an instant. Like every other instance, I didn’t even see when it happened. Suddenly, scorched earth was green and vibrant again. I could hear birds chirping from somewhere, the sprawling vista of decaying hills and red skies were replaced with the cluttered sways of bushes and trees, leaves tinged starkly with the orange of dusk beaming from high above.

We were back in the real, physical world again. Back in the open field surrounded by miles of woodlands with Ruria standing in one place and Dad remaining just as still in his. It took a small moment of acclimatizing before I even noticed a cold squeezing sensation swaddled across my left hand.

Adalia was clutching onto it; standing so quiet and inert beside me her presence was practically non-existant right up until that very moment.

"Hey—hi there!" I stammered out a greeting, masking the small shock she gave me with a smile. "When... since when were you here?"

She peered up at me, the smoky gray swirl of her gaze feeling like a sight from a lifetime ago. The pressure on my hand grew a little tighter

"While... you were... there..." Adalia slowly answered me. "I... was here...."

"The whole time?"

"Yes..."

I thought back to it all. The first time taking in the sight of the illusionary world, that leisurely stroll toward the village, the waltz across the town square, all that teasing, flirting, touching... and she’s been hand-in-hand with me all the while. Yeah, I suppose she was there too when Dad came barging in, but even that felt less tacky than the former instances.

"This... wasn’t what I expected things to be," Dad said, facing back toward us. "Nevertheless, you’ve given me a lot to think about today. I’m grateful."

Ruria... Irene was gradually losing the natural red of her pigment. No angry tail behind her rippling and swishing through the grass this time, and though her eyes shifted back to their usual black, that scowl of hers stuck around, lingering seemingly for as long as he was.

"And so?" Irene inquired, ignoring the strands of her own hair the wind was blowing into her gaze. "What was it all for then? What did telling any of this to you serve to accomplish?"

"Nothing," he said. "None of it matters anymore. Like you said, it changes nothing. I just... I suppose I just needed someone to talk to about it. So, thank you."

Irene reciprocated his expression of gratitude with an audible scoff. The whole thing truly was a bizarre ordeal. I know Dad to have always been indifferent or passive to everything that came his way. Confrontations like these, actions like these, just weren’t how I usually knew him.

But then again, have I really known him all along?

"Also one more thing," Dad spoke up. "One more question."

I sincerely don’t know where he gets the courage. It was plain as day to see that Irene’s already reached her utmost limit of tolerating his very existence. I decided to step in.

"Dad," I said. "Maybe another time, alright? We’ll talk later, just—"

"What is it?" Irene snapped at him, exhaling enough air to suffocate two pairs of lungs. "What the hell else could you possibly need to know from me?"

He did not hesitate even in the slightest. "Do you truly love my son?"

See, I knew I already heard him right the first time. Not like he mumbled it to invite that kind of misunderstanding. He said it loud, said it clear. But this one time, just this one time, please... tell me I wasn’t hearing him right.

"Dad," I called out to him, feeling the wind blow right into my wide-open mouth. "Just what are you doing here?"

"It’s just a question," he said with the kind of earnestness ignorant to all forms of tact and consideration.

"Yes, I do," Irene stated plainly. "Can you leave now, please?"

He didn’t budge. "But do you, really?"

"Dad," I repeated myself. "Seriously."

"Sorry, I do not mean to doubt you," He said to her with a bow. "I’m just seeking to clarify. That’s it. Irene, you were a Homiren to that village. You know what that means, and you should also know the conclusion I might naturally draw with that information. I’m merely asking out of concern for my son’s well-being."

"The hell’s a Homiren?" I asked aloud to anyone that was kind enough to give me an answer.

"A... succubus of... obsession..." Adalia whispered, her murky gaze slowly setting upon Irene’s figure. "Homiren Succubus charms people... fascinates them... enthralls them..."

I felt my brows furrow. "O...kay? Isn’t that what all succubus do anyway?

She shook her head. "People who.... fall in love with a Homiren... become obsessed... to the point of... insanity... and so... they wil do... anything... give up... everything... kill anyone they have to... just to get... her attention... affection..."

Again, just like before, Irene and I locked eyes. Another revelation, another dense fog of thoughts blinding me from ever thinking anything straight. I couldn’t do anything but just stare at her, and once more, she veered away from me.

"I knew the people that were dispatched to deal with you," Dad continued. "Men that were strong-willed, men that I believed could never be swayed. Then they died. Each of their blades in each other’s bodies. You had turned them against one another."

"And you think I’d doom your son to a similar fate?" Irene asked. "Why would you think that?"

For once, Dad didn’t answer right away. He seemed to be thinking, really thinking. How best to express himself, as succinct, as simple as he could.

"I don’t," He started cautiously. "I just want to trust you, that’s all. Can I trust you?"

Irene heard him and stared... her gaze so intense it felt as if she was beaming her every thought directly into his head. Then she shook hers, and sighed again.

"I’m not going to indulge this... indulge you. We’re beyond this kind of stupid conversation. I don’t need your trust to love your son. That’s all I’m willing to say about that."

Dad only nodded once. He was not going to force her to comply, if nothing else, I knew that of him... and sure enough, after a brief moment had gone by, he began to make his departure.

"Keep up the good work," he said to me, and it took some time to realize he was referring to my training. "We’ll talk more soon."

Nobody said or did anything until his lumbering figure had disappeared both from sight and sound. After a while, it was Irene that shattered the prolonged idleness. She paced across the field, her movement a little rigid, a little awkward, but also a little calmer... and dare I say, a little happier too.

"There’s still time before night falls," she said, contemplating. "If you’re up for it... could always just sharpen your sparring skills a bit more."

For the third time, her gaze met mine. In that split-second, I saw it all on her expression. The tension, the anxiety, the complexities and ramifications of everything that’s happened. It showed on her face too—that density.

There’s a time and place to sort it all out eventually. But surely, it doesn’t have to be right now, right?

"I’m all ears," I said. "Tell me what to do."

And this time I knew exactly what showed on my face, because on hers, like a mirror to my own, was a smile right back.