WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Irevi

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◈ Alone Against the Tower ◈

Chapter 86: A Dreamlike Situation

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Dark Elves were generally friendly toward humans, but things were a little different on the ninth floor.

The full-scale war between the three major factions had begun, so the Dark Elves must have already clashed with humans several times.

They still liked and found humans adorable, but they clearly recognized humans as enemies.

Perhaps that was why the Dark Elves were so delighted when a human who was definitely not an enemy appeared.

“Oh my, oh my. Is that really you? What have you been doing all this time? Why did you only come back now?”

“Be careful. We don't know if that's really them yet! Humans die after a hundred years!”

“Come on, maybe some humans live a little longer than a hundred years. That must be it.”

Half the Dark Elves were simply happy to see me, while the other half were suspicious.

And half of those suspicious ones were still cautiously trying to get closer.

They were a race that liked humans to a strange degree, no matter when I saw them. I wondered what it felt like for them to be at war with humans.

“You left without a word and didn't show up for a hundred years, so of course I thought you were dead.”

Rizmel said that with a hollow laugh as she led me into the fortress.

“It isn't strange enough that you're still alive, but shouldn't an ordinary human be old by now?”

I had been thinking hard about how to explain that myself, but I had not come up with anything suitable.

If most of the Non-Player Characters here had been empty shells like those in the other Towers, I would not have needed to worry about this.

I did not know why I alone had to feel like a time traveler.

Had the first-generation Challengers climbed the Tower with this same feeling, or was the Tower I was in special?

“Normally, yes.”

I gave Rizmel a vague answer and spread my mana to examine the fortress's interior.

It had looked like an impregnable fortress from outside, but seeing it closely from within, it was even more ridiculous.

Unless a dragon attacked, it seemed impossible to breach. Wasn't this a bit excessive?

“Hmph. You were never an ordinary brat. You probably spent the past hundred years choosing nothing but dangerous things to do, and something must have happened.”

Rizmel did not seem to question my unchanged appearance too deeply.

“Your unstable swordsmanship and mana are exactly the same as before. A fake couldn't imitate that.”

“Wouldn't it be even stranger if I stayed the same for a hundred years?”

“A heart can remain unchanged even after a thousand years. Especially the wandering of one who has lost their way. It cannot easily come to an end.”

After saying that, Rizmel suddenly stepped closer and placed a hand on my chest.

“I... met many humans because of you. After that, I realized just how unusual you are.”

Come to think of it, I had spoken with Rizmel about that on the seventh floor.

I had promised to let her meet other humans.

In the end, it led to war, but I had fulfilled that promise while helping Eleanor's plan.

“I don't really like humans... or someone like you, but... I hope that side of you can get better.”

Rizmel had seen and experienced many humans over the past hundred and twenty years. She must have remembered the wounded parts of me and prepared those words for a long time.

“It may be difficult for me, but Eleanor can do it. You two love each other, after all.”

But that whole thing about falling in love at first sight had been a lie.

She had believed it for a hundred and twenty years.

That was Eleanor's fault, not mine.

* * *

Anyway, since I was inside the fortress, I decided to make quick progress on the quest.

I turned down countless Dark Elves asking to shake my hand and went straight to see Eleanor.

It seemed Rizmel had intended to take me to Eleanor from the beginning, so I was able to save a lot of time.

The entire Dark Elf village, Reuel's Stump, had been fortified, and the royal residence had grown enormous as well.

They had all lived in identical tree apartments before, but now there was a proper castle.

The castle had its own guards, and I passed through them without issue before coming face-to-face with Eleanor.

“Am I still dreaming?”

That was the first thing Eleanor said when she saw me. I was just as surprised.

Of course, I remembered the queen being sickly on the eighth floor, but considering the ninth-floor quest, I had naturally assumed she would have recovered.

The crown, symbol of the Dark Elf queen and said to hold the power to influence the World Tree, rested atop Eleanor's head.

“This is the first time I've had such a vivid dream... Is it illusion magic?”

“It isn't an illusion.”

“My goodness, now it even speaks. Can I touch it too?”

Eleanor continued talking nonsense as she rose from her seat and walked toward me.

Her soft hand brushed my cheek. When I stayed still, it moved down the line of my neck and touched my chest.

Then it went lower, more slowly, reaching my thigh and gradually moving inward.

“Are you insane?”

I couldn't let it go any further. A hundred years had passed, but this woman hadn't changed at all.

“Ah, it really is you?”

When I sharply slapped her hand away, Eleanor finally seemed to realize that what was before her was real.

“But a hundred years have passed. How can you, a human, still...? Is it truly you? Have you really returned?”

No one shook my heart more than Eleanor. As always, dealing with her made me uncomfortable.

I could have said something to explain myself, but I deliberately remained silent.

I simply stood still until Eleanor calmed down on her own.

* * *

The audience chamber where Queen Eleanor sat was extremely spacious.

It was probably because this was a castle and she was a queen, but all I could think of was how wasteful the space was.

There were no officials to speak of. It only had a throne and a large conference table.

There was space to spare, but Eleanor apparently had no intention of using it properly.

“Let go.”

“No.”

Instead of calming down when I left her alone, she clung tightly to me like a cicada and showed no sign of letting go.

The other Dark Elves had eagerly approached me too, but wasn't this too much?

“If I am not touching you like this, it does not feel real. That you are truly beside me.”

I frowned and stared at Eleanor's face as she clung to me. She did not seem well.

Her eyes resembled those of the former queen, who had reminded me of a withered old tree.

Naturally, I remembered what the queen had said to me. That Eleanor would change after going through war.

“You appeared when I needed an excuse to break off my engagement. You broke it off exactly as I wished, then left without a word.”

“You appeared when we feared war might break out. You helped us greatly, then disappeared without a word again.”

“And now you have appeared looking exactly as you did then, at the time when I am suffering the most.”

Eleanor's arms tightened around my shoulders, trembling slightly.

“Perhaps twice could be called a coincidence, but at this point, isn't it only natural that I can't believe it even as I see it?”

I supposed that was true. I had only followed the quest line.

It was not that I appeared at Eleanor's important moments.

The system had selected only Eleanor's important moments and placed them in the Tower of Trials.

“I suppose so.”

From a Non-Player Character's perspective, Challengers must be incomprehensible, mysterious, and extraordinary beings.

Perhaps Eleanor's strong affection for me was also something the system had already decided.

“Hehe. I don't know how even your appearance is exactly my type. You truly are something.”

How much of this had been decided by the system? How much was merely background setting?

At least Eleanor's past that I had seen, and the passage of time I had felt in Rizmel's sword...

“Seriously. How can that be?”

They had felt too vivid to seem like fabricated backstory.

* * *

Even then, Eleanor showed no intention of letting go for quite some time, and eventually I had to force her off me.

“You really are too cruel. We still have a long way to go before making up for a hundred years!”

“So you want to cling to me for a hundred years?”

“Isn't that obvious? My betrothed didn't even show their face for a hundred years. I was lonely.”

As she said that, Eleanor smiled lewdly and tapped her lower abdomen. Here she went again.

As always, I ignored her and asked whether there was anything I could do to advance the Epic Quest.

It was obvious what I could help with during wartime. The quest line was normally like this.

I would receive a mission from the leader of the faction I chose, then go to the front lines and distinguish myself, just as I had on the eighth floor.

“Ah, of course there is. It is something only you can do.”

Eleanor was ultimately a Non-Player Character who existed for the quest. This was the only way things could go.

Let's not stay like this too long for no reason. This time too, I would quickly clear the quest and take the rewards.

However, what came from Eleanor's mouth was not about the expected quest.

“Will you sleep with me?”

That alone would have been fine. The problem was the system message that appeared before my eyes.

[Epic: Dark Elf's Letter - The Queen's Command]

Eleanor's nonsense had been registered as a quest.

“Huh?”

What the hell was this?

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