My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero's

After parting ways with Akira and the others, Ria and I went to the rear to stand guard. Crow had accompanied us part of the way, but somewhere around the middle of the ship he had started wandering off.

Beastmen age suddenly and all at once, I’d heard. Truly, he probably doesn’t have much time left.

The High Elves, my people, are long-lived compared to most races in the world, and I myself have lived longer than many others. In appearance I might not look much different from Akira now, but that won’t last forever. Once you interact with non-Elf races, you can’t help but notice the differences in lifespan.

It’s rare in Elf territory, but you sometimes see Humans and Beastmen. Sometimes for trade, sometimes for pitching something, and when you look again the person you knew might have been replaced by their child or grandchild. I’ve heard stories of elves seeing off someone they once knew. I’ve lost a human acquaintance myself, just a little. The thought that I might have to say goodbye to another familiar face made me a bit gloomy.

After walking a short while we reached the rear of the ship. It’s wider than the front and has enough room to fight, but my gravity magic increases the weight of a target. It’s fine if I drop someone into the sea, but if I accidentally send them down onto the ship, the whole vessel could go with them. I’d need to be careful.

Akira’s reconnaissance-type skill covers roughly the whole ship. Still, if monsters appear at the front and then attack from the rear, Akira would find it hard to both fight and scout. We needed to stay alert here as well. If Ria could surround the rear with her barrier, I might be able to use my gravity magic to full effect.

As I thought this through, Ria’s quiet words fell into the small, private space between us and sounded strangely loud.

“I know I’m being strange, right? I’ve known for a long time that Lord Crow’s life is short...”

Ria gripped her staff tightly, bowed her head, and wore a face of painful distress. The lively expression she had in Uruk had dulled since we entered the Forest of Death. Her changing expressions in Uruk had been amusing; now they were gone.

“That’s true. It’s something we’ve known for a long time. It wouldn’t have been strange if Crow’s life had ended even before you were born. The fact you can speak to him now is a miracle.”

Even among Beastmen the age gap between Ria and Crow is more than a hundred years. If Beastmen typically live around a hundred years, then considering the elixir of immortality Noah drank when Crow was unborn, Crow has lived an unusually long life—almost comparable to an Elf.

Up in the sky we couldn’t tell how fast we were moving, but the Beastmen territory we had seen earlier was already out of sight. Only the vast blue sky and the blue sea remained. With no wyverns or other monsters in sight, it felt oddly like being the only person left in the world.

For an Elf race that lives with the forest, being surrounded by such blue must be the first time in the world for me.

“Aren’t you afraid, Amelia? Akira is Human. He’ll probably reach his end before you...”

Before Ria could finish, I shot her a look that shut her up.

Seeing Ria tremble and fall silent, I couldn’t help a sigh.

“You and I are different. I don’t want to be apart from Akira. I’ll do whatever it takes to not be separated. If Akira accepts his death, then I will die too.”

If being with Akira means crossing worlds, I don’t care. I wouldn’t mind death for that.

The Elf royal family has Kirika as the next queen, so my absence wouldn’t be an issue for the throne.

Well, I don’t intend to let him die even if I have to use revival magic, and for now I have no intention of dying either.

I realized my gaze had grown cold as I looked at Ria.

“I think I’ve been mistaken all along. I thought you gave up being a princess just to be with Crow until the end.”

Was that all your resolve was?

You’ve followed him this far without even the resolve to die together with the one you love?