As we reached a village Elves live in within the Sylphide territory, we were in admiration of its view.
「As expected of Elves. They use Spirit magic for agriculture.」
「…… Indeed. I was born and raised in the royal capital, so I am not too well informed, but it is common practice for Elves to water and harvest with Spirit magic.」
The Sylphide household was granted territory after Sophia had become a slave. Even though it was a territory of two villages, as far as we could see, it seems the territory is being managed well.
The field crops are plentiful, the golden wheat fields bathing in the sunlight were swaying from the wind.
It wasn’t just wheat fields inside the village, there were various crops and fruit trees being cultivated. Sophia mentioned that many of the crops are harvested quickly with the help of the Spirits.
The villagers doing farmwork were glancing at us repeatedly and looking away. Half of them were observing us, who were different from the merchant units and peddlers from other countries, with inquisitive eyes. The other half were looking only at the Elf, Sophia, who is joined by humans and beastkin.
Considering that this village, home to the mansion of the feudal lord of the Sylphide house, was located close to the forest of the national border, it likely wasn’t appointed a responsible post. Since the scale of the village is small, it doesn’t have much of a population either. I could imagine that the tax revenue would be strained compared to the time they were Chevaliers in the royal capital.
While I was brooding, Sophia pointed to one building.
「…… That is likely the mansion of the Lord.」
That 3-story building was certainly larger than the surrounding houses; It was at a level that could barely be called a mansion. If I had to judge from the complicated expression on Sophia’s face, it was likely that this mansion they’re living in had fallen considerably in the ranks compared to the one they lived in at the royal capital.
「Fue~ Amazing~!」
「But it’s wonderful view.」
「Truly.」
Witnessing Elves do farmwork with magic, Lulu-chan exclaimed and Marnie was astonished. In front of our eyes, Elves were watering crops with Spirit Magic. Whether or not watering plants with magic is normal for them, I couldn’t find an irrigation channel used in normal fields.
「They rely on magic for just about everything, don’t they?」
「Many Elves have low physical abilities, after all. Individuals that become knights, such as myself, are the exception.」
The Elven race has high affinity for forests, so there are people with the aptitude to be Hunters and Knights like Sophia, and there are many pure Mage types.
「Yggurle Kingdom is a country of forests and lakes. There are countless spirits; Fire spirits, Wind spirits, Earth spirits, Water spirits, Tree spirits, Light spirits, Dark spirits, Great Spirits of their respective attributes and their followers. As such, the influence of Spirits is strong in this country, and it isn’t unusual for Spirit magic to be used in farmwork and public works.」
As we listened to Sophia’s explanation, the carriage pulled by Tsubaki slowly advanced towards the Feudal Lord’s mansion.
It’s a secret that, as we drew closer and examined the mansion, I thought that our mansion in Volton was much bigger.
「………… Is it a bit antiquated?」
「…… It was built approximately 50 years ago, however it does not seem as though the maintenance on it had been scrupulous.」
When we got within the vicinity of the Feudal Lord’s mansion, we discovered that the building had shown its age considerably. This might have been because, in addition to his original job as the lord of the land, the Feudal Lord had to do farmwork and monster subjugation himself.
「Ah, someone came out. Could they be Sophia’s mother and father?」
「!, …………………………」
Whether or not it was because they noticed a carriage approaching, a pair of elves, a man and a woman, came out of the mansion. As it might be expected of an elf, seeing the face of the woman, I would have believed it if she said she was Sophia’s sister. It’s unquestionable that they are related to Sophia, and they were, without a doubt, Sophia’s parents.
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That day, Dante and Freesia, who were at the mansion, had been informed of something unbelievable by the spirits. Their daughter Sophia, who had become a prisoner of war and sold as a slave to the Moulin Slavery Company afterwards, had come home……….
「Ah! Dear! Sophia is…!」
「Y-yeah, this isn’t a dream, right?」
Dante and Freesia hurriedly ran out of the mansion. What they saw there caused them to go wide eyed and stiffen. That too is to be expected, as they saw a carriage pulled by a Dragon Horse they’ve never seen before approaching. But the next instant, Dante and Freesia’s faces overflowed with joy.
「「S-Sophia.」」
The coachman clutching the reigns of the carriage was the child the two could only see in their dreams, Sophia.
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「「Sophia!」」
The male and female elves that came out of the mansion were calling out Sophia’s name and rushing over. Sophia jumped down from the coachman’s seat, running to the pair.
「Father! Mother!」
Gasshi. The trio embraced each other tightly. Led by a man in his prime, who came out of the mansion and was probably a servant, we moved the carriage.
「Good for you, Sophia-san.」
「……yeah.」
Maria, who lost both her parents, was lonely, but she congratulated Sophia, who reunited with her parents, happily. I gently held Maria in my arms as we watched over Sophia. Beside us, a similarly lonely Akane was watching the parent-child reunion enviously.
Marnie and Lulu-chan nestled close to Akane to comfort her. Akane left behind her parents in our previous world when she was forcibly summoned here. She herself likely understands that the probability of her returning home is low. That’s why I think her loneliness worsened all the more. Unlike me who lost my body when I came to this world, she feels she can’t give up. I wish I could analyze the summoning circle and send her home if it’s possible, though.
Laeva, whose family is well, and Kaede, who doesn’t know what “family” feels like, were smiling as they watched Sophia and her family rejoicing at their reunion.
***