Sigrdrífa continued tirelessly recounting the changes within their elven society.
According to Sigrdrífa's account, Elf King Oberon VII's desecration of sacred beasts was utterly merciless. Not only did he withdraw many of the guards protecting the sacred beasts, he even declared that "Rather than sacred beasts, I'd rather trust that truth lies on blades and magic wands," causing considerable friction with the elders within elven society.
That said, under Oberon VII's leadership, the elven race had indeed shed their former image as soft persimmons that anyone could bully, even reclaiming Midgard's lost territories from the beastkin. No one had anticipated that the elves' proactive offensive would actually defeat the beastkin, forcing them to sign a surrender agreement.
Incidentally, there's this reputation among players:
False elves: Arrogantly conservative blockheads, claiming to dress scantily to be close to nature, frail bodies that only inspire desires to defile them, only capable of archery and magic, rulers depicted as beauties who would obviously end up in the protagonist's harem, constantly getting beaten up by beastkin, even captured by weak goblins.
True elves: Revolutionary innovators, claiming to be close to nature while literally tearing apart undead that pollute the environment, robust physiques capable of both literary and martial pursuits, masters of all eighteen fighting arts, rulers depicted as fierce warriors who could pin the protagonist to the ground shouting "BITCH! FUCK!", proactively invading beastkin kingdoms, fearless of any invaders.
The contrast is simply night and day.
I quietly waited for Sigrdrífa to get carried away in her story, then suddenly interjected.
"Amaryllis. Are you familiar with this name?"
"Who?"
Sigrdrífa was startled and reflexively asked back.
And her pulse remained steady as before.
I had placed my fingers on Sigrdrífa's pulse specifically to detect lies. While Lemoria doesn't have magic to detect the scent of lies, when the [Medicine] skill reaches a certain level, you can determine if someone is lying by whether their pulse quickens.
Sigrdrífa's reaction was quite genuine—she truly didn't know Amaryllis.
The result wasn't very surprising. Since Sigrdrífa wasn't a criminal trying to assassinate Lily, I had no reason to keep her restrained.
"Hey! What are you doing!"
"Untying your ropes."
"So you are reasonable after all... but I've been wondering this whole time, why specifically turtle shell bondage?!"
"Actually, this is self-bondage I trained for to satisfy my master's fetishes... What are you making me say, you pervert!!!"
"I'm the one who was tied up for restraint play!"
Speaking of which, you knowing about turtle shell bondage and restraint play is quite something too.
I untied all the ropes binding Sigrdrífa's body. Her healthy, pale skin bore cherry-red marks from the hemp rope.
Sigrdrífa shakily stood up, rubbing her sore wrists.
"You're really just letting me go?"
"As agreed, you can take the [Unicorn Crystal Shoes]."
"...I don't understand you."
Sigrdrífa was completely confused, even forgetting she was only wearing lace underwear.
"Back then, you didn't attack, did you?"
I honestly stated the most crucial reason. Looking back calmly afterward, I must admit that I was the one who failed, not Sigrdrífa.
In truth, I could only survive because of her mercy.
The key to discovering Sigrdrífa's tracks wasn't my [Detection] skill, but rather Sigrdrífa voluntarily exposing her position. Before that exposure, the stealthed Sigrdrífa had countless opportunities, but she didn't carry out any attacks.
Both Lily and I had walked along the edge of hell.
Sigrdrífa awkwardly averted her gaze.
"...Well, I initially wanted to knock you unconscious. Honestly, I think humans who hunt sacred beasts are demons, and those who covet sacred beasts are no exception. But seeing you and your daughter getting along so harmoniously, I began to waver and couldn't bring myself to act."
Sigrdrífa had ample opportunity to take down both Lily and me. She firmly believed that humans who harm and purchase unicorns are evil, but when she secretly observed the happy life I shared with my daughter, her convictions wavered, causing her to hesitate and ultimately expose her presence.
In that case, I suppose Lily saved my life.
If it weren't for Lily, I definitely couldn't have escaped Sigrdrífa's backstab.
"Wait, Lily isn't my daughter."
Do I already look like a woman old enough to be a mother? I wouldn't mind having a daughter as adorable as Lily, but I'm only 17! Calculating by age, what a twisted and disturbing story that would be. The Kingdom of Michel has quite a complete legal code, so that possibility doesn't exist.
"I understand, I understand, the work of maids in your human world." Sigrdrífa sympathetically patted my shoulder. "A human maid's sacred duty—is to help her master continue the family line."
"???"
"A maid who doesn't get knocked up by her master has no value."
"No, no! Who told you such nonsense?"
"A kind adventurer I met on the way to the Kingdom of Michel. He said that if a noble has a beautiful young maid but doesn't make a move on her, nine times out of ten he's impotent. By reverse logic, an excellent maid will inevitably arouse her master's desires... and end up getting knocked up by her master."
"........................"
Don't you have some kind of prejudice against maids? It's because of people like you that the maid profession keeps getting misunderstood.