The young man with short white hair approached me, then gave an extremely elegant bow before saying,
"Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you, my lady. My name is Fortore, a member of the Royal Knights. I came here today at the request of my friend Ais to help you deal with this troublesome leader of the forest.
"Also, before arriving here, we happened to meet the divinely beautiful Lady Alberia, who added another objective to my mission: protecting you and Ais in case anything happens. So please don't worry. If you need help at any point during this hunt, simply call my name, and faster than a flash, I'll be there to protect you," he said in an extremely elegant voice that radiated confidence.
Even before that day, I had already heard of Fortore, because at the time he was the talk of the kingdom. He had become the first elf in the entire history of Yggdora to join the Royal Knights at the astonishing age of only thirteen.
But that wasn't the only thing that made him extraordinary.
Considering the elegance with which he spoke, the grace of his every movement, and the beauty of his perfectly groomed white hair, anyone would naturally assume that he came from one of the kingdom's prestigious noble families.
But that was not the case at all.
His family was nothing more than an ordinary family of bakers with no particular wealth or social standing.
That was precisely why, despite the fact that he was undeniably an attractive young man, it wasn't love at first sight. After all, I was the daughter of one of the most influential noble families in the Kingdom of Yggdora. Until then, I had firmly believed that my soulmate could only be someone born into the nobility.
And then there was my... less-than-friendly personality.
The first words I ever spoke to my beloved were, without question, the greatest mistake of my entire life.
Not a single day passes without me remembering that disgraceful moment before I fall asleep. Every time I think back on it, my face burns bright red with shame, and for the next hour I'm completely incapable of falling asleep.
Standing before Fortore with my arms crossed, I deliberately turned my head away to avoid meeting his eyes.
Then...
I uttered those horrible words to the man I would soon love more than anyone else.
"HMMPH! I've heard of you, Sir Fortore. The fact that you've already become a Royal Knight even though you're only our age is certainly impressive, and if Aislyra says you'll be useful to us, then it's probably true, so I have no objection to working with you...
But remember this: even if you're a member of the Royal Knights, you're still nothing more than a commoner. Aislyra and I—and especially Aislyra, as the daughter of our current queen—live in a world completely different from yours and, above all, far superior to it. So don't even think for a second that you stand on the same level as either of us!"
My voice was so overflowing with arrogance and venom that every single time I remember saying those words, I have to fight the urge to throw up.
Stupid me! Stupid me! Stupid me! Stupid me! Stupid me! OHHHHHHHHHH! STUPID MEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!
How could I possibly have spoken to the great Fortore like that?
Worse still, those words were a direct insult to the countless common people whom both Queen Sequoria and Queen Alberia cherished so dearly—the very people we nobles are supposed to protect.
Damn it...
If only I could go back in time, I'd shoot one of my emerald-tipped arrows straight through that filthy tongue that dared utter those disgusting words!
Fortunately, because my beloved was already—even at that young age—the finest person ever to walk this world, he didn't become angry in the slightest.
Instead, he simply replied,
"Certainly, Lady Emeralda. I shall do my utmost to treat you with all the respect your station deserves."
As he spoke, his gaze briefly drifted toward my chest, his expression becoming slightly puzzled, as though something he had expected to find there was somehow missing.
But I'm absolutely certain that was merely his elegant way of hiding the embarrassment caused by noticing the perfection of my body!
Unfortunately, my younger self was far too foolish to understand that. Above all, she completely failed to realize what a wonderful thing it was that such a magnificent man appreciated my figure.
So, with astonishing rudeness, she answered him with a single word.
"Pervert!"
"He's definitely a pervert—and an idiot too—but I promise you he's a good guy. More importantly, he's incredibly strong. So you really don't need to be so uptight!" Aislyra said as she casually threw one arm around my shoulders.
I immediately struggled to shake her off before replying to that muscle-headed woman—who, I now have to admit, had actually managed to say something sensible amid all those pointless insults directed at my beloved.
"Hmph! I'll be the one to decide that!" I snapped in a disgruntled voice. Then I added, "Come on, let's get moving. The leader of the forest certainly isn't going to find himself…"
And with that, I turned toward the entrance of the forest.
"Sorry, Fo, but I think you're going to have to work pretty hard to win Eme over!" said Aislyra, giving Fortore an incredibly forceful "slap" on the back.
"T-that doesn't matter. I'll protect her with all my strength anyway—that's the duty of a knight…" Fortore replied with a slight wince.
Then he added,
"But, Ais, obviously, as a knight, I find every woman's beauty worthy of appreciation, and without a doubt, Lady Emeralda is... But you told me her figure was just as beautiful as Princess Alberia's..." Fortore continued.
Aislyra looked at her childhood friend with a puzzled expression before replying,
"Yes... so what? It's true that my big sister is definitely more beautiful than Eme—after all, my big sister is without question the most beautiful elf on the entire continent—but I don't think Emeralda is that far behind. She's already gorgeous too."
"I completely agree. Those emerald-green eyes and that golden hair are more beautiful than any precious gemstone I've ever seen. Her body is wonderfully toned and athletic while still possessing an exceptional degree of feminine charm..." Fortore began enthusiastically, speaking with absolute sincerity.
Then he paused for a moment, glancing at both my chest and Aislyra's before adding in a slightly disappointed tone,
"But considering Princess Alberia's voluptuous figure, I was expecting much bigger—"
For some reason, every single time I try to remember the rest of what my beloved said at that moment, my memories become completely blank. I can't recall a single word.
I only vaguely remember that after he said that, I became quite angry, and after a brief argument involving both Aislyra and my beloved, the three of us finally entered the forest. But I'm absolutely convinced that whatever my beloved said afterward—which I unfortunately can no longer remember—must simply have been more heartfelt compliments about my body that, because I was still immature back then, I foolishly misunderstood as insults directed at me.
The next thing I clearly remember was our search for the so-called leader of the forest inside the Forest of Yggdrasill.
By then, we had already been searching for about half an hour.It was a summer day. Although it wasn't especially hot, since the Forest of Yggdrasill remained pleasantly cool throughout the year, the humidity was still noticeable, and tiny beads of sweat had begun to gather across my glistening forehead.
Aislyra and my beloved were walking side by side several steps ahead of me. I followed behind them, providing support with my bow. At the time, I had not yet inherited the Emerald Count, but my skill with a bow was already among the very best.
"Damn it... Why do I have to tag along with this pervert and this stupid tomboy princess on this stupid, pointless hunt...?" I grumbled in a voice full of disgust. Then I added, "...And on top of that, this humidity is going to ruin my perfect hair."
After our earlier argument, I was obviously in an absolutely terrible mood.
Damn it, past me... Stop making such a fool of yourself in front of your soulmate.
"What's wrong, Eme?" asked the idiot walking ahead of me.
"You usually look like you've got a stick shoved up your ass, but you're not normally this grumpy."
"WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE, AISLYRA ELENLORA! I REMIND YOU THAT YOU ARE STILL ONE OF THE TWO PRINCESSES OF THIS KINGDOM!" I shouted at that idiot. Then I crossed my arms and, still seething with anger, continued, "AND THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, AISLYRA! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO DECIDED TO BRING THAT DISGRACEFUL, PERVERTED COMMONER ALONG!"
Stupid me...
Apparently, that day I was absolutely determined to dig my own grave.
That idiot stared at me thoughtfully for a moment before saying something so unbelievably stupid that it almost defied belief.
"Ah! I get it! You've got that thing my big sister was talking about...
Your period!"
To say I was stunned by the mountain of nonsense my so-called best friend had just uttered would have been an understatement.
Then, with every ounce of rage in my body, I exploded.
"STUPID! IDIOT! MORON! IMBECILE! DAMN IT! AFTER KNOWING YOU FOR FOUR WHOLE YEARS, I ACTUALLY THOUGHT YOUR STUPIDITY HAD FINALLY REACHED A LEVEL WHERE IT COULDN'T POSSIBLY SHOCK ME ANYMORE!
BUT CLEARLY I UNDERESTIMATED YOU, YOU PRINCESS OF IDIOTS!
AND BESIDES, THE VERY IDEA THAT I'M THIS ANGRY BECAUSE I'M ON MY PERIOD IS THE DUMBEST THING I'VE EVER HEARD!
I ALREADY TOLD YOU THAT IT'S ALL YOURS AND THAT PERVERT'S FAULT BECAUSE YOU DECIDED TO BRING HIM ALONG!
AND ON TOP OF THAT, SINCE YOU'RE BOTH AN ELF AND A WOMAN, YOU SHOULD KNOW PERFECTLY WELL THAT WE ELVES DON'T EVEN BEGIN HAVING OUR PERIODS UNTIL AFTER THE AGE OF THIRTY—!!!"
But my furious outburst was abruptly interrupted by the calm, gentle voice of my beloved.
"My ladies... I don't know whether this is what we were searching for, but we've definitely found something…"
Then, after a brief pause, he corrected himself.
"Or, to be more precise... something has found us."
The instant those words left his mouth, Aislyra and I immediately forgot our argument. In less than a heartbeat, both of us turned our full attention toward the forest surrounding us.
"You're right, commoner—something is watching us," I said as I nocked an arrow onto my bow. An excited smile spread across Aislyra's otherwise focused face, and she drew her sword as well.
Suddenly, a massive boar standing at least four meters tall burst through the trees, blocking our path with a loud, hideous grunt. Its fur was an aqua-green color, and its face was covered in scars, including one that crossed its right eye, which was clearly blind. Its enormous tusks, so long they almost reached its forehead, gradually became more transparent toward their tips until they transformed into blades of pure wind.
And now that it stood before us, a fairly strong wind began blowing directly toward us.
"Finally... we meet again, you bastard!!" Aislyra shouted as she charged forward with the greatsword that would one day become Ice Burn.
"Ice Blade!" Aislyra chanted.
Immediately, her greatsword became coated in ice, doubling in width while shrinking to half its original length. Meanwhile, before I even had time to realize what had happened, my beloved was no longer standing beside Aislyra in front of me. He had already almost reached the leader of the forest. In his hand, he wielded a sword forged from high-pressure water, which he was just about to bring crashing down onto the beast's scarred face.
Not wanting to be outdone by what, at the time, I still believed to be nothing more than a shameless pervert, I immediately loosed three arrows in rapid succession.
But that was a mistake.
Especially considering that this was far from the first time Aislyra and I had attempted to hunt that Over Beast.
Feeling threatened by attacks coming from too many directions at once, the gigantic boar released another earth-shaking grunt.
Instantly, a powerful whirlwind sprang into existence around the enormous beast.
It resembled the tornado created by my companion Roterberg's naginata, though it was considerably weaker. Even so, that whirlwind was by no means weak.
The three arrows I fired back then simply bounced harmlessly off the powerful currents of wind.
However, the instant Aislyra and my beloved saw the tornado forming, they exchanged a brief glance. Immediately, Fortore abandoned his attack and dashed toward Aislyra, who had already reached the edge of the violent whirlwind surrounding the beast. Without hesitation, she swung her enormous, ice-covered broadsword straight into the tornado.
For what I believe was only the briefest fraction of a second, her strike tore open a narrow gap in the swirling winds. It lasted for no more than an instant. The opening sealed itself so quickly that, had I not known the terrifying strength Aislyra possessed, I might have believed I had imagined it. Yet when that opening disappeared...
Something else had vanished as well.
My beloved Fortore.
One second later, a pained squeal echoed from the opposite side of the tornado.
The whirlwind instantly dispersed, revealing a deep new wound carved across the boar's scarred face. It was a wound that would undoubtedly become yet another permanent scar.
And there, in front of the Over Beast, was Fortore.
Evidently, thanks to the opening Aislyra had created with her slash, he had managed to pass straight through the tornado.