Four days had passed since Noel had seen the stranger. She had decided to wait a couple days before attempting to catch them, in the hope that they would let their guard down. The knight had also inquired with the village head and even some other villagers with who she had better relations with, but none of them seemed to know about a red-eyed individual. That had only heightened her suspicions. If they really weren't someone from the village, then how did they enter the house? Was the house they were staying in abandoned, and if so, why were they in it? She had considered the possibility of this person being an abandoned child from elsewhere who had secretly taken refuge here, but the nearest town was far too distant for a lone youngster to make the trip. She had also taken into consideration that they might have been a solo traveler, who was staying here clandestinely. However, even if they had no money to pay the lodgings, no respectful and well-intentioned traveler would just occupy a house in secret without talking to the village head for other options first, or so Noel thought.

The possibilities floated about in the knight's head as she waited in hiding near the house where she had seen the stranger go in.

I just hope I didn't wake up early for nothing… she mused.

Eventually, as daybreak came closer, she saw a figure approach. It was dressed in the same outfit as last time, but…

They're definitely being more careful now.

The stranger was moving almost exclusively in the shadows, and fairly fast as well. No doubt they had been scared by the presence of Noel last time. However, the fact that they were still here meant that they either had nowhere else to go, or had some other specific reason to stay.

I have to talk to them. And if they really are someone with bad intentions, I'll apprehend them and decide what to do from there.

Noel took a deep breath and gripped the mace hanging from her waist. She didn't want to use it, but had to be prepared for it nonetheless. She moved out of hiding and approached the hooded figure, who was now running towards the house's front door.

"Excuse me!" she yelled.

Flare quickly jerked her head back. The surprise of seeing someone there, even more so the knights captain, caused her to lose her balance and fall down on the ground.

"Ow… That hurt."

The fall had caused her hoodie to fall off, revealing a pair of elf ears protruding through her long blonde hair. She was aware of this, and she also knew this meant there was no way back to her old life now.

"Ahh… It really has come to this." she sighed, picking herself up and facing Noel. The fairy Kintsuba had also come out of the robe sometime during the fall, and was now floating next to Flare.

Noel was, to put it simply, flabbergasted. The strange figure had been revealed to be a beautiful young girl, which was certainly a surprise on its own, but to add to it she was an elf with a familiar as well. For a moment all she could do was stare at Flare, who showed a mix of anger and regret on her tanned face.

"May I know who you are and what you're doing in this village?" Noel inquired. No matter who she was, she couldn't ignore the fact that this elf was likely engaged in some kind of suspicious, possibly even criminal activity.

"I live here." Flare answered curtly.

"That can't be right. I asked others, and everyone said they didn't know a villager with your characteristics."

Trying to protect me, huh? Thank you, everyone. I'm really sorry I have to leave you like this, but I refuse to end up like dad. Flare smiled to herself, thinking of all the people that had been so kind and caring during her long stay at the village.

"It's none of your business. A knight like you wouldn't understand either way."

Just a little more time...

Unbeknownst to Noel, Flare actually had a plan for a situation like this. Kintsuba was in the middle of casting a spell which, when activated, would cause plants to sprout from the ground and bind the legs of the target. Flare knew it likely wouldn't hold off the knight for long, but it should be enough to allow her to escape, and she didn't want to use anything that could be potentially fatal. Were she to seriously harm or kill a knight, the village would surely suffer, even if Flare herself was never caught.

Noel, meanwhile, was apprehensive.

"I'm sorry, but if you're not a villager and you're occupying a house that doesn't belong to you, I don't have a choice but to apprehend you and take you to the village head for trial. However… If the reason you did this is because you have no money, I'm sure we could work out an arrangement. You wouldn't have to do much, just enough to pay for your lodgings." Noel explained.

You'd take pity on an elf? Or maybe she's just trying to trick me into turning myself in without a fight. Either way, It's not gonna work. The spell should be about ready.

"I can't let myself be caught here." mumbled Flare, breaking into a run as fast as her legs allowed.

"Hey, wait!" The knight exclaimed.

As Noel tried to speed after the girl, two vines sprouted from the ground in a whip-like fashion and attempted to grab hold of her legs.

Most people in this situation wouldn't be able to react to such an unexpected strike and would end up losing their balance and falling to the ground. Noel, however, hadn't gotten to the position of knight commander for no reason. Her instincts took over and she swiftly jumped, avoiding the attack. Then, in a single blow, both of the plants were cleaved off by the mace, allowing her to pursue the elf.

She already cut them?! Flare had only gotten a lead of a couple seconds before her ears picked up on the quick steps behind her.

No matter. I just need to get to the forest.

She raced for the exit. Even if the knight was capable of matching her speed, she likely wouldn't be able to pursue her after she got out of the village.

I might only be half of an elf, but you still won't beat me when it comes to climbing trees.

A forest was an elf's natural environment, and they had a natural sense of direction that made it easy to find the quickest path in one, no matter how dense it was. Despite not being of pure blood, Flare had spent a large portion of her life playing in the forest, and she knew no human would be able to match her agility in it.

The exit of the village soon appeared into view, as did the trees behind it. However, Flare suddenly stopped. Two knights in sturdy armor were standing by the village's only exit.

The girl felt a shiver run down through her spine.

They told me there were five in total, which means the other two are likely guarding the entrance… I have no choice.

In this world, magic was said to be mostly decided by genetics. While anyone could learn magic up to a certain level, only a few select ones possessed the innate ability to go further beyond and be truly skilled at it. That was how the human race viewed it, but elves were of a different opinion. Despite having the same base magical potential as humans, their number of adept magic users was larger by many times. This was partly due to physical warfare being viewed as barbaric, but mostly due to the mentality of the elf race. They held the idea that anyone, no matter who they were, could become skilled at magic, were they to truly devote themselves to it and have enough perseverance and strength of spirit. Even if one wasn't capable of one type of magic, they would surely shine at another. This elf mentality had been passed down to Flare from her parents, and she had been learning magic from her dad's books in order to defend herself ever since she was a child. As such, she now excelled at it.

Flare prepared to unleash a spell on the two knights guarding the exit.

With that armor, there's not much I can do in one hit. In that case…

If she couldn't physically incapacitate them, then she could blind them. A flash of light was something that could be cast in a short moment. However, unless one was very skilled, in order to activate it immediately a chant was required, which warned the target of what was about to occur and allowed them to shield their eyes.

There's no other choice. she thought. She resumed her run towards the knights and prepared herself. In the instant they were distracted, she would jump through them and head off to the forest.

"Li…!" However, as the elf started chanting, arms wrapped around her, causing her to lose breath and stopping the spell midway. She flailed around desperately attempting to escape, but the knight captain's grip was firm.

Noel, at this point, was slightly uncomfortable. She wasn't sure why this girl wanted to flee so much, not giving up even in this situation where she clearly had no way out. She had preemptively sent two of her knights to guard the exit that led to the forest just in case the situation would develop to a point where the other person ran away, and she was glad that she did. Incidentally, she had simply told them to watch out for any suspicious activity. They would have surely insisted on going with their captain had she told them her true motives, and she had not wanted to scare off the stranger by appearing with two obnoxiously overly armed guards. Not that it mattered much now.

Is she really involved in something bad? I don't see any reason why she would be so desperate otherwise…

Noel frowned as she held a tight grip on Flare.

"Please stop. Nothing bad will happen to you if you don't resist." grunted Noel.

"Why should I trust a knight from the capital?!" exclaimed Flare.

"I won't do anything. I just want to know what you were doing in this village."

Flare suddenly stopped her struggle, teary eyes looking directly into Noel's.

"Do you expect me to believe you won't do anything to a half-elf like me?" she sniffled.

Suddenly, Noel understood. In the midst of this adrenaline-filled situation, she had barely remembered the girl's pointy ears, a sign that she was at least partially of elf origin. Elves and half-elves were amidst this world's demihumans, which were as varied as the members of the animal kingdom. While many other species were tolerated and even worked alongside humans, elves were often harassed and even persecuted due to their involvement in a war that had ended just a few years after Noel was born. It was not uncommon back in the capital to see some of the older knights throwing rude comments or making jokes at the expense of elves.

This girl must think I'm going to arrest her. Noel thought.

While one, in current times, couldn't just throw an elf in jail on the basis of the species they had been born as, it was exceedingly easy to forge false accusations for them. She had heard of some trials in human territory that would outright ignore elves' arguments, particularly if it was a person of some status accusing them. Noel concluded that this girl was likely just scared for her life due to having been caught by a knight.

"I swear I won't. I just want to understand your situation. For starters, shall we go talk to the village head?" she spoke softly, mustering the nicest voice she could in this situation.

Flare eyed her angrily.

"Alright. It seems I have no choice anyway."

There's no way I can escape now. I can't move, and having Kintsuba do another spell would just put him in danger. If the knight keeps her word and we talk to the old man first, I might get a chance to run away later.

Noel signaled her knights, who quickly held Flare.

"I'm sorry. This is just so you don't run away." Noel smiled sadly.

The half-elf girl gave no answer, and as the sun lazily rose over the horizon, the four of them headed to the village chief's house.

The village elder had just finished washing his face when he heard footsteps approaching his door. He swiftly combed his graying hair, wondering who it could be at this early hour. The man was used to dealing with various villagers' problems, and throughout the years the population had come to rely on his wisdom whenever there were disputes or squabbles that couldn't be solved between themselves. In that sense, he had become a sort of unofficial justice system in this tiny village. Sometimes he felt like that was a burden too high for someone like him to bear; after all, it's not like he was that much wiser than the average farmer. His position was decided simply due to the fact his father had been the previous village chief, and no one else had wanted to step up when he passed away. However, as he got older, he couldn't see himself doing anything else. He dearly loved everyone in this town, and wanted nothing more than to have them be happy.

Now, who is it this time…

Knocking at this early hour usually meant a more urgent situation. Hoping that wasn't the case, he opened the door. However, there was no way he could have predicted who was on the other side.

Standing in front of him was the half-elf Shiranui Flare. Next to her was Shirogane Noel, the recently arrived knight from the capital, and two of her menacing knights.

The old man's heart raced, but he attempted to not let it show on his face.

"Good morning, village head. We found this half-elf girl sneaking around the village in the early hours. She has said she is a village member, but I'm sure I have never seen her before, nor do the villagers, including you, seem to be acquainted with her." Noel reported.

"Good morning. Please, do come in. I believe this is not a matter to be discussed outside." he stated, immediately understanding the gravity of the situation.

"You two, stand outside. Do not come in unless I tell you to." Noel ordered the knights. She felt their presence would intimidate both the village head and the girl, and she could protect herself if the situation came to worst.

"Yes, my lady." the knights replied in unison, their armor creaking as they got out of the house and closed the door.

Noel and Flare sat down at a table in the middle of the room as the elder slowly poured water in three cups. He then took a seat and cleared his throat. The situation before him was a tricky one, but he knew this day would come eventually, and he wasn't unprepared.

"Firstly, I am sorry that I have no drinks other than plain water to offer, Lady Shirogane." Said the elder.

"Don't mind that. More importantly, is it true that this girl does not belong to the village?" Noel asked.

"No. She is indeed a member of our village. I apologize for having lied about that, but it was something I and the other villagers deemed necessary."

"Elder…" Flare murmured. Had he denied knowing her, he could have avoided punishment. And yet there was no trace of hesitation in his voice.

"Lady Shirogane, I understand how you might feel, and I have no power to stop a knight. However, I beg of you, please let me explain the circumstances surrounding this girl before you make any decision." The elder pleaded, his eyes looking straight to Noel's.

"…I understand. I can't say I'm not disappointed at being lied to, but I will refrain from making any judgements until I hear the full story."

"You have my thanks." The elder replied. He then turned to Flare, a sad smile adorning his face. "I'm sorry things have come to this. Would you please allow me to tell her about you?"

"About… me?" the half-elf inquired.

"Yes. Maybe my age has made me naive, but I believe in the good of people. I reckon if we tell Lady Shirogane exactly who you are and why you are here, she will understand."

"Fine by me." she mumbled. She thought the elder was overly positive, but it was not like she had any other choice.

"Feel free to correct me on any details that I get wrong. My memory isn't the best anymore." The old man took a sip of water and, with a deep breath, started telling the story of Shiranui Flare.