* Ring! *
The door to the coffee shop was pushed open.
"Welcome to the Chocolate and Vanilla Coffee Shop, where the great Hayate Sisters are waitresses!!"
"Welcome. Two guests. "
Standing at the door, the Bawu sisters in maid outfits bowed and said to the two people who pushed the door open.
"Hehehe … Seems like the Elves are doing well here!"
An old man's voice was heard.
"Oh? Do you know about the Elves? "
"I have a question. Who do you think you are? "
"Really …"
This time, it was the red-haired girl, Kotori, who was pushing the wheelchair. By the way, the old man was sitting in a wheelchair.
"First, it was that Kurumi, and now it's two Elves? What kind of monster are you to like maids so much, Yakumo? "
Turning around, he saw Kotori and Woodman at the door.
"Oh, isn't this Commander Kotori? How come you have time to come here? "
Eight-cloud Ink laughed when he saw Kotori pushing Woodman in.
When he was in Okinawa, he was surprised when Shido told him that this girl was going to participate in the Round Table Conference.
"Who wants to come here?"
Kotori snorted in dissatisfaction as she was always teased by Eight-cloud Ink. She pushed Woodman in front of Eight-cloud Ink.
"Woodman wants to see you."
"Woodman … Qing?"
Woodman lowered his head and looked at the kind old man sitting in the wheelchair.
"Hehehe … Just call me Woodman. Erm … Mister Yakumo, can I call you that?"
"As you wish."
After shaking hands with Woodman, Eight-cloud Ink looked around.
He was just an ordinary old man.
He wasn't an Elf, and he didn't have any strange powers.
Kotori pushed Woodman to a window seat, and Eight-cloud Ink sat opposite him.
Yagu Ya and Xi Xian immediately served two cups of black tea, which made Kurumi giggle at the side.
"Mr. Woodman, why are you looking for me?"
Eight-cloud Ink asked first.
Eight-cloud Ink's attitude was quite gentle because he was an old man brought here by Kotori.
"Hehehe, this old man is also a human. Naturally, he would be very curious about otherworlds, monsters, and so on, wouldn't he?"
"Oh? Is that so … "
Eight-cloud Ink smiled as she elegantly tasted the black tea.
"… I don't have three heads and six arms, and I won't eat people. I won't scare children and make them lose sleep at night. What's there to see?"
"But, you let the elves live together in peace … Hmm, good tea."
Woodman put down the black tea in his hand and nodded approvingly.
"I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Elliot Woodman, the chairman of the Round Table Conference and the founder of Ratatoskr."
Eight-cloud Ink raised its eyebrows.
No wonder Kotori respected this old man so much.
"After hearing about Mister Yakumo's existence, I was very curious, so I came to take a look. Please forgive me for disturbing you."
"You must be joking."
"Hehe …"
Woodman stroked his beard and smiled.
"I'm also very happy to see the elves living a good life. Thank you for letting us find a second way to solve the problem. "
The gratitude in Woodman's tone was so obvious that Eight-cloud Ink's heart skipped a beat.
[Is this old man too concerned about the elves?] [What's his relationship with the elves?]
She glanced at Woodman in confusion, but she couldn't see anything.
"Please forgive me for asking a question."
Since she couldn't see anything, Eight-cloud Ink decided to ask directly.
"Why? You … should be a pure human. Why do you care so much about the elves? "
The coffee shop suddenly became extremely quiet.
Kurumi and the Baba sisters all stopped what they were doing and turned their heads to look.
Obviously, as elves, they were also concerned about this question.
"Why?"
Woodman's voice was very soft, but everyone heard it clearly.
"Sorry, before 'that person' decides to tell the truth, I can't tell you. After all, I promised her thirty years ago. Mister Yakumo, please believe that Ratatoskr has no ill intentions toward the elves. I want to see the elves live a good life more than anyone else … "
"I believe that."
Eight-cloud Ink nodded.
"Although I can't know what you're thinking, I can still tell if you're telling the truth."
"Hehe … Is this the ability of a monster?"
"Well, I guess so."
An ambiguous answer.
"If possible, Mister Yakumo, can you tell me what you plan to do with the elves?"
Silence.
Then …
"If they want, they can go to the Fantasy Village. Since you're here, you must know what kind of place it is. There, they won't be treated differently because of their identity as elves. It should be said that if you're not different from ordinary people there, it'll be abnormal. "
Kurumi's body slightly paused.
She lowered her head, and her eyes flashed. No one knew what she was thinking.
The Baba sisters already knew what kind of place the Fantasy Village was, and they were very curious about it.
"An ideal village where humans, monsters, and gods live in harmony … This old man wants to see it with his own eyes!"
Woodman sighed with emotion.
"Well, since Mister Yakumo promised, I'm relieved. I'll take my leave now. "
"Take care."
Standing up, Eight-cloud Ink sent Kotori and Woodman out of the coffee shop. Looking at the back of the two leaving, Eight-cloud Ink narrowed her eyes slightly.
[This Woodman … must know a very important elf. Could it be the Phantom?]
⑧
Time slowly passed.
Since Woodman's visit, Kurumi had been in a strange state.
Although she seemed to like to tease Eight-cloud Ink as usual, sometimes when she was alone, she would fall into a strange silence.
Not only Eight-cloud Ink, but even Ashina also noticed that Kurumi seemed to be in a dilemma.
After all, they had known each other for a long time. Eight-cloud Ink felt that if Kurumi encountered any difficulties, she should help her.
On this day, the sun set in the west.
On the garden street in the tenth block.
Sitting side by side on a bench on the side of the street, Yakumo looked at Kurumi who was licking her ice cream in small bites.
"Kurumi, we've known each other for a few months, right?"
"Ah? Yes, Mr. Boss. "
"Then, if you have any difficulties, you can tell me. Not only me, but Ashina and the others will also be happy to help you."
Kurumi lowered her head and remained silent.
Then, she looked up at Eight-cloud Ink with a forced smile on her face.
"Mr. Boss is very bad …"
"Hmm?"
"My goal was very firm, and the sorrow in my heart has never wavered —"
Sorrow?
Eight-cloud Ink noticed this and immediately frowned.
"But, I didn't expect that living with Mr. Boss for a period of time would make me have the idea of 'Ah, it's not bad to continue like this'. I shouldn't have! I shouldn't have! "
"Sorrow … Kurumi, can you tell me what you want to do?"
Pursing her lips, Kurumi stared at Eight-cloud Ink and slowly spoke.
"I … want to go back 30 years and kill the first elf!"
"If the first elf didn't exist, those tragedies wouldn't have happened, right? Those people who died because of the spacequake … those elves who were chased by humans … "
I see.
Eight-cloud Ink instantly understood Kurumi's idea.
She wanted to change the past.
However, was the past really that easy to change?
Things related to time were often related to the foundation of a world.
If time and history could be changed at will, then wouldn't those who controlled time be invincible forever?
Obviously not.
"Kurumi, you want to … change the past?"
"Yes … Even if it will make our existence disappear, it doesn't matter as long as the tragedies don't happen again …"
"And then? Your idea of killing the first elf is based on the fact that the spacequake was caused by the elves, and the elves who caused the spacequake caused huge losses to humans, so they were chased by humans, right? "
Kurumi nodded.
Eight-cloud Ink chuckled.
"What's wrong?"
"Didn't I say it? The elves didn't cause the spacequake because they were elves, but because 'elves don't belong to this world.' "
Suddenly, Kurumi's eyes widened.
She had heard Eight-cloud Ink mention this more than once.
However, Kurumi stubbornly refused to believe it.
"Ashina and I aren't elves, but when we appeared in this world, we still caused the spacequake."
She looked at Kurumi and reached out her hand to stroke her head.
The girl showed an adorable expression like a cat.
"So, spacequake isn't true."
"But … the elves were chased …"
"You can ask Ten Incense, or you can ask Mei Jiu, Ye Geya, and Xi Xian …"
Eight-cloud Ink said.
"If you want, I can even take you to Fantasy Village and ask the elf who is living a good life there."
"You can ask them if they want you to change history. If history is changed, their lives will be completely different now. "
This time, Kurumi didn't speak.
After a long time.
"Boss, can I … leave for a while?"
"Why not? I never wanted to force you to stay by my side. "
This time, Kurumi finally smiled.
Like a blooming rose.
"Thank you, Boss … You're a good person!"
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