“Whew, didn’t mean to scare you like that. My bad!”
"Uh..."
"Um...?"
Allen and Charlotte looked at each other and could only give a half-hearted reply.
They were currently in the basement beneath the garden.
After descending a rope ladder, they found themselves in a small room.
There was a bookshelf, a bed, and a small writing desk. A simple cooking set was piled up in the corner of the room, and there seemed to be a mushroom cultivation room at the back.
The magical light was shining brightly, and although it was small, it was a comfortable space.
The woman who had brought them here now cheerfully offered them cups.
Her oversized, baggy shirt hung so long it covered her rear, and aside from that, she wore nothing at all. Rather than being sexy, she was simply sloppy.
"What do you think of my special mushroom soup? It's pretty good, isn't it?"
"No, I'll pass..."
The cup was filled with a mysterious liquid that shimmered between purple and reddish-brown, depending on how the light hit it. It gave off a bitter, sour-sweet smell reminiscent of rotting fruit left in the sun for days.
How could such a liquid come from those odorless white mushrooms? It made him a little curious, but he wasn't prepared to taste it for poison.
Charlotte also looked away without saying a word.
By the way, Luu was staying above ground.
Apparently, the bizarre scent wafting from the basement was too much for her, she had shaken her head with a serious look and refused to come. Honestly, Allen didn’t blame her.
The woman tidied up the cups and shrugged.
“So, Allen-san... was it?? Because of that pool you built above ground, my mushrooms got sucked up to the surface. I know you didn't steal them, but... it's really annoying."
“For that, I’ll offer a sincere apology…”
Allen gave a slight bow of his head.
He had, in fact, ruined her food supply. That much was clear.
But... there were a lot of problems. Allen glares at the woman.
"... Who are you?"
"Huh? Come to think of it, we haven't introduced ourselves yet."
The woman proudly introduces herself.
"I'm Dorothea Grimm Wallenstein. Please call me Dorothea!"
“That’s not what I meant! I’m asking...how long have you been living in this basement?!”
Looking around the room, it was clearly not a temporary setup.
In the first place, if there was anyone suspicious going in or out of the garden, Allen would notice it by their presence. Especially now that Charlotte was living here too, Allen hadn't let his guard down.
And yet… here she was. No matter how you looked at it, this was suspicious as hell.
"Could it really be... a ghost possessing the mansion?"
"Eeek...! So there really was one...!"
Charlotte was frightened and clung to Allen's arm. Allen's heart almost stopped for a moment at the sudden contact, but his iron will hold him in place.
"A ghost? What are you talking about?"
Meanwhile, the woman――Dorothea just tilted her head. She folded her arms and thought deeply.
“But now that you mention it… when did I start living here again…? I honestly don’t remember.”
“What do you mean you don’t remember?!”
"I had to hide from some people for a bit, so I just holed up down here. Actually, I'm the one who wants to ask."
She gave Allen a long, narrow-eyed stare.
"Who the hell are you guys? Why are you here?"
“We live in the mansion above this place...”
"What?! This is my house! Who told you could move in!?”
"What nonsense are you talking about...wait a second."
Allen was surprised.
Dorothea's shaggy hair...if he looks closely at her ears hidden there, they were long and pointed like bamboo leaves. They were clearly not human. Those ears are definitely—
“No way… Are you the elf who disappeared from this mansion thirty years ago?!”
“EEEEh!?”
“Th-thirty… years!?”
Dorothea's eyes widened in shock.
Then she rubbed her chin and let out a thoughtful hum.
“Whoa… it’s really been that long? That would explain why the scenery looked a little different.”
“Th-thirty years?! But you don’t look any older than Allen-san!”
“Well, elves age very slowly…”
That was why elves perceived time quite differently than humans.
To her, thirty years would have seemed like the blink of an eye. Even so, there were still many mysteries remaining.