“I’m a powerful asset, you know. You shouldn’t just leave me behind.” Elaya appeared in my room as I was packing for my journey.
“Elaya?” I couldn’t help but sigh. “What do you want?”
Rather than look upset, Elaya chuckled softly, “You always play so hard to get. Far more interesting than my husband. You remind me a bit of the Harem Hero.”
“You knew him?” The only time I recalled him, he was mentioned briefly by Karr.
She nodded. “Oh yes, he fought in our army. He was a rising Hero around the time I… well… stepped out of history.”
So, it was about thirty years ago he was a rising Hero. Karr somehow took influence in the Harem Hero around twenty years ago when he was killed under mysterious circumstances. I had thought at one point it was all the church, but it turned out the church in the Capital was rather harmless. Then again, that was only a part of a fractured church that had once been much larger. Presumably, that church had shattered a hundred years ago before the Demon Lord Aberis attacked the former country of Osteria and fractured it into the Ost Republic and Aberis.
“Fufu… wondering if I took any interest in him?” Elaya asked slyly.
“Even if you did, he’s dead and you’re mine. Furthermore, you’re not even the same woman anymore.”
“I don’t hate such a Master.” She chuckled. “As for what I thought of him, he was a bit of a party boy. He preferred flirting and leading women on.”
“Oh? So, he was that kind of guy? One that can’t commit?”
She raised an eyebrow. “You know the type? Well, you’re not wrong. The Slave Hero never really loved the women he controlled. The Love Hero was a shallow person who loved all women. The Harem Hero didn’t have the balls to make women his. They were all lacking. Even my ex-husband, the Hero King of Aberis, was a man dragged down by his own prejudices. You are different though. It is why I gave you my allegiance. When I saw you take Astria into your heart, I knew you were destined for greatness.”
“Plus, if you didn’t, I might have had no choice but to kill you.”
Once again, she laughed giddily. “Perhaps you could have… I know that I don’t have a place in your heart yet. That’s something unique about you. You make the women with you want to be better. So, despite my hidden natures, I will become a woman you can be proud of. I will earn your trust one day.”
“I just wish I knew who you are.” I admitted. “With Astria, that was her original form. With the Giantess and the Siren, they are merely monsters I tamed. You, on the other hand, are neither the Queen, nor a monster.”
“Aren’t I Queen Elaya? You resurrected me, after all! I’m not a spirit anymore.”
“That’s true…” I responded uncertainly. “I suppose it doesn’t really matter. Even Karr could be resurrected…”
Actually, it was difficult to say whether the Karr I met in Karr’s dungeon was the true Karr. He was an existence that had been corrupted and twisted by Miasma for twenty years. He was a ghost that was ultimately resurrected into a human. Except, his spirit had been captured by the dungeon shortly after his death. It wasn’t clear if any of Elaya’s spirit existed within this Elaya, or if she was closer to a memory of Elaya. Then again, did it matter? Elaya was Elaya now, and Astria was Astria. Both were women twisted by a dungeon for many years. The only ones I knew who had been spared that fate were Celeste and Terra.
Although, that was a curious thought too. How had Celeste and Terra been spared the damage of the dungeon? Both had been trapped in the dungeon for equal amounts of time and had seemingly come out of it with their mind’s intact. It wasn’t like Celeste and Terra were waging battles or fighting to the death in boss rooms or anything.
“I will let you continue on.” Elaya chuckled. “I just stopped by so I wouldn’t leave your mind. In time, I’ll have your heart…”
She turned around and walked away. At that moment, an intense desire came over me, and I pulled out just a bit of fairy dust and used God’s Eye, examining Elaya’s status in front of my eye. My face turned white. Some things were better off not being known.
As she disappeared out of sight, I shook my head. “What the hell is a Great Lich Queen, anyway?”