Jan pushed the door open.
"You're finally here!" Sophia puffed her cheeks. "You've got some nerve, keeping me waiting like this!"
Jan scratched the back of his head helplessly. "Sorry, it took longer than I expected."
Sophia stepped away from the counter, met him halfway, and pressed a finger to his forehead. "Apology unaccepted. You'll have to make it up to me!"
"How?!"
She smiled. "How about you finally keep your promise and duel me?"
Jan groaned. "That's not making amends—that's punishment!"
Sophia stared him down.
"...Alright. We start tomorrow. You're busy with Aeris today anyway."
"Then today, make me something special!" she shot back.
"Wait—you expect me to cook again?!"
"Of course! Who else? Maria's busy. She handles breakfast, so you handle dinner!"
"And you want it to be special, too? Isn't that a bit much?!"
"Leaving me alone for a whole hour past my shift—that is too much."
Jan groaned. "Alright… do you like sweets?"
"Yes!" Sophia's eyes lit up.
"Okay. I'll make you something later." Jan sighed.
"Cool!" Her face brightened—then fell again. "But only for me, alright? It wouldn't be special if everyone gets it!"
"A-Alright, alright," Jan said as he walked over to the counter.
Sophia smiled with satisfaction as she watched him take her place. Then she glanced at the door behind her, took a breath, and turned back with a serious tone.
"Do you have any advice for me?"
"I thought you were confident," he said dismissively.
"Not really..." Sophia admitted. "But I do want to help her."
"Then start with that. Tell her you want to help."
"You think that'll work?!"
"Probably not."
Sophia clenched her fist. "Then why did you tell—"
Jan interrupted, "I said start with it. You'll need more than that to convince her. If you're not confident, just let me handle it."
"No, I'll do it," Sophia muttered. "I feel like there's a reason she's acting this way. If I can figure it out, maybe we can fix it."
"Just ask her directly."
"You think she'll talk?"
Jan shrugged. "Unlikely."
Sophia glared at him, eyes sharp with killing intent.
"... I-I mean, it doesn't hurt to try. She might open up to you."
Sophia sighed. "Alright… wish me luck."
Jan watched her go for a bit, then called out, "Sophia."
"Yes?" She turned, her hand on the door.
"T-Try not to use force."
*SLAM—*
"Try not to use force," she echoed, then humphed. "It's not like I'm gonna use my sword."
She took a deep breath and began descending the guild's stairs, heading straight for the inn.
'That idiot… he barely gave me any advice.'
She'd been thinking about this all morning—even asked Maria for help. But Maria didn't take her seriously either. She suggested they should probably leave it to the Sylvalis folks.
'But what if her condition gets worse before they make it here?'
It was a valid point, and even Maria hadn't been able to shrug it off. In the end, she just said Jan should be the one to talk to Aeris.
'Maria always looks down on me. But I can do this! Besides, isn't it her fault Leaf locked herself in her room in the first place?!'
Sophia clicked her tongue.
'And did she forget what happened the last time we left those two alone?'
Her cheeks flushed.
'That loose elf of a woman… I'm never leaving them alone again!'
Sophia shook her head as the inn came into view.
'Focus. I can't let my emotions get in the way of my goal here...'
She paused.
'Or maybe I should. One good hit on the head might knock some sense into her—and help me move on.'
Sophia nodded firmly and pushed the door open.
The inside of the inn looked just as she had left it that morning.
'She didn't even come out for a glass of water?' She thought as she walked inside, scanning the place, 'It's too quiet... Wait—what if she left?!'
Sophia broke into a sprint. She charged up the stairs, bolting straight to the door of Aeris's room.
It was closed.
"Leaf! Leaf!"
She shouted, but there was no answer.
"Leaf! Answer me!"
Still nothing.
Sophia gritted her teeth, ready to kick the door down, when a voice finally came from inside.
"...Crispy, leave me alone, I don't want to talk."
"Youuu—! You scared me, you idiot! I thought you ran off alone!"
"I—I did..."
"You actually left?! Where did you go?!"
"...I don't want to talk about it. Just leave me alone, Crispy."
"I'm not leaving until you admit you're sick, okay? Being in denial will not do you any good. We just want to help! And I'm sorry my sister's such an idiot. I actually think she was rude—but she was trying to help you, Leaf!"
"I didn't ask for any of your help. And I'm not in denial. And yes—she's rude and an idiot. I was just trying to help Books…"
Aeris took a deep breath. "I didn't know I was the reason the ritual failed. But now I've confirmed it."
"Wait… you confirmed it?"
"Yes, I'm sick, happy?! Now leave me alone!"
"No way!" Sophia snapped. "If you're sick, we need to do something about it. And not through a door!"
She grabbed the handle—still locked.
"No, don't you dare come in, okay?! This is a warning Crispy!"
Sophia took a deep breath, "Fine, but talk to me, what's wrong with your body, what is happening? How did you confirm it?!"
"..."
"Leaf, I swear I'll break this door if you don't start talking."
"...Fine! It's not a disease or some condition. It's just... a myth. A stupid story we tell little kids to scare them."
"Wait... You're not talking about—"
"So your father told you the story too. Yes—it's that. The dark elf tale. Naughty children who misbehave turn into dark elves."
"You're turning into a dark elf?!"
"...It seems like it."
"But how?! Aren't dark elves created in the Tower?"
"Nothing comes from nothing. Some say that dark elves were once normal—transformed for reasons no one understands."
"If that's true, how did you confirm it?"
"Your idiot sister was right—my Mana was acting weird. I also noticed how quickly I got exhausted during the ritual. So I snuck out to the Endlesscape and burned through all my Mana, just to see. And... something changed."
"What happened?!"
"...I don't want to talk about it. You got what you wanted, alright? Can you leave me now?"
"That's not what I want! I want to take you to the priests. They might know how to treat this!"
"I'm not going anywhere. Especially not with you."
"Is it because of the transformation? Who cares?! You'll turn back to normal once we find a cure!"
"It's not about how I look. It calmed down once my Mana recovered—but that doesn't change what it is."
"Then what's the problem?!"
"It's true we don't know how elves become dark elves. But we do know one thing: it's contagious. A dark elf can infect other elves. So unless you want to end up like me, you'd better not come through that—"
*Boom—*
One swift kick—and the door burst open.
Sophia stepped into the room, her gaze locking onto Aeris.
She sat curled on the bed, her skin faintly glowing with a bluish hue. One of her eyes was pitch black—like her irises had been swallowed by ink.
Aeris's eyes widened. She yanked the bed sheet over herself in a panic.
"You idiot! I told you not to come in! Now you're going to—!"
"Oh, relax!" Sophia said, rolling her eyes. "We literally slept on the same bed last night. If that's how it spreads, it would've happened already."
"Exactly—we don't know how this infection spreads. So stay away!" Aeris extended a hand, warning her off.
"Come on, it's not a cold. You can't infect me just by being close. And stop arguing—I'm not going anywhere. Just focus on restoring your Mana, like you said you were doing." Sophia turned and glanced at the door lying flat on the floor. "I'm gonna fix this door. Mom would kill me if she found out."
"A-Alright..." Still wrapped in the bedsheet, Aeris sat cross-legged and began restoring her Mana.
Sophia turned around and focused on fixing the door, trying not to bother her.
After a while, Aeris said, "...You always mention your mom. Do you miss her?"
"Of course I do. I don't miss her nagging, though."
Aeris chuckled softly.
"Do you miss yours?"
"I do—I think… both my mom and dad died a long time ago."
Sophia paused mid-motion. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay. They died when I was a baby, so I don't really remember them. I have my uncle though—he really took great care of me."
"That's great. I have a great uncle too, so I understand."
"Yeah. He's my whole family; he's been like both my dad and my mom."
"He sounds like a good man." Sophia straightened up. "That reminds me, I forgot to tell you: we received a letter back from Sylvalis. They said they'll be sending people to escort you back to your village."
Aeris immediately lit up, lowering the sheet. "Really?! You should've said that earlier!"
"Sorry..." Sophia chuckled helplessly, and then her face brightened. "You're looking better now! Even your eye is back to normal!"
"Really?!" Aeris checked her arms. "You're right! My skin's back to normal too!"
Sophia, who had just managed to wedge the door loosely back in place, turned and grinned. "Then should we pay the priests a visit?"
"I really don't want to..."
Sophia grabbed her by the arm. "I'm not actually asking. Let's go."
Aeris sighed but followed. As they stepped out of the room, Sophia turned and very gently closed the door behind them.
"I thought you fixed it?"
"Barely... I'll trick Jan later and blame him for it."
"You're so mean."
"I know," Sophia answered with a wicked grin.
The two giggled as they walked away down the hall.