This is a story that begins with the third part. The town of Polka, located at the northernmost tip of Trot Kingdom, has welcomed its short summer season. The lush green grasslands are visited by flocks of sheep, and shepherds take breaks at the sacred spring while marveling at the changing appearance of their town.
“Welcome! Ah, Jeanne-san. Do you need anything today?” “I’m going to try making a skirt for kids as practice in sewing. I wonder if there’s something nice-looking but not too expensive.” “Sewing practice… I thought Jeanne-san could sew clothes already.” “I’ve done patchwork a few times before. But this is the first time I’ll be making an entire outfit from scratch. Bella grandma said she’d teach me, so I decided to give it a try.” “Oh, you mean the midwife… but for a skirt? Not for Peter-kun?” “It’s for Eleena. Besides, once I know how to make them, there are more women than men around Andy who need clothes.” “You’re going to make clothes for everyone else too…? Are you planning on becoming a tailor instead of a blacksmith?”
“I ain’t thought that far ahead, but it can’t hurt to try. Thanks to Selen and Apple taking turns watching the kids, we got plenty of time. I’ll hone my skills.”
“Hmm… I can’t afford to fall behind then.”
A passerby shepherd stared in shock at Jeanne and Oregano as they chatted amicably while checking inventory.
”…This is… rare to see a dwarf and an elf chatting so friendly in a human town.”
“Oh, hello there. How about a waterproof cloak for the sudden rain? It’s a bit pricey but it’s made from high-quality fabric woven in the northern forest. Light, soft, and highly water-resistant. Even if it pours down, you won’t get wet. And we have hats made of the same material too.”
“Oh, no thank you… I’ve heard that elven crafts are becoming more available recently… but can you really sell them to me?”
“I do wholesale with Silphied and other large trading companies separately. …But here, this is just a regular human store, not an elf direct sales shop. I’m just a hired clerk so if you’re willing to pay the price, I won’t be picky about your choice♪”
“Ah, I see… Still, it’s surprising that elves are friendly with dwarves.”
“Jeanne is like family to me.”
“Family…?”
The shepherd wore a puzzled expression. That was common enough. Elves and dwarves usually despised each other. An elf who was friendly to dwarves was rare, let alone calling them family. It was like pointing at an apple and calling it fish. “Such is the world,” she said. “Especially in Trotta, people tend to look down on non-human races.” “Mm, that’s too bad… Everyone should live together amicably. If individuals get to know each other deeply, they wouldn’t need to bring up racial enmity.” “Well, I can’t talk either. If Lady Rylia and Andy hadn’t taken me out, I might’ve had some weird prejudices against elves.” “If you say that, then without my master’s help in the forest, we’d never have made it…” “Indeed, Andy is a great man.” The female slaves often spoke this way to confirm Andy’s greatness. Whether he understood his own impact or not was unknown, but many people had their environment and lives completely changed by him.
Especially the fact that the Elven territory began to face outward was something that would never have happened without Andy’s intervention. Like a crack in an endless overcast sky, this event changed the world for the forest elves, whether or not he himself realized it.
To be close with someone like him is akin to stepping into mythology for them, and no matter how much they praise his greatness, their pride will never fade. Other female slaves also renew their admiration for him upon hearing about it.
Though it’s almost a masturbatory act, sharing this experience strengthens their bond. And as a result, the consciousness among them has begun to diverge significantly from that of Polka residents, visitors, and even Andy himself. However, since their status as female slaves is inherently incomprehensible to others anyway, such divergence does not cause any particular problems.
Thanks to this, in Polka, the more time passes without Andy around, the more girls become devoted to him and lose resistance against unconventional behavior… some would say that “the training of female slaves has progressed,” a trend that no one quite understands is emerging.
Meanwhile, at Baroness’s Manor…
“……” “…H-Hey… Selen? Um… Something’s been weird lately, right?”
Selen was petting Elenia and looked oddly at Apple, who was similarly soothing Peter.
Lately, Seren has been staring at Apple with a serious expression… or rather, observing her. She’s doing this more and more often. Apple knows that she’s had a long relationship with Seren. And she also understands that Seren is actually an extremely honest person. Seren may possess skills in deception and rhetoric, but she rarely uses them in daily life. She tends to avoid people who irritate her right away and tells others what she wants straightforwardly. Apart from a few close friends, she thoroughly disregards everyone else—or rather, she quickly decides that there’s no need to waste effort on certain individuals. Because of being bullied and looked down upon as a half-elf, Seren is adept at distinguishing people or matters worth her time. She scrupulously omits any unnecessary politeness. She isn’t ignorant of etiquette; in fact, if needed, she can master all the proper manners. But when it’s not necessary, she completely ignores them. So, there must be some special meaning behind Seren staring at Apple. It’s unlikely that Peter sucking on Apple’s nipples is causing this. Seren started looking at her with such an expression a few days ago. But still, Seren doesn’t say anything.
It was unusual for Selen to be so vague. Apple felt worried that she might suspect something serious, though he wasn’t sure what exactly.
Selen had been nursing Elenia while making a face and mumbling “Hmm…” She then turned her gaze away and muttered,
“Apple… When you were doing naughty things with Andy… didn’t we do it in lots of different places?”
“Huh? W-Well, maybe…?”
Not quite understanding the sudden question, Apple gave an ambiguous answer.
“We did it outside the hunter’s cabin, behind the hot springs, in the woods… Now that I think about it, how come no one noticed us there? Someone might have walked by and seen Andy sucking on my dick.”
“Uh, but you were healed back then. Selen used magic to hide us…”
“…” “Selen?”
She turned her gaze toward Apple again.
And after a while.
”…Apple. …You, your memories… are back, right? Why are you pretending not to know?”
”!!” Apple froze in place. Peter, who she was holding in her arms, pressed his face against her breasts and made an odd sound. She quickly realized this and loosened her grip, but fortunately, he didn’t start crying… no, rather, he looked like he had received divine revelation as he said, “Oh! Enjoying a huge pair of boobs with your whole face! There are such ways to enjoy them!” and pressed his face against her breasts again, making that odd sound. “W-What are you doing, Peter?” “Apple. …Don’t try to hide it from me. When did your memories… come back?” ”…It wasn’t long ago. While I was on an adventure with Mr. Andy in the Kingdom of Karlwin… hmm, actually, a little while before that, I started feeling kind of fuzzy… y-yeah, like something felt off, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. That feeling where you think you’re about to remember something but then it slips away.”
“…Is that what happened in Carlwin?” “…Yeah.” Apple nods. “There were times when I had to pretend to be Andy, like when everyone was about to give up. …I tried to cheer everyone up by pretending to be him, and then I tried so hard to remember what he said at those moments… And suddenly, I remembered how Andy looked as a kid too.” “Why didn’t you tell me that?” “I wasn’t sure if it was a real memory or just my imagination. …I thought maybe I had fabricated the memories based on what Selen told me and other things I knew.” But Apple continues. She smiles wryly at Peter, who is pressing his face into her breasts and trying out new ways to enjoy them, while stroking his head. “Gradually, everything started making sense again… Memories that I had never heard about before, the connections between them… And I wondered why all of this was coming back now. Even though I knew Andy didn’t know me and my memories were gone, he still said he wanted to be with me. …And even after I became a new person, I fell in love with him again. So why would these things come up now?” “…I think that…” Selen tried to interpret it.
That must have been because Apple had never truly fallen in love with Andy, she thought. Since Selen wanted to live that kind of life, Apple followed her lead and became a slave girl… That was the only way for her. In reality, Apple didn’t have any other choice. Becoming a slave girl wasn’t just about reacting to lingering feelings towards Andy; it was also about making up her mind. Once she had decided on that path, she simply reaffirmed her decision. Andy’s childhood was honestly not all that great. But even so, if one depended on him for their future, they could still imagine a happy scene. It would have been enough happiness for an orphaned half-elf like Apple. Recognizing and accepting this was the slave contract… And it spurred Apple to work hard at her servitude. However, when she accompanied him on that extreme journey, tried her best to be useful, and truly recognized his strength and merits… She must have finally connected with memories of a dreamlike separation that she had never been able to feel or understand before. But Selen stopped herself from explaining this. It would sound pretentious for her to explain why Apple loved him like that. ”…If you tell Andy about it, he might cherish you even more than now.”
“…It feels like I’ve become two different people, and that’s kind of unsettling. The feeling of liking Andy now is strong, but so is the feeling of having been obsessed with him before… they’re both intense, yet don’t seem to fit together. …I’m in love with the same person, but for completely different reasons, like two separate feelings living under one roof… do you get that?” “…Sorry, it’s complicated.” She could imagine it, but empathizing was difficult. Two conflicting emotions towards the same person. Apple had been struggling with this all alone. “…Selen understands, huh?” “Well—since I got back, something felt a bit different about her. Maybe because of that amazing journey, or maybe for some other reason… I couldn’t figure out which, so I’ve just been confused.” “And if it turned out to be different from what you thought, what would you have done?” “…I just wanted to know the truth. That’s all.” Selen gave a wry smile. It was typical of her lonely half-elf nature.
I wasn’t thinking about what to do with my best friend. I just wanted to understand why she had changed. Now that I realize how worried I made her, I hit myself on the head and thought, I still have a long way to go. “…Maybe someday you can talk to Andy about it.” “…Hmm. I don’t know if it’s good or bad.” “It definitely is something good.” The two of them held the baby and laughed quietly, as though they were forgiving each other for their doubts and lies.