This is Colette’s story.
Kousuke’s mind went blank at the sight before him.
The place where it was happening was Kousuke’s bedroom in the management layer. Although it was Kousuke’s, he rarely slept alone.
Since he always slept with someone, it was normal for someone other than himself to be in the room.
However, the identity of that person was the problem.
The one who greeted Kousuke when he entered the bedroom that day was Colette.
And for some reason, she was wearing a maid outfit.
No, it suited her. It suited her, but it was an impossible outfit given her usual demeanor.
He wondered where she got such clothes, but more importantly, why Colette was wearing them and why she was even here.
Moreover, Colette’s first words upon greeting Kousuke as he entered were:
“…… Oh, thank you for your hard work. M-Master.”
With her ears and face bright red, she spoke those words while at least looking at Kousuke’s face. Kousuke, unable to tear his eyes away, quickly regained his composure.
“No, no. What is this? What’s the situation? Is this some kind of punishment game!?”
“N-No, it’s not! Ah… it’s not!”
Colette blurted out impulsively in her usual tone but quickly tried to cover it up.
Kousuke continued to stare at Colette.
“… Uh, um? M-Master?”
Just staring.
“… Uh, um, if you stare like that, it’s embarrassing, or rather, I don’t know what to say…?”
Stare……
“……”
……
“… S-Sorry?”
Kousuke let out a sigh at Colette’s muttered apology.
“… Haa. So? What kind of joke is this?”
“Ah, h-hold on. This itself is not a joke or anything…”
“? What do you mean?”
Colette glanced at Kousuke, who tilted his head, but then seemed to give up and sighed.
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The whole thing started because Silvia noticed Colette’s unusually strange behavior.
No one else had noticed, but Silvia had known her for a considerable time.
She had sensed something was off with Colette for a while.
It wasn’t that such things didn’t happen normally, so she had left it alone at the time, but she thought it was strange that it had dragged on for so long, so she decided to talk to her directly.
However, since it was in the management layer where others could see, there was a possibility that she wouldn’t be able to ask what she needed to ask. She waited for them to be alone and ended up at the foot of the World Tree.
The foot of the World Tree is a place that even the Elves living in the surrounding area rarely approach.
Certainly, it would be a good place for Colette to be alone.
However, Kousuke and his companions were the exception.
Normally, guards would have stopped them, but Silvia was not stopped and was allowed to approach normally.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, she approached Colette.
Perhaps noticing the approaching footsteps, the lowering Colette raised her head and confirmed that it was Silvia approaching.
“Ah, what? Silvia, what’s wrong?”
“…… Honestly. What’s wrong is not a question for you to ask. That’s what I should be asking you.”
“… Eh!?”
Silvia looked exasperated at Colette, who seemed surprised.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you hadn’t even noticed yourself?”
“W-What are you talking about?”
“You’ve been acting a little strange since this morning, or rather, for a while now? Are you worrying about something?”
Silvia’s words left Colette with a look as if she had been caught off guard.
“Worrying? Me!?”
“…… Haa. This is serious, isn’t it.”
From Silvia’s perspective, she was clearly in an abnormal state, but she didn’t seem to realize it at all.
“Well, never mind. For now, can you tell me what you were thinking about here?”
“Uh, no, it’s nothing much…”
“Just tell me.”
Although Colette tried to refuse, Silvia forcefully pushed her way through.
And then, she heard the entire story, which Colette herself didn’t think was a big deal.
Furthermore, after hearing Colette’s story, Silvia’s final words were:
“… You’re either dense, or I don’t know what to say.”
“Eh!? What’s that?”
Seeing Colette genuinely confused, Silvia judged that she couldn’t handle this alone.
She thought about who she should consult and remembered someone who would be suitable, so she took Colette with her to that place.
The place they went to was Dolly’s tree.
More accurately, it was to Sheryl, who was the shrine maiden of Dolly’s tree.
Silvia, practically dragging Colette along, told Sheryl the story just as it was.
However, the response was:
“…… Does that pose any problem?”
Hearing that, Colette nodded, confirming that there was no problem with her after all.
And Silvia, seeing the two of them, held her head.
It seemed she realized that this problem was a matter of species. Furthermore, she had a strange realization of why the birthrate was declining.
As Silvia was pondering what to do, help arrived.
It was Dolly.
“… Um. Elves are, rather, beings close to us, and it’s not easy for them like Humans.”
“…… I’ve greatly realized that.”
“So, I have a proposal. Why don’t you consult an expert in that area?”
“An expert? Who is it?”
“I apologize. I don’t know their name, but didn’t you have a Succubus companion?”
She was referring to Peach.
Silvia thought, “That’s right.” Indeed, in that regard, she was an expert in a sense.
Leaving Colette there, Silvia went to Peach and immediately brought her back.
By the time they reached Dolly and the others, she told Peach the same story as before.
“I see~”
Hearing that, Peach nodded in understanding.
“So, is it something that can be resolved?”
Dolly asked with unexpected eagerness.
“Huhuhu~? Why are you, Dolly-sama, more serious?”
For some reason, Dolly’s eyes were more serious than Colette’s, who was the person involved.
“That’s because it concerns the Elf species. And besides, they themselves are like this.”
She pointed to the two of them, who had question marks floating above their heads.
“Haaa~. I see. However, I can think of something, but it will probably be a drastic measure for the person concerned.”
“It can’t be helped. If we wait for the Elves’ senses to catch up, we don’t know when they’ll realize it.”
“That might lead to the benefit of the entire Elf Tribe.”
Dolly nodded vigorously at Peach’s ominous words.
Silvia also looked at Colette and nodded.
Seeing their expressions, Colette had a bad feeling about it, but she would soon regret not running away—wondering why she didn’t.
This has become unexpectedly long, so I will divide it into two parts.
