397-Chapter 397: Sense of Violation

Yeah, yeah!

　Looking a bit hunched over, Finia pays off her right hand to the side.

　Following its trajectory, a flame is born and swallows the crowd of approaching demons.

　The flames of the phoenix tribe are the flames of purification.

　The demons that were evil beings were not allowed to stay in this world and everything was returned to ashes.

”Yes, I did it…!

　Finia takes a small gut-punch as she is able to defeat the demon properly.

　Looking at her daughter’s condition, Elfin sighs with relief.

‘Oh, mom, did you see that?　I have to get the demon…

”Of course, I was watching you. I hope that a demon of that level, I hope you can easily get rid of it, but… well, before, if you got close to it, it would run away.

‘Ugh … sorry …’

‘But this time we were able to defeat it properly. Let’s call that a good thing. You did well.

Uh-huh.

　Finia smiles happily at her mother’s praise.

　However, Elfin’s face quickly turned stern.

”But you shouldn’t be satisfied with this level of praise, right?

‘Well…’

‘You are my daughter. You are the daughter of the chief of the Phoenix Clan. You will have to take over my position sooner or later. You will grow up more and more for that.

Okay, yes.

　It’s the usual story.

　Elfin is basically strict with his daughter, his heiress.

　He praises her properly when he does, but other than that, he tells her to be strong and correct.

　It’s a mother’s love that she wants him to become a great chief.

　However, Elfin’s thoughts are sometimes heavy.

　Finia likes to be alone, and she’s not good at leading anyone.

　She’s not the type of person to stand in front of someone, rather, she’s more suited to support them, isn’t she?　I think.

　I’ve tried talking to Elfin about it a few times….

‘What can you do with such weakness? You are the next chief, you should have more strength.

　I’m going to get such a light sermon.

　Each time I do, my heart gets heavy.

　Each time it makes me feel depressed.

　Finia thinks.

　I’m not suited to be a chief, and I don’t want to be a chief in the first place.

　She was simply born the daughter of a chief.

”Finia, is there something wrong?”

Oh no,

　Finia came to herself when Elfin approached her.

　As usual, she was apparently lost in a labyrinth of thoughts, thinking about the next chief.

”……..watashi, will I really be able to do well?”

　Feenya let out a sneaky sigh, trying to keep her mother from noticing.

”Finia, I’ll go first. I’ll never allow a human to defeat me, you know.

Yes, sir.

　They arrived at the sixth level.

　At a reasonable pace, it could be said to be a good achievement.

　An ordinary human would not be able to catch up with the girls.

　However, the other party is a person who is recognized by Sigle.

　If you’re not careful, what will happen to you?

But I have to do my best.

　Finia was determined to do her best as best she could.

　The undeserved expectations were nothing but pressure…

　I simply want to live up to my mother’s expectations as a child.

…

Mother?

　Suddenly I noticed that something was wrong with my mother.

　She had a difficult look on her face.

　Had I done something wrong?

　I can’t think of anything in particular, but there have been a lot of things I’ve done that were unintentional

　There’s no way for Elfin to raise his voice or raise his hand in anger.

　He’s just blithely angry.

　But that’s what’s scary to Finia.

　It seems like she’s being dumbfounded, and she’s afraid she’ll be abandoned sooner or later…

　I can’t help but get freaked out.

‘How … did you … do …?’

”……..Does Finia know what demons live in this dungeon?”

‘What?　Umm, um … just in case.

　This feeble girl actually has the distinction of having a ridiculous memory.

　Once she sees something, she almost never forgets it.

　No matter how much time has passed, no matter how trivial the matter, she can recall it immediately.

The demon you just defeated – was it one that inhabits this dungeon?

It’s… uh…

　Come to think of it, it was a demon I had never seen before.

　Realizing this, Finia looked curious.

”It was a, well, it was the type of demon that wasn’t in this dungeon, but…….why?”

‘Was there a type of demon we didn’t grasp?　…No, that’s not possible. I did a careful investigation when I lived here. There should be little chance of an unknown demon being present.

Well, he could have snuck in from the outside, you know.

‘And there’s only one entrance to the dungeon?　You’re telling me that you’ve moved to the sixth level under everyone’s radar?

Oh, it can’t be… sorry.

‘There’s no need to apologize for that. There is no need to apologize for anything, because we may discover something new by raising the possibility that there is no such possibility. It’s okay to say more without fear.

Yes, yes….

　If she could do such a thing, she wouldn’t have this kind of personality.

　She secretly hoped that she wouldn’t say anything reckless.

‘So, but if you didn’t blend in from the outside…….did it spontaneously occur in the dungeon?

‘It’s not impossible but I’ve been living here for over a hundred years. I’ve never heard of anything like that.

Oh, I see…

No. That doesn’t mean it’s never going to happen. Well … there’s a high probability of that. We did investigate the dungeon, but that was a long time ago. Since dungeons are like living things, it’s possible that some elements will come together to create new monsters.

　Elfin didn’t think it was a big deal and came to that conclusion.

　However, Finia was not convinced.

　Only on the day of the race, a new kind of demon would suddenly appear.

　Would it be such a convenient thing to happen?

Oh, um…

How can I help you?

Well, you know, it’s not like there’s anything else going on, you know?

Is it something else?　Does Finia have any idea what it is?

‘Uh, no, I’m not saying that, but… I just feel like there’s something about it that’s tripping me up… maybe, but… but… It’s possible that it’s artificial.

”Hmmm……..That’s an interesting opinion, but as expected, that’s not going to happen. Creating a new demon is not something that can be done artificially. Well, if it’s a legendary equipment……..no, you’re thinking too much.

Oh, I see…

I’ll get there first. There’s no way I’m going to lose to a human.

Uh-huh.

　……..at this time.

　If Elfin had thought a little more carefully about Finia’s words, he might have been able to avoid the tragedy that awaited him down the road.

　However, she never realized this, and mother and daughter were moving deeper into the dungeon … closer to the tragedy.