After that, there's nothing more for her to do. No, she doesn't have to try anymore, and I want her to take care of it. That's what I said. But Aries, rubbing her bright red eyes that were swollen with tears, told me this.


''Yulia-san.......Finally, let me do what I have to do.
But....
I said earlier that I was tired of trying, to that effect. But at the same time, I still want to do the last thing I need to do for my family ... for the others who have died... sir.
Okay.


　Then I put her down for once. I stayed by her side, holding her hand tightly. And so Aries quickly fell asleep. She said this is the first time since her family disappeared that she can sleep in peace like this. As she said that, she fell asleep.


　It wasn't just humans. Elves were also being abused by other races in this way, too. Aries must have cursed herself for her helplessness and the cruelty of this world. I won't say irreverently that I understand all her feelings either, but I can understand a little bit.


　I can't do anything about it. The feeling that it is impossible to stand against this twilight....


　But if you don't stand up and face the unreasonableness of this world, you will only continue to be overrun forever. If you don't like it, if you want to change the status quo, you have to fight...there is no other way.


　And so, as I snuggled up in that bed, I let myself fall asleep for a little while.




　◇



　The next morning. When I woke up, Aries had already finished changing indoors and told me she was ready to go. The expression on her face is different from the ones I've seen before. I'm going to be able to have a look at it and I'm going to be able to say that I'm going to be able to have a look at it.


I'm going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to do that. I'm going to have to go to the base of operations to find out what is going to happen.
''Well yes. Maybe we shouldn't talk to everyone in the village about it.
It might satisfy the requirements for triggering the Curse.


　Spellbinding 《Curse》. It's unclear under what conditions it will be triggered, but it looks like it's better not to mention that he broke the spell on Aries yet. There might be a possibility that it could be triggered.


　And so, with Aries in my arms, I sprint through the twilight. I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea.


　I run through the land at almost full speed, and after a while the base of operations comes into view. And in the midst of that vision was Princess Liane.


''Yuria-san. You've made a movement.''
Yes. I'll talk to you soon.
We're ready for you. Come on in, both of you.
Yes. Let's go, Aries.
Okay.


　Before I came here, I had told Princess Liane through communication magic that I needed to talk to her beforehand. But I didn't tell her what it was all about. It was also because we were inside the elven village, and we decided that it would be better to have this all told directly from Aries' mouth.


　Once inside, there were several operational commanders there, including Marshal Allston, plus several special-grade anti-magicians. Only this time it was urgent, so it would be enough to have all of them. Then Aries stood in front of everyone and told me what she had told me with a firm demeanor. On the way, she spoke to the end, even though she was on the verge of tears. Probably, she remembered her family...and her sister's last moments.


　I'm sure you're not going to be able to find a way to make the most out of this. The best thing she can do is to communicate directly with her own mouth in this way. I'm sure you'll be able to see that she's doing her best to do that, and I felt a little bit of heat in my eyes.



''I see, so that's what happened with the elves.....
''Yes. I'm very sorry....


　When the Marshal told him that, Aries bows his head. But there was no one here who would ever do anything to denounce her. Who could denounce her, or even the elves? An elf who, despite being in such a ruthless environment, chose the death of his own species rather than betrayal in the end. It is only natural for the humans here to feel sympathy for that.


　Even if humans were driven into a corner, they still had strength. The power to fight back.


　The elves did not have that. Even if you wanted to stand up to them, even if you had the will to do so, if you didn't have the power, you couldn't do anything.


''Marshal, I think we should release all of the elves' curse [Kaas].
Well Commander Julia Curtis. What's your intention?　What's in it for us?


　Of course, we can't work just for the sake of sympathy, either. We need a clearer reason, one that is beneficial to humanity.


''The magic power of the elves should be kept in our possession. It is a shame that it is lost here. As you know Aries here, he has magical skills comparable to that of a special grade anti-magician. Besides, the other elves also have skills that are close. I thought it would be important to study their magic skills for future operations.
'Hmmm ... that's true. It wouldn't be a bad idea to help the elves and get them to do something for us.
''Yes. And probably, that Huge Scorpion [Huge Scorpion] has quite a bit of territory. It probably has it in its possession up to Level 3 of the danger zone. I think we should hit it here.
''That's right. Now let's move on to a large-scale operation after releasing the elves' curse, Kaas. Our target is the Huge Scorpion and other demons. All hands, move into action!
Copy that.


　And so we finally began to prepare to fight in the twilight in earnest.




　◇



''So, Julia. About the Curse, can we do it?
''Yes. I'll be the main one, so I'll need the seniors and Eve to assist me.
Okay.
Copy that.


　Since then, I had my senpai and Eve-san come over to help me deal with the Curse, the Curse. I'm probably the best person to break the spell, but it's better to have help in other aspects, such as how to deal with the Intrinsic Domain 《Personal Field》.


　To be honest, it was a pretty good bet with Aries. I'm glad it worked out, but there was a chance I could have died. Therefore, this time, we are going to take all the necessary precautions.


　The total number of elves was over a hundred, but me, my senior, and Eve took about a day to undo the spell. Doing that itself is not something that takes much time. The problem was that it required a great deal of finesse. Although my magic skills are high, I can't be said to be one of the best in terms of delicacy alone.



''Thank you........!
Thank you, everyone!
'Thank you, thank you so much...'
'....Thank you for your time. Thank you so, so much!


　Once they knew we were done, many elves came indoors from outside. We rented Aries' house and worked on it one by one, but fortunately none of us failed to finish.


　There were times when I shuddered and felt like I was going to fail when I thought that people's lives were at stake in these two hands. There were times when thoughts of what to do if I failed, how to apologize, etc., passed through my mind. But I, we did it. Literally, with all my heart and soul. Although I wasn't that tired magically, I was mainly quite exhausted mentally. My body was drenched in sweat, and the towel nearby was already sufficiently damp.



''Ladies and gentlemen on behalf of the village I would like to thank you all very, very much.


　The village chief comes over to me and rubs his head against the spot to thank me.


'Look up, please. I really think you guys have endured well until now. Let us take care of the future.
'Oooh ... but we ... we deserve better than this ... the price of this life ...'
We'll talk about that when it's all over.
Okay. Well then, good luck....



　As we walked out of Aries' house, my consciousness was already moving on to the next mission.


Well, well. The next step is to fight against the demons. Is this a special allowance?
Eira-chan is a real cash cow, a real cash cow...
I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. I'm not in it for the money. And besides I couldn't have overlooked this terrible thing. And Yulia is....
Excuse me. I've been in touch with Ops. They want you to come right away. They said the Elven village is now in the hands of another counter-magician.
You're really good at it.
You're next in line.
Okay. So, let's go.


　The three of us immediately headed to the base of operations at the first base.


　At that time, we thought everything was going perfectly....