"Lyra… I need to ask something. It'll sound strange, but answer honestly."

Hearing this, both girls looked at him, confused.

Damien exhaled.

"Hey, Lyra, is the Elf queen a virgin?"

The silence that followed was explosive.

"Y-Young master!" Isabelle choked. "Why are you asking something like that?!"

Lyra's stare turned sharp enough to kill.

Damien immediately raised his hands. "Wait—wait! It's not what you're thinking."

He coughed twice, his mind racing as he recalled a specific, terrifying detail from the novel.

'In the original story, the Elf Kingdom's barrier was impenetrable. It stood for thousands of years. But in the year 2025, it fell in a single night.'

'Why? Queen was occupied with childbirth. And on the night of the attack, unable to attack the elf empire without their greatest backer fell.'

'The pain of labour destabilised her mana. The barrier flickered under siege. And all kinds of cultists and undead walked right in.'

He looked at Lyra. If the Queen were still a virgin, the timeline would be safe. If she wasn't…

Having casually dropped such a massive bomb, Damien led the shell-shocked girls to a bench a few minutes outside the guild.

Before they headed back to the Inn, Damien felt they needed to plan their next moves.

Fortunately, Lyra, who had been quiet all this time, finally spoke up upon hearing Damien say this.

"Young master Voss, what do you mean? Where did you get this information? Was it your father who told you?"

"Also, why did that old man Garrick say your family was in trouble?"

"My team and I came all the way from the Elf forest!"

"We risked being captured and killed on the way just to get some help from your father, now you tell me that he can't help?"

"Goddess of life, are you really going to forsake your people??"

With a miserable smile on her face, Lyra's eyes unknowingly started to water.

In a trance, she remembered the laughs of her brothers who had long since disappeared since the humans started to invade their forest.

She remembered the looks of determination as her team set off from the elf forest to get some help from the outside world.

She remembered the sacrifices made by her brethren, making sure she escaped and reached Silverwood.

Thinking about all this, as she was barely eighteen years old, she was only chosen for this mission because she was seen as a genius in the elf empire.

An eighteen-year-old fourth-order mage, truly a stand-out genius, no matter the race.

However, under the pressure of the current situation, it seemed like her genius had no meaning.

In the face of these circumstances, she had come to realise that genius did not, unfortunately, mean powerful, as tears began to well up in her eyes unknowingly.

And Isabelle, seeing their newly encountered elf partner like this, held Lyra in her hands.

"Calm down, Lyra. Although I don't know what you're going through, I can tell you one thing for sure"

"Since you've met the young master, then there's no need to shed tears anymore"

"With his help, not only will we rescue your people, but the elf forest is going to be safe!"

Gently rubbing her hair, Isabelle looked curiously at Lyra's elf ears, wondering how they would feel to touch.

*Also, young master, what do you mean you got some information that the Elf queen would be attacked once she went into labour?*

*Both of us have been travelling together since we left the mansion, and I don't think we ever stopped at an informant.*

*Moreover, you don't seem like you're lying, and you're not one to deceive someone, so what is going on?*

Muttering in her mind, a hint of confusion flashed in Isabelle's eyes as she thought of this.

However, after remembering her promise in the carriage to trust him unconditionally, she soon put away her messy thoughts.

Yes, her part was not to question or doubt her young master, but to protect and clear his way while he moved forward.

And Damien, seeing Isabelle not asking anything, secretly sighed in relief.

After all, he couldn't explain that he knew this thanks to the original story.

*However, I need to be more careful from now on. Had the situation not been urgent, I wouldn't have said it so carelessly*

*But since that's the case, I might as well hit the nail on the head*

Thinking of this, an Idea flashed in Damien's mind

"Yes, Lyra, Isabelle is right, although you sought out my father for help"

"But since fate brought us to meet, then consider your problems solved"

"Haha, trust me! After all, I am Voss, and we of the Voss family always keep our word!"

With a wide smile on his face, Damien tried to lighten the atmosphere.

But Lyra, hearing him talk so confidently, turned to give him a scan before her expression turned cold.

"Hey.. I don't mean to be rude, young master Voss, but this is not a game"

"How old are you? You're probably younger than me and weaker than me. Instead of wasting your life, you might as well use this time to get stronger"

"The slave traders who attacked us have a fortress near Gravestone, where they keep slaves captive before transporting them to various nobles"

"In that fortress, a multitude of fourth orders and third orders exist with their leader, the fifth order"

"Then let's not talk about the humans invading the elf forest, how some of them even have sixth orders leading the slave hunting teams"

"In such a situation where my life is on the line, unfortunately, to say, but neither you nor your maid qualifies as even cannon fodder"

"Looking at both of you, I doubt either of you could even take an arrow for me."

With eyes completely cold, devoid of any emotion, Lyra seemed to have concluded.

As long as she tried her best. With her fourth-order archery and stealth skills, she should be able to sneak into the fortress and try to free her people.

Once they were free, she would lead them back into the elf forest and join the fight against the slave traders.

Making up her mind, she gently stood up, getting out from Isabelle's arms, determination to risk it all flowing through her heart.

Damien watched her, and seeing that look of absolute, suicidal resolve, the deeper, darker details of her story finally clicked into place.

He didn't just see a hero anymore; he saw the tragedy about to unfold.

Boom!

Like an explosion in his mind, the specific text regarding her transformation rushed back to him.

Lyra of a Thousand Miles.

The World's Greatest Assassin. The Leader of the Rebel Slave Coalition. The Avenger of Elves and the First Dark Elf in history!

In the novel, rumors had it that after losing her family during this exact slave capture era, Lyra was consumed by hatred. She began to dabble in Abyss Magic to gain strength until her skin turned black.

From then on, known as the Dark Elf, she rescued multiple slaves all around the world, her arrows capable of killing 7th-Order warriors and mages from miles apart.

But she had a tragic end. She was betrayed by someone under her command, her location exposed, leading to an ambush.

Readers speculated that had she not been betrayed, she alone, using her guerrilla warfare and hit-and-run tactics, would have been able to beat down humanity from its kingdom age, as all kings were in the range of her arrows.

Remembering all of this, Damien looked at the girl in front of him with a new weight in his gaze.

She was standing on the precipice. If she walked out that door alone, she would lose her family, turn to the Abyss, and start the cycle of hatred that ended in her betrayal.

She is a future Big Shot... but right now, she is just a victim waiting to happen.

In fact, she was on his list of people to save or change their fate if he could. Now encountering her here, right at her turning point, how could he afford to let her go?

Thinking of this, Damien decided, eyes narrowed as he seemingly made a choice.

"Wait a minute, Lyra," Damien called out, his voice sharp. "Although what you're saying isn't necessarily wrong, but if you go there, there's a ninety per cent chance whatever you plan to do will fail."

"Even if you do manage to free your friends yourself and head back to the elf forest,"

"But the overall situation can't be changed by you alone!"

However, his words only made the determined Lyra angry again.

"Do you think I don't know that!"

"But what choice do I have! If I don't do anything! Everyone will either die or be a slave!"

"At least if I go, I'll make sure to kill as many people as I can before falling!"

"Much better than staying here doing nothing!"

Feeling angry at the little kid in front of her, Lyra was frustrated that he couldn't understand that this wasn't a joke.

Every minute she spent here, there was a chance that a brother or sister of hers was being hunted or killed.

How dare he try to stop her?

Ugh... why am I even arguing with a kid? Although it's a pity I could not meet Theron, I have to leave as soon as possible.

Muttering inwardly, Lyra prepared to leave. However, Damien's next words made her pause in her tracks.

"Dungeon!"

"Lyra! I know the location of a dungeon that can help change the situation!"

"If you help me conquer this dungeon, not only will we be able to save your people from the slave traders,"

"But we'll also be able to save the elf forest!"

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