Shiranui Flare IF Route: An Endless Song for You, Covered in Ashes
I'm Shiranui Flare. I was a top virtual elf streamer, having a blast with my fans, when my screen went white—and I woke up in a strange city.
This is the Lazberil Kingdom, a place where elves are discriminated against by humans. Seriously?! The idea of me being the one discriminated against isn't even funny enough to be a streaming gag. But I got caught up in the commotion and thrown in jail. That's when I was saved by Lucas, a totally weird human merchant.
Lucas doesn't care about the elf t
Shiranui Flare IF Route: An Endless Song for You, Covered in Ashes - Too bad! I'm the most expensive woman in the world!
The stone warehouse loomed cold and silent.
Situated at the edge of the harbor district, facing a deserted street, the building bore blackened soot stains caked onto its walls. The door, weathered by the salty sea breeze, was branded with the mark "Vanagur Warehouse No. 7." Though it was just past noon, there was no sign of anyone around.
Shiranui Furea stood before that heavy door.
Her platinum blonde hair, reaching down to her waist, swayed gently in the lukewarm wind blowing in from the sea. The purple inner color on the right side looked especially vivid under the overcast sky. Her long, pointed elf ears twitched faintly with tension.
"[whispers]...Alright."
Her voice didn't tremble.
Only her heartbeat was unnaturally fast. She could feel her blood pounding deep in her chest. Sweat beaded slickly on her palms.
(*Smile, me. As long as I can smile, I'll be fine.*)
In her mind, it was still morning. A room at the Lanterna Inn. Lucas, his head wrapped in bandages, had pointed at the blueprints spread across the table and insisted:
"[serious]Seventy percent is fine. It's a matter of probability."
"[surprised]Seventy percent?! What about the other thirty?!"
Sara had shouted, her honey-colored hair flying wildly. She'd been clutching a bottle of paralytic agent in her hand. Furea remembered the scent of medicinal herbs drifting throughout the room.
"[serious]It's fine. One in ten of my inventions hits the mark. This time, I'll make one that's a hit."
"[surprised]So that means a ten percent success rate, right?!"
Remembering her own retort, Furea couldn't help but give a wry smile. The three of them had laughed back then. Even as her stomach twisted with tension, they'd had no choice but to laugh it off.
—Now, she stood here alone.
She was the decoy. Inside the warehouse, Ilze Vanagur was waiting. There should be at least five guards with her.
(*If I said I wasn't scared, that would be a lie.*)
Furea took a deep breath. She filled her lungs with the scent of the sea breeze. Salty. It was her eighth day since coming to this world. She wanted to tell her past streamer self that she'd end up facing the boss of a slave trader one-on-one.
"[serious]...Don't underestimate an elf."
Inside her pocket, her right hand made a small movement. A tiny piece of metal Lucas had given her—a signal ring. Tapping it would send a signal to Sara and Lucas, who were waiting outside.
(*I can do this.*)
She told herself.
Positive thinking was her strong suit. No matter how hopeless the situation, she'd always gotten by with a "it'll work out somehow."
*Creeeak—*
With the heavy sound of groaning hinges, Furea pushed the door open herself.
—*—*—
The inside of the warehouse was dim.
Lanterns hanging from the high ceiling cast a vague, orange light. Wooden crates were stacked against the walls, and a musty smell stung her nose. Dry straw was scattered across the floor.
And, further in.
Sitting in a simple wooden chair, Ilze Vanagur was waiting.
Her back was perfectly straight, and her silver fingerless gloves gleamed coldly over her crossed legs. Her long, straight crimson hair was tied back without a single strand out of place, and her golden eyes narrowed in the dimness as if she'd spotted her prey.
Behind her, five guards.
All of them had powerful builds, swords hanging at their waists. Every one of them was expressionless, watching Furea's every move as if monitoring her.
"[cold]Right on time."
Ilze's voice made the air in the warehouse tremble.
Furea's elf ears perked up.
And then—she smiled.
"[excited]Sorry to keep you waiting! Man, I got lost. The numbering in this warehouse district is really confusing, you know? You said number seven, so I thought it was this one, but it was number eight. If this were a stream, my listeners would've told me."
Chattering away, Furea walked up to stand before Ilze.
One of the guards moved to act.
Ilze stopped him with a hand.
Furea didn't miss that.
(*She wants to run things herself. Just as I thought, this person is—*)
She stopped.
Three more steps to Ilze.
Golden eyes and amethyst eyes intersected.
"[gentle]So—did you bring the contract?"
Ilze jerked her chin.
One of the guards presented a parchment document from atop a wooden crate. It was packed with fine letters in ink, and the seal of the Vanagur Trading Company was stamped at the very bottom.
"[cold]Can you read it? An elf from another world."
"[laughing]Ah, I can't read it. Sorry."
Furea said it bluntly.
Ilze's eyebrow twitched.
"[cold]...You can't read it?"
"[gentle]I mean, I've only been in this world for eight days, right? There's no way I could read the writing. But—"
Furea took one step forward.
"[serious]Before I sign the contract, there's something I want to ask you."
The guards stirred restlessly.
Ilze raised a hand, silencing them.
"[cold]...Ask."
(*—An opening.*)
Furea sensed her plan was working. Ilze was interested. She wasn't leaving it to her subordinates; she was trying to handle it herself.
This was a negotiation only possible because she was an elf.
"[serious]You—Ilze-san, isn't there something strange about you?"
"[cold]...What?"
"[serious]I mean, the Vanagur Trading Company is a huge organization, right? You have a hundred and eighty members, annual transactions of four hundred thousand Luze. So why would a big boss like you come all the way to the hospital yourself just to recruit a single elf? Threatening me yourself, calling me here yourself—normally, wouldn't you leave that to your subordinates?"
Ilze's smile froze.
The air in the warehouse grew cold and tense.
The guards seemed to hold their breath.
"[serious]In other words—you're fixated on me, aren't you?"
She said it.
Ilze's golden eyes wavered for just a moment.
Furea didn't miss that opening.
"[serious]Is it because I'm a real elf from another world? Because I'm rare? That's certainly true. But—I feel like it's not just business. Why does it have to be me? Could you tell me the reason why another elf won't do? Or—"
She cut her words off there and tilted her head slightly.
The silver earring in her right ear swayed.
"[gentle]...Is there some special reason?"
Ilze didn't answer.
Only her silver fingerless gloves clenched with a grinding sound. The old scar running from her left temple to her jaw stood out, illuminated by the lantern light.
(*—Bullseye.*)
Furea was certain. There was something about this person.
A businesswoman who saw elves as nothing but merchandise—if that were true, she wouldn't go to such lengths personally.
"[cold]...You're a clever elf."
Ilze's voice dropped low.
"[cold]But you talk too much. You came here for the contract. Unnecessary prying is—"
"[excited]Ah, that's right! There's one thing I forgot to mention!"
Furea clapped her hands together brightly.
She cut off Ilze's words. The guards exchanged glances.
"[excited]I feel bad that you went out of your way to come here, but—I couldn't find a single reason why I'd want to fall into your hands! Too bad!"
Beaming.
She declared it with a full-faced smile.
All expression vanished completely from Ilze's face.
At that moment—Furea tapped the ring on her right hand with a *clink*.
A small metallic sound echoed through the warehouse.
—*—*—
*Shhhhhhh—*
From a ventilation window near the ceiling, white smoke poured in all at once.
It was the incense burner laced with the paralytic agent Sara had concocted. The sickly sweet smell of burning medicinal herbs filled the warehouse.
"[surprised]Wha—what is this?!"
"Smoke! Where's it coming from—"
The guards panicked.
But that was only the beginning.
—*BOOOOOOM!!!*
The next instant, an explosive roar thundered from the warehouse beams.
Flash.
White smoke.
The "surprise balls" Lucas had rigged exploded one after another. Her vision was dyed pure white. The entire warehouse shook with the deafening blasts.
"[angry]My eyes—my eyes!!"
"*Gahack!* The smoke—"
Clutching their eyes and noses, the guards collapsed one after another.
—But.
*DOOOOONNNNNN!!!*
An explosion ten times louder than the previous ones erupted in the center of the warehouse.
"[scared]Eeeeeek!?"
Furea jumped.
She instinctively covered her ears with her hands. A surprise ball with three times the intended power had fallen from the beams and blown away the wooden crate right next to her. Wood splinters scattered, and straw flew into the air.
(*—You idiot, Lucas!! That was the thirty percent, not the seventy percent!!*)
She screamed internally.
But thanks to that, the guards were in complete panic. No one could stand anymore. Their limbs were numb from the paralytic, their eyes blinded by the flash, their eardrums wrecked by the explosions. Everyone was crawling on the floor, groaning.
"[surprised]Ugh... this is..."
Only Ilze was still standing.
But her footing was unsteady. Her silver fingerless gloves clung to a wooden crate. Her crimson hair was disheveled, and a pained look surfaced on her cold, ruthless face.
—At that moment.
*BAAAAAM!!*
The front door was kicked in from the outside.
"[serious]Freeze!! It's the City Guard!!"
Guards clad in armor poured in like an avalanche. In their hands were swords, ropes, and restraining chains. They spread out through the warehouse with flawless coordination, restraining the guards crawling on the floor one after another.
The man who seemed to be the captain glared at Ilze with sharp eyes.
"[serious]Ilze Vanagur. For the illegal trafficking of elves and coercion against personal freedom, caught in the act—you are under arrest."
A figure burst out from the smoke.
"[excited]Furea!! Are you okay?!"
The bandage wrapped around his head had slipped down slightly from the force of his running. His dull, curly blond hair stuck to his forehead with sweat, and his gentle, droopy brown eyes desperately searched for Furea.
"[laughing]Lucas! You messed up the calibration on the surprise balls!! I thought I was going to die!!"
"[surprised]Oh, seriously? The triple-strength one? That one was a success!"
"[anger]Your definition of success is messed up!!"
"[gentle]Furea—!! Thank goodness—!!"
Another shadow threw her arms around Furea. Her honey-colored, gently wavy hair swayed softly, carrying the pleasant scent of herbs. It was Sara. The small braid above her left ear, in hair that reached her shoulder blades, bounced from the momentum of her run.
"[surprised]Sara-san!? Whoa—hey, I can't breathe—"
"[crying]Thank goodness... really, thank goodness... I didn't know there'd be this much smoke, so I was so worried, so worried—"
Sara's green eyes, deep like a forest, were faintly glistening.
"[gentle]Your incense burner was way too effective. The guards were foaming at the mouth."
"[surprised]Huh. Did I get the dosage wrong...?"
"[laughing]Seems like all three of us are bad at calibrating things."
Lucas laughed. Furea laughed too. Wiping her tears, Sara let out a soft giggle.
The three of them looked at each other and laughed together. Inside the warehouse where the smoke was beginning to clear, it was a strangely natural sight.
—At that moment.
"[cold]...Remember this."
A low voice sliced through the silence.
Her arms restrained by the guards, ropes tied around her, Ilze—stared only at Furea with her cold, golden eyes.
Her crimson hair was disheveled. Yet her back remained perfectly straight, and her scarred face twisted—into a smile.
"[cold]You will regret this."
But.
In that voice, something beyond pure business seeped through.
Furea looked straight back into that gaze.
And then, she slowly approached.
One step.
Another step.
Standing before Ilze's eyes—still smiling, she declared:
"[excited]Too bad for you!! I'm the kind of woman who costs the most in the world!!"
A smug look.
Her elf ears perked up, she made a V-sign with her right hand.
Ilze was at a loss for words.
The guard captain quietly gave the order.
"[serious]...Tak
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