Her hand pointed toward a small stall that looked like it was selling cakes or something similar.
The stall was tended by a woman, who greeted me and Iris as we walked toward it.
It seemed that Iris wanted to buy the cake, and I felt like she also wanted me to try it with her.
"Iris-sama, that man…" that was what the woman said when Iris and I stopped right in front of her stall to buy her goods.
"Oh, he is one of the members of the human hero party. You know what I mean, right?" Iris asked the woman.
"That means your dream will soon come true, doesn't it? I'm also happy that the time you spent waiting for this moment has finally arrived," the woman said while smiling at her.
"You're right. By the way, I'd like to buy one portion of your cake," Iris replied.
"Alright, please wait a moment, I'll package it for you," the woman said after hearing Iris's request.
She immediately put several pieces of cake that looked unfamiliar to me into a small box.
I had never seen this cake before, so I thought that it might be some kind of local specialty.
"Here. As a congratulatory gift, Iris-sama doesn't need to pay for it. I'll be the one buying it for you," the woman said as she handed the box of cakes to Iris.
Iris looked very happy, and she returned the woman's smile as well.
"Thank you very much~ I'll enjoy it," Iris said.
We walked away from the stall, and I could see the woman waving her hand briefly at Iris.
From the merchant's reaction, it seemed that Iris was very loved and respected by the people here.
"Yuusha, I want to eat it at a certain place. You don't mind, right?" Iris asked me.
"Of course. I think the place you're talking about will surprise me," I replied.
"Just wait. I'm sure you'll really be surprised by it," Iris said with a small smile.
——
We finally arrived at the place Iris had talked about earlier, the one she said would surprise me.
At the end of this road, there was a short cliff, probably only about four or five meters high.
The edge of the cliff had been fitted with a fence that looked beautiful, white in color and with perforated designs in several places.
There was a fairly large tree here, and beneath it was a long plain white bench that no one had occupied yet.
Before reaching the cliff, there was a road that curved to the right, and that road connected to what was below this small cliff.
"Yuusha, let's sit over there," she said.
I simply nodded and followed her as she sat down on the long bench first.
—
As I sat beside her, I could see the scenery below the cliff.
"What do you think?" Iris asked.
Below the cliff, there was something like an elven settlement, neatly arranged and looking very beautiful.
A fairly wide river stretched through the middle of the settlement, and many normally sized trees stood among the elven houses.
I could see elves and humans living together in that settlement, smiling and enjoying their time.
Those who lived here looked very happy and content, as if they had already obtained an extraordinary happiness.
"Is a settlement like this only found in one place?" I asked.
"No. Besides this one, there are dozens of settlements like this in Riruyo, and this place is one of them," Iris answered.
"I see. In my opinion, this place is very nice and makes me feel comfortable. The scenery I'm seeing right now truly surprises me," I said.
"Right? That's why I'm very happy when your party came here. It means I can protect all of their smiles here— and also in other places spread throughout Riruyo," she said.
I see. She truly wanted to make her people happy with her own hands. Her dream was truly amazing.
"Here, take this. You've never tried a cake like this before, right?" Iris asked as she handed me the already opened box of cakes.
I took one of the cakes and looked at its shape.
Its shape looked like a small elongated tube, and it looked like something that had been stacked in layers.
I took a bite and felt some kind of liquid inside. There was a thick light brown fluid, like honey, with a sweet taste.
"That's Tapis cake, one of the cakes made by us elves,"
"So this cake is stacked, huh? It tastes like thin dough that's been combined into something solid," I asked.
"Almost correct, but wrong. The dough is shaped into a fairly thick circle, then a filling of honey is placed in the center," Iris answered.
"After the honey is arranged, both sides of the dough are folded inward, then rolled until it becomes the shape we see now," she continued.
Ah, so the filling really was honey. The sweetness of the dough combined with the natural sweetness of the honey made it very delicious.
"Do you like it?" Iris asked.
"This cake is very good. It's my first time trying something like this," I said.
"I… like it too. Its sweetness makes me feel the struggles of the people who made it, with the hope of making others happy," (Iris)
Iris stood up from the bench and walked a few steps forward, looking at the settlement below.
"All of the settlements in Riruyo are led by my family, who possess the bloodline of the former leaders. And I am the only daughter in that family."
"I've always heard stories from my mother that I must form a relationship with a man from the hero party, because in the past, our predecessor did the same thing, and succeeded in creating a barrier across all of Riruyo's settlements, preventing Abbys from entering."
"That barrier can only be passed by elves and special people like heroes, and it managed to block Abbys's attacks at that time, forcing them to retreat."
"However, the barrier has a time limit, because when that power is used, a portion of the elf's magical power who uses it disappears, and that time has now come."
"When you passed through the barrier, it was actually about to disappear soon, and the timing was perfect when you came here," Iris said.
"I was very happy when I learned of a way for us elves to continue surviving Abbys's attacks, especially if the one who has to do it is me."
"It feels like becoming an important person who is needed by everyone in Riruyo, and that's why I kept waiting for your arrival here, Yuusha."
She really wanted to do it, didn't she? I understood what Lancer-san had talked about regarding this girl back then.
"By the way, you know an elf named Lancer, right?" Iris asked.
"Um, yes, I know him. The necklace I gave you back then was something he entrusted to me," I answered.
"So, what kind of relationship do you have with Lancer-san?" I asked.
"He's… basically become like an uncle to me. And I often spent time with him, before he said that he wanted to leave Riruyo and go elsewhere to become an adventurer."
"Before he left, I entrusted that necklace to him and told him to give it when he met the hero. Well, at that time I never really thought it would actually succeed," Iris said.
"But because of that necklace, you and your parents immediately knew about us, right?" I asked.
"Yes. Yuusha, do you want to go down there and see it directly? I think I want to introduce you to them," Iris suggested.
What she meant was surely going to the settlement below.
I didn't mind, even if it turned out that the man from the hero party chosen by Iris was me, I wasn't really expecting it.
For me, our time together right now was merely like fulfilling a small wish of hers, and it wasn't certain yet that she wanted to awaken her power together with me.
"Let's go. I also want to see it more closely," I said as I stood up from the long bench.