the lich and the clumsy elf

Maiela’s fear had boiled over into something else entirely — indignation.

This creepy bone-man had the nerve to kneel in front of her and speak like they’d shared tea together before? No. Absolutely not.

“You—! You stay away from me!” she snapped, scrambling to her feet and swinging her sword with all the skill of someone trying to swat a particularly rude mosquito.

The Lich didn’t even move — her blade whistled past his ribs without touching a thing.

“…Are you even aiming?” he asked, voice rasping through his jawbone.

That only made her swing again. And again. And again. She missed every time.

Finally, her pride couldn’t take it. “Fine! If I can’t hit you… I’ll erase you!”

That’s when she started reciting. The Lich’s green eye-flames flickered in alarm. He recognized the words immediately — a sealing incantation far too strong for any novice.

“Wait—WAIT! Stop that!” He surged forward, reaching to grab her wrists.

She only shouted louder, her voice echoing against the stone walls.

“YOU’LL BRING THE CEILING DOWN, YOU FOOL!”

Too late. A blinding flash swallowed the garden of spider lilies, followed by a boom that rattled the deepest stones of the dungeon. When the dust settled, both the Lich and Maiela lay sprawled in the ruined flowers, groaning in mutual pain.

“…Ow.”

“… I told you so,” the Lich wheezed.

They sat next to each other, the faint smell of smoke still hanging in the air from earlier’s… incident. Maiela’s cheeks were still pink, not from the heat, but from the embarrassment of what she’d done.

The Lich broke the silence first, his voice echoing slightly from inside his hollow skull.

“What’s your name, elf?”

Maiela kept her eyes fixed away from him, lips forming a small pout.

“Maiela… Maiela Blume…”

Then, with a grumble, she glanced sideways at him.

“By the way, what’s your name, bone man?”

The Lich straightened, as if genuinely offended, and edged half a step away.

“Don’t… call me a bone man, you disrespectful child…” maiela protested“Hah? What are yo—”

“Now shush, will ya?”

He raised a hand, cutting her off with the tone of a teacher scolding a particularly loud student.

“Humph!” Maiela puffed her cheeks even more, turning away in exaggerated defiance.

There was a pause. The Lich’s glowing green eyes dimmed a little, and he muttered under

his breath:“My name is… my name is… I forgot.”

“...Eh?” Maiela’s head whipped around, eyes wide.

The Lich’s bony shoulders lifted in a lazy shrug. “Been dead for… a few centuries. Things slip.” of course this makes maiela more... frustrated“Eh?! You can’t just—forget your own name!”

“Apparently, I can.”

He tilted his skull slightly, as if this were the most natural thing in the world.

"Hmm... if you don't have a name right now... how about giving you a name?" she stood up in front of her with pride. "eh? A name?" the lich scratches his skull in confusion. "Yeah! You're a lich right? let's see... lich-kun? Or... lichen? Or... AHA! What about lich-sama?" she leaned in to the lich with a sparkling eyes like a child.

"lich-sama? Hmm... I kinda liked it..." he looked up at her after he says it. "heehee! nice to meet you lich-sama!" she offered lich-sama a handshake, without any hesitation he accepted her handshake offer. "may I ask why do you came all the way here? it's quite a dangerous place if you're not careful..." he stood up and walk to her slowly before stopping in front of her.

"fufu~ because... I wanted to become an A-ranked adventurer!" she poses while her eyes shines as she feels pride flowing inside her. "hmhm~ lich-sama! do you have a dream?" she leaned in to him again making lich-sama confused. "a dream?" he lowered his head while holding his bone chin before looking at his arm. "maybe... if possible... I wanna become human again... gain back my humanity" he gripped his arm making a crack as if he missed his past body. "then let's work together towards our dream! lich-sama!" she acted as a child as she jumps happily in front of him.

"work together?" he asks her in curiosity.

"yes! I will help you be human again IF! you help me become an A rank adventurer!" maiela grabbed his shoulders in pride to convince lich-sama.

"alright then... looking forward to work with you..." he gripped his palm firmly to show how determined he is.

The warmth didn’t last long. “Alright, elf, let’s get moving. I’ll take us back to the surface.”

The Lich waved his skeletal hand in a small circle, green runes forming in the air.

Maiela tilted her head.

“Wait, what do you—”A flash of green light. FWUMP. The Lich vanished.

She blinked. “…Did that bag of bones just—”

A screech echoed through the tunnel.

She turned around. A horde of ghouls was already pouring in from the shadows, their rotting jaws snapping.

“Oh no.”She ran.

The ground quivered as giant spiders skittered down the walls, their long legs clicking against stone. “SPIDERS?! WHY IS IT ALWAYS SPIDERS?!” Maiela shrieked, swinging her sword wildly without even looking.

The ghouls chased her. The spiders chased her. Something worse snarled deeper in the dark, joining the pursuit.

At one point, she tripped over a rock, rolled, and came face-to-face with a slime.

“OH COME ON!”She kicked it away and kept running.Her lungs burned, her legs screamed, and she could swear the dungeon was laughing at her.

Finally, the faint glow of daylight appeared ahead. She stumbled through the exit, gasping for breath, covered in dust, cobwebs, and slime goo. And there, leaning casually against the dungeon wall, was the Lich.

“You made it. Took you long enough.”

Maiela’s jaw dropped.

“YOU TELEPORTED?! YOU LEFT ME IN THERE?!"

The Lich tilted his skull slightly. “Well, yes. I assumed you’d manage. You’re aiming for A-rank, aren’t you?”

“THAT’S NOT THE POINT!” she shouted, flailing her arms so much a bit of slime flew off her hair and landed on his skull.

The Lich paused, then flicked it off with one finger. “…You’ve got spirit, I’ll give you that.”

Maiela’s glare could’ve melted steel.

“Next time, we teleport together, got it?!”

The Lich’s eyes dimmed in mock thought.

“…We’ll see.”

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