Chapter 57
Chapter
They walked all the way to the Elf Union.
It wasn’t that far, and sometimes just running was faster than any typical means of transportation. After all, there were two Elves and one Heavenly Death. If they set their minds to it, they could arrive in no time.
Of course, there was no rush, so the group walked slowly. As they got closer to the Elf Union, the fragrance of the forest thickened. It wasn’t just that the trees were dense; the life force of each tree was incomparable to what they usually saw.
“Ugh… I can breathe a little easier now.”
Yonia spread her arms wide and took a deep breath. Is this what Elves enjoy? Rionne also seemed in a good mood.
Enok glanced around while whispering to Eri, who was perched on his shoulder.
“We need to be cautious once we arrive.”
[…I really don’t want to hear that from Dad.]
“…?”
Do spirits go through puberty too? Enok pondered seriously.
“Uh…!? You can’t be serious!”
A voice wafted through the bushes like the breeze. Only Yonia seemed unaware of the presence here. Unlike the calmness of Enok and Rionne, Yonia widened her eyes in surprise.
“That voice….”
“Yonia! It’s really you!”
From a distance came the sound of wind, followed by a figure landing on the ground. With brilliant golden hair and forest-green eyes, one could tell instantly, just from the long ears, that it was an Elf.
“Where on earth have you been? Do you know how much Auntie was worried?”
“Just ran away for a bit.”
“Oh my… You make it sound like you just went out to eat.”
The Elf man let out a deep sigh. After blinking in surprise, he stepped back, taken aback.
“…Human? And that person is….”
The Elf man’s eyes questioned Yonia. Yes, you’re thinking right. When Yonia nodded, the man jumped up into the air.
“L-Lionne-sama!?”
“Nice to see you.”
Lionne waved her hand gently. The Elf man trembled, then bowed at a ninety-degree angle.
“I am Ake-in!”
Enok clapped his hands in delight at the unexpectedly formal greeting.
*
‘Something feels like I forgot something….’
Enok followed behind Ake-in, deep in thought. There was an unsettled feeling. He was sure he had forgotten something, but he couldn’t recall what it was.
“Lately, there’s been an increase in monsters. Many were worried if something had happened to Yonia.”
“Monsters?”
“Yes. Something seems to be happening, but we don’t know what…”
As he continued to ponder while listening to Ake-in and Rionne’s conversation, it suddenly hit him.
“Ah.”
[Dad? What’s wrong?]
“I forgot to receive the commission fee.”
How did he not think of that when parting ways with the mercenaries? Enok was suddenly struck with a grave thought.
‘No way….’
While spending time with Lionne, he had adopted a rather clueless persona, but had he genuinely been swallowed up by the concept?
If Yonia had heard him, she would have chuckled and said, ‘That’s not a concept at all,’ but such thoughts were not destined to reach her.
“By the way, I didn’t expect Lionne-sama to take on a human disciple.”
Ake-in’s gaze fixed on the sword hanging from Enok’s waist. The pattern engraved on that sword was unmistakably that of Estor. He couldn’t describe how surprised he was upon hearing the name ‘Enok Estor.’
“Enok is not human.”
“Eh? Could it be some kind of polymorph magic?”
Could it be a disguise? Just as Ake-in was beginning to accept this, Lionne playfully pinched Enok’s cheek.
“He’s not human; he’s adorable. Have you ever seen such a cute human?”
“Ah, yes.”
It seemed he still had a long way to go to match the humor of a High Elf. He needed to work harder. Ake-in awkwardly laughed.
As they continued their walk, suddenly the area before them brightened, revealing something that looked like a massive structure made up of intertwined trees.
“World Tree?”
As Enok tilted his head in confusion, Undine chuckled softly.
[Do you think that’s a World Tree? It’s just a Ranger base.]
That enormous tree branching endlessly was merely a base. While he stared up in fascination, a few Elves approached.
“Ake-in? Oh, what? Yonia is here too?”
“Next to her… Lionne-sama!?”
The startled Elves took a moment to calm down. In the meantime, Enok scanned the faces of the Elves.
There were four men and three women, including Ake-in. What was remarkable was that all of them were Masters—a splendid display of strength.
As he observed Undine fluttering nearby, the proud spirit puffed out her chest with one corner of her mouth tilted up.
[I told you before. It’s a Ranger base. Those are Rangers.]
“What do Rangers do?”
[Watchmen. Kind of like a neighborhood watch?]
A neighborhood watch… a Master? Not understanding, Enok rolled his eyes in confusion, prompting Undine to add.
[You try shooting arrows for three hundred years. As long as you’re not incredibly stupid, you’d be at least a Master.]
Elves were inherently more talented than humans. They were practically an upgraded version. This wasn’t because Undine was a spirit with a bias against races, but simply an objective fact.
So, surely there must be Elves interested in martial arts among them? After several hundred years of training, one could become a Master or even a Grandmaster.
It wasn’t unusual for someone’s next-door neighbor to be a Master either, so it made sense.
“Oh…. Indeed.”
This was an Elf. Enok admired. Then he slyly glanced at Yonia.
‘Didn’t she say she was around thirty?’
Sure enough, Yonia was still a wretched little brat. It felt like she was at the newborn level, crawling around on all fours.
“…What are you thinking? Your eyes are creeping me out.”
“I wasn’t thinking anything at all.”
“Sounds like a lie….”
Yonia shot a glare at Enok. But just then, the Rangers surrounded Yonia.
“W-what’s going on?”
The Rangers reached out their hands. A startled Yonia tried to dodge, but she was merely an Expert. There was no escaping the grasp of Masters.
“You troublemaking brat! Do you know how worried Yohan was?”
“W-what did Mom say!”
“Stop talking nonsense and hurry home!”
Yonia was inundated with cuteness. Watching this unfold while receiving an Elf lesson from Undine, Enok smacked his palm into his fist in realization.
“Oh, so that’s what it means to live for a thousand years?”
“Uh, huh!? You weren’t talking about my age, right?”
“Hmm? No, I was talking about Elf lifespans.”
Despite the shrouded age of Lionne, it was said that Elves lived for a thousand years. But according to Undine, their lifespan was closer to three hundred years. Why was that misconception widespread? The reason was simple.
“Oh, lifespan? Did I not mention it?”
Theoretically, humans who achieved immortality would live long enough to be Masters, potentially reaching three to four hundred years. Depending on the circumstance, it could be shorter or longer, but that was the average. What about Elves?
Easily at least Experts. Even among Elves where Masters were not uncommon, it was normal for lifespan benchmarks to differ.
The lazy Elf next door was an Expert. The restaurant lady across the street was an Expert. The neighborhood older sister was a Master.
In a village where you could be deemed serious if you couldn’t become an Expert by adulthood, it was only natural that the notion of Elves living for a thousand years spread.
“Humans really are incredible to not go extinct.”
There was an Emperor now, but how did humans manage to survive before the Emperor?
“Isn’t it strange to think about eradicating humans who are just living quietly…?”
At Lionne’s remark, Enok tilted his head. Maybe so? If the roles were reversed, Elves would likely either be enslaved or extinct by humans.
Humans didn’t particularly stand out in any regard, so they seemed at a higher risk of extinction.
“Lucky monkeys indeed.”
“Enok…!?”
Lionne was appalled by his sudden injection of common sense.
*
Enok’s party settled their bags in an ordinary household. Surprisingly, it was Lionne’s house. Enok was quite shocked to learn that every village had at least one house like this.
“Well, I’ll be off then.”
Yonia, who had accompanied them to Lionne’s house, bowed slightly at the front door. Having run away and now returned, it seemed she was reporting back home.
“Hey, want to go together?”
Enok pondered for a moment at Yonia’s question. What would her parents be like? Would they resemble Yonia in some way? Even if seeming a bit prickly, they had some pure thoughts and were secretly kind Elves, named Yonia. An Elf that looked similar to her?
“Hmmm….”
It didn’t seem necessary to tag along after all. When Enok shook his head, Yonia let out a sigh filled with regret.
“…Is there really no one to get scolded together with me?”
“……!”
To think she had such a devious plan. Was she losing her Elfiness after just a brief encounter with human society? Enok shuddered in fear.
“Well, then I’ll just…”
Knock, knock—someone knocked on the door. “Yes—” Lionne replied, and as the door opened, an elderly Elf appeared.
An old man… an Elf? Unaware of Enok’s confusion, Lionne beamed with joy.
“Uncle! Long time no see!”
“Ah, you’re still as youthful as ever.”
“I-I’m still in my prime, you know!?”
Enok tugged at Lionne’s sleeve as she puffed up in indignation. Huh? Lionne’s eyes widened as Enok whispered.
“How old is that Elf?”
“Uh… how old was he again? Just under twelve hundred, I think?”
Twelve hundred…! Enok’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Even if he spoke quietly, was it that Elves had keen hearing? The old man chuckled heartily.
“I’m about three hundred years older than you, Lionne, so that sounds about right…”
“Uncle…!!”
Lionne shrieked to silence him, but it was already too late. Enok’s mind raced. If he subtracted three hundred from twelve hundred….
‘Oh.’
So Lionne was just under nine hundred years old? That meant she was in her eight-hundreds…
Counting ages in the twenties or thirties and suddenly jumping to eight-hundreds felt kind of odd. With a strange feeling, Enok bowed slightly.
“Hello.”
“Oh? Ha ha, what a cute human child. Nice to meet you.”
At Enok’s bow, everyone except the old man was taken aback.
[No, this can’t be…!]
“E-Enok…! You’re using honorifics!?”
Enok pouted his lips. This was slander. No matter what, he used honorifics with elders.
‘Once you’re over a thousand, you’re an elder.’
Below that, there was no need to use them, particularly with someone of a similar age to Lionne.