Martial Elf

As Kyle and his group entered Pohelrn, each went their separate ways toward the places they were trading at.

I followed Kyle and exchanged the fur I’d accumulated during our travels.

We all gathered at the inn, where merchants and travelers from outside congregate.

Rudolf seemed to struggle with being too big to take around, as he didn’t want to go into the stable, but I managed to sweet-talk him with some honey treats and handed two coins to the stable master, asking him to take care of Rudolf.

It was amusing that they were surprised to see a deer instead of a horse, but they would probably treat him well.

Apart from Kyle, everyone else had their residences in Pohelrn, but because they all had families, it felt awkward to gather at home.

Regardless, it seemed everyone had managed to sell their items at good prices, as they began ordering food and drinks.

However, the food that came in bowls resembled a porridge-like dish made from various ingredients cut into reasonable sizes.

Honestly, it didn’t have an appealing smell or appearance, so I pushed the bowl toward the others.

“With so many people here, it seems the prices for goods have skyrocketed.”

“I thought it was a good deal at first. But the prices are up everywhere and there are taxes, right? That…”

“In that case…”

“So next time we leave…”

Perhaps it was because we were in a city where safety was ensured after a long time and had food and alcohol.

The merchants quickly got into the mood and started chatting enthusiastically.

I had little interest in the humans’ money-making stories, so I recalled the events at the gate.

Could it be something like a barrier or formation in the Central Plains?

It was a remarkable piece of work.

It seemed to selectively block the approach of non-human beings, inferred from how it only applied to oneself and the fact that the gate had been set up without monsters getting close.

And the most crucial element of a barrier or formation.

Opacity.

A great formation remains unnoticeable until the moment it’s needed.

There was a presence akin to that of a snake leaping at me, yet the people passing through the gate did not even feel the barrier, and even as they scattered into nothingness by the will of the otherworldly, other humans were oblivious to it.

In my previous life as a sage, the area where I had a lack of experience in the martial world was magic martial arts and mechanical formations.

Magic martial arts were a martial art that one could not even begin unless born with it from the start.

The principles of sensation and implementation were entirely different from ordinary martial arts, usually passed down as a single inheritance since most desired an excessively specific and individual talent.

As for mechanical formations, they were mostly deployed as a last bastion in emergencies or to uphold important prohibitions that generally were not reachable by a sect.

For this reason, it was an area I had never received requests for improvement.

“I felt it was a waste to just crush it with force.”

Suddenly ambushed while feeling unpleasant, and stirring up a ruckus to pass through the gate, it felt awkward to try to suppress a snake that others couldn’t even see.

So, I simply crushed the binding barrier with force, but for some reason, I felt regret, perhaps because of my desire as a sage to analyze it.

“If only I knew the methodological part, I could use or apply it or perhaps it would become an inspiration… It broke, but should I go check it out later?”

As I pondered whether I should sneak out at night to inspect the gate’s barrier, Baldin tapped me on the shoulder.

Baldin, who had been scruffy throughout our journey, now looked neat after tidying up.

Among the six merchants I saved, excluding Deadol and Bairen, who were left in the village, Kyle and Remil didn’t seem overly wary of me from the start, but Baldin and the remaining one, Volan, had been quite afraid of me for quite some time.

Due to the nature of being a merchant, where one must gamble their life, they tend to show signs of superstition, especially those who have been in the trade for a long time.

The first meeting had been so shocking that they had suspicions of me being a witch, and while they had stayed guarded for a long time, later on, Kyle and Remil became friendly enough to speak casually, and after safely arriving in Pohelrn, with drinks involved, they surprisingly started acting close.

“Hey, Araya. What have you been thinking about all alone? You’ve been wearing that strange hat for a while now.”

“Hmm?”

“Does the food not suit your taste?”

Kyle asked worriedly.

“Well… Honestly, I’m not feeling particularly hungry. But don’t worry, as you saw during the trip, it’s not a big problem if I don’t eat.”

“Isn’t it a bit too picky if you want to grow up but say you don’t like eating? I heard the reason you’re not growing is because of picky eating.”

Volan, also feeling cheery, interjected.

“Hmmm.”

Since everyone in the group knew I was a young boy, Kyle and Remil immediately tensed up and started trying to stop them, but after coming back home after a near-death experience, with bulging pockets, along with food and drinks, it created a perfectly carefree situation for the two middle-aged men who had families.

They clinked their ugly lead cups together and laughed joyfully.

“Araya is just no fun! Not cute at all!”

“Exactly! You’re cute, but it’s like you talk like a little old man! What do you mean ‘younger than a country grandma’!”

“My daughter! When I returned this time, she peeked out and came running like a squirrel yelling ‘Daddy! You’re back!’ and looking up at me, and wow! That’s why I raised a daughter! Of course, she was more interested in the gifts, but that kind of desire is rather nice!”

“Boys don’t have that kind of charm.”

“Boys should just be enough to continue the lineage! Must raise daughters!”

“Anyway, Araya, you little one, can you not talk like an old man and try to talk like a kid? You seemed to have lived a long time as an elf, but you look like a 10-year-old toddler! Not a clown.”

“’I’m fine, I’m fine. There’s no problem. I’ll go home now!’ ‘I’ll solve it!’

“Ha-ha! You sound just like an old man!”

“…Old man? …Clown?”

I stopped listening to the foolish middle-aged men, who were giggling and mocking my manner of speaking while inebriated.

In my previous life, my clients were all individuals with extraordinary histories.

In some small sects, there were even cases where the sect master personally came to visit.

But among them, what excited the heart of my previous life the most were the younger heroes from a generation above.

People that could be called “post-generation stars.”

With a body meticulously crafted through long years under the strict teachings of major sects.

Confidence made visible even within their humble demeanor.

And even though they were older than me, they had a weighty way of speaking that felt respectful toward others.

I wanted to be like them, relying on a single sword and my companions’ strength, roaming the martial world instead of being weak and avoiding strong sunlight.

Though I could never achieve that completely, the way they spoke influenced me.

Whenever they discussed the future of the martial world in their elegant language, I wished that someday I could fit in among them.

I had no real opportunity to use such speech while living with brothers or elves in the forest, but with my emergence from the woods now, I was trying to mimic the post-generation stars while feeling like I was walking the path of my previous life.

I thought it was cool…?

Wasn’t it cool?

Turning my head toward Kyle and Remil to seek their agreement, they slowly turned their eyes away while tilting their lead cups.

As I felt their unspoken affirmation, the heat rising from my chest reached my face.

“…I’m going to sleep.”

“…Huh?”

“Oh! That was a bit cute! You sounded like a pouting daughter!”

“Should I introduce you to my son!?”

I stood up with my face flushed with embarrassment, tightly pulling down the hat on my head.

Then, I flicked the finger twice at the two middle-aged men who were drunkenly showing off after having a single drink on a topic that I had once been terrified to discuss weeks ago.

“Haha—splat!”

“Grrr—slap!”

Baldin and Volan froze in place, looking like they had fallen.

“Why don’t you just die like that?”

I glared at the two who had fallen and were motionless, their eyes rolling up in panic, and shot them a cold stare as I walked out.

Remil seemed flustered as the two of them stiffly fell, holding their cups.

Kyle, who hurriedly followed, grabbed my hand.

“Where are you going?”

“…To my room…”

“I’ll go with you. It feels a bit wrong to let a girl go up alone.”

Tch.

Whether Kyle followed or not, I headed toward the room I had borrowed.

As I was about to open the door, I noticed Kyle had followed me up to the door and cautiously opened his mouth.

“Uh…”

“Yeah?”

“Was my way of speaking really that strange? No, was it strange?”

His words made it difficult for me to respond.

“It did answer. I’ll rest first, so drink downstairs.”

Feeling embarrassed, I locked the door and secured the latch.

I didn’t want to think about the gate’s barrier or anything else right now.

The next day, I had to pay an additional five coins to compensate for the blanket that was torn by my kicking in the inn.

From an elven perspective, the weaving skills of humans still seemed inadequate.

---