Martial Elf

I was exploring the city following Kyle’s words about guiding Pohelrn.

“Don’t pick fights with passersby, Rudolf.”

When I first visited the stable to compensate for the cost of bedding, I was greeted by the sight of a stable hand flustered and struggling to approach due to a figure provoking a horse in the adjacent enclosure.

I hurriedly pulled him away, but during the time we spent moving around with Kyle, Rudolf grew increasingly agitated by the people passing too close to him, and even deer wandering by the roadside, causing him to pick fights with everyone.

“Hmm… I don’t have any honey snacks left now…”

I tried soothing him by offering honey snacks, but it had been almost four months since we’d left the forest.

The honey snacks that Arti had made were completely gone after yesterday.

“Hmm… I wonder if I could at least get honey or honey snacks from the humans.”

“There is.”

“Really?”

“It would be stranger if you couldn’t find honey in a city of this size.”

Having been observing me from the side, Kyle didn’t wait for my response and began explaining.

“Since winter is approaching, salt and vinegar are usually in high demand for preservation, and honey might be available too. But if you have the money, there’s no reason you can’t find it. Even though honey is expensive, it’s not so expensive that you couldn’t buy it with gold coins, right? Since we have that silver you got and the money from the bundle of leather we sold upon arrival, we should have enough.”

At those words, I placed my hand on the now considerably heavy pouch of silver coins inside my clothes.

I had about seventy coins, I think?

Honestly, the weight and hard texture of the metal were a bit bothersome.

Despite Arti making the attire that was loosely designed, it seemed to constrict due to the pockets being tailored for a smaller frame.

I considered exchanging the silver for gold coins to reduce the bulk, but then thought about how I could buy enough honey snacks or honey to appease Rudolf.

“Then do you know a place to sell goods?”

“There are houses here; it’s just been two years. So it’s not weird for me to know.”

“Okay. Then I would appreciate your guidance.”

As Kyle guided me, I petted Rudolf’s neck to calm him down, and Kyle spoke to me in a cautious tone.

“Uh… It seems you’re going to keep using that tone, huh?”

“Yes! After long contemplation, I’ve reached one conclusion.”

It seems he had been observing me since earlier, possibly because of yesterday’s commotion.

But having lived until my twenties in my previous life, and with this life added, I was now twenty-nine.

Isn’t that old enough to get married, let alone make a name for oneself in the world?

As an adult, as a gentleman, should I be swayed by the petty words of the commoners?

Last night, I was swept up in the atmosphere of two drunken fellows and ended up sleeping under a blanket, but this morning, while meditating, I reflected on my own speech.

At first, I received insulting evaluations like “old child” or “old man”… But looking at it calmly, isn’t it just that my way of speaking seems mature?

Though I may currently look young on the outside, I am set to grow soon, and my mind is already in a state of complete maturity as an adult.

It may appear discordant between body and mind from the outside, but time will resolve that.

Honestly, it wasn’t something to worry about.

Upon reaching that conclusion, I felt embarrassed about not acting more maturely at the drinking gathering.

I squared my shoulders and raised a finger at Kyle, saying, “First, do you know who I am?”

“Uh… Araya?”

I clicked my tongue and explained to this foolish friend.

“Tsk, tsk. I’m not just stating my name. I’m talking about my representation.”

“Representation?”

“Exactly. I am the first elf in history to step into the human world, and I’m one of only seven high elves. If I were to use a speech that fits a mere child just because I appear like one, what would that mean? What kind of dignity and weight is there in that?”

In a way, I was akin to a princess of the elf race.

Would the noble children of my nation behave like children of commoners just because they seem young?

“I need to carry myself and speak appropriately as a representative of the elves.”

Even with this logically sound explanation, Kyle looked up and down at me with a peculiar expression.

He didn’t seem to be convinced.

Usually, humans find it hard to change their opinions once they’ve formed them.

Yet, even though Kyle was still quite young, just past the age of twenty, he was remarkably petty.

Having the mindset of “I am not wrong” is not greatly beneficial for personal development.

A noble ought to listen to the wise and correct their mistakes.

“And in the case of elves, without any special circumstances, our lifespans are long. Therefore, I think there’s no need to alter my behavior for a brief period in the grand scope of my life.”

“Wasn’t it said before that elves are born every ten years? How do you know you’ll live long?”

“That part is still speculative. Elves were created to harmonize the world, but paradoxically, they are quite outside the general clock of life. Have you ever seen wild gods?”

“Wild gods?”

I thought back to Fenrir and other wild gods I had seen in the forest.

“Generally, life resides in a way suited to its kind within normal time, but there are those that stray from that norm. Since elves have a short history, I can’t state it definitively, but they seem to have lesser or even no concept of aging.”

Not only I, but also our mother who created us, and the wise Saras, mentioned that elf lifespans are vastly longer compared to normal beings.

“Basically, while elves share similarities with humans, in terms of lifespan, they are much closer to wild gods. Since I am a high elf, as long as I am not physically killed by someone, I shouldn’t be at risk of dying from aging.”

I added with a hint of anticipation about how much mastery could be achieved over time through training.

“There’s no set sequence in how things go, but unless something special happens, my lifespan will undoubtedly far exceed that of you, human Kyle. But even then, don’t worry. If you ever write a biography, your name will surely be in the first chapter of the human tale.”

Kyle, who was walking beside me, abruptly stopped and stared blankly.

His face looked quite complicated.

“Uh? What’s wrong? Does your stomach hurt?”

“…No.”

Kyle began walking again and continued the conversation.

“I’m not sure if what you call wild gods is the same for us, but we have beings we call land gods. They’re somewhat similar to what you mentioned.”

“The names we refer to may differ regionally, so they are likely the same kind.”

In this world, surprisingly, it seemed that communication was naturally possible among intelligent beings.

High elves are transcendent beings, and since I was birthed by my mother, it’s easy to assume that I could communicate from birth, but even the wild gods I saw in the forest or the giant brothers blocking the path upon emerging from the woods could do so.

In the histories of my past life, it was recounted that the ancient tale of Babel Tower from the western country of Pasha was built by humans attempting to reach heaven, which invoked the wrath of the gods, leading to a separation of languages to avoid communication. Perhaps such mythological events never occurred here.

However, what I learned by visiting a human city was that while speech could be understood, some unique names for specific objects or beings were called differently, and the writing system itself differed from that of elves.

Observing the length of the measures used outside the city wall, it seemed different from elves as well.

When I heard speech, it seemed ‘yards’ were used for length and ‘pounds’ for weight.

While pondering various thoughts and talking with Kyle, before I knew it, we had reached the market.

Perhaps because it was daytime, the market was bustling with people.

“…There are really a lot of people.”

In my previous life, I had lived in isolation, and in this life, as an elf, there weren’t many people around since we lived scattered in the vast forest. Thus, I had never seen this many people gathering together as if forming a river.

“Let’s go.”

Kyle, noticing that I was distracted, tightly grasped my hand, perhaps thinking I might get lost, and led me upstream against the crowd.

In truth, we weren’t being jostled that much due to Rudolf’s imposing presence pushing people aside, but Kyle’s grip didn’t loosen.

Eventually, we arrived not at a grocery or spice shop, but at an apothecary.

Originally, merchants were supposed to handle only the goods they specialized in to prevent disputes, but it seemed products with ambiguous classifications like honey were traded in several places, exploiting this loophole.

This was one of the tricks to obtain honey-related products cheaply.

Indeed, looking around, I saw a variety of herbs and medicines, and also honey or preserved foods made with honey, though different from elf honey snacks, they appeared to sell honey snacks as well.

After a few minutes of conversation with the apothecary, Kyle purchased the honey snacks.

Once I handed over seven silver coins, the previously empty pouch brimmed with snacks just like before we left the forest.

I took one out and put it in my mouth, then offered it to the now alert Rudolf.

“Um… Well, it’s just okay.”

“Haha…”

The apothecary awkwardly chuckled.

“We must find our rights!”

“That’s right. Indeed!”

In a corner of the market, robust men had gathered, shirtless, murmuring among themselves.

“What’s that about?”

“Ah… It’s due to the construction of the city wall. King Priegoss has been relying primarily on slaves for most of this wall project without using local stoneworkers or laborers. They’re upset that their territory is being infringed upon.”

“…But why are they causing a ruckus in a corner of the market?”

“These days, King Priegoss has been on a roll in Pohelrn, almost like he can make the sky’s birds fall, making them feel frightened. So, they’re trying to band together to form a guild or something. They’ve even come up with a name… I think it was Pr… Prie Me… something. Despite that, I’ve heard that merchants dealing in the same goods think this method is good too, so they seem to be trying to create that guild as well.”

“I see.”

After finishing the conversation, Kyle approached me.

Due to Rudolf’s irritation from the crowd, we began walking to exit the market area.

“Speaking of which, we finally arrived in Pohelrn to meet Priegoss, but I feel lost trying to figure out how to approach him. I doubt he’ll agree to meet just because we ask directly.”

“I guess so? I’ll ask Remil or other acquaintances for advice.”

“Thanks. Well, there’s no rush. Hmm?”

As we exited the market, I caught sight of a group ahead.

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