The Paranoid Elf Queen Turned Me Into Her Sister

2 – He Should Be the One Kneeling and Calling Me Ancestor~

A waterfall surged down like a severed sky, cascading thirty thousand streams of silver from the heavens. Vines of green ivy wove their way around a golden, radiant palace, climbing the towering white-stone pillars topped with gilded domes that stretched up from the earth and supported this palace—resplendent and radiant, more dazzling than the full moon in the night sky.

The celestial river flowed, with stars and moon seeming within arm’s reach. Winged white horses flew freely across the vast skies, while below, lush green blanketed the land. Rare and exotic beasts roamed freely; verdant plants and trees swayed without wind, as if they possessed higher sentience and were playfully interacting with the forest’s residents.

Beneath the ever-flowing heavenly river stood a towering ancient tree, its top unseen. Its expansive canopy seemed to uphold the entire sky. The goldenwood palace, gleaming with gold threads, was nestled within the branches of this immense life-giving tree, as though it were a fruit born of the ancient tree, lovingly protected by its vast vitality.

This fantastical scene pushed the limits of any fairy tale writer’s imagination—yet it appeared so vividly, so tangibly, that it seemed unreal. Any doubt was swiftly dispelled by the overwhelming sense of life in the air, constantly affirming its authenticity.

“Am I freaking dreaming?!” Dylin burst out in Blue Star profanity, staring wide-eyed at the scene before him, unable to recover his senses for a long time.

After seeing that suspicious flyer, he’d scarfed down dinner and rushed straight to the Coleman Forest. But he hadn’t walked far into the forest before realizing—he had been “transported.”

By the time he regained awareness, he was already in this strange space.

What just happened?

This was definitely not Coleman Forest. Even if Dylin had never been there, he could swear on his life that the forest didn’t look like this.

A strange feeling stirred in his heart. He had wandered into an unknown secret realm. By all rights, he should have been panicking. But the harmonious scene around him evoked no fear—only calm, soothed by the dense vitality in the air.

Looking up at the tree, Dylin felt like a mayfly gazing upon a mountain—like, compared to this ancient tree, he didn’t even qualify as a living being.

Upon entering this world, he felt out of place. The strange beasts paid him no attention, as if he were invisible—either unaware of the intruder or completely uninterested in him.

“You’ve kept us waiting, Your Highness~”

A sweet, melodious voice like a flowing spring called to the dazed Dylin.

“Who?” He instinctively gripped the flintlock slung on his back and turned his gaze toward the girl who had appeared beside him at some point. His eyes were immediately filled with dazed astonishment.

Silken hair like silver threads under moonlight, violet gemstone-like eyes filled with emotion, milky-white skin like creamy jade bathed in moonlight… The girl wore a backless white dress and white crystal high heels that revealed her toes. With her graceful posture and flowing silver hair, she looked pure and untarnished.

That moonlight-radiant beauty was so breathtaking, it dulled the glow of the moon itself—as if she alone were the true source of light under the night sky.

This kind of natural beauty, untouched by cosmetics, belonged solely to the elves. The exotic sharp ears confirmed it.

She was—an elf.

Faced with such a stunning elf girl, Dylin’s gaze instinctively dropped to that deadly valley on her chest. It wasn’t until a moment later that he realized his rudeness and hastily looked away.

The elf girl didn’t seem to mind. She simply smiled sweetly.

“...You, you’re a Moon Elf?” Seeing she was an elf, Dylin took a step back, still gripping his flintlock tightly.

“Mhm, I serve Her Majesty the Elf Empress.” The girl showed no concern about Dylin’s tense posture, her lips curved in a soft smile as if the weapon in his hand was no more than a toy gun.

“Elf Empress? ...Why am I here?”

“Because you responded to my mistress’s summons, Your Highness.” The elf girl tilted her head, her silver hair swaying across her shoulder with the motion.

“You’re calling me ‘Your Highness’??”

“Yes, Your Highness. Welcome home.”

“...I’m not your highness. This place isn’t my home either,” Dylin said with a frown.

“Oh, that.” The elf girl seemed unconcerned. She tapped her lips with a finger and smiled adorably.

“Sometimes, souls are just that mysterious. Who knows~?”

“What are you talking about…?”

“Your Highness must be anxious. Please take my hand, and let us go together to meet Her Supreme Majesty, the Elf Empress.” Seeing Dylin’s confusion, the elf girl didn’t explain further and simply curtsied while lifting her skirt.

“Elf Empress? I don’t want to meet her at all...!”

“But didn’t you respond to her call?”

“Respond to her call?? I don’t remember answering any elf empress... Wait—was that flyer from you guys?!” Dylin suddenly caught on.

“Indeed~” The elf girl smiled.

“...”

Dylin glanced around.

“What are you looking for?”

“Others. I can’t be the only one who got that flyer, right?”

“There are no others. There was only one flyer.”

“What??” Dylin’s eyes widened.

Damn it, he’d been tricked.

So it wasn’t a mass scam—but a targeted fishing operation?

“You mean… I was the only target all along?”

“Maybe. You probably just assumed others received it too.”

“...”

“There’s no need to be so wary of me.”

Then who else should I be wary of?!

Dylin already didn’t like elves. He could even say he disliked them—deeply. He didn’t believe these pointy-eared folk had any goodwill toward humans.

“...I don’t care about the rest. Just answer me this—does the money promised on the flyer count or not?”

Now that he was on this pirate ship, jumping off wasn’t an option. His focus was still on that astronomical sum.

“Of course it counts. Would my sis—ahem, would Her Majesty the Elf Empress lie to you?”

“...Alright. In any case, you should at least show some sincerity. Lay the payment in front of me so I can have a look, yeah?”

“No problem~” With a snap of her fingers, golden mountains suddenly rose around them.

“Your Highness, is this enough?”

“More than enough! I’m suffocating here!” Struggling to poke his head out from the pile of gold coins, Dylin gripped a handful—solid, heavy, and very real.

These were genuine coins, not a single one clipped or shaved. They looked freshly minted.

“...Is this some kind of magic?” Dylin muttered as he finally escaped the pile.

“No, not magic. It’s just… at our level, money is just a number.” The elf girl clasped her hands behind her back and spoke solemnly.

“A number... Ha. What a way to put it.” Dylin shook out the coins that had fallen into his clothes and tossed them aside without a glance.

“What’s just a number to you... is human lives to us. Maybe, in your eyes, life is also just a number.” Whether he was mocking himself or others, even he didn’t know.

“Your Highness doesn’t seem to love money.” Seeing Dylin toss the coins aside indifferently, the elf girl spoke again. “Then why do you need so much of it?”

“That’s none of your business.” Dylin raised a brow. “Now tell me—what does your master want from me?”

“Though honestly, I don’t understand why you’d pick a useless, talentless human like me.” Dylin still didn’t know what this “Elf Empress” really was, but she sure sounded impressive. If a mere servant could conjure this much gold with a wave, then the master...

He truly couldn’t grasp why someone like that would choose him.

“By the way—how powerful is this so-called Elf Empress of yours? How does she compare to the Moon Elf King?” Dylin asked without much thought.

“...”

But upon hearing the question, the elf girl went silent.

Was the question too dumb? Not worth answering?

Well, the “Moon Elf King”—the title says it all. Obviously, he ruled over all elves.

“Sorry, Your Highness. When you say ‘Moon Elf King’... you mean the one in the mortal realm?”

“Who else would I mean?”

“Oh, I see~” The elf girl just smiled.

“Right, you’re a Moon Elf too. I bet even you’d have to call the Moon Elf King ‘your king,’ right?”

“Call him king?” The elf girl’s smile didn’t waver. “No, that’s not right. With his status—he doesn’t even get to see me. And even if he did, he’d have to kneel down and call me... ‘ancestor.’”

“...Huh??”