Chapter 47 – Origin of Elves (2)
“Don’t throw those away. I feel like they might come in handy someday.”
“Huh? This outfit?”
When we arrived at Ethan’s mansion, which could be called home, I changed my clothes to rest for a bit before setting out and instructed Rina to take care of it.
Rina’s eyes widened in surprise. She seemed to question whether she would ever need to wear such revealing and risqué clothing again, typical for dancers working in a particular industry.
“The spirits like it more than I expected.”
I smiled wryly and nodded. In truth, it was more about the spirits’ preferences than my own intentions. For those who always wanted to connect with me, even the piece of cloth I wore was a hindrance.
I never imagined things would flow this way, but since it was effective for connecting with the spirits, I couldn’t entirely dismiss their preferences.
While wearing that outfit was impossible for daily life, I thought it might be plausible for special occasions.
“Ugh, this look…”
I was not the only one contemplating our attire. Standing next to me, Lila, who had changed into a maid outfit like Rina’s, was squirming awkwardly.
Being the boss’s daughter and a model student at the academy, Lila seemed uncomfortable with the short skirt and exposed shoulders of her outfit.
“You look great in it, so don’t be too awkward. Just think of it as disguising for the mission. Besides, you need to get along with the spirits, so there’s no other choice.”
Seeing her like that made me chuckle.
Clothing was a concept that spirits couldn’t comprehend. If someone wanted to borrow their power, it was natural to accommodate their preferences.
Lila was aware of her situation, so aside from her blushing face, she didn’t particularly express complaints.
“—?”
“—!”
The wind spirits I was currently connected with heard my words and brought one of their friends over. The timid spirit, glancing at me as if I was a precious possession, instead fluttered around Lila’s body.
“Can you feel the spirit’s energy?”
“Yes. This refreshing breeze is surely…”
Lila, too, opened her eyes wide as she felt the tickling wind around her. True to the nature of the most free-spirited among them, the wind approached Lila first, showing interest in her.
“The spirit likes you. Even if direct communication isn’t possible, it will lend you its power if you harmonize well with it.”
From here on, everything depended on her. She was the first to pioneer the path of spirit knights, a path no one else had walked before.
Fortunately, whether this realization motivated her, Lila no longer seemed embarrassed.
“It seems Commander Erns has received your letter. The rampage has stopped, but he’s probably quite angry.”
“I expected that.”
“I… don’t want to get involved in this matter. It’s obvious he’ll send his subordinates to retrieve you.”
After discreetly delivering Lila’s letter, Ethan voiced his concerns about the situation we had left behind. Since it was a parent’s natural behavior to seek out a runaway child, he grumbled, anxious about when Erns’s subordinates might come looking for him.
“I’ll be leaving here for a while, so it doesn’t matter.”
In contrast, I had no particular thoughts about it. After all, we would soon leave this place and go to another.
And that place would be an unknown location not familiar to ordinary people.
“I’ve received a response from Patrick that he’s finished preparing.”
“Good. Let’s all go join Patrick, then head to our promised meeting place to meet Arisa. She’ll guide us to the elf village.”
“Elf village…!”
At that moment, Patrick was also ready. Hearing about the elf village, Lila, who had just learned of it, seemed astonished and impressed. Now that I thought about it, I realized I hadn’t properly told Lila what we were getting involved in and what our future plans were.
“Well, take care. I’ll be busy with my tasks.”
“When I return, you’ll be the commander.”
Ethan shrugged his shoulders as if he had nothing else to do with that matter. In reality, having acquired everything he desired, he only had to steadily rise up.
“…Really?”
“You have to pay for expenses, just in case.”
As I smiled at him, extending my hand, I thought about how the power and wealth he enjoyed now largely came from me.
I had gone through all this trouble to cooperate with him, so I confidently extracted a considerable sum of money from him. Unlike the past Earth, this world was developing a new civilization of magic.
While there were certainly aspects that fell short compared to modern mechanical civilization, mana and magic sometimes displayed miracles that could surpass science.
“It would be nice to travel comfortably, wouldn’t it?”
And that civilization was still only granted to those in power. Money was one of those powers, so I smiled at Rina and Lila, who were looking at me with incredulity as I took money from Ethan.
*
“Look over there. It’s Patrick.”
“That guy seems to be doing well these days…”
At the plaza, the meeting spot, Patrick, who was waiting with his belongings, flinched at the murmured voices of several adventurers passing by.
Having been active in this city for over 15 years, it was natural that he knew many people, but becoming this famous was a recent phenomenon.
‘Damn it, should I also start covering my face? Why?! I haven’t done anything wrong!’
He didn’t appreciate the attention. It wasn’t entirely earned from his own skills.
His slight meddling had set off a snowball effect that had rolled all the way to this point.
The problem was that now there was no escaping it. As long as the entangled existence wasn’t ordinary, he had no choice but to be drawn in deeper.
“Phew.”
At least he was managing to endure it by seeing his pockets gradually getting heavier. Ultimately, what mattered most to adventurers was their income.
‘And a presence like that wouldn’t easily perish.’
He resigned himself and anticipated their arrival. It was then that familiar figures began to emerge from a distance.
“Wh-what is this person?”
“This is a newly joined companion. Say hello. We’ll see each other quite often from now on.”
However, Patrick had no knowledge of Lila’s background. While he was caught off guard by Lila’s nervousness, Irilia, wearing a hood, casually blurted it out.
“This is Patrick, an adventurer.”
Rina stepped forward to introduce the two. They awkwardly exchanged greetings, but both Patrick and Lila still felt the lingering awkwardness.
“There’s one more girl now.”
“Is that guy showing his true colors?”
At the same time, twisted rumors began to spread among the adventurers watching from a distance. Patrick trembled at hearing it.
He never dreamed he would be labeled as a lecher surrounded by women.
“Why are you worrying about stuff like that? Isn’t it actually a good thing?”
“Wh-what nonsense is that!”
“Let’s go. Arisa is probably waiting for us.”
Irilia, who was the cause of the problem, chuckled at him, flipping his insides upside down. Anyway, it made no sense to act separately now, so they all moved together to where Arisa was waiting.
The meeting place was a village near the city of Id, which they had visited previously. Using spatial leap, they quickly arrived in the city and took a carriage heading to the village.
“The elves are very wary of other races. Especially humans. We three are human, so is it really okay for us to go together?”
“I can vouch for you, so it should be fine. Besides, it was them who did their research on me and asked me to come beforehand.”
On their way to meet Arisa, Patrick, still feeling somewhat dazed, asked Irilia if it was really okay for them to follow.
Given how Elven Arisa could have faced trouble when she was careless, elves were known for displaying hostility towards humans if things went wrong.
The reason why those rumors about adventurers disappearing after being kidnapped by elves were persistent.
“We are companions. If they still hold hostility against you, I won’t have any reason to go with them.”
“But you’re an elf. They are your descendants…?”
Irilia declared that she would not meet them if the elves showed hostility toward her companions.
That statement surprised everyone in the group. They all thought that Irilia, being an elf herself, would have a strong kinship towards them.
“If I respect them as my kin, then they should respect me as one of their kind. They can’t just take advantage of me when it’s sweet and spit me out when it’s bitter.”
Irilia scoffed. Even if the subjects were elves who could be seen as her descendants, she would not be swayed.
