“It’s so strange. Forests are totally different things in snowy regions.”
“What were the woods like where you grew up?”
“They’re made of nothing but tall, white trees everywhere you look. The ground is covered in snow. Even the trees and air are white, so it’s like you’re inside a monochrome world. But the Fore Elf woods are so lovely and bright. I’ve never seen red and orange leaves on the ground like this.” He crouched down and picked up a leaf. Now that he mentioned it, the trees in the royal capital never changed colors. I hadn’t even noticed until now.
Zara and I were able to spend a relaxing time together.
“Melly, want to go see what the others are doing?”
“Certainly.”
The first people we ran into were the Lichtenbergers. They’d been conducting a survey about mythical beasts, but were frustrated about the lack of villagers they could find.
“Everyone will be out hunting and picking herbs at this time, so the village is relatively empty,” I explained.
“Why go out into the forest when you already live in the forest?”
“This is a village, not a forest.”
The village was the safe area protected by a monster-repelling and beast-repelling spell. These creatures were present in the rest of the forest, but we still went out to harvest nuts and herbs anyway.
Fore Elves distinguished between the village and forest, though both were indispensable to our way of life. But Lord Lichtenberger looked at me with a puzzled expression. He didn’t understand the difference.
“More importantly, have you ever seen mythical beasts in the area, Mell?”
Unable to find any other Fore Elf villagers, Liselotte began to question me in their place.
“No, unfortunately not.”
“I see.”
Amelia was the first mythical beast I ever laid eyes on. The creatures rarely showed themselves around mortals, after all.
“We met a child who told us his neighbor is an old man who knows a lot about fairies and spirits. Is this the right direction to find him?”
“Oh, you mean Old Man Talos?”
“I didn’t know his name. We couldn’t find him even after thirty minutes of walking. I always thought I had a good sense of direction, but perhaps not”
“Don’t worry. You’re headed the right way.”
“Thank goodness. Does he live nearby?”
“No, he’s about thirty minutes from here on foot.”
“Hang on! How can someone’s neighbor live an entire hour away?!”
“It’s surprisingly common in the Fore Elf village.”
Families lived close together, but it was unimaginable to live right next door to others. This was just common sense as far as Fore Elves were concerned.
“I was so surprised when I first left the village. Everyone was packed very close together in the city,” I said.
“Yes, that’s perfectly normal to us.” Liselotte stared at me, unable to grasp the concept. She was just like Lord Lichtenberger in that way.
Zara nodded in understanding. “So that’s why you liked our house outside the city, huh?”
“Exactly. There aren’t any neighbors, and I can relax in a standalone, isolated house.”
“I feel the same. It wasn’t uncommon to walk a full hour before reaching our nearest neighbors.”
Zara’s hometown was a very different environment from the Fore Elf village, but we still experienced similar upbringings.
“Anyway, are you still going to see Old Man Talos, Liselotte?”
“I have to now that we’ve come so far. Even though he might not know anything about mythical beasts, we’ll still be paying him a visit, right, Father?”
“Of course.”
“Then let’s continue. It’s thirty more minutes ahead, so we can’t waste time.”
We waved goodbye to the Lichtenbergers as they pressed onward into the forest.
The next person we stumbled across was Ulgus. He was teaching the village children how to use a bow. One of the kids threw a small tree nut into the air, which Ulgus struck perfectly with his arrow. They were treating him like their hero.
“Good work with the kids today, Ulgus.”
“Medic Risurisu!”
“I’m sorry you’ve had to look after all the children.”
“No, I’m having loads of fun. No one in the royal capital ever calls me ‘cool.’”
He was right about that. Knights who used swords were usually the most popular amongst city folk, who saw archery as somewhat boring. But Fore Elves hunted with bows, so skilled archers were beloved by all.
“The young, beautiful moms have been doting on me too. I’m in heaven here!”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
He explained that he’d received snacks and light meals from them already. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen such a sunny smile on Ulgus’ face. Ulgus probably would have been the most suitable marriage candidate in the whole village if he was born as a Fore Elf. I could already imagine how crazy the girls would be for him.
“Just please make sure not to overdo it today, all right?”
“Got it!”
After parting ways with the delighted Ulgus, Zara muttered something under his breath.
“He’s probably going to keep playing around until he collapses.”
“I agree. Ulgus does get carried away pretty easily.”
But at least he should recover after one night’s sleep. He was still young, after all.
“Hm? What’s that?”
Up ahead was a group of young women squealing with delight. Are they gathered around Lance to welcome him home?
But I was wrong. They were forming a circle around none other than Vice Captain Velrey. They stared at the vice captain, devoting their attention to her entirely. They’d even brought snacks and tea for her to enjoy.
“Is every knight in the royal capital as cool as you, Lady Velrey?”
“May I come to the city with you, Lady Velrey?”
It seemed she was just as popular with female Fore Elves. Vice Captain Velrey’s appeal was a constant factor everywhere she went in the world.
“We probably shouldn’t get in their way.”
“I agree with that.”
Zara and I quietly slipped away from the scene.
A little up ahead, we found Garr with Sly on his shoulder. For some reason, these two were surrounded by the village grandmas and grandpas.
“Thank you for patching up our roof, young man. Here, take some dried fruit with you.”
“I roasted these here nuts myself. Take ’em as thanks for fixing my door.”
Garr’s hands were absolutely filled with things like bread and nuts. Sly had to transform into a bag and start storing them inside herself at one point.
It seemed that, in just this short period of time, Garr and Sly had been going around to do repairs on the elderly elves’ homes. He was truly a model knight.
“He’s still our Garr anywhere we go.”
“I really respect him.”
I put my hands together like I was praying to him.
Finally, we came across Captain Ludtink and Lance in front of the mayor’s house.
“Take that!”
“Damn you! Just die already!”
The two were having a mock battle with wooden swords. Captain Ludtink used a sword on a regular basis, meaning Lance was no match for him. He sent the elf flying backwards with just a single hit.
“That’s about what I’d expect from Captain Ludtink.”
“Yep…”
Lance rolled around on the ground, getting himself covered in the fallen leaves. “Damn it!” he groaned.
“It’s not all about muscles. You have to train each and every day if you wanna be a good knight.”
The mayor, who’d exited his home, was the one to respond to Captain Ludtink. “Captain, no more headhunting from our village, I beg you. We already felt a big loss when you took Mell Risurisu.”
Lance was in line to succeed his grandfather’s role, so they couldn’t let him leave the village so easily.
“All right, I’ve got some tea and snacks ready for you all. C’mon, rest up for a while.”
He even invited Zara and me in, who just happened to be nearby. The mayor’s wife served us potato rice cakes and tea.
Captain Ludtink was staring at the rice cake, unsure of what to make of it.
“Captain Ludtink, this is a traditional sweet in the Fore Elf village. We grate potatoes harvested in the forest, knead them together with flour, fill it with different ingredients, and bake them until they’re crisp.”
“Huh, never seen anything like it before.”