When I arrived at the settlement, the elves had all lined up outside to greet me. They weren’t kidding when they said they were ready to welcome me.
A single elf emerged from the lineup. Judging by his demeanor, he seemed to be the elder of this village. Of course, being an elf, he still looked like a young man.
“The announcement of your coming was a wonderful use of the wind. I would have expected nothing less from a high elf. The elves of the Ha Forest are truly honored by your visit.” Stepping in front of me, the elder prepared to drop to his knees, but I gestured for him to stop. If he knelt in front of me, others would no doubt do likewise. While I was happy for the warm welcome, I really didn’t need them bowing to me like this.
“Receiving such a warm welcome despite giving you so little warning is more than I could ask for. I’m not a big fan of all the stiff ceremonial stuff, but I appreciate you going to all this trouble.”
Though the elder seemed a bit perplexed at the way I desperately waved off his formal greeting, he nevertheless returned to his feet. And though he hesitated, when I offered a handshake, he did eventually reciprocate. He really didn’t need to be so timid. I wasn’t going to bite him or anything.
As I looked around at the elves gathered together and the village behind them, I realized it was quite a bit bigger than I had anticipated. I couldn’t imagine these were all the elves who lived here, so the population of the entire village was likely two hundred or more.
It was then that I remembered how many elves had moved here from Ludoria back during that incident. Those who had chosen to remain here afterward led to the settlements greatly increasing their number. Zieden had still been Zaints and Jidael at that time, so many elves had chosen to move there.
Looking back to the crowd of elves again, I did have faint memories of some of these faces. Back then, they had all left Ludoria at my request. I imagined they hadn’t been especially happy to be forced to move to unknown lands. But now, I saw nothing but welcoming smiles on them, with no hint of any resentment.
“Lord Acer!” As I was led into the village, a child ran up to me. In human terms, he looked about ten years old. Of course, I had no memory of him. “Um, they told me a long time ago, you held me once. D-Do you remember me?”
And yet, that was the question that came. Actually, now that he mentioned it...
If he looked ten in human terms, that meant he was probably sixty or seventy years old. Back during the incident in Ludoria, while I was visiting each of the villages to ask them to leave the kingdom, I certainly remembered holding a child who hadn’t yet been a year old. I had asked the spirits to bless the baby, since traveling with one so young to foreign lands was sure to be a trial. I definitely remembered that.
I see. He was an elf, so that’s how much he would have aged in all this time. Win had been born after him and yet had already grown into an adult. It really made the difference in life spans between their races apparent.
“Ah, yes, I remember. Your name was...hmm, was it Shiez?”
Elves and high elves weren’t particularly attached to names. Not having a name was a bit too inconvenient though, so at least until they reached a certain age, the village picked a name to use for them. If they chose to leave the forest, they would either keep that name or pick an entirely new one. Back then, since he had only been a year old, he hadn’t been given a name yet. I had just happened to be around, so they’d asked me to give him one.
As I dragged that name out of the far corners of my memory, the boy’s face lit up with pride and joy. At the same time, the nostalgic memory brought a smile to my face. I never expected to feel time’s passage like this here.
“If you need anything while you’re here, just ask me!” the boy, Shiez said emphatically, to which I nodded.
Actually, I was quite grateful for the offer. I had a lot of questions about this village, but most of the elves here would probably be rather nervous when talking to me. Having a child of the village around would serve to lighten the atmosphere quite a bit.
Elven children were raised by the community as a whole. It wasn’t that parents, or especially mothers, had no affection for their children at all. Rather, everyone in the community treated each child as their own. Maybe including “everyone” in that statement was a stretch, but it meant that the vast majority of elves here would be very fond of him.
“Thanks. Having someone like you who knows a lot about the village will really help me,” I replied honestly. Besides, I already liked children. Having someone Shiez’s age want to help me so earnestly made me quite happy.