“Seren and the others still aren’t back?” I wondered aloud.
Earlier that day, Seren’s group had gone hunting. It was now evening and they still hadn’t returned. The days were getting shorter lately, and it was already starting to get dark.
I hoped they were okay. The hunting party had grown larger and more skilled recently, so I figured they must have slain something massive, which was slowing their trek home down.
But then the sun fully set, and the darkness settled in.
Then, just as I really began to worry, I heard Saten’s voice in my head, telling me that some of the hunters had returned.
“Only about a third are back,” he said.
“Did something happen?”
I ran for the north gate, which was the one closest to the forest.
The gate creaked open, and Barlatt led the hunters through. I scanned the group, but there was no sign of Seren.
“Wh-What happened?! Where’s Seren and the others?!” I asked in a panic.
“It’s okay, Mayor. Captain Seren and the others are safe,” Barlatt said.
I let out a sigh in relief. “Well, where are they?”
“Well,” Barlatt said, “we were hunting in the forest just like always when we suddenly heard shouting and screaming. We thought it was odd to hear people, given how dangerous the woods are, so we followed the noise and found a group of rampaging bear monsters called mad grizzlies. They were locked in a desperate battle with a party of elves.”
“E-Elves?!”
Elves were supposedly close relatives of us humans. They had long, pointy ears and very long lifespans. Most were said to be very beautiful. Once upon a time, they’d co-mingled with humans, but they’d been persecuted for their appearance until contact between the races had faded completely over the years.
But we found them in the middle of that wild, dangerous forest?!
“They were struggling against the mad grizzlies, so we jumped in to help. We managed to slay the monsters together. None of us was seriously hurt, but most of the elves were badly wounded. They seem to be living in a settlement deep in the forest. It would have been risky for them to travel when they were hurt and exhausted, so Captain Seren offered them an escort.”
She’d known I’d panic if they disappeared without a word, so she’d sent a few people back with Barlatt.
“So Seren and the others are at the elves’ village?” I asked.
“Yes, that’s right. The forest is too dangerous to venture out now. I expect they’ll be back sometime tomorrow.”
An elven village... I wonder what it’s like?
In any case, I was just glad Seren and the others were okay.
The next day, Seren and the other hunters returned.
Hm? Wait a minute... Who are those people with them?
After a closer look, I realized they were elves.
One of them stepped forward and looked at me. “Are you Lord Luke, the mayor of this village?”
“U-Uh y-yes, that’s me,” I squeaked out. I mean, it was my first time ever speaking to an elf. I was understandably nervous.
“My name is Philianus Mel Revole Leoninus Selenerale.”
What a mouthful. There’s no way I can remember all that!
“Er, just call me Philia. It’s shorter.”
“Th-Thanks. That really helps.”
I can manage Philia.
The elves wore leather armor and carried bows across their backs. They all looked like warriors, but they were also incredibly attractive, just like I’d heard. Philia was especially pretty. She was tall, with sharp, well-defined brows and a commanding, cool beauty.
“I’ve come to thank you on behalf of our chieftain for the kindness your villagers showed us,” she said.
“Oh, I see. That’s very kind of you. There’s not much here, but please make yourself at home.”
And with that, I welcomed the very first elves into our village. Word spread fast, and the villagers rushed over to get a look at our mysterious new visitors.
“Whoa, are those really elves?”
“They’re all gorgeous...”
“Wait, some of them are guys, right?”
“Huh? For real? That was a guy?!”
“That’s enough, you guys,” Seren said sharply. “Quit gawking. They’re not here for your amusement.”
“S-Sorry...” Everyone quickly looked away, some even glancing at the sky with sudden feigned interest. I could still see them sneaking peeks though.
“Sorry about that, Philia,” Seren said.
“No need to apologize, Lady Seren. Our villagers weren’t much different when we brought you there.”
They seemed quite comfortable with each other already. The other elves looked tense and wary, but Philia stood tall, completely unfazed by all the attention. Honestly, she was pretty cool.
“How did a village like this spring up in the middle of the frontier?” she asked. “I didn’t think that crops could grow out here. And what is that massive structure? I don’t see any houses.”
“Oh, that’s where the villagers live. We call it an apartment building. It’s a big complex with a bunch of individual homes inside it.”
“An apartment? You humans live in strange structures,” she said.
“Well, this one’s unique to this village.” Next, I took them to the mayor’s house. Once we passed through the yard’s gate and got out of the view of the villagers, the elves looked visibly relieved. Everyone except Philia, anyway, who still had an impassive expression on her face.
“Please relax. It’s just us,” I said.
The welcoming party was just me, Seren, and Myria. I’d considered having a few hunters on standby just in case, but I chose to trust Philia and her group. They didn’t seem like they meant us any harm. I even checked the map. There were no red dots in sight.
“Thanks for your consideration.” Philia seemed to pick up on my intentions and offered a polite nod. “Honestly, we haven’t had the best experiences with humans. But at the very least, I believe we can trust you.” She smiled ruefully. “Though perhaps it’s not my place to say such a thing to the people who saved our lives.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve heard what humans have done to your people. There are definitely bad ones out there.”
We moved into the living room, and just as I was about to offer them seats on the sofa, something struck me. I hesitated a moment, but then decided to go for it.
“Actually, would you like to bathe first?” I asked.
I didn’t want to say it outright, but Philia and the others were pretty grimy—and they didn’t smell the greatest either.
“Great idea!” Seren quickly added, likely having been thinking the same thing. “Our village has hot baths available all the time.”
“I see... That explains why your villagers are so clean,” Philia said.
She explained that their village didn’t have any baths at all. They washed themselves in the nearby river.
“But now that winter’s coming,” she said, “we’ve been filling basins and rinsing off instead.”
Yeah, that makes sense. It’s too cold to be swimming in a river.
“But don’t you think this is a bit careless, Commander Philia?” an elf spoke up.
“It’s fine,” Philia said without hesitation. “They wouldn’t need to lure us into bathtubs if they wanted to hurt us.”
“The men’s bath is over here. Seren will show the ladies to the women’s bath,” I said.
Our house had two outdoor baths and the original indoor bath as well. About half the elves were guys, much to my surprise. I honestly hadn’t been able to tell the difference. Their builds and faces weren’t much different from the women’s. Philia was the tallest of them all.
I led the men outside.
“Your bath is outdoors?”
“Isn’t that just a pond?”
“No, look! Steam’s rising.”
They stared in awe as they began undressing. I figured joining them might help put them at ease, so I started stripping too.
And then I heard a voice behind us.
“Hmm, so this is the open-air bath? It certainly is very freeing.”
“Right? Soaking melts all the day’s fatigue away.”
For some reason, Philia and the rest of the ladies had followed us.
“Wait, what are you doing?” I said, turning around.
“Oh, not to worry. Gender isn’t a big fuss among elves. We grew up like siblings, so communal bathing isn’t a big deal,” she said, starting to take off her clothes.
“W-Well, it’s a bit different for humans!” I shouted, averting my eyes. Sure, I bathed with Seren and Myria sometimes, but that didn’t mean I was used to seeing naked women.
But Philia didn’t care one bit. She boldly stepped right into the bath, completely naked, and the rest of the female elves soon followed suit.
“Mm, it feels so good!” they all said in unison.
“Ahh... This open-air bath is so open, warm, and safe... It’s incredible,” Philia said.
I scooted over to the edge of the tub to give them some space. “Is bathing in the river dangerous?”
“Of course. Monsters live in those waters. We scatter the monster repellent potion around the area, but they still attack sometimes. Every year, there are injuries—sometimes even fatalities—from elves attacked while bathing.”