The Origin of Elves (1)

‘Is this a dream?’

When she first opened her eyes, Laila unknowingly denied reality. It wasn’t the worst-case scenario of being dragged away by rough men she’d never seen before and sold off to some unknown place, but she had been betrayed and knocked down by someone she trusted.

She admitted to herself that she had been foolish.

She had never felt such a strong impulse in her life until now. Unlike her father, she thought she wasn’t greedy, but that was because she had lived so comfortably that she didn’t need to be greedy. When faced with a real test, she couldn’t overcome her impulsive desires.

‘It’s soft.’

Moreover, as Laila looked up at Isilia looking down at her, she flinched at the soft thigh her head was resting on. A feeling of betrayal surged, but another emotion equal to it welled up.

“From the beginning, I intended to use your father. I wanted to make Ethan the commander and eventually have him take over the entire organization.”

“Why…?”

“Because that’s the path for me.”

Once she’s brought in as an ally, they would become bound by fate. Isilia candidly told the truth to Laila, who had already been betrayed once, to regain her trust.

“Who exactly are you?”

Laila now asked the essential question. The very question that people of this era who had seen Isilia’s true nature couldn’t help but ask.

Ethan, Patrick, Renia, Arisa had all done so, and now Laila was the same.

“My name is Isilia. I’m a high elf who lived about 10,000 years ago, before the collapse of what you call the Primordial Tower.”

Isilia, smiling faintly, explained her identity. The smile was a natural reaction to having to say such a cringeworthy explanation with her own mouth, but to Laila, it felt a bit different.

A 10,000-year-old high elf, honestly, she thought it was an unbelievable identity, but Isilia’s unique atmosphere and mystique made it seem like fact.

“The calamity from 10,000 years ago is trying to awaken again in this world now. It’s not certain, but suspicious circumstances are already being discovered… and an organization with a wide information network would be helpful too.”

Isilia used a grand cause to persuade Laila. She swallowed the words that it was for her own comfortable life, but since it wasn’t a complete lie to begin with, it was less burdensome.

“S-such a thing happened?”

“Your father still thinks you’ve run away. I want him to naturally come to help me, so I need your strength to persuade him.”

Isilia’s intention worked well, and Laila’s surprised eyes widened. The still immature Laila was gradually starting to think that a being like Isilia might indeed do such things for the sake of the world.

“What should I do?”

“Nothing. But if I really say that, you probably wouldn’t like it. Don’t you want to become stronger?”

Catching that Laila was wavering, she grinned and cast a stronger bait. If she bites this, Laila will completely come over to her side.

“Feel the energy of the spirits. You have talent.”

Isilia raised Laila, who had been lying with her head on her lap, to a sitting position. As she did so, she chuckled at the sight of the wind spirit already perched on top of Laila’s head.

She couldn’t communicate and empathize as delicately as Isilia, and it was just the spirits unilaterally liking and feeling comfortable with her, but for Laila, even that would be a great help.

‘Something is flowing through my body.’

Laila shuddered as she detected the power of the wind spirit enveloping her body. It was proof that Isilia’s words about being able to grow stronger through a new path were not lies.

It was exactly what she had been longing for, as she had been worrying and conflicted between her own growth and the weight of the organization she would have to inherit later.

“H-how can I learn more of this?”

Laila, her tone and behavior becoming much more polite, had now completely fallen for Isilia. It went beyond mere obsession based on the innate impulses in her heart.

“Greet your senior.”

Isilia, smiling slightly, pointed to Lina, who had been quietly watching the situation from across them.

Lina tilted her head in confusion as the two suddenly turned their attention to her, and Laila flinched at the sight of Lina in her maid uniform, then nodded as if understanding.

‘Right, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.’

She knew well from her father, Ernst, that nothing in the world is free and that debts must always be collected with interest.

Although she had grown up as a rich young lady who never had to lift a finger, Laila was determined to do anything.

‘I wonder what kind of misunderstanding she’s having… Well, if she wants to do it herself, I won’t stop her. It will suit her well.’

The actual meaning of Isilia’s words was to become a subordinate who moves according to her needs like Lina, but she had no intention of stopping Laila if she voluntarily wanted to do maid work.

It was simply because she thought the maid uniform would suit Laila well.

* * *

“No matter how I look at it, I can see your taste.”

“What are you talking about? It’s not like that.”

When I said I would put Laila, who had completely submitted to me, under me and use her like Lina. Ethan glanced at us and chuckled.

It seemed he was misunderstanding something, but I sincerely denied it. It’s true that I prefer pretty girls who are pleasing to the eye over rough older men, but this situation was definitely not something I had intended from the beginning.

“Laila, write a letter to your father and give it to Ethan. Since it’s the academy’s vacation anyway, say you’ll be wandering around for a while. I’m not sure how your father will react, but at least he won’t be frantically searching the area with his eyes rolled back.”

“Yes.”

I instructed Laila to write a letter explaining the situation to Ernst and deliver it.

From Ernst’s perspective, he’ll be upset because of his foolish daughter, but in the end, if this incident leads to Laila growing more and finding her own right path, it will be good for him too.

If that happens, even if the truth is revealed someday, he probably won’t get angry rashly.

“Alright. Then we’ll let the horses rest sufficiently, and depart when dawn breaks again. Everyone, get some rest.”

Ethan nodded, either accepting or giving up, with a short sigh. Now we just need to return home and wait for news to arrive.

It was a somewhat thrilling experience, so I wanted to rest a bit now.

“B-Branch Leader! An elf I don’t know somehow knew my name and came looking for me…!”

But when we finally arrived back home.

New information was already waiting for us. One of the organization’s informants had been waiting for us with an anxious face, and as soon as he saw Ethan, he ran over, pale as a ghost.

With a bit of exaggeration, he looked like he might burst into tears if touched even slightly.

“I told her. I forgot to mention it.”

I scratched my head at his panicked appearance, thinking his carefully hidden identity had been exposed.

He was Ethan’s confidant operating in Id and an informant for the organization, whose identity was known only to Ethan.

I, who learned this information through Ethan, had given his information to Arisa to use as a contact network.

“You’re trying to catch multiple birds with one stone.”

Ethan sighed with an incredulous face, then showed me the letter his subordinate had handed over. As befitting the mention of an elf, this letter was news brought by Arisa, who had returned to her village.

“…Looks like I need to visit the elf village.”

After reading the contents of the letter, I smiled bitterly. She had successfully informed and explained about me to the villagers and formally invited me to her village.

“I heard there was also an incident in the elf village. Is it indeed that anomaly, the calamity continuing from the past?”

“Probably, with a high probability.”

Ethan is also a resident living in this world. It’s natural for someone who was about to unfold his ambitions with my help to worry about the world’s well-being.

However, I couldn’t deliver only good news to him. Arisa’s letter detailed the anomaly that occurred in the elf village, and no matter how I looked at it, that anomaly was the same as the erosion phenomenon that happened nearby last time.

“Let’s rest for just one day, then depart immediately. Lina, you contact Patrick too.”

“Is Patrick coming along as well?”

“He’s just the right person to act as a guide.”

I, having finished travel preparations with Ethan’s help, was planning to depart with Patrick, who already roughly knew what was going on as he had participated in Arisa’s rescue.

I didn’t think he would refuse. After all, there were almost no cases where humans could legally visit an elf village.