The Origin of Elves (4)

‘This is where the elves live…!’

As they were guided in by the elf warriors, Patrick looked around with heightened tension.

It was understandable. For a very long time, elf tribes across various regions had chosen complete isolationism, barely interacting with the outside world and only protecting their own lands.

Lina, Laila, and others were no different. The only ones not tense were the elves for whom this was home. Or to be precise, among the elves surrounding them, only one person was not tense.

“The territory is quite large, isn’t it? Will it take much longer?”

“N-no. We just need to walk a bit further.”

Isilia casually asked the elf warrior guiding them as if it were no big deal, and the one who introduced himself as Leon shook his head with a stiff face, sweating cold.

‘I don’t know how to treat her.’

Although Leon was a veteran leading the warriors, even he didn’t know how to treat a high elf who was like a distant ancestor.

Unlike what they thought, Isilia didn’t insist on strict etiquette, and when they cautiously asked about such points, she laughed heartily, telling them to treat her comfortably as they pleased. But in reality, when a superior laughs like that, it only burdens the subordinates.

“–! —!!”

“Yes. I’m starting to feel it too.”

Meanwhile, as they approached the elf village, Isilia nodded at the spirits’ fuss, feeling the uncomfortable energy.

The anomaly reported by the elves was, in the end, the same phenomenon as the erosion she had been seeking to stop.

‘The spirits are screaming. We need to hurry.’

The spirits were particularly sensitive to the erosion trying to destroy the world. She, the only person who could communicate with spirits, couldn’t ignore this.

“It’s over there.”

And by then, they had reached the entrance of the elf village. A mysterious land that others had only heard about in rumors or passed-down stories, and that Isilia herself hadn’t even heard much about in rumors.

‘Oh. I thought it would be just a small settlement when they said village.’

She was impressed by what she saw. From the descriptions of elves, she had expected a small village with hut-level houses gathered together, but the elf village, with its walls and structures made of white stone, was on the level of a small city.

“Perhaps because they’ve heard the news, everyone seems to be waiting.”

Leon pointed to those who had come out in front. Including Elder Elnar, quite many elves had come out to personally greet Isilia.

‘I’ll confirm it with my own eyes. I still can’t believe it. Why did they appear only now?’

Elnar gripped the staff he was holding as he saw the group appearing in the distance. Although he was the elder leading the clan, his interest in high elves was no different from that of young elves.

“E-Elder. This is the person.”

“…?”

And when they finally faced each other. Elnar froze for a moment, looking down at the ground with his head bowed. A petite girl who could only be seen by looking down like this.

The long, pointed ears were the same, but everything else, including the hair and eye color, was different. This was the identity of the high elf they had been so curious about.

“How on earth…”

Elnar finally opened his mouth. He was more curious about how she had avoided aging, even setting aside living for a long time. Even for a high elf, aging couldn’t be avoided.

That was a clear fact written in the records.

“Is that what you’re most curious about?”

Isilia smiled slightly at the old man who looked several times older than her on the outside. It piqued her interest that the first thing he asked upon seeing an ancestor who existed only in ancient times was surprise at her appearance.

“I slept for quite a long time.”

“Are you really a high elf? One that existed even before the collapse of the Primordial Tower?!”

“I can tell you all about that era. Do you need more proof?”

As Elnar’s voice trembled, Isilia shrugged, asking if they needed more proof of her identity.

However, such proof was actually meaningless to the elves here. This was because the bloodline instinct was strongly at work.

In addition to spirit magic, which was thought to have disappeared from this world long ago, the instinctive sensation was something only those connected to high elves could feel.

This wasn’t simply because they were distant descendants naturally connected. It was possible because the high elves, who were once human and changed their own race by entering the Tower, were ultimately the origin that created the elf race in this world.

“No. You truly are a high elf.”

Feeling the twitch of an instinct that hadn’t awakened even once in the past few hundred years, Elnar had no choice but to acknowledge the identity of Isilia, who outwardly appeared to be nothing more than a young girl.

Once Elder Elnar acknowledged her, the other elves also bowed their heads without further hesitation. They recognized Isilia as their kin and elder.

“Just treat me comfortably. It looks strange like this.”

Isilia waved her hands, feeling burdened by their attitude. Indeed, judging by appearances alone, Elder Elnar and Isilia looked like a grandfather and young granddaughter.

Although she was said to be 10,000 years old, her actual age wasn’t much, and she felt like she would die of awkwardness.

“More than anything else, these friends are my companions. Is it okay to bring them inside?”

“Ah, no, these people!”

Elnar, who had been completely focused on Isilia, only then noticed those around her and widened his eyes in surprise.

A beastkin with cat ears twitching with an awkward expression. And two humans, a man and a woman, both extremely tense. Outsiders had suddenly appeared in the elves’ land, which had been managed as sacred ground until now.

“Ah, no!”

Elnar jumped up without realizing it. It was an instinctive scream at the thought that this place, which had been protected for hundreds of years, was now exposed to the outside.

“Why not? I’m telling you they’re trustworthy people.”

“There are no trustworthy humans. This is a lesson passed down from ancient times. Moreover, how can the one who is the origin of us elves be traveling with humans?!”

“Well, when I opened my eyes again in this world, these were the only ones around me.”

Isilia snorted at the frantic Elnar. In fact, even at this moment, to Isilia, who didn’t give much thought to her own identity, humans and elves were all the same to her.

For elves who had passed down the teaching to be wary of humans for almost thousands of years, this was a value system difficult to accept easily.

“Of course, there might be bad guys too. I’ve heard roughly what kind of history elves have, and I’ve even fought such guys while rescuing Arisa. But isn’t it going too far to view the entire human group as one? You were trying to bring a human priest first, after all.”

“T-that is…”

Elnar was at a loss for words at Isilia’s rebuttal. Clearly, it was they who had decided to ask for help before suffering greater damage, after worrying about how to deal with the anomaly that had occurred in the village.

‘Would it be meddling if I say something more here?’

Isilia tried hard to hold back her itching mouth as she watched the stirring elves.

She thought that she wasn’t in a position to lecture them yet.

Although the elves treated her as a distant ancestor, even if there were aspects of their behavior that bothered her, Isilia had no intention of forcibly remodeling the present they had created and lived in according to her will as an outsider.

For now, she just needed to vouch for her friends. She believed they wouldn’t do anything harmful to the elves anyway.

“You can’t trust me even with my guarantee? I didn’t expect such cold treatment from kin I’m seeing after a long time.”

She appropriately used her position. As she shook her head and turned her body as if genuinely disappointed, all the elves’ gazes turned to Elder Elnar.

“N-no! We will recognize them as guests too, so please come back!”

Elnar finally hurriedly grabbed Isilia. They couldn’t drive away the high elf who had come all this way.

Even if Isilia just left, it was obvious that the sentiment of the other young elves, who had been taught to respect their elders, would become turbulent.

‘I wonder how they would react if they knew that I, and other high elves, were once all human. If they knew we were those who changed everything just to climb the Tower and save the world.’

Isilia smiled bitterly as she looked at the older elves who seemed to need more time to adapt.

It was one of the shocking secrets only she knew, but she had no reason to reveal it and intended never to speak of it in her lifetime.