episode_0026

1.

As soon as Srenya opened the door and came in, I unconsciously took my hand off Casselina’s shoulder.

Casselina was more flustered than I was, as she was staring at Srenia with wide-open eyes.

First, I blurted out a hastily made line to break the awkward situation.

“Yes, yes! Professor, would it be okay if I go and clean the lab tomorrow morning?”

How much have you heard?

While asking such questions, I create a story.

The professor came all the way to this cabin to ask me to clean it, and I was shocked by his absurd request.

As soon as I said the words, I locked eyes with Casselina, hoping that the meaning would be conveyed.

‘Why is he so flustered? Did he panic?’

As if he noticed my gaze, he immediately put on that cold and bored expression he had at the academy and ended the conversation shortly.

“Please don’t push yourself this time.”

Casselina, who had been responding to my words appropriately, naturally turned her head towards Srenya, and precisely towards the door behind her.

…although it feels a little creaky.

It’s not awkward at all to be here, just leaving a greeting as if you’re here for business purposes.

“Then let’s go now.”

“…I, Kassel…”

“Ah! Yes, yes, yes! Goodbye!”

“I…”

Things definitely get more complicated once you start talking to Srenya.

I won’t respond to the conversation even if it means cutting it off, for now!

I open the door, which opens too easily for my strength, and send Casselina out with a stern look.

Casselina also walked as if she was in a hurry.

It was only after sending out Casselina that he turned his head as if he had discovered Srenia.

“Huh? Srenya, what are you doing here?”

…Have you heard?

Of course, the time when I felt footsteps was short.

And if you had been waiting outside the door the whole time, there was no way I wouldn’t have noticed.

I’m just very worried that you might have heard something about the top secret Demon King.

“I… that…”

It depended on the first words Srenya uttered.

If there’s any talk about the Demon King… I’ll have to silence them somehow.

Because it is something that can create a sense of disharmony among students.

but,

“What is your relationship with Ms. Kaselina?”

“…”

I asked an unexpected question.

Is that the part you focused on?

I lived surprisingly dull.

“Just colleagues, colleagues. Don’t you have something more to say?”

Change the subject naturally.

…If I may explain in detail what our relationship is, it’s not a lie, we were comrades in the previous warrior party.

“Oh, I told you last time that I wanted to meet you. I just came to see you today because I had some free time.”

“Oh, really? Welcome, Srenya.”

It seems like you came for no reason at all.

In fact, it can be rude to come to someone else’s house just out of courtesy, without being invited or having an appointment made.

But I guess you could call it the innocent freedom of a teenager.

In the first place, I left a few words in the invitation.

It’s not that inconvenient to have someone come to the cabin now, so we should welcome them.

“Please wait, I’ll bring you a cup of tea.”

“I’m already here.”

Before I knew it, Yuli, who was naturally leaving the house while seeing Casselina off, came back with tea.

A refreshing black tea with a warm steam.

“Thank you, Julius. I’ll enjoy it.”

“Don’t call me Julius. You can call me Unnie too. Talk comfortably.”

“Ah… Thank you, Unnie Julius.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

He nodded with a proud expression.

‘No matter how I look at it, I feel like I’m your older sister…?’

It was Srenya who thought to herself.

…

“Ahahaha… That’s right, that happened.”

The story that Srenya brought out during tea time was quite unexpected.

It may be natural from my perspective, but from another person’s perspective, it is the strangest behavior of all.

The worship of the water spirit.

‘…I learned it from Casselina, so why doesn’t the elf princess know???’

I had such a strange feeling.

Because it is a routine that has become a part of our daily lives.

But from Srennia’s point of view, there are no elves who follow this etiquette, so why is it that the imperial people act more like elves than anyone else?

“I remember hearing it as a whisper from an ancient water spirit before. I only knew that it existed, but I wonder why Kai oppa knows the worship method.”

“Uh… This is a story from when I was young. When I was on a trip, I happened to have a conversation with someone who was very knowledgeable about elven history, so I was able to learn about it then.”

Journey (to defeat the Demon King)

Walking (naked)

The one who mixed the conversation (Caselina)

I didn’t lie…!

In the first place, Casselina also arbitrarily restored the worship method that was thought to have been lost due to the level of development she had achieved during her journey.

I didn’t even publish it because it wasn’t an achievement worthy of publication as my own research.

So I thought that most elves might not have known this worship method.

Besides, it doesn’t seem like it’s that important a worship method to elves.

It would have been nice to have it, but it wouldn’t matter if it wasn’t there.

At the level of Casselina… unless you are a nature worshipper.

“Do you still remember that and worship it??”

“That’s because I was deeply impressed when I heard the story.”

Even more surprising is this fact.

‘Srenia is not a mythical spirit, but communicates with an ancient spirit.’

What kind of talent is this?

Even when Casselina tried to talk to the mythical spirit, she only heard whispers, but now she’s already hearing whispers from an ancient spirit.

Ah, the spirits in the world of this novel are divided into seven classes: low-level spirits, mid-level spirits, high-level spirits, rare spirits, legendary spirits, mythical spirits, and ancient spirits.

This looks like something out of a mass-produced RPG game…

Anyway, in this world, the lower the level of spirits, the easier it is to communicate with them, but the power of the spirits themselves decreases.

As you get closer to ancient times, conversations with spirits become exponentially more difficult, but the spirits themselves become incredibly powerful.

Therefore, being able to communicate with higher level spirits is a huge advantage for a spirit mage.

“Can you already communicate with ancient spirits? You’re only 17.”

“I can’t have a proper conversation, I can only whisper…”

Communication with spirits is divided into three stages.

Communication, conversation, whispering.

Communication is the smooth use of clear spirit magic.

Conversation is about obtaining information from spirits.

Whispers are fragments of vague information at the level of prophecy.

Communication with spirits is a skill only permitted to spirit mages.

This is a field that elves, with their uniquely shaped ears, are particularly good at.

Because those unusually pointy ears allow me to hear the spirits’ whispers more clearly.

And the spirit eye also plays an important role in observing the spirit’s appearance.

“…Now that I think about it, your ears are pretty. Especially among elves.”

“Yes, I hear that a lot. The adults around me say that these ears are the most important for a spirit shaman.”

“Kai?”

“Huh?”

I turned my head to the side and saw Yuli holding a teacup and smiling brightly.

However, the teacup was shaking and the precious black tea was splashing out.

Also, the corners of her mouth were twitching and the problem was that she was looking at me with eyes that were filled with murder.

“Judging a girl’s appearance is a bad habit.”

“Uh, yeah, right. Excuse me.”

“Oh, it’s okay! I’m already used to it. In the first place, the shape of an elf’s ears is more of a precious… symbol that shows the qualities of a spirit master than an appearance.”

It’s not like I’m doing anything shameless like trying to touch her, but you’re so sensitive.

I thought about that and continued the conversation with Srenya.

For quite some time.

“How did you pronounce the runes?”

“Did you also learn the content of the Primordial Return Sect from that person?”

“It’s all thanks to him that elves are so steeped in tradition… I guess I won’t be able to see him again. Yes…”

He quickly opened up his mouth and asked questions, as if he had a lot of things he was curious about.

Without a hint of fatigue until the sun slowly set.

I answered sincerely, even though I was a little tired of that attitude.

…

When I was about to run out of questions.

I left a piece of advice to thank Srenya for bringing back memories.

“If you ask Professor Casselina, she will give you a good answer.”

Of course, most of my knowledge comes from Casselina.

“Huh? Teacher Casselina?”

“Of course. You’re a minor in elven history.”

“…Huh?”

Did I misspeak or something?

Srenya’s reaction is unusual.

He raised his eyebrows as if he didn’t understand English.

“This is the first time I’ve heard that Professor Casselina has a minor in Elf History.”

I feel like things are going wrong.

Is there a difference between what I know and what Casselina knows?

I don’t know the details, but it should have as little to do with Casselina as possible.

That’s why I decided it would be better to just silence the conversation.

Yuli noticed my confusion and quickly changed the subject.

“Oh, it’s already dinner time? Srenya. Do you want to eat dinner before you go?”

“I didn’t mean to come here without notice and cause you so much trouble!”

“It’s okay. I was planning to eat something simple, so it’s not that much of a hassle to prepare more for one person.”

2.

Somehow I ended up having dinner with Kai and Yuli.

Dinner at the Academy can be taken at a restaurant, or if it’s a Friday like today, you can eat out…

I like dinner with someone better.

A sour yet distinctive tomato smell lingers around the cabin.

Kai boiled some chili soup in a cauldron outside and used the steam to warm up some olive bread.

“Yuli, the chili soup is almost done. Can you cut some warm olive bread for me so I can transfer it?”

“Yeah.”

Sister Yuli accepted the olive bread and skillfully cut it with a knife.

And then, one by one, the food is filled on the table.

Warm, steaming olive bread, finely chopped meat, and chili soup studded with kidney beans.

Finally, thick-sized wedge potatoes.

“”I’ll eat well.””

We expressed our thanks and started eating.

Take a bite of chili soup.

The long-simmered ingredients are in perfect harmony with the savory taste of tomatoes and the flavor of chili.

A hearty and satisfying bite.

When the flavors and aromas are a bit too strong, try dipping some olive bread in the soup or eating a bite of potato wedges to balance it out.

“Ughhh…”

I couldn’t help but let out a satisfied slurp as I slurped down the hot and delicious soup, but I wasn’t embarrassed.

As if all of this were a natural part of the diet.

“It’s delicious.”

“This one took especially long to cook.”

During that happy meal, my brother spoke to me.

“…Srenya. Are you continuing the ‘walk’?”

“Whew!!!”

I almost burst out laughing!!!!

Why are you suddenly bringing up such a dark history!?

When Srenya made a questioning exclamation mark on her face, Kai opened his mouth urgently.

“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s part of the elven culture, so I can respect it.”

“Yes. I do it often. Once or twice a week… no, two or three times a week.”

Actually, I do it almost every day!

ha ha ha!

It would make me sound too weird to say it out loud, so in good conscience I’ll just say two or three times a week!

But but…!

It’s so thrilling and good, I can’t stand it…!

“Um… Okay.”

But Kai listened to those words seriously without the slightest hint of hesitation and continued eating.

‘…huh?’

I too was a little concerned about the strange reaction… but it was such a minor change that I didn’t have time to think about it and just continued eating.

As the night deepened, Srenya spent a happy evening.

But within it, Kai was thinking a little differently.