episode_0063

I left the royal library with Kona.

The area around here is quiet.

As Onero mentioned, the crowd has no interest in the library.

When I turn my head to look towards the palace, it’s already bustling with activity.

A royal wedding.

Only a handful of powerful individuals can witness it firsthand, but the street vendors are desperate to sell their goods to those who have come from afar.

“…”

“…Lashwood, sir?”

Kona called out to me as I stood still, looking at that place.

“Aren’t we going back now?”

“Oh, we should. But before that… I have something to do.”

“Something to do?”

“Yeah. I need to get a gift for a friend.”

When we left the Labyrinth City, Misty clearly told me to bring a gift.

If I were to return to Misty empty-handed…

Just the thought gives me chills.

“Uh…”

“Is it for a friend?”

Kona, seeing my reaction, tilted her head with a grin.

“Yeah, a friend. She’s not of my kind, but an elf.”

“An elf…”

“Have you ever seen a Forest Elf?”

“No.”

Kona shook her head.

Of course not.

Forest Elves and Dark Elves do not share the same habitat.

Generally, Fair-skinned Elves live in deep forests… like a fortress with dense structures, while Dark Elves mainly reside in plains, swamps, caves, and various other places, divided into tribes and living a nomadic lifestyle.

However, despite the differences in skin color and habitat, these two races consider each other distant relatives, with high-ranking individuals subtly interacting with each other.

There are human historians who study the mystery of whether Elves came first or Dark Elves did, but the two races see each other as distant kin, with slight differences in their way of life.

In fact, young Elves and Dark Elves often admire each other, and Misty, too, decided to leave the forest and travel after hearing stories of Dark Elves roaming the plains when she was young.

There are other reasons, of course, but she didn’t share them.

“An elf… Are you friends with elves, Lashwood?”

Even the Dark Elf Kona seems to be interested in elves, as she listened to serious and dark stories at the library and now looked at me with bright eyes.

“Yeah. I did call her a friend, but she’s also my mentor.”

Seeing Kona’s curious attitude, I decided to explain in more detail.

“Your mentor…”

“Yeah. Misty taught me swordsmanship and various other things. For a hundred years.”

“A hundred years…”

“Well, I’m an Evoni.”

“I see… Since Lashwood is a long-lived species even among humans, it’s possible to be friends with elves.”

Kona, a Dark Elf herself, was born and raised in human society.

However, in terms of the perception and concept of time, she was closer to Dark Elves than humans.

So she experienced a lot at a young age…

“It’s not really like that…”

“So, what kind of gift are you going to give to Misty? When I was young, it was a trend to give fig seeds as gifts.”

“Is that a Dark Elf culture?”

“No. It was just what people did.”

‘Just what people did’… I see.

Even though she was born in human society, she doesn’t completely objectify humans as a completely different race.

“I have to prepare a special gift.”

“A special gift?”

“Sometimes, elves ask for a hairbrush as a gift. Have you heard of it?”

“A hairbrush? The one used to brush tangled hair?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve never heard of that. Why would they ask for something like that?”

“I’ll explain on the way.”

But I still need to save time.

“Okay.”

Fortunately, this place is the capital of a kingdom.

Even a simple hairbrush might be made of gold and adorned with precious gems.

But that’s not what I’m looking for.

“First of all, what we need is wood.”

“Wood?”

“Yes. Very good wood. And sap as well.”

“Are you saying you make the hairbrush by hand?”

“Yes. It’s a matter of etiquette.”

One of the first things she started when she received training from her a hundred years ago was making hairbrushes.

To develop her skills and practice elven customs, she gave her a piece of wood and had her carve a hairbrush by hand.

About seven years.

For seven years, she carved a hairbrush out of wood before going to bed every day after training.

The completed hairbrush had to be inspected by her every time, and it took seven years for her to finally make a hairbrush that satisfied her.

“Do I have to carve it myself? Can’t I just buy a good one for you?”

“Don’t dark elves care about hairbrushes?”

Even though she knew quite a bit about elven culture thanks to Misty, she didn’t know much about dark elves.

There were no dark elf adventurers in the Labyrinth City.

“Your mother or sister might know, but… I don’t.”

“Really? At least for elves, there are gifts that must be given in certain… unique situations.”

While giving a gift for a birthday, anniversary, or as a sign of joy and gratitude doesn’t carry any special meaning, the situation is different when the other party demands a gift first.

If a gift is demanded in a situation where a promise has been broken or damage has been done, one must bring a hairbrush.

Since elves don’t cut their hair, a hairbrush is essential for both men and women.

Moreover, after combing their hair together every day for hundreds or thousands of years, elves are very sensitive to the quality of the hairbrush.

By using the hairbrush, they can feel whether it is a good item or not, and based on that, they can gauge whether the other person is truly grateful or sorry.

She heard that even if the received hairbrush is below expectations, even parents and children can become estranged for about a hundred years or so…

“It’s strange. We comb our hair every day too, but I’ve never heard of such a thing. But do I really have to make it myself and give it to you?”

“Yes. You have to make it yourself.”

There was one time when she asked if she could just buy a hairbrush made of silver or with gem decorations from a jewelry store…

She received a response that she would be killed.

Of course, it seemed like a joke and Misty only said she would kill her once during the 100 years of training she received from her.

Let’s not talk about killing for now.

Anyway, since Misty demanded a gift, she must not hesitate to carve a good hairbrush and bring it.

Since this is the capital of this country, there should be a carpenter who mainly repairs houses somewhere.

It would be good to buy the best wood and sap from there.

It would be nice if there were small pieces of fragrant wood used for carving instead of large logs, and as for the wax for the wood finish… No, maybe it’s better to find a carver?

Still, since it’s a bustling capital, there should be at least one carver.

“Kona, do you happen to know where the house of an artist is around here?”

“An artist?”

“Yes. Someone like a carpenter or a carver.”

“…I know.”

Kona’s voice sounded a bit heavy.

“…Is he a bad person?”

“Oh, no. It’s not that, but…”

“…”

It seems like there are some circumstances, but time is of the essence.

Let’s go meet him first.

“If it’s okay with you, could you take me there? You don’t have to meet him. I’m just going to buy some things.”

“…Okay.”

Kona nodded.

I walked through the capital with her guidance.

It wasn’t as bustling as the bustling areas near the palace, but it was still quite busy.

However, Kona’s memory was so good that she walked through the busy streets of the capital as if it were her own home, even though she had only been there briefly ten years ago.

Of course, there may have been changes in memory, but at most it was just one or two buildings or a change of ownership, so there was no sign of confusion.

Rather than being a genius, it seems more like an inability to forget.

Forgetting is closer to a blessing than a curse.

Except for cases like dementia, of course.

As one lives, one often realizes that it is much better to alleviate unhappiness rather than pursue happiness.

The most effective way to reduce that unhappiness is to forget.

But Kona remembers too much to the point of abnormality.

“…”

Is there something wrong with her brain?

Or perhaps… is it the artificial demonization surgery after all?

I don’t know of any cases like Kona, an artificial demon born from the demon war, who has a complete memory ability.

…Or maybe everyone had that ability but didn’t have the opportunity to use it.

Perhaps the reason why the artificial demons collectively committed suicide after the war.

That era was too cruel to everyone.

Even I, who stood on the front lines of the demon war, cannot remember everything.

Sometimes I just wanted to forget and drank myself to oblivion.

“Ah…”

While walking, Kona saw a building.

A small building… perhaps it used to be a bakery or a mill, as there was a counter, but now there was nothing displayed.

Furthermore, beyond the counter, everything inside the building seemed to be in disarray.

“Do you know this place?”

“It used to be a bakery. I always smelled something delicious when passing by here.”

“…”

“…”

Kona couldn’t continue the conversation and walked forward again.

It’s a pity.

I know all too well how painful changes and losses over time can be.

Kona is too young to understand such things.

Of course, by human standards, she is an adult at thirty, but half of her blood is that of a dark elf.

A dark elf hybrid child raised in human society.

If she had grown up normally with her kindred or her mother’s tribe, she would have experienced such things much later.

Kona’s steps slowed down a bit, but I couldn’t bring myself to stop her.

We entered a deserted alley where people were scarce.

Even in a deserted alley, there are usually thugs or ruffians, but this alley had none of them.

It was a place thoroughly removed from people’s attention.

Like a library with Othello.

And Kona’s steps stopped in front of a shabby house.

Hanging on the wall was a brass plaque with peeling paint, bearing the name ‘Sculptor Lavani Gaben’.

I reached out and knocked on the door.

Kona hid behind me.

“…”

An old man with unkempt facial hair appeared when the door opened.

Not an old man… but someone who has suffered a lot.

That’s the look and gaze of such a person.

“Who are you? A mercenary… no, are you a knight sent by a noble? Are you interested in my work? Have you come to buy something?”

“Excuse me. Are you Sculptor Lavani, sir?”

“Yes, but…”

“I am not a knight serving a noble. And it’s not a work, but I did come to buy something. Do you happen to have sandalwood and resin? I need them urgently.”

“Sandalwood and resin? I have a little… come in.”

Lavani stepped aside.

“Thank you.”

I nodded my head and entered.

Kona followed closely behind me.

“But what do you need those items for… hmm?”

Lavani looked at Kona.

Kona flinched heavily.

“This… this can’t be… ”

“Ah…”

Kona raised her head.

Lavani, who saw her face, grabbed me and pushed me against the wall.