Ch.112Elves and Dwarves

Day 3 since departing for Atelier.

Around noon, we emerged from the forest, crossed a vast plain, and finally witnessed the rumored swamp.

Though called a swamp, it was merely scattered muddy puddles ranging from 4-5 meters to about 10 meters in diameter. Still, the acrid smell that reached our nostrils was subtly irritating.

Seti, with her sensitive sense of smell, had been walking with a bunched-up part of her cloak covering her nose and mouth since the swamp puddles first appeared.

“Cough, cough, my nose and throat hurt so much.”

“The cat-folk have a keen sense of smell, so it must be more painful for you.”

“Didn’t they say this swamp is toxic? Won’t we get poisoned just by inhaling the smell?”

“That level of exposure is fine. Just don’t drink the swamp water directly or let it contact your skin for too long.”

“Speaking of skin contact, Seti’s shoes expose her toes. Shouldn’t we stop her from walking like this?”

“Ah… I hadn’t thought of that.”

Seti’s shoes had thin soles with all her toes exposed. We were currently sticking to dry ground, but if we encountered monsters, she might step into the swamp during combat. If that happened, the toxic wastewater would seep into her shoes through the open parts.

It would be best if Seti avoided touching the ground until we reached Atelier and bought new shoes.

“Seti, come here. From here on, you should ride on Ancestor.”

“Eh, but…”

“It would be terrible if you got blisters and ruined your pretty skin. Okay?”

“…Alright. Thank you.”

With slightly flushed cheeks, Seti gave me a light kiss on the cheek before obediently climbing onto Ancestor’s saddle.

“Is it just me, or have you two been flirting with Will more frequently lately? Especially Seti.”

“Oh my, Mina, if you want to join us, you’re always welcome.”

“Hey~ Don’t talk about dating Will like it’s some exclusive club membership…”

“Personally, I still can’t believe Jessica’s generosity in allowing Will to get close to other women.”

“Hmm~ At first, I wanted Will all to myself, but after the three of us started dating with Seti, my values changed a bit… Oh, by the way, what are the dating customs like for elves and dwarves?”

“Oh? I’m curious about that too. From what I’ve seen in Offenbartel and the Willow Sanctuary, it seems like monogamy is the norm.”

As the topic shifted to their races’ dating customs, Mina and Phyllis briefly looked at each other before Mina spoke first.

“Well, dwarves are monogamous, but there’s not much of that sweet romantic feeling. Since childhood, both boys and girls do physical labor and get dirty together, so it’s common for male and female friends to hang out, get drunk, have accidents, and end up with babies.”

“Is that really okay for dwarves…”

“To begin with, dwarf men start growing beards around age twelve, so by the time girls become interested in romance, they’re surrounded by bearded, muscular older men. Whether it’s the neighbor or your dad, they all look and act similar, so there aren’t many stimulating episodes for male-female relationships.”

Mina said this with a resigned face and heaved a deep sigh.

It’s incredibly jarring to hear such talk from someone with an elementary school-like appearance.

“Hmm! Are you thinking something rude right now?”

“Hahaha, of course not. What about elves?”

“Elves also fundamentally follow the principle of one man and one woman forming a bond, and even if they lose their partner to an accident or illness, they don’t remarry. Occasionally, when an Elder is male, he might have two or more wives, but that’s not common.”

“They can’t remarry even if they lose their spouse to an accident? Even though they live for 300 years?”

“Elf women can only bear children with one man throughout their entire lives. It would be difficult to maintain a healthy marital relationship with a new husband when that’s impossible. Especially for a race that lives such a long time.”

The elves’ romantic circumstances were just as unique as the dwarves’.

Having a 300-year lifespan but only being able to bear one man’s children—it’s impressive they’ve managed to prosper in Grantis with all its dangers.

“Only one man for life… that’s amazing. I imagine they must be extremely careful when choosing romantic or marriage partners.”

“That’s correct. Especially adult elf women must be most careful about showing their legs to men.”

“Careful?”

“Because if an adult elf woman shows her bare legs to a man, her body becomes capable of bearing only that man’s children.”

“*CHOKE*!?”

I felt my breath catch at Phyllis’s casually dropped bombshell statement.

The other women in the party don’t know this, but I had seen Phyllis’s bare legs when she removed her tights at the Willow Sanctuary.

If what she’s saying is true, it means she can now only bear my children.

“Um… does this apply even if she’s seen while sleeping or unconscious?”

“Of course. Therefore, in elven society, there’s a rule that any man who happens to see a woman’s bare legs, even by accident, must take responsibility and marry her. Only in this case is a non-Elder permitted to take two or more wives.”

“What if someone breaks that rule…?”

“The man would become an enemy of the elves and have his life targeted, while the woman would spend the rest of her life unable to marry, let alone have children. Sometimes, a woman might marry another man without knowing her legs were seen, which later causes major problems.”

“Ugh…”

Chilling.

Phyllis’s words pierce my heart like a dagger.

Glancing at Jessica, I could see her face filled with dismay.

Jessica doesn’t know about the incident at the Willow Sanctuary, but I had briefly glimpsed Phyllis naked when treating her burns after fighting the Minotaur.

At this rate, if I don’t take responsibility and marry Phyllis, I’ll be hunted by elven assassins…

No, more importantly, I’ve blocked the marriage prospects of Phyllis who has her whole future ahead of her…

“…Pfft…”

“Huh?”

“Puhuhut, ahahaha~”

“Phyllis?”

“It’s a joke, just a joke. Will and Jessica are so innocent. A creature that can only bear the children of a man who has seen her legs? There’s no such thing.”

What? It was a joke?

I was so tense thinking I’d ruined a woman’s marriage prospects through a minor mistake.

“The reason elf women are reluctant to show their legs is simply because it’s embarrassing. Aren’t there women among humans too? Those who think they must marry a man who has seen them naked?”

“That’s from some old-fashioned novel about sheltered young ladies…”

“Oh? Is it different in reality? Anyway, elven women’s values regarding exposure are roughly similar to that. So Will doesn’t need to feel responsible or burdened just because he caught a glimpse when my tights tore the other day.”

I wonder if it’s just my imagination that I’m slightly concerned about her specifically mentioning “when the tights tore” in the dungeon.

But I can’t bring up the incident at the Willow Sanctuary in front of everyone else…

Noticing my ambiguous gaze, Phyllis dropped her playful expression and spoke with her usual serious face.

“I am an elf woman, but I’m also the captain of the Guardian unit, and now an adventurer as well. Unintentionally exposing my body to companions or having clothing damaged can happen anytime. I might still feel embarrassed, but I’d prefer if we didn’t focus too much on such matters.”

“Well, if that’s what Phyllis says…”

“This conversation ends here. It seems we have visitors, so let’s prepare to greet them.”

Phyllis readjusted her rifle and looked to the right.

In her line of sight were about ten Swamp Mosquitoes flying toward us, with three large lizards crawling behind them.

“Swamp Mosquitoes and Paralyzer Lizards… looks like we’re entering the territory of swamp creatures in earnest.”

“Seti, stay on Ancestor. Feel free to use Ancestor to push them away if needed.”

“Got it. Everyone be careful.”

“Paralyzer Lizards attack by extending their tongues like frogs. Their tongue range is about 5 meters, and they’re coated with paralyzing venom, so we need to fight carefully to avoid contact.”

“OK, then let’s take them out before they get close.”

“I’ll handle the lizards with Fireball. I’ll leave the flying enemies to you.”

“Then I’ll prepare countermeasures for the mosquitoes. Diamond Dust… Break Enchant!”

The ice magic gathering at Jessica’s fingertips transforms into an ice-attribute enchantment spell that imbues everyone’s weapons.

Ice-attribute magic bullets emitting intense cold should be able to bring down mosquitoes even with just a grazing hit.

“Fireball {Incendiary Grenade}!!”

‘BOOM~’

The explosion of Phyllis’s fireball signals the start of the battle.

After the three Paralyzer Lizards were reduced to charcoal, it took less than 10 minutes to exterminate the remaining mosquitoes.