Ch.25The Secret Language

“Oh? We have a guest upstairs.”

As I came down to the first floor, dishes of food were being placed on a long table in the center of the village hall. A young man with long blonde hair tied back, sitting at one end of the table, greeted me casually. With his tall stature, fair skin, and distinct features contrasted by his overall slender build, he had long, pointed ears. This was the first elf I’d seen since crossing over to Grantis.

“Are you staying here too? I didn’t see any other luggage on the second floor.”

“I’m a traveling merchant who stopped by briefly to trade olives and cheese. After I finish eating, I’ll head back to the village.”

“I don’t know where your village is, but isn’t it too late to leave now?”

“We elves have an ability called Night Vision, so we don’t have any trouble seeing in the middle of the night.”

“…Wait, what did you just call that ability?”

“Night Vision.”

I wasn’t sure if my ears were playing tricks on me or if this was some kind of translation magic, but when the elf pronounced “Night Vision,” it felt like the term “night sight” simultaneously flowed through my ears into my brain. It was like hearing a Japanese sentence where the reading is written above the kanji characters, except this was auditory rather than visual. As I struggled with this strange sensation, the elf carefully studied my expression.

“…Can you actually understand Arcane Words?”

“Arcane Words? Vision language?”

“This is surprising. You really can understand it! What about these other two?”

“No. I only heard ‘Night Vision’ and ‘Arcane Words.'”

“Me too.”

“So it’s just you, the human male. Still, that’s impressive!”

It seemed I was the only one who heard terms like “night sight” or “vision language” among the elf’s words. With an expression mixing surprise and delight, the elf looked back and forth between me, Jessica, and Seti before moving closer to sit near us.

“I’m Garia Lester from the Olive Tree Sanctuary in the north. As you can see, I’m an elf.”

“William J. Kim. This is Jessica Walter and Elem Lu Seti. We’ve formed a party and work as adventurers.”

“Oh, a gunman who understands Arcane Words, a magic user, and a beastfolk warrior in one team. I look forward to your accomplishments.”

“What exactly are these Arcane Words, and why can only I understand them? Also, just now I didn’t hear the overlapping term ‘vision language’ – what’s going on?”

“Well, that’s… Ah, let’s talk while we eat. Those plates over there seem to be for you all.”

We moved the plates from the side table in front of us and began tearing pieces of bread to dip in our soup as we listened to Garia’s explanation.

“To start with the basics, Arcane Words are a kind of magical language passed down by elves that contains the essence of words. Due to this characteristic, they’re used in naming and structuring magical spells, and sometimes in everyday conversation to bridge differences in perception between races or individuals.”

“Words that contain their essence?”

“You’ve been hearing ‘Arcane Words’ normally until now, right? That’s because I haven’t been imbuing the words with magical intent to convey their precise meaning. If I pronounce it with that intent, it becomes Arcane Words{Vision Language}. How was that?”

“Ah, I understand now. So even if a word is unfamiliar to the listener, you magically attach another term that represents its essence, directly conveying understanding to the other person’s mind… is that right?”

“Exactly. Not only can you understand Arcane Words, but you grasp the concept so clearly. Even elves with magical talent need over 50 years of training to reach this level. You’re quite an extraordinary human.”

If it takes 50 years just to understand the basics of this language, ordinary humans probably couldn’t master these Arcane Words in their lifetime. More importantly, does this mean Garia has undergone at least 50 years of training to learn Arcane Words? Just how old is he?

“I understand that I have this talent for comprehending this mysterious language called Arcane Words. But how does knowing this benefit me?”

“Yes, that’s the important part. Since you’re adventurers, I assume you’re interested in dungeons and ancient ruins?”

“Ancient ruins!?”

“U-um.”

I thought this would be more Jessica’s area of interest than mine. Sure enough, Jessica, who had been quietly munching on bread while listening, suddenly leaned forward as if about to jump up.

“Dungeons and ancient ruins sometimes contain short records or secret hints written in Arcane Words. But those who can’t understand Arcane Words can’t even discover these writings, let alone read them.”

“What happens if you can read them?”

“That depends on what’s recorded. For example, if a dungeon entrance is hidden by Arcane Words, only those who can understand them would be able to find and enter the dungeon.”

“Are there really dungeons like that?”

“That’s just an example. Human scholars seem to theorize that dungeons have their own will and draw in visitors. If that theory is correct, wouldn’t hiding the entrance be pointless? It should be open to everyone to attract more visitors.”

That makes sense. A dungeon created to draw people in wouldn’t serve its purpose if its entrance was concealed by special means. A trap is only meaningful if anyone can trigger it, and a treasure map that no one can ever find might as well not exist.

“Then why hasn’t this information been made public until now? There are elf adventurers who could reveal the secret of Arcane Words, right?”

“There are several reasons. First, elves interested in the adventuring lifestyle typically aren’t interested in becoming Elders who inherit Arcane Words and live in seclusion. The life directions are almost completely opposite.”

“So most elf adventurers don’t understand Arcane Words?”

“Correct. And even if an elf who knows Arcane Words does go adventuring, they have no reason to voluntarily interpret Arcane Words for other races or reveal their existence. They believe ‘the time has not yet come.'”

“The time hasn’t come? What does that mean?”

“This might sound unpleasant to you, but our elven belief is that those who cannot understand Arcane Words simply haven’t qualified to access the essence contained within them. Conversely, when someone becomes qualified, they can understand Arcane Words even if they aren’t an elf. Just like you.”

“So now that you’ve discovered humans like me exist, will elves actively cooperate with other races to investigate Arcane Words?”

“No, that won’t happen.”

Garia’s expression was gentle as he answered, but his face showed absolute confidence in his judgment. Though he appeared young on the surface, I could sense an aura that made his claim of having decades—perhaps even over a century—of experience as an elf quite believable.

“We elves are merely observers and facilitators of the world, not those who take initiative to set direction or lead the times. This isn’t just my personal opinion but a common perception stemming from the elven lifecycle, which other races find difficult to understand.”

“Is this some kind of value system unique to long-lived races?”

“That’s part of it. Other races probably think of elves as simply long-lived beings who enjoy lifespans exceeding 300 years, right?”

“That’s not the case?”

“If you’re asking how long we maintain life activities, then yes, that’s correct. But elves over roughly 100 years old don’t live as independent individuals anymore—they slowly begin to merge with their sanctuaries as a kind of guardian spirit, and by around 150, their autonomy fades. Their souls merely understand and embrace what happens around them, without the will to pursue their own way of life or pass grand goals to future generations like other races do.”

“…As a human, that’s hard for me to grasp.”

“Haha, this is something only those who experience it can truly understand. In any case, elves can share passion with other races as ‘people’ for at most 100 to 150 years. That’s why elves who understand Arcane Words naturally believe that uncovering the secrets of Arcane Words hidden throughout the world isn’t our role—it belongs to other races who have the will to lead the times through them.”

I have no basis to judge the elven lifestyle or way of thinking, so I have to take Garia’s word for it. What’s important for us now is that I can understand Arcane Words, and that this ability might help with Jessica’s goal of investigating the Great Sage’s magical records.

“I think that’s all I can tell you. I’ve finished eating, so I’ll head back to the village now. I wish you luck on your journey.”

“Ah, thank you for sharing this interesting information.”

After finishing his meal, Garia gave a light farewell to the three of us and left the village hall with nimble steps. While I found the conversation interesting and potentially useful for future adventures, Jessica seemed deep in serious thought, as if something had struck her.

“Jessica, what’s wrong?”

“…Will, I’m sorry, but could we change our travel route a bit before heading to the next city?”

“I don’t mind, but is there a problem?”

The man who had greeted us at the entrance of the village hall had been absent since bringing the food to our table, and there was no one else in the building. It seemed safe to assume that no one had overheard our detailed conversation with Garia about Arcane Words. Jessica apparently wanted to confirm this too, as she looked around briefly before speaking in a hushed voice.

“I… I think I know a place where these Arcane Words might be hidden.”