Chapter 190: Gift (6)

The ecosystem of elves is simple. They build homes above the forest, live by hunting, and make clothes from grass and animal hides. They carve wood to make musical instruments, and revel in the setting sun while singing and dancing their own tunes around bonfires.

Festivals happened every day, and the elves revered the forest that brought them happiness.

Therefore, ordinary humans could not enter the forest where the elves lived, and some elves also avoided contact with humans. The channels for elves and humans to interact were limited, and the older the elf, the stronger their aversion to humans.

Petunia Titi was a very peculiar woman among these elves. Despite holding a relatively high position in the elf forest, she had no sense of responsibility, and even though she possessed the most outstanding archery and hunting skills among the elves, she never participated in hunting competitions.

She didn’t exert effort in hunting like other elves, nor did she pay attention to cultivating trees or creating their unique songs. She, who had never shown any fondness for humans or expressed favorable feelings towards them, one day disappeared from the elf forest like the wind, only to return with the single statement that she had caught the Demon King, and then locked herself away in tears.

The elves wanted to know why she was crying, but Petunia Titi never once told them the reason for her sadness. The elves presumed she was grieving because she had lost a loved one or a comrade during the subjugation of the Demon King.

The elves found it strange that she might have loved a ‘human’, and were astonished that she, who always showed a cheerful demeanor, remained submerged in grief for months.

It wasn’t long ago that Petunia Titi emerged from her grief and began to be active again. She started with simple tasks, much like how children learn elven traditions, and claiming it was for a change of pace, she entered hunting competitions and swept up first-place trophies. Petunia Titi’s display cabinet, which had never held any decorations before, was soon filled with seasonal hunting trophies.

One thing she couldn’t do properly was crafting. Making leather clothes adorned with plant stems and animal hides was the task she found most difficult. She struggled even to thread a needle, and often ended up throwing the needle in frustration, leaving the ceiling of the craft room riddled with holes like a honeycomb.

“Petunia. You have the skill to shoot an arrow and hit a needle from dozens of meters away, so why can’t you thread one?”

“You don’t know, Uncle. This is harder, I tell you? If it were about throwing the thread to pierce it, I would have done it ages ago, but what is this? It’s flimsy and has no strength. Plus, after threading it, I have to tie it, too.”

Petunia Titi believed the fault lay with the thread and needle for her inability to thread them. She thought there should be thinner wire and needles with larger holes. She thought they should be making armor by intricately weaving wire together, like the chainmail made by humans.

After such a session of nonsensical talk and laughter filling the craft room, Petunia Titi would let out a deep sigh and say to the man,

“Uncle. More importantly, please send a messenger to the human village.”

“A messenger? Do you have something to say to that hero?”

“…No.”

Seeing the dark expression hinting at the unspoken feelings between the hero Wolf and Petunia Titi, the man said nothing. He pretended not to know and asked again.

“What happened in the capital?”

The elves had limited interactions with the human kingdom. They conducted magic research with the Magic Tower, sharing consultations and research materials related to magic, and delegations bearing the kingdom’s name would deliver requests or propose timber trade deals to the elven kingdom.

Occasionally, elves ventured out for adventures, and some elves discovered a knack for commerce and became merchants. However, these individuals were rare, treated as oddities even within the elf forest. Petunia Titi herself once called elves who interacted with humans oddities and didn’t try to understand them.

“Well, you see……”

“You didn’t get into trouble, did you?”

“No, it wasn’t trouble, but……”

The man looked worried, wondering if Petunia Titi’s business was significant enough to warrant sending such a diplomatic envoy. Petunia Titi blushed and avoided his gaze at the man’s question. Then, she said in a voice barely above a whisper.

“Um… I dropped my wallet while laying flowers, and wouldn’t you know it, I only realized it after I’d finished eating at a restaurant?”

“I see. And then?”

The man’s lips twitched as he looked at Petunia Titi. Titi, sensing the precarious future looming before her, said,

“…Don’t tell anyone. I’ll get really mad.”

“Ah, yes. Alright. So, what happened?”

“Um… I, I didn’t have any money. My mind just went completely blank. I couldn’t think of any elf names settled in the capital to vouch for me, and trying to borrow money from the people I fought the Demon King with felt too embarrassing.”

“Can’t you just meet them? I heard the party that caught the Demon King is doing quite well for themselves.”

Petunia Titi yelled at the man’s words.

“How could I possibly ask them for money? I made a super cool and aloof exit even at the funeral! But if I get caught for dining and dashing six servings of meat at a barbecue joint, what would I even say?!”

The man nodded, suppressing his laughter. He pretended to empathize with Petunia Titi’s statement, but it was easy to see that he was actually replaying a comical skit in his mind rather than understanding her plight.

“Ah, khuh…! Right……. Hmm……!”

The corners of the man’s mouth twitched. He contorted his face to avoid laughing and nodded at Petunia Titi. However, the embarrassing situation replaying in his mind made it impossible to hold back his laughter. How ridiculous it was for the heroes who defeated the Demon King to face each other over a barbecue bill in the middle of the capital. What expression would Petunia Titi wear while the man called ‘Saint’ took out his wallet, and the man called ‘Great Sage’ handled the payment? Just imagining this made him feel like he could live for days with a smile.

“Don’t laugh! If you keep doing that, I won’t tell you anymore.”

When Petunia Titi scowled, the man apologized, saying just that. The man’s ears twitched, betraying his continued amusement, but this was within the acceptable range of enjoyment for Petunia Titi.

“Ah, right. Sorry. Continue. Please continue.”

“So, I was agonizing over what to do, when a certain nobleman just paid the bill for me.”

“A nobleman?”

The man’s smiling face contorted. Among humans, there were many who approached elves with ulterior motives. Did that nobleman pay for Petunia Titi’s meal out of pure intentions? The man asked with a serious expression.

Petunia Titi nodded at the man’s question and said.

“Yeah. He just paid it.”

“He didn’t ask for anything strange, did he?”

“Nothing. He was married, after all.”

“Married? He must just be someone with favorable feelings towards elves.”

Petunia Titi nodded and averted her gaze again.

“I guess so. I even asked him to lend me money for the travel fare, and he readily agreed.”

“You really went through quite the ordeal.”

Hearing about Petunia Titi’s string of blunders, the man couldn’t even muster a laugh. As he uttered a remark with a look of sheer disbelief, Petunia Titi’s face turned red again, her eyes darting around, unable to meet his gaze. She raised her voice and said.

“No, isn’t it possible? If you lose your wallet, you can borrow money for travel fare! I didn’t commit robbery! I politely asked, ‘Please lend me some money!'”

Excluding the fact that she held a relatively high position in the elf forest and was a hidden party member of the hero’s group who defeated the Demon King, it was a simple episode with no other issues. However, no one could deny that it was an embarrassing act that diminished the prestige of the titles she held.

The man decided to stop poking at Petunia Titi’s sore spot. He felt she might truly get angry if he teased her further, and besides, the series of bewildering events had left him speechless with laughter.

“Ah, right. So, what is it you need?”

“…That man wrote down an address, so please send someone to repay the money.”

The man looked at the address Petunia Titi handed him. The address, written in neat handwriting, pointed to a rather remote and secluded area far from the elf forest. The man frowned. Just by looking at the location, it was a rural area, and sending just a single messenger with an envelope of money to such a place was risky.

The man pushed the paper with the address and said.

“It would be better for you to go yourself. Sending a messenger this far is quite dangerous. Who knows what might happen to them at the hands of bandits.”

“Can’t you send more people?”

“If I were to send several elves to this rural area, I’d have to explain the situation to the hero. Is that what you want? It’s a diplomatic document, so I can’t lie, you know? I can’t just gloss over it.”

Petunia Titi thought for a moment. A letter stating, ‘Sending a messenger to resolve the financial obligations of elf Petunia Titi,’ flying to Wolf. Wolf would surely try to find out what happened, and the end result would be nothing but an embarrassing, hollow laugh.

“Ah, no! I hate it! Absolutely not!”

Petunia Titi shouted, shaking her head vigorously. It was better for her to go herself than for Wolf to learn the full extent of this embarrassing situation. The man nodded as if understanding and pushed his chair back.

Petunia Titi watched the man return to his sewing, scratching her head in annoyance. Because she had to go all the way to this rural area herself.