episode_0050

“…”

In a corner of the inn room, Kona sat gloomily, hugging his knees.

When Kona first arrived in this village, he must have had a young and fresh first love with a girl named Jeremy.

For Kona, a half-elf, it’s only been 10 years, but for the other party, it’s a long three years.

The barrier between the Longevity Clan and the Ephemeral Clan is high.

One reason why the superior race of elves rarely appears in their society is precisely because of that.

They all know well that there is difficulty in communication due to the vastly different sense of time between themselves and the other races.

In that sense, elves like Oneroi from the Labyrinthine City of Mystina Brigal are peculiar.

“Ugh…”

It seemed like quite a shock to Kona, whose blood was mixed with elf blood, as he didn’t even think about coming out of the corner.

Even if offered a bed, he just shook his head.

“…”

Spect looked at him pitifully, seeming like he wanted to offer some comfort, but hesitated as if unable to find the right words.

He probably knows that there is a difference in the perception of time between humans and half-elves, so he might not know the right words of comfort.

Eventually, as if pleading, he looked at me, but I too just shook my head.

Although I am technically of the Longevity Clan, my sense of time is closer to the Ephemeral Clan, so waiting for three years feels rather impressive.

“Sigh… What will you do for dinner?”

Spect finally gave up and asked as he got up.

“I’ll eat here.”

I said, tapping my helmet.

Since Ebony folk stand out too much, you see.

“Then I’ll eat here too. I’ll go downstairs and ask for our meal to be brought up.”

“Sure.”

As Spect left, I took off my armor and helmet, leaving the dejected Kona by himself.

Regular armor is quite uncomfortable to wear alone, but true luxury items are magically treated for much easier removal.

Of course, swift equipment is undoubtedly advantageous in battle.

“Ah, comfortable.”

I took off both the armor and helmet, placing them next to the bed.

“…Huh?”

Kona looked up in surprise.

“Dark Elf…?”

“Yes. Dark Elf. Have you never seen one before?”

“No…”

“It’s fascinating, isn’t it?”

“Yes… It’s a bit scary, but still intriguing. How come you’re so dark?”

“It’s similar to your skin being dark. It’s just how we are born.”

“…Do Dark Elves live long?”

“Huh? Ah, I guess you haven’t heard much about Dark Elves. There are no Dark Elves in Brigal, right?”

“No. I’ve only heard stories occasionally.”

“A pure-blooded Dark Elf like me is a little over 500 years old. As for hybrids like you, ages vary, so I’m not sure.”

“You’re older than my mom.”

“How old was your mom?”

“She was 400 years old.”

The typical lifespan of Elves and Dark Elves is known to be around a thousand to two thousand years, but in reality, it’s not always the case.

Elves living among themselves in the forest have essentially infinite lifespans.

They live as they please and consider themselves having lived enough or wish to become part of the forest when they want to give up life.

However, Elves who come out into human society generally reach a point where they want to stop living after a little over a thousand years and return home to die.

“How old are you?”

“I’m 37.”

“I see…”

I wondered why there was no father; maybe he passed away naturally.

If Dad was human and had a child in his late teens, he would have crossed fifty by now.

That’s a decent age to have lived in this era.

The issue lies more with Mom.

I wanted to delve into the story a bit more, but for now, I waited for Spect to return.

“What did they say about the dinner menu?”

“They said it’s ham soup. There aren’t many other vegetable dishes…”

“That sounds good.”

“Wow! Ham!”

Kona was pleased.

It seems like he completely forgot about Jeremy, which is a relief.

“Huh? Ham, isn’t it? It’s meat, right?”

Spect looked slightly flustered.

“Yes? Why is that?”

“Stereotyping that elves don’t eat meat. Especially dark elves.”

There is no taboo for elves against eating meat.

Forest elves manage all their meals with fruits and insects.

The forest where elves live is full of magic, and the flora and fauna are primitive, with large creatures.

Hunting insects the size of a wild dog or butterflies the size of goblins and cooking them reportedly yields abundant and delicious meat.

Moreover, due to easy reproduction, elven society has never experienced food shortages historically.

They simply weren’t accustomed to eating pigs or cows due to the lack of such a culture.

Dark elves, who live like nomads in deserts or grasslands rather than forests, eat pigs, cows, or chickens as they please.

“I see. I didn’t know that. Rashwood, you’re quite knowledgeable.”

“I heard it from an elven master living in the Labyrinth City. They taught me a lot about elven customs and various other things.”

Misty, who lived in the Labyrinth City for a long time, now enjoys meat dishes without any reservations.

Of course, she still prefers fruits more.

“A master? Ah, the woman working at the reception there?”

“Come to think of it, you saw her last time, right?”

She briefly visited during the Labyrinth exploration project.

“Yes. She seemed like an exceptional talent. I don’t understand why she’s doing that kind of work.”

“It’s no joke. A warrior who has honed her skills for longer than I have lived. Proficient in swordsmanship, miscellaneous combat skills, and even magic. It’s just unbelievable.”

I’ve spent a total of about 200 years honing my combat skills.

However, half of that, 100 years, was based on cheat abilities granted by the goddess during the Demon War, which were revoked at the end of the war.

So, I’ve only truly grown stronger as an adventurer in the past 100 years.

And even after training for 100 years, Spect, who lived a little over 20 years, surpasses me in swordsmanship.

I simply do not possess talent.

If I did, I would have been a sports player in South Korea.

Among our companions, Steria was the only one like that…

“…Anyway.”

As I sat on the bed, I looked at Kona.

“Since we’ve come this far, would you roughly explain what’s going on? What happened that made you try to cross the border alone?”

“…That.”

Kona’s expression turned dark again.

“My father is getting weaker and sicker due to an illness. And my mother, upon seeing that, got so shocked and started saying strange things, then… fell off a cliff.”

Ah, I see.

That’s why they say Longevity and Short-lived should not form deep relationships.

Sangcheol, that idiot really… Ugh…

“Your father isn’t sick.”

“Yes? Then why…”

“Your father, mother, and you lived separately from others, right? Just the three of you.”

“Yes… We lived together in the forest.”

“That’s why. That’s not an illness; it’s old age.”

“Old age…?”

“Yes. Everyone gradually withers away, losing all strength eventually leading to death. Your father, being human, lived enough once he crossed 50. He reached the end of his lifespan.”

“Lifespan…”

“You must have seen it sometimes, right? Insects or birds losing strength and dying. Humans are the same.”

“But then why me and my mother…?”

“They didn’t teach you that either? Elves live a hundred times longer than humans. Even a half-elf like you will probably outlive your father by about ten times.”

…”

That’s why it’s better to raise a child in a village or city.

There are many things one realizes when alone.

Otherwise, having a tutor or parents who can properly teach is essential, but living isolated in the forest, they failed to do both.

“…Is Jeremy like that too? Is that why he didn’t wait for me?”

“Yeah. But waiting for three years is quite a long time.”

“…”

“So… what should I do then?”

“What do you mean, ‘what should you do’? There’s Oneroi in Brigal. Did she call you ‘Unni’? Wait, is she really your sister? Or did she just call you that?”

“What?”

“What was the relationship between Oneroi and your mom?”

“My sister is my mom’s younger sister.”

Ah, I see.

So Oneroi becomes Kona’s aunt.

The story starts to take shape.

Dark elf sisters living in Brigal.

The younger sister working in the royal palace.

But on the sister’s side, she fell in love with a regular human and moved far away from Brigal.

And when her human husband died of old age or committed suicide, she fell into shock and either accidentally fell off a cliff in a state of mental instability.

It’s a typical love story between Longevity Elves and Short-lived Humans.

Misty sometimes mentioned that Danyoung’s life could be too provocative for Longevity Elves, like a drug addiction.

When I asked Misty why she seemed fine, she said she had her own secrets.

She considered herself very lucky.

Shortly after, the innkeeper brought a tray with ham soup.

The taste was quite good.

After eating delicious food, Kona seemed to regain some energy and lay down properly on the bed.

And Spect sat leaning back on a chair, spending the night.

***

“Sigh…”

Early morning.

I opened my eyes, stretched lightly, and looked out the window.

The sun hadn’t risen yet.

“Are you up?”

Spect, who was sitting on a chair, asked.

“What? You didn’t sleep?”

“I’m naturally a light sleeper.”

“…Stop talking nonsense and get some rest for a bit.”

I got out of bed.

Spect’s face looked a bit awkward.

It seemed uncomfortable for him to sleep on a chair.

“…”

“Come on, lie down here. I’ll be going outside.”

I nudged the bed, and Spect reluctantly got up.

“Ugh…”

As he stretched widely, his joints made a cracking sound.

“…Thank you.”

Then he crawled onto the bed as if climbing.

“You too, take it easy.”

“Yes…”

Spect fell asleep without even responding properly.

What’s wrong with this guy that he can’t hold a conversation or anything?

He’s not bad-tempered.

Rather, he’s quite humble and gentle.

Just a bit odd in his expressions and stubbornness.

Well, he probably said something like not needing the honor of a knight in front of the king during the Loreldia Swordsmanship Tournament.

I put on the armor beside the bed.

It’s a magical armor, so it doesn’t make clanking noises.

Dressed in armor and helmet, I quietly went outside.

“…”

There’s a savory smell.

Are they boiling the ham soup we had last night again for breakfast?

As I descended to the lower floor, the tired-looking innkeeper was indeed preparing the soup.

“Oh, you’re up early.”

“Thank you. Wasn’t breakfast supposed to be free?”

“Yes. Please wait a moment. I’ll bring it once it’s fully cooked.”

“I won’t eat here. I’ll ask for it later when I’m ready to eat.”

“Sure. But isn’t it uncomfortable wearing that helmet?”

“It’s part of my usual routine.”

“Being a mercenary must be tiring.”

Does she think of me as a mercenary?

“By any chance, were you a knight in the past? Among mercenaries, there are occasionally those kinds of people. They are mostly calm and speak gently, which people really like. My husband used to work as a squire for a knight in the past.”

“But how did you end up running an inn in a place like this…?”

“While trying to block an arrow aimed at the knight I served, I severely injured my leg. So I had no choice but to give up my dream of being a knight.”

“I see…”

“But that knight saved my life and gave me a considerable sum of money as a gesture of gratitude. With that money, I opened this inn.”

At that moment, a large man with a full beard hastily opened the door and shouted,

“Hey, hey! Where are my sword and shield?!”