“Thank you very much for sharing your camp with me. May the Origin Gods bless you.”
“It is a pleasure. You should warm yourself up a bit before we speak, Miss Elf.”
Meeting a dwarf for the first time and now a real elf? My fantasy sensors are satisfied today~
“Oh, where are my manners? My name is Silva, a Saelari eir Zephira; or, in Common tongue, I am a wind elf from the forest of Saelariel.” She gave a graceful bow as she smiled at us. Saori and I introduced ourselves plainly.
On the other hand, Tasianna couldn’t help but start speaking in whatever language the elves and fairies speak. “Binsel ir Tasianna Marina Silverpond. Seub eir Aifli, isschata eir Zephira.”
“Aifli? Tiluoan Tasianna, saha eir Saelari eir Zephira.” Silva the elf pressed her hands together as she looked at Tasianna with an apologetic smile. “Hitti binselk ‘Silverpond,’ falahir votum roy Iggdrasyl? Zut [Elvenize] fie? Valfar gisch fie?”
[“Do you understand what they’re saying, Saori?”] As it seems like Tasianna and Silva have entered their own world, I could help but ask Saori this rather redundant question. I wasn’t sure if I should interrupt them.
[“It is a bit rude to us, but Tasianna has not seen an elf or fairy in a while. I believe she must be making up for the lost time. You know, it is like meeting an American when you are visiting Japan or another country in your case, I believe. A kind of ‘kinship.’”] Saori’s words made sense, now that I think about it.
Wouldn’t I feel nostalgic if I were to meet a person from Earth on Peolynca? In fact, didn’t I feel thrilled when I first met Saori and discovered she was Japanese when I first spoke with her? Tasianna might have exiled herself from her home, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t feel homesick. She might not have shown it to me, but I bet she has some lingering feelings for her village, despite resenting the lifestyle of a fairy.
“Ahh, Lady Hestia, I apologize! How rude of me to leave you out of the conversation,” realizing I was also around, Tasianna apologized to me, before looking over to Silva. “Sister Silva, this is Lady Hestia, my current mistress. She and Miss Saori do not understand Andurenian, so could we speak in Common?” Andurenian is the official name of the Elven language.With a nod, she complied. “It is a great honor to meet a spawn of Kargryxmor and Belzac. I apologize for being rude. I was too surprised to meet your fairy friend here.”
Ahh, that’s the reason…Wait, what?!
Upon hearing she called us “spawns of Kargryxmor and Belzac,” Saori and I became wary. I guess she knew Tasianna was a fairy from their discussion, but nobody told her our real identities! We’re in our beastman forms; it should be impossible for her to know we’re a dragon and cadejo unless we either tell her or show her our IDs with that information revealed!
“Lady Hestia, Miss Saori, please, don’t be too alarmed. There is a reason for this!” Reading our minds, Tasianna stepped in front of Silva and waved her hands. “Sister Silva understands your identities due to the spirits. She spoke to them.”
“‘She spoke to them?’”
“Yes, she’s one of the more traditional mages among the elves. She’s a faemancer, a speaker to the faefolk.”
A faemancer?
Apparently, faemancers are people who have the ability to commune with all the different faefolk in the world. Think of it like an anime exorcist who can speak with ghosts. Silva was able to discern our identities due to the spirits surrounding us.
Now, it might seem weird to call her a faefolk whisperer as fairies should be able to speak, yes? Well, fairies are only one type of faefolk, not unlike how wolfkin and katzune were both beastmen sub-races.
“The spirits can be sorted into three categories: the lesser fae, fairies, and elementals,” Silva began to explain. “Lesser fae include beings like spirits, small mana beings that like to wander around like children, and spriggans, woodland faefolk that dwell among plants. There are of course many more. Similar to how the many creatures of our world adapt to different climates and environments, the faefolk might even be more numerous than beastmen. As they are a gathering of concentrated mana, their forms and traits are determined by the land they are born in.”
I remember hearing from Tasianna that she wasn’t born like a human, but that her consciousness just ‘appeared’ one day, and she was alive. Like what Silva just said, Tasianna was also born from an accumulation of mana and suddenly came to life. The only fairies that I heard could give proper birth were the royal family of the fairies, Iggdrasyl.
“You should know about fairies, as Sister Tasianna is one. To be clear, fairies are faefolk who were born with intelligence like other humanoid beings and can enjoy the perks of one. There are many mischievous ones, so meeting somebody as polite as Sister Tasianna is surprising,” Silva continued. “The last category are elementals. They range from minor elementals to the elemental kings. I heard from the elders that before the Origin Gods came to our world, elven mages would contract with free elementals to support their spell casting. Of course, this was before the Wind Mother gave birth to us wind elves.”
In exchange for supplying the elemental with experience and mana to grow, an elemental helps a mage by supporting their mana control. Mages in the days before the Origin Gods were able to create elemental spells like fire and water, but without an elemental, it was infinitely harder as they had to do most of the work alone.
Back then, elementals helped change the spell’s element purely by being with the mage, meaning that one step of the magic casting process was already down. Nowadays, people have the Divine System and skills. The Origin Gods’ system spells allow normal people to use elemental spells without an elemental, and having an elemental skill allows people to cast elemental spells with ease. However…
“I have a question. Doesn’t that mean that the usage of elementals is, uhm, uhh…”
How do I say this politely?!
Giggling as she understood my struggles, Silva told me it was alright. “Yes, the usage of elementals is outdated with the grace of the Origin Gods. It is easier for people to study and gain skills than to contract an elemental; however, I did both. Nobody said doing both is not allowed, right?” Silva then revealed a small wooden cage under her robes. She opened it up and knocked twice on it with her staff, gently saying, “Wake up, little one.”
A small light came out of the cage, looking very similar to my [Shine] or the holy spell [Light]. It looked energetic as it greeted Silva by circling around her thrice. It then suddenly stopped, before flying over to me and doing the same thing. However, unlike Silva, it wouldn’t stop circling around me.
“Oh my, as you are a spawn of Kargryxmor, you must be a princess from Kargryx, yes? Princess Hestia, it seems you aren’t an ordinary holy mage. Little Igniclus is a light elemental and he shows fondness towards priests of Aurena, but none have made Igniclus this excited before. The blessing of Goddess Aurena must be very powerful with you,” she said, smiling like a little girl. Despite being around Saori’s size and probably a few decades older than us, it made her look cute.
I wanted to continue eating my stew while it’s still warm, but playing with the elemental wouldn’t take long. I cast [Shine] on my finger and waved at the light elemental to lure him over. Like a cat chasing after a red dot, the elemental couldn’t help but follow my finger.
“Hehe, he’s pretty cute. Miss Silva, didn’t you say there are different types of elementals? Which one is this?” I asked, running around as I played with the little guy.
“He’s a minor elemental. The lowest grade. Like every wind elf, I was born with the ability to cast wind magic, so I am a wind mage. I have contracted with Igniclus, as learning holy magic is practically impossible without joining the church of Aurena. I can cast small healing and supportive spells with Igniclus’s help,” Silva answered. “I am currently traveling to help Igniculus grow. Similar to a tamer’s monsters, elementals can gain experience and evolve into their superior forms. He is practically a child, so he must be excited to meet you and your amulet.”
My amulet? Ahh, that’s right.
Amulet of Aurena
A detailed amulet dedicated to the worship of Aurena, the Goddess of Light
Skill
[Holy Resistance Lv. 5][Health Recovery Lv. 5]
[Mana Recovery Lv. 5]
[Holy Amp [Holy Magic Efficiency]
The amulet I have gotten from the temple. I hadn’t been wearing it inside Firwood, as I simply forgot to do it. My white robe was enough of an indicator that I was a holy mage, so there never was a need to equip the amulet. However, as Saori and Tasianna have been wearing their amulets, I thought it was about time to wear it now that I was going out to do a Quest. Aurena’s religion is the national religion of Artorias, so looking like a priestess might help me gain the trust of people more easily.
Naturally, I am not a big fan of using my status to control a situation. I just don’t like it. However, Aurena did tell me to act like her priestess, so I guess I should try it out. There wasn’t a need to use my princess title anyway, and if we do get into trouble, I still have that super scary document from the lord of Firwood.
“Ahh, that reminds me, what were the two of you talking about before?” Saori pointed at Tasianna and Silva.
In essence, Tasianna introduced herself to Silva and told her she was a fairy who was using [Elvenize] to look like a wind elf. Silva, having understood this, apologized as she thought she was a “sister.” As Zephira was the mother of all wind elves, wind elves seem to treat each other like siblings if they are friendly. The Goddess of Wind was also the patron goddess of fairies, it seems the two of them were calling each other “sisters” as they consider their deity the same.
Although, Tasianna was praying more to Plesia nowadays.
“As a faemancer, I can detect the presence of faefolk. I felt a fairy, so I approached you,” Silva admitted. “Still, while serving a dragon princess must be an honor... Sister Tasianna, why are you here? Why aren’t you serving the royal family as a Silverpond?”
That hit a soft spot. Silva couldn’t have known about it, but it did cause me to twitch my eye a bit. Tasianna immediately frowned as she was questioned, staying silent.
“Uhhh, d-did I say something wrong?” Silva asked nervously.
“No, no, it’s not your fault…,” Tasianna managed to eke out. “It’s just that…I-I’m not serving the royal family because I exiled myself. This is my atonement for the incompetence I’ve shown in my service for the royal family.”
Tasianna began to retell her time with her previous mistress, Princess Schuri, and also the tragedy that followed after they were captured by human fae hunters, which resulted in Schuri’s death. She explained why she exiled herself from her village, how she got captured by trolls and then went into my “service” after Saori and I rescued her. The only thing she didn’t tell was her desire to get revenge on the person that hired those fairy hunters.
“I see, so that is why you are so far away from our forest, Sister Tasianna. When I heard a member of the Iggdrasyl died due to humans, it felt like a thorn was driven into my heart. It is as the elders have said, humans are a short-living race, so they always forget their mistakes. Their greed overwhelms the compassion they should be feeling as fellow humanoids.” The warmth she’d shown us was completely gone from her eyes as she said that.
My impression of the entirety of the human race is worsening the more I hear about the “War for the Faefolk” or something like the history of the Leosfalt Kingdom. Saori would probably tell me to not take every fact at face value, considering history is written by the victors, but how should I explain the hostility these two are feelings? Tasianna is someone who experienced an extreme tragedy, so her hatred was understandable, but what about Silva?
From the way she spoke, she probably wasn’t old enough to have experienced the war and naturally build up hatred for humans. She mentioned her elders told her about the war and humans, so it was likely her opinion was biased.
Well, my human side is still a part of me, so I cannot share their hatred for humans. Besides, even if the majority are dislikable, that doesn’t mean I couldn’t befriend an individual. Lorena and Ellaine are examples of this.
“However, Sister Tasianna, this might be a rude question — I apologize in advance to you too, Princess Hestia, but how is serving a princess from a distant land atonement? Wouldn’t dedicating your life to our Wind Mother or the royal family be more suitable?” Silva questioned as she recalled Igniculus back to his cage.
“Huh? Uh, I…” Tasianna paused to think over her words. “Lady Hestia is my saving light. She was the one to save me from my time in distress, so isn’t it proper for me to serve her? I wish to become stronger, more reliable. I couldn’t protect Princess Schuri — I was a failure, whose mind was so clouded by anger and fear that I neglected my mistress. I don’t want that to happen again. I grew up to become a retainer by my adopted family, so shouldn’t I be serving to atone?”
“Your words make sense, but your wish is entirely selfish, no? You are projecting Princess Schuri onto Princess Hestia, treating her as a way to forget your past mistakes. It is emotional atonement that you seek. You wish to see if your past self could’ve been as strong as your current self if you had trained more.”
“Miss Silva, we are already aware of it. Tasianna acknowledged this when we first met.” I knew this was something Tasianna had to answer herself, but as a friend, I had to step in for her. “Saori and I accepted her as a party member knowing exactly why she wanted to become my retainer. However, she’s grown into our friend and a person we can rely on.”
“I apologize if I insulted you, Princess Hestia, but I do not intend to disparage her reasons. Maybe I do not understand the whole situation well enough, but fairies do not act like this. They are whimsical, yes, but wouldn’t serving and asking the Wind Mother for forgiveness be more efficient? Wandering away from our forests and endangering herself is nothing but foolishness.”
Wind Mother this, Wind Mother that, urgh, she’s getting on my nerves. I wanted to rebuke her. She was acting so patronizingly, even though we were practically strangers.
“Sister Silva, my place is not with the fairies nor with Goddess Zephira, my place is with Lady Hestia. I cannot go back to being like the other fairies, it is impossible. I cannot live that life anymore. Goddess Zephira’s teachings do not fit me anymore.” Tasianna then pulled out the amulet of Plesia from underneath her clothes, displaying it clearly before Silva.
Silva frowned. “You endanger your life, Sister Tasianna. You may be able to conceal your form from the humans, but their greed will find you someday. Return to Saelariel.” She then looked at us and continued speaking, “Miss Saori, humans are the enemy of the Belzac wolves. They will hunt you if they find out your origins, similar to what they did a few years ago or with the original Belzac.”
“I will manage, thank you,” Saori answered with an aloof expression, the one I was used to during our days in the Belzac Forest before she softened up.
“Princess Hestia, you are probably on your ‘Adulthood Ceremonial Pilgrimage,’ but you shouldn’t linger too much in human lands. I would ask you to visit our forest. The elves are allies with the dragons of Kargryx and dragonewts of Loatryx. If you wish to witness the world, then we can provide you with knowledge and wisdom from our wisest elders. The humans will covet a dragon’s scales and fangs for their weapons of slaughter.”
I dunno if she was actually worried about Saori and me, or if this is to indirectly bring Tasianna back to Saelariel, but it sounds so pretentious. Maybe it was kindness, but it sounded more like arrogance to me. Who is she to say that I should go to her home and “learn” about the “world” from her people?
If my fantasy knowledge could be counted on, then the elves should be the arrogant and isolationist types. Sure, I can understand her dislike for humans, but she doesn’t know me. I still plan to travel the world. Man, am I glad I was forced to go to Artorias now. For once, thank you Astalos and Grandpapa Kargryxmor.
I wanted to ask her if she would be able to fix my mana paths, considering she was an elf, but now I won’t. I can’t be indebted to someone who would probably want to drag our party to Saelariel to “protect” us.
“You don’t need to worry about us, I can protect the people around me,” I stated confidently. It was a bit of a bluff, considering there were people stronger than me, even in my true form, but I knew having too little self-esteem would just drag me down into a pit of irrelevance. There was so much potential to uncover with my unique skills that I was sure I will become stronger if I work on them. In other words, it isn’t a bluff if I can keep it up in the future.
…Wait a minute, why is she here in human lands despite hating humans so much?
“Excuse me, Miss Silva, never mind what was said before, can you first explain why you are in Artorias? We shared our reason, so why are you here?” Ellaine and all her head attendants said that Artorias had a bad relationship with the elves, and the kingdom’s history confirms that, so I was more curious for her reason to be here.
“Oh, have I not explained that? My apologies, I should explain, no?” she nodded. “I have traveled here for my duty as a faemancer. Speaking with them and bringing them peace is part of my journey. Due to the problems caused by the ‘War for the Faefolk,’ beings called ‘Onnikais’ were born into these lands. They are faefolk who have lost their innocent personalities while their mischievousness has been intensified through negative emotions.”
According to Silva, an “Onnikai” is a type faefolk that started appearing during the “War for the Faefolk” due to the suffering the faefolk had to endure. Similar to how faefolk adapt to their environments, these beings were born due to the negative emotions surrounding the untimely and cruel deaths of faefolk. Instead of playing in moderation, onnikais do not possess limiters to control them, meaning they can cause widespread mischief and terrorize people without care.
“They were hurt, and they do not know how to get rid of their pain. They will cause wanton chaos until they are satisfied, but that is hard to gauge. While you can argue that the humans reaped what they sow, the problem lies with the fact that onnikais spread their negative emotions and proliferate at a worrying rate. It is my duty to bring them peace.”
“I understand, but why are you here exactly?” I questioned further.
“That is because I sensed onnikais to the north of my current standpoint. I was traveling there until I met Princess Hestia, Miss Saori, and Sister Tasianna.”
North? Isn’t Rashan Village to the north?
“While I detest human contact, I must travel through the country to save the poor faefolk in the Wind Mother’s name. The spirits and spriggans know much about the land but their information network isn’t as good as those of the guilds. I brought these earrings that have been enchanted by illusion mages to hide my ears. No doubt, humans would harass me if they knew I was an elf. I pity you, Sister Tasianna.”
“Pardon me, you said you were going north?” Saori suddenly asked.
“Saori…” Something was telling me she was up to something. I was planning to interrupt her, but she quickly sent me a telepathic message to “Trust in me,” so I kept silent for the moment.
“Have you heard about a village called Rashan Village located north from here? We were actually on our way there to fulfill a hunter’s guild Quest, one concerning a monster problem and an increase in mana in the local soil. Could the presence of onnikais be a cause for it?”
“Hmm, yes. Yes, that is possible. Causing monster spawning due to the mana accumulation in the ground is a way for the onnikais to create chaos. Do you know how many monsters are spawning? If it’s in a large quantity, then there is the possibility for a large gathering of them.”
“Our handler told us monsters up to rank D have been sighted. Two D rank parties accepted the Quest and are presumed deceased. The guild requested us to handle it due to our party’s abilities.”
“Hmm, naturally, descendants of Kargryxmor and Belzac would have no problems with this Quest. Princess Hestia is a royal on her pilgrimage so she must be a B rank dragon. I can understand why the guild would rely on you,” Silva nodded with a smile. “Ah, I understand what you mean, Miss Saori. My destination was, in fact, this village. If the onnikais are close to the human village, then our goals are aligned. Very well, I would be honored to aid the three of you. This meeting must be ordained by the Origin Gods, so how could I refuse?”
But, but, I don’t want to hang around with you… I complained to myself, knowing I couldn’t just say that. I then looked at Saori while pouting.
She smiled back, wryly. [“I know what you are thinking, but consider the situation with a calm mind. She is a faemancer and the possibility of these onnikais being the main culprits for the Quest is high. Our job is to protect the village and solve the problem, so it is better to ask for the support of an expert. Bear with it, please.”]
[“Yeah, I know, I know, already. She’s a wind mage and knows some healing spells so she probably will be useful to us as a companion. I’m just worried that she’ll make Tasianna feel awkward.”]
[“You do not have to worry about me, Lady Hestia,”] Tasianna interjected. [“I know full well that my reason to join you initially was selfish. She’s also right to say that I am not seeking to atone for my sin but to find…closure. I didn’t tell Sister Silva about my desire to get revenge on the person that brought Princess Schuri’s death, because I believe it would become more complicated. Please trust in me, Lady Hestia. You can rely on me to help you finish this Quest. It is my duty as your retainer and friend.”]
I sighed in exasperation as my two companions convinced me to go along with Silva. I then spoke to Silva; I had to make sure of something. “Miss Silva, can you keep a secret?”
“Oh, don’t worry, Princess Hestia. I understand what you are saying. Of course, I will not tell anybody about your party’s true identities. We elves are allies to Kargryx, so harming one of their princesses would dishonor this long-lasting bond. Protecting Sister Tasianna is obvious enough, and I wouldn’t dare bring harm to Belzac’s descendants. We failed too often, we cannot do it again.”
“What do you mean by that, Miss Silva?” Saori asked, showing genuine curiosity.
“Seven years ago, the detestable humans brought harm to the forest of Belzac again. Similar to how they slew Belzac himself for being a ‘threat.’ He was a defender, a just protector of the forest, but he was deemed a problem by the humans. It repeated once again when they hunted down the A rank child of Belzac,” Silva told Saori. “We had sentries in the forest but they had to retreat during the hunt. They were chased away by the fenrirs themselves. Now, I believe you are one of the only fenrir left, Miss Saori.”
A sentry? I did find an elven shack close to the garm matriarch’s nest. I even salvaged some books from it. Thankfully, I forget any slimy event that happened there.
“I see, thank you very much for informing me about that,” Saori said with a faint smile. Despite not wanting to have anything to do with her garm family, I think Saori is a bit curious about the history of the Belzac wolves.
“It is my pleasure,” she bowed before revealing a bracelet from under her robe. “Princess Hestia, I would like to ask you for the honor of joining your party. Will you accept?”
Silva Fleurette Breezeflower wishes to join your party
Accept Decline
Accept.
Party Leader
Name: Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor
Level: 80
Job: Cleric
Health: 4821/4821
Mana: 17191/17191
Stamina: 2881/2881
Effects:
[Damaged Mana Path [Left Wing] (Minor)] [Humanized (Moderate)]
Name: Saori Segawa
Level: 70
Job: Fighter
Health: 3066/3066
Mana: 1349/1349
Stamina: 2281/2281
Effects:
[Humanized (Moderate)][/b]
Name: Tasianna Marina Silverpond
Level: 51
Job: Torrent Mage
Health: 1661/1661
Mana: 4503/4503
Stamina: 1209/1209
Effects:
[Elvenized (Major)]
Name: Silva Fleurette Breezeflower
Level: 54
Job: Light Elementalist
Health: 1813/1813
Mana: 3512/3512
Stamina: 851/851
“O-Oh, by the Origin Gods!” Silva exclaimed with her eyes widened like a goldfish, as she looked at the blue screen projected from her party bracelet. Once I accepted her party invite, the party member list probably was shown to Silva. “I-I shouldn’t have been so surprised. As expected of a dragon descendant of the mighty Kargryxmor. [Humanized] should halve all your stats but seeing 17891 Mana is…shocking.”
As I knew she would be able to see my abnormal effects with the party system, I used my ID’s special feature to hide certain information from people. In this case, I hid the fact that I had [Damaged Mana Paths [Left Wings] (Minor)]. If she could repair my mana paths, then I don’t want to owe her a favor. I don’t want her to ask me to bring Tasianna back to Saelariel. It isn’t time yet to visit the elves.
As Silva showed no suspicion, the hiding function of the ID must have worked. Ha, it was truly worth having made contact with Count Helvas. With this, I can hide most of my information from people, staying completely incognito. I should thank Count Helvas for this.
“Miss Silva, I know you might have many more things to ask, but we should rest for the night. It is late. Please, if you are hungry, we have some stew.” Saori, probably expecting Silva to continue the discussion we had before, perfectly distracted her with some of the nice-smelling food. As if she hadn’t eaten for the whole day, Silva was fully focused on the food, so we barely had a chance to speak with her.
Once the next day came, Saori immediately told Silva that we had to hurry. She explained that we planned to reach Rashan Village before lunch.
“Hmm, yes, that would be smart. However, how will that be possible—Wuahh?! Miss Saori?!” Without letting her speak another word, Saori picked Silva up in a princess carry. Tasianna transformed back into a fairy for me and our party began the sprint towards Rashan Village. Silva’s cries of surprise echoed through the woods…kinda.
The moment we reached the outskirts of the village, Tasianna transformed back into an elf while Saori set down Silva. Saori truly had everything planned. There was no chance for us to return to that awkward talk if there was no time or opportunity to continue it. A masterful display, yep.
“Ahhhhhhhh, HELP ME!”
As we were laughing with the mentally fatigued Silva, who wasn’t able to adapt to the high-speed run, we suddenly heard somebody shout for help. After giving Silva a bottle of dragorade to help her recover, the three of us ran towards the scream.
There we were presented with the sight of black creatures similar to loopriszars chasing after villagers and fighting against armored humans, probably soldiers or guards. At the gate of the village, a horde of zombie-like beings were being held back by guards and a few villagers. The appearance of these “zombies” varied from the typical human zombies to the monster zombies. Decaying skorrs, loopabits, and wolves were a few examples that joined the human and beastman zombies in the attack.
“Please, help, HELP. SOMEBODY!”
“Baby, you need to move faster! Honey! Where are you?!”
“Dammit! Steady men, steady! We need to hold on until the damn soldiers from the baron’s castle arrive! Somebody get the chief out of here, now!”
I wasn’t sure what was happening, but we could ask questions after we dealt with the immediate problem.
“Saori, Tasianna. Protect the villagers!” I shouted as magic circles began to materialize around me.
“Hai, Hestia Oujo-sama! (Yes, Princess Hestia!)”
“By your will, Lady Hestia!”
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