The World Tree
The World Tree
After that impactful first meeting, Arwel's reaction was utterly ordinary.
Leaving Cellevian behind after he politely declined to enter, saying he'd make himself scarce, what awaited me inside the house as I was actively guided in by Arwel were his family members, who had caught wind of my visit in that brief moment and hurriedly begun preparing this and that.
Seeing that sight, I couldn't help thinking it was such a relief that Arwel had come out first. If they'd all burst out at once, I would've had an impossible time figuring out who was the mother and who was the father.
"We couldn't prepare in advance since we had no way of knowing when your prayers would end. Please, sit for a moment."
"Ah, yes..."
For all that, food and teacups were being laid out on the dining table with an absurd degree of naturalness. The village chief's side had also mentioned preparing something, and given it was around evening, the odds were high it was a meal, but... the atmosphere didn't exactly permit refusal, so I decided to keep my mouth shut.
That didn't mean an awkward silence hung in the air until all the preparations were finished, of course. Simply answering Arwel's questions about how Asilie was doing, this and that, made the time pass quite quickly.
Perhaps he wanted to wait until everyone was seated before asking anything important, because his questions were all trivial and utterly conventional. Was she eating properly? Were we getting along? Was she sick? And so on. As I was reminded that parents were parents no matter the race, the rest of the family finished their preparations, gathered around the table, and joined the conversation.
The truth was, with Asilie, who could be called the connecting link of the relationship, absent from the spot, the conversation didn't flow smoothly. Unlike Arwel, who started right off with an enthusiastic embrace, the other family members had to suffer through the awkwardness that came with the fact that we were meeting for the first time.
While I sorted through the things we'd been through together and answered their questions, I barely managed to learn that Asilie's mother's name was Himir, her twin brothers were Amil and Himil, and her youngest sister was named Amie.
It was a bit of a mishap that happened because everyone was so flustered and frantic to ask questions, contrary to their attempt to maintain a composed demeanor.
Only after I'd answered that frantic barrage of questions and things had settled into a lull did I also learn the fact that Asilie's name had been changed when she became a high elf.
"It was originally Arie. It was already decades ago, so Asilie has become more familiar by now, though."
It seemed similar to a baptismal name, but since the priests were the ones who bestowed it, they said they didn't know what meaning or pattern went into the choice. Sometimes the name changed completely, but in Asilie's case it had only amounted to adding 'sil' to her old name, which the family found pleasantly convenient.
"When we heard she'd been captured, we were devastated... Asha must have been watching over her."
"That's exactly it. Not only is she safe, but who would've guessed she'd even bring a husband back with her?"
Relieved by the news that Asilie was getting along safely without incident, the two brothers smiled with relief and let the tension drain from their rigidly maintained postures. It was the same for the parents, and taking advantage of that brief moment of silence, Amie, the youngest, who had been staying as quiet as possible but had been fidgeting restlessly the whole time just waiting for a chance to ask a question, posed it to me.
"But how exactly did you meet our big sis?"
She asked a question that could make one's head spin a little.
"Well... when I was young, I happened to form a connection in a village and ended up rescuing Asilie after she'd been captured by bandits. In return, we agreed I'd learn the knowledge I needed from her."
"Knowledge, you say? You're not very greedy, are you? Is that why big sis fell for you?"
"Hahaha... well, I imagine there'll be a chance for you to hear that story directly from Asilie herself later on."
It seemed Cellevian's party hadn't mentioned my age after all. I had no intention of setting off what might become a bombshell right here, so I changed the subject and gradually steered the conversation toward Asilie's past. That got me a remarkably interesting story.
"Asilie's personality... was fiery?"
"Asilie... is well-behaved?"
Hearing each other's descriptions and reacting as if they were asking whether this was Asilie from a parallel universe—it would've been a rather comical sight to a third party. Not just the siblings, but even the parents, Arwel and Himir, let out hollow laughs.
Just what kind of personality had the Asilie of the past had?
"That tomboy... but still, it seems she wasn't truly planning to live entirely alone."
Even as they burst out laughing, perhaps a belated wave of relief had washed over them, because the corners of Arwel's and Himir's eyes grew slightly moist. It was a truly fortunate thing that despite receiving the news that their daughter, whose very life or death had been unknown, had abruptly taken a man of the Human Race as a husband, they showed no sign of any aversion whatsoever.
However, that didn't necessarily mean this extended to being able to embrace an overwhelming age gap as well, so until the very moment Cellevian visited again, I refrained from any direct mention of that subject and responded the whole time with nothing but a smile.
But I couldn't escape this precarious tightrope act just by being dragged off to see the village chief.
"He's not only our daughter's benefactor but also the man who will be our future son-in-law. Wouldn't it be only proper for him to sleep at our house?"
"Hm... it's entirely reasonable. I'll inform the village chief."
Because all of a sudden, my lodging had been decided as the room Asilie used to use. I couldn't help but resent Cellevian as he backed off so easily, calling it entirely reasonable and appropriate, unable to even put up a pretense of objection.
But it was also not a position where I could refuse their goodwill, so I left behind a send-off so warm it was burdensome and arrived with Cellevian at a building that seemed much like the village hall, from whose entrance the fragrant smell of food wafted out.
Apparently scouts and guards like Cellevian normally ate together here. Since the place wasn't divided into separate rooms, he warned me that I might draw an uncomfortable amount of attention during the meal.
"Now that you mention it, it looked like you already ate at Arwel's house..."
"It's fine. I moderated how much I ate."
That's what I said, but with this body that would've demanded enough food to shoot a mukbang if it had been in my previous life, I'd have eaten again even if I'd finished eating and come here anyway.
As I followed the lightly chuckling Cellevian inside, there were easily over forty elves gathered in a considerably spacious hall, sitting at tables, chatting amongst themselves, and preparing to eat.
The room didn't suddenly fall into silence or halt in its activities just because I walked in. Gazes certainly did focus on me, but they behaved as respectfully as possible while opening up a path, and I was able to naturally come face to face with the village chief.
It wasn't difficult to recognize the village chief. Because the one who stood up with a broad smile the moment he saw me and spread both arms wide was, astonishingly, an 'old' elf.
"Our first guest from the Human Race in hundreds of years turns out to be someone who heard the voice of the World Tree. Now that is a story worth passing down through the generations."
He wasn't an old man. But whereas even Cellevian, who had clearly lived a long time, had a face without a single wrinkle, appearing to be in his early thirties at most, the village chief looked at least well past fifty by human standards.
Still, his handsome features hadn't gone anywhere, but since my head contained no information on just how many years an elf had to live to actually age, I experienced a brief mental shutdown. While I stood there spacing out like that, the village chief maintained his benevolent smile and extended his hand first.
"I am the village chief, called Laveri. Pleased to meet you."
"My name is Eldmia Ega. Thank you... for your hospitality."
"How could we neglect a hero who dealt with Ear Hunter, who was one of our persistent thorns? For today, we received help from the women of the village, the ones who can really cook. I hope the food suits your taste."
I sat down as the village chief naturally offered the seat beside him, and Cellevian also went to the opposite side of the village chief, pulled out a chair, and sat down. While I exchanged brief formal greetings with the village chief, the food being laid out on the table was certainly appetizing.
Just as had been the case with Asilie, and with her family, meat was never absent from the table. Rather, vegetables and meat were mixed in various ways, looking extremely well-balanced nutritionally as well. Nor did they plaster everything in spices and call it effort, so the meal proceeded in a highly satisfying manner.
"While you were praying in the World Tree's territory, Cellevian gave me the broad outline. Asilie was already quite the formidable woman, but you're even more remarkable."
Hm, so the talk about Asilie's personality had come up here too. It seemed there had been a great deal of change in Asilie's personality during the journey after she was captured by those elf hunter bastards.
Unable to find words fitting to say in front of an elder who had lived a dizzyingly long life, I simply answered with a smile, and the village chief continued speaking.
"Our initial decision to help you was nothing more than a sense of repaying a debt to Asilie. You've heard that she neutralized a group of hunters that had been plaguing this region, yes?"
"Yes, I heard that she was captured in the process."
"At the time, some said she couldn't control her hotheaded temper and went and caused an incident in the end, but there was no disagreement that her action was a noble sacrifice for all. That's why we were able to send a search party led by Cellevian, but... if we'd brought you here just like that, probably the gazes of about half of these people would not have been kind."
Hadn't Cellevian also mentioned during our first meeting that he was in an environment where it took considerable effort to maintain a neutral viewpoint?
"Given what elf hunters have done, I think that's perfectly understandable."
"Heh heh, the young fellow even has consideration. Compared to that, our young ones can be narrow-minded at times, honestly..."
The way he clicked his tongue in exasperation as he said it made him look every inch the old man.
"But instead, since you dealt with Ear Hunter, in the end, we were the ones who received help. Not only our tribe, but every elf in the region is grateful to you. And so, they wanted to give you a gift, as a token of their sincerity."
"A gift...?"
I glanced at Cellevian, but apparently he already knew about this; he merely smiled and shrugged. When I looked back, the village chief gave an unexpectedly mischievous smile and spoke.
"So, on that note—have you ever thought about having some armor made?"