Chapter 59: Love(1)
Chapter 59: Love(1)
Time, which feels as though it might last forever, always finds its end. This is a truth even a god cannot alter, an immutable law of the universe.
The warm, affectionate moments between Mari and me were no exception; they, too, had to conclude. Though my heart wanted to hold her for hours, we parted ways, promising to see each other tomorrow.
Even as we said goodbye, we didn't forget to share a light, lingering kiss. What surprised me was that Mari was the one who leaned in first, not me. I did little more than reciprocate.
And so, that time—sweet enough to cause cavities—came to an end, but the tingling sensation on my tongue lasted well into the next day.
"Hehehe."
"What if someone sees us?"
"Let them. It’s not like we need to hide it anyway."
We would secretly hold hands during lectures when no one was looking.
"Let's go there today! I heard their tiramisu is amazing!"
"Anything else?"
"Lots of things! First, there's..."
After classes, we were inseparable, wandering all over the Academy together.
"Nom."
"Ow! Why did you bite me?"
"I just felt like it. I think I understand why people say they could just eat their lover up."
She would suddenly nip my cheek for no reason at all.
Our progress was remarkably fast—so fast it was hard to believe we were in the early stages of dating. Then again, considering we had skipped straight to kissing after holding hands for the first time, I suppose this was to be expected.
Of course, I did wish she would refrain from biting my cheek. She might think it’s a cute prank, but it actually hurts quite a bit.
"Then I'll bite your neck instead. Chomp!"
"Agh!"
Still, every day remained a joy. Whether I was writing my manuscript in my room, walking down the street, or eating a meal, Mari’s bright smile was always on my mind.
It wasn't that I hadn't dated in my past life, but this feeling provided a newfound vitality. Perhaps because of that, my writing speed increased at a terrifying rate.
The stares from those around us? I was a bit self-conscious, but it didn't really matter. Mari was of the mind that she didn't care if our relationship was discovered, and since I had nothing to be ashamed of, I maintained a confident front.
On the surface, it looked like an ill-matched romance between the daughter of a Duke and the son of a mere Baron, but the reality behind the scenes was 180 degrees different. If anyone looked at us with disdain, we would both likely just scoff inwardly.
"...saac."
"... ..."
"Izaaac?"
"Yes?"
I snapped back to reality at the sound of someone calling my name. I had accidentally drifted off into a daydream while thinking about Mari.
When I focused on what was in front of me, I saw Cindy—an Elf with deep dark circles and eyes as dull as a dead fish—staring at me. She blinked slowly and spoke in her characteristically lethargic, slurred voice.
"You seemed to be spacing out againnn... What are you thinking abouuut?"
"Ah... I just had a lot on my mind."
"It's nothing weird, is ittt?"
"Uh..."
I had no choice but to avert my eyes and let my voice trail off. I couldn't exactly bring myself to say I was reminiscing about kissing Mari.
Today, Mari had gone ahead, saying she had business with her brother. Taking the opportunity, I had come to Professor Elena’s laboratory—a place I hadn't visited recently due to being so busy—to teach Cindy composition.
But Mari kept popping into my head. I suppose this is what they call a serious case of infatuation.
There is nothing more rude than thinking about someone else while someone is right in front of you, so I quickly cleared my head.
"It's nothing weird. Really."
"Mmm..."
Cindy stared at me with her lifeless eyes for a moment before turning her head back toward the sheet of paper on the desk.
"So, what do I do with thisss?"
"As I've always said, the most important thing in writing is what you want to convey. This is especially crucial for the thesis you're trying to write, Cindy..."
It had been nearly three months since Professor Elena made her proposal, but the number of times I had actually visited the lab was remarkably low. Various incidents had cropped up one after another since I accepted.
Feeling like I was getting a free ride, I had finally made time to visit the lab today. I also had some information I wanted to ask Cindy about for the progression of the Xenon Biography.
"First of all, your basic spelling and spacing are fine, Cindy. It's just that your grammar is a total mess."
"I'm sorryyy."
"There's no need to apologize. Grammar is one of those things that seems simple but gets more complex the deeper you dig. To put it simply, it's easier if you think of it like an everyday conversation. Didn't your hometown have educational institutions like the Academy?"
"We diddd... In fact, the Academy as an institution was first established by us Elvesss."
I suppose it makes sense. Since humans imitated the civilization built by Elves, it was likely they copied the educational system as well. Still, it was new information to me, so I was slightly surprised.
Sometimes, listening to Cindy’s stories made me wonder why the Elves had left humans to their own devices. Was it out of confidence that humans could never match them, no matter how hard they tried?
In reality, unless they were a Knight, it was extremely difficult for a group of human soldiers to defeat a single Elf warrior. Given the massive gap in basic physical specs, the Elves might simply not have cared.
'There are no records of them ever being pushed back during the Race War, either.'
The decisive reason the Race War ended wasn't that one side was defeated, but because the Elven side self-destructed. To be precise, the leadership repeatedly made one blunder after another.
Old fogeys are a problem everywhere; when the fogeys are in high positions, the people beneath them are bound to suffer. Though a generational shift has occurred since then, their influence remains formidable.
'Humans have frequent generational shifts, so the old guard gets cycled out quickly.'
Anyway, back to the point—
"No, you're doing it again. My explanation isn't that difficult, is it? I told you to just write exactly what you want to say. Think about when you're talking to me."
"Mmm... Okayyy..."
Cindy’s learning pace could only be described as disastrous. I had to repeat the same explanation several times before she barely grasped it.
It was like I had to chew the information up into tiny bits and force-feed it to her. I had heard that other races learned slower than humans, and it seemed to be true. Furthermore, according to Professor Elena, Cindy was on the slower side even for an Elf, so it was inevitably frustrating.
"Whew... I'm sorry for losing my temper. I should have come by more often..."
"Nooo... You might not know, but I'm an Elf, so even this is fast for meee..."
When I sighed and rubbed my face in frustration, Cindy looked genuinely apologetic and flustered. Seeing that, I felt the anger that had been bubbling up start to subside.
It wasn't that she lacked the will; she was just naturally slow. Getting angry at her for that would be its own kind of problem. I might accidentally break her spirit.
'There's still plenty of time. I'll be visiting the lab regularly once I'm a third-year, so I just need to be patient until then.'
One must never compare an Elf’s sense of time to a human's. To an Elf, a year is only about as long as a month is to a human.
I watched Cindy as she scribbled on the notepad with her pen before speaking again. As I thought, teaching her composition could be done slowly.
"Cindy."
"Yesss?"
"Did you read the book I mentioned last time?"
"The Xenon Biography? I read ittt... It was really funnn... It helped a lottt..."
If this level of progress was "helped a lot"... I was glad she enjoyed it, but I couldn't help but let out a bitter smile.
Regardless, the reason I brought up the Xenon Biography was regarding an Elf who would play an important role in the future.
Additionally, the executive on the Demon side who represents 'Pride' in the 'Seven Deadly Sins' is an Elf. Since I hadn't had the chance to ask Professor Elena directly, I wanted to gauge the reaction through Cindy.
Of course, I had to check if she had read up to Volume 9 first. I asked my next question to Cindy, who had nodded in response.
"How many volumes did you read?"
"I read them allll... When I asked the Professor, she lent them to me gladlyyy..."
"Then, what do you think about an Elf representing Pride among the Seven Deadly Sins?"
"Mmm..."
At my question, Cindy stopped her pen and pursed her lips. She seemed to be thinking deeply.
Uniquely, whenever I asked a question, Cindy tended to answer faithfully without any suspicion. She might not realize it herself, but she naturally enjoyed explaining things to others. She was even quite good at it.
The only problem was that putting those explanations into writing was an immense struggle. If she were perfect at that too, Professor Elena wouldn't have been so exasperated.
"I don't knooow... It's been a long time since I left home, so I'm not suuure... but they're probably considering it seriouslyyy? Even during the Race War, we Elves collapsed from the inside because of pride, not outside pressureee... They'll probably admit it, even if reluctantlyyy..."
"Then the lack of a reaction is..."
"It's definitely not that there's no reactionnn... Even with the generational shift, internal strife is still thereee... Fortunately, the Queen is on the moderate side, so there shouldn't be any problems for nowww..."
To put it another way, there were people on the Elven side who were sharpening their blades to catch me. It was only because the Queen’s personality was moderate that they were being held back; if things escalated further, word would surely get out.
Listening to her explanation, I recalled the future plot points. If Volume 9 was the introduction of the Seven Deadly Sins, I planned for Volume 10 to deal with the Elves.
Specifically, the story of the Elf Queen and the 'Master' who taught Xenon. Normally, I would have written it without a second thought, but considering the influence of the Demons and the Seven Deadly Sins, it was difficult to write carelessly.
"Um... Cindy."
"Whayyy?"
"What do you think about an Elf forming a deep bond with a human?"
"Huhhh?"
Cindy looked at me and blinked twice. A look of confusion settled over her vacant expression.
The reason I was bringing this up was because of the relationship between the Elf Queen and the 'Master.' A love story between a long-lived Elf and a short-lived human. What a tragic and poignant tale.
Strangely, however, not a single story like that could be found in this world. Even in other romance novels, love stories between Elves and humans were non-existent.
I didn't know if there was a taboo against Elves loving other races or if there was some other reason, but it was a very important matter for me. Only by knowing could I prevent any potential incidents in the future.
Having already hit the world with the triple threat of Demons, steam locomotives, and the Seven Deadly Sins, I had no choice but to be cautious. If I felt this would also have too much of an impact, I planned to boldly cut it.
"Why all of a suddennn? Are you interested in meee?"
Cindy, who had been staring at me quietly, suddenly voiced that suspicion. It was a statement that could have been alarming, so I immediately waved my hands in denial.
"No, no. It's not that. I was just curious, and besides, I already have a girlfriend."
"Reallyyy? Hmm..."
Cindy withdrew her suspicious gaze and began to think. After a long moment of pondering, she tilted her head and answered.
"For us to form a bond with a humannn... it's almost impossibleee... A human's lifespan is extremely short compared to an Elf'ss..."
"Then what about other races, not just humans?"
"Wellll... As you know, we Elves tend to look down on other racesss... Though that perspective has lessened with the generational shift, it's still thereee... Unless it's someone they've acknowledged, they don't really treat them as equalsss..."
As expected of the race of Pride. But considering where the roots of that pride lay, it wasn't incomprehensible.
While I was thinking that, Cindy paused for a moment before adding more.
"Even if a bond were formed, the Elf side would probably reject ittt... There's nothing sadder than living your whole life with the person you loved buried in your hearttt, right? Rather than living a lifetime in regret, they'd probably find it better to just refuse from the starttt..."
"Hmm... Certainly, lifespan would be the biggest issue."
"But why are you askinggg? Is your girlfriend an Elf by any chanceee?"
"No, she's not, but..."
I answered Cindy’s question with a truly happy smile.
"She's as beautiful as an Elf."
"...Ugh."
At that, Cindy made a face as if she had just heard something utterly bizarre.