Elf Queen Priella
I never imagined the elves from my fantasy novels would look like this.
Agile movements that sliced through the wind.
A pure, dew-kissed beauty.
A reliable comrade always in the hero's party.
And a noble guardian who cherished the peace of the forest.
That was the elf everyone knew, right?
But the self-proclaimed High Elf Queen standing before me now felt completely different.
Blonde hair flattened under a hard hat.
A fluorescent green safety vest caked in grime and dust.
This was……
Just a pretty-looking laborer.
Even in that filthy state, a sweet fragrance drifted from her body.
Like fresh phytoncide and flower scents straight from the forest.
‘This is starting to sound a little perverted……’
Anyway, calling herself a guardian of the World Tree felt off.
‘She seems pretty incompetent.’
“Ma’am, I can’t verify whether this is a real World Tree Branch. So please take it back.”
“It’s the real thing! This is an excellent item! This queen personally guarantees its quality!”
Her face flushed bright red as she shouted in protest.
Now I understood why the manager had warned me to be careful with elves.
She refused to listen at all.
‘No wonder the convenience store gallery users hate them so much.’
I glanced at the so-called World Tree Branch she had placed on the counter.
It was sparkling faintly.
It definitely looked different from an ordinary twig.
‘Not that I would know.’
Until yesterday, I had been an ordinary office worker.
There was no way I possessed any appraisal skills.
“Please, just do it!!!”
Of course my very first customer had to be a difficult one.
The angry posts from the convenience store gallery finally made sense.
I understood why they got so furious.
This was impossible to reason with.
“You senile old hag!”
“Wh-what, what, what did you just say! Senile? Old hag? You little—! Do you think you never age?!”
“Anyway, I’m just a part-timer. I’m not qualified to accept this. Talk to the manager.”
“The manager here is an unreasonable vampire. Bloodsuckers hate the World Tree.”
She came prepared.
She must have shown up because the manager wasn’t around.
“Cash or card only. Nothing else.”
So please leave already.
Shoo, shoo.
At my words, the elf’s pointed ears drooped.
“Huuuueeeng!”
She plopped down on the floor and suddenly began shedding fat tears.
“This city is so heartless! This queen was once royalty in the elven realm, yet here I am hauling rocks all day at the Hunter Tower and getting yelled at by a troll foreman! All I wanted was one taste of home—Elven Chips (honey butter flavor*important)—but you won’t even exchange them for me!”
“……”
Now she was playing the sympathy card.
Haah, damn it.
I shouldn’t fall for this.
She claimed to be a queen.
Where in the world was there a queen doing manual labor at a tower?
“Don’t you have some kind of dignity maintenance allowance? Queens should receive that sort of thing.”
“…We don’t! Elves are a dignified race by nature! No matter how we look, we remain noble……”
The elf sniffled pitifully and wiped her nose on her safety vest sleeve.
Dignity, my ass.
Her pathetic, miserable appearance tugged at something in my chest.
“Tsk.”
The self-proclaimed elf queen was my very first customer.
‘Calling the police on the first customer for disturbing business would be bad.’
The manager had earnestly asked to rest during the day.
If I caused trouble with the first customer, my sweet 30,000-won-per-hour part-time job might be in danger.
‘If only she weren’t the first customer.’
If there was one thing I had learned from working in society……
Earning a living off someone else’s money was never easy.
And high hourly wages always came with a reason.
‘Dealing with customers like this must be why the pay is high.’
The manager had definitely said there were quite a few difficult customers.
Right.
This was only the beginning.
I had to endure.
For 30,000 won an hour.
I let out a short sigh and scanned the barcode on the “Elven Chips” sitting on the counter.
Beep-!
That’ll be 1,500 won.
“I’ll just pay for it myself. Eat it and leave quickly.”
“Eh, really?! Employee, you shall receive the blessing of the forest! This queen will definitely bestow a blessing upon you……”
“Forget it. Next time, bring money.”
“Of course! Next week is payday, so definitely……”
“Here, take it.”
I handed the snack bag into the elf’s arms.
“Th-thank you. This kindness, I will surely……”
She frantically tore open the bag and popped a chip into her mouth.
Crumbs scattered everywhere.
I was going to have to clean that up.
Crunch!
In that instant, Priella’s pupils dilated wildly.
“Aaah…… The taste of home……”
Life returned to her tear-filled eyes.
“This honey butter Elven Chips really deserves a peace prize. A flavor this comforting……”
Crunch!
Color returned to her face as she chewed the potato chip.
She looked oddly like a squirrel.
“I think I can go to work tomorrow. The urge to quit has completely vanished……”
Priella even began smiling brightly.
I found myself looking away without realizing it.
Her face was still dirty, but that bright, untroubled smile made my heart skip a beat.
‘Elf buff is no joke.’
They weren’t called the race of beauties for nothing.
Even after watching her throw a full menhera tantrum moments ago, my heart was still racing.
After eating a few more chips, she seemed calmer and turned her gaze toward me.
“Ahem. In the name of Priella, Queen of Elven Wood, I make this vow. I will never forget today’s kindness and shall repay it!”
I shrugged.
An elf who had been begging without even 1,500 won was going to repay me?
“Just don’t cause any more trouble.”
“T-trouble? Th-this queen brought that branch while bleeding from the heart!”
“……”
“Hmm.”
Priella began looking me up and down.
“To think I would see a human in this city. Humans are as rare as dragons……”
She stared at me with curious eyes.
“How did that vampire manage to hire a human? In a rough place like Taepyeong City, humans are practically an endangered species……”
She muttered for a moment, then licked her lips.
The manager did the same.
Why did everyone here swallow their saliva the moment they saw a human?
It was unsettling.
“Ahem. I owe you a debt. This is a small token of my sincerity. I originally obtained it to trade for Elven Chips, but I no longer need it, so you may have it.”
She offered the so-called World Tree Branch she had placed on the counter.
“If a human consumes it, they will never lack vigor for twenty-four hours!”
“Ah, um…… I’ll make good use of it.”
Accepting a suspicious item of unknown authenticity felt awkward, but refusing would probably trigger another tantrum.
I took the World Tree Branch and stored it neatly beneath the counter.
“Ahem. It’s a little sudden, but if you have time, this queen could offer you a better job……”
“……”
This dusty elf was offering a better job than this place?
Impossible.
This was a lie.
This elf was trying to ruin someone’s life……
Just then—
Ding-.
“One Red Sun, please.”
A goblin in a suit walked in and gestured for cigarettes.
Seeing him, Priella backed away and left the store.
“I shall return with a formal offer! Until then!”
After the troublesome customer left, I handed a pack of cigarettes to the goblin.
“Do you have any less gruesome photos? Preferably one with an orc or undead on it.”
“Ah, yes.”
Even here, people were picky about the warning photos.
***
Priella.
The noble queen of the elves.
She had once been the queen who protected the World Tree, but now she was merely a day laborer struggling to survive at the Hunter Tower.
Explaining how she ended up like this would take forever, so I’ll skip it.
“That clerk was quite kind……”
Having left the convenience store, she was moved by the rare kindness she had received.
These days, elves in Taepyeong City were treated as nothing more than difficult old-timers.
They couldn’t communicate and were stuck in outdated ways of thinking.
‘There’s a saying that old things are good too……’
It was unfair.
That elves had to be treated this way.
They were a beautiful, lofty, and more elegant race than anyone else.
At least until this city still had forests.
“The world changes too quickly……”
Too quickly for elves.
“Haah…… Humans are really rare to see these days.”
Humans.
A race rarely seen in Taepyeong City.
She had heard that the only humans in Taepyeong City were descendants of the hero and the saintess.
Yet this one didn’t seem to be one of their descendants.
She recalled the young male clerk who had smiled at her.
The way he upheld the rules, saying exchanges weren’t allowed.
Yet he had paid with his own money because she looked pitiful.
‘Does he have feelings for me?’
Otherwise, why would he so readily spend that much money?
‘I am rather pretty, after all.’
She hadn’t had much time to groom herself lately because of work, but elves were fundamentally a beautiful race.
A race of beauty that never developed blemishes even without makeup.
“I still wouldn’t lose to anyone……”
The High Elf Queen Priella.
She fell in love easily.
She opened the gallery to seek advice.
A gallery anyone in Taepyeong City could use.
She posted a relationship consultation thread there.
“Damn it…… B-but I’m sure……”
She hadn’t even recovered her original investment.
***
Before long, it was 7 p.m.—quitting time.
The convenience store door opened and Manager Jinjo walked in.
“Good work.”
My first day had been quite the spectacle.
Maybe that was why.
The moment I realized the shift change had arrived safely, the tension drained away and drowsiness hit me hard.
“Ah, Manager. You’re here. I’ve already balanced the register.”
“Mm, you did well. You didn’t run away and finished the job.”
The manager smiled in satisfaction and patted my shoulder.
All that remained was receiving the promised lodging information.
Exhaustion washed over me. I desperately wanted to shower and collapse into bed.
My body wasn’t tired, but my mental strength had reached its limit.
“Where should I go for the lodging? I’d like the directions right away.”
“Ah, the lodging. It’s prepared on the upper floor of this building, so you can go up later. By the way……”
Manager Jinjo cut me off and slowly approached.
“Yes?”
When I turned my head, I couldn’t help but flinch.
The manager’s eyes, looking up at me, were glowing more intensely than before.
Her pale skin was slightly flushed, as if heated.
“Haa, haa.”
Her breathing between her lips was strangely rough.
I could feel her gaze lingering heavily on my neck after passing over my face.
She looked like she might lose control and pounce at any moment.
‘This woman really is a vampire.’
I swallowed hard and was about to step back when she carefully opened her mouth, as if holding something back.
“Would you be willing to donate blood?”
“……Excuse me?”
“It’s been a while since I tasted human blood. If possible……”
The manager licked her lips, revealing her fangs slightly.
No matter how much of a modern person steeped in capitalism I was, offering my blood to a vampire wasn’t in the contract.
Besides, what if I actually got bitten and turned into a vampire or caught some disease?
I drew a firm line.
“I can’t.”
“Ahem! O-of course not? Blood is like life itself to humans……”
At my refusal, the manager’s shoulders visibly slumped.
But the way she kept smacking her lips showed she was disappointed.
Even so, I couldn’t allow it.
“I was planning to give a performance bonus for each donation, but it can’t be helped.”
“Performance bonus?”
“Yes. I intended to pay 100,000 won per blood donation.”
After finishing her words, she glanced at me.
It was a trap.
This was a trap of resonance.
I knew that.
100,000 won.
Ah, I couldn’t resist this.
“Ah, understood.”
I had taken the bait.
I was a modern person steeped in capitalism.