A Queen Is a Queen
“Priella, ma’am! Let’s move those materials over there, chop-chop!”
“I’m sorry!”
The troll foreman’s shout echoed across the site.
Even though she had once been the Elf Queen, she had no choice but to bow her head to the troll foreman here.
Without him, she wouldn’t earn the money she needed to survive.
In Taepyeong City, nothing mattered more than money.
Without it, living in this city was impossible.
“Tsk. Elves cost too much to hire, so move faster!”
“Understood!”
Priella had smiled and bowed to the foreman, but the moment he walked away she clicked her tongue.
“Tsk… If he weren’t the foreman, I’d just—”
Her fist trembled, then she let out a heavy sigh.
“Forget it. Getting worked up won’t change anything.”
Her mood soured.
Back when the elven forests were still lush, she could never have imagined being treated like this.
Times had changed. Cities now outnumbered forests, and elves who had lived only in the woods had to keep up with the flow of the era.
Most elves had left the forests and moved into cities. Priella was no exception.
As queen, she had to set an example.
If they all stayed in the forest, extinction was inevitable.
She had been the first to settle in Taepyeong City and never refused hard labor.
Of course, her leisurely forest lifestyle caused plenty of bumps along the way.
Still, she was adapting.
She had endured so much humiliation in the process.
This was nothing.
Besides…
Today, I’ll let it slide.
Her mood was good enough to overlook petty annoyances.
After all, for the first time in her elven life, a pink current seemed to be forming.
She had posted her story and received her first comment.
The community member’s reply—that it was definitely a green light—gave her strength.
Elves do have outstanding looks.
Even among elves, Priella had been famous for her beauty in the elven forests.
The High Elf Queen with the looks and figure everyone admired.
Even the sweat and dust from manual labor couldn’t hide her beauty.
“It wouldn’t be strange if he fell for my appearance.”
Heh.
Even if it was a green light, she couldn’t do anything right away.
She knew that.
To him, she was just another construction worker.
Elf Queen?
She also knew the dignity of her title meant nothing in Taepyeong City.
So she would have to take her time.
She didn’t want to miss this chance.
After being alone for so long, loneliness tormented her terribly.
By elf standards, the part-timer wasn’t particularly handsome, but he had a decent, unremarkable face.
He’s my type, too…
Priella still didn’t know the part-timer’s name.
She had told him hers, but she had never heard his.
For now, she could just get to know his face, build some goodwill, and grow closer.
Besides, he was human.
Humans had been known since ancient times to feel sexual attraction toward elves.
“Lunch break! Everyone enjoy your time and meet back here at one!”
“Ahem. Maybe I’ll drop by again today.”
She needed to show her face often.
She had nothing to buy and her paycheck hadn’t come yet, so her pockets were empty, but showing her face once wasn’t difficult.
With that thought, she headed for the convenience store.
But when she arrived—
How dare you mock me. You already scammed me, and now you’re being shameless!
Shing!
She saw a Death Knight threatening the part-timer with his sword drawn.
A torn bread bag on the counter.
And a sticker.
The Death Knight was fuming, his aura flaring.
The part-timer was flustered in front of him.
She recognized that Death Knight.
Before Taepyeong City was founded, when the treaty between the Demon King’s army and the human alliance had not yet been signed and war still raged—
Back when humans still had decent numbers.
Agunda, the former Demon King’s army commander she had faced several times on the battlefield. Now unemployed.
The unemployed Death Knight who missed the Demon King and collected Demon King Army stickers was causing a scene.
“Huh? What’s going on here?”
What on earth was that lunatic thinking, drawing his sword?
“Hey, put that sword away.”
At her words, the Death Knight Agunda turned around.
Elf Queen… It’s been a while.
“What kind of trouble are you causing in a convenience store?”
Hmph. If you don’t know, shut your mouth. This is between me and this scammer.
“Scammer?”
That’s right. This convenience store scammed me. The probability of getting a slime-like trash mob sticker from the Demon King Bread is less than 5%. But today I got seven slimes. And not a single commander sticker came out. That’s deception toward me…
“Tsk.”
She had thought there might be some grand reason.
“You’re causing a scene in a convenience store over something like that?”
She found it absurd.
“Get lost. I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll let it slide.”
How ridiculous. What right do you have to decide whether to let it slide?
“Then you must want to die again after all this time? You’ve never beaten me once.”
…You’re just a construction worker with nothing, yet your tongue is sharp.
The Death Knight’s sword pointed at her.
Her temper flared after a long time.
One eyebrow raised, she glanced at the part-timer behind her.
He looked back and forth between her and Agunda in confusion.
She waved at him.
“I’ll handle this troublemaker.”
She would show off her skills after a long time.
***
The match ended in an instant.
A fight so fast it was invisible to the eye.
I doubted my own eyes.
A blue light burst from Priella’s body, and it was over.
Guh…
“Properly apologize for causing trouble for the part-timer.”
I clearly remembered that the Death Knight had been toyed with by her power while floating in the air.
The Death Knight’s armor tumbled to the floor. The black soul dwelling in it vanished once, then returned to normal.
Yet the convenience store remained quiet.
I still knew nothing about Taepyeong City, but I had some sense.
How powerful the sword the Death Knight had drawn was.
How tremendous the tingling aura emanating from his body was.
I understood why he was a level-five troublemaker—because he possessed power that was nearly impossible to subdue.
That monster had been defeated in a single blow.
The miracle shown before my eyes was clearly not something an ordinary being could produce.
“She’s… incredible.”
A queen really was a queen.
She had instantly sent off a level-five Death Knight that even veteran part-timers avoided.
The fluorescent safety vest labeled “Safety First” and the hard hat on her head made her strength stand out even more.
An elf in construction gear smashing a Death Knight.
Kind of cool, actually?
The Death Knight seemed to have lost his will to fight and lowered his sword.
Black haze rose from his body.
The red glow shining from within the armor turned toward me.
After glancing at Priella, the Death Knight bowed his head to me.
I-I’m sorry. I caused a disturbance. I apologize.
“Take all of this with you.”
Accepting his apology, I held out the torn bread bags to him.
Understood.
He obeyed more readily than expected.
After collecting the bread, the Death Knight left the convenience store like a puppy with its tail between its legs.
“Tsk. If you were going to be like this, why be so stubborn? You’ve never even beaten me.”
“Is it okay? He won’t come back for revenge, will he?”
“Don’t worry. I won’t let him off easy. He may not look it, but he’s a coward. Once he’s been hit, he won’t come back.”
“……”
I quietly listened to Priella as she watched the retreating Death Knight.
“You saw him regenerate, right? He’s a persistent one. That’s why he survived even after losing to me over and over. He was really annoying. Whew, back in my day, these kinds of guys would swarm in droves. I had to fight multiple of these monsters at once. Do you know how exhausting that was…? If it weren’t for the heroes and other ability users, Taepyeong City would probably belong to the Demon King’s army by now.”
Drunk on victory, she shrugged.
Unsolicited TMI poured out like a waterfall, but I smiled and listened.
Yesterday she had been a troublemaker, but today she was my hero.
“Ahem. He’ll come back later to apologize. If he causes trouble again, call me. I’ll take care of it.”
She must have read the boredom in my eyes from her old stories.
After clearing her throat, she changed the subject.
“Thank you.”
“Hmph! Helping someone in trouble is an elf’s virtue, so don’t worry about it.”
Her lips curled upward.
“Would you like to buy some Elven Chips?”
“I’d like to, but I don’t have money today. I didn’t bring anything to barter either…”
Why come to the convenience store if you have no money?
The question was fleeting.
Today, I decided to give a small gift to the woman who had become my hero.
“I’ll buy them for you.”
“You’ll buy them? Really?”
“Yes. Thanks to you, the troublemaker left without a fuss, so I should repay you.”
“Oh~. You’re more considerate than I thought. Alright, I won’t refuse if you’re offering.”
She had been avoiding my gaze while claiming she had no money, but at my offer she brightened and headed for the snack aisle.
“Lululu♩♪~~.”
She hummed as she picked up the Elven Chips.
“You can grab one more if you’d like.”
I had never seen her look so happy.
After paying for the two bags—
“Hey, by the way.”
Priella stood in front of the counter, fidgeting and glancing at me.
“What’s your name? We’ll probably see each other often…”
“Kim Minchul.”
“Kim Minchul. Can I call you Minchul?”
“Feel free.”
“Hehe. Then, Minchul, if you ever run into trouble, call Priella. I’ll come solve it for you just like this.”
She laughed brightly, hugging the two bags of Elven Chips to her chest.
“I’ll enjoy the tribute you gave me. Thanks to you, I’ll have a fun day today.”
She turned around haughtily and walked out the store door, as if she had finished her business.
The regal image of her instantly subduing the Death Knight overlapped with her current self.
She was definitely an extraordinary elf.
But before the automatic door could even close—
Jja-jja-jan~♩♬♪!!!
A loud trot ringtone blared from her pocket.
“Ah, yes! Foreman! Oh dear, I’m sorry! It’s lunch break, so I stepped out of the tower for a moment… You want me to finish work quickly? Understood! I’ll head over right now!”
The moment she answered the call, the High Elf Queen bowed so low her head nearly touched her waist.
Watching the fluorescent vest disappear into the distance, I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.