Unexpected Elf #2
“This is too good… too delicious…. I never imagined something like this existed in the world.”
It was hard to put into words.
This moment reminded me of my older brother, who had gone crazy over health and survived only on chicken breast every single meal, finally trying cheese balls for the first time.
With a dazed expression, Charlotte, my senior, couldn’t tear her eyes away from the hot chocolate. Her face showed pure amazement, as if she couldn’t believe something this wonderful truly existed.
Seeing that made me happy—watching someone who had always been skeptical suddenly come to appreciate chocolate as a divine gift.
It was a bit ridiculous, though. Before, I had wondered about something, so I decided to ask.
“You’re a second-year, right? You’ve never once even gone to a café, not to mention not eating chocolate?”
“I only eat things the kingdom has brought over. It’s just something to write with. They say I need that kind of posture.”
What kind of posture was that? I was dying of curiosity.
Feeling a bit awkward, I glanced at senior Charlotte for a moment, then turned to Rie beside me, who was still pouting, and asked just in case.
“Rie. Do elves have some kind of rule like that?”
“No. The elves I know drink alcohol and eat chocolate all the time.”
“Really? Senior Charlotte?”
“Other noble houses’ elves are fine with it. But I was told no, so I’m keeping it that way.”
I still had no idea what she meant by that.
Annoyed, I pressed my forehead. Charlotte, still staring at the hot chocolate with wide, sparkling eyes, finally lifted the cup to her lips again.
I was genuinely tempted to snatch it right off her. But the thought of grabbing food from a child’s hands made me hesitate.
“Hey! That’s Lucian’s!”
At lightning speed, Rie snatched the hot chocolate cup from senior Charlotte’s hand.
It happened so fast I barely registered it.
Charlotte let out a long, disappointed “Hoo-eee-eee?!” and muttered softly to Rie, “You can’t give it back like that?”
Rie looked momentarily startled, then clutched her chest with both hands. But the answer was still no.
Charlotte sighed in defeat and looked utterly defeated, like a little kid who had just lost her first piece of candy.
“Ugh…”
If this was some secret strategy from the elf princess, it had been an absolute success.
Rie was acting icy cold, but I knew she was softer-hearted than anyone. She was also weak to cute things, and I remembered her crying “sob-sob!” at the slightest sad or touching story when she was little.
Whether she had truly changed or was simply hiding it now, I couldn’t tell.
But one thing was certain—Charlotte’s pathetic expression had struck Rie’s heart hard.
“Ah! Wait! I’ll go get you a fresh cup right away. So please don’t look so sad!”
The academy’s genius had finally surrendered to the elf princess’s ultimate technique!
“Really? Thank you! You’re such a good person!”
I muttered under my breath, “You’re nothing like the rumors,” and watched Rie head off to order another hot chocolate.
Once the two of us were left alone, I decided to ask the most important thing first.
“Um, senior. So Professor Milaze asked you to help me—Lucian Theodore von Deodore?”
“Yes. The teacher said that. That I should help you. She even said, ‘You’re a good person, a smart person. You’ll help me too, so please meet her.’”
“Help you as well?”
“I’ve been in Lebechia for two years now, but the human world is still so hard. I don’t know anything. And every time I try to learn, people keep stopping me. ‘You don’t need to,’ they say. ‘Don’t do it.’”
Other elves had adapted in less than a year, yet Charlotte seemed to be clinging to the idea that she shouldn’t get too used to the human world.
Was it because she was a direct royal and feared the kingdom might be influenced by Lebechia’s culture?
But Lebechia and the Minas Elf Kingdom were already allies, trading back and forth.
Even if the princess was strictly protected, Lebechia’s culture would naturally seep into the royal family eventually. What would be the point?
“Senior Charlotte. What do you think of the current Minas Elf Kingdom?”
“It’s wonderful. Beautiful, harmonious. My hometown filled with the gentle breeze of the forest and the sweet scent of grass. I still dream about it sometimes when I visit.”
“I see… Is that all? Anything else—something different?”
“There wasn’t before. But now there is. Since coming to Lebechia, and to this Minerva Academy, I’ve felt it.”
“What is it?”
“Our elves are too cramped. Too slow. Too relaxed and too rigid. Too much like ancient trees and a lake that’s been still for too long.”
Those words were hard to imagine coming from an elf’s mouth.
Elves always claimed their society was perfect and at the top, yet from the princess herself—the highest point of that elite line—I was hearing criticism.
Maybe their lifespan, though long (two to four times a human’s), was still finite.
Or perhaps they were simply so naturally gifted with mana that they had grown complacent.
Elves had always been extremely laid-back and easygoing.
The irony was that their movements were so fast that ordinary humans couldn’t even follow them with their eyes.
“Come to think of it, elves said they generally dislike social change.”
A vast, stagnant lake, I thought. I wanted to classify the elf race that way.
No new water entered, yet the lake was already so vast and deep that it didn’t rot easily.
But since the water stayed still, sooner or later something would happen.
And they hated the idea of new water flowing in and dirtying their incomparable homeland.
Those who stay idle will be lost, the saying went.
The world was already changing rapidly around Lebechia.
At this pace, would a world mixed with magic and gunpowder come into existence?
Elves, however, remained indifferent to change and still trusted their superior magical and physical abilities.
Perhaps the gods had punished their arrogance because they were too great.
Or maybe they had taken everything already, arrogance included.
Still, hearing an elf speak so frankly left me feeling a bit frustrated.
“Senior Charlotte… being the princess of the kingdom and saying all that really shocks me.”
“…Did I say something bad? I just stated things honestly.”
“No. It’s good that you spoke honestly.”
The reply came from Rie, not me, when I had just placed the fresh hot chocolate in front of her.
“Now stop craving Lucian’s. Here’s yours.”
Finally getting my cup back, I thanked her and reached for the rest of it.
But Rie suddenly stopped me.
“Why again?”
“That one had Charlotte’s lips on it. Give it here.”
“I can just drink it without touching the lips, right?”
“You know exactly where. Stop talking nonsense and hand it over before I get angry.”
“No… I haven’t even finished it yet… I’m upset…”
“I’ll buy you a new one right away. Don’t ask twice.”
She snapped at me, and I handed over the cup instantly.
Ah, this wasn’t fear of Rie’s warning at all! It was simply because I wanted to try the new hot chocolate! Someone is staring at me with that pathetic, pitiful look! Stop it!
Don’t make me feel like I’m being beaten like dust in the rain on a windy day just to get a neck massage from Rie!!
“On another note, there seems to be some story I don’t know about.”
After finally buying me a fresh cup too, Rie set the steaming, sweet-scented glass in front of me and asked.
She hadn’t told me about her talk with Professor Milaze yet, so it was natural I didn’t know.
“Actually, I was thinking I should write one more thesis.”
It was really part of a plan to make friends with people in the fairy kingdom, but I didn’t need to explain the deeper part to Rie.
Rie tilted her head, then raised a realistic concern. “Won’t it be too rushed?”
A thesis wasn’t something you could just knock out like a homework assignment. It required enormous effort and care. At the same time she was adapting to the academy, there were countless other things for a new student to handle.
If anyone with their head on straight was going to write a thesis, it would be during vacation or in higher years.
But since I had the ability, making one on the spot was no problem at all.
And as I mentioned before, this was just the beginning for building connections.
There were surely elves who wanted change, and the new water they needed was right next door—Lebechia, our ally.
I wanted to become that water. I wanted to firmly secure my own territory.
The world said money and power were supreme, and the strongest support for them was connections.
Since I had been born into the nobility and possessed a scam-like talent, I wanted to live properly.
To do that, the kind of work we were doing now was essential.
“I know you’re busy. But while listening to the history lecture, I thought I’d share my opinion on the future between Lebechia and the Minas Elf Kingdom.”
“…Is the Deodore family already handling diplomatic work?”
“Blood can’t be hidden, I guess. Anyway, I’ll divide my time properly. It won’t affect sword training, so don’t worry.”
Before Rie could open her mouth, I erased the concern she had been about to voice.
I had no intention of neglecting sword training either.
If I did, I wouldn’t even be able to enjoy this hot chocolate in peace.
Would I really throw away my sword in a fit of madness just to see a new cup of hot chocolate? Besides, the thought of disappointing Rie made me want to choke myself.
“Anyway, I want to hear directly from an elf how they feel about Lebechia and the relationship between the two nations. That’s why I asked Professor Milaze.”
“Hm.”
“I naturally expected you would introduce me to one young elf from a rising noble house.”
“You didn’t expect the princess of the Minas Elf Kingdom, did you?”
“Of course I did.”
I couldn’t deny that Charlotte was beautiful.
It was a universal fact that elves were the most handsome and beautiful beings in any world.
But right beside me stood Rie, who could turn even an elf into an octopod in an instant.
After blending with her body, how could I possibly look away? With an elf princess as the rival sword master? No way. I wanted to live happily ever after.
“…Okay. I understand, Lucian.”
Looking at Charlotte beside me, happily slurping her hot chocolate with a cheerful expression, Rie let out a long sigh and slowly pulled her lips away.
It seemed to annoy her that I had to be stuck with another woman—even an elf princess—yet she still trusted me.
“Just in case, don’t do anything reckless.”
Of course, Rie also loved to throw in a teasing warning.
“I’m a lot more jealous than you think, Lucian. Don’t show me anything you haven’t shown me. Don’t show it to anyone else either.”
“Yes.”
It might be the scariest moment in a long time.