High Elf's Slave (4)
Your recommendations boost the chances of back-to-back updates.
Elves stubbornly favored light armor. Anything bulky or heavy interfered with their ability to breathe mana through their skin. That was why they wore lightweight gear that left large expanses of skin exposed. Elves, born with mana’s innate affection, could deflect incoming arrows simply by cloaking their skin in it. They had no need for the thick plate armor human knights relied on.
“Why are you staring like that?”
Alone asked. Yushin had been gawking at her ever since earlier.
“Your outfit’s just... surprising.”
“My outfit? What’s so special about it?”
Alone raised both arms. Her tank top barely covered her chest, leaving her snowy shoulders, armpits, and midriff completely bare. Below, she wore nothing but short shorts. Her slender legs flowed into healthy, toned thighs. It was an outfit with extreme exposure overall.
If you told a noble lady from the Valua Kingdom to dress like this, she’d probably scream that she’d rather die.
“You can’t breathe mana through your skin if you cover up too much. Don’t you even know that basic fact?”
Alone invoked common sense—at least, elven common sense, it seemed. Pointing out the skimpy attire would just make him look like the weirdo. So Yushin decided not to press the issue.
He let his eyes roam over Alone’s body, wide-eyed at her flawless white skin on full display.
Elves are all stunning beauties with killer figures, so maybe they don’t feel the need to hide? Yeah, that’s confidence right there. Honestly, maybe us humans are the ones stuck with outdated prejudices.
The more skin, the better. Yushin nodded, enlightened after scanning her form. Come to think of it, every elf he’d met so far dressed with heavy exposure—bras and panties peeking out, or walking around practically naked. And no one got slapped with misdemeanor charges for it, so this must be standard fare in the elf kingdom.
“Master, so when do we start?”
“Right now. Sit here first.”
“You’re not planning anything naughty on me, right...?”
“As if I’d get worked up over a scrawny kid like you!”
“I’m twenty-one this year!”
Alone yelled. Elves developed slower than humans. Their near-eternal lifespans meant no rush to grow up. But even among her peers, Alone lagged behind. She took his jab personally, her petite frame a sore spot. She insisted she was an adult now and begged him to drop the kid treatment.
“I’m sending mana into your body now. With your high mana affinity as an elf, sensing it should be a breeze. First time teaching an elf, so I’m winging it. Just figure out my explanations however you can.”
“O-okay... I’ll try...!”
Yushin reached out, placing a hand on Alone’s shoulder and channeling mana. She closed her eyes, focusing on the flow coursing through her body. She wasn’t insensitive to mana—she just couldn’t sense it outside her body. Inside, it was vivid. She felt the mana’s presence rippling across her skin.
“Draw it in slowly toward your heart, just a tiny bit at a time. Like forming a small ember there. Burn the mana to spark an ember in your heart.”
Alone took a deep breath, guiding the mana as instructed. It obeyed perfectly, flowing like water. As if along a pre-dug canal, the mana circulating her body converged on her heart, igniting a tiny ember.
Whoosh.
Small but steady. The ember definitely flared to life—born from condensed mana. It flickered like a candle with each heartbeat but never went out. It rippled in her heart, asserting its presence, and with every sway, a warm mana glow spread through her.
“Now I’ll pull back the mana. Keep that heart ember steady—don’t let it snuff out.”
“W-wait... one more. I think I can make one more.”
Alone spoke with eyes still shut, all her focus on the blazing ember in her heart. Had she ever concentrated this deeply? In a trance-like state, she gathered the lingering mana in her body and formed a second ember—separate from the first.
“Ngh!”
Alone groaned. Dizzy, the golden-haired girl swayed and toppled backward.
Thud.
Yushin caught her with both arms just before she hit the ground. Drenched in sweat from her intense focus, Alone met his worried gaze.
“So, results?”
“Two! I made two embers!”
“...Not bad.”
Yushin admitted it honestly. Rookies on their first mana breathing session rarely stacked two embers right away. That was reserved for innate prodigies. No surprise from Ardena’s little sister—she had potential beyond mortal limits.
“So now I can learn Mana Blade, right?”
Alone’s eyes sparkled with anticipation. Gone was her disdain for the human slave. She now looked at Yushin with awe for opening new horizons. Her fists clenched in excitement. Exhausted from prolonged hyper-focus, she still brimmed with achievement like never before. She radiated confidence that she could surpass her sister any moment.
“Mana Blade starts at three embers. Don’t get cocky just hitting Double Ember.”
“One more and I’m there.”
“You hit Double Ember on your first try purely thanks to your talent. But from here, it changes. Reaching the next stage, Triple Ember, takes at least six months—if you’re lucky. Otherwise, you might never advance.”
“Six months?! No way! Then what about graduation exams?!”
“If breakthroughs were that easy, no one would stall out and struggle forever.”
Alone had been lucky—blessed with talent. But now, it’d come down to effort, not gifts. Advancing stages wasn’t child’s play. That’s why knights who hit walls retired to the countryside, honing their blades in madness. Some succeeded through insane dedication; others burned out and died as wrecks. The path of the sword was what you made of it.
“So how many embers do you have, Master?”
Alone asked. Yushin spread his left hand wide and raised one finger on his right.
Six.
Yushin Gilliard harbored six embers in his heart. Six Ember—the pinnacle of human limits.
* * *
The lord ruling Valencia Forest was Wallace Valencia, father to Ardena and Alone. A member of the 50-seat Yetzirah Council, he wielded heavy influence in Liberia Elf Kingdom politics, boasting a solid foothold there.
“So, our little sweetie... er, this human Yushin Gilliard helped you out a ton, huh!”
The white-wigged elf man reacted exaggeratedly to his daughter’s bragging. Known outside as the iron-blooded politician, at home he was a doting dad. No one rejoiced more that his mana-blind daughter—long deemed incurable—finally had a shot.
She’d accumulated mana via human breathing methods? So what? If she succeeded through human ways, it was all her doing.
“I was in a funk before coming home, but you’ve made Daddy so happy with this great news, Alone!”
Wallace whooped. Wiping his hands with a damp cloth from a half-elf maid, he planned to invite Yushin—his daughter’s sword tutor—to dinner. Sitting with a Class-4 human? Unthinkable normally. But today, he was thrilled. His girl, who’d hidden her pain behind a brave face, finally had a bright future.
“A Six Sword Realm knight? Trustworthy. Even as enemies, the Kingdom's Seven Swords are an elite force of top human swordsmen. Being foes makes their skills even more credible.”
Hearing some Kingdom's Seven Swords punk named Yushin Gilliard beat his daughter had soured his mood at first. Our girl losing to a human? He respected their prowess, but defeat stung his pride. Yet that same “enemy” had taught her the path to wielding Mana Blade. He couldn’t hate the guy anymore. Hell, he wanted to welcome him into Valencia Forest.
“Father, has something happened in the council, by chance?”
Ardena asked. Wallace, humming and stroking Alone’s hair, suddenly scowled.
“Valua Kingdom proposed prisoner exchanges. They start the fights, then want their captives back? Absurd. I saw Alone and decided: no deals with Valua. Ever!”
Human nations followed international law, ransoming captured nobles—like Yushin Gilliard—in exchanges. Valua offered fat ransoms for release. The Yetzirah Council shot it down: “Outrageous!”
No slave sold to Liberia ever walked out on their own two feet. Once over Akiteon Mountains and across the sea to Libria Peninsula, slaves stayed till death—and beyond.
“But Master might have family waiting? Maybe he’s separated from them. That’s kinda harsh.”
“Yushin Gilliard has no family.”
Ardena answered her sister. Another Ones had no kin. They hailed from other worlds; relatives dwelled elsewhere.
“What about a girlfriend?”
“Ahem.”
Ardena shifted uncomfortably at Alone’s question.