Chapter 30
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Feast and Revelry (3)
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“Judging by the heat in here, looks like we arrived at just the right time!”
“Hope everyone thinks the wait was worth it! Hahaha!”
The elf knights entered, drawing every eye in the room. They crossed the long banquet hall with confident strides, basking in the flood of attention.
They waved casually, tossed out jokes with a shrug of their shoulders, and so on. Anyone could see they were the stars of the evening.
And in an instant, the gaze of those stars converged on one spot.
The rising star elf girl, Asha.
As if on cue, the elf knights moved straight toward her with perfect coordination.
“Ahem! Finally, a chance for some fruitful conversation with the young lady.”
“Well, well, the vice-captain’s here too. Mind if we join in?”
“……”
Roderick’s eyebrow twitched.
Their words were phrased as questions, but they felt more like declarations.
And sure enough, they were already grabbing beer mugs from nearby hands.
“To the honorable ones! Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
They even clinked their mugs with Asha’s.
It was so seamless that Asha responded without thinking, downing the rest of her beer in big gulps.
One of the elf knights let out a cheer.
“Hahaha! As expected of a true honorable elf warrior—emptying that mug like a champ!”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a fresh mug appeared out of nowhere and was placed in Asha’s hand.
Asha stared down at the new mug for a moment, then blinked as she looked up again.
In that brief instant, one of the seats next to her had already been claimed by an elf knight.
The knight who’d been sitting there had vacated it as if it were all prearranged, without a hint of hesitation.
It was a perfectly natural handover.
‘So much for a calm chat.’
Roderick let out a soft sigh.
“A banquet’s for enjoying like a banquet. We’ll save my talk for another time.”
“Have a good one.”
With those final words, Roderick left with a casual nod.
At almost the same moment, the elf knight who’d taken the seat beside Asha introduced himself.
“Name’s Pien Dravel.”
He grinned broadly and introduced the others.
Kiran and Terre. The elves flashed friendly smirks and insisted she call them by name. Caught off guard, Asha nodded.
In that instant, the elves’ casual familiarity with her was sealed.
“The beer tastes extra fine tonight!”
“Like Lady Valtline said, holding out till the banquet was the right call. Gets the blood pumping!”
Gulp, gulp!
The elves chugged their beers with gusto, wiping the foam from their sleeves.
Then they leaned forward, stroking their chins as they studied Asha.
Her golden hair evoked the forsythia bush. Beneath that dazzling cascade gleamed a porcelain neck and delicate features that even drew admiring glances from the elves.
Forsythia flowers are small, but their scent is so potent they’re called mile-fragrance. Just like that, Asha stood out uniquely in the banquet hall.
Elves, by nature, have high standards. They’re born with beauty as their birthright.
Even by elven aesthetic sensibilities, Asha’s charm brimmed with elegance.
And naturally, while the elves observed her, Asha observed them right back.
‘……So that’s why Elysia lent me all those accessories.’
They were a flashy bunch.
Not just in looks, but in their outfits too.
She’d jotted in her mental notes that most elves were probably nobles—and it looked like she was right.
Not all knights are created equal, after all. Plenty must hold noble titles of their own.
‘At any rate, these folks seem like well-off nobles.’
That made their ready generosity with the void jaguar hide make sense.
A kind of… noblesse oblige? Something like that?
With wealth to spare, they could afford to show kindness to their kin.
No perfect analogy came to mind, but Asha got the gist.
Convinced, she nodded to herself without realizing it.
That was when the senior-most of the three, veteran knight Pien Dravel, spoke up.
“Asha, we really owe you one last time! You saved our hides.”
Asha smiled brightly.
Of course—she’d gone there to help.
“Just doing what anyone would.”
“Oho! A true honorable elf! I knew it from the start. The moment I saw you charge in bravely even after your sword snapped!”
“No teeth? Use your gums. Fastest call in the moment.”
Whoa! Gasps of admiration erupted from all around.
Not just the elf knights, but nearby knights and squires nodded in awe, chiming in.
It was praise due to a fellow elf’s valor, but also because that gritty saying struck a deep chord.
No teeth? Use your gums!
A fresh idiom, but a profound one.
“Even in crisis, sheer grit pulls you through.”
“Grr… Crude phrasing, but it cuts right to the heart of battlefield truth.”
No wonder the vice-captain had showered her with praise as a “fully realized warrior.”
Thud! Thud! Thud! Fists pounded tables from every direction.
The impressed knights downed their beers in one go and slammed their mugs down with fervor.
As the mood heated up even more, Asha spoke again.
“Sir Pien, Sir Kiran, Sir Terre. I’m truly grateful for your generosity with the void jaguar hide.”
She gently placed a hand over her heart and bowed politely from the waist.
“It couldn’t have been an easy choice, but you made it without hesitation. Your magnanimity is truly admirable. You’re the real honorable elves here.”
Asha put her all into the thanks, making it as gracious as possible.
She looked each one in the eye, enunciating their names clearly.
The result?
“The elf knights gave away void jaguar hide?”
“That precious stuff? Talk about bold and honorable!”
“Definitely a cut above in generosity.”
Murmurs rippled through the hall.
Everyone’s attention zeroed in on the elves’ benevolence.
“Ahem. Just what any honor-bound elf would do.”
“Yeah, yeah. Nothing to make such a fuss over. Hahaha!”
The elves’ lips curled upward uncontrollably.
It was the perfect scene—faces saved all around! Ideal beyond imagining.
The banquet’s energy soared. Knights who’d emptied their mugs grabbed fresh ones left and right.
Elysia, who’d been watching Asha handle it all, gaped in surprise.
‘I figured she’d manage on her own, but… wow.’
She hadn’t expected her to nail it this hard!
It felt like watching a toddler not just walk, but sprint.
Asha’s poise was impeccable—beyond impressive, straight-up awe-inspiring.
No need to look far: just across the table.
A squire asked about void jaguars’ terror, and a knight was regaling him.
Next to them? A knight with a void jaguar hide pouch was proudly showing it off: “This is the stuff.”
All these scenes funneled to one conclusion.
Admiration and envy for the honorable elves. And…
The burning desire to one day hunt a void jaguar themselves, turning tonight’s spectacle from someone else’s story into their own…
In short, the elves had their perfect stage.
Whew—A long exhale, and Elysia took a sip of her beer.
Meanwhile, Asha and the elf knights kept chatting away.
“I’ve always wanted arms like these…”
Asha poked at Pien’s bulging biceps with her fingertip as he flexed.
Pien, sleeves already rolled up, burst into a wide grin.
“Hahaha! Part luck of the draw, part hard training!”
“Figured as much?”
‘Gender’s what you’re born with.’
Asha narrowed her eyes, turning to eye her own arm.
She raised her hand to chest level, flexed lightly, then let it drop back to her lap.
Agreeing in a totally different sense.
The other elves’ lips pursed at the sight.
Then they all rolled up their tunics and started flexing too.
‘They’re kinda wholesome, huh.’
Asha’s expression turned amused.
Treating her easy because same race?
Closing the distance felt easier than expected.
She kept the conversation flowing with care. The more they bonded, the clearer their personalities shone.
Elves… or elfies?
Elysia, watching, let out a slender sigh.
‘They’re already pretty tight.’
Her worries seemed unfounded—Asha was crushing it.
She’d fretted over how un-elf-like Asha might rub off on them, but…
“Like this?”
“Arms straight out. Knees be damned—pure defiance. Eyes up from the ground.”
“Ooo! Yeah, that’s got style!”
Hold up. Asha wasn’t picking up elf habits—the elf knights were copying her.
Learning her quirky landing pose. If not for the setting and outfits, they’d pass for simple country lads.
In the end, Elysia relaxed her shoulders and sipped her beer in peace.
……The banquet rolled on, and the elf knights stepped away briefly for a natural break.
“Vice-captain.”
“Hm?”
Asha approached Roderick as he headed out for air and spoke first.
“About that proposal you mentioned. I’ve got my answer now.”