A slight misunderstanding had arisen, but since things had already come to this, I decided to try circulating my energy while no one was disturbing me.
Before that, however, since I had been told that my race was different from humans, I first had to identify my acupoints.
Fortunately, the acupoints inside this body were no different from those in the body of my previous life.
I carefully analyzed the energy flowing through my body.
There were no traces of damage to the dantian, but the problem was near the heart.
Unlike internal energy, which took the form of a round sphere, I sensed a circular ring of energy near my heart. And that ring was bound by unfamiliar, alien chains.
‘The strange circular ring located in the middle dantian must be what they call a Mana Circle, so what are these chains?’
For a moment, I wondered if the chains I sensed in my middle dantian might be the spirit arts said to be the unique ability of elves, but I soon rejected that thought.
Spirit arts were said to awaken an elf’s power, yet these chains felt as though they were suppressing my power instead.
‘It would be more reasonable to consider them some kind of restriction.’
Just as I was observing the inside of my body for quite some time,
KNOCK KNOCK.
“Ahem. Young Master, it is time for your meal. May I come in?”
Rokiyan’s voice came from outside the door.
Oh, my first meal.
I was curious what kind of food people ate here.
“Come in.”
Rokiyan came in carrying a plate of food, carefully set it before me, then looked at my crotch, looked into my eyes, and grinned.
Ah. Was there truly no way to clear up this misunderstanding?
I looked at Rokiyan, whose face was twitching, then looked down at the wooden plate. On it, there were only ten round blue fruits, much smaller than grain-avoidance pills, sitting forlornly on the wooden plate.
I knew that as the dragons’ offensive grew stronger and the radius of the elves’ barrier narrowed, their territory had shrunk and they had fallen into poverty, but was the situation even worse than I had expected?
Among them, something that resembled a trident caught my eye, though no matter how I looked at it, it looked like a twig.
Was this also something to eat along with the fruit?
I cautiously picked up the twig and chewed on it.
Not even grass roots, but a twig served with the meal. How impoverished were they?
“Y-Y-Young Master!”
When I heard Rokiyan’s urgent voice, I stopped moving with the chewed twig still in my hand.
‘Damn it. I overlooked the fact that these people might have their own dining etiquette.’
What mistake had I made?
“If you eat the fork…”
I stared blankly at Rokiyan.
Ah, I see.
That might indeed be the problem.
I handed the twig to Rokiyan and spoke cautiously.
“Would you like… a piece as well?”
If they were serving such food to the son of a king, someone high in rank, then those serving me must surely be skipping meals or eating something even worse than this.
“Pardon? No… sir. This is a fork, a tool used to pick up fruit or other food.”
I looked at the thing called a fork and carefully stabbed one of the fruits with it. Rokiyan nodded as though he found it admirable.
“Just as you held that thing inside your trousers a little while ago, wrap your right hand around the fork…”
So it was not a twig, but something used like chopsticks.
After eating one fruit smaller than a bean in a single bite, I looked at Rokiyan.
“Is there no meat?”
As though I had made yet another mistake, Rokiyan’s hands trembled, and he looked at me with a sorrowful expression.
“Since we must not harm the gifts of nature, we must never eat grass or fruit. However, the number of wild animals has diminished too greatly, so we had no choice but to serve you fruit.”
Then elves were not originally vegetarians, but meat-eaters.
“What about farming? Rice seeds or edible seed varieties?”
“How could we plant crops in the sacred earth for the sake of eating them?”
“Do humans not eat rice?”
“They are humans.”
Rokiyan answered bluntly, wearing an expression that made it seem utterly obvious.
“Is there any difference between humans and us?”
“The length of our ears is different, is it not?”
I looked at Rokiyan’s ears, which were blunt and bore no particular distinguishing features, and could only blink without saying anything.
Rokiyan glanced at my expression, then said,
“Hmm… well… I was unable to summon a spirit…”
His words trailed off, and he wore a sorrowful expression.
Was the change in the ears after summoning a spirit based on the same principle as a complete bodily rebirth?
When I continued staring blankly at Rokiyan, he clapped his hands and answered.
“Ah! After summoning a spirit and receiving its power, one’s ears change shape so that one can hear the voice of nature.”
“One becomes able to hear the voice of nature?”
“N-no, not exactly. I was curious too, so I asked. They said our ancestors in the past could hear the voice of nature, but now it seems only the shape of the ears changes.”
After I finished the meal and handed the wooden plate to Rokiyan, he lightly shook something in his hand and smiled.
“Young Master! Will you not cleanse your palate?”
Rokiyan lifted a wooden bottle smaller than a porcelain jar, with a somewhat long mouth, and poured it into a cup.
GLUG GLUG GLUG.
The color of murky blood.
It looked slightly closer to violet than blood.
An unfamiliar color.
When I looked once at the cup, then at Rokiyan, he smiled and nodded as if to say I could taste it.
GULP.
It was delicious.
I had enjoyed Bamboo Leaf Green, Hundred Flower Wine, Jade Pot Spring, fire wine, and countless other liquors every day, yet this was an entirely new taste to me.
It had the aroma of fruit, and the finish was slightly strong. It was a rare delicacy.
I drained the rest of the cup in one gulp.
“One more cup.”
GLUG GLUG GLUG.
“One more cup!”
With a worried expression, Rokiyan poured me another cup.
The food was poor, but the alcohol was truly delicious.
“What is the name of this brew?”
“Brew, Young Master? What do you mean by that?”
“Ah, I mean the alcohol. What is this alcohol called?”
“Ah, today I prepared thirty-year-old grape wine!”
Grapes. I had not eaten them many times, but I knew they were fruit.
“Does thirty years mean it is aged for thirty years?”
“Yes, that is correct. Does it suit your palate better than the twenty-one-year-old wine you used to drink before, Young Master?”
I nodded vigorously.
“Wonderful~”
The fragrance was a little too strong to drink together with food, but it was good wine to drink on its own. Yet considering they said they did not want to eat grass and fruit, something about brewing wine and drinking it so pleasantly did not sit quite right with me.
Did that not rather contradict their logic of loving nature?
“These are gifts of nature, yet it seems you even brew wine from them and drink it.”
At my words, Rokiyan spoke with an expression that showed he did not know what to do.
“Although we are forced to eat grass or fruit, I thought that, if possible, it would be better if it tasted good…”
‘How contradictory.’
Looking at the contradictory nature of the elves, I suddenly thought of those righteous sect bastards.
I thought of those who claimed that the killings they committed were chivalry and justice, and that the money they took from the people was not extortion but a protection fee.
Why did those walking contradictions overlap with the elves in my eyes?
Then again, the doctrine of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, which had once been to save all oppressed common people and rule them justly, had also changed greatly over time, so perhaps I had no place to speak.
***
After drinking, I asked Rokiyan to show me outside. I could have gone alone, but Rokiyan accompanied me, saying he was worried I might lose my way.
Surprisingly, just as Rokiyan had told me, countless flowers bloomed along the roads, and not a single building was visible. Instead, huts of various sizes had been built atop many different kinds of trees.
I had been told that they were in a gloomy situation, periodically holding back the dragons’ offensive, yet even so, the elves tending flowers and watering trees entered my sight.
When our eyes met, they smiled and greeted me.
Have you come, Young Master?
Is your body all right, Young Master?
Their almost pathological love of nature, even greater than that of the Mount Hua Sect wretches who cherished plum trees so dearly, felt extremely unfamiliar to me, but I nodded as though I were used to it.
Rokiyan, who was walking with me, slowly approached and spoke.
“Oh! Young Master. Even though you have lost your memories, you have not forgotten how to tend flowers? As expected of the next Spirit King.”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“You are gazing wistfully at the flower garden you used to tend, so how could I dare stop you? Please go and water them.”
It was a misunderstanding, but I thought I might as well look around the area while watering the flowers. Then, when I saw the majesty of the vast flower field below the hill, I could not control my expression.
“Do not tell me this entire vast field is the flower garden I used to tend?”
***
It is a dragon!
Please save me!
Aaaagh!
Having returned to the Ellar Kingdom…
SLASH.
Shrill screams, the sound of limbs being torn apart, and the noise of footsteps fleeing in every direction all mixed together and echoed.
STEP, STEP.
In a space filled with chaos and screams, the faint sound of calm footsteps, utterly different from its surroundings, could be heard.
[Burn]
WHOOSH.
CRACKLE.
ROAR.
The flowers were swallowed by fire. As the flames spread from one to the next, their fragrance was consumed with them, and their colors faded away. The clear blue sky, without a single cloud, was covered in black smoke and dyed in a darkness deeper than predawn.
THUD.
“Ahh… Mother of Nature…”
A low voice could be heard along with the sound of flowers burning away.
“Doidra.”
Doidra knelt, his hands trembling violently and his lips quivering as he answered.
“R-Re… Rerian…”
Doidra soon took the bow from his back and aimed it at Rerian, but his hands were shaking with fear.
THWACK!
In an instant, Rerian kicked Doidra’s body. Then he took a piece of white cloth from the inner pocket of his clothes and scrubbed the blood from his hands, muttering.
“Ah, damn it… filthy elf bastards… I did not want to get blood on myself.”
Rerian flicked the white cloth, now slowly spreading with red blood, at Doidra. Then, with a tired expression, he stared at him without saying a word.
“Did you not promise that if I did as I was told, you would not kill me or my family?”
HAHAHAHAHA.
Rerian roared with laughter as though he found it absurd, then his expression suddenly turned cold.
“I told you, your family is living comfortably in Dragonia, did I not? I have shown you proof that they are alive every time, have I not?”
Doidra looked around with a dazed expression and spoke in a low voice.
“Th-then my… my… my comrades… why…”
Rerian rubbed his forehead with his right palm and began to sneer.
“Hey. Would you believe me if I told you a dragon was nearly killed by a plant?”
SLAP.
Rerian struck Doidra across the cheek, then grabbed his long hair and yanked his head up, continuing in an irritated voice.
“Is it not basic common sense to report that a place is dangerous when you report the location of the spirits?”
“B-but still, all of my comrades…”
SNICKER.
“Your wife and daughter. They said they missed you.”
“My daughter!! Sh-she… she is alive, is she not?”
“Of course. Naturally.”
Rerian grinned and abruptly released the hand that had been gripping Doidra’s hair, then continued.
“I told you, did I not? If you move according to my orders, you can live as a king in the human territory I rule. You will not need to run around like the other elves, taking on dangerous missions. Then you, your wife, and your little daughter will live without the risk of death or hunger!”
Rerian lowered his head and whispered into Doidra’s ear.
“You can live happily for a long, long time. I promised you that as the son of the Dragon Lord, did I not?”
He looked at Doidra and smiled.
“I-is it enough… if I continue informing you… of the locations of the spirits… as I have until now?”
“Come to think of it, there should be a regular council meeting soon, should there not? We cannot enter Ellar because of the spirits’ barrier, so this time, you will return to the capital yourself and report that you were annihilated by us. Then…”
Doidra’s pupils widened, and he quickly interrupted Rerian.
“If I only report that, then my family and I will be free, yes?”
“That is right! And use your spirit arts to summon a subspace and maintain it for as long as possible. So that as many of us as possible can enter.”
“Th-then… the elves will…”
Rerian lifted one corner of his mouth.
“You had better choose wisely. Think carefully about where your daughter is.”
He threatened Doidra while stroking his head.