Epilogue: After a Discovery, Things Looked Fishy, or So It Was Told

“In any case, I’ve been informed that the goal of your trip here is to sightsee. Is that correct?”

They were in a resting room of sorts. Croire had led them here, and upon their arrival, she had produced a number of stools and arranged them around a circular table before seating herself on one of them. On the table were cups — one for each person — filled with a cloudy white liquid. It seemed rather viscous. As soon as Rona saw it, she scowled in disgust. Croire looked at her with a mix of astonishment and contempt before turning to Renya.

“This is a drink known as yogurt, into which some honey has been mixed.” She gestured at the cup. “Please. It’s good for your health.”

Renya sat down at a stool and picked up a cup. Without pausing, he brought it to his mouth and casually took a sip. Shion and Rona stared at him in shock. Even Croire seemed surprised by his sheer lack of caution. Disregarding their incredulous looks, he gulped the liquid down. It was thick but flowed smoothly down his throat. A touch of sourness tickled his tongue, mixing with a sweetness that probably came from the honey.

“How curious,” said Croire as she brought her own cup to her mouth, “I had expected to see some more resistance.”

“I assumed elves were not above basic manners. Like, you know, not serving your guests something vomit-inducing as soon as they arrive.”

Renya set his cup back down on the table. The drink was quite refreshing, but it seemed ill-suited to meals.

Emboldened by his demonstration, the girls also reached for theirs.

“Now, returning to the topic at hand.”

“Hm?”

“What kind of sights do you wish to see, exactly? It may seem strange for an elf to say this, but I doubt there’s anything here that humans would find interesting to look at.”

“Good question.” Renya pondered silently before answering. “It was mostly just curiosity that brought us here, so I’d appreciate it if you could show me some stuff you can’t find in human towns. You know, rare delicacies, uncommon sights.”

While he hadn’t requested a guide, asking Croire to show them around did seem like the more efficient method. Judging by the way Rona kept shuffling uncomfortably in her seat, the reformation movement’s surveillance network was very much functional, so splitting up was not an option. Unless, of course, they wanted to go back with one fewer member than they came.

“I doubt the scenery here will excite you very much,” said Croire as she gracefully crossed her legs and held her knee with her hands. She sounded contemplative and her eyes were distant and wandering. “As for food… We have little love for meat here, so the most I can show you is probably some condiments or dishes prepared with elf beans.”

According to her, while elves were not vegetarians per se, they usually avoided eating meat. In its place, they made use of a variety of plants in developing their cuisine.

“Though they may taste foreign to the human tongue, I personally recommend our elf beans. Once crushed, they are salted and fermented, making for a delicious condiment. An equally savory juice can be wrung from them as well. When green, the beans can be boiled in salt water and served as is. It makes for quite the tasty dish, in my opinion. Fully ripened beans can also be crushed into a powder that is perfect for making snacks.”

“…I can’t help but feel like you’re just describing soybeans to me.”

The latter parts of her description were evoking mental images of edamame and kinako powder. If he was correct in his assumption, the condiments she was talking about would be miso paste and soy sauce.

Being able to get his hands on those was no trivial matter; he would have access to all five fundamental condiments — the sa-shi-su-se-so — of Japanese cuisine. His repertoire would increase exponentially. Renya was no hater of Western cuisines, but miso-flavored fish stock with a touch of soy sauce simply spoke to his Japanese soul. Seeing the sparkles in Renya’s eyes, Croire gave a conciliatory smile.

“I see that I’ve piqued your interest. Let’s go take a look at the marketplace, then. I’ll show you the city along the way.”

With that, they were off.

The city was nothing like Renya had ever seen. Elves took up residence entirely within forests, and the way their architecture closely intertwined with the surroundings trees was a sight to behold. There was a dazzling variety of styles; some structures surrounded a central trunk while others joined multiple branches. Some were literally a part of a tree. It was a uniquely captivating air, far removed from the stone and gravel of human towns. Whereas humans would cut down trees and chop up the wood into more convenient shapes and sizes, elves used them as they were. Perhaps owing to their long lifespans, they were content to simply wait, slowly altering the location and direction of the trees’ growth until they could be incorporated into the city whole. It reminded Renya of bonsai, except on a city-wide scale. All in all, he was glad he got to see it.

Following behind him was Shion, who was also having her first taste of elven culture. There was a sense of awe in the way she gazed at her surroundings. Frau, for her part, seemed rather uninterested. She walked listlessly beside him, one hand still clinging onto his sleeve. Finally, there was Rona, who was in no mind to enjoy the scenery. Enduring a multitude of gluttonous gazes seemed to be taking a heavy toll on her, and she looked rather uncomfortable as she walked. None of the residents they passed were staring at her, so the perpetrators must have been in hiding. Even Renya, however, could only manage to sense their presence. Their exact location and numbers were beyond him.

“Hey…” Renya started.

“Yes?” Croire responded immediately, as if she had expected him to speak. “Is something troubling you?” Her voice was stiff. This probably wasn’t something she wanted to discuss.

Regardless, the matter was one that needed to be stated out loud, so he continued.

“So, I don’t know if humans are just a sensitive bunch, but where I come from, we’d call this a form of voyeurism, and it’s an extremely vulgar thing to do.”

“Thank you for enlightening me. I had absolutely no idea until you told me today,” snapped Croire, her tone dripping with sarcasm. She tightened her fist. Then, seemingly through an extensive effort of will, she put on a neutral expression again. “Please accept my sincerest apologies regarding this issue.”

“Well, don’t apologize to me. It’s her who has the problem… Can’t you do anything about it?”

“We’re all elves, and they’re likely older than I am,” she said. A hint of frustration leaked into her voice. “In the forest, they’ll be difficult to find.”

Renya grunted. Had the elves been staring at him with hostility or the intent to harm, he was sure that he would have noticed immediately. Unfortunately, not only did the elves bear no ill will toward them, they weren’t even looking at him in the first place. In addition, while Rona doubtlessly didn’t appreciate being showered by their unpleasantly viscous gazes, it’s also true that the elves went no further than peeping from a distance. Using gracecraft to throw out a city-wide Scan seemed like overkill, and even if they managed to locate the perpetrators that way, it wasn’t like their gawking was an overt crime. Could they really fault the elves for simply looking?

He sighed. They were up against difficult opponents. In a way, he almost wished the elves would come and try to kidnap Rona. That way, he could clean them up nice and easy. Before he could ponder this line of thought further, though, Croire announced their arrival at the marketplace.

Markets in the elf kingdom were, as expected, quite different from those of human kingdoms. An abundant variety of vegetables and fruits were on display, but meat was almost nowhere to be seen. One could, however, spot a few traces of fish here and there. Apparently, meat that came from water was afforded a more lenient stance. Where there were people, there were street vendors, and this place was no different. Something was missing, though: the smoky aroma of grilled meat that he had come to associate with street stalls. In fact, almost nothing was grilled. Instead, there was an assortment of stews and soups.

“Here we are,” said Croire as she pointed toward a store. “This is where you can find those condiments that intrigued you so.”

The store was small. Within its narrow confines, Renya found rows of barrels, all filled with a brown paste. Shelves were lined with bottles, each of which held a dark-colored liquid. His eyes lit up. Rona’s visual harassment issue could come later. Immediately, he rushed over to the products and began scrutinizing them. Both appearance and smell were as he had expected: those of miso and soy sauce. However, the taste was yet unknown, and that was a problem. Since he was in another world, it was entirely possible for him to shove a spoonful of what was ostensibly miso paste into his mouth, only to realize with horror that it tasted like chocolate.

“I’d like to taste some. Is that okay?”

As soon as he uttered the word “taste,” the storekeeper’s mouth twisted into an ugly grimace. Renya was well aware that his request would not be well-received, but he still thought the storekeeper could have tempered his response; that was not a face to show customers. Nevertheless, he needed the storekeeper’s approval; he could hardly just start opening bottles on his own, after all. Soy sauce, in particular, did not keep well after being unsealed. Being exposed to air would cause it to steadily lose its flavor, making it ill-suited for taste tests.

“How about just the brown paste over there then?”

If the miso tasted right, chances were that the soy sauce would as well. The ingredients might be slightly different, but a complete disaster seemed unlikely.

The storekeeper seemed no happier with the compromise until Croire approached him and whispered something. Renya couldn’t hear what she said, but the storekeeper’s eyes widened. He took one hard look at Renya before disappearing into the back of the store. Soon after, he reappeared with a small white rod, dipped it in the brown paste, and offered it to Renya, who took in his hand. It was the end of some sort of vegetable, presumably meant to be eaten with the paste. Renya threw the whole thing in his mouth.

It was watery, but crunchy. As he chewed on it, its juices mixed with the salty savoriness of the beans. It might have been a bit too salty. Perhaps it was the type of miso that used more salt and sat for longer. Either way, it was definitely miso.

A wave of nostalgia threatened to bring Renya to his knees, but he kept firm; people were watching.

“Thanks,” he said, nodding at the storekeeper. “I’d like some of this. What do you call it?”

“We call it miso.”

Renya was shocked to find that even in a different world, miso was still miso. The storekeeper’s next words, though, surprised him even more.

“We first learned of it from a Wanderer.”

Apparently, one of Renya’s forefathers had taught the elves how to make miso and soy sauce. The storekeeper when on to explain how originally, elf beans had always been eaten green and boiled. Then, the Wanderer appeared, showed them a variety of methods for processing the beans, and helped to spread the news, resulting in a widespread love of the new products throughout the kingdom.

“The young missus mentioned you’re a Wanderer,” said the storekeeper with a smile, “so I let you have a bite.”

Feeling no small amount of gratitude for the great deeds of his ancestral kinsman, Renya began crunching some money-related numbers in his head. Frau, seeing him gesturing and mumbling to himself, decided to step in and take matters into her own hands.

“How much can one gold coin buy?”

“You’re not from around here, are you? I’ve got to hold some for my regulars, and these take time to prepare so I can’t sell you too much… but let’s go with three barrels of miso and 2 barrels of soysos for a gold. How does that sound?”

Renya eyed the barrels. They looked like they could each hold about ten liters. It felt somewhat expensive, but he figured he’d have to just accept it as a form of otherworldly inflation. Still, it was one gold. That was a lot of money. He had to think about this.

Meanwhile, Frau pulled out a gold coin from her apron-like dress and dropped it in the storekeeper’s hand.

“Deal.”

“Whoa, uh… Frau?”

“Master wants to eat this. If Master wants, Frau buys. No discussion,” said Frau. “No worries. Frau just needs to tweak the manastone pipeline and bump up the market portion.”

The fairy proudly puffed out her chest. Renya scratched his head in submission. He had to give her credit. In terms of raising funds and managing operations, Frau handily outclassed him in every way.

Soon, barrel after barrel of beany goodness was being lugged to him from the store shelves. He began putting them into his inventory one by one. Suddenly, a dissonant sound cut through the ambient commotion of the market. He spun in the direction of the noise and listened carefully. Down the road in the distance, something heavy was running, and it was making people scream. All around him, other elves started to glance in the same direction, their expressions clouding with worry. Shion and Rona approached him. Lacking the auditory advantage of elves, they weren’t sure what was going on.

“Renya, what’s happening?”

“Not sure… but it sounds like there’s trouble that way.”

“These are hoof sounds… It’s a horse,” murmured Croire.

By the time she finished her sentence, Renya was already in motion. A moment later, realizing he had dashed off, Shion followed. A few leaping strides later, he saw the source of the commotion. It was indeed a horse, but something seemed strange. An elf sat astride it, arms dangling loosely at the horse’s sides while the reins fluttered freely in the wind. The rider’s body was pressed lifelessly against its neck. Slowly, jostled by the horse’s gallop, the motionless body slid little by little to the side. Then, the elf fell.

“Renya, he’s falling off!” yelled Shion as Renya stomped the ground hard, propelling him toward the airborne rider in a burst of speed. He dove past the horse, scooping up the elf before the fall could take its toll. The horse, now free from both reins and rider, continued to charge madly forward. In its path stood a figure.

It was Shion.

“Shion?!”

For a moment, he thought she was going to sumo-wrestle the horse into submission, but that seemed like an insane idea even by his standards of her. Just the sheer difference in mass meant that wouldn’t end well. Instead, he saw her deftly sidestepping the frenzied horse and grabbing the floating reins with her left hand. With a firm yank, she flipped onto the horse’s back.

“Renya, this horse is in bad shape,” said Shion, expertly pacifying the horse with a few simple pulls of the reins. “It’s hurt all over. I don’t know where it got all these wounds, but they’re pretty serious.”

Renya, with the elf still in tow, rushed up to take a look. The horse’s intense exertion had worsened the deep gashes that covered its body. Blood flowed freely from its wounds, staining Shion’s clothes. She didn’t seem to mind.

“Yeah,” he answered as he looked down at the unconscious elf in his arms. “Same here.”

Fine features adorned a well-sculpted face. Though attractive, they also served to obscure the elf’s gender. Judging from the somewhat stocky feel of the body, Renya decided the elf was probably a man. He wore leather armor atop a full suit of green. The bow on his back and the quiver dangling from his waist marked him to be an archer. All, however, were badly damaged. Piercing wounds had been inflicted in various places, from which blood still dripped. His bowstring was snapped, rendering the bow useless, and his quiver was empty.

“Hey! Wake up! What happened?”

Renya shook the unconscious elf a little and called to him. Slowly, a crack appeared between his eyelids. His parched lips stirred, barely opening wide enough to let a frail voice escape.

“Inform… the ministry…” said the elf, glazed eyes looking but not seeing. He seemed only partly conscious, unaware that he was speaking to a human.

“Wait, never mind. Stop talking. You’ll die faster. I have a priest who can use restorative gracecraft with me, so we’ll get you healed up first—”

“Please… eastern fort… has fallen…”

The elf kept talking as though he didn’t hear Renya. Maybe he no longer could. His fingers, infused with a desperate strength, dug into Renya’s arm as he forced out a dire warning.

“They’re pouring out… of the Forest Maze… It’s an outbreak!”

With that, the light faded from his eyes. His hand loosened and slipped to the ground. Renya could do little but watch as the elf’s head fell to the side, never to move again.