Meeting Mariabelle the Half-Fairy Elf

The room was lit with indirect lighting, and two steamy mugs sat on the bedside shelf. Someone’s slender fingers wrapped around the handle of one of the mugs: an adorable elf girl with big eyes. She brought the mug closer to her mouth, blew a few times, then took a sip. It was clear that the drink was hot from the look on her face. She then looked up at me as if to urge me to take a sip, too.

I took the mug in my hand, considering how the color of her eyes made her look like she came right out of a picture book. They were a fantastical amethyst color, and her pajama-clad skin was so pale I could almost see through it. Her lips were as vivid as a flower in contrast, and one smile from them was enough to make my heart burst.

“Um, Marie, it’s almost time for bed, but shouldn’t you lie down soon? I could read a picture book if you’re not sleepy yet...” I suggested, but she just beckoned me over. I tilted my head in confusion and moved closer, and she grabbed me by the hand. She pulled me in and sat me down next to her, moving her beautiful face closer to mine.

“Not tonight. I just want to enjoy the moment for now. I’m thinking back to when you confessed your feelings for me.” It wasn’t fair for her to whisper from so close when she was so distractingly cute. My face turned red hot, and Marie had a satisfied grin on her face.

“Hehe, how adorable,” Marie said. “I bet you get picked on at work all the time because you’re so cute. Then you get picked on by me when you get home, too. You are my boyfriend, after all.”

I felt a bit conflicted as a working adult getting teased by this girl, with her hair still semi-wet from her bath. But all those feelings flew out the window when she placed her head on my shoulder. I could feel her smooth hair and breath on me, and my heart began to beat louder and louder.

I never even imagined I’d see that straightforward look in her eyes as we gazed at each other. Maybe I wasn’t the only one having this thought. She had the sweetest smile on her face as she uttered that rather cruel comment.

“This just feels so, so strange. I really hated you when we first met, you know? You always had that smile on your face, so you probably had no idea.”

“Wha... You’re joking, right? Oh... You’re serious. I’m actually pretty shocked,” I replied. She cocked her head with a genuine look of confusion, and I let out a small sigh.

Then, the image of her from back then began to come back to mind. Her brows were permanently furrowed in a displeased expression. The Marie from back then and the current Marie felt like completely different people, and I couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

“Yeah, it is strange now that you mention it. I didn’t realize how close we’d gotten compared to back then.”

“Yes, it all happened before I knew it, so it completely snuck up on me. You were just a boy I hated, and now I don’t even mind rubbing noses with you.”

With that, she poked my nose with her own. She then flashed a childlike smile, but I wasn’t quite as unaffected as her. Her pretty face was way too close. It wasn’t like I was being bashful, but I cleared my throat before speaking.

“Things were pretty intense at first. You killed me right after we met for the first time.”

“H-Hey, do you not remember what you did?! That definitely wasn’t an overreaction on my part! Besides, it was just a dream to you, so you didn’t die! It doesn’t count!” Marie repeatedly shook her head in denial.

But there was a black cat quietly curled up nearby, and its ears perked up in response. The flustered look on Marie’s face was basically an admission that she had killed me, and this seemed to pique Wridra’s interest.

Why had the mild-mannered Mariabelle killed me so many times?

The moment may have been akin to the moment mystery novels were unraveled. The question of “Why?” took over all else, making one forget to even eat as they continued to turn the pages. They said curiosity killed the cat, but the black cat in question was an Arkdragon. And even the old me had been killed by Mariabelle because of my curiosity. The black cat moved closer, itching to unravel the story of our past. Then, the cat sat on the bed, as if preparing for a movie to start.

I took a sip of coffee before opening my mouth to speak. It had all happened a long time ago... over ten years ago, in fact. If I recalled correctly, I had just become a middle schooler in Japan.

§

My throat was completely parched as I leaned against a tree and sighed.

It wasn’t a particularly thick tree, but my approximately ten-year-old frame was small enough to hide behind it completely. Just behind it, something that was as big as a bear could be seen moving around. Its thick, extended head was covered in fangs like a wurm, and its stout, powerful limbs were covered in coarse, reddish fur. Its claws were as long as steel piles, and they were likely used to split open the heads of its prey once they were captured.

The creature seemed very animalistic as it sniffed around in the dim evening light, and I was stricken with fear, knowing that I was its target. Maybe it sensed the still-bloody dagger I was holding.

How scary. I definitely can’t win here. Although I knew it was just a dream, I couldn’t help but feel fear. Even video games could be scary, after all.

I fearfully held in my breath, and my eyes met with a bird that happened to stop on my shoulder. I was the one being tracked down, and this little bird obviously had nothing to do with it. The bird was probably after the breadcrumbs in my chest pocket, and it seemed to be debating whether it should flee or not. I mean, I couldn’t say what the right decision would have been for sure, but fleeing was probably a good idea. This powerful foe with an estimated level of 38 had just recently appeared in this forest.

I had found a notice during my travels calling for someone to slay a monster, but I would have just gotten laughed at if I tried to take up the challenge, due to my young appearance. Since that option was out the window, I had stepped into the forest to check it out for myself. Perhaps it was because the elf forest was so close, but there were very few monsters around. My mistake was that I’d forgotten my original objective for coming here and got carried away leveling up. The monsters of the forest moved rather slowly and used attacks that inflicted sleep, but this status effect wasn’t very effective on me. I was able to acquire a lot of experience points as a result, and I was pretty happy about gaining some levels.

...I didn’t expect the monster to smell the blood and make a little appearance.

I had hid in a fluster as soon as I detected something approaching, but my situation was far from ideal. Not much was known about this creature, but it went by the nickname of Avenger and was infamous due its stubborn tenacity in tracking down its prey. I wasn’t going to be able to hide for long.

As for me, I was a novice level 16 with only Reprisal in my repertoire. This skill was acquired by repeating specific motions, such as during sword training, and was known as a skill for beginners. That was why most advanced swordsmen got rid of it rather quickly.

Anyway, the little bird seemed to finish eating and flew off toward the dim forest. I followed it with my eyes and noticed something shining between the trees ahead. A river. If I took a swim there, it should have washed away the smell of blood. The issue was whether or not I could get there without being spotted.

Hmm, I definitely wanted to increase my agility. All the strength in the world couldn’t help you get away from an opponent you couldn’t beat. I considered these thoughts as I removed my bag from my shoulders and quietly dropped it on the ground.

Just then, I heard rough breathing next to my ear, and I crouched down without even turning in its direction. Luckily, the wurm-like head impaled itself into the tree, and the impact was great enough to uproot the entire thing.

I was good at running away; in fact, all I did was flee. I did a quick front flip to narrowly avoid sharp claws that sank into the ground. Then, I tossed a dagger at the creature without even taking careful aim and took off.

It seemed to have found its mark out of pure luck, because I heard the beast yelp behind me. The unfortunate part was, this enraged Avenger and seemed to kick its feral instincts into gear. The creature bounded forward in a full sprint, its movements light and nimble.

I slipped through the opening between the trees ahead, but I couldn’t compete in terms of level, agility, or the distance traveled with each step. Even as I lowered my posture and fled at the speed of a bunny, the steel piles digging into the ground made me break out in a cold sweat. Why in the world did I want to meet such a terrifying thing? The river finally came into view after the series of unfortunate events, but the sight brought me no relief.

“Ugh, it’s flooding... Maybe because of the storm from last night.” If I dove in now, I wouldn’t have just washed off the smell; I’d probably have ended up dead.

My choices were to get eaten by the monster and wake up in Japan or drown myself and wake up. Personally, I would have recommended the latter by far. This was because if I chose the former, my clothes would have ended up in shreds.

It was quite a harsh world for a young man. Although I was used to getting robbed and killed by monsters and men, starting over from zero was pretty taxing both mentally and physically. And so, I dove into the river without hesitation.

The water propelled me forward with great force, but I quickly made some distance between the monster and me at the same time. In that sense, the storm had ended up helping me. Although I did nearly end up drowning... but it was almost time to wake up anyway, so I guess I didn’t really mind in the end.

“Goodbye, land of dreams!” I wanted to shout, but what actually came out was, “Gabagh, glarbh!”

A bird pecked at me, and I woke up to the crisp morning air. Well, I actually woke up in Aomori, went to school, had a nice, delicious dinner with my grandpa and grandma, then went to bed.

I was starting over again. But where was I? I was stuck hanging from a tree branch, but I remembered getting washed away in a river last night. I grew more and more alert, noticing the water droplets on my cheek and the sound of running water from a distance. I raised my head to find a waterfall directly in front of me. Whoa, and there was that bird, making a chirping noise and staring right at me. Its beady eyes were pretty cute, but I was on the verge of life or death here.

Hm, maybe I’d fallen here from above? The flow of the river had become completely calm, and I could see the clear water splashing onto the tiered rocks. The place was surrounded by trees with a wonderful view of a rainbow in the distance.

Just then, I noticed someone was talking, but it was in a language I didn’t understand, so all I knew was that it was a young woman speaking. The moment I looked below me, I felt my body temperature suddenly increase.

I had no idea a girl was bathing there. She sat on a protruding rock, using the splashing water as a shower and scrubbing her body while humming cheerily. Her hair was a pure white I had never seen before, and her skin was just as pale. Her hair clung to the curves of her body, and her butt turned toward me was... No, no, I couldn’t watch.

I closed my eyes in a hurry, but as was apparent from the conversation I’d heard earlier, she had company in the water. I had no idea what they were talking about, though. I managed to learn the common language after several years, so I thought I had a grasp of the spoken words around here. Unable to contain my curiosity, I slowly opened my eyes. Then, I noticed their pointy ears.

Elves! They were a race that hardly ever left their forest and tended to avoid humans. And yet, they were as beautiful as gemstones, and it was said that one could never forget about them after laying eyes upon them.

There were several things that I hadn’t realized at this time: the branch I was hanging on was about to snap, the elf girl was about to stretch and look up in my direction, and that girl was known to hate humans more than anyone else in the tribe.

Crack! Crk! Kssh!

The rumors about them being unforgettable were true. In that moment, I realized just how beautifully her amethyst eyes gleamed in the sunlight. I fell toward the ground, embracing her stunning body without thinking about it, and my mind was honestly in a daze until the moment we were dragged into the waterfall basin together.

“Kya!”

Then came the splashing sound of water. I was enveloped in a curtain of bubbles, unable to tell which way was up. I desperately flailed around for something to grab on to, then found both my arms and face covered by something soft.

(What is this?)

The answer to my question came when the curtain of bubbles disappeared. But it appeared there were some things in this world that I was better off not knowing. The moment I saw her feminine mounds and the vivid protrusions at their tips, we both started foaming at the mouth. The girl desperately pushed me away, and there was no way I could put up any resistance.

Oh, and there was one more thing I didn’t know. This girl was exceedingly talented among her peers, and she had the ability to summon multiple water spirits known as Undines.

Supposedly, the elf said in Elvish, “Undines, tear this goblin that desecrates our forest into shreds.” And so, my clothes were cut up even worse than they would have been if I’d fought that monster, and I died.

§

I heard birds chirping in the distance.

There was a dense forest all around me, and when I looked up, I saw trees stretching high into the sky. In fact, I could barely see the blue sky with the mass of freely-growing branches overhead, which provided a cool shade despite the bright sun.

Also staring up at the sky was Mariabelle, who at the time was a bit shorter than she was now. Her hair was bound in two bunches, like bunny ears, and they swayed to the left and right as she looked around at her surroundings. I could see dwellings in the distance from between the trees, and she noticed someone calling out to her from one of the windows there.

“Marie, be sure to go with someone if you’re going out. It hasn’t been long since the storm passed, and Ozbell still isn’t back from his patrol.”

“Y-Yes, Mother!”

She waved as she replied and began walking along the footpath. The blue and white stones tied to her wrists and ankles clinked together with every step. There weren’t many children in this village, but they did have their own trends. A few of the girls were into things like clothing, but since there were no stores selling them, they dyed and sewed clothes themselves.

Mariabelle was also into clothing as a hobby and was adorned in a nice outfit for the day. Her top was tied with a string and held up her small breasts, while the skirt around her waist covered more of her skin with ample fabric, going for a more reserved, feminine look. The adults considered it more fashionable to expose more of one’s legs and arms, but the children didn’t heed their advice in that regard.

Now, the reason Mariabelle disobeyed her mother and went off on her own was actually something she couldn’t even tell her close friends.

She continued through the footpath and the sound of softly flowing water came within earshot. She proceeded farther ahead while a large deer watched her, eventually arriving at the waterfall where she would often go for a dip.

Mariabelle crouched down at a slightly elevated spot and stared into the basin of the waterfall. There were layers of rocks all around the cliff and the waterfall, providing good footholds. She made her way down the rocks, her eyebrows furrowed doubtfully as she took each step in her sandals.

“Did I really kill someone...?” She quietly uttered the disturbing words to herself.

The day after the storm passed, she had gone for a swim with her friends for the first time in several days. There, someone fell onto her from above, dragging her into the water before she could even scream, and she had called out an order before the shock of the cold even settled in.

“Undines, tear this goblin that desecrates our forest into shreds.”

Remembering her own words and the scene that played out immediately afterward, she covered her own eyes with her hands. Seeing the water dyed with red, her heart was stricken with horror. She did indeed hate humans. The humans she happened to run into a long time ago were filthy and tried to capture her. She fled in a hurry, but still wondered to this day what those chains they were holding were for.

The way the adults spoke of humans gave her a bad impression of them, as well, and it sounded like they were barbarians that waged war out of greed for wealth. That was why she had called for Undine to attack in earnest. Although she did have a strong dislike for humans, the truth was that she had murdered a child without hearing him out... or so she thought. Mariabelle groaned as she stared at the water surface, her friend’s words replaying in her mind.

“Huh? A human? Here? No, I haven’t seen one.”

“I saw you fall in the river, of course, but... Look, the water is still clean. There aren’t any bits of clothing or anything, either.” Marie turned pale, but her friend only looked at her with a dubious expression. She frantically searched around herself, but it was indeed odd that there wasn’t a shred of cloth left behind. Marie held her head and crouched down, unable to make sense of what she had seen.

“Uuu... There’s no way I would mistake something like that! I know I saw a boy around the same age as me with his eyes wide open in the water!” It was right after she had called Undine to attack. She saw his eyes widen with fear, and then his body was torn to shreds...

“...Ngh! N-No, no! It’s making me shiver thinking about it!” Unable to stand the chill coursing through her body, she hugged her arms and stepped in place. The all-too-real vision came back to her once again, and goosebumps broke out all over her body. Yet no matter how much she searched, there was no trace of any evidence proving that the events had occurred. She couldn’t sleep the previous night, thinking she had cut him down too finely, but it was odd that there wasn’t even a piece of bone left.

“B-But if there was, I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight, either...” Her pale purple eyes widened. The elven village was protected by a powerful barrier so the inhabitants could live in peace. However, she noticed that the stone altar had been destroyed, perhaps due to the storm. Just then, she remembered something. It was from the night the storm had arrived several days ago, when she was sleeping in the same room as the children.

“Marie, do you know why the village is protected?” Mariabelle remembered her friend Nike asking in her usual mild-mannered demeanor. Marie put her blanket over her head, thinking it would be a scary story, but Nike whispered right next to her ear.

“I heard there was once a terrible war at the top of that waterfall. The river turned red, and even the fish changed color. How scary, right? And they say that if we don’t have the barrier blocking things... they appear.”

It wasn’t fair how her gentle manner of speaking had changed at the end of her statement. Marie was stricken in fear and made a loud gulp, then covered her ears and crouched down like she did at the night of the storm. Maybe that child she’d seen yesterday was someone who had perished on the old battlefield. What if he had been roaming around and talked to her without knowing he had died?

“H-Hmph, I’m not afraid of ghosts. It’s already bright out, and look, see? I have my bracelets for warding off evil right here. So there’s no way ghosts would appear, and they’d be no match for my spirit friends.”

The girl spoke out loud, though it was unclear who exactly she was talking to. Just then, she heard a clack. She slowly opened her closed eyes to find her bracelet’s string had torn, its blue and white stones falling to the ground. Goosebumps rose on her skin once again. Unfortunately, she had let go of the hand holding her ears, as well. Footsteps could be heard approaching from behind.

Mariabelle turned around slowly, face pale and still in her crouched position. Somewhere in the thickets surrounding the river, she saw leaves shake with an audible rustling noise. Her vision began to flash, as if she was about to faint, and her body was frozen in place. She could tell the tips of her ears were trembling.

He couldn’t be there. There was no way. She had taken him down yesterday. And besides, he should have been the one afraid of her. These thoughts raced through her head as she took in shallow breaths, then swallowed hard.

Just then, a hand appeared from a dark thicket and grasped a tree. Mariabelle’s mouth was permanently affixed in a perfectly round shape, and her entire body was immobilized. All she could do was stare at the faintly visible hand.

“@*&$+****!” (Translation: Hello there!) A figure wearing tree bark around his waist with a stone axe in hand and mud all over his body suddenly appeared, and Marie trembled so hard she nearly hurt her hip.

“Nnyaaaaaaaaa!!!”

And there it went. Her legs gave out from fear, and she couldn’t move anything from the waist down. There stood Kazuhiho after all of his equipment had been destroyed, bravely restarting his adventure from a clean slate. It went without saying that this was the most terrible reunion imaginable.

I had never seen a cat burst out laughing like this.

The black cat had been quietly listening up until now, but now it rolled around on the bed hysterically, having reached its limit. The way we met must have seemed pretty amusing. But I had to say, the way it kept slapping my knee wasn’t very cat-like. Seeing this, Marie took a sip of her still-warm coffee and shot the cat an unamused look.

“You should be quiet, or I’ll have to throw you outside. This is just an embellished version of a story from long ago. I remember being much more proper, and I question whether I really screamed like that.”

“Who knows? It was a long time ago, so maybe my memory is off. But for some reason, I don’t really forget things when it comes to you.”

I told her it was because my memories with her were precious to me without saying it out loud, and she replied, “Is that so?” while fidgeting around. I swallowed the words with a sip of coffee, then exhaled in the dimly lit room.

“I can’t forget much about you, either. So, what was going on with your outfit that time? I couldn’t forget it if I tried.” Men were creatures that had to take steps forward even when completely naked. This was hard to explain to a properly-raised elf lady like her. Rather, it was more like I had to start over from zero, so I had no choice but to make a stone axe and a loincloth out of tree bark. Spears and bows would have come after that.

In any case, the black cat tugged on my sleeve to continue the story. It was a quiet night. The sound of me taking a deep breath could be clearly heard in the room, and then I began to speak of the past once again.

I was in a conundrum.

I had leaped out after seeing someone’s shadow nearby, but when I appeared from the bushes, I found a young child curled up in front of me. She seemed to be about the same age as me, and I was concerned to see she was trembling hard with her shoulders in her hands, as if she had seen something horrifying. But this was no time for leisurely observations. It seemed the girl couldn’t stand, and she was crawling toward a river that was flowing quickly due to the storm from the other day.

“I wonder if she’s hurt or something.”

I tossed the hand-made stone axe aside and ran over to the girl. Unlike in the real world, I took action quickly while in my dreams. After all, I would just wake up in Aomori even if something happened. It was a mistake to think in such an easygoing manner. The girl’s face was contorted in fear as she turned around and screamed, “Nooooooooo!” in a shrill voice as soon as she saw me.

Wait, is this the girl I saw in last night’s dream? She did have purple eyes... More importantly, she was terrified, as if there was a monster nearby.

“I get it, she must have been attacked by a monster!” Slightly regretting my decision to discard my axe earlier, I quickly crouched down on one knee and positioned myself to cover her back. But to my confusion, there seemed to be nothing after us.

“...Huh? There’s nothing here?” No, that wasn’t right. I sensed something from afar. I could clearly feel a monster’s desire to kill me from somewhere. Birds flew off with a squawk, and I looked up to the waterfall in response. In that moment, a beautiful voice like ringing bells could be heard from behind me.

“******!”

Maybe that was an incantation in Elvish. I heard a splash first, like a fish jumping in water. I looked to find a semi-transparent, ultramarine fish there, propelling itself through the air with its tailfin. I stared in awe at the wondrous sight, and then I heard several more splashes from around me.

“Oh, this is bad.” I had a pretty good sense for these things. Before I could even process the thought, I was riddled full of holes just like last night and died. Yup, I thought so. Considering how I was dressed, I must have looked pretty suspicious from an elf’s point of view.

I didn’t know how many times I had experienced the sight of my blood spraying into the air. Having gone through another nightmare scenario, I watched my limbs hang limply at my side as my consciousness faded away.

Rough breathing reverberated in the vicinity.

At the river near the elven dwelling, a young girl frantically kicked the ground with her sandals to scoot herself away from the corpse. She stared wide-eyed, breathing erratically, when something happened. The blood on the ground, as well as the corpse began to fade into semi-transparency, then started blinking with a mysterious light.

Then, it all vanished. It was like a candle had been blown out. It all happened so quickly.

The girl’s face grew as pale as a sheet. Feeling like she had seen something she wasn’t supposed to, she ran off with all color drained from her face. She cried hysterically as she ran.

Eventually, silence returned to the holy waterfall. Only the sound of a running river could be heard, the vivid, green moss and ferns wet from the splashing water.

Then, a leaf was trampled underfoot. It was a foot as thick as a barrel and covered in wiry hair. The creature exhaled from its nose with a beastly huff. It looked just like an animal as it sniffed around its surroundings.

§

I sat up, snapping awake. I was in a dark bedroom, the diffused moonlight coming in through the sliding paper door. Breathing heavily, I could feel copious amounts of sweat running down the back of my neck. I breathed in the smell of the tatami mats and let out a big sigh of relief.

“So, I just woke up from my dream...”

I was back in my family’s house in Aomori, having moved here from Tokyo. I had fallen asleep between my grandfather and grandmother, but it seemed a scary dream had made me jump to wakefulness.

Man, that took me by surprise. That girl was pretty impressive. I may have been completely naked, but being level 16, I still had a decent amount of vitality. She managed to instantly kill me twice in a row. How was she generating so much power? I considered this question as I maneuvered out of my blanket while taking care not to wake my grandfather.

I was used to waking up after dying, but my heart was beating so fast that I wouldn’t have been able to fall back asleep for a while. I walked down the hallway barefoot, then noticed the sound of water dripping from a faucet. I grabbed a cup and opened the refrigerator. The light was so bright that it hurt my eyes, so I took the bottle of apple juice I was looking for and quickly closed the fridge door.

“Man, I’m parched. I’m glad Grandpa bought this for me.”

I took a gulp. The cool apple juice felt good as it coursed through my heated body. The mixture of subtle sweetness and tartness was simply sublime. Then, I returned back down the hallway, cup in hand. Instead of going back to the bedroom, I opened the door next to it and sat out on the veranda. It was summer, so the nights of Aomori weren’t too cold. It would be another half a month or so before the mosquitoes would start coming out in earnest. Looking up at the moon that seemed like a hole that had been cut into the sky, I let out a long sigh.

“I thought I was mistaken, but she really was controlling multiple spirits at once. Elves really are amazing.” I had occasionally heard rumors of a powerful spirit user among the elves. But throughout all of my long journey in my dreams, this was my first time meeting one in person. My heart was beating like a drum, but it probably wasn’t just out of fear.

“She was like a beautiful gem. It seems like she’s around my age, but I wonder how old she is. I hear they live for a really long time, so I can’t really tell.”

Every house had their lights out, so the moon was very bright tonight. The clear moonlight illuminated the night almost as brightly as the sun did during the day. This was a sight I never could have witnessed in the big city. I sat there with my bare feet swinging, feeling myself grow calmer by the minute.

“I hope I didn’t scare her, though. I should apologize if I see the same dream again.”

But there was one problem to address before I could apologize. I had no idea what she was even saying to me.

“It must be the language of elves that I heard about in folk tales. That was my first time hearing it, but it sounded so pretty.” I was captivated by the song-like language, which may have been part of the reason I ended up dying.

Hmm... I wanna learn how to speak the language of elves.

I had to start over from making my clothes again, and I had to make sure I was presentable this time. Things were about to get busy, but I was excited. I let out a yawn, then drank down the rest of my apple juice. Its refreshing sweetness still tasted delicious.

But I was still a child at this point, and I wasn’t too great at critical thinking. And so, I repeated the cycle of getting defeated and coming back to life, not once stopping to consider her fear as I continued to approach her.

§

Huff, huff, huff...

Mariabelle pumped her arms and legs desperately as she ran and swallowed hard. The piles of leaves all over the ground provided cushion as she took each step in her sandals. She felt panicked from being unable to run as fast as usual, and it looked like she would trip any moment now.

“Ah!” The elf girl looked back while running and fell to the ground after all.

Her bundles of white hair fell to the ground before the rest of her body, and dust blew into the air as she landed. She found herself in a sunny spot without trees overhead, and she repeatedly took in rough breaths while laying flat on her stomach. Mariabelle had always spent her time reading books from the elder’s storage, so she was a slow runner and had less stamina compared to the others. Yet she picked herself back up and stared up at the brightening sky.

This forest had a long history.

Each of the trees extended far above, and the sky could be seen in the distance.

And here in this spot where light poured in between the foliage, there sat a fruit that seemed to have all of the sunlight for itself. A sweet scent emanated from this waterdrop-shaped fruit known as a lagi. The sunlight cast away the morning fog and illuminated the forest, and birds could be seen chirping and calling over their friends in search of breakfast. They would surely be able to enjoy fruits still wet with morning dew.

This was an elven village in an evergreen forest.

A land of peace and tranquility, where its inhabitants had created their own unique world by living and thinking like the spirits. This was why the unstable and dangerous humans weren’t allowed to enter... or so they thought.

Finally beginning to catch her breath, Mariabelle noticed a deer that was staring at her while munching away at some sprouts. She dusted the leaves off of her clothes and stood up, blushing slightly.

There was no time to mourn over the dirt on her clothes. She still felt eyes on her back, and when she squinted her purple eyes... she first caught sight of a stone axe between the trees.

The wielder was a half-naked man wearing nothing but a grass skirt and muttering, “Teach me, language,” which could have been words from the human language, but it didn’t make sense to her. His outfit was slightly different than before, now with several flowers adorned in his grass skirt... Was this his idea of dressing up? The man stood there staring at her, which only increased her sense of fear further.

“Nngh!” She picked up a nearby rock and tossed it at the intruder. It strayed wildly from her target, and she felt embarrassed as the half-naked man and wild deer stared at her. Then, she ran off again. Mariabelle was heading for the village to regroup with the others. Just a little farther, and the adults would be there waiting for her. With that thought, she roused her tired self to her feet.

The girl had one particular talent. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a talent in running, but she could intimately interact with spirits and have them help her friends. Spirits resided in all things and were rather fickle beings. The more one tried to look at them, they would melt away like a sugar cube in water. Normally, one couldn’t even see or touch one without proper training. But this girl and her father were different.

With those purple eyes looking over her back, she could see and recognize things others couldn’t. From her perspective, she could see the golden glow of life itself and the beings known as spirits all around her.

“He really is a human... but there’s something off about him.” Mariabelle crinkled her cute little brows and muttered to herself. She then slowed down her gait. She realized that the human was maintaining a certain distance, just as he was before.

Mariabelle recomposed herself by taking deep breaths, then stared at the human child. She had sensed that something was off about him when she saw that the spirits around him were different from the others. She was so afraid of him earlier because she assumed he was a ghost of some sort, but she was feeling calmer now that she had some time to observe from a distance.

Mariabelle wiped the sweat from her forehead and kept an eye on him as she continued toward her village. He kept repeating what sounded like “Teach me, language,” which made her wonder if he was trying to tell her something.

“Oh, well. The elder won’t allow a human to wander in, anyhow. Just you watch. You’ll meet an end fitting for a filthy human like yourself.” The look in her eye was as cold as ice as she spoke under her breath.

This wasn’t exclusive to elves, but residents of a colony often looked at outsiders with a critical eye. Allowing strangers into their midst hardly ever ended in positive results. There had been stories of feeding an outsider and treating him with kindness, only for him to end up being a spy that intended to invade their home. Such teachings were passed down from the adults in ways that were easy to digest, and being the diligent child she was, she had never thought to question them. In her mind, humans were evil beings that brought misfortune to all around them.

The sight of Mariabelle’s village came into view. Thinking that the terror was finally coming to an end, she let out a sigh of relief and picked up her pace.

The visitor to this land would likely be surprised by the vast stretch of greenery here. Noctilucent fruits hung from vines connecting the large trees, and branches full of leaves grew freely above, completely covering the space overhead. The water flowing nearby was shockingly clear, and the stepping stone Marie jumped onto was entirely covered in moss. The elven village was a forest that clearly fit the fantastical creatures. Upon closer inspection, the barks of trees functioned as roofs, and it was clear that someone was living there.

A man’s face peeked out from directly under an owl’s nest.

“What is it, Mariabelle? Did you run into a boar or something?” the man asked.

“There was a human over there! Please take him down!” Marie said.

“All right, then I’ll have to treat you to some human stew tonight.” He saw her make a disgusted face and chuckled with amusement. He then grabbed a bow that was leaning against a wall and inspected its string. By the time the man stepped out of the entrance, Mariabelle was already gone. He scratched his head as he muttered to himself.

“A human, huh...? It’s been a while. I guess the altar must’ve been broken from that storm, then.” The hunter rubbed his chin, then looked in the direction Marie had run off to instead of the way she had pointed. “I need to ask her which altar was broken first.”

He placed a leather hat deep on his head and began walking with the lithe movements of a well-trained hunter. He figured that if Mariabelle could escape, this intruder couldn’t have been too much of a threat.

Meanwhile... Mariabelle had warned the adults of the danger while walking through the village, but their reactions were disappointingly unconcerned. They would have been more surprised if she had told them it was a boar. In fact, the boy appeared from behind the trees and tried to provoke her by waving, but the others were still unsurprised.

“Oh, she’s right. It’s a human child. How unusual to see one here. I wonder if he’s lost?” a woman said.

“Hmm, he seems pretty well-behaved. Dear, we still had some sunebi left over, didn’t we? I’ll bet he’d love to eat some.”

“Th-They’re not even fazed by the fact that he’s half-naked... Look, he’s armed with an axe. He must have been possessed by a troll.” She pointed to highlight the danger posed by the human, but they responded in a lukewarm fashion.

“A stone axe, huh...?” Well, it was true that he wasn’t all too scary upon further inspection. Mariabelle shook her head.

“There’s no time to be so complacent about this! That boy is no ordinary human, and he knows where our village is. I’m going to go alert the elder!”

They pointed out that she was the one who had brought the human here and wished her good luck, then looked back to where the human was. However, the boy was gone.

Perhaps the elves had lost their ability to detect danger after living in peace for so long. Such thoughts ran through Mariabelle’s mind after seeing the poor reaction from the others. She tried warning a young man working the fields but was flabbergasted to find he was already sitting next to the human.

“Ohh, you learn quickly. Yup, that’s how you peel the skin.” The object being peeled was a specialty of the forest known as sunebi. When dried and peeled, they emitted a scent that was similar to that of spices, and they provided a nice flavor when used in soup or ground up.

But seeing that the human boy was the one doing the peeling, Mariabelle’s face contorted as she stammered.

“Wh-Wh-Wha—?!”

Despite everything that was happening, the human boy just looked at her with a friendly smile. The field worker gave her a puzzled expression, which she found quite vexing.

“Hm? What’s wrong, Marie?”

“Y-You’re asking me what’s wrong? What are you doing? Can’t you see that’s clearly a human? Why aren’t you scared? You’ll die if he attacks you.” Mariabelle said with a tight expression, but...“Him?” the man replied. The elf girl nodded repeatedly. “I see...” he murmured and nodded with a serious expression.

“This human’s pretty useful. Oh, no, not this one. You need to peel it in the opposite direction or you’ll ruin it.”

“Are. You. Listening to me?!” Mariabelle raised both her fists, then swung them down with her outburst.

Someone was standing nearby, watching this all unfold. The observer had long hair tied back in a tidy manner and held a grand staff in hand.

“Is that the one?” he asked the hunter beside him, then walked up to them.

The man with long, white hair tapped the ground with his staff. Mariabelle should have noticed him approaching and turned around, but she was so preoccupied with shouting.

“Are you really making this human do field work? Stop fooling around!” She didn’t notice he was there despite the field worker pointing for her to look.

The hunter and elder looked at each other, unsure of what to do, but shrugged, figuring that she would notice eventually. Judging by the looks of it, there was no need to panic over this outsider. Humans did indeed have a barbaric side, but it didn’t necessarily mean they were all that way. In fact, Mariabelle was the one acting disconcerting as she screamed and ranted.

“You won’t be able to act so easygoing for long. I just sent out a skilled hunter to go after him. He’s going to shoot you down in no time.” She pointed her finger directly at the tip of the boy’s nose, but he only cocked his head in confusion. A bow-wielding man who looked like a hunter was standing right behind her, so he may have been wondering if there was a different hunter somewhere in this village.

Mariabelle still hadn’t noticed.

They sat down on the moss-covered stairs and began preparing tea with practiced hands. A Fire Lizard was summoned, and it slowly shuffled its four legs to crawl under the pot. They had lived with these spirits since long ago, so they knew what to do without direct orders. Of course, it was common courtesy to give them some fragrant wood as thanks.

As the Fire Lizard licked the piece of fragrant wood with its little tongue, the water began to boil in the pot, and the scent of tea leaves began to fill the air. The elf girl had been ranting on the entire time, but she began sniffing as she noticed the aroma. Then, she finally turned around.

“Ah, Mariabelle noticed us,” the elder said.

“Then it seems I won our wager. You were too optimistic to think she would notice before the tea was done, Elder,” the hunter replied.

“Yes, you got the better of me this time, hahaha!” he laughed jovially. The elder then pulled out some silver pieces from his chest pocket and handed a few to the hunter. Seeing this, Mariabelle was visibly angry as she stomped over to the two men.

“Father... I mean, Elder! Gambling is forbidden in the village! And not to mention, you’re using human currency!”

“You look just like your mother, even when you make that face. And like her, I know you’re actually quite gentle, despite how serious you seem.”

The man who had the same white hair as Marie was the leader of this forest, known as the elder. The robe signifying his high ranking had purple embroidery stitched into it and matched his long hair well. The staff in his hand was made with holly, which was loved by spirits. He pressed it against the ground to push himself up to his feet. Now that its duty was complete, the Fire Lizard waved goodbye and vanished.

“Come, Marie. And that human over there, too.” His voice was now stern, in complete contrast to his earlier demeanor. Despite the language barrier, his intent could be understood. The half-naked human boy stood up, brushed off the shells on his outfit, then walked closer. Mariabelle’s face also grew solemn, and she shot the boy a glare before standing before the elder. She leaned her small body back in an arrogant pose.

“Hmhm, you’ve finally been caught. I’m sure you’re about to be thrown into a pot with those sunebi you were peeling and... Ow! E-Elder, not my ear!” She flailed around as the elder pinched her ear. Seeing Mariabelle’s eyes watering up, the elder let out an exhausted sigh.

“It appears my daughter has been quite rude to you. I don’t recall raising her to be violent, but our teachings may have been a bit overstated,” he said to the boy, who looked back at him with wide eyes. There was kindness under the sternness in his gaze. He stared for a moment longer, then spoke again. “Hm, did you not hear me?”

The boy finally opened his mouth.

“You can speak the universal language!”

“I have learned all of the main languages. After all, knowledge will never be a burden. Though in your case, it appears you have too little to burden you at all.”

The boy seemed like he wanted to say something, but he stopped himself. He couldn’t just explain that he had drowned in the river current and gotten torn to shreds by the man’s own daughter. The elder watched him curiously for a moment, then turned around, instructing the boy to follow.

Far beyond the scattered lines of stepping stones and gentle upward slope, there was a building that seemed to be moss-covered ruins. There were many holes in the ceiling where sunlight shined through. As tree roots continued to infest the ruins, it would have eventually crumbled without ever being repaired. No one knew whether this would have taken hundreds, or even thousands of years.

The boy’s eyes sparkled as he stared at the silver ornaments and gemstones adorning the pillars. But considering how he simply enjoyed the view without trying to touch them, it seemed the admiration didn’t merely come from their monetary value. Perhaps he was a fan of this fantastical sight.

The sound of heels clicking on the floor could be heard as they walked. There were cracks all over the building, and it was more than bright enough during the day. Weeds and flowers grew freely in the hall, and even birds had made their nests there. The boy again stared with fascination at the sight before him. Just then, the elf girl’s stern voice rang out in the ruins.

“Elder, these are holy grounds! We can’t let a human step foot in here!”

“Now, is he truly just a human? This is merely intuition, but it seems like he only partially exists in this world. Well, no matter. Take a seat there, you two.” He gestured toward a stone table. It seemed to be used often, judging by the surface which was polished like a mirror, and there were fresh fruits in a basket placed there. He watched the two young ones sit on the chairs made of woven vine, then took a seat himself. Birds could be heard chirping from the sky, and after a time, the elder opened his mouth to speak.

“I am Ozbell, the elder of this village. First, I’d like to ask why you came here and the reason for your journey.”

“I dove into a river to escape from a monster and ended up in this land. I was in the middle of my journey, but I happened upon this place by chance,” I replied.

“I wonder if that truly is nothing but happenstance. No, I can tell it was a coincidence by looking at your expression. But this place had been sealed off so no one could ever enter from the outside. A storm may have just recently passed, but it’s quite unlikely for the altar to have broken right before your arrival.”

The elder contemplated some more. He placed a finger on a small wrinkle on his forehead, then looked up at the sky with his clear eyes. There, birds could be seen clinging on a big branch. The sight of the birds tweeting to converse with their peers was quite a peaceful sight. Ozbell thought for some time longer before speaking again.

“...Hm, I suppose there is no point in thinking about it now. More importantly, why did you go out of your way to reach this village if you have no particular objective? You could have left if you wished to.”

“Well, I was hoping to learn Elvish, if possible.” The boy replied without hesitation, and the elder couldn’t help but smile at the desperate look on his face. It seemed he’d realized the boy was just as full of curiosity as he seemed. He let himself lower his guard one step further before opening his mouth again.

“I understand the excitement of learning an unknown language, and Elvish is a language that’s closely tied to communicating with spirits. If you have the talent for it, you may even learn to control spirits someday.”

The simple comment made the boy’s heart dance with curiosity. It was quite amusing to see the boy’s expression grow more and more cheerful in contrast to Mariabelle’s, who sat there with furrowed brows and a pouty expression. Then, the elder thought of something. He secretly thought to himself that this may have been the perfect opportunity to resolve an issue that had been quite a headache.

“I don’t have any money to offer, but I’ll repay you with labor. So please, let me live here for a while!” the boy said.

“Very well, I accept. Oh, no need to look so confused just because I accepted so readily. There just so happens to be something that has been troubling me,” the elder replied. The elder chuckled, then quietly glanced at the girl beside him. There sat Mariabelle with her hair tied in two bunches, confusion mixing in with her pouty expression as the two stared at her.

“She is quite adorable, as you can see, but I have spoiled her too much. Her hatred for humans has grown quite excessive as a result, and her physical growth has been much slower than that of her peers.”

“What? Her growth? What do you mean by that?” the boy asked. The elder slowly began to explain.

Unlike humans, elves didn’t grow simply by the passage of time. Due to their strong connection with spirits, their change in appearance was largely affected by their spiritual growth, rather than their age. They would remain a child if they had a juvenile mind, and those who lived for so long that they stopped thinking ended up perishing naturally in the corner of the forest.

And so, Ozbell had an idea. If she had the opportunity to interact with a human that came from the outside world, she could overcome her hatred for humans, learn about other cultures, and grow as a result. He put a pitcher of syrup from water up to his mouth, then turned his silver eyes toward the boy.

“As payment, you are to teach Mariabelle the language of humans. Hmhm, she is quite a stubborn girl who even refuses to learn from me. It won’t be easy.”

The boy happily accepted right away, but the latter half of the elder’s statement gave him pause. The elder’s gaze turned to Mariabelle, who had gone this far without trying to learn other languages. The girl met his eyes, then opened her mouth to speak.

“Elder, have you decided how to dispose of the human?”

“Yes, he will be spending time with you from now on. You are to teach him how to speak our language.”

“...Huh?” Mariabelle asked.

“In exchange, you will have the opportunity to learn the language of humans. How wonderful for you. You will be able to read even more books from the library. I imagine you won’t be complaining about boredom anymore.”

“Whaaaaaaaaat?!”

Her beautiful smile immediately turned into an expression of shock, and the boy beside her nearly jumped from her sudden outburst. The birds also flew away in surprise, and only Ozbell maintained the smile on his face.

A man’s finger touched a piece of crumbled stone.

Moss grew all over the area around the waterfall due to the humidity, but the cross section where the rock split open was brand new.

The hunter wearing the leather hat deep on his head looked completely different from earlier as he observed it like a hawk. As far as he could tell, there was nothing out of the ordinary. He was looking out for any signs of deliberate destruction. It seemed like the altar simply couldn’t bear the storm from the other day after all these years. Having come to his conclusion, he slowly stood back up.

“Only the elder can fix it if it’s this damaged. Hm, then I guess I’ll be back to my primary job for a while.” His lips curled into a smile.

His primary job was to keep an eye out for intruders making their way into the isolated village, and to intimidate or fatally injure them when necessary. Spellcasters would protect the village, and hunters would protect the spellcasters. They had continued this way of life for a long time now.

Not many could answer why things were arranged that way, however. The hunter turned, and the ruins where the elder currently was could be seen in the distance.

“Is this where Mariabelle was running around...? No, I don’t think so. I doubt she has such thick hair.”

He picked up a bundle of short fur that seemed to belong to some sort of beast. The hunter took one whiff of it, then turned toward the forest. He drew one arrow from his waist and readjusted his hat, his eyes growing even more like that of a bird of prey. Only he could feel the chill that suddenly fell upon the forest.

§

The weather in the mountains was a fickle thing. That was what was said since a long time ago, and now that I’d been living at the base of the Aomori mountains in the real world, I’d been experiencing it for myself. But this probably wasn’t just a result of the terrain. The trees were so tall that it blocked off one’s view of the sky, making it hard to notice changes in the weather right away. The shade of the sky gave a chilly impression, and the smell of rain was in the air.

“Maybe it’s going to rain soon. But it was sunny until just recently...” I commented to myself, but it was obviously going to feel cold when all I was wearing was a grass skirt. I sneezed, and the purple eyes glaring at me were just as cold as the weather.

“********” The girl said something in the language of elves as she turned around, so I couldn’t understand what she was saying. Judging by the look on her face, it probably meant, “That’s what you get for being dressed like that,” or “I won’t forgive you if you give me some human disease.” The girl, who turned her scowling face and walked away, went by the name of Mariabelle. She wasn’t the one who had told me, but the elder of the elves and Mariabelle’s father, Ozbell.

When I turned around, I saw that the ruins we were just at were cut off from view, with so many trees in the way. The area was rich with greenery, and butterflies were descending down from the sky. There were flowers sprouting from old, moss-covered logs on the ground. The butterflies must have been there to suck nectar out of them. They each gathered around to rest their wings and extended their straw-like mouths to feast.

I peered in and gasped quietly. There was a highly transparent body of water, and I was surprised that I could see the deep end with the sunlight piercing through. I could see ornamented rock walls covered in tree roots, but I couldn’t tell how far they extended. There was a completely different world on the other side of the water’s surface, and I couldn’t help but let out a “Wow.”

The elven village was amazing. I felt as if fairies could appear at any time here. The elder mentioned that it was usually closed off to outsiders. The difficulty of entering elven villages was even chronicled in written texts. I heard a storm had destroyed their altar, but I couldn’t help but be happy about the unfortunate event.

Just then, I finally noticed the cold look being directed my way. Way off in the distance, Mariabelle was staring at me, as if to say, “Good, get lost then,” and turned to walk away.

“Ah, wait, wait!”

It was a bad habit of mine to lose myself staring at fantastical scenery like this. This had been an issue for years now, so maybe it wouldn’t change even when I became an adult. Though, maybe that wouldn’t have been all too bad.

Mariabelle walked on with a quick pace, but I caught up quickly due to her lack of stamina. Her long, white hair wavered as she turned around. Her large eyes were as vivid as gemstones, and her skin was remarkably pale.

It was a shame that her displeased expression was taking away from her beauty. Why did she run out of breath so quickly when she lived in a forest like this?

I felt like she had been giving me a lot of reproachful comments, but I didn’t understand her language at all, and she had been ordered by the leader of the elves himself, Elder Ozbell. Resigned to her fate, she turned her nose away from me and continued walking.

I wondered if her clothes were handmade. The cloth covering her chest was hung by a string, which was dyed with a plain, pinkish color. Just below her pretty back was a little puff ball that seemed to be modeled after a rabbit’s tail. It bobbed around to the left and right in contrast to her angry steps, which I thought was adorable. As I continued watching the tail, we arrived at what seemed to be Mariabelle’s residence.

Shadows fell around us. We had entered the shade of the trees. The trees around us were completely dry, but it was a bit odd to see a door with a handle in their midst. Just beside the entrance was a waist-high mushroom, and... wait, what? It was bigger than any mushroom I had ever seen before, and it just sat there like it was just a normal piece of furniture.

I tried to poke it, but got my hand slapped away.

“Tieto! Chitti-to, onodo!” Did she just scold me? I blinked and rubbed my hand. It didn’t hurt, but it did take me by surprise. She was probably telling me not to touch it, but maybe “Tieto” meant something like, “Hey!” I wanted to figure out the conjunctions, too, but I didn’t even understand the nouns yet, so that would’ve needed to come later. It wasn’t a very grade schooler-like way of thinking, but not only was I into the main language of this world, I’d been studying its ancient languages, too. This was how I had entertained myself ever since I was young. Maybe I was different from the other kids in that sense.

I couldn’t wait to learn to communicate. The idea of speaking to elves who were reminiscent of fairy tales in their own language was fascinating and had me excited from the bottom of my heart.

I wondered if she would have been surprised if I told her I knew a smattering of phrases in the language of monsters.

The door creaked open, exposing a dimly lit staircase leading underground. But when the girl uttered something, a light source suddenly appeared out of nowhere. A shadow danced through the air and left light particles in its wake: a light spirit.

I did a double take, unsure if I’d really seen what I thought I did.

No, it was far too quick.

I had seen people who could control spirits before, but I’d heard that the spirits were rather fickle beings. It should have been nearly impossible to summon one so easily.

“Liesom!” The girl left me standing there in my surprise and called down the stairs. Then, the door at the far end opened, and a woman appeared. She looked so similar to Mariabelle that it was immediately obvious she was her mother. But her hair was in complete contrast with her daughter’s: jet black and wavy, with her forehead exposed. Her eyes were amber, like the flames of a burning torch.

The woman gasped lightly, then pulled something out of a pouch next to the door. She drew a knife that extended to around her elbow, its blade gleaming with the illumination from the light spirit.

Before I knew it, I was rolling around the grassy field. I mean, the woman immediately rushed up the stairs and slashed at the spot where I had been standing just a moment ago. The blade made swishing sounds as she swiped through the air, and my eyes bulged in their sockets.

“W-Wait! Mariabelle, Mariabelle! What did you just say to her?! Did you explain who I am?!” I desperately called out to the girl, who was just staring off in the distance as if she couldn’t hear me. A knife danced before my face, blocking my view. The light spirit from earlier had melded into the blade, and I could see a gleam in the woman’s amber eyes. The earring on her earlobe was a matching amber, and her mouth curled into a combative smirk.

I gestured with my hands, pleading for her to calm down. I wasn’t a bad guy, nor was I their enemy. I just wanted to have fun in my dreams by learning their language and culture.

In response, she extended her toes and executed a sharp kick. Her dress had a long slit going down its length, and her pale thigh was revealed in the sunlight.

Although she was in heels, her thighs were well-developed from the wilderness and capable of delivering a kick that could pierce through my abdomen. I rolled to the side in a panic, but such a kick would have snapped me awake in one shot. Maybe she was a trained fighter. The elder was a mild-mannered intellectual, and Mariabelle wasn’t the athletic type, so this really had come out of left field.

The woman held herself up with one hand on the ground, and a follow-up kick came straight for the back of my head. Her muscles bulged, and her foot accelerated with such speed that it surely would have shattered my skull.

I gasped, then managed to stick my hands out and touch her knees. I tried to soften the blow somewhat, but it was no use. The unstoppable impact came rushing toward me, and I forced myself to do a sort of back hip circle around her leg to avoid the hit. I somehow managed to end up on the other side of her kick, and her leg went veering away from me with breakneck speed.

There was a moment of relief, but I found myself upside-down in the air. A pair of breasts covered in cloth and bare skin, moist with sweat, appeared right in front of my face. I was so close that I could smell the sweat on her body when the eyes of burning torches looked down on me.

“Olou-chitti-ijavu.”

Later on, I had found out that the words meant, “Hello, and goodbye.” I became painfully aware of the fact that it was important for me to learn their language. There was no way I could have cleared up this misunderstanding if I couldn’t convey my thoughts. Though, I didn’t even know if it was a misunderstanding that was causing the issue in the first place.

The woman grabbed my grass skirt, and the knife in her other hand came right for me. The blade was so well polished that I could see my own horrified face in the reflection before it made a beeline for my heart. I only had time to blink before it was all over.

I had discarded my stone axe long ago, and I really didn’t want to go back to sleep for the third time today. And so, I immediately shouted out the first thing that came to mind.

“Nnngh! Ozbell!” As soon as she heard the name, she snapped out of her cruel grin and blinked, her knife frozen in mid-air. It was only a few millimeters away from opening a hole in my chest. My heart was beating like a drum. The woman lifted me with one hand, raising me right up to her beautiful face. She then said, “Ozbell?” with a dubious expression and cocked her head.

Her lips were quite vivid even without lipstick, much like her daughter’s. I nodded continuously, repeating the phrase “Ozbell” over and over again. The woman’s brows furrowed, and then her gaze turned to Mariabelle.

Words were important, indeed. Even if we didn’t understand each other, her husband’s name had to ring a bell. Such was my thinking as I shouted the word, and it seemed to have worked out. Mariabelle muttered something, as if to make excuses, and her mother’s face grew more and more stern as she listened.

It seemed like I was off the hook. I wanted to let out a sigh of relief, but the grass skirt was digging into my skin, and I was desperately holding on to it as it gradually slid upward.

Oh, how I wished to learn their language. I wanted to learn it then and there. Then I could have begged her to put me down. And so, in that moment, my grass skirt snapped off and the misunderstanding was cleared at the same time.

§

What kinds of dreams did people see when they went to sleep at night? Maybe dreams of flying through the air, using ancient magic, or spending time as a king? Or maybe dreams of becoming a monster themselves, wreaking havoc wherever they went. Though, I guess that did sound fun, too. As for me... it may have been hard to believe, but I was dreaming about laying butt naked in the rain.

Afterward, Mariabelle and her mother entered the house, and the door was closed behind them. Immediately after it was shut, the rain suddenly turned into a downpour. I was surprised to find that the raindrops didn’t feel cold. In fact, they were rather warm. But for some reason, my tears nearly flowed out along with the rain.

“I wonder if everyone else has dreams like this, too...” I could almost hear someone’s voice pointing out that they most certainly didn’t.

After laying there for some time, the door burst open. Mariabelle appeared, holding her rear and crying out loud, along with the black-haired woman from earlier.

The mother, who had been scolding her daughter just a moment ago, walked out holding an outfit made of cloth. She then glanced up at the sky and looked rather surprised. She hurriedly reached over to the large mushroom next to the entrance of her house and bopped it, expelling white spores into the air.

I let out a soft gasp. The floating spores absorbed water, turning into a jelly-like substance. And yet, they remained hovering in the air, turning into what looked like transparent plastic umbrellas.

“Ela! Levo-imohk!” She called out loudly, and she splashed through the water as she rushed to my side. The strange floating thing soon covered me as well, and the sound of rain didn’t sound so close anymore.

I was amazed. That was no ordinary mushroom in their house; it functioned as an umbrella. I wondered how it was able to stay afloat even after absorbing water, though. As I absently stared at the hovering thing, the woman began wiping down my body.

“Ilou, ilou, zulokut?” I still had no idea what she was saying. But unlike earlier, there was an apologetic look to her amber eyes. She was as terrifying as a demon when she was attacking me, but I wondered if she was a kind person at heart.

The way she gestured for me to raise my arms did remind me of a kind mother, and it tickled a bit when she wiped down my armpits as I obeyed. She then pulled the cloth garment over my head and quickly did the buttons up for me.

“Oh, it’s warm... Thank you!” We didn’t understand each other’s words, but we managed to get by with gestures. I bowed my head, and she wrapped another piece of cloth around my head and began wiping some more. Her face was right before mine as she continued to talk, and I felt my cheeks grow hot from her beauty. The woman smiled gently and pointed at herself.

“Sharsha,” she said softly. She repeated it again, then a third time, and I finally realized what the word meant. Sharsha must have been her name. I repeated her name, taking care to pronounce it correctly, and her smile grew wider. Her amber eyes stared at me expectantly, as if to say, “Now it’s your turn.”

I had introduced myself to strangers many times before. I usually greeted them with a “Hello, nice to meet you.” And in the end, we always parted with a “Goodbye.” This realization made introductions feel a bit lonely, but before I knew it, I no longer feared taking the first step.

“Sharsha... Kazuhiho. My name is Kazuhiho.”

“Kazuio? Hehe... Iizie, imetiv.” She stuck her tongue out, then made biting motions with her teeth. Maybe she was laughing about biting her own tongue because it was hard to pronounce. The lovable expression on her face made me burst out into laughter, too.

Maybe it was because I was still barefoot, but Sharsha picked me up in one arm and began to walk.

Mariabelle was by the entrance with her nose still red, and Sharsha said something to her in a stern tone. The little girl looked downcast, then looked up at me with her big eyes. She muttered something that could have been a word of apology. Sharsha gently patted her daughter’s white hair, then picked Mariabelle up in her other arm with ease.

Seeing her lift us so casually when we were the size of older grade schoolers, my preconceived image of elves was completely shattered in that moment. I was even more surprised when Mariabelle’s face popped out from the other side. We were a lot closer than we had ever been before, and I found myself in awe of her adorable face and eyes like precious gemstones.

She must have gotten quite the scolding earlier. Red-nosed and with tears welling up in her eyes, she looked so childlike as she clung to her mother. We still couldn’t understand each other’s words, and we didn’t know anything about each other but our names. But she looked no different from a human child as she tightly held on to her mother’s chest. And so, I extended my hand to communicate through gestures rather than words. I figured their custom for making up wouldn’t be too different from humans.

She gingerly reached out her hand, then touched my fingertip. Someday, there would be a time when we would bid each other farewell. Even so, I still loved meeting people. I could feel her warmth as she held onto my finger, and I naturally broke out into a smile.

Her tight lips loosened in turn, finally curling up into a faint smile of her own. Just seeing that little smile made me feel like talking to her was worthwhile, even if we would inevitably have parted ways someday. Though, I had to admit it was quite bold of me to talk to her, dressed the way I was.

Just as Sharsha was about to pass through the doorway, she changed direction for some reason. Just as the rain had suddenly started to fall, the large beads of water abruptly stopped, sunlight beaming down from the sky instead.

Mariabelle, Sharsha, and I each let out a small cheer of joy. Having absorbed plenty of water, the forest began releasing heat from the ground, emitting a faint haze. The stripes of light and shadow made by the trees obstructing the setting sun made for a picturesque sight. The rainbow in the distance only added to the wondrous view.

Looking up, I noticed that the inflated jelly spores had started shedding their excess moisture. Once they lost the water weighing them down, they floated up into the air. Maybe that was how the mushroom spread seeds, along with water, in order to propagate. I couldn’t help but admire what an ecological umbrella it was.

It seemed they were going to let me spend my time freely in their house. Having received some new clothing, I stared blankly and learned about how elves spent their daily lives.

I wouldn’t really have called their house underground, but it was more like it was dug out of a slope of a hill. It took in fresh air from the chimney extending above ground, and sunlight poured in from the various holes placed throughout its design.

Apparently, they weren’t bothered by the little things, because water easily poured into their home whenever it rained, like earlier. There were waterways on either side of the hallways to channel out the water, and I was shocked by the difference in culture compared to my own.

“This is amazing. How is there no mold growing all over the place?” I looked around as I pondered out loud. There was a rounded roof over the dim hallway that was made of some sort of hardened mud or clay. It was rough to the touch, but didn’t smell too strongly of soil, and I was surprised to find that it didn’t seem like it would crumble at all.

Then, I noticed there were little holes bored into the wall. I stared, trying to figure out what their purpose could be.

“Kazuhiho...” Just then, a little girl’s face peered in from the other side of the hallway. She stood there with her long, white hair hanging down from her head, and her grumpy expression from earlier had softened up from us having made up.

A light spirit rested on her shoulder as she walked up, and she looked up at the same wall I was. She cocked her head, obviously trying to figure out what I was staring at, but then her eyes met my own. Light spirits flew into the air behind Mariabelle’s back, then settled into the holes in the wall... It seemed the purpose of the holes was to provide lighting.

The dim hallway suddenly turned just as bright as the one in Japan, which made me question whether the life of an elf was primitive or modern.

“They seem to live more comfortably than humans, at least. I didn’t see many people working during the day.”

The hallway was remarkably long, which was probably also due to a difference in culture. Instead of partitioning rooms with walls, maybe they deliberately put distance between each room as a countermeasure for the lack of durability in the earthen structures.

I let out impressed noises while admiring the architecture some more, and Mariabelle’s expression began to turn bemused in contrast. Her eyebrows crinkled, and she stared at me as if she was wondering if there was something wrong with me. Then, she reached out and presented... a pillow? The rounded piece of fabric definitely looked like a pillow, but there were removable wooden buttons on it.

She went on to explain something and handed me the object, and I was surprised by just how warm it was.

Ah, it was basically a hot-water bag. I could hear something sloshing around inside, which I figured was hot water. I got scolded when I tried to shake it up, so apparently I wasn’t supposed to treat it roughly. There was so much I didn’t know about their culture. This was getting exciting. Not to mention, Mariabelle was very emotive and easy to read, so just observing her reactions was pretty entertaining.

I held the object like a baby in both arms, and Mariabelle opened the door for me. There was a space there of about four tatami mats in size, and the floor was made with tightly paved stones, unlike the other room. The humidity was more stable here as a result, making it more comfortable to spend time in.

“This looks like a bedroom. Is this where I get to stay, by any chance?” I asked Mariabelle while gesturing, and it seemed she understood the gist of what I was asking. Her brows furrowed cutely, and she said something in a dissatisfied tone.

There were wide window frames set in the walls, but of course there was no such thing as glass here. It seemed they used the nearby boards to block the night wind when it got too chilly. There was a wooden chair and a small desk right below it, with several books laid out, as well. I glanced at them to find the covers were written in completely unfamiliar text, and then I noticed another book...

“Oh, it’s written in the common language. This is the main language of the western region. So that other one must have been written in the language of elves. Hmm, the letters look pretty, but they’re written in such a unique style. There are so many breaks between the words, and... oh, sometimes there are letters written in two rows stacked on top of each other. I wonder, are they supposed to be pronounced at the same time?”

There was no stopping my curiosity now. Come to think of it, the way the elf ladies spoke had a beautiful ring to it, like they were singing a song. Maybe that was how they pulled off such complex pronunciations. I wanted to study it in detail, but I had my hands full with the water bag, so I reluctantly stepped away from the books.

“Oh, I put this on this shelf? I totally thought it was a hot-water bag. Wait, why are there so many bird feathers here?” I heaved the object onto the shelf, and my question was soon answered. As the sun began to set, a wild bird came down out of nowhere and poked its head in through the window.

Our eyes met. The bird cocked its head, as if confused by the fact that there was a human here. Then, it entered the room, seemingly shrugging it off, and settled onto the mistletoe above the shelf. The bird folded its wings and started grooming itself with its beak, and several more wild birds joined in.

One bird rested on the hot-water bag while another groomed itself on the mistletoe, and the room grew more lively as the sun set further. The room became filled with the smell of blankets drying in the sun and fretful clucking noises.

“Whoa, this place is pretty packed now. This is a crazy sight.” I turned around and nearly jumped. More birds were peering into the room from the window. They had an exchange with Mariabelle, which I figured boiled down to, “You’re full?”

“Yes, you’ll have to try some other place.”

Hmm, elven culture really was different from our own. If it was as interesting as it seemed, I would have loved to stay here long-term. And so, I started to put together a plan on how to spend my time in the dream world.

I spent my first night at the elven village in a room full of birds and sleepy clucking noises.

From my bed, I could see the clear moonlight illuminating the trees outside, and the howl of beasts could be heard in the distance. I felt like I was inside of a picture book, and the mystical air of this place proved the texts I had read weren’t wrong.

But just as I was able to enter, an evil entity had stepped foot into this peaceful village. It breathed heavily, staring down at the village from a hill above.

The creature’s massive frame began to move forward, but as soon as I fell asleep and woke up from my dream, it froze in place.

It was the monster known as Avenger. My meeting with this beast wasn’t until some time later.

§

I could hear a bird chirping.

I heard that birds liked to peck at eyelids and earlobes, for some reason. Supposedly, it felt good to bite flesh that was just the right amount of thinness, squishiness, and warmth. Maybe it was fun for the birds, but it felt very ticklish for me. The bird hopped onto my lip, which was even worse.

I opened my eyes slightly, and I saw the bird’s colorful feathers puff up in surprise. It then cawed and flew away. I blankly watched through the simple windows of empty frames in the earthen walls as it disappeared to find some breakfast.

I raised both hands into the air in the now-empty room. My drowsiness vanished in that moment, so I put on my shoes and walked on the well-polished stone pavement. The blue sky beyond the window was a vivid reminder of summer vacation, and I could see birds flying around the evergreen trees. They seemed to be full of energy from resting in warmth and comfort.

“Good, I got to pick up where I left off. I would’ve been pretty sad if I woke up somewhere else.”

I usually camped outside at night, but fortunately, I was given some bedding to sleep with. Not to mention, I was in the village of elves. Even during class at elementary school, I couldn’t wait to spend more time back in this world. I couldn’t focus in school as a result, and my teacher had scolded me twice about not paying attention. And so, I dove under my blankets as soon as I ate dinner so I could enjoy more time in my dreams.

“Nn, the forest smells so refreshing. You won’t find anything like this even in Aomori... Huh?”

Just then, a young girl’s head, with her white hair bound like rabbit ears, came into view. Her arms and back were exposed, and she wore less accessories than yesterday, maybe due to it being so early in the morning.

She yawned out loud as she picked something off of some nearby vines with an annoyed expression. Her clothes were rather thin, but maybe she didn’t feel the need to cover up. Mariabelle then noticed me and made a face. If I had to describe it in a word, it would probably have been, “Ugh.” This house was built into a slope, so there was elevated land on the other side of the window. Mariabelle stomped over with wide steps, and I could only see her feet when she got closer. She then crouched down, her pale thighs in full view as she peered down at my face.

The basket under her arm was full of what appeared to be beans, and her cute face was ruined by the way she was puffing out her cheeks in anger. Actually, she still looked cute making that face, too.

It sounded like she was complaining about something as she glared at me with narrowed eyes, but I couldn’t understand what she was saying. Her badmouthing wasn’t getting through to me in the slightest, and I just kept smiling at her. When your feelings didn’t get through to the other side, it was essentially the same as being ignored, which could have been quite frustrating. But what if there was a solution to our little issue?

“So, Mariabelle. If you want to complain to me, there’s something we need to overcome first. Do you know what that is?”

Of course, she didn’t understand what I had just asked her, either. But I picked up the books on the common language and Elvish in hand, which should have helped her see what I was getting at. I was telling her that she could only berate me by using the common language.

She narrowed her pale purple eyes even further and glared at me in silence for some time. It was kind of weird seeing a cute girl crouched outside the window like this. Just then, the young girl stood up, turned on her heel, then walked away.

It seemed the elder was right about her being kind of difficult. Mariabelle stuck her tongue out at me, then disappeared into the forest. Now alone, I let out a deep sigh. Teaching each other to speak our respective languages wasn’t going to be easy.

The door creaked open.

The dim hallway reminded me of sewers that had existed in the west since the olden days. But here, there were holes in the wall around the corner where light could pour in from the outside. The lighting allowed me to navigate my way through without bumping into anything, and I made it out to the brighter area on the other side. This area seemed to be the kitchen, where plenty of sunlight filled the room through the windows.

“Onn, Kazuhiho?” I turned around to find the black-haired woman Sharsha standing there. She, too, was an elf, and her long ears were visible on either side of her friendly smile.

“Good morning, Sharsha.”

I was indebted to her for lending me the bed last night. I bowed my head as I greeted her. Sharsha was sitting on a chair with her legs crossed, and she thought about something for a moment before saying, “Gunilom-du,” with clear pronunciation so I could understand.

“Guneelam...?”

“Nnhn, gunilom-du.” It seemed she was teaching me the Elvish morning greeting.

I smiled with excitement and sat in front of her as she was peeling some beans. They were the food items known as sunebi that were being peeled yesterday. Mariabelle must have handed them to her mother through the window after picking some earlier, then went off to play afterward.

“Gunilom-du, Sharsha.”

“Toligg! Gunilom-du, Kazuhiho.” Her expression brightened into a flowery smile. She seemed to understand that I wanted to help her with her task, and she placed the basket between us. She wasn’t wearing a dress like yesterday, and her exposed thighs were almost too radiant to look at. It was still early in the morning, so this must have been her sleepwear.

She was quite terrifying when I had met her yesterday, but she seemed like a completely different person as she smiled in the sunlight. There was something very motherly about her expression, and I found myself staring in awe for some time.

I was shocked. I didn’t realize just how cute elves were when they smiled. How cute would Mariabelle have been if she smiled, too? Such thoughts played over in my mind as I peeled sunebi with Sharsha and she taught me how to say the names of the objects around us. By the way, I also found out that elves didn’t eat breakfast, and it was some time later that I learned what sunebi tasted like.

Thud, thud, thud!

Our fun language lesson was interrupted by the rough sound of pounding at the door. Sharsha seemed to sense something, and her expression suddenly grew grave. She pulled some clothing out of a nearby shelf, then quickly donned them and walked up the stairs.

I followed her long legs and saw the door creak open. Sunlight poured in from the opening, casting aside the shadows of the staircase.

There stood a man with the brim of his hat deep over his eyes and a large bow at his back. It was the man who had been next to the elder yesterday. Judging by his outfit, he must have been a ranger of some sort.

The man quietly said something to Sharsha, who gasped in response. Although I couldn’t understand what they were talking about, I could feel the tension in the air. Something must have been happening in this peaceful elven village. I felt my heartbeat grow louder.

The two exchanged a couple more words before turning their backs toward each other. Sharsha swiftly rushed down the stairs, then picked up the steel-colored weapons hidden behind the door. I watched, open mouthed, as she put two of the weapons behind her waist and heaved a medium-sized bow onto her shoulder.

Why was she arming herself? Had something appeared close by? I recognized the mood in the air; danger was closing in. Sharsha was acting just as she had when she attacked me thinking I was a threat to Mariabelle. But yesterday’s incident was a misunderstanding, and she had gone back to her usual self after the situation was cleared up. I approached Sharsha from behind as she strapped herself with black leather belts all over.

“Sharsha, I’ll help, too. Mariabelle is in danger, isn’t she?”

“...”

I couldn’t help but swallow my breath when I saw her eyes: eyes of amber, like burning torchlights. They stared right into my own, and it felt like she was mulling over my words as she observed me.

I had spoken to her in the common language. There was no way she understood me. But it seemed to me that she was highly capable when it came to battle. Such people tended to have sharp senses, and it was usually easier to communicate with them about matters regarding combat.

Sharsha wordlessly reached into the hidden compartment and pulled out a heavy dagger. The hilt was made with animal tusks, and the grip felt comfortable in my hand. The weapon reached from my wrist to my elbow, which was just the right length.

I may not have looked like it, but I was pretty adept with this sort of weapon. I had quite a bit of experience dealing with monsters.

I swung the blade around, as if to demonstrate exactly that. This may have been a familiar sight for movie fans. The knife danced around like magic, swishing through the air as sunlight reflected off of the blade. I had always admired how they used the knife like it was part of their body, and I spent a lot of time practicing during my solo journey. People usually underestimated me because of my sleepy-looking face. It seemed I was finally reaping the fruits of my labor, because the look in Sharsha’s eyes changed noticeably. She nodded, then pointed at me as if telling me to stay put. I wondered what that was about, but then she pressed her lips against my chest where my heart was.

She exhaled, and the somewhat sweet scent made my heart beat louder in surprise.

She must have been speaking in the language of spirits. Her eyes were closed as she stayed there with her lips touching my body, and it felt as if her warm breath was going to fill my lungs.

I didn’t understand what this ritual was for, but it seemed it was something only she needed to know.

She moved away with the litheness of an animal, and the preparations were complete.

“Ditaats-niiteh,” she called out sharply, and we set out to search for Mariabelle. According to what I heard later on, her last statement meant, “Now, let’s begin.” She grinned at me with an intensity that left me fascinated by her beauty.

§

The Fire Lizard, with its stubby limbs, a plump belly, and beady eyes, was one of the most useful spirits in the forest. When summoned, it wasn’t for barbaric purposes such as incinerating an enemy, but usually for heating up food or tea. This morning was no different, and the spirit was summoned in a forest surrounded by fresh verdure, where girls were conversing.

Breakfast was not a part of elven culture. But they were fans of snacking, which was apparent from the sweet scent in the air.

“I can’t believe it. There’s actually a human male in my house,” a girl said with an annoyed expression as she poked the roasting nut known as noran with a stick. It was covered in white smoke, and juices dripped down occasionally to sizzle against the hot plate. They were pungent when eaten raw, but they melted into a mildly-sweet, viscous substance not unlike honey when roasted.

Marie looked at her friends who had gathered for snack time, seeking their agreement. The girls, whose eyes were just as big as Marie’s, brightened into cheery expressions. Though, it wasn’t so much because they agreed with her, but because they were excited to get some hot news in the otherwise peaceful and boring forest.

“No way! So the rumor about you living with some guy is true?!” The girl asking with a surprised look on her face was known as Pamella. She had a talent for archery despite her short stature, and she had been learning how to hunt with the adults as of late. Her red hair stuck out freely on her head, and there still weren’t a lot of garments covering up her body.

“Like, I, said. That’s not how it is. My father just decided it on his own...”

“So you’re, like, betrothed to each other? Did you already do the deed then, Marie?” The girl with the honey-colored bob cut was named Nike, and she sometimes spewed venom despite her mild appearance and demeanor.

Whenever they finished their chores in the morning or evening, the girls gathered here with their food of choice. Enjoying the snacks together as they conversed about nothing in particular was part of their daily routine.

“Oh, please. This is our naive Marie we’re talking about. I’ll bet she messed with the human for no reason, and the elder made her watch over him to teach her a lesson.”

“Ahaha, that’s hilarious! I can totally picture that happening.” The two girls realized they were spot on as Marie winced with each comment, and they burst out into laughter.

Once they settled down, they picked up the roasted noran to check if they were done cooking. The Fire Lizard had an appetite even when sound asleep, and it caught the empty noran shell with both hands. Pieces of fragrant wood were its favorite, but anything scented would have done. The spirit wasn’t too picky.

Freshly-roasted noran were one of the few sweet treats that could be found during this season. Their mildly sweet scent filled the air as their juices oozed out. The girls filled their mouths with noran and smiled as they enjoyed the soft texture and sweetness.

“So tasty! Too bad they’re so pungent and give you heartburn when you eat too much.”

“Of course they’re tasty, I picked ’em. So, Nike, what happened with that owl’s egg you told us about?” Pamella asked.

“About that, my dad tried to move its nest to some place higher up...”

Marie’s eyes widened. She couldn’t believe the conversation was moving on to some egg when there was a human in the village. Owls were kind of cute, but they weren’t even rare here.

“H-Hey, you two! This is a human we’re talking about! Don’t you care that a race that’s so barbaric, vulgar, uneducated, and full of lust is here in our forest?!” Marie’s two friends looked at her blankly. They turned to each other, then asked with confused expressions.

“Has anything changed other than the fact that there’s a human here? Like, did he go around causing a disturbance or attack you?”

“Huh? No, nothing like that, but...”

If anything, Marie and her mother Sharsha were the ones acting wildly. The boy just desperately avoided Sharsha’s attacks, and Marie didn’t recall seeing him fight back or complain.

Marie remembered taking his hand when he reached out to her, presumably as a sign that he wanted to be her friend. She felt his warmth then, and she could tell from the feel of his hand that he was a swordsman despite his youth. In that moment, she realized he was just a normal, young boy.

“...Maybe he wasn’t a ghost after all,” she uttered to herself. Mariabelle wrinkled her brows, a puzzled expression forming on her face.

She had seen such a strange sight just a few days ago. That boy had perished before her eyes, then reappeared before her as if nothing had happened. She was the one who had the spirit attack him, and more than once, at that. There was no way she had mistaken him for a lookalike. Marie went silent as she fell deep into thought, and her friends looked at her with confusion.

“So, is he really handsome or something?”

“N-No. He has a forgettable, sleepy-looking face,” Marie replied. The girls made a noncommittal noise, looked at each other, and nodded.

“In that case, there’s nothing else to ask about that, really. So, were you able to move the owl’s nest?” Pamella said.

“Oh, right. The thing is, I heard there was a huge animal that’s never been seen in the forest before, so my dad wanted to postpone it to tomorrow...”

“Forget about the owl, you two! More importantly, let’s figure out a way to drive the human out of the forest! If we don’t do something, I’m going to be forced to learn the human language,” Marie said with urgency, but they looked at her as if they couldn’t understand why that was such a bad thing. Pamella scratched her red hair as she sat cross-legged, exposing her bare feet to the sunlight.

“But the elder has been pushing for more interaction with humans. Weren’t you saying you wanna read more texts, too? Why not just use this as an opportunity to learn a new language?”

“I do like reading books, but I don’t want to read something written by humans.”

“Huh. But there are books on sorcery in the elder’s storage, too.”

Marie’s long ears twitched. For her, her endless search for knowledge was always related to sorcery. She had always avoided humans and their foul culture, but sorcery, having been created in the ancient times, was a different matter.

Much like the Fire Lizards, which were summoned from a vague and abstract realm, Spirit Magic was just something she was able to use by instinct. But according to her father, sorcery existed upon logical and consistent rules. Supposedly, it worked by creating a base, gradually empowering it to increase the heat, and then activating it, like the moment a puzzle was solved.

That was how it was explained to her during bedtime, and she had to admit that she was quite curious to learn more. Nothing was more interesting to her than something that was completely unknown. But Marie shook her head in denial.

“Why do you hate humans so much, Marie?” Nike asked.

“Why? Well...” Marie’s purple eyes widened at Nike’s question, posed in her usual, mild-mannered tone.

She just noticed that the morning mist had cleared, and the early morning hours were about to end. A warm breeze blew by. Having gone silent, Mariabelle dismissed the Fire Lizard and parted from her friends.

“Maybe you act like you hate them because you’re actually interested in them.” Her friend’s words echoed in her mind as she walked down a footpath.

A storm had passed just recently, and broken trees were visibly strewn along the way. The elves lived a peaceful life thanks to the deep forest, but their protector had taken some small injuries.

Her friend’s comments were still stuck inside of Marie’s head. She couldn’t even deny it before she realized it made sense. Mariabelle told herself it couldn’t have been true as she walked along, touching the grass growing along the path as she did so. Her tail and hairstyle, modeled after rabbits, appeared a bit more downcast than usual. It seemed more like she was trying to reason through this doubt nagging at her, rather than going for a simple walk.

“Am I really so hung up on him because I’m interested in him?”

She had been so frustrated at her friends for being totally disinterested by the human’s arrival. But when she considered this question, it changed the entire reason for her attitude.

It wasn’t that her friends were dull or anything. They hadn’t reacted because they weren’t really interested in the first place. If the human had attacked the village, their reactions would have been completely different. They would have properly treated him as a “dirty human” if that was the case. Mariabelle’s friends were realists, and their response was completely different from hers.

“Why am I so annoyed by this?”

She entered a section of woods with a nice view, but the deer that were usually present were nowhere in sight. She was in the mood to see their innocent little eyes, so she found herself a bit disappointed by their absence.

Mariabelle could hear the sound of water flowing in the distance. Humidity and the fresh smell of morning hung in the air. If she had walked a bit further, the waterfall would have been waiting for her. It was the same waterfall where she had originally met that strange boy. As she decided to go there, she noticed someone was watching her. Mariabelle turned to find the black-haired boy who had just crossed her mind.

“Ah! You’ve been following me!”

“...!” But the boy spoke to her with words she couldn’t understand, moving closer to her with a more aggressive gait than usual. There was a strange intensity to his sleepy-looking face, and Mariabelle found herself shrinking back a bit.

“Wh-What do you want?! You don’t scare me! Humans are just foul, and I want you to get out of my forest!”

The boy shouldn’t have been able to understand her words in Elvish, but the boy reached out with both hands and shoved Mariabelle. He was deceptively strong for his small frame, and Mariabelle lost her balance as she confirmed in her mind that he was an enemy after all. She landed on her rear and held herself up with her arm so she wouldn’t roll away, but she cut her palm on a small, sharp rock in the process.

“Ow! What kind of man are you, hurting a girl like this?!” She mustered her courage to glare at the boy, but she fell speechless when she saw the scene before her. A metallic clash rang out, and sparks flew into the air as a battle raged.

The massive creature blocking the sunlight couldn’t have been described as a bear. Its head was full of fangs like a wurm, drool pouring out of its mouth. A dagger was sticking out of one of its murderous eyes.

The creature swung down with an arm that was like a sharpened pile. The boy blocked the attack with a knife, and sparks flew from the blade. The ground shook as its arm sank into the earth. It had landed right where Mariabelle had been standing just a moment ago.

§

I let out a deep breath.

I had heard stories of a monster known as “Avenger.” Supposedly, its drive to kill was so high that it would track anyone who injured it down across mountains to have its revenge. And there it was before me.

Its upper body was covered in thick, black fur and far more developed than that of a bear. Its eyes were as red as blood. It roared from a mouth full of sharp, uneven teeth.

The dagger I had thrown at it a few days ago was still stuck in one of its eyes. A flame burned in the one remaining eye as it remained locked onto me. The creature was still just as terrifying as I’d heard, and I noted that some rumors could be trusted after all.

“Now, what to do... I’ve never faced a monster with an estimated level of 38 like this one.”

That was because I stood no chance. The only skill I had was Reprisal, and all it could do was repeat whatever motion was set. Being able to lock in a mere three attack patterns wasn’t going to do me any good.

The monster’s spiked arm rose once again. It left a large hole in the ground, and maybe—no, there was no “maybe” about it—I would have ended up just like that. Cold sweat ran down my face as I recorded that downward swing attack into my first slot, then took a step back. But I didn’t back out of the attack range where the monster and I could still reach each other. This was because Mariabelle was still right behind me, so shocked that she couldn’t even speak.

“Mariabelle, go find Sharsha. Your mother is somewhere close by.”

I still couldn’t speak Elvish, but the mention of her mother’s name should have been enough. My voice was just quiet enough that it wouldn’t have set the monster off, and I spoke slowly and clearly so she could hear me. All the while, the monster’s ferocity and body temperature continued to rise.

I had been on a long journey until then. I had been stripped of everything I had more than once or twice, and killed by monsters more times than I could count. I just wanted to enjoy my fantastical dreams in peace, but monsters often stood in my path with vicious hostility.

Maybe that was why... My instincts were telling me something: once this monster made its move, there would be no stopping it. It would wreak havoc until I was reduced to chunks of meat, and it would continue rampaging through the elven village.

Mariabelle moved to get up, and the monster’s eyes turned a deeper shade of red. There was nothing it loved more than fleeing prey. As its muscles bulged and its fur bristled, I pointed my dagger toward the beast in a side stance.

I was calm, and my breath was steady. But as soon as Mariabelle started running, my opponent would move, as well.

Here it comes. It’s time to fight.

A battle of life or death that wouldn’t have stopped even when blood started to flow. Just as Mariabelle started to run, I quietly opened my mouth.

“I hope this at least lasts more than a second.” This comment was regarding my own ability to hold the line, but it may have sounded like an insult to the monster. It clenched its protruding teeth and thrust out its arm, which went right under my armpit in the blink of an eye. It seemed my experience just so happened to come in handy, as I was miraculously able to leap out of the way.

I already knew what was coming, but it was too late.

The other arm came swinging and impaled the ground with enough force to knock an underground tree roots-up onto the surface. Sweat streamed down from my face as I voiced my disbelief at its incredible power.

I took one, then two steps back, and another attack came swinging at me in an arc from the side. It should have been just out of range, but the spike in its arm extended, taking a few hairs off of my head. I dropped flat on the ground, but this left me completely open. My eyes bulged as the creature opened its mouth and shot several spikes out toward me.

“Whoa, watch it! I really almost died instantly there!”

The spikes landed in the ground next to me as I rolled away, and the monster didn’t seem to care much for my complaining. The beast didn’t even give me time to recompose myself before it spread out its arms and rushed forward for a tackle. It looked like a tank, running straight for me. If it hadn’t been this place, and if it hadn’t been me fighting, it probably would have ended there. I was able to slip behind a large tree by taking another step back, and the explosive collision sent a shockwave through to the other side.

Being scared wouldn’t have changed the situation for the better, and Mariabelle was already running away to safety. Now that I had accomplished the main objective, I circled around the other side of the tree and into its blind spot with lighthearted steps, as if I was about to whistle a tune or burst into song. I was planning on using my small stature to sneak up on my enemy... but there was nothing there.

Before me was the sight of a serene forest, and my opponent had vanished like mist. I felt like rubbing my eyes in disbelief, but there definitely wasn’t anything there.

Just as I considered whether I had imagined it or not, I noticed a spike had been left at a spot around my eye level. Just beyond it was an arm that was extending to the other side of the tree... and something felt horribly wrong, so I immediately crouched to the ground.

Craaack!

The next moment, the monster’s knee came flying around clockwise using the grounded spike as a pivot point and completely obliterated the tree.

“Whoooaaa?!” Surprise didn’t even begin to describe my reaction. I couldn’t believe the monster had grabbed onto a tree and jumped sideways to deliver a flying knee kick. And it tried to outsmart me just now! I voiced such complaints internally as I rolled on the ground. I thought I deserved credit for immediately raising my sword as soon as I got up. But the beast was closing in on me so closely that I could hear its ferocious breathing. I shrank away as the ground thundered with its approach.

“Argh, so strong!” This creature was deceptively quick for its size, and terribly strong. I was able to automatically avoid its vertical spike attack thanks to memorizing it with Reprisal, but I was screaming internally as I moved in to take this up close and personal.

I could feel the heat of its body and smell its rancid breath. It struck fear into my heart for the first time in a while, and it gave me the feeling that I would have had issues going to the bathroom alone at night. This was far worse than your typical nightmare.

The tree tipped over gradually, soon to slam down to the ground. The noise of the leaves and branches rustling and cracking filled the air like screams of pain. The splintering trunk soon snapped with a loud crack under its own weight.

A strong smell of tree sap filled the vicinity, and something came raining down from above. It was a combination of leaves, branches, a freshly made bird nest, and more. Something fell onto the monster’s back, then bounced to its shoulder. At first, I assumed it was just another branch. But that “something” had arms and a pair of dazzling thighs peeking out from under her dress, with eyes like burning torchlights.

“Quidde-eiqqas-iide. (Die, you scum.)”

“Sharsha!”

She sank her sword all the way into the monster’s back, and her lips curled as she whispered something. But the monster slammed its shoulder as hard as it could, as if the wound caused it no pain. Only a sword with a crooked hilt remained there, and the beast immediately unleashed a sharp kick into empty air.

The kick was powerful enough to snap a tree with one blow, but the elven woman clad in a black dress just sank her dual blades into the creature’s ankles, causing blood to spray out of the wound. It seemed Sharsha couldn’t absorb the impact of the enemy’s attack completely, but she landed like a cat on a distant tree a few seconds later.

Finally, reinforcements. And I couldn’t have asked for anyone more reliable than her. Sharsha had a powerful maternal drive to protect her daughter. She looked just as dangerous as the monster as she descended to the ground with her black hair wavering. The forest cut off most of the sunlight, but her burning eyes and occasional glint of her earrings made my heart stir.

Now, the breathtaking battle was just beginning.

It was clear from its bristling fur that Avenger’s predatory instincts had been kicked into gear, and it began to sprint in a bent-forward posture. The animalistic sound of its limbs hitting the ground as it ran had the intensity of a charging tank.

Maybe it changed up its strategy depending on the opponent. A feeling of dread came over me as the spike on the monster’s arm split into smaller pieces, and I immediately started running again. Sharsha and I naturally ended up in a formation on either side of our enemy, which felt like the right move.

“From what I can tell, there isn’t much of a level difference between you and Sharsha. That probably means I’m the one who’s key in this battle.” It may have been strange for me to be thinking about combat tactics when I looked like a kid, but it was very important to have that mindset in this world.

For example, what if I slashed at its ankles as it came charging? It would probably have barely tickled the beast through its thick, wiry fur, but what if I continuously cut the same spot every time it ran? People couldn’t normally pull this off, of course, but I had Reprisal. I used my second slot for this purpose, so I could slowly but surely stack on the damage.

It was all automatic, so I could have landed each hit with my eyes closed. Even though Avenger was only sprinting in less than fifty meter increments, blood could be seen staining its leg more and more. It wasn’t long before the creature whirled around to face me, as if to say, “You annoying little brat!”

There was something I came to realize. Maybe Reprisal, which was widely thought to be useless, was actually an incredible skill. I took one step to position myself in a spot that was easy for my opponent to attack me. And down came that deadly vertical swing attack. But I had already memorized it with Reprisal, allowing me to evade it automatically. I was even able to glance at Sharsha while dodging the attack as she came running up to me.

“Ah, so I should have been baiting it like this,” I said to myself as I dodged a spike being slammed into the ground by mere inches. I could smell its breath again, but I was in the perfect position to deliver a counter attack. Although my dagger had a short reach, I was able to use it to attack its arms. It only seemed to cut through its wiry fur, but what would have happened if I programmed this movement into Reprisal? This would allow me to evade and attack at the same time.

And so, I used up the last slot while feeling a little excited, like the prospect of extending a paper airplane’s flight range through trial and error.

For now, the best I could manage was to annoy the enemy while dealing a little bit of damage. But if I continued to expand my options, I should have eventually been able to deal with foes that were far more powerful than me.

I smiled at the thought.

“Also, are you sure you should be paying so much attention to me?” Avenger roared savagely in response. Its massive body trembled, letting me know that Sharsha had delivered a vicious slash from the other side.

The beast’s neck turned to face her, and it opened its mouth nearly wide enough to split its cheeks open. Then, it once again launched a barrage of sharp fangs out of its mouth like a shotgun.

From my perspective, I couldn’t see whether Sharsha was able to dodge the attack, due to the creature’s massive body in the way. But the monster changed direction right afterwards and started to sprint with incredible speed. I felt a wave of relief wash over me.

For one thing, Sharsha was able to get away safely. The monster’s bloody Achilles tendon also came into view again, as if Sharsha was leading it for me to cut it some more.

She was definitely no stranger to combat. Although she was nowhere in sight, I internally complimented her fighting prowess as I continued to cut away at the monster’s ankle. From what I could tell, she had to have been through countless battles. That would have explained her excellent situational decision making and ability to use whatever was available to her on the fly. Not only that, but she realized that I was the key to swaying this fight even though I was physically the weakest one here.

Monsters were far different from animals. Its blood was completely black as it flowed out of the wound, then dissipated into the air. Their seemingly limitless life force and inhuman strength far surpassed that of ordinary creatures, but those traits also made them highly insensitive to danger.

And so, I was able to completely sever its tendon. The beast swerved like a car with its tire blown out, then crashed into a tree and rolled around loudly.

But Sharsha didn’t let her guard down for a second. She remained hidden behind a tree, then used the bow she carried with her to relentlessly snipe her target’s neck.

The elf woman signaled for me to stay back, and I was finally able to breathe. It was only then that I realized I was completely drenched in sweat, and my clothes were soaking wet. One squeeze, and a waterfall of sweat could have been wrung out of me.

“Aghhh, I’m exhausted!” It wasn’t the coolest thing to say at that moment, but I thought I’d earned my right to complain. My dagger was chipped pretty badly, and I wanted to pat myself on the back for surviving through it all.

Then, as I was resting against a tree, something stirred in the bushes in front of me. Out came a white rabbit... no, it was Mariabelle. She looked around cautiously, then ran over to me. She came up right beside me and cocked her head as if to ask me if I was okay.

“Oh, right... Thanks for bringing Sharsha. You really saved me.” I wished I knew how to speak her language at times like these. I wanted to express my gratitude, but she only responded with a confused look. And so, I mustered up my guts and decided to show off a term I had just learned earlier.

“Toligg, Mariabelle!” I gave her a thumbs up along with the freshly learned Elvish word. There was a grace to her smile that was unbefitting of her appearance, but it suddenly dawned on me that she was far older than I was. And just as expected, she had the same enchanting smile as her mother.

Thud, thud!

It sounded like Sharsha had taken down her target. I could hear its enormous body hitting the ground from here, and I carefully peered out from behind the tree. The monster finally discarded its instincts as Avenger and was reduced to dust. Sharsha struck a victorious pose, sweat pouring down her face as she flashed a dazzling smile.

“Toligg! Kazuhiho!” They weren’t very much alike, but they were definitely mother and daughter. Sharsha came running up to me and lifted me in an embrace as if it was the most natural thing in the world, then patted my head while commending me like a beloved pet.

This was the joyous day when Sharsha really started to like me and Mariabelle deemed me worthy of her trust. I was ecstatic. This meant I would get to officially start learning Elvish, after all.

The sky had become clear before I knew it, and it was hard to believe we had just taken down a massive monster, with the cheerful laughter in the forest.

Dirt crunched under someone’s foot as they stepped forward on the hill. In his hand was an ancient staff, and a somewhat relieved expression was on his face. An elven man equipped with a bow and arrow stepped up to his side, then lowered his weapon as tension left his body. The man with the bow removed the hat from his head, then turned to the man beside him with a dissatisfied expression.

“...I don’t normally let others interrupt my hunts,” he complained.

“I understand getting in a huntsman’s way is poor etiquette. But it seems there was no need for us to make an appearance on this stage. Do forgive them.”

“Hmm, I can’t say I understand what it’s like to be a parent, but a stage that doesn’t even allow applause sounds pretty sad to me.”

The white-haired elder nodded in agreement, a somewhat forlorn expression upon his face. He was an elf, as was apparent from his long ears, and the staff in his hand signified that he held the highest social ranking. But something about his expression felt very human.

“Ah, I wish I could have shown Sharsha what I’m capable of.”

“So that’s how you really feel... Though, I think simply watching over them is commendable, too. No need to worry. The battlefield isn’t the only stage where a man can show his worth. Once we finish repairing the altar that was destroyed in the storm, I’ll bring out my secret alcohol stash.”

And yet, the woman in question was a warrior to the core, and he knew fixing an altar would do nothing to tug at her heart strings. She would only think he was doing something strange and look at him oddly.

The elder let out a sigh, then looked down again. There stood the woman he loved, holding Mariabelle and the boy in her arms. She had become so much closer with their daughter than before.

It was said that adversity strengthened the foundations, but he couldn’t help feeling conflicted as her father.

§

A short tail swung from side to side.

Mariabelle was quite adept at handling spirits, and could even have the Fire Lizard adjust to low temperature. She was also able to pick it up in her arms, and it just blinked its beady eyes while she carried it around.

“Goodness, I can’t believe I have to study again today. But it’s cold outside, so I suppose it works out,” she said as she walked through the hallway made of hardened mud. But her light footsteps made it hard to believe she was complaining, and the Fire Lizard’s tail was swinging more widely than usual.

Now, why was she in such a good mood despite being known for being hard to deal with and disliking humans? She opened the door, and the answer was in the biscuits that laid upon the table. The mismatched snacks seemed like they would taste rather subdued yet sweet. Having already tasted them herself, she couldn’t help but feel her appetite increasing. There was a steaming cup of tea there, as well. Her expression nearly loosened into a smile, but she quickly composed herself into her usual serious demeanor.

“Ahem. Good job preparing snacks again today. Kazuhiho, I will check to make sure there’s plenty of sugar in there.” She began swinging the Fire Lizard even more dramatically, and the spirit looked up at its master with its mouth agape and its little fangs peeking out.

“I met your request, as promised. Let’s start our study session for today, shall we?” The boy answered in Elvish with a bit of an awkward accent. He wore a simple type of clothing consisting of a large piece of cloth with a hole in the middle for the head, and a green belt around his waist. The garment had been created here, in the elven village.

It had been six months since they began holding their study sessions in this room. On the other side of the thick boards was a winter landscape, and they had basically been spending their time living in hibernation. Their food storage was precious, so sweet food like biscuits was quite valuable. They had a particular craving for sweets on days like these when the wind was chilly.

The boy opened the big language book with Mariabelle sitting at his side. Paper, too, was precious, and so they handled the pages with much care.

“Oh my, I’ve already learned most of the common language already. That includes reading and writing, of course. How about you?”

“It’ll take me some more time before I can learn letters. It’s difficult like I thought, but it’s interesting and full of beautiful sounds. I’m really having fun learning it.”

Elvish was a complex language, and one had to be careful with its pronunciation, or statements could have ended up becoming rude in meaning. It sounded like a song, so it may have been difficult for poor singers to learn. But the boy’s pronunciation was improving by the day, and Mariabelle became able to speak the common language even more eloquently than him.

She was quite intelligent to begin with. Whenever she put her mind to learning something, she absorbed knowledge like a sponge. In fact, she wasn’t satisfied with just learning the common language, and she had started learning the main languages from the western region, as well.

In a sense, the boy may have been the perfect instructor for her. He had a mild-mannered personality, and the two of them were full of curiosity. The more they learned, the more fun they had, which made their studies all the more rewarding. The biscuits were just the icing on the cake.

“Hmm, you’re a faster learner than you seem. You know how to speak several languages, so maybe you know a trick to learning them?”

“It does help when you know languages that are similar to each other. But honestly, elves are basically straight out of fairy tales, so it’s a miracle that I can learn their language. There’s no way I’m passing up an opportunity like that.”

Mariabelle replied with a noncommittal, “Is that so?” and nibbled the biscuit in her hand. The combination of fragrant butter and flour filled her senses, and her eyes narrowed into a smile. Perhaps the flavor reached all the way up her long ears, because their tips were wavering from side to side.

“Hehe, delicious. Say, where do you get these from? Can you teach me how to make them next time?”

“Sorry, it’s hard to gather the ingredients here, and there’s no oven we can use. I’ll teach you someday if we ever go to a big country somewhere.”

The elf girl gave him a dubious expression at his reply. His response meant that the ingredients for the biscuits were obtained in a bigger country and that he made them himself. But there was no such country anywhere nearby, and he hadn’t acted like he was the one who made them before this. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe him, but she looked at him as if she was accusing him of hoarding the treats for himself.

However, this was to be put on hold. There were two hard knocks at the door, and then a black-haired woman peeked into the room.

“Hey you two, today’s a great day for a hunt. Let’s go have some fun!” Sharsha declared.

“Whaaat? I don’t want to go out in the cold,” Mariabelle complained.

“Ah, right, you promised to teach us how to hunt. I’d love to go after we’re done studying, if you don’t mind,” the boy replied. Mariabelle protested some more with a sullen expression. The slender elf hated the cold and disliked winter in general. But being left all alone in the cold winter would have been quite lonely, so she debated whether it would have been better to stay behind or not.

The Fire Lizard was sleeping soundly at their feet, its temperature adjusted to that of a hot-water bag. Mariabelle pressed her foot against the Fire Lizard’s stomach with her bare feet and let out a glum sigh as she pictured the chilly winter skies outside. In other words, she had made up her mind to accompany them.

Her thick coat was made with brightly-colored fur, and walnut shells were used for buttons. Mariabelle’s cheeks were red, but it wasn’t just from the cold. She shook her head while voicing her protests to the young boy.

“N-No, I can’t. This goes against the laws of nature. I’m sure Father would be upset with me if he found out!” And yet her curiosity seemed to get the better of her. She removed her gloves, crouched down, and touched the water with her finger. She found that the water was warm, and that smile from the morning returned to her face.

This water bank was formed by damming some river water, and was dug out with shovels to add more depth. But how was the river water so warm in the middle of winter? The answer was the several Fire Lizards floating belly-up, blowing air bubbles in the water and keeping it warm. The boy also touched the water, and a satisfied smile spread across his face.

“You really are great at handling spirits, Mariabelle. I’m surprised by how perfect the water temperature is,” the boy said with a shovel in hand. He was still breathing heavily from the labor, and sweat was visible upon his face. Sharsha was in a similar state from having helped dig, and she flashed the same smile as her daughter’s.

“We went out of our way to stop the hunt for this. I’m going in, even if Marie doesn’t want to. Look away, young man,” she ordered.

“Huh?” Kazuhiho asked, and as he faltered, the woman stripped bare without hesitation. He caught a glimpse of her dazzling bare skin in the clouds of white steam and looked away in a fluster as he caught the clothes she tossed aside.

Elven women were stunningly beautiful, with facial features that seemed like they were sculpted straight out of mythology. Just closing his eyes for a while wasn’t enough to wipe the image from his head, and the boy could feel his cheeks grow hot even without going into the water. The water rippled outward as the beauty entered the water and let out a soft sigh.

“Ah... this feels amazing. Yes, I can see how Ozbell may scold you about this. At this rate, I may not be satisfied unless I come back here at least once a week. Marie, why don’t you go home with Kazuhiho if you’re afraid of your father?”

“No! I’ve been enduring the cold all this time, and I’ve been looking forward to this. There’s no way I’m going home now.” It seemed Mariabelle finally set her resolve, and she began to undo her walnut shell button... then shot the boy a glare. But he wasn’t the type to peep on someone undressing, and besides, his head was already covered with Sharsha’s clothing and he was facing the other way. Seeing his bright-red ears, she gave him an order in a strict tone of voice.

“Kazuhiho, keep an eye for anyone trying to sneak a look. I won’t be able to get married if anyone sees me like this.” Kazuhiho wanted to leave as quickly as possible and raised a thumb without looking back. Sharsha laughed in response.

“What? That boy already saw you naked the day you met.”

“Oh, stop that! That was an accident, and he didn’t get a good look... Hey, you didn’t see much, did you? We were underwater, after all,” Mariabelle asked as she dipped her toe in the water, and the boy’s ears turned a brighter shade of red. Having trained his kinetic eyesight in this world, Kazuhiho was quite adept at recognizing things, no matter the situation... And so, he folded the pile of clothes and set them aside on the rocks, turned his back as if to apologize, then ran off.

He left behind the young girl’s screams, her mother clutching her side as she laughed boisterously and a wild deer turning its head in surprise. The elven forest was lively, peaceful, and a place where conversations were neverending. This was indeed a new discovery for him. He had thought this forest would have been full of quiet people living in harmony with nature, but it was quite the opposite. They were cheerful, full of life, and always welcomed change into their lives.

Ozbell, the elven leader who was a symbol of their way of life, stood at a footpath as if he had been waiting for the boy. Kazuhiho was surprised to see him there, and the older man smiled in his usual, gentle way.

“Come with me,” he said quietly.

The sound of shoes hitting the stone pavement could be heard as they walked.

They were in some run-down ruins, and the roof that was built to stave off the rain was no longer serving its purpose. Ozbell led the way, walking forward with purpose.

He was always one with nature whether it was hot or cold, and this was the man who lived most like a half-fairy among the elves. Ozbell walked with his large staff and spoke without turning around.

“It may be a bit cold for humans. No, come to think of it, Mariabelle is far worse in the cold than you are.”

“Yes, though Sharsha seems completely fine in this weather.” The elder chuckled in agreement.

“That’s just the kind of woman she is. She far exceeds elves in physical prowess. Ah, but what a shame. You’ve managed to learn Elvish, but you must have been disappointed to find out you’re not suited to be a spirit user.”

The boy thought the way Ozbell had said Sharsha “far exceeded elves” was a bit strange, but the following statement banished that thought from his mind. He hung his head as if a massive weight had fallen upon it, and said, “Yes, I was...” in a quiet voice.

“Hahaha, I apologize, I didn’t mean to laugh at your efforts. Spirits can be quite difficult to understand, and they’re far too peculiar for humans. Their uses are limited, too, and are only convenient for walking through dark caves and cooking, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it.”

“I guess you’re right,” Kazuhiho said with a sigh, but lighting and cooking were precisely what he wanted spirits to help him with, so it didn’t do much to ease his mind. As a solo traveler, he had often dreamed of such companionship.

“I thought perhaps it could happen, but it seems miracles don’t come by so easily. So, I take it your will to continue your journey hasn’t wavered?”

“Yes, I’m sorry to leave after being in your care, but I’d like to go see the snowfields to the north before the winter passes.” The boy had already made up his mind on the matter. He had been accepted here, but he was no elf. He couldn’t bear living there for many long years, and he would one day become incapable of going out on a journey. It was evident from the look on the boy’s face that he wanted to see everything this mystical world had to offer before that happened.

“Marie was so happy to make a friend. I’m sure she’ll be sad to hear it. She often spoke of the time you saved her from that monster like it was her favorite folktale.”

“Huh? But I don’t deserve the credit for that. That monster was after me because of its nature as Avenger. The whole reason it came after Marie was probably because my scent was on her.”

The elder turned around as if to say, “Really?” and the boy nodded as if it was obvious. It made sense, considering the boy who specialized in fleeing had faced the monster head on. Realizing that his action was fueled by a feeling of obligation rather than valor, the elder made a face as if he didn’t know what to say.

“Have you told my daughter—no, I suppose not, since you two just recently learned how to communicate. In any case, be sure not to tell her what you just told me. Promise me.” Kazuhiho nodded awkwardly to the elder’s strangely forceful promise. He had a feeling something terrible would have happened if he refused. Not by the elder’s hands, but Mariabelle’s.

Now, Ozbell still hadn’t told Kazuhiho why he had brought him to these ruins. He wondered if this seemingly reticent man just wanted someone to talk to, but his purposeful strides told him otherwise. When the elder spoke to him again, the topic took the boy by surprise.

“My wife is originally a dark elf by blood. That’s why she is far more hardy and unfazed by the cold.”

“Huh?! What do you mean? Her skin, personality, and everything about her don’t match what I know about dark elves from the stories.” The boy wasn’t denying the elder’s claim, but wanted to understand. He trusted the elder’s words and knew he was speaking the truth. Even so, he felt that Sharsha was far too different from the dark elves that were hated by the world.

Ozbell didn’t respond, walking right by the stone table where he had once sat with the boy. He continued into a dilapidated corridor and descended down some stairs. Wind could be heard howling through the cracks in the walls.

The boy wondered where they were as he looked around cautiously. There was something strangely vague about the floor and walls, and even when he touched them, there was about a second delay before he felt the sensation on his skin. As the boy felt bewildered by the divergence in his senses, Ozbell spoke to him in his usual tone.

“This forest must feel very strange to you. It should have been sealed off, but only you were able to enter. Mariabelle, who is so young despite being almost one hundred years old... Sharsha, whose blood is hated by the world and is far more powerful than elves... And I, the elder, have been protecting these ruins despite the fact that no one can even approach it.” Ozbell’s mysterious words were as unhurried as his steps.

After spending many long months with him, Kazuhiho understood the elder’s personality. His statements seemed disconnected and lacking any hints at first glance. But the way he said them one after another meant they were all connected, and the fact that he brought him to this place was a hint in itself. Whenever Ozbell asked a question, he often provided what was necessary to find the answer.

“Her appearance was altered? It’s pretty rare for perceptions to be altered like that, so maybe the influence of spirits is too strong...” Kazuhiho muttered to himself, deep in the labyrinth of his own deduction. His surroundings turned dimmer, plunging him into a blackness darker than the night. And yet, he managed not to trip thanks to the light spirits floating around Ozbell’s staff.

A thought crossed the boy’s mind. The spirits had appeared so naturally without being summoned. It was as if they had determined that they should have been there. Which meant their influence had increased so much that they could alter one’s perception, and the boy realized he was in a far more dangerous place than he had imagined.

“Don’t tell me... we’re not in the human realm?” Ozbell raised his eyebrows in surprise. It told Kazuhiho that he was right, and that the elder found enjoyment in seeing how observant the boy was. He chuckled quietly, then slowly turned around.

“Quite a profound deduction. Just as your appearance strays from the truth, everything you see has a chance of being a lie.” A heavy, metallic noise rang out all around them. Then, a vertical line stretched out before them, gradually increasing in width. Light spilled out from there, and Ozbell stood with his back to the light and his arms spread wide. That familiar, gentle smile from when they had first met was on his face once again.

“Do you feel as if you are dreaming? Have you felt you are different from other people? I have been observing you quite cautiously to find out what guided you here, and why.”

Behind the elder was a golden, flowing river. Or was it wind? It consisted of countless layers, and it was brimming with seemingly endless life force. It seemed out of this world—in fact, the sight certainly was something from outside of the human realm.

“I would not lie to one who has found the answer. Beyond this point is the spirit realm, and the origin of creation. A place that will never wither, but if it did, the world itself would perish. And...”

Ozbell beckoned the boy over. He motioned toward the golden field with his other hand, like a traveler stepping onto a newly discovered land of abundance. But the boy didn’t move. Seeing him wait for his next words, Ozbell continued.

“...And if you stay here in this land, you won’t be able to awaken.” The elder motioned for the boy to follow again as he stepped into the golden field.

A strange feeling held the boy back. He had always thought this place was just a dream, and for the first time in a while, it felt like a nightmare. Cold sweat trickled down his back, and his breathing grew more labored. The realization that he was witnessing the unknown in his dream tonight was setting in.

A footstep clicked against the pavement. It was Kazuhiho taking a step toward the golden field. He had always pursued the unknown, and he wasn’t about to change his ways now. And so, he lined up next to Ozbell, who stood there with his robe billowing. The elder turned to the boy, the same gentle expression in his eyes. Finally, the boy brought himself to speak.

“...It’s so beautiful. What are these ruins?”

“It was made by the ancients long ago, to prove the existence of the spirit world. Just for that one purpose.”

Mariabelle, whose growth was stunted due to the influence on her mind...

Her mother, whose dark elf blood had been purified...

And Ozbell, who had continuously protected this land.

They were all connected. There was a secret to the sacred land where other races were not allowed to enter, and there was a vagueness to it, just like the spirits themselves. Ozbell explained it all by showing rather than telling. He opened his mouth again, this time to explain something else.

“You carry a heavy mission on your shoulders. Perhaps it’s too heavy for your small body. So if you ever forget upon waking, come seek me.”

“Mission...?” Kazuhiho seemed to want answers, but Ozbell led him by the shoulders, as if to say staying any longer would be dangerous. The boy looked back reluctantly, and the elder spoke to him as he stared at the bountiful field.

“I’m certain it is my own mission, and the reason I was led to this place.” The door closed with a heavy thud, and a warm breeze caressed the boy’s cheeks. The elder’s gentle eyes told him there would be no further hints for now. And at the same time, they told him the answer would come to him someday. Ozbell showed the boy a different smile, as if to indicate there was nothing else he wanted to tell him for now.

“Oh, and the reason I scared you a bit earlier is because you saw my wife naked. I’m sure you understand, being a man yourself. Ah, and be sure to keep this a secret from her. There’s nothing uglier than a man’s jealousy.” Ozbell grinned, and Kazuhiho found himself speechless. The lovable look on the elder’s face confirmed that he, Sharsha, and Mariabelle were family after all.

This dream was so full of strange experiences that he wasn’t able to forget about it for some time.

§

The windbreaker coat was thick, yet short in length so it wouldn’t get in the way during travels. It was neatly woven with threads all the way to the end and seemed very durable. Kazuhiho turned back from the coat to Mariabelle, whose purple eyes were a bit swollen today.

“Agh, I just don’t understand you humans. Why would you depart on such a cold day like today? You must be out of your mind,” she said.

“If I go north from here, I’ll get to the Gastuya Snowfields in a month or so. I’ll be all alone in a world of white and blue. Doesn’t that sound cool?”

She looked at him as if she didn’t understand at all. It seemed women were realists no matter where they came from, and it was hard for them to understand men’s passions. But she did understand that this was important to him and didn’t try to stop him. Instead, she presented the object that she had been hiding behind her back.

“Wow, that’s a nice staff. What’s that for, Marie?”

“I made it with my father. It turns out that not only do I have a talent for spirit magic, but sorcery, too. So, I suppose I’ve obtained the rare class of Spirit Sorceress.”

“Whoa!” Kazuhiho responded with wide eyes, and Mariabelle made a smug expression upon seeing his reaction. “Congratulations, Marie! I knew you were amazing since we first met, but the elder finally acknowledges you now, too!”

“Hmhm, you can compliment me more, if you’d like.” Although she played it cool, her cheeks were turning red with elation. She turned her face away at his congratulations, but the tips of her long ears were drooping slightly. The boy held her hand in his. Her small hands were completely covered by his, and they were so warm that she forgot about the cold for a moment.

“Thank you for teaching me your language, Mariabelle.”

“...It was nothing. Um, I’m sorry about being so horrible to you in the beginning.” Before she knew it, she was squeezing his hand back, despite the fact that she once hated humans. The words they wanted to tell each other were stuck in their throats, and they stared at each other in silence for some time.

Just as their meeting was sudden, their parting was sudden, as well. After moving away from Mariabelle, Kazuhiho waved as he left the village, and she waved back in response. He eventually disappeared into the woods, the handmade coat he wore becoming obscured by the trees.

After some time, the girl realized something. Those busy, yet fun days were now gone. He wouldn’t have been there to talk to her or study with her anymore. He wouldn’t have been there to try new things or teach her about unfamiliar worlds. The weight of this emptiness pressed heavily upon her, and she found herself crouching down on the ground.

Fallen leaves were piled up thickly around her. They would soon have been replaced with soil.

She hugged her knees in the cold wind and let out a white puff of breath. Her father and mother were absent, perhaps so she could learn the weight of what she had gained and lost for herself.

Thinking back, there was a sadness in the boy’s expression when they had first greeted each other. It was so strange back then, but she understood now. He was already thinking of this day to come. He almost seemed like he was about to cry, picturing the inevitable day when they would have to part ways. Mariabelle was oblivious to the pain of saying goodbye, but he knew.

She sniffled, but didn’t cry. She was sad and full of regrets, but she knew one thing for sure.

She had to take action. Even if she was alone, she wanted to accomplish something. She didn’t want to be left behind, and at the very least, she didn’t want to lose to Kazuhiho.

Mariabelle rose, then began walking as snow started to fall. She gripped her staff with both hands, and the air she exhaled was warmer than earlier. And as the snow fell, the girl became one step closer to becoming a woman.

It was when the snow had melted later in the winter that she moved to the Alexei region.

Her pale purple eyes watched as a carriage rolled by loudly on the stone pavement. Behind it was a building made of stone, reminding her of the lush trees that were no longer around to see. Mariabelle could almost feel herself getting choked up and let out a quiet sigh.

She had moved to the capital of the Alexei region, an area that was quite advanced in terms of sorcery. A year passed, then two, then too many to count with the fingers on both hands. She had found the vehicles created by humans interesting once, but they were just in the way now. The elf had to keep her long ears perked up and alert to avoid getting run over.

She had achieved the rare class known as Spirit Sorceress, but it wasn’t respect or accolades that she received in the human city; in fact, it was the opposite. As someone who was taken into the academy for training sorcerers as an honor student, the expectations and bullying from other students was as suffocating as the gray skies above.

“It’s all your fault, Kazuhiho,” she muttered to herself on the roadside. There were none of the sweets she had looked forward to so much, and the food tasted bland and borderline spoiled. She had spent many days wandering around the city in search of the biscuits she’d eaten during her study sessions, but she had given up on them by this point. Her disappointment was so great that she now told herself that the snacks had been part of Kazuhiho’s ploy to lure her out to the city.

To top it all off, summoning spirits was restricted in the city, making it all the more uncomfortable to live there. On frigid winter days, she spent her nights shivering in bed, wishing she could have summoned the Fire Lizard to warm herself up. Every time she vented her frustration, she was filled with the desire to return to her forest, and she cried in isolation at times.

Mariabelle sighed and kicked a pebble.

She had thought it would all have been more enjoyable. There were accessories and clothes being sold in shops, and she spent her first day walking around with an excited glimmer in her eyes, but she unfortunately didn’t have money to spend frivolously. Her dreams and hopes were shriveling by the day.

She quietly devoted her days to her studies and learned about sorcery. Her life was quite the opposite of fun, and she found herself thinking of the forest often. Everything was so full of fun then, but those days would never return. Humans experienced growth far quicker than elves, so that boy must have been a full-grown adult who was old enough to have a family of his own by now. So they could never play together like they had so many years ago ever again. It was impossible. She knew that, but just as she sighed and pictured those days of the past, she heard a familiar word being spoken.

“Kazuhiho? What kinda name is that?”

Mariabelle whirled around in the back alley. There was no mistaking that ridiculous name, and she could feel her heart pounding. How did that sleepy-looking boy look all grown up? Did he become a bit handsome, at least? Or...

“K-Kazuhiho!” She shouted without thinking, then a muscular man turned to her in the alley. No, she didn’t recognize that man with chestnut hair. She shooed the stranger away, and then a black-haired boy standing just behind him met her gaze.

“Huh? Marie? What are you doing here?”

“Wh-What am I...? Y-Y-You!”

Any guesses on how manly the boy had grown to be would have been off the mark. He was mostly unchanged, with that same sleepy face, and his height had only increased by a few centimeters or so. Mariabelle marched over to him angrily with her shoulders back and pointed at his drowsy-looking face.

“You haven’t changed one bit! What in the world?! Are you actually a fairy or something? Or maybe the spirit of sleep?”

“Of course not. I’ve grown to be a lot manlier since we last met, you know. See, I’m a little taller... Wait, you got taller, too, Marie? I guess not much has changed, then.” He chuckled, and Marie felt a shock that nearly left her dazed. There was no mistaking that sleepy face, and just standing next to him made her feel a bit sleepy herself. There was a faintly sweet scent about him, and Marie sniffed around with her sensitive elven nose.

“Oh, right, I have some snacks with me. If you have some free time, what do you say to catching up over some tea? My treat, of course, o great lady Spirit Sorceress.” The muscular man beside him widened his eyes, surprised that Kazuhiho could pick up a girl so casually despite his seemingly absentminded demeanor. An exceptionally cute elf girl, at that.

Even more surprising was the girl’s drawn-out but eager reaction. She fidgeted around and muttered a reply.

“S-Sure, I don’t mind. I’m actually really busy, but I suppose we could, if you insist.”

The man couldn’t help but do a double take at the younger boy’s face.

The Alexei region was the forefront of sorcery research and home to its many restless residents.

Mariabelle had found her experience there quite stifling, but not now. Perhaps she was planning to talk his ear off with boastful stories, for her expression had completely changed into a cheerful smile, and her steps were as light as a feather. She turned around, and their eyes met. They smiled. It was as if they hadn’t changed since those days they spent together in the forest.

-- Meeting Mariabelle the Half-Fairy Elf --