Ch. 185 - The Elf Land

Upon arriving in the elf country, the castle gates opened, and the group immediately returned to the base of the walls, properly passing through the gates to enter the land.

“Wow…!” Shenley’s eyes sparkled as she looked around the streets. Winter valley, where Fiddiq Academy was located, was also a beautiful city, but this town possessed a different kind of beauty.

The layout allowed nature and the town to coexist harmoniously, with buildings uniformly painted in white. At the far end of the town stood a magnificent, pure white castle, its design adorned with rows of spires and arches, intricate and delicate. Aoi, who had not noticed it during her hasty first visit, now understood Shenley’s awe—there was a refinement here, built up over countless years.

As Aoi gazed at the cityscape, Seabas descended the stairs from the castle wall and appeared before them. His expression was stern, his brow furrowed as he checked the faces of Shenley, Strass, and Eliza one by one.

“I wonder why the more people we have, the more uneasy I feel. Hmm? Isn’t that person over there a dwarf?” Seabas asked, his gaze settling on Eliza.

Tension ran across Eliza’s face. “Y-yes. My name is Eliza Woodford…” she said, bowing politely. Seabas looked puzzled but nodded.

“I’m Seabas, captain of the guard. Well, I’ve never seen a dwarf before. My apologies.”

Eliza gave a wry smile and tilted her head slightly. “I thought elves would be rarer, but in this country, dwarves really are the uncommon ones, aren’t they?”

Seabas gave a shallow nod of understanding before shifting his gaze to Shenley. “That young girl looks like a beastman. Can she use magic too?”

“Yes. She’s only fourteen, but she can use advanced-level magic or higher,” Aoi answered proudly in Shenley’s stead. Seabas seemed ready to comment but quickly reconsidered, shaking his head before turning to Glenn.

“What a unique group. Well then, Lord Glenn. Shall I guide you to an inn for today?”

“Oh, you have an inn? I thought that since the elf country has cut off contact with the outside world, there wouldn’t be any inns,” Glenn replied, surprised.

“There are merchants who visit this country regularly. It’s extremely exceptional, but some of our kin who live in human countries work as merchants. For their sake, we’ve turned one of our meeting halls into a makeshift inn. If it’s about ten people, they can stay without issue.”

“I see. If it’s an elf merchant, they’ve come to Fiddiq Academy before. Maybe it’s the same person,” Glenn mused as the two walked off together, chatting.

But Aoi was not fooled. She coughed lightly and called out, “I’m sorry, but first, let’s head to the Steil house.”

The two stopped dead in their tracks, turning around in unison. “Right after arriving?” Glenn asked.

“Well, I suppose so… It’s Aoi, after all,” Seabas muttered.

Seeing them slump their shoulders, Strass and Eliza turned suspicious gazes toward Aoi. “What did you do?” Strass pressed.

“I didn’t intend to do anything, but it seems I’ve caused a stir among the nobles,” Aoi admitted reluctantly.

“I knew it.”

“I thought so.”

Strass and Eliza muttered together, while Shenley gave a wry smile and said nothing. It felt to Aoi that they believed she had deliberately caused trouble.

The group pressed on, reaching their destination with Seabas’s guards surrounding them. With five visitors this time, the escort was larger—over twenty guards formed a wall around them.

“Still, it seems like a lot of people,” Aoi remarked, scanning the faces of the guards.

Seabas gave her a stern look. “Don’t make any suspicious moves. We’re escorting Lord Glenn, a high-ranking noble from another country, and the instructors of Fiddiq Academy. Please, relax and accompany us without doing anything.”

“I’m not doing anything. I just thought that since there are more of us today, a large number of guards came along…” Aoi replied.

“That’s also thanks to your actions last time,” Seabas said sharply. “I was blamed for failing to stop the dispute even though I was present. So this time, I’ve been ordered to bring enough numbers to suppress any trouble by force.”

Once again, Strass, Eliza, and Shenley turned their eyes toward Aoi.

“Aoi…”

“Aoi-san…”

“Aoi-sensei…”

Their voices carried the weight of accusation.

“No, I only acted in self-defense. I didn’t activate magic myself. Isn’t that right?” Aoi turned to Glenn for confirmation, but Glenn was already speaking with Seabas.

“I wonder how much magic these guards can use?” Glenn asked.

“They can all use ancient magic—equivalent to special-class magic in human terms. And they can activate it within five cells… in your terms, a two-phrase incantation,” Seabas explained.

Eliza’s eyes widened. “Th-that’s amazing… Even I can’t handle special-class magic in two phrases.”

Her admiration drew the attention of the elf guards. “You can use special-class magic?” one muttered. “A child like this?” another added. “She hasn’t even lived thirty years, has she…”

Seabas glanced at his men, then laughed self-mockingly. “The fearsome one is Fiddiq Academy, I suppose. Or perhaps our country’s common sense is outdated. After all, in this country, it’s believed that dwarves are inferior in magical talent.”

Eliza hurriedly tried to correct him, but Strass raised a hand. “Don’t say anything.” Confused, Eliza covered her mouth and fell silent.

Seabas tilted his head but faced forward again. “Well, we’re almost at our destination.”

He pointed ahead, and naturally, everyone’s gaze followed toward the far end of the town, where the building they were heading to came into view.

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