After that, Kihmuhir had no further contact with the cadets.
I thought it was fortunate that Kihmuhir changed his mind after just three attempts, but I wasn’t sure if it was really because he acknowledged Lynn. I also couldn’t tell if it was because he recognized the cadets of the Officer School.
In the end, Kihmuhir stared at me intently.
Because of that, I couldn’t be sure at the end whether he lifted Lynn because he acknowledged her or if he became interested in me, who could casually hand over something that was like a holy relic to Lynn and the altar.
“Maybe it’s both.”
Satsuki, who knew a bit about elves among us, offered that opinion.
If you had to say it, the only elf Satsuki could say he “knew well” was just her own father, but that was still exponentially better than us, who hadn’t even talked to any elves at all.
“Elves value holy power a lot, so they don’t usually behave condescendingly toward someone who can use holy power. They see that ability as something they themselves can’t achieve. Of course, it’s a different story that their relationship with the Church isn’t exactly good, but…”
So, literally being able to use ‘massive’ holy power meant I was someone they couldn’t afford to ignore. Aha, that’s why he smiled gently at me during the welcoming ceremony. It meant he acknowledged my “ability.”
And not just any ability, but a massive one.
Elves respect other elves’ judgments. So perhaps it meant they respected my connection with Lynn, viewing me as someone they couldn’t dismiss, if not completely the same as an elf.
“And using connections is a skill too. If I said my swordsmanship was developing, it would only be the third try, so it wouldn’t be easy to judge properly. So, it’s possible that having a ‘deep connection with the Saintess’ served as a more objective criterion.”
The fact that someone “so great” is willing to help without hesitation indicates that, whether in character or ability, there’s something about them that is ‘worthy of acknowledgment.’
Kihmuhir’s mindset is really solid. No, is it just that he’s solid because he’s like this?
Having gone through both belief-less old farts and those with a strong belief during military and societal life, I found both assumptions somewhat valid. There might be elves who waver and decide things based on their whims among their kind.
I didn’t have to meet them, but if I had to go and hear unpleasant words, it would be more comfortable to just not care and live my life. The inter-racial conflict between elves and humans, that is to say, the discrimination wasn’t one-sided, but both sides discriminated against each other.
It’s not about the minority and the majority. Just like Kihmuhir showed, elves act with the feeling that “I’m not the one being bullied; I’m the one bullying others,” even in the places where they feel discriminated against. It’s not just simple mental victory; they genuinely think and act that way, so their image can’t be good.
Of course, that doesn’t mean discrimination is good— I just don’t want to get involved in such a complicated relationship.
I just set up the narrative that elves are old farts! The other social issues reported on the news have come up on their own! Not my responsibility. Absolutely not.
“Furthermore, you said something back then.”
Something I said?
Hmm… I pondered, reflecting on yesterday’s memories.
*
So, Kihmuhir asked me that day.
“Is this artifact something the Church was keeping?”
“Uh? Ah, yes, that’s correct…”
It was true. The shield had indeed been kept in the Church. It had been gathering dust in the storage for years. I picked one that was in decent condition and hadn’t rusted.
Kihmuhir jumped down from the podium. In an instant, he approached me. By the time I realized it, he was so close our noses nearly hit, so I flinched back two steps. Luckily, Kihmuhir didn’t follow.
“Do you know when it was made?”
“Well, I’m not exactly sure…”
“You just lent an ‘artifact’ that you don’t even know when it was made? Is that possible?”
His tone sounded like he was interrogating me, but his strangely passionate demeanor gave off a vibe that suggested he was thinking, ‘Can I get one too?’
“Well, it’s just something that was lying around in a storage…”
Under the pressure of Kihmuhir’s strange aura, I replied like that.
Of course, it’s not a completely incorrect statement. The shield really was just a shield that was lying around in storage.
But at that moment, suffering from severe sleep deprivation, I couldn’t explain that ‘it was an item I consecrated from something that was in storage.’
Kihmuhir stared at my face for a while, then smiled and nodded a few times while saying, “I see.” And then—
He reached out for my hand and said,
“Let’s be friends.”
…Everyone around us gasped.
Of course, it’s a huge difference between becoming friends through shared experiences and directly approaching someone to say, “I want to be friendly with you.”
Especially coming from an elf with that proud nose and Adamantium-level self-esteem!
Of course, he had the look of someone who didn’t think for a second that his suggestion might be rejected.
In the end, unable to say anything, I simply took Kihmuhir’s hand and replied, “Ah, okay…”
Hearing my answer, Ramihi Kihmuhir smiled brightly, and she was incredibly beautiful.
*
Of course, aside from her looks, her personality was a bit much when it came to truly becoming friends.
I hadn’t had much of a connection with Jian yet, so the easy-going female gimmick hadn’t developed, but there was a light-year’s difference between seeing it in the novel I wrote and actually witnessing that behavior. I could simultaneously understand the definitions and prejudices elves carry while looking at Kihmuhir.
The reason she wanted to be friends was not because she experienced me but because she knew I could retrieve holy relics from the storage.
Ah, to the elves, it was just a relic and not a holy relic. Regardless.
Even if I said I made it, it wouldn’t change how they viewed it. Instead, it would probably make things more bothersome.
Storing holy power, which disperses into thin air after being used just once, into an item for continuous use isn’t an easy task. Even the Church goes through a lot of priests to apply holy power when creating a single bullet, and when it comes to sacred swords, they completely dunk them in holy water while forging. Additional consecration is another topic entirely.
Thinking back, what I did with that buckler was like skipping the whole dipping process in holy water. Given that he was an elf, it just dazzled him; if he were a demon, he might have gotten burned or something?
…I was a bit annoyed by Rina’s teasing, and in a moment of “I’ll be even more helpful!” I just made it.
“It’s rare for an elf to try to build a connection with another race first. This means that if you decide to live in the Elven Village, this elf will welcome you.”
In that sense, the only beings who could truly become “friends” with elves were mostly elves. Even if there are friend-like bonds, being accepted for immigration is almost non-existent.
Perhaps because she herself is someone who hasn’t been recognized as a true elf, Satsuki’s voice dropped slightly when explaining this.
A true friend.
However, even if I were to become friends or whatever, I have no intention of living there.
No matter how well they treat me, it’s just because they see my holy power. In that area, I would be treated like a 100% totem. At best, I’d merely be treated as the second version of the Great Tree located in the heart of the elven self-governing region.
An elf without magical power can’t turn the miraculous energy into holy power. Therefore, unlike some deeply religious humans, bringing in holy power through prayer is impossible. This is a common issue for all races that have crossed over, but among them, elves are the most dependent on holy power.
Other races don’t even reach the level of sensitivity to holy power that elves possess, and while humans might be able to adapt to magical power, only a select few chosen beings (as they claim) or those who are hybrids with humans can use magical power to their heart’s content.
This was actually a setting intended to explain the balance between humans and other races and why humans managed to survive the wars against demons and regain some territories.
Thanks to that, gnomes and beastmen somewhat accepted the Church’s teachings, but elves stubbornly refuse.
Elves, who cannot generate holy power at all, blatantly disregard the Church, which can use holy power in abundance, due to a complex reason.
First, acknowledging that the Church’s power is the “power of the gods governing the world” would mean admitting that they are a race that has been abandoned by the gods, which is not something their pride can accept since they consider themselves (in their view) a “noble ancient race.” Although such a narrative doesn’t exist, very few people in this world think that way; still, the very possibility of such things is unacceptable to the pride of elves.
Thus, elves refer to holy power as “sacred energy” and sacred relics as simply “relics.” They call sacred energy “sacred energy,” but I don’t know why they leave out the term ‘sacred’ when referring to sacred relics. It’s not a narrative I made up; it’s just a rule the elves of this world arbitrarily established.
Naturally, the Church’s attitude towards the elves who refuse their teachings is quite cold.
The central government, which wants to utilize the elves’ powers, has tried various means to win the elves’ hearts, such as creating special admissions for the Academy or “buying holy water” in bulk and handing it to the elves, but the relationship between the two remains chilly. While they don’t completely ignore exchanges, they’d only care to deal with monetary transactions.
So how do elves replenish their sacred energy, or rather, their “sacred energy”?
This ties back to the second reason.
Elves brought with them branches of their sacred tree, “Arlil,” while fleeing.
Arlil means “Great Tree” and is similar to the World Tree cherished by elves in typical fantasy novels. Of course, the original Arlil was far too massive, so they couldn’t bring it whole, but they broke off as many branches as they could while escaping.
Later, after establishing themselves here, they planted all those branches, and only three of those branches succeeded in blooming and intertwined to grow into one tree.
And after nurturing it carefully for 500 years, it has now become the “Arlil” situated in the center of the elf self-governing region. Of course, it doesn’t compare at all to the original Arlil, which supposedly grew huge over 10,000 years, but it’s enough to gather the “sacred energy” necessary for the elves to live.
According to the distinguished elven sages, the Arlil in their original world is probably still safe and sound. It produced so much sacred energy that it was able to cover their former elven kingdom entirely. I bet demons wouldn’t dare come near it.
…But considering the existence of high-ranking demons, I seriously doubt that. But since they don’t know that, they think it’s quite possible. Elves, who are extremely vulnerable to magical power, couldn’t possibly survive a night with demons or witches. The same goes for beastmen and gnomes.
Only a very small number of humans who bred with them produce high-ranking demons, and even now, the majority of those “humans” are classified as confidential by the central government.
Shouting “Possible!” at demons and monsters, indeed, they really are the race of possibilities, the race that multiplies and flourishes!
The explanation above mixes my own setting with reality. I wrote that they replenish their holy energy through the Arlil tree, but the historical facts beyond that were unilaterally continued by this world. In fact, I just made up a few elf words, so I don’t even know what their language is really like.
Yet, this boring history lesson has proved useful. The reason I’m aware of all this is because I learned it during class time.
As I frowned at the prospect of hearing “welcoming” words from the Elven Village, Satsuki stared at me with an impassive expression. Although she showed no emotions, I could guess what she was thinking. She was likely sympathizing, having been through it herself.
“Well, you wouldn’t care much since you have a deep faith.”
Satsuki finished her statement like that.
…It’s more about knowing the facts, rather than having deep faith, but from the perspective of someone who doesn’t know, it’s all the same. I didn’t have much interest in actually visiting the Elven Village, so I didn’t say much.
But have you ever heard this?
You may not care about the war, but the war cares about you. by Lev Trotsky.
That’s right. I didn’t have much interest in elves, but the interest that elves had in me was beyond my wildest imagination.
*
The joint classes and training, which had about a week left, ended rather comfortably.
Kihmuhir barely spoke to most of the cadets until the end of the period, only occasionally chatting with Lynn when necessary, so the cadets, having realized that he wouldn’t bother them any longer, didn’t feel the need to poke at him.
Or rather, those people were already aware of the trashy things they had done in the beginning.
Of course, while it was because of the witch’s magic, they didn’t conjure nonexistent feelings, and since it wasn’t announced that it was the witch’s doing, the cadets seemed to genuinely reflect on their actions.
In reality, Erica also mentioned that she had received an apology, much like I did. Some children who had been bullied by the cadets also seemed to have received apologies.
Watching the cadets cheerfully engage with each other, working together to resolve various tasks to improve their image, it was clear they selected individuals of genuine righteousness.
…Nevertheless, it was still feedback that the integration was somewhat less effective compared to previous years.
Anyway, with that, the last day of May arrived.
“Attention!”
The student council president Lynn shouted with authority.
Click! The sound of tightly disciplined cadets snapping to attention could be heard. The difference this time was that, unlike when we first met, there was no sense of hostility present.
Also, a slight hint of regret could be felt.
Conversely, on the Academy side, it must have been refreshing for them. At least for me, it was. Even if they hadn’t meant it that way, directly confronting uncomfortable emotions is a highly unpleasant experience. Even if you knock out the opponent who made you feel that discomfort, that feeling doesn’t go away easily.
Still, we didn’t come away empty-handed.
The fact that we dealt with the witch was a huge achievement. Truthfully, the only cadet who really contributed was basically Lynn Mayer, the student council president, but she personally believed, ‘I awakened the cadets’ spirits by making them fight against an overwhelming opponent.’
I wait for the day I can tell Jian that the real intention of that exercise was to capture the witch.
This time, we hardly got involved with Jian, but due to his role as the heroine, we would meet eventually.
…The next time we meet won’t be peaceful at all, though.
“Salute!”
“Thank you for your hard work!”
Soldiers don’t bow their heads.
When meeting a superior or shaking hands, soldiers are taught to hold their heads high and look them in the eyes. Naturally, these cadets would have received the same training.
But the “thank you for your hard work!” seemed sincere. After all, they were the ones who caused the hardship.
The Academy students also hadn’t changed completely.
For example, the students now gathered in the auditorium were all dressed neatly in their uniforms. Of course, there were students with varying skirt lengths, and boys would wear tight pants; still, it was commendable that they were all dressed up.
It didn’t seem like they intended to make a good impression.
However, they probably felt they couldn’t afford to “not be seen.”
Though things eased eventually, initially, they were opponents who clashed emotionally. This meant they didn’t want to appear inferior to the other group.
Above all, they might have felt a type of romanticism.
Heroes and soldiers are fundamentally opposing entities in terms of duties.
Heroes perform their missions freely based on individual activities or small groups. Soldiers take on assigned duties and execute them perfectly. Although they cooperate at times, fundamentally, it’s hard to mix.
Yet, they both acknowledge the merits of each other.
Discipline is strength. By standardizing people’s abilities and deploying them to the battlefield, they can utilize as much capability as needed at the right moment. The strengths and weaknesses of the groups modularize, so by fitting them together, one can garner great efficiency.
Individuality is strength. If you remove obstacles and elevate a talented person’s abilities to the extreme, you can effectively utilize that individual’s capabilities to the maximum. If a particular part breaks down significantly, that individual can buy time until that part is repaired. That is the role of a hero.
They grasp each other’s strengths. Whether through cooperation or conflict, that was the aim of the joint classes.
In that sense, I guess it was a success.
I believe the cadets realized through being thwarted by Jian, me, and Kihmuhir that the ‘extreme talent is fundamentally different from them.’ That’s why there is a place called the Academy and a being known as a hero.
The faces of both groups weren’t shining bright, which wasn’t the conclusion, but considering a witch popped up, we managed it pretty well.
As I shifted my gaze here and there, I locked eyes with Lynn, who was standing directly in front of me.
Lynn smiled brightly at me.
I smiled back brightly at her.
If there’s a reason we meet next time, I hope it’s a situation that’s busier and more desperate.
Well, I just hope there’s still time for a cup of tea.
*
On one day in early June, as we gradually approached the main summer season.
I was sprawled on my desk enjoying the air-conditioning when suddenly, the back door of the classroom swung open.
Usually, the classroom door would open and shut continuously during breaks, so nobody would have cared. However, on that day, it was impossible to ignore the person standing in the doorway.
Hair shining golden like the summer sunlight streaming in through the window.
Deep and blue eyes that, if it were a lake, I’d want to jump in to cool off.
Her white skin glowed brightly in the light, as expected from an elf.
It was Ramihi Kihmuhir from Class E.
“Clara Anderson.”
As she scanned the classroom, her gaze landed on me in the corner, and Kihmuhir confidently walked over with her clack clack footsteps.
Unfazed by the gazes directed her way, Kihmuhir approached me directly.
“Which do you prefer, Clara or Anderson?”
She asked.
As I opened my mouth and looked up at her in surprise, she added, “I’m asking how you want me to call you.”
“…Please call me Clara.”
“Okay? Then I’ll call you Ramihi.”
Well, she was more straightforward than Andrea.
Of course, she was an elf who had no doubts about her actions.
“Do you happen to know about Remihar?”
Not a clue.
But I saw Satsuki’s ears twitch. Judging by the gazes of the entire classroom, Satsuki probably didn’t want to look in this direction, but her reaction hinted that this Remihar might be something significant among elves.
“…No?”
As I elevated my suspicion level from the moment I saw Kihmuhir to a caution level, Kihmuhir nodded her head a few times with an expression that seemed to say she expected that.
“It’s an elven festival. For humans, it falls in June, but according to elven standards, it’s celebrated in the ‘fifth cycle.’ It isn’t anything special, so it’s natural that humans wouldn’t know about it.”
Really?
Looking at Satsuki’s reaction, it didn’t seem to be as trivial as that.
As I was silent, gazing up at her, Kihmuhir chuckled and continued.
“Actually, that day is also a day to invite neighbors and express gratitude. It’s a way of saying thank you for all the favors until now and asking for continued kindness in the future.”
However, I couldn’t help but think that those ‘neighbors’ probably wouldn’t include any other races.
Most importantly, I hadn’t done anything to owe Kihmuhir; the only interaction was a single “Let’s be friends” during the duel with Lynn.
…But I could sort of guess why she had come all the way here to say this.
“So, I want to invite you, ‘my neighbor.’ What do you think? Are you interested?”
Nope.
I’m not interested in the slightest.
I had a feeling following her would lead to some enormous hassle.
It felt just like when the Sergeant called my name during my military days. If I followed, I had a premonition of wringing my neck— no, sweating buckets.
“……”
I silently looked up at Kihmuhir, but she simply smiled at me without saying anything.
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