Thankfully or unfortunately, thanks to Rene guiding me around the Elven Village and introducing various elves, I could roughly grasp how the Elven Society operates.
Among the elves, there are no strict classes. At least, there isn’t a clear hierarchy like slave-master or noble-commoner. There is no king in Elven Society, and they elect the eldest and wisest from five families to act as elders who make important decisions for the village.
It’s not a democracy, nor is it a monarchy. If anything, it has a slight totalitarian tint, but there’s no indication of invading other territories or slandering other races.
Rather than reflecting modern society, it resembles a small community from the era when humans lived in tribes before nationhood.
Interestingly, this seemingly haphazard political system maintains a level of sophistication that can’t be called small.
Although there’s no official count or categorizing agency like humans have to tally households, it seems there are approximately 8,000 to 12,000 elves living in the Elven region. According to Rene, there are also elves living separately deep in the jungle, so the exact number is uncertain.
Or perhaps they just made it up to avoid sharing important information with humans.
While there’s no visible hierarchy, not everyone is equal. In Elven Society, they are divided into ordinary elves and respected elves. Respected elves are those who come from families that always produce elders, while the ordinary elves are the common folks governed by them.
Of course, I merely labeled them this way because I’m an outsider. The elves themselves didn’t use these expressions directly.
But it clearly shows in their behavior.
For instance, if Rene introduces someone by saying, “This person is Remi Kihmir,” that elf is an ordinary elf.
“Hello, Saintess, thank you for visiting our village.”
The reply is very formal in return.
On the other hand, if she introduces someone as, “This is Lord Melfir Rechmir,” that elf is a ‘respected elf.’
Sure enough, the response is either extremely brief or a simple nod in my direction.
Hearing such responses, I felt very annoyed.
Annoyed, I decided to respond exactly according to how they greeted me, contrary to Rene’s attitude.
To Remi Kihmir, whom I was introduced to earlier, I clasped my hands together over my belly button and bowed at a 90-degree angle.
“It’s an honor to be invited. I am Clara Anderson, a nun who serves the goddess.”
The expressions of Remi, who received such a polite introduction, and Rene, who introduced her— or him? Regardless, that elf’s face turned pale. In their eyes, my role designated as the ‘overseer’ meant I, though not an elf, had a very important position in the village. Without me, they would be in the same predicament as before, having to pour church-purchased holy water.
But they couldn’t refuse my greeting. After all, these elves had never ventured outside their region. They didn’t know how to show etiquette among humans. If they refused wrongly, they could ‘break the human etiquette’ and offend me.
So, they could only turn pale and return my greeting. Even if I asked them to address me by name or drop the ‘-nim’ suffix, they would surely refuse. However, if they acted ‘ignorantly,’ they would fumble and eventually concede to me.
After all, here, I am a ‘noble guest.’
Honestly, I felt a bit guilty, but I couldn’t help it; this was how I had to behave in this village moving forward.
In other words, I would bow disdainfully back to Melfir Rechmir, just as he had done to me.
Once again, Rene’s face turned pale. It seemed that the ‘Rechmir’ family was quite revered among the elves.
And probably also staunchly racist.
Rechmir is the surname of Satsuki. The reason he had to be expelled from the village merely for having mixed blood may well have something to do with that family name. In conclusion, it might be why Satsuki’s demeanor ended up being relatively normal.
Melfir, the young man, lit up with indignation. It was a clear ‘I’m offended’ reaction, but who cares?
By the time I met the highest-ranking individuals in the village, I was already in a bad mood. In fact, it was only getting worse.
I honestly just wanted to hurry up and perform the ritual— no, I wanted to storm out of here and return to the convent. But having already signed the documents, doing such a thing would be against my best interests.
If I made a wrong move, the church might use it as an excuse to come after me five years later when I tried to run away!
So, let’s stick it out for now.
It was messy to be around them, and it was only going to get messier; I decided it was best not to see them again.
Having resolved to act this way, I boldly confronted the ‘elves’ rules.
“If you have any complaints, please tell me, and I will pass them on.”
“Oh my.”
Rene, sweating bullets, said that, but I responded with exaggerated surprise, wide-eyed.
“No, not at all! The ‘elders’ welcomed me ‘so warmly.’ I’m having a delightful time.”
When I pronounced ‘elders,’ ‘so warmly,’ I did it through gritted teeth, letting out a sound between my teeth. By now, they should have picked up on my undertone. Of course, knowing that wouldn’t change their behavior.
“And I appreciate everyone’s kindness. It’s only ‘polite’ to respond kindly to a kind greeting, right? Is there a problem with that?”
“Uh? No, um, not at all…”
As Rene struggled to find suitable words and fell silent, I had already left her in a speechless haze.
*
About 30 minutes later, I continued my tour.
When performing the ritual, only I, the overseer, can enter the innermost area. Aural, the Saintess’s aide, is not allowed in the ceremonial place but can stand right next to the door, while the knights following me must wait behind the elves conducting the ceremony.
At that distance, what’s the point of having bodyguards?
Each elf’s combat capability surpasses that of humans. While Ramihi Kihmuhir is certainly strong even among elves, it’s hard to believe that ordinary elves would struggle against humans one-on-one.
Satsuki, a half-elf, isn’t accepted, being told he “can’t hold his own.” Even if the trained knights are above average, if elves collectively charge at them, they wouldn’t stand a chance. Furthermore, divine power does not harm elves; if anything, it benefits them.
Well, thinking about the numbers, it seems my escort was rather ceremonial than protective.
And what can be done? If those strong elves say so, who am I to argue? When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
Besides, no matter how strong they are, elves cannot block human attacks without being able to use magic. Just looking at the numbers, humans are far more numerous. Given the firepower of their weapons, internal strife wouldn’t be wise.
…Hmm?
Hold on a second.
Elves can’t use magic. That much is certain. After all, that’s the setting I wrote.
The elves were chased away by the magical civilization of demons because they couldn’t hold their own against the magic users.
So then, where do elves get the useful holy power from? They get it from Arlil.
So how does Arlil produce that holy power?
By invoking divine power through rituals.
Excluding the peculiar fact that the output of holy power exceeds the input, how did elves generate holy power in that world?
Holy power is essentially the miraculous force of a god, summoned through faith. And this process requires a small amount of magical power. External magical power won’t do; it has to be the magician’s own power. After all, faith is personal and cannot be borrowed from others.
But elves have no magical power. They are so devoid of it that it’s critical.
Of course, in the opposite case, magical creatures, demons, and beasts are also deadly against holy power. That’s why elves firmly believe that the real Arlil in that other world is still intact.
How magical beasts and demons came into existence in a world devoid of humans, and how they managed to defeat and banish elves, is a mystery. This reclusive race has never shared their history with other races.
Well, whatever. They came here after social collapse and defeat, and that itself indeed happened, so let’s just go with it.
Now that they’re here, let’s assume they got help from the church to cultivate Arlil.
But how did they raise Arlil before coming to this world?
The Arlil, which has been growing for thousands of years, is said to reach heights comparable to the sky and mountains. The elves claim that its thickness could encompass an entire city within.
Even if it’s exaggerated after being passed down as legends among elves who haven’t returned to their world for 500 years, it’s evident that it would surely be larger than the Arlil that’s grown for 500 years in this world.
So what means did they use to offer holy power? In that realm, there are no stable humans able to summon holy power.
Gnomes and beastmen? Sure, these races can summon very weak holy power. But gathering hundreds or thousands of these races wouldn’t bring it to a significant level.
They are also more susceptible to magic than humans, and given the often weak magical powers, producing holy water for healing is almost impossible—why would the aloof elves seek their help?
Not to mention, they wouldn’t have sacrificed hundreds or thousands of gnomes and beastmen just to cultivate Arlil, considering how they’ve treated them as ‘annoying and lofty races.’
“Rene.”
Contemplating various possibilities that ultimately didn’t fit, I called out to Rene.
Rene, walking slightly ahead while guiding us, turned her head. Her complexion looked bad. Ugh.
Ah, this must be my fault.
Well, it makes sense. A regular guide introducing important people while their VIP makes contemptuous expressions and merely nods. They can’t help but feel their pride hurt or be frightened.
However, apologizing here would be akin to saying I’d be careful going forward—meaningless.
I had no intention of being cautious in the slightest, so I had no thoughts of apologizing—unless it was time to leave.
“I’ve been pondering the explanations, and a question has arisen.”
As I spoke, Rene exhaled slightly, indicating some relief.
“Yes, go ahead.”
“The ritual for Arlil— it’s a ceremony of offerings for the divine, right? Offering holy power or, rather, sacred energy as gratitude.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Nodding readily, I continued with my inquiry.
“From what I heard from Kihmuhir, ‘If nothing comes in, nothing goes out.’ So what did the elves offer to Arlil before coming to this world? They don’t emit sacred power.”
To be more precise, that’s why the elves are even more reliant on Arlil. The most efficient way to obtain useful divine power is to live nearby.
“Well, that’s…”
Rene struggled, rolling her eyes awkwardly as she responded.
“We don’t know either. Much of what we knew about elven civilization was lost when we came here. During the Great Migration, we couldn’t take everything with us, so we don’t have detailed knowledge of the ‘Elven Empire.’”
It was an empire that had existed, huh?
While I had suspected they must have had many capitals and surely a nation, I hadn’t expected it to be termed an empire.
They must have had reasons for being so haughty after all.
Perhaps the remnants of their imperial past still influence how they function today, even with their population maintaining a city-level size.
However, what I wanted to know was not about their illustrious past.
“But isn’t that odd? Maintaining sacred energy would be extremely important for the elves, right? Wouldn’t the documentation regarding that process be prioritized?”
These are the elves who fled with Arlil in hand. Did they really lose track of the essential ceremonial process?
“Once more, I must emphasize—the elves fled so hastily back then. They lost many lives along the way. Among them, there might have been some who held vital knowledge.”
I carefully observed Rene’s expression, and it genuinely seemed troubled.
I wondered how skilled the average elf was at acting. Can ordinary elves pull off natural expressions?
Hmmm, at least Rene didn’t seem to be one of them.
From earlier, as I had been stiff with tension, I noticed how her face had gradually turned pale. If one were to be observant, it seemed evident that she wasn’t good at hiding her emotions. Moreover, the glances towards Aural, who had been following silently with a stern expression, revealed she was quite concerned about her as well.
If even the other elves ignored Aural, then this reaction must be genuine.
“Understood. I apologize for asking something troubling.”
“No, I’m the one who should apologize for being unable to answer. If you need, I can consult the elders—”
“That’s fine.”
I hastily interrupted the talk of elders. If those old fogies start musing over such matters, they might mock my ignorance or scold me for an outsider trying to gain knowledge.
Above all, even if they knew, they wouldn’t share it with those outside their race—especially if, among ordinary elves, they claimed ‘it’s lost and we can’t know.’
Surely, there must have been some method. Their silence hinted at the fact they either genuinely forgot or…
Or perhaps that ‘method’ was something embarrassing or problematic to disclose to others.
If it were an honorable method, they’d at least share the story.
How suspicious, how suspicious.
Should I even be privy to this information?
I pondered seriously while following Rene as she led the way again.
*
“Well done, Rene. From here on, I’ll guide you. We still need to enter the sanctuary.”
“Yes, understood. Thank you, Kihmuhir-nim.”
Rene bowed with a sigh of relief. She positioned her right hand on her chest and the left at her back, performing an elven-style bow. Although she introduced herself as an ordinary elf, there was an undeniable old-world dignity to that posture.
…Perhaps she isn’t just an ‘ordinary elf’ after all. It’s a bit late to ask now, though.
“Don’t be too hard on her. She’s a nice girl.”
Seeing Rene’s face, Kihmuhir— No, Ramihi seemed to have perceived something and offered me a sardonic smile.
“I haven’t really been too harsh. It was merely a misunderstanding due to our different ‘ways of politeness.’”
“Hmm, really?”
Kihmuhir gazed at me for a moment, shrugged his shoulders, and continued.
“Well, if you say so, I guess that’s how it is. I’m not human. Honestly, sometimes it’s hard to comprehend the human way of thinking.”
Kihmuhir assisted Erica because despite her lacking combat abilities, she could still act and prevent the collapse of the group. Conversely, beings who can’t perform such roles don’t deserve to be treated with respect.
No matter how much Ramihi learns among humans, he could never fully grasp the idea of equality ingrained in his mind from birth.
Well… to be honest, after seeing those bothersome elder figures, I’d be hard-pressed to wholeheartedly agree either. But anyhow.
“Now, I need to show you the most crucial part. From here, only the overseer and the elders, or those permitted by the elders, can enter. During the ritual, even the elders can’t go inside. So for now, Raniery? Would you wait outside with Rene?”
Though I phrased it as a question, it was hardly more than a command.
“…Yes, I’ll do that.”
Perhaps tired of being irritable, Aural responded like this. Though her face was filled with displeasure.
“Thank you.”
Of course, Ramihi, completely oblivious, merely responded with a smile.
“Alright, follow me then.”
Considering that no one was supposed to enter, the door was not locked. Opening the wooden door on the wooden walls, a giant tree filled my vision.
It was so wide that it took a little walking to reach right in front of the roots, and even then, I had to turn my head to see the end.
Even if I raised my chin to its limit, I couldn’t see the end of the tree. The branches almost block the sky, and the leaves sprouting from them colored the sky in green.
Despite this, the place was bright.
Even if the tree hid the sun, the light of the holy power flowing from it illuminated above our heads.
Arlil.
They say it means the Great Tree.
I could almost understand why it was called that.
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