“Hello?”
“Hello.”
I awkwardly replied to the girl’s greeting with formal speech. Despite her appearance, she somehow exuded a sense of maturity.
She nodded vaguely at my greeting and then placed the pipe she had in her mouth on the table.
After scanning me for a moment, the girl started speaking again.
“So you are the one that Cain mentioned?”
“Huh?”
Cain.
I was slightly startled when the name I had never heard before popped out of her mouth. I wondered if I had come to the wrong place and asked her back.
She tilted her head slightly, then sighed as if she understood.
“Oh, you don’t know this name.”
With an air of annoyance, she tapped the end of her pipe with her hand.
“I’m talking about Duke Hardenberg. He’s a regular around here.”
So Abel’s other name was Cain, huh? I suppose he couldn’t use that name in a world like this.
Still, I questioned whether there was a similar setting in the original work. Of course, I wasn’t sure since I hadn’t actually read the original.
A friend wouldn’t reveal such intricate details.
‘Of all names, Cain…’
Abel and Cain.
Even I, who knew little about the Bible, had some recollection of it.
The first murderer, Cain.
And the first victim killed by another human, Abel.
Was Abel using such a name due to the author’s intention in the original work? I couldn’t know for sure since I had never read it.
“What’s wrong? Is something up?”
I shook my head at the girl’s questioning face. Finding it quite dull, she put the pipe back in her mouth.
“By the way, it’s interesting. That guy is getting involved with a girl. If the gossipmongers heard about it, they would be spreading it all over town.”
“Um, can I hear some information?”
“What, are you one of those types who hates introductions?”
I nodded slightly, and she let out a deep sigh. She then ignited her pipe with fire magic.
A thick smell of tobacco began to waft from the end of her pipe.
The pungent smoke made me cough involuntarily.
Of course, that was only temporary; the smell quickly dissipated. It even felt refreshingly invigorating.
She knocked the pipe against the ashtray and resumed speaking.
“Ah, sorry. We just met, right?”
Her claim was a bit amusing given how aggressively she puffed on her tobacco. If we’re counting boldness, she might surpass Abel.
I knew this might be a rude thought.
But since it was the other party that acted disrespectfully first, it shouldn’t matter, right?
“Call me Louis.”
“I’m Adele. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
She showed clear signs of boredom on her face. Her tone and manner of dealing with people suggested she had lived for quite some time.
After all, the image of elves as long-lived beings was strong.
Still, I hadn’t expected such races to exist in this world.
Noticing my gaze, Louis chuckled and asked.
“What, is this your first time seeing an elf?”
“Uh? Oh, yes.”
“That makes sense. We’re nearly extinct.”
“Ah…”
She spoke so calmly that I wasn’t sure how to react.
Finding my expression funny, she barely stifled a laugh.
“There’s no need to be serious about it. It’s just the way of nature.”
Louis looked as if she didn’t care much, taking another puff from her cigarette. Clouds of white smoke sprayed in all directions.
Although it should have been an unpleasant smell, it wasn’t particularly strong.
In fact, it was almost refreshing, to be honest.
“Isn’t the tobacco smell a bit strong? This is just a habit.”
“No, it feels a bit refreshing, actually.”
“Refreshing?”
Louis’s eyes lit up unexpectedly. Her previously dull gaze now sparkled with energy. I was taken aback by her sudden change in mood.
Standing on the table, Louis met my gaze. Before I could react, she said,
“Oh…”
Then she turned her head from side to side, scanning my body again.
Unlike before, she was observing me quite carefully now.
“Um…”
Even as I spoke, Louis didn’t respond and crossed her arms, deep in thought. After closing her eyes for a moment, she smiled slightly.
“You’re half-blooded, aren’t you?”
“Half-blooded… what do you mean?”
I had never heard that term before. But Louis’s eyes revealed a strong sense of conviction.
Wait, what could she possibly mean by half-blood? Did she mean Adele has mixed blood of different races?
“Half-elf, I mean.”
“What does that mean?”
In response to my question, she simply stared deeply into my eyes.
At this point, it became clear that she was someone who acted on her own accord.
Knowing or not knowing that, Louis just continued to gaze at me intently.
“Ruby-like red eyes…”
Unconsciously, I touched the necklace around my neck. Given that the artifact was functioning properly, my eyes should have appeared blue.
Reading my thoughts, Louis chuckled lightly.
“That kind of artifact doesn’t work on elves.”
“Look at the essence. The eyes of elves.”
With that, she added and then flopped down on the sofa, starting to smoke the tobacco vigorously.
“It’s not that deep. Probably one in ten generations.”
“Me?”
I reflexively touched my ears.
I could still only feel the ordinary human ears. Seeing that, Louis shook her head slightly.
“Only pureblooded elves have pointed ears. Half-elves also have normal ears.”
“Ah…”
Pureblooded, huh.
So did that mean the woman before me was a pureblooded elf? Having a different race before me felt rather strange.
“By the way, it’s fascinating. I can’t believe Cain’s woman is a half-elf.”
“Can that really be called half-blood?”
If there was an elven ancestor from ten generations ago, isn’t it debatable to call it mixed blood?
As if to contradict my thoughts, Louis shook her head.
“The blood of elves is dense.”
She pointed at my face.
“Your face can be explained by that as well.”
Indeed, every time I looked in the mirror, I thought I had an unhuman beauty. Was the elven blood the reason?
“Well, it’s not that important, so let’s set it aside.”
Louis said that and brushed the end of her pipe again.
“Normally, I’d have just sent you away. I think Cain wanted that too.”
“Huh?”
“Normally,” she said.
Did she mean she was planning to send me back empty-handed?
“I’ve let go of information about the Emperor. Cain likely knows that.”
She let out a deep sigh and continued speaking.
“Well, meeting a descendant of your kind in a place like this is a milestone, I suppose.”
“What do you mean by that…”
“Here’s the thing.”
Louis pulled out a spatial pocket and rummaged through it. After rummaging for a while, she finally pulled something out and tossed it.
Before I even had time to react, I reflexively caught it. Opening my hand, a silver compass revealed itself.
“This is a compass that records the places you desire.”
White smoke rose from her pipe.
“Do the rest on your own.”
“Ah, thank you.”
As I bowed my head in gratitude, she waved her hand dismissively.
“Don’t bother with thanks. We exchanged what we wanted.”
With that, Louis put her pipe down on the table.
She rested her chin on her hand, gazing at me as she slowly began to speak.
“Oh, and…”
“Huh?”
“Be careful with your reincarnation abilities.”
At those words, I felt my hair stand on end. Meeting her serious gaze, I noticed the intensity in her eyes.
I didn’t ask a pointless question of how.
It didn’t seem that difficult for someone who had lived for a long time to see through my abilities.
“But…”
“Listen carefully. This is advice I’m giving as a fellow kind.”
Her face showed a hint of regret. The depth of her gaze was such that I couldn’t think of anything to say in response.
“There’s no ability without a price.”
“I… understand.”
With those words, I quietly opened the door and stepped outside.
My hands were trembling slightly.
I never expected my reincarnation ability would be so easily discovered.
Especially without having used it even once.
§
The awkward inn interior.
Silence fell between Lily, dressed as a maid, and Evan, clad in armor.
Evan seemed used to this atmosphere, quietly resting.
But Lily could no longer stand the tension and spoke first.
“How did you meet the duke, Evan?”
As she asked, Evan opened his eyes, which he had been keeping closed, and answered her question.
“I met him in an orphanage in the back alley.”
“An orphanage?”
“Yes. My biological parents sold me.”
Hearing this, Lily awkwardly averted her gaze. This question meant to lighten the mood did quite the opposite.
Seeing her reaction, Evan chuckled and continued.
“That happens often, you know. I was quite satisfied to have met the duke because of it.”
“Ah… I’m glad to hear that.”
“What about you, Lily?”
At his question, Lily pondered for a moment, crossed her arms, then opened her mouth.
“I was in a similar situation. My biological parents abandoned me and ran away…”
Lily’s smile was bittersweet as she spoke.
“And then I was picked up by Adele. They said I was a gemstone among rocks.”
“We’re quite alike.”
“Yes. You’ve changed a lot since then…”
She suddenly remembered Adele from that time. The violent and always seemingly pushed-around figure who looked worn out.
Even now, seeing her with amnesia, thoughts of the past still haunted her.
Especially the memory of when Adele had abandoned her back into the back alley was fresh in her mind.
That memory was Lily’s most painful scar.
That’s why she was terrified of back alleys.
The reason she trembled with anxiety upon arriving here was because of that.
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