Lavina Vercheria was a peculiar elf from a young age.
She could be forced to sit through boring things and wouldn’t even bat an eye, but if something piqued her interest, she would tunnel into it until she exhausted every last detail.
Free-spirited and averse to being tied down, she was the type to have her eyes sparkle at the sight of something new.
If she were human, her quirky nature wouldn’t be so rare.
There simply is no human that can satisfy all the curiosity in the world.
Humans, limited by talent and lifespan, grow up learning to compromise with reality, focusing on honing specific skills that they actually need to survive, rather than trying to know everything.
However, Lavina was an elf.
She had the time to invest decades or even centuries into whatever she wanted, and among the new-generation elves, she stood out with her remarkable talent and understanding of magic, along with a strong desire to learn.
Was it merely a coincidence that Lavina’s primary interest happened to be magic, or was it a blessing from the heavens?
Unlike most of her peers, who tended to learn at a leisurely pace due to their long lifespans, Lavina absorbed elven magic at an astonishing speed.
But much like a candle that burns brightly also burns out quickly…
Once she had learned enough elven magic, Lavina’s interest shifted to unknown magic.
It was only natural for Lavina to develop an interest in the world beyond Albresia.
However, accessing the outside world’s knowledge wasn’t very realistic. After the race wars, Albresia had maintained an extremely closed-off structure.
The older elves, including the elders who survived the war, still could not forget the glory of their past.
With their high pride and current status that fell short, those arrogant elites believed that in time, glory would return as long as enough time passed.
Lavina harshly added, recalling the pathetic escapism of the senile old fools.
But even the elders had a glimmer of hope.
The Mist Labyrinth.
A magnificent masterpiece completed during the race wars.
This special fog barrier is so powerful that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say there’s no magical legacy as great in the entire history of the Terra continent. Even the elves who fell during the war could protect their last bastion perfectly.
In the aftermath of the war, the elders thought:
As long as the fog barrier stands, we are safe. In about 500 years, the new generation of elves will have grown enough to fill the void left by the great warriors of the forest who perished in battle.
This notion was possible only for elves, who are long-lived and easygoing.
And so, the elders completely locked up the forest.
The only concession they made was to allow the Ain to access the barrier’s edges to keep the humans in check.
Naturally, young elves were not permitted to venture outside of Albresia.
From time to time, there were elves who could not contain their curiosity and bolted out or were exiled for committing crimes, but those who left Albresia never returned.
No one knew if they were adapting well to life outside, became slaves to humans, or were killed.
Given the attitude of the elders leading Albresia, how did the young elves turn out?
Though they knew of external dangers through firsthand experiences, they denied the capabilities of other races due to pride. In contrast, the new generation of elves, molded by spoon-feeding education, remained completely ignorant about the outside world, holding a distorted worldview.
They naively believed that humans were inferior, beastmen were foolish, vampires were parasites, dwarves could only hammer metal, and dragonkin were crazy enough to think they were descendants of dragons.
And they thought that by coiling up in the forest and continuing the ways of their ancestors, they could one day reclaim the era of glory.
A few warriors from the older generation, who had survived through battles rather than by sitting behind desks, voiced their concerns about this trend, but with the attitudes of the powerful and the majority of public opinion being what it was, their words didn’t reach anyone.
But Lavina Vercheria was alone in questioning this teaching.
The elders told Lavina, who expressed her curiosity about the magic of the outside world, that it was dangerous and to refrain from being interested.
It was bizarre.
If humans, beastmen, vampires, and dragonkin were nothing to worry about, then why?
Why did we lose the war? If losing the race wars meant they couldn’t leave the forest for hundreds of years, didn’t that imply we were the weaker ones?
Unlike most elves who were relaxed and lacked a sense of crisis, Lavina was filled with curiosity, talent, and a proactive approach to learning. She already possessed the best archery skills among her peers and a deep theoretical understanding of magic that wasn’t lacking compared to the older generation.
No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t dismiss the contradictions revealed in the elders’ words.
And if, just if, the outside world was so dangerous that elves couldn’t roam freely, wouldn’t breaking just one barrier risk everyone’s lives?
Those terrible and despairing scenarios were enough to seriously pique Lavina’s interest.
Lavina couldn’t help but sneak into Albresia’s central library to pilfer external magical texts.
In her heart, she wished to bring back books directly from the outside world, but given her ignorance of what lay beyond the forest, this was the best she could do.
However, it didn’t take too long for suspicion to turn into certainty.
Even centuries ago, elves had only established their superiority over other races through experience, yet other races were not embarrassingly inferior to compare against.
On the contrary, a chronological comparison made the advancements of humans seem dramatically superior when compared to the stagnant elven magic, which had remained at similar levels for centuries.
At this rate, could elves guarantee that their magic wouldn’t be caught up to by the humans?
Even if they could maintain superiority on average, could they firmly believe that they wouldn’t be surpassed in any specific field?
And if, by any chance—though it was slim—humans did surpass them in any area, say illusions or barriers?
Lavina’s unease began to grow. Even in the realm of hypotheses, she couldn’t be assured of Albresia’s safety.
She had never heard of any enhancements to the barrier since the race wars.
Though she wasn’t yet 200 years old and may have been born after any modifications were made, judging by the elders’ attitudes, the possibility seemed slim.
Lavina Vercheria, being unable to suppress her curiosity, wanted to verify if the barrier protecting her homeland was indeed safe.
Finding a book explaining the barrier’s structure—one of the proud legacies of elves—was easy enough at the library. With the answer in hand, she set off to compare it to the real thing.
Touching the barrier without permission was strictly prohibited, but Lavina didn’t care.
However, as expected of a masterpiece among elven magical legacies, the fog barrier was a vast and intricate collection of knowledge that even Lavina, with the answer sheet in hand, couldn’t fully comprehend.
Nevertheless, one thing became clear.
Since its completion, the barrier had only been inspected occasionally for proper function and hadn’t progressed even a bit over the span of centuries.
Lavina immediately sought out the elders.
Worrying about punishment for breaking the rules could wait. Knowing her homeland was in danger, she could not remain silent.
She argued for reinforcing the barrier while highlighting the dangers of the rapidly advancing human magic compared to the peculiarities of elven magic that had reached a singularity.
But the elders neatly brushed aside Lavina’s cries, which stated that if this trend continued, there was a possibility of falling within a mere few decades.
Lavina’s pleas fell on deaf ears, ignored as they were, as they offered no time for complacency looking hundreds of years into the future.
Starting with curiosity, but ultimately considering Albresia’s future, Lavina’s heartfelt efforts were met with the obligation to choose one of two punishments.
The elders charged Lavina with the crime of unauthorized borrowing from the library and tampering with the barrier.
Exile or obedience.
They warned Lavina that her actions constituted a grave offense deserving of exile from Albresia, yet, given her talents and skills, if she now showed repentance and pledged to follow their commands, they might let her mistake pass as youthful folly.
The flicker in Lavina’s heart turned to coldness.
She had prepared to be punished for breaking the rules.
However, she had done this out of a belief that it was a necessary sacrifice for Albresia’s future, not because she derived any pleasure from hardship.
What she sought was not a solitary, meaningless punishment while her opinions were dismissed and threats were ignored.
She could not accept the dishonor of becoming a mere pawn who discarded her agency, following orders blindly.
In the end, Lavina left the forest on her own terms.
For not bending her beliefs, she lost the right to greet the morning on her homeland.
While fleeing the human gaze and wandering through an unfamiliar world, the elf found a new home in the northwestern land of the Bertica Kingdom.
After saving some dwarves who had run into trouble with a band of thieves while out for supplies, Lavina was invited to Iron Grave.
Thus, Lavina began a free research life in the dwarves’ Underground City.
This was around 40 years ago.
“So that’s what happened. Did you find it somewhat entertaining?”
“…You’ve certainly had a tough life, huh.”
After hearing Lavina’s past, it all started to make sense.
Three years ago, when Stella sent Lowell off to the Duchy, she mentioned that the Mist Labyrinth wouldn’t hold up much longer. At the time, I had my doubts, but now it was clear.
This wasn’t mere coincidence; Albresia was bound to burn.
The crazy old fogies had wrecked the country. In fact, they had somehow managed to thrive for several hundred years without collapsing, which only made me fearful of the elven race’s resilience.
“Well, it’s not bad to have someone say that. It would be a lie to say I don’t feel troubled knowing my homeland is burning… But what can I do? It’s the consequence of our actions, and I had expected it. I’ve been fortunate to meet the dwarves and live safely, and now, I’ve encountered someone once in a lifetime.”
As Lavina’s gaze ran from my head down to my toes, I felt myself flinch slightly.
She was absolutely looking at me like I was a research subject.
I was grateful she wasn’t exposing the fact that I was the Progenitor—though it’s not like there was anyone here who could expose me anyway—but the sheer fact that it stemmed from her interest in the world’s only research material made me a little… uneasy.
As it stood, I had resolved a few curiosities, but there were still no clues regarding this incident.
In the end, the only option available at the moment was to wait until Stella returned.
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