Chapter 8

"Ah, J! Good morning." A shop-owner waved at me as I walked past. "Heading to the Elder's again?"

"Yeah."

"You sure have it rough." He said. "The geezer's probably all kinds of unreasonable."

"You bet." I laughed.

I was on my way to the Elf Village Elder's house, which he had built away from the liveliness of the village and more into the isolated calm of the natural forest. I had been studying under him for a little under three months, during which he had succeeded in jamming a whole language, layout of multiple maps, and knowledge about every single living organism that I would need to know about into my brain.

When I first came to the village, I did not speak a common language with the villagers, so the Elder took me in. As for why he could communicate with me, I only received the explanation of "The language is passed down to each generation of village Elder." I still had no clue what language it was, and why I knew it.

But from what I've heard, Elves, Humans, and Halfs mostly all speak the same language, with the exception of some local tongues and dialects. As for the reason why, everybody I asked gave me this uncomfortable look, so I didn't pry.

Long story short, in the process of getting one of my questions answered, a bunch of new ones popped up.

As for the village, they had warmed up to me quite a bit. When I first got to a conversational level in my language studies, I was met with nothing but unfamiliarity. Most people wouldn't even look my way, as I didn't look anything like an Elf with my green hair, blue eyes, and most importantly, short ears. it seemed that most elves had brown or black hair, and eyes of a similar shade. Their pupils were also of a peculiar diamond shape. Because of this, I felt quite thankful to the Elder for not just turning around and leaving me to look for another village in this massive forest, if there even was one.

I walked out of the village's gates, and onto a dirt path that was hardly distinguishable from the rest of the forest. After an annoying amount of twists and turns, I arrived at the Elder's home, which he nearly never left. He sat on his front porch, in a rocking chair, sipping on a cup of tea as he always was.

"Don't you ever get bored of sitting in one place?" I asked, for the first time in about one day. It had become something like a greeting, at least to me.

I expected him to answer me with the usual, "When you're as old as me, you'd understand." To which I would shoot him a puzzled look, as this man, who has supposedly lived for almost three full centuries, looked like he had only barely exited the "middle-aged" range. How that was considered "Elder," that's beyond me.

Though when I thought about it, the elf villagers all looked way younger than what they actually were. The shop owner that had called out to me, who looked like a teenager, was apparently turning 132 years old in the next month or so. If the elves considered that middle-aged, then I guess the Elder would be pretty old compared to that.

The Elder, however, responded to my question with, "I don't, but you certainly have, haven't you?"

I froze for a second, like a GPS recalculating routes due to an increase in traffic, and then remained silent long enough for the Elder to drain his cup.

"Surely, a youngster like you has places she'd like to go, no?" He continued after pouring another cup of tea for himself, and bringing one for me. I hadn't told anyone about my background, and nobody has asked. To these villagers, I was just a tomboyish girl named Aris. As for how I came up with that name, it just popped into my head.

"Is this an elaborate way of telling me that I'm not needed any longer?" I joked.

The Elder let out a jolly belly laugh. "Indeed it is."

I took a moment to think, and came up with an actual answer.

"I'm pretty interested in seeing the world, I'd say."

"What a broad and tame dream for someone as young as you." the Elder scratched at his short, spiky beard. "I assume you're interested in seeing some Humans, no?"

"Read me like a book." I confirmed.

I couldn't tell him that my actual reason for wanting to travel was to see if any of my schoolmates ended up here, too.

Did anybody survive it?

A searing pain ran through my right arm and leg, something that always happened when I thought about the last moments I had in that world. It was nothing more than a memory, but I felt it all the same. I winced and dropped to one knee.

The Elder raised an eyebrow at me.

"It's nothing." I stood back up and dusted my skirt off. My outside appearance being that of a girl, I was given nothing but dresses and blouses. Naturally, I took it upon myself to modify these articles of clothing to something a bit more comfortable and simpler, down to something closer to a plain, long-sleeved shirt and a skirt that hung just above my knees. I also made a pair of thin leggings out of white fabric. But the added comfort and maneuverability earned me more than a few strange looks. That aside, I sure raised my housework skill. The Elder even said I could start a business selling clothes if money gets tight, as a joke, of course.

Underwear, however, was a story I'd much rather not share.

Where was I? Oh, right.

"If it's Humans you're interested in, then I can't help you very much." The Elder leaned back in his chair. "Us Elves cannot fathom why anyone would take interest in a race inferior to us, me included."

I was surprised. I expected someone with so much life experience to be quite indifferent and bias-free, cases like the Elder really threw me for a loop.

"Inferior, hm?" I couldn't help but feel a bit of offense at the statement. "I've got to see them for myself, in that case."

"For such a young girl, you sure speak like you know your stuff."

"That's the second time you've said that this week, gramps."

The Elder laughed, then took another sip of tea.

"If that's what you want to do, then I have no right to object." He said.

I had to think for a second. I was certain that I would want to explore this world, for sure, but I had no understanding of its power system and, more importantly, where I stood on it. Going on the assumption that I would figure something out on the way or awaken a super powerful ability when it was most needed would have been what I called a "total Zeik move."

"Though if Zeik was here, what'd he choose?" I spoke in English, under my breath. The Elder leaned forward in an attempt to catch what I was saying.

Surprisingly, Zeik had become the basis for all the unfamiliar things I did in this new world. I usually did the opposite of what I thought he would have done. In this case, however, I decided that I would have needed to go with the riskier route and get some first-hand experience instead of staying in a comfortable little Elf village.

"Then I'll hop on the road before you change your mind." I grinned. "Got anything for me to do before that, though?"

"Who's to say I won't change my mind if you do any more for me?" The Elder chuckled. "I may be old, but us Elves live for much longer than this. Just pay us a visit once you've gotten your fill of traveling, will you?"

"If that's all, then I swear I will." I gave him a salute, then realized it was probably a strange gesture. I instead put my fist over my heart, and then touched that to the ground: a promise to return. To me, the gesture seemed really cheesy, but the Elder seemed to accept it. he leaned back in his chair, and took another sip of tea.

In the three months that I lived at this village, I had not built up any belongings or property, relying on the kind owner of the sole inn in the village for lodging. It filled me with guilt to just leave without telling them so, but I was sure that telling them would make it even harder to leave. I made up my mind to just apologize when I got back.

"I suppose you're heading off immediately?"

"Trying to get rid of me?"

"Ha. Maybe I am." The Elder said. "if you go straight in the direction you're facing now, you'll reach the sea. Either fly straight and hope to hit human lands, or fly around the coast, you decide. That's about what I can do for you."

"That's good enough." For the first time in a month, I spread my wings and lifted off the ground. As I flew up, the bird's-eye view of the village revealed just how small it was. Down below, the 10 year old daughter of the innkeeper waved at me, being the only one who was looking up.

I felt a smile slide onto my face. In the short time I had stayed there, I sure grew attached to the village and its residents. Enough so that they probably thought of me as a part of their little community. The memories and experiences of my first three months in this world were all made there, and that'll be what I remember it for.

Until I return to make new ones, that is.