The Elf Village [2]

Before long, the portcullis started to rise with a creaking sound, followed by wooden groaning as the doors behind it were also opened.

"Are we going inside?" I whispered to Mia.

"Just shut up and don't do anything that can be interpreted as hostile behavior."

What was that? I'm not a kid, even I know that much. Ah well, I guess it's useless so I'll just go along with the setting here.

As the gates were fully opened, an old elf came in sight. He was wearing dark green colored clothes and had a long white beard while he had his hands held at his back.

He walked out toward us while four elven guards accompanied him. From the air one could tell that the atmosphere was tense, I was just hoping that this won't come down to a fight. Seriously, I was fed up with it! For now, I just wanted some delicious food and a good fluffy bed to sleep on.

"What are you all doing? She is an important person and our guest, you can't just disrespect her like this," said the old elf as he scolded the gatekeepers.

"My deepest apologies if they had caused any problem to you," the old elf said as he bowed a little against Mia.

She was an important person? Really, well I had deduced that she had at least some type of connections with the elves if she's helping them but isn't this a bit too much.

This was making me sick and I knew the reason behind it. The scene that was playing before my eyes was mostly similar to those cliché anime settings which I hated as much as I hated harems.

While I was thinking all this, Mia was talking with the old elf and explaining the situation to him.

"Won't it be better if we talked inside?" asked the old elf, it was more like an invitation I'd say.

"I don't want to cause you trouble but if that's what you want then I'll gladly accept your invitation," said Mia. Ahh! That speech pattern, I want to vomit.

"Who is this man with you?" asked the old elf. So you finally noticed me huh, old hag.

"He helped me taking care of those bandits, he can be trusted," said Mia.

Did she really trust me or this was an act? My instincts were saying that it was the latter but…well, fuck it.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Haruto," I said as I greeted him.

"Nice to meet you too, I'm Ascal; an elder of this village," said the old elf or Ascal.

"Now shall we," said Ascal as he began walking toward the gate. The children were already taken inside so as of now only I and Mia were left.

Under Mia's guidance, I made my way beyond the portcullis. The walls were about 5 meters thick. After passing the inner portcullis, I finally entered the village of elves.

The thing I wanted to see the most since I arrived in this world but wasn't able to do so due to certain circumstances.

What I saw inside the village left a strange impression on me.

There was a field of crops beyond the wall, a spacious pasture to allow domestic animals to graze and wooden houses were sprinkled across the area. Unlike the homes of humans, the houses here were mushroom shaped. Each one had a slightly exposed wooden deck and eaves that stretched to the top. A unique pattern was carved into the supporting pillars of the houses, allowing a glimpse at the culture of these people.

Despite the quiet scenery, the sidewalk was made of beautifully laid cobblestone and street lights were placed at regular intervals, so there was no need to be anxious about where you walked.

When viewed at a distance, the combination of the lights and the night sky created a fantastic scenery.

From what I've seen, the quality of life here was superior to that of the humans.

With Ascal and Mia leading the way I advanced through the village, while two warriors from a guard post close to the entrance silently followed behind us. They're probably here to watch me.

After a while, we finally seemed to have arrived at our destination.

We stood in front of a huge tree... no, it was a building combined with a large tree.

Nestled between the large tree's thick roots was a mansion. The residence was a mixture between the natural and the artificial, and I had no clue how it was made.

However, lights were leaking out from the multiple windows in the trunk illuminating the entire area, giving it all a dignified appearance.

"This is the elder's house, please enter."

Saying so, Ascal opened the wooden front doors and prompted us to enter. However, before I could take a step, Mia had already gone inside at the first possible second.

'Could it be that perhaps this is not her first time here?' I thought to myself as I also entered the building.

Passing through the mansion's entrance, I entered what appeared to be atrium hallway. Huge pillars lined the center of the mansion and I could see various pathways that connected to the third floor. It seemed like I would be able to reach them by taking the left-or right-hand stairs on this floor.

Throughout the mansion were lampstands with crystals installed in them, which illuminated the rooms with a warm light. Even the intensity of the light was different compared to the oil lamps used in the capital city of the Ronze kingdom.

Two elves were in the center of the hall, sitting beside a large wooden round table that was placed in the center of the hall.

One of the elves had blonde hair and appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties. He was closely observing me while skillfully raising a single eyebrow.

The other person (elf) who was there had her long black hair braided and set behind the nape of her lilac neck. She was dressed in traditional attire, and I noticed that the twin hills pushing up against it were the largest I've ever seen.

With that, Ascal went and took his seat in the middle while the other two elves—who were probably the other elders—sat one seat beside him.

This was the time for discussion I guess?