Chapter 121: Weren't Elves Supposed to Live in Seclusion?

Zauna was right. On the next day, when classes officially began, Alice couldn't help but be surprised when she saw the elven student.

Seemingly noticing Alice's stare, the elf turned around and looked up at Alice. Then, in a dissatisfied tone, the elf asked, "What are you looking at? Never seen a young elf before?"

"As a matter of fact, yes…" Alice said as she lowered her head to look at the elf. Appearance-wise, the elf was much…smaller than she imagined. The elf looked like a seven- or eight-year-old girl mingling among high schoolers from a human's perspective, and it looked very much like this elf was a grade-schooler who had lost their way.

Alice originally thought that her small frame already looked strange among high schoolers. She didn't think that she would see an even smaller high schooler. If Zauna was telling the truth when she said that this elf was more talented in magic than the average human, it meant that this loli elf should still be in her teens.

So, after Alice thought it over, it made sense that this elf was so tiny.

The two of them were currently standing inside the academy's spacious gymnasium attending the opening ceremony. Meanwhile, due to their height, both of them stood at the very front of Class C04.

Of course, because Class C04 wasn't situated at the very front of the hall, Alice wasn't worried that her conversation with this loli elf would get noticed by the person speaking on the stage.

"What is your name?" After looking around and seeing no teachers nearby, Alice lowered her head and curiously looked at the loli elf standing in front of her. "Did you come to the Gryffin Kingdom by yourself?"

"Is this really your first time seeing an elf?" the loli elf with long green hair asked as she turned around to look at Alice. Ever since the advent of the internet, elves have stopped living in isolation as much as before. Many elves would frequently travel to the human realm. Thus, Alice should have come across a few logically.

Even if Alice had somehow never come across an elf in her life, she should've seen pictures of elves on the internet. So, there should be no reason why she would react so excitedly to see an elf.

However, despite being confused by Alice's reactions, the loli elf still answered Alice's question, saying, "I'm Lalu Grist. As you can see, I am an elf, and I am 17 years old this year."

Seeing that Alice was seemingly about to introduce herself, Lalu quickly added:

"I know you. You're Alice Ceres, King Hatter's illegitimate daughter… Although you were born out of wedlock, King Hatter had never married or shared intimate relationships with anyone else, so you are now officially considered the Gryffin Kingdom's princess."[1]

Alice was a little stunned when she heard Lalu's words. It turned out that after treating her as Hatter's illegitimate daughter, everyone had also attached Hatter's surname to her.

"But I'm not from the Gryffin Kingdom, so don't expect me to pander to you like everyone else," Lalu said, snorting as she gave Alice a side-long glance. It looked like she looked down on the people trying to curry favor with Alice. Though, this prideful behavior very much matched Alice's impression of elves.

"It's fine. I don't really like people pandering to me, anyway," Alice said, smiling. She wasn't interested in the people trying to get close to her, either. After all, her goal wasn't to join the ranks of nobility by attending the March Academy. Instead, she was trying to increase her chances of victory against the Demon King's Power. Meanwhile, as luck would have it, the loli elf before her might just be able to help her with this problem. "By the way, does your Elven Forest allow entry to humans?"

"Do you really not know anything?" Lalu couldn't help but look at Alice strangely. "I previously saw people online saying that you lived a hard life in a remote village. By the looks of it, those rumors are true… Did the place you lived in before not have access to the internet?"

Alice awkwardly laughed and scratched her head when she heard Lalu's question. Although she had previously researched the human and demon realms, her focus was on humans and demons. She didn't place much attention on other races, such as elves and beastkin. She was only aware that such races existed in this world and nothing more.

"The Elven Forest has long since allowed outsiders to visit, but you need to buy a ticket to get in," Lalu said. Then, under Alice's puzzled gaze, Lalu explained, "The Elven Forest has been opened for tourism long ago, and it is a relatively famous tourist spot nowadays. You can buy tickets to get in online. I think we will be visiting the forest for this year's school trip as well… Of course, if you want to tour the forest on your own time, you can talk to me about it. I know some tour guides who can give you a discount."

"..."

Alice was so shocked that she was rendered speechless. This situation was vastly different from what she expected.

However, this couldn't be considered bad news for Alice. At the very least, it meant that elves were currently taking the initiative to interact with other races. Unlike the elves Alice had read in novels, the elves of this world were not so unreasonable.

"Then, is your race's Seed of Nature for sale?"

After learning that the elves had developed their tourism industry, Alice immediately thought about acquiring the most important material needed to reconstruct a body for Kristine—the Seed of Nature. According to what she heard, the Seeds of Nature were akin to national treasures for the elves, and it was incredibly hard to acquire one. However, since the elves weren't as secluded as she thought, they might be open to selling the Seed of Nature.

"You want a Seed of Nature?"

Lalu couldn't help but look at Alice in surprise. She didn't think that the Gryffin Princess would be interested in acquiring the elven race's Seed of Nature.

The Seeds of Nature were regarded like holy relics by elves. Situated in the middle of the elven forest was a divine tree planted by God, and the Seeds of Nature were the seeds of the fruits produced by this divine tree. On average, the divine tree would only produce a handful of fruits every century.

"What do you want the Seed of Nature for? There aren't many people in your family tree, and I don't think anyone in the Gryffin King's family is seriously ill or suffering from a curse."

Although Lalu didn't understand why Alice would want a Seed of Nature, considering the other party's status, she decided it'd be best to provide a proper answer to avoid souring the diplomatic relationship between them the elves the Gryffin Kingdom. Thus, she said, "With your status as the Gryffin Kingdom's royalty, I think you should be able to get one if you ask."

When Lalu finished speaking, Alice heard Kristine sighing in relief.

…

TL Notes:

[1]King Hatter: I made a huge mistake in translating the Gryffin King's name. Apparently, it isn't Chris Hatter, but Hatter Ceres instead… I've made the necessary changes to the previous chapters already. [1st-February-2022]