CH 246.1

Translator: “Hakou”                             Editor: “Weasalopes”

A not-so-wide plain in the northern part of the empire.

If you stand in the center and look to the north, you will see the spirit forest. And if you turned around and looked to the south, you would see the northern city of the Empire.

But your eyes would have been drawn to the long wall in front of it first before the northern city.

It was a simple wall made of huge rocks piled up together in a crude manner. But it was ten meters high, stretching from east to west as if dividing the plain.

『Be ready for the invasion of the elven race』

The emperor of the Empire had given such an order, and the lord, the Mature Viscount, had given top priority to the construction of this literal defense line.

The reason why they have built it to this extent in such a short amount of time was probably due to the recent attack by the Capricorns. Pushed by a sense of crisis, she even sent the Knights to help piling up the stones.

「It was tiring today too」

The time is midnight. In a room of a house in the northern city, a woman leans her back against a sofa and exhales heavily.

She is quite beautiful, but some people may have the impression that she looks like a mannequin. She is Elder, who has escaped from Awoke.

「There are just too many customers. Is there anywhere else they can go?」

Workers come from all over the Empire to work on the large construction project. Since they just sleep when they go back to their rooms, they use their money economically.

Thanks to them, the brothel is thriving every day.

Elder, who reigned supreme in Awoke, is still a newcomer here. Like the other women around her, she was constantly being shaken by the old men.

「It would be easier for me if I just take control of their minds, but I think it’ll be better to not make much move right now」

She put her hands on her hips and stretched her body. It was a bit tough on Elder, who was much older than she looked.

The black snake she talked to did not respond.

(Oh my)

She turned toward the fireplace and found him on the cushion with its eyes closed.

(The warmth must have made you sleepy)

She squinted her eyes and looked at the spirit animal that was her only family member. She walked past him while trying to not wake him up, and took out a bottle of dry white wine and a narrow wine glass from the sideboard and placed them on the table.

She uncorked the bottle and poured half of it into the glass, then picked it up and began to drink.

(Maybe I should go to bed)

The sake must have fueled her drowsiness. Her body, sitting on the couch, became more and more heavy.

Eventually, she looked down and her consciousness shifted to the dream world.

「I can’t find them…」

The one who spoke up while scanning the surroundings was a young boy of the elf tribe.

The location was in a deep forest, and the towering figure of the World Tree could be seen in one corner of the sky.

「Don’t just make a flower crown and help me find them too」

The one who was told so by the boy was the elf girl who was sitting next to him. Her age was probably much younger than him.

This girl was Elder when she was still a child. She had come to the depths of the spirit forest to play along with her older brothers in their search for Griffon.

「Hmmm…」

『Griffon』

It is a spirit beast with the upper body of an eagle and the lower body of a lion. It is the symbol of the elven royal family and is said to possess both strength and intelligence.

When an elf wants to inherit the throne, they have to make this spirit beast obey them and become their familiars. It is only after that that the distance of blood between him and the current king, or the order of birth, matters.

「I found itー! Over hereーー!」

The other brother shouts in the distance. The brother next to her hears it and runs off like a bullet.

They are still too young to be recognized as masters. They know this, too.

But still, they couldn’t suppress the excitement in their hearts.

「Hmーmm」

Elder, on the other hand, was still not interested. For her, picking up flowers was more fun than trying to find and provoke a big and scary spirit beast.

As she was making a crown of white flowers, she felt something move in the corner of her eye.

(Hn?)

She turned her head to that direction, but she didn’t see anything that caught her attention.

(Was it my imagination?)

She tilted her head slightly before turning her attention to the flowers on her hands again. Just as she did so, a lovely butterfly was resting there.

(Wow~)

Just when her face turned all smiles, she noticed it again.

(As I thought, something is there)

This time, she looked at the sight out of the corner of her eye without moving her head. She noticed something moving slightly and focused on it.

(It’s a snake! And it’s so black)

She wouldn’t have noticed if it weren’t for the tongue that chirped in and out. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to show any interest in her.

(Thank god big brothers weren’t here)

She intuitively understood that the black snake was a spirit beast. Snakes are creatures with earth element, and the elves hate earth elements.

If her brothers had found it, they would have thrown a stone at it or hit it with a stick.

(I wouldn’t want that)

Perhaps it was because she was still so young, but Elder didn’t have an inherent hatred of snakes.

(Hehe, would it come here, I wonder?)

As she was thinking about this, a shadow suddenly cast around her. The next moment, she heard the sound of decelerating wings.

She turned her face upward to see something large descending from the sky. It has the upper body of an eagle and the lower body of a lion.

(Griffon!)

The symbol of elven royalty landed in front of her as she tensed up in surprise and fear. But it doesn’t seem to have the slightest interest in Elder, as it never takes its gaze off its toes.

(Ahh!)

The key claw of the gryphon, under it was a black snake. It opened its beak and brought it closer, probably because it was going to eat it.

「Bad griffon! Go away!」

Reflexively, she throws pebbles around her. The gryphon turns to look at her with annoyance and opens its mouth threateningly.

「Go away! You dummy beast!」

Griffon is a very dangerous spirit beast. Their high fighting power can injure an elven warrior even if they aren’t serious.

An infant, in that matter, would probably be killed instantly even if it were holding back. Despite that, Elder keep throwing stones at it.

「Stupid! Dummy!」

It was probably going to shoot magic as a light was visible in its beak.

「I found it! Over here!」

At that moment, her brothers came running full speed from the depths of the forest. The griffon shook its head in annoyance and took off with a powerful flap of his wings.

Midway, she saw a black cord-like object fall from its claws and land on the grass.

「Damn it, it flies again!」

「There it is! Let’s chase it!」

Her two brothers also ran off in the same direction. Suddenly, the forest was quiet again, and she approached the black snake.

「Are you okay?」

When she takes a look at it, she sees several scratches on its body. They must have been inflicted by the griffon’s claws.

「I’m sorry. I can’t use magic to heal your injuries」

The elven girl told it apologetically.

The black snake was motionless as if it were dead, but it leaned its head back and looked at her. It quickly looked away and slithered into a nearby hole.

「Bye bye」

She waves her hand and says goodbye to it while squatting down. She kept looking at it until the tip of its tail was fully inside the hole.

A week later, at night. The black snake shows up in her bedroom.

「Thank goodness, your injuries are healed」

She said, but it didn’t respond. It seemed to be unable to communicate with her.

The black snake does nothing but curl up on the floor. Then, in the morning, it disappears.

After that, the black snake appeared from time to time. But like last time, it did nothing.

(Good evening)

Elder was just happy that it came and spoke to him in a whisper one-sidedly. The black snake merely flicked its tongue in and out quietly.

「Something like griffons… I hate them」

The snake nodded slightly as she spoke to him with a smile. There, Elder woke up.

(…..That was quite a nostalgic dream)

She sits up from the couch, as her mind wanders in a daze.

(I’ve been having dreams about the past lately)

She has heard of this phenomenon. It is said that as elves approach the end of their lifespan, they will begin to have dreams of the past.

(Has my time finally arrived? ….That can’t be, I’m sure it’s just because I’m closer to my hometown)

The proof of that was the pain in her ears. The ears that had been burned off by magic to prevent them from bleeding.

The reason why they went to the trouble of doing this even though they will kill her anyway was probably to humiliate her. Because their long ears are a symbol of the elven race.

(They even put a curse on it so it couldn’t be healed)

Because of that, healing magic would not work on it. But that doesn’t matter.

She had given up being an elf. No, she was forced to.

Elder stood up to prepare dinner. She turned her head and took a deep breath.

(Getting a man’s life force is nice and all, but there are just too many of them)

Moreover, every one of them was trying to enjoy every minute, so there was really no time to rest.

(Haaah… I don’t care about the money, I just want to go on vacation)

Elder walked by the raven snake and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water.