Chapter 17: The High Elf [1]

St. Leferia Academy is famous for more than just one or two things.

Among its many attractions, the massive cafeteria stands out. It is so large that it can accommodate hundreds of people at once.

Of course, it didn't become a landmark simply because of its size but also because of the quality of the meals served.

Every day, students and staff can enjoy dishes prepared with care by skilled chefs, hired at high salaries, in a buffet style.

This luxury is something even nobles cannot afford, making it understandable why the cafeteria is so renowned.

Such a luxury would have been an unthinkable dream if it weren't for the support of the two great powers, the Haias Empire and the Kingdom of Parene, the religious order with its numerous followers, and St. Leferia Academy, which received support from many other countries.

The academy's cafeteria remains open even during vacations, which is natural since faculty and staff are always present.

Additionally, quite a few students are around as the start of the semester is just around the corner.

Clink.

Someone entered the cafeteria with a light gait, and for a moment, everyone's eyes were focused on that person.

"As expected, Senior, you are so pretty today too."

"Don't just praise your seniors. Try to dress up like them too."

"Oh, I was fooled from the start."

"...That's true."

"Damn, just be polite and deny it."

"Lying is out of my nature. What can I do when the original version doesn't work?"

Schoolgirls were bickering nearby.

"I've decided."

"What are you talking about?"

"I give up on marrying a human."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I feel no attraction to humans. Only foreign species can satisfy me."

"You're sick."

"I confess to my senior like this."

"That's crazy. There are hundreds of people who is crazy over senior! Do you think you have chance?"

Squeak.

Her gait seemed slightly off.

'Tch, I almost made a mistake.'

The frightened Hiresia grumbled inwardly.

Before she knew it, she almost headed towards the buffet table filled with meat dishes.

'I am a rabbit, I am a goat, I am a sheep.'

Hiresia tried to control her mind by imagining various herbivores in her head.

There was a reason for her behavior.

As an elf, she had one thing in common with her kind: they were a species that only ate vegetables.

Meat was something that elves instinctively felt was unclean, which is why they didn't even touch it.

This was common knowledge even in the human world. Therefore, it was obvious that the sight of elves eating flesh would be shocking and bizarre to humans as well.

Even more so if it were a High Elf, the most noble elf who had inherited the blood of the beginning.

'You're stupid, you're stupid, you're stupid. There's nothing in this world more delicious than meat!'

Hiresia let out a cry of resentment inwardly.

As her cry suggested, she was completely different from other elves.

She didn't really like vegetarian food and was crazy about meat. A very rare variant among elves.

Such mutants were typically kept in a prison deep in the Elven Forest, never to emerge until they stopped eating meat.

If she had been an ordinary elf, she would not have been able to escape that fate.

The problem was that she was a High Elf.

High Elves are not born from the stomachs of elves.

They are beings that were conceived and born long ago in the bosom of the World Tree, the primordial tree that exists in the forgotten forest.

The time it takes could be as short as a few hundred years or as long as a thousand years.

That's how the first elf was born. So, the High Elves, like the first elves, are children of the World Tree.

On the other hand, ordinary elves are beings born with the power used by the first elf.

From birth, they were clearly inferior beings compared to the High Elves.

Therefore, in the world of elves, High Elves, who were born with the primordial blood, are objects of awe and reverence.