"...I welcome you to this world and to the Elven Forest."
The elder at the head of the table welcomed Si Sheng to this world and their forest after the World Tree ascertained his disposition as "friendly."
'Quite some trusting fellow,' thought Si Sheng. Not only did he blindly trust the World Tree, but he also didn't even question Si Sheng's whole essence, being an Otherworlder and all. For Si Sheng, that was an unbelievable thing and this guy just went and accepted it without a second thought.
"I think we should introduce ourselves since this doesn't happen every day," said the elder at the head of the table, looking around at each elder as he continued, "My name is Fenulis Turlun Welfmire, I am the head of the Council of Elders, as well as the King of the Elves, but you may refer to me as Fenulis," so said Fenulis with a charming smile.
Going from the left of Fenulis, the elders introduced themselves.
"I am Bythre Helmer, the Head of the First Elven Magic Institution, you may call me Ms. Helmer or Bythre, whichever suits your fancy," so said the free-flowing Bythre. Although they were called "elders," they were undoubtedly beautiful and didn't look a day out of their 20s. Bythre was a prime example of this. She had pale and supple skin, smooth and glimmering, golden hair, enchanting ocean-blue eyes, and a playful smirk etched onto her face, making her seem like a young and spry woman.
'That's elves for ya,' thought Si Sheng to himself. From his common sense, elves were a long-lived species and virtually had eternal youth. Seeing the so-called "elders," his view was confirmed. They were all young-looking and beautiful—well, mostly.
The elders that followed on the left were five heads of the noble lineages of the elves.
Apparently, from what they explained, when the Elven Nation was established, thirteen elves fought back the disasters that impeded the elves' peace and were the ones who founded the nation. Thus, they became known as the noble lineage among the elves. That was why there were thirteen seats at the Council of Elders, although not every seat was occupied by a noble lineage; for example, Ms. Helmer. Apparently, a war broke out a little over 400 years ago and a couple of the noble lineages were wiped out, leaving seats at the Council open.
After the left side was done speaking, going to the right side, the elf closest to the king spoke next.
"My name is Gothrin Olbest, the Commander of the Elven Military," so said the gruff-looking elf, rippling with muscle and bravado. He was similar to Jera, the elf at the gate. He was very muscular, but had the typical skin of an elf, unlike Jera. He had a handsome face, rather than a beautiful one, with a sharp, angular jaw and chiseled features. His hair, of course, was blonde like the rest of them and his eyes were green like emeralds and sharp like a wolf's. It was a refreshing appearance among the ocean of beautiful people.
After Gothrin Olbest spoke, the same thing repeated on the right side as what happened on the left side, except for the elf closest to Si Sheng. His position was a little odd to Si Sheng.
"My name is Renmil Libera, I am the Head of the Knowledge Sector of Ljosalfheim," so said the skinny, glasses-wearing elf, who took on the stereotypical bookworm type. By the way, Ljosalfheim was the name of the Elven Capital and Alfheim was the name of the Elven Nation, according to what Renmil said. While Renmil Libera was a stereotypical bookworm-type looking character, he was still beautiful. To make the point even stronger, if Si Sheng were a girl, he'd be instantly attracted to him because he was so good-looking. He was undoubtedly the best looking guy in the room.
Thinking back to Earth, Si Sheng pondered on the names of the elven lands in Norse mythology, they were exactly the same as the ones here in this new world. Spacing out for a bit, he thought of something seemingly absurd, 'Were the Norse mythological tales based on the tales of Otherworlders that came to Earth?' It was an absurd thought, but Si Sheng couldn't deny it, not believing in coincidences as large as that. The fact that there were elves and a world tree, coupled with the fact that the names of the places that the elves inhabited were the same as in the mythology; it was too big of a coincidence for Si Sheng to deny. If he learned the world tree's name was Yggdrasil, that would seal the deal.
Anyway, after ending his conspiracy theory session, Si Sheng introduced himself as the conversation naturally followed that way.
"Nice to meet you all. My name is Si Sheng. I look forward to staying in Ljosalfheim for the time being."
***
"We look forward to having you," Fenulis responded in a respectful tone. "We would like you to stay in Ljosalfheim for the time being. While Mother has deemed you a friend, we have no knowledge about you, your capabilities, affiliations, etc. While that may be the case, I, as well as some around us, see you as an important asset for the near future. If you're alright with it, we would like you to stay and aid us in our endeavors."
'Not like I have much of a choice, seeing as everyone in here is stronger than me, not to mention the girls waiting outside.'
"That is alright with me. I have no complaints."
"Now that you'll be living here, we can't have you being idle. Is there anything you are able to do for us in the meantime?" Ms. Helmer spoke before Fenulis could continue with a coy smirk on her face.
'She reminds me of a cat,' thought Si Sheng, obviously not wanting to project his inner thoughts to the person they were directed at.
"I have a few skills that will be of use to the elves, but there should be a give-and-take if I am to provide my assistance. It's not like I can't just leave if you aren't able to concede that much," replied Si Sheng, taking a hard stance. Yes, he wanted to live in Alfheim as it offered not only a safe place to live but also the potential for a vast well of knowledge that he didn't have. It would be a perfect place for him to set up shop for a while until he learned more about this world. Furthermore, if he refused, well, there were 13 incredibly powerful people before him and many others beyond the doors to his rear that would be more than happy to capture and detain him.
"Hmm~? I like this boy. I'll have him enroll in the Magic Institution."
"!!!"
The room became noisy upon Ms. Helmer's remark. It was obvious that she was playing with Si Sheng with the sly smile on her face and the light laughter escaping her mouth. The noble lineages didn't take the proposition too strongly, however.
"I object! A human isn't fit to attend the Magical Institution! Let alone as a transfer in the middle of the year!" It was one of the noble lineages who erupted at Ms. Helmer's declaration. You could see fury and disgust on his face as he looked between Ms. Helmer and Si Sheng. Most of the noble lineages held this opinion as they held the belief that humans were an absolute enemy and to let one attend their prestigious academy was sacrilegious.
"What's the problem with a human attending the Institution? Just because it's unprecedented doesn't mean he can't attend? Right~?" said Ms. Helmer staring at the noble lineage letting out a glint of bloodlust. She obviously didn't care for the noble lineage's attitude, despite understanding his concerns and viewpoint.
"You would dare! You insolent woman! Have you not forgotten what they did 430 years ago?! Do you want a repeat of that?!!" The noble lineage was blown full of the winds of fury and took to insulting Ms. Helmer in his fit. Fenulis was next to speak.
"Firstly, calm down and sit down. Ms. Helmer, as well, control your bloodlust. We can't afford any internal strife right now. Personally, I believe it's a good idea for Si Sheng to attend the Institution. He's at the right age appearance-wise, and for him to be able to survive alone in this forest means he is adequate enough. Additionally, he will be able to adjust to elven culture while he stays at the academy instead of being thrown into the workforce without knowing the peculiarities of the elves. It will be important that he learns this if we want to use him as we have discussed. If you aren't happy with my reasoning and still want to bar him from attending, then we can vote on it. How does that sound?"
Fenulis made a solid argument after calming down the raging rocket and the dormant volcano. Every point he made was a logical reason as to why Si Sheng should attend the institution. Not only would Si Sheng not be able to properly be accustomed to the elves' culture, but he might make people raise concerns due to his unusual appearance and actions, which was something the elders wanted to avoid. Yet, the following answer came.
"I would like to vote on it. I still can't trust humans despite Si Sheng appearing friendly. They are undoubtedly scheming bastards, so I would like a vote to be had."
Despite the sound argument, the noble lineage remained indignant, refusing to acknowledge Si Sheng and continuing to be hostile towards him. His bias on humans was so strong that he couldn't look past the fog and see reality for what it was. Some may say he was cautious, others ignorant, but he didn't care, he was only following what he felt was right, and to let it be decided by vote was the best method to settle his and the other's qualms with the situation.
"I understand...Well, then, if you all have thought about this enough, we shall take a vote."
Fenulis started the vote. The elders raised their hands for either "for" or "against." It ended up like this.
"Five against and eight for. I guess it's decided then. Si Sheng, we would like you to attend the Elven Magic Institution for the time being, is this alright?" Surprisingly, the people who voted for Si Sheng to stay were Fenulis, Gothrin Olbest, Bythre Helmer, Renmil Libera, and four of the noble lineages that seemed hesitant to vote for yes until Fenulis and Gothrin Olbest voted.
Even more surprising, Fenulis gave Si Sheng the choice to attend instead of forcing him to attend, which Si Sheng admired. It was a good quality to have to be able to consider the other party's desires instead of forcing your own in place of theirs even when you had the ability to force such a situation. Si Sheng considered this a sign of a good leader to be able to consider the other party's desires and peculiarities.
"I would gladly attend the First Elven Magic Institution. I want to learn a lot about magic as well, so this is a good opportunity," said Si Sheng while slightly bowing to Fenulis and glancing at Ms. Helmer's curt smile. He wasn't bothered by Ms. Helmer's attitude, he just thought she was cute the way she looked like a cat getting ready to pounce. After the vote had been decided as a "yes," Bythre immediately teased the noble lineage who previously suggested the vote, like any mature adult would do.
"Well then, I will notify the three outside to take you to the Institution when you leave—since that's where you'll be staying from now into the future."
Fenulis was about to call Taro, Jara, and Beyra back in when Ms. Helmer spoke up.
"Hmm~? I'll just accompany him myself. I am the Dean of the Magic Institution after all. While I'm at it, I'll help him get situated right away."
"Umm, Bythre, we still have other matters to discuss. I don't think I'd be appropriate for you to leave at such a time."
It was one of the noble lineages who spoke out again. He was a shy looking elf, but brave enough to speak up against Bythre's aggressiveness.
"It's not like there's anything I can't do in my office that I can only do here. I don't see a problem with it~."
"Hah... Bythre, you're free to escort the boy, just remember to contact us after you're done. Also, before I forget, Si Sheng, within a week I will announce your presence to the nation, so I'll need some of your time then. Bythre, I'll contact you when the time comes."
It was Fenulis who concluded the conversation, not wanting to waste any further time.
Bythre was known for her wanton attitude, and he wasn't in the mood to deal with her. Additionally, he asked for Si Sheng to attend a formal event to make his presence known to the nation, which slightly shocked Si Sheng. He thought he'd be able to go under the radar, for the most part, only getting weird glances once in a while, but little did he know that he wouldn't be able to do so.
With that, Fenulis called in the three outside and told them about what happened. Obviously, they were shocked, for a multitude of reasons.
"What?!? This creature attending the Magic Institution??? Are you crazy?! Only the best of the elves can even get in, let alone some creature we pulled from the forest!!" Jara was shaken due to the absurdity of the Council's decision. Who would believe that the creature they captured in the forest would end up attending the most prestigious institution in the kingdom? Jara certainly couldn't accept it. But, her outburst gained the wrath of certain noble lineages.
"You imbecile! Know your place when you're in front of the King and the Council!!"
"Silence! We don't have the time for such foolish formalities. As for you, this "creature" is from the race called Human. They are just as capable as elves, given the right environment, and in a few cases surpass us. They are not beings so lowly as to be taken for creatures, they can never be underestimated," Fenulis responded to the outburst and cut it off before it could continue. "His name is Si Sheng; he will be aiding us in the future. Also, he is able to speak the common language now, and will attend the First Elven Magic Institution. You will be classmates from now on, so try to get along."
"Understood..." It came from both Jara and the noble lineage feeling awkward after getting chewed out by King Fenulis. Jara felt awkward and remained silent even though she had an overwhelming desire to question them about Si Sheng. It was just too odd that he randomly showed up and now was going to attend the First Elven Magic Institution.
Without another argument, Ms. Helmer got up and walked over to Si Sheng. Unsurprisingly, she stuck to him like glue, holding onto his arm and acting all flirty, obviously trying to tease him, while leaving the hall with the three young elves in tow.
"Hah... I have a headache so early in the day..." Fenulis flopped down after they left, grabbing his head in a pitiful manner as gloom settled over him.