thump.
"Oh. It's the wrist."
Pelas twirled his unbound wrists, loosening his muscles.
It was only for a moment, but it was because they were tied quite tightly and their bodies came together in an instant.
Seeing him like that, the white-haired, aged-looking elf lowered his head.
"I'm sorry. It's been so heinous lately."
Pelas shook his head and replied politely.
"No. It's our fault for suddenly visiting like this."
"Heh heh. Thank you for your understanding."
His name is Cheralt.
He was the one called the captain of the defense of this elven land.
By human standards, he looked too old to be the captain of the defense, but since elves' standards were different from humans, there was nothing strange about it.
Cheralt looked back at Aria and said.
"How long has it been since this, Aria?"
"I see. I didn't expect my activities outside to last this long."
"It's okay to come back healthy."
"It was Pellas, the eldest of Count Dimeo, who gave great effort to help me come back alive."
Aeria showed her palm and pointed at Pelas.
At her words, Cheralt's eyes widened.
"Oops. You must have been the benefactor of our forest clan. I will definitely repay that favor."
Pelas responded, bowing his head to match his pace.
"The reward has already been received in abundance. All we wish for is to continue to have a peaceful relationship with the forest clan."
aka elf manners.
Pelas was doing it very eloquently, something he had never learned.
It was natural for Robben and Werner who were next to him, and to the extent that even Aria was surprised.
In fact, the expression of which family member Arilia first showed was also an elf-specific etiquette.
Pelas knew that already.
It was because it was a scene I had already seen many times during the Winter War.
Besides that, Pelas was well versed in the trivial elves' habits and etiquette.
Even things that only exist as settings.
It was thanks to my brain, which didn't work that way when I was studying, that it returned to 250% efficiency when I played games.
Pelas himself was a man who did it surprisingly naturally.
'I thought it would be a useless magazine style for the rest of my life, but I never thought it would be so useful.'
Among Cheralt, who had no way of knowing such a thing, the evaluation of Pelas soared very high.
"Heh heh. He's a polite person that's rare compared to normal humans. It's been a long time since I've been surprised like this in my life of nearly 400 years."
"I'm usually a quick learner. I'll be grateful for the compliment."
Pelas simply accepted his compliments without needlessly humility.
Elves originally hated lies and vanity.
They weren't lie detectors, of course, but they were the ones who had lived a long time.
No matter how confident Pellas was in acting, there was a fear of being caught if he acted for a long time.
Besides, Aria already knew Pelas' personality to some extent.
Therefore, pretending to be unnecessarily humble would be worse than not doing it.
As long as it wasn't a lie, the elves' expressions didn't change badly even if they answered like Pellas.
Rather, it was the part that helped me to have a crush.
Cheralt laughed heartily and continued.
"Well then, I think this is the first greeting. There must be a reason why you came here in person, right?"
"Yes that's right."
"Shall we listen closely?"
Pelas nodded and raised a dagger slung from his waist onto the table.
Cheralt examines it carefully.
But in the end, if you don't know what it is, I asked Pelas.
"What is this?"
"I don't know if you know it, but this is the stuff of those called the Shadow Union."
"hmm?!"
Cheralt is startled.
I thought it was an important reason, but I didn't expect it to be a shadow union.
At the word Shadow Union, his sad eyes turned fierce.
Perhaps this is the true face of Cheralt, the elven land defense commander.
His gaze returned to Aria.
Aria also nodded.
"Yes. That's right. Those things must be theirs."
Hearing Aeria's answer, Cheralt's gaze returned to Pelas.
"Huh... This is honestly a bit embarrassing. Do you have any evidence?"
It must be said that he is like a serpent because he has lived for a long time.
Even though the same elf was testifying, it was Cheralt who wanted more accurate evidence.
Pelas looked back at Aeria and said.
"Aria. Can you bring me some candles?"
Aeria, who immediately understood what Pelas was saying, pulled out a candle that was lighting up the room and brought it.
"here."
"Um. Thank you."
Taking the candle, Pelas placed the tip of the dagger handle on the tip of the candle.
A dagger that changes color as it burns black.
And by the time it slowly heats up and turns red.
Pelas pulled a blank piece of paper from one corner of the table.
Then he stamped the heated part of the dagger onto the paper.
Kooung, Chiik!
Smoke rising with a slight burning smell.
And when the dagger was put away.
A pattern was engraved on the paper.
It was the mark of the Shadow Union.
Cheralt recognizes it right away.
His expression changed unexpectedly.
Pelas spun the dagger and showed the heated part to Zeralt.
"It's hard to see with the naked eye. But when you heat it up like this, it reacts. It's a way for them to recognize each other."
"I guess you managed to figure this out."
"It was thanks to the performance of a reliable intelligence organization under my command."
Of course, it was not an intelligence organization, but it was something Pelas knew from his past life memories.
It wouldn't take much to mix a short lie with the long truth unfolding in front of me.
The information organization is also being created now.
Trustworthy words, evidence, and even elven witnesses.
Still, Cheralt picked up the paper and stared at it for several minutes.
The mark of the Shadow Alliance.
how long has it been
Cheralt finally put down the paper.
His gaze and Pelas's intertwined in the air.
Cheralt let out a long sigh full of concern.
"Whoa... I don't think this is something I can resolve on my own. If it's okay with you, could you speak directly to our King?"
The corner of Pelas's mouth went up.
Not outwardly, of course, but in the heart.
The opportunity had finally arrived.
A chance to take an item hidden in the land of the elves.
The reason why Pelas went to this land of the elves with great effort.
Pellas readily replied with a smile on his face.
This time, instead of laughing inside, it was a genuine smile with moving corners of the mouth.
"of course."
This was no pretense at all.
It was a smile that came from the pure heart.
* * *
Jaquel, King of the Elves.
He was a character who appeared twice in all three Winter Wars series.
In Winter War 2, as a colleague of the main character.
And in Winter War 3, as a strong supporter helping Leonil.
Aside from the main characters, no character was as familiar to Fellas as Jaquel.
Even at this moment when we first met, it felt like we were meeting a friend we hadn't seen in a long time.
"Nice to meet you. I am an old elf in charge of this elven land."
Jaquel introduces himself as an old elf, not a king.
Wouldn't it be like that if you made humility into a character?
Jaquel was also one of the most popular characters in the Winter War series.
While helping the player like a generous tree, he has a likable, minor-aged appearance, and a pure yet cute personality.
Of course, after moving on to Winter War 3, his cute personality wasn't revealed much.
But he was still a cute Jaquel in Pelas' eyes.
A faint smile crept across Felas' face as he looked at Jaquel.
Pellas was politely greeted by Jaquel.
"Nice to meet you. I am Pelas DiMeo, the first of Count Dimeo's family in Elian Kingdom."
A near-perfect greeting.
It was Pellas that made you feel as if you hadn't come to the land of the elves for the first time.
Jaquel's eyes lit up at that.
It was because the experience of living for a long time and his sense of being with a human hero suddenly revived.
"Nice to meet you."
"It is also an honor to meet you, Your Majesty."
The jackal saw Pelas' eyes.
Was it because of those eyes?
The Jackal, too, strangely felt as if he had met an old friend.
A friend from the past who was a human hero who lost contact a long time ago.
"You are a strange person. Have we ever met somewhere?"
"This is the first time you've met me in person."
"exactly?..."
Pelas just smiled lightly.
A servant approached Jaquel, who tilted his chin and stroked his chin.
He took out a piece of paper that Pelas had printed the shadow union pattern on, and showed it to Jaquel.
While handing over the dagger of the Shadow Union.
And then a servant who whispers something.
It was probably a story about the Shadow Union.
As the story continued, Jaquel's expression hardened seriously.
Soon the story was over, and the servant cautiously withdrew.
Jaquel's gaze now turned to Fellas and Aeria, who were prostrated in front of him.
"When I heard the reason for my visit, it must have been a pretty serious matter."
Aria answered his words.
"Yes, Your Majesty. I've been attacked by them a few times already. Now they seem to have some information on our side as well."
"Aria, if you say so, there's no doubt. They seem to be quicker than I thought."
Jaquel immediately accepted Aria's words.
Perhaps she was one of those who were quite trusted by Jaquel, the king of the elves.
Of course, Pellas was somewhat aware.
The fact that he had the mark of the black moon in the first place was the proof.
'It was a simple quest item for me, but it must have had a completely different meaning to Jaquel and Aria.'
Because the token of the black moon was something that could not be obtained without being directly recognized by Jaquel.
Because of this, it was Pellas who did not let her go and held on to the treatment as a pretext.
Thanks to that, as expected, I entered the land of the elves through the main gate.
Of course, all of this was designed to greet the fun events that would happen later.
Now Pelas has set foot in this elven land.
Pellas smiled as he remembered what a player who had entered the land of the elves with the Black Moon Token could do.
He had one thing to do.
'As long as you naturally lead this conversation to the starting point of the event, it will be over.'
Making events flow into the story that happens.
That was Pelas' goal.
Towards the Troll Raid event.
< Episode 41. The king of the elves whom I met after a long time. >end