I'm sure you'll be thinking, the elven forest would definitely be breathtaking, it would had blown my mind or, it's nothing I've ever seen before in my entire life. However, I was barely mind-blown at all. I'm astonished, sure. But perhaps the City of Underwater Marrydia had dampened my expectations of elves living in the forest. After all, there's only so much "wow" to be had when it's just trees and wooden houses.
I was, however, amazed at the size of the leaves that the houses were built on. Just how massive are these trees to be able to support an entire wooden house in its entirety? There were some houses on the forest bed but those looked smaller. Are those even houses for the elves in the first place? It all looked— rather small. Wasn't expecting the elves to be this modest when the Elemental guild was so grandiose and luxurious. Perhaps the elves in the forest lived a more simple life as compared to those in the city.
Glowbugs were flying about everywhere and it helped in illuminating a lot of the scenery. There were very little torches or braziers here which made me curious about their decision. If I were to somehow shooed away all these glowbugs, how are they expecting to see in the dark? It's not as though the elves had perfect vision to see in the dark. Which was why my Conceal was able to bypass their sentries in the first place. That and, I knew just how they think and react. They were always too dependent on their ears to detect imminent threats.
"Gentlemen, I bid you welcome, to our first line of defence. This here is our Wolf's Den. They are always the first to detect any signs of trouble. Even the slightest change in temperature or a whiff of something foreign would trigger their senses to investigate. You certainly won't be able to sneak up on our wolves, Zen. But I'm sure you'll like to try. We live together mutually where we care for them in exchange for their protection. After all, wolves doesn't like to shower on their own," chuckled Noah.
"Always looking for an opportunity to diss us, I see. You haven't changed at all," answered a deep voice.
I turned to see who it was who spoke and was genuinely surprised. It was— a wolf. A dire wolf, from the looks of it, since it was so huge. Much taller than me even on all fours. But what astounded me was— they had wings! What the hell are these?! Some winged dire wolf or something? It was extremely furry with white and greenish furs that almost made me reached out to stroke it on a reflex.
"Always a pleasure, Kuchisabishii-sama. How is the pack?" asked Noah.
"Always at the ready. I take it these two humans will be staying with us for the time being? Been a while since I get a whiff of a human. However, one of them smells oddly familiar. Ah, you must be the one who stayed at our borders some years back, weren't you?" asked the dire wolf.
"Yes. I am that human. I'm surprised you remembered me when I've never stepped foot in here before. By the way, if I may, is that really your name?" I asked while raising my eyebrow.
"Why yes it is. It's been a while since I've eaten human so my mouth had been itching for some— human bones. HAHAHAHA!! I'm just kidding. I earned my name due to the fact that it's been close to a century since I had to use my fangs in combat. It had certainly gotten lonely after such a long time. If you're wondering why I remembered your smell, my nose is capable of smelling for miles away so one does not need to be here for me to detect them," he grinned.
"I never knew there were winged wolves in this world before. Never saw one in the wild before. Are all of them yoursize? You're— pretty huge," I smiled awkwardly.
"Haha, I'm the alpha of the pack which makes me the largest. There are— not a lot of us in the wild. We are not originally from this realm but decided to come over to aid the elves. After all, we had bonded well in the elven realm. When the first batch of elves decided to come to this realm to start somewhere new, I volunteered my pack to help out. If you happened to see one in the wild, it must be one of mine who had sneaked out from here. But safe to say from the last round that I've counted, all of them were still here. Which raises the question, why do you have a foreign wolf smell on you?" he approached closer to take a whiff at me.
"W— wolf smell? I don't have a doggette at home if that's what you're asking. Wolf? The only thing I can think of is— Horrus. Wait, do you know him?!" my mouth flew wide opened.
"No, this smell is foreign to me, yet it have a minute similarities of a wolf. Very curious indeed. Tell me, what happened to this— Horrus, I wished to meet this foreign wolf counterpart," he grinned.
"Sorry to break the news but this Horrus is— dead. He was a human who decided to serve the God Of Destruction by being its Vessel, which somehow turned him into some sort flaming werewolf. A pain in my arse as he nearly killed me a couple of times," I sighed.
"You were— able to slain a Vessel of a Cosmic Being? What an accomplishment indeed. To my knowledge, I don't recall any of the other two Great Powers having slain one before. I'm certain that Ivy had. That woman is— a beast of her own after all," he explained.
"Two actually, I've gotten rid of two Vessels and a Champion thus far. Crazy life I've been through, huh?" I chuckled.
"Puhahaha!! Crazy indeed! And at such a young age nevertheless. This will certainly boost your reputation with the elves, which you're going to need," he grinned.
"Kuchisabishii-sama, we should allow the guests to rest for tomorrow's audience, if you would please," bowed Noah.
"Of course! Of course, have a good rest, humies. I look forward to our next conversation," he bowed slightly to me.
***
We followed Noah as we headed deeper into the forest after the Wolf's Den area. Bloody hell, I was fooled into thinking that that was where the elves stayed. This must had been Noah's tactic to fool me into thinking that they're modest beings. I won't be fooled by another one of their Eldar trickery anymore!
I pulled out my pocket watch to check the time. It was close to 9pm now. How much further do we have to walk before we reached our resting area? I'm dying for some food and a comfortable bed to rest my head. I hope they won't be offering us some grass and bullshit us that it's better to sleep on some grass rather than some proper fluffy feathers.
"Won't be any further now. Apologies for the— earlier introduction, just a little tease we enjoy when we show our way of life to newcomers. Right this way," chuckled Noah.
Laugh all you want, Noah, I won't be falling for any of your jokes any longer!
"Here we are, this is where you'll be staying for the night. I hope this— would be more to your liking?" he continued with a question as he pushed aside some vines.
It was such a huge shock for me that the whole atmosphere and scenery changed the moment we stepped through some passageway. The whole scenery was brimming with wonders and possibilities. I was wrong in thinking that they were modest when their whole city here was the exact opposite.
I had thought that the City of Underwater Marrydia was already living in the future, who knew the elves here were evenbetter. They had a huge clearing where all the elves inhabited. They had large wooden buildings all around with few storeys high, some sort of squarish contraption where it would appear to be running on wheels using steam technology, and lots of footholds all around buildings or trees that surrounded the city. The elves sure loves leaping around for faster movements rather than walking since they were born light-weighted in the first place.
It had a completely different ambience to it as compared to City of Underwater Marrydia which felt more rustic and peaceful. This city here— felt more modern, despite being in a forest. There were certainly more torches and braziers around to brighten up the city. I guess lights were not needed at the Wolf's Den since their noses were so ridiculously sensitive. I am tempted to test out my sneaking skill on them though.
They had a large brightly lit clocktower in the middle of the city for everyone to see. Seems like Stein have competition in inventing new items. I wonder will his mind be blown if he ever gets the chance of coming here. We followed after Noah as we strolled into the city. They were using pebbles as their walkways but it was so perfectly levelled that I would had imagined I was walking on a true level of perfectly flat floor.
However, nothing outshines the beauty of— that tree. That golden tree is massive yet beautiful to gaze at. I might be mistaken, but why does it looked so— familiar? What's it called again? A boxelder tree? Can't wrap my head around it. Everyday, my curse gets worse every time I see something new. Sigh.
"Hey Noah, what's this place called? Elven City or something? Does it have a name?" I asked him.
"We do, however, it's in elvish which would be difficult to pronounce in your tongue. I suppose Elven City would suffice. How is it though? Much different than the city you were staying, yes? I trust my future son-in-law would be comfortable living here? Just a little joke, by the way," he chuckled.
"Oh um, har har har! Very funny indeed," I laughed awkwardly.
"That tree, it's precious to the elves, isn't it? So massive yet glowing so bright," I continued.
"The Cosmic Tree— is just a sapling. Nowhere near the adult form of its original, which is in our realm. This sapling was brought over to this realm as a symbol that our community was able to prosper here. Not every realm is fit to grow the Cosmic Tree as there are many factors that comes into play to raise it. Every elves is sworn to protect this tree, even if it means giving our lives to ensure that it survives," he explained.
"Elves certainly have better understanding with one another to be able to prosper like this. I doubt every human would agree to such a responsibility. The curse of us humans is that we are our own individual with a mind of our own. While that on its own isn't a bad thing, some humans decided to ensure that their way of life is superior and forces it upon others. I— like how the elves are able to unify themselves to serve a common cause," I confessed.
"Do you wish to live here, Zen?" he smiled warmly.
"Huh? Oh no, I'm not even an elf in the first place. Doubt they're gonna allow it. Besides, I have a wife and daughter waiting for me at home. I can't abandon them just for the sake of living here," I explained with a chuckle.
"Perhaps if you're able to gain more reputation among the elves, then it might be plausible. If you do end up marrying my daughter, living here wouldn't be a myth. However, there are certainly many— hurdles to overcome before that can ever happen," he sighed.
I kept quiet as I sort of understood the gist of what Lily had done. I guess resurrecting me was frowned upon and Lily was punished for it. But— shouldn't she had been pardoned after all these years? What's the reason for Lily to remain at the East instead of coming back here to her family? Hmm.
"Right, here we are. This is where both of of you will be staying for the duration of your stay. It might look simple on the outside but I assure you that the interior will— suit your taste. The Elementalist will be staying somewhere else since he have a home of his own here. Rest well, gentlemen. And goodnight," Noah bowed to us and took off with the Elementalist.
John and I entered our own room respectively. Okay, this is outrageous. How is the interior so much better looking than the exterior?! It looked like some simple wooden dorm on the outside, yet the interior looked like some fancy ass hotel room. Geez, they even have a separated room for their washroom and comfort zone. Why am I not surprised that they also have their own plumbing and electrical system of their own. I placed my baggages aside and tested the bed to be sure. Then I leapt onto the bed and rolled on it. Oh me gosh, what is this mattress even made of? How is it so soft and fluffy? Where have this mattress been all my life?!
I quickly freshen myself up before I accidentally fall asleep due to the comfort of the bed. How long will I be staying here? Such a luxurious lifestyle to live in. Would this— had been my life if I chose to marry Lily instead? I don't know if I'll ever get used to this. Even the water they served in this room tasted ridiculously good. Oh lord, I don't feel like leaving this place now.
Alright, jokes over. Best to get some rest for the audience tomorrow. I have a bad feeling that whatever Lily did for me is gonna bite me in the arse. No matter, I'll do what I can to help her since she had done so much for me. Got to bring up my future wife's reputation. A wife in need is a wife indeed. Why did that sounded so right yet so wrong?
***
"Let me be straight with you, Mister Zen Hawthorn, thanks to the action of one of our member, our community just doesn't like you," said one of the councillors bluntly.
Ah shit, here we go again.