"Little fox, I assume you can understand me, so let me introduce myself. Name's Regar, the blacksmith of this village. A pleasure to meet you."
This man named Regar was supposedly a blacksmith, and he sure did look like one. Don't get me wrong; he was an elf, that much was for sure. However, just like Aurora had noticed, Regar looked very different from your normal elf.
Unlike most elves, he wasn't really that tall, nor was his figure lean. Although he couldn't be called exactly short, Regar was definitely shorter than most elves, even shorter than Elise, who was a woman. Also, Regar was quite burly, with his figure looking much more fierce rather than the delicate figures most elves have.
If there was one else who could compare to him, it would be that rough-voiced elf from Elijah's party named Örlof. But even that elf warrior was nowhere close to Regar's level. In fact, if he were a bit shorter and chubbier, Aurora would have thought he was a dwarf. Of course, she would never say that out loud; it would be rude after all.
"Elise, does this man named Regar have a telepathic skill?" Aurora asked, her eyes momentarily moving to Elise.
Hearing the question, Elise blinked slightly in surprise before chuckling softly. She shook her head and then responded using her own skill.
"Nope, or at the very least, I doubt he does. Just so you know, skills like telepathy are very rare, so don't expect many people to have it. In fact, if my mother wasn't saving the scroll for your arrival, I highly doubt we would be able to talk." Elise said with a small smile.
Actually, Elise's words made sense, but Aurora didn't just look at their surface level. First of all, she said that Elaine was actually saving the scroll for her specifically, which meant that the elven chief expected her to be unable to talk. Second of all, the scroll was apparently a single-use skill; otherwise, it probably wouldn't have been so rare.
Either way, Aurora set those thoughts aside for a moment and focused on the current situation.
"Since he can't hear me, could you please speak for me?" She asked Elise once more, planning to use her as a communicator, which would probably become one of her main roles.
Elise obviously nodded with a small smile, looking back to Regar.
"Regar, since, as you could probably guess, Lady Aurora cannot speak normally and is only able to do so through a skill, I will be talking on her behalf." Elise said with a small, friendly smile, to which Regar responded with a hearty laugh.
"Haha! Go ahead, princess, no need to sweat it." The burly elf waved his hand dismissively, not minding the inconvenience in the least.
Seeing him act like that, a small smile appeared on Aurora's face. The elven blacksmith seemed to be a nice and easy-going guy. To be honest, she had expected him to be a grumpy man, but it seems like appearances can really fool you.
"Well then, I'll go ahead and start with the introduction. This white fox is in fact Lady Aurora, the descendant of Lady Shinara. Much like the Lady Shinara, Lady Aurora is also a kitsune with a strong connection to nature." As Elise finished her introduction, Aurora nodded in a form of greeting.
"Ah, so you're the lady's kid, huh? Well, nice to meet you. Or should I rather say, it is an honor to get to meet you?" Regar laughed at the last part.
His laugh was just a normal laugh and wasn't the least bit mocking. In fact, his words seemed to actually be serious despite the laugh. He really seemed to be honored to meet her, which made sense.
Just from the respect he addressed her mother with, it was obvious that even Regar was faithful. Apparently, her mother's influence over these elves ran really deep.
With the same small smile, Aurora nodded her head again and told Elise the next words she wanted her to say.
"It is nice to meet you as well, Regar. If I might, I would like to ask a question." Elise said Aurora's words to the letter, basically speaking from her point of view.
"Hehe, go ahead, little one. Ask away; I'll try to answer any questions you might have." Regar said, pounding on his chest with his fist.
"I wanted to know how blacksmithing works. As you can probably notice, I have some equipment given to me by the system. So I was wondering how exactly your creations work with the system." Elise once again spoke for Aurora.
"I see. I was actually wondering about those little treasures of yours. I can tell that some of them are of a very high quality, that necklace of yours in particular. As for how my creations fit in, it's very natural." Regar nodded a few times and began his explanation, to which Aurora listened very carefully.
"You see, once I finish any of my creations, they automatically become a part of this entity known as the system. It's the same as with newborn beings. As soon as a being is born, it becomes a part of the system. So after I finish forging anything, it can be a weapon or even a ring; it gets automatically accepted by the system." He finished explaining.
Regar's explanation was very simple and easy to understand. Actually, that simple explanation was enough for Aurora to understand the system in general a little better.
"Thank you for answering, Regar." Elise spoke in Aurora's stead; however, Aurora also nodded to show her gratitude.
"Haha, no problem, little fox! Answering such questions costs this old man nothing, not to mention that the one asking is the lady's kid." Regar laughed out loud again.
"Old man? What are you talking about, Regar? You're an elf in his prime." Elise chuckled lightly and said, This time, these words were hers, not Aurora's, something that Regar understood.
"Princess, if you spent as much time smashing pieces of metal with a hammer as I did, you would understand my sentiment." Regar responded with a smile on his face.
Aurora stayed silent for a moment, thinking about some things. After a while, she made up her mind and told Elise her next words through their connection.
"Hmm, Regar, would it be possible for you to forge some things for me from time to time?" Understanding that these words weren't Elise's but Aurora's, Regar looked at the white fox before responding.
"Of course, I have no problem with that. However, you will have to bring your own material you want me to forge out of. Other than that, I can cut any other cost since you're the lady's kid." Hearing his words, Aurora nodded before thanking him through Elise.
Now, she would have a blacksmith and a way to finally process the bodies of some monsters and beasts she would hunt in the future. She could even use those bodies to forge something, most probably. Right now, she was very thankful to her mother.
After all, it was quite obvious that Regar was doing her a big service by cutting the other costs and only needing her to bring her own material. She was sure that we would normally never do that, because while he may seem easy-going, the elven blacksmith seemed to be very serious when it came to his craft.
After exchanging a few more words, the group left the blacksmith shop and once again resumed their stroll around the village.
The next stop was the various shops around the village's center and main districts. The elves truly sold a variety of things, be it some cute toys and candies for the children, some nice decorations, or even accessories and jewelry.
You could really find just about anything around here, but nothing really captured Aurora's interest. Still, it was a good way to get to know the village better. At least now she knew the popular areas in the village. Not to mention that she got to know some people.
Quite obviously, the three passed by a lot of elves. And while many of them were curious, none dared to step forward. Even then, it was bound to happen sooner or later, and it did. A small elf suddenly ran out of the crowd at one point, rushing towards the group.
The elf was quite naturally a child. Yes, believe it or not, elves also had children, a shocker, I know. No, but seriously. Although there weren't many children in comparison to the adults, they were still obviously there.
The child that ran out was actually really young, only about 10 years old or so. Quite naturally, the kid didn't really understand the whole legend thing the adults talked about. To him, they were just fun and interesting stories. Due to this, he had no idea that Aurora was most probably important.
So, when he rushed forward, he was planning to grab Aurora into his arms. However, his plan failed as Aurora easily dodged the kid 'attack'. The kid was, well, just a kid. There was no way he could compare to someone like Aurora.
Back then, the kid was quite stunned about how the cute creature disappeared. It was then that his mother also ran out of the crowd, looking for him. But when she saw the people he was with, her eyes contracted to the size of needles, and her heart clenched.
The young elven woman ran out of the crowd towards the group and grabbed her son's hand before he could do anything else. She then started apologizing, basically begging Aurora to forgive her.
Yes, Aurora, not Elise. In fact, the woman didn't even notice that the elf who seemed to be guiding the due of magical beast was the princess of the village. She only noticed the small fox with snow-white fur.
It was only when Elise spoke for Aurora and said it wasn't a big deal that the woman realized she was also in the presence of the chief's daughter. The woman almost broke out into tears when she realized what her son had done, but Elise reassured her that everything was fine.
In the end, after bowing about a dozen times, the woman ran back into the crowd with her son, who was disappointed that he couldn't keep that cute, moving plushie. Those were the kid's entire worries, which made sense.
As said before, the kid was just about 10 years old, which in the lives of elves isn't much at all. Elves reach adulthood in their 100th year of life. That's right, they need to be a hundred years old to be considered adults.
When Aurora asked Elise about her age after she told her this piece of information, Elise revealed that she was only 80 years old. She was actually really young; she wasn't even an adult!
This shocked Aurora quite a bit, as she really didn't expect Elise to kind of still be a child. When Elise saw the fox's reaction, she couldn't help but chuckle a bit.
"I'm not some old hag like my mother." She said jokingly but immediately panicked when she realized what she said. It was quite the sight to behold.
The three continued their outing, but soon, Elise led them to a bit of a secluded spot. A small hut with intricate white drawings, they were runes.
'Just what is this place?' Aurora wondered, following Elise inside the hut.
"Oh, I see I have some visitors. Welcome, fox of the prophecy."