Year 1625 of the Elven Calendar.
There had never been a day when Illiya was more keenly aware that today was the day he would leave the Elven Forest, where he had lived for over a hundred years.
It was also the day he would bid farewell to his teachers.
Although he had mentally prepared himself long ago and planned everything he needed to do before leaving, when the day finally arrived, he suddenly realized that all his preparations were completely useless.
Instead, his mind went utterly blank.
Facing his teachers, he found himself unable to utter a single word.
All the carefully rehearsed words in his mind turned out to be useless in the end.
Suppressing the reluctance in his heart, he took a deep breath and forced himself to return to the composed expression he always wore.
With a slight flick of his wide sleeves, he moved his right hand to his chest and bowed his head in front of the Elf King who is seated on the throne and the High Priest who is standing beside him—his two teachers.
He had already decided on the words he wanted to say in his mind.
Yet, when it was time to speak, his mind went completely blank, and everything he had prepared vanished without a trace.
Even the air around him seemed to fall into a hushed silence.
This isn't right.
Illiya felt a wave of despair wash over him and quickly shut his eyes.
The strands of golden hair slipped from his shoulders, brushing softly against his cheek, pulling his wandering thoughts back to reality.
Just then, he felt two gazes landed upon him, making the pressure he felt even heavier.
"…Illiya… will not betray your trust."
That was all he managed to squeeze out.
As soon as the words left his lips, he thought he heard a soft chuckle ripple through the air.
Before he could react, the sound disappeared, as if it had only been his imagination.
"There has never been a case of an underage elf leaving the Elven Forest before. Illiya, you are the first."
A voice that was gentle yet filled with authority, came from the throne in front of him.
After a brief pause, as if recalling something amusing, the voice spoke again, now carrying a hint of laughter.
"There's no need to keep standing so rigidly. The Elven Forest has never had such formalities, has it? Especially not for you."
Hearing this familiar voice, Illiya exhaled sharply in relief.
Just as he was about to rejoice that his two teachers hadn't noticed his nervousness, he heard the latter half of the sentence—
And his relief vanished instantly.
There was no chance of conveniently forgetting everything on the spot.
"…Teacher is right…" Illiya slowly straightened his posture, but his voice grew quieter, and the last few words were so soft that they were barely audible.
"It's getting late now. I should probably set off as soon as possible. Since the teleportation is random, I have no idea where I'll end up. If I get sent somewhere far from a town, the journey might be a long one."
The more Illiya spoke, the more he convinced himself that he was making perfect sense.
However, he still didn't dare lift his head.
More accurately, he didn't dare look straight ahead.
His eyes darted about, unsure of where to focus.
Even though everything he said was reasonable, he still felt guilty, as if he had done something wrong.
His teachers did not challenge his reasoning.
Instead, one of them followed along with his train of thought and continued, "It's true that it's getting late. Leaving earlier is a good idea. Once you're out there, don't neglect yourself—your comfort should come first. And if you ever encounter a problem you can't handle, learn to seek help."
The last sentence was phrased gently, but it was just one step away from outright saying, If you can't win, go tell an adult.
Illiya's mouth twitched slightly.
He pretended he hadn't heard that part and smoothly glossed over it.
"Thank you, Teacher. I'll be taking my leave now."
With those words, Illiya bowed his head again and took his leave.
Without a moment's hesitation, he turned around and walked away.
His departure seemed effortless and carefree—if one ignored the fact that his pace had quickened considerably.
Once Illiya's figure completely disappeared from view, the Elf seated on the throne let out a deep breath, and his previously straight posture instantly slumped.
Without any regard for appearances, he leaned lazily against the throne.
"Finally, Illiya is gone. Sitting like that for so long was exhausting. If he wasn't leaving today, I wouldn't have bothered meeting him—I had to, or else he'd start suspecting something was wrong with me. He'd probably wonder if I was sick in bed, if the food wasn't good, or if the movies weren't entertaining enough. What do you think, Aelric?"
Aelric Wynmaris shot a glance at the person rambling beside him but didn't respond, maintaining his usual silence.
Clearly, the Elf King hadn't expected an answer in the first place.
He snapped his fingers, and with a flash of white light, the silver-haired elf standing beside him instantly vanished, leaving only a small white leaf floating in the air.
The Elf King wasn't surprised at all.
He was used to this kind of thing by now.
"If only my luck wasn't so bad! If I hadn't rolled a lower number than Aelric on the dice, I wouldn't have been the one sitting here. Next time, I won't lose!"
...
Meanwhile, Illiya swiftly made his escape from the suffocating atmosphere of the palace.
Carrying his small travel bag, he quickly walking toward the teleportation array.
As a young elf who had not yet reached adulthood, Illiya had spent a relatively long time learning magic compared to humans.
However, he had yet to master fixed-point teleportation magic.
The only way for him to leave the Elven Forest was by using the teleportation array within it.
Typically, only adult elves left the forest, as they were proficient enough in teleportation magic to do so on their own.