NOTE: Just so we’re all aware, flarewk! (G.o.d of ABC) translated the first chapter and then dropped it, where I have now picked up from. You can read chapter 1 here: Obsidian & flarewk! (in case our translations collide, and because he did translate part of it before dropping it)
After a long horse ride, we exited this pitch-black forest area and finally arrived at a normal road. I spotted a crowd of elves moving along the road and roadside, and I appraised out of curiosity. Elves have bodies and ears that are different to humans, but other than that, their other characteristics are pretty much the same as humans. This street and the tiny hawker stalls along the roadside are the same as what you would see in human society.
I thought elves would segregate themselves and spread themselves out in the mountains and forests. I never imagined they had their own cities. Could it be due to the influence of the humans in this world?
"Wear your head cloth properly, son."
I suddenly felt a warm sensation in my ears which made me jolt. When I turned around, I saw mom looking at me with a gentle smile as she fixed the part of the head cloth covering my ears. Mom gently held her slender finger out and cutely went “shh”, and said: “Don"t let anyone see your ears~"
Looks like elves really care about blood lineages.
To be honest, I didn’t understand the things I saw and experienced. Perhaps I only have the memories of up to one day before he died. He led a group to battle, but they were virtually completely annihilated, yet I had to lie to those that saw us off with the bag in my hand. It wasn’t a victory, but a crus.h.i.+ng defeat.
I don’t like this feeling. None of this has anything to do with me, but this goes against everything I was taught growing up. I know that I have to tell this lie. No one enjoys the feeling of defeat. But the warriors who fought with their lives can’t rest in peace like this.
“Do~do~do~do~~”
The foot solder walking behind us suddenly blew his horn and all the people around us who heard it, quickly gathered around us and admired the cavalry as they cheered in celebration. Perhaps this was their way of celebrating victories.
Mom gently nudged me and said: “Take these items and share it with everyone. Remember, you were victorious, so be happy. You’re the star today.”
I opened the bag and took out a handful of dragon scales; the earth dragon scales had a golden glow to them, but if you touched them, you could feel the traces of a pattern on them, while the back of them had a soft skin-life touch. The centres of the scales were very thick, while the edges were sharp. I scattered the scales into the crowd. They responded with loud cheers and began fighting over the scales I scattered.
“In the name of the great Morigan! In the name of the great forest! In the name of the G.o.ddess Clementina! For our triumphant warrior, Prince Troy Galadriel Rovna"s campaign against the wild beasts! May the glory of the forests and lakes be with him forever.
The troops behind us cried out. I tried to understand what they were saying, but realised I couldn"t understand their language at all. However, that did not seem to affect my comprehension skills or ability to speak. It appears memory and language belong in different areas of the brain. I absent-mindedly scattered the dragon scales into the crowd. It was because I was a bit nervous, but also because I really did not want to witness this scene.
My mother seemed to be able to tell I was not in high spirits, so she pinched my cheeks softly, and said: “Smile, my son. I couldn’t be more happy to know that you’re still alive.”
"uhm."
I nodded and slowly made myself into the elf city. The city look similar to those of humans. It had magnificent walls and a thick iron city gate covered with the skin of beasts. After pa.s.sing through the city gates, I looked up to see a big hole where boiling oil is poured down when defending the city walls. By the looks of it, the hole had been used more than once.
Elves should be able to use magic, right? I"ve checked my hands many times, but I don"t feel any magic flowing through…
We pa.s.sed the streets and crowds crying in joy and the palace at the centre of the city finally came into sight. The palace had a European nuance. I couldn’t see any distinct elf-like characteristics. It seems the elves from here are very close to humans, because even their culture is the same. Mom and I rode our horses inside after the palace doors opened. Upon entering, we saw a giant flower garden, and there was a pond right in the middle of the garden. It looked very st.u.r.dy for a pond that was merely used for entertainment in the palace. The surrounding gra.s.s was lush green, so there must be someone taking care of it daily. In the middle of the pond were some geese lazily grooming their feathers. After pa.s.sing the garden, we arrived at the square which was behind the garden with a fountain in the middle. The floor was spotless. Not even a stone was in sight.
Behind us, the palace path looked so long, it would take some time to cross even on horseback.
“Son, go in and rest for a bit, you must be exhausted. Rest up. Don’t worry about a thing, mommy is here. Don’t worry about a thing.”
“But it’s the middle of the day right now…..”
Mom and I got off our horses, but mom was a little clumsy, so I carried her off. Mom then tightly grabbed my hand as though she was not going to let me go anywhere. Mom’s blue eyes still showed a hint of fear and worry, and her hands were trembling more fiercely than mine. She was more afraid than I was. She must"ve been so worried when I left.
“Come with mommy, okay? Come with mom… Mommy is scared, scared that you……”
Her beautiful face and alluring lips trembled uncontrollably, so I helplessly nodded and walked hand-in-hand with her into the palace.
"Your royal highnesses! Congratulations on your victory!"
As soon as we entered the door, I heard a shout which shocked me. In front of the hall knelt an elf with his left hand on his chest and his head bowed down congratulating us. Mom smiled and then walked up to them and said “Thank you, but the prince is exhausted after the tough battle. Please try to refrain from burdening the prince with your questions. After the prince has recovered, he will be glad to share the story with you.”
The two pretty maids standing by my side gently said: “This way, your highness.”
"ah… Okay…"
I slowly followed the two maids along the red carpet, and stole a look outside to see the flowers in bloom, neatly pruned trees and gra.s.s. This isn"t a place I should be at, but… you could say that everything here belongs to me now.
I must ask is my room that d.a.m.ned far away?! Could you be a little bit more considerate towards a victim who just returned from the dead and rode a horse a heck of a long way to arrive here?! I didn"t feel tired when I woke up on the battlefield, nor did I feel tired on the way back on the horse, and yet I"m so exhausted walking to my room that I want to take a break……
"Your highness, please take a short break. We will help you wash up soon."
The maids pulled the door open and respectfully bowed. I nodded and entered my room. This room is huge! The bed which would make anyone jump out of shock was on one side and above it was a ma.s.sive hanging light, but… it wasn"t hanging from the ceiling… it was floating in mid-air. The entire room was decorated and there was even a fireplace, but the flame inside was blue.
I walked over and touched the flame out of curiosity. I found that the flame felt like the air… I couldn"t feel anything. No, the flame was slightly warm. In fact, it was the same temperature as the room. To be more precise, it was this flame that controlled the room"s temperature.
How interesting. This is basically like an air-conditioner.
"What"s wrong, are you hot?"
Said a lazy voice from behind. I was so shocked that I almost dived head-first into the fire. I swiftly turned around and saw a small delicate face that looked like a westerner behind the bed curtain. Her eyes had a very rare green tinge but also have off the feeling that she wasn"t fully awake. Her pointy ears trembled a little, and she crawled across my bed to ask me in a lazy tone:
"Umm… this is my room… isn"t it?"
The maids couldn"t have made a mistake right!?
"ah, yeah…"
She then rolled over without a care and in the world and said:
"In that case…"
"Is there a problem? I mean, I come into your room everyday…"
Who are you, miss? Would you care to explain how you"re able to enter my room so casually? I don’t even know you…… She rolled over on my bed and then somersaulted onto the floor and stoop up. Her long dress didn"t seem to affect her agile body. She walked up to my side and skilfully grabbed my hand. Her lazy eyes gazed at me. Her fine and smooth skin appeared in front of me in a flash but her b.o.o.bs were not as firm as mom’s…
"So you won?"
She asked with her head leaning to one side.
“But, Atta… Tracy… and Gela aren"t back.” She let go of my hands, looked down and I noticed a slight tremble in her tone. I juggled the names around in my hand for a bit, but I couldn"t recall ever hearing those names. I never met those people before. But for some reason my heart was aching. Why did I feel ashamed?
"Sorry……"
I looked down to the floor, clenched my first and mumbled under my breath: “Sorry… I… I… We… Failed… Everyone… Everyone… I’m the only one who survived…”
I was the only survivor. Everyone else died… Why? Why? Why am I hurting inside and feeling despair when this has nothing to do with me…? Why didn"t I feel fear during my moment of death, and yet feel like I"m going to break down in tears now? Whose feelings are these? Are the mine or his?
The female elf in front of me lifted her head up and looked at me. Her eye glimmered with a ray of light, and then she extended her arms out and hugged me. Her faint perfume intensified in my embrace. She rested her small head on my chest while her arms wrapped around me in an embrace as we warmed each other up.
“It’s alright, it’s alright… You’re still here. All’s well. As long as you’re here… As long as you’re here, I won’t be lonely…” Since her head rested on my chest, her trembling voice pa.s.sed through my chest and into my heart.
"Ah…"
Her sudden gentleness broke pa.s.s my final line of defence. I felt a few tear drops roll down from my eyes. I silently hugged this girl I met for the first time, and let her warmth sooth my heart…
"Your highness, please come wash up."
What"s your name maid girl? There"s no need for you to come from tomorrow onwards.
We let each other go as the maid sternly looked us and then turned to ask the girl: “Would you like to join us Miss Lucia? We can make preparations if you wish so.”
She nonchalantly answered: "Sure!"
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Stop! Please stop! What the h.e.l.l is going on?! Aren’t I supposed to wash up on my own? How on Earth did it suddenly become a mixed-bath?! Who on Earth is this girl? Don’t pull the wife or fiancé card on me now!
There’s nothing bad about it, but… that’s too exhilarating for a virgin like myself!
“Let’s go then. Let’s go wash up. I haven’t washed in ages. The queen should be there too, right? ‘Cause the queen is there every time you go to wash.” Lucia grabbed my hand and led me without needing a maid guide her.
Hold up. Did you just say mom would be there too?!
My imagination ran wild with images of mom’s S-line body nude… f.u.c.k! That’s too much for my single-core brain to handle. Oh s.h.i.+t! Oh s.h.i.+t! My little brother is definitely going to react! How can I do this to my mother!?
Lucia pushed a door open, ah, there"s no heat… Wait. Something is off. If there"s no heat, then there wouldn"t be any lights either! That means… I have nothing to look at!! Stop! Stop! She"s your mom, what are you thinking?! I need to stop myself from having those thoughts!! How did the atmosphere suddenly change from a melancholic one to this!? Shouldn"t I be preparing to take revenge? Why am I suddenly being rewarded instead!?
What sort of demented cultural practice is this?! Bad cultural practices must be destroyed!
“Ah, my dear son, you’re here. Miss Lucia is here as well. Your relations.h.i.+p is as good as always, huh?” Just as my brain was about to be completely fried, someone violently hugged me from behind and my mind felt warm again. But this time, it wasn’t clothes-to-clothes contact… This is skin-on-skin!!!
Mom’s voice came from behind, and my heart raced like crazy. Her b.o.o.bs were on both sides of my face, but I didn’t even have the courage to bat an eyelid. I slowly began to helplessly lean forward, but Lucia was completely naked in front of me!!
Lucia should be a young elf, right? The skin of elves and humans are completely different. Human skin should reflect light a little, but it looks like an elf’s body gives off a faint fluorescent glow. Lucia’s skin looked as smooth as a marble, s.h.i.+ny as crystals and white as if almost transparent, as though the sun were s.h.i.+ning right onto her body. I really wonder if her body is transparent. By human standards, the body proportions of elves are perfect. Slender limbs and b.o.o.bs with the perfect curves and peak at the right spot…
"Pfft."
"What"s wrong, son? Why are you bending over all of a sudden? Do you have a stomach ache?"
Uhh…
This is a reaction guys sometimes inevitably have…