NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 19
The children could be seen running toward the fireworks that bloomed in the sky with a cheerful thump-thump sound.
It was a nostalgic scene. Five years ago, I was also part of that crowd.
“Ho, the sorcerers have come again this year.”
“Appears so.”
After calming the spoiled princess with an ice treat – and it seems half my pocket money flew away in the process – we continued our stroll.
Because we were free anyway, we simply wandered around without anything or anyone particularly catching our interest. The plan was, at most, to tease a passing bard and then head back.
“Ani-sama, ani-sama!”
“Hm? What is it, Eliza?”
She touched my head with her sticky hands, having not eaten the ice treat very well. But I didn’t complain. This is what dealing with children is like. Expecting fine consideration from a first or second-grade elementary school child is unreasonable. Besides, it’s just a matter of washing my head later.
“I want to see it up close.”
“Oh, is that so? Then…”
“Is it alright?”
Since Margit seemed more interested in keeping Eliza happy than anything else, we decided to move closer where the fireworks were being set off.
The magician setting off the fireworks wasn’t the old man who had given me the ring. Instead, it was a young female sorcerer with lustrous silver hair braided into an extravagant chignon, from which long ears poked out, marking her as a long-lived species.
She resembled the well-known Tolkein Elves with their long ears, superior magical abilities, and endless lifespan if “not killed.” Their youthful appearance and abilities make them the premium version of the human race and the high-end among humanoid species. The fact that two prestigious families of long-lived species were included among the electors reflects their considerable authority.
However, their biggest difference from Tolkein Elves is their love for civilization rather than a simple, Laconian lifestyle. They are devoted to urban living, constructing towering buildings to dispel ignorance and indulging in the comforts of a developed civilization. Their preference for grand stone structures over rustic wooden ones highlights their dedication to the “new” and refined pursuits, unbridled by the weight of time.
Endowed with an infinite lifespan, they are avid seekers of entertainment, study, and pleasure, making them extravagant hedonists. The rarity of encountering long-lived species in the countryside—due to their fewer numbers compared to humans, as they see reproduction merely as a form of entertainment—makes such sightings quite rare. To be honest, I only knew about them through books in the Manor, and this was my first time seeing one in person.
“Wow, her ears are so long!”
“Her hair is shining!”
“Her eyes are so strange! What’s going on?! Hey, what’s going on?!”
Impossible to say otherwise—it’s hard to imagine a creature as rare as her standing at a street stall without attracting the attention of children. Before I could finish my train of thought, the woman clad in a magnificent silk robe was already surrounded by curious children. Bombarded with questions like rain, her exquisite beauty twisted with distress, and she flailed about in panic, too busy to even adjust her askew glasses.
“Hey, stop it, you country bumpkins! Don’t touch me! This robe is very expensive, you know?!”
And the sight of her resisting the touch of muddy and candy-stained hands on her elegant crimson robe was… well, somewhat typical yet ambiguous, far removed from the image of the mysterious hermit-like elf wielding bows, as seen in fantasy lore. In fact, her behavior was quite mundane.
Despite her striking appearance—her red robe, silver hair, white skin, and mismatched eyes of deep blue and pale green—her actions felt more reminiscent of the snobbish movements from gag manga about rich people. It was slightly unsettling.
“Until today, I had never seen a long-lived species, but this is how they’re like, isn’t it?”
“Amazingly beautiful!”
I could hear the disappointment in Margit’s tone, while Eliza innocently lauded the beauty before her. Though I agree entirely with Margit, even the sight of her baring her teeth in irritation at the onslaught of village children carries an undeniable elegance. Her immaculately crafted facial features, like a statue I once saw with great effort, retained a kind of refined beauty even amidst her rage. Perhaps if a beautiful person like her slipped on a banana peel, she’d still manage to look graceful in the fall.
As I observed her battling the children for a while, children’s interests are fickle. With the approaching of a wandering bard shouting, “Alright, the story is about to begin!” the children lost interest instantly and clung to the beautifully dressed man’s back instead.
Left behind was the poor city girl, her silk robe a little soiled from the village encounter, her silver hair tousled and her pristine image slightly marred.
“Why must I endure such a fate…”
Tears brimming in her eyes, she brought her right hand to her mouth and gently blew on it. Behold, her tousled hair self-righted, and the soiled robe became pristine again. By infusing her breath with magic, she easily cast a spell—a marvelously convenient magic, one my mother would certainly envy if she knew about it.
“Wow, wow!!!”
Watching her freshen up akin to a certain mouse empire princess, Eliza became ecstatic. Perhaps affected by the earlier ordeal with the children, a faint shadow of trauma flickered in the young girl’s eyes as the long-lived species suddenly stiffened, turning her neck toward us like a rusted hinge.
With a bitter expression, as if questioning if we were kids too, her face froze instantly. Following her gaze, it wasn’t me or Margit, but Eliza, who was being carried on my shoulders, that caught her eye.
What could it be? Yes, my younger sister is undeniably adorable to the point of being mistaken for an angel, but such an intense reaction from a long-lived species makes me both proud and a little troubled…
“Y-you’re a fairy kind!??”
Suddenly shouting, the long-lived species sprang at us with a startling agility that only my recently acquired expensive trait, [Lightning Reflex], enabled me to react to. This trait, which belongs to the <physical> category, was unlocked after constant sparring with swift individuals like Margit and Mr. Lambert, significantly enhancing my reflexes.
One might ask, why not simply enhance [Agility]? However, this is different. It not only achieves pre-emptive speed, allowing full force actions without setup, but also supports late reactions, making it a powerful trait. If this were detailed in the rulebook, it would surely be nerfed in the next edition.
Still, that I, who have [Agility] and [Proficient] locked down, reacted late suggests this sorceress is far from ordinary. Sweating cold, I pivoted my left foot half a step back to open my stance and barely managed to evade her assault. With the burden of two children on me, it was a challenging feat worthy of praise.
Avoiding impact, the long-lived species deftly landed in front of me, her hand that had aimed to grab my shoulder aimlessly wandering before finally settling on my shoulder again, and she gazed intently at me and declared the following.
“Where did you capture this one?”
“Who the heck do you think you are, calling my sister a bug or an animal?!”
Inadvertently blurting out the dirtiest words in my life up to that point, my voice cracked with an unexpected bass. It was indeed an insult; to compare one’s precious younger sibling to insects or beasts is unacceptable. Left to my emotions, I would have landed a palm strike to her chin by now. Controlling my wrath, I shoved the unmannerly long-lived species away.
“Your sister… Do humans have a tradition of adopting other species? Then, are those spiders your sister too?”
The long-lived species once again said something incredibly rude, prompting Margit to wrinkle her brow in discomfort. What exactly was this sorceress thinking? Humans don’t adopt other species, and the fundamental premise…
“There’s no truth in what you say, but my child is human.”
Eliza is human. Having witnessed her birth ever since I could remember and even participating in the delivery, I know she carries the golden hair of our mother and the eye color from our father. Besides, while humans can indeed interbreed with many species, hybrid offspring are extremely rare. Pure-blooded human parents wouldn’t naturally produce a child of another species.
“Are you really unaware?”
Nevertheless, after hearing my words, the sorceress tilted her head as if seeing something truly bizarre. Adjusting her glasses, she examined me closely.
“With so much magical energy contained within? And yet you can overlook it? Unbelievable.”
The way she scrutinized me closely was like a researcher examining a specimen trapped between glass slides. It became apparent that she did not recognize me as an individual but rather as an object of study.
I see, this is why long-lived species are disliked. The book described them in the politest of terms, implying that this was due to the arrogance that comes with longevity. But now, seeing it firsthand, I understand why it’s off-putting. Few creatures would find this sort of treatment pleasant.
“Are you truly ignorant?”
“To be honest, I do not understand what you are implying.”
Again, I managed to bite back a crude reply, substituting instead a formal tone. While I have indeed consistently enhanced my magic-related status even after reaching a certain level, I haven’t awakened any skills as a magician.
In a sense, this could be considered my flaw. At this level, most would naturally acquire certain skills, whereas I do not automatically gain them. Instead, I’m presented with a prompt asking, “Do you want to learn?” which I must actively choose to agree to or decline.
So, while my mana is above average and circumstances should prompt some natural awakening, I haven’t acquired any specific skills in magic.
However, this flaw can also be seen as an advantage. By skipping unnecessary skills and traits that others might unconsciously gain, I’ve managed to allocate my focus more efficiently toward improving my stats. For instance, instead of becoming adept in vices like petty theft, I’ve been able to channel my efforts more productively.
Perhaps this time, it hindered the proper activation of some “flags”?
“Strange… well, finding two rare creatures isn’t bad at all.”
With a casual laugh, scratching her head, the long-lived species who looked the part of the wise and ancient elf but acted surprisingly frivolous declared the following.
“Anyway, I’ll tell you. The truth.”
The long-lived sorceress settled us near her cart after nonchalantly procuring some tea. Though I considered making a move, it was unlikely I’d escape from someone capable of outmaneuvering me. Thus, I decided to cooperate.
However, Margit wasn’t interested, so I sent her away. She’s clever; she’ll likely return with our parents or the village elders, who should be able to handle this rude sorceress.
“Well, then—your sister isn’t human.”
“Then, what is she?”
Though I thought she should introduce herself before starting this conversation, I didn’t particularly want to divulge my name either, so this arrangement was fine.
Up until now, my initial encounters with other species had been quite pleasant, but this reception from the embodiment of fantasy left me unprepared for such discourteous treatment. If all of them behave this way, I doubt the books promising peaceful coexistence were accurate.
“Half-fairy, a changeling. Those with eyes to see would realize it instantly. Especially for someone like me, a sorceress.”
“Huh!?”
Dropping the tea she handed me by sheer luck would have been unfortunate. What exactly had she just said? A changeling? My dear Eliza?
The concept of a changeling originates from a legend from my previous world, where it’s said fairies, out of envy or mischief, would kidnap human children and leave their own offspring in their place. Often bringing tragedy to both the child and parents, this folk tale was likely used to explain children with disabilities, but this world changes the narrative.
That’s because fairies genuinely exist here. When I was younger, the coins my brother and I found weren’t mere whimsy from the neighbor’s tales.
Fairies are incorporeal beings without physical form, differing fundamentally from humanoids, magic users, and sub-humans. They are better categorized as sentient phenomena, invisible to ordinary humans.
Only the children who have not yet fully developed their sense of self and therefore have a blurred boundary with others, along with mages and certain races, are capable of perceiving fairies, according to the books I’ve read.
“Fairies occasionally manifest in the flesh within a living creature’s body.”
But such information was not in my books.
“They sometimes yearn for the happiness of human families and wish to be born into one. When a fairy’s soul incarnates in the physical realm, a changeling is created. This was told to me directly by a fairy, so it’s true.”
I struggled to comprehend what she was saying. The Eliza I had known for seven years was not human?
“However, it’s quite a tough process. Changelings often experience developmental delays, frequently fall ill, and many pass away at a young age.”
This struck home. I recalled how often Eliza became ill, how we bought medicine and cared for her throughout our family. Moreover, it’s true that she remains younger-looking for her age.
“And fairies adore golden hair and blue eyes… surely you remember?”
Ah, yes, my mother, Hanna, had golden hair and blue eyes. I also share those traits.
“That girl is a half-fairy. I imagine she will awaken to her magical prowess soon. When she reaches her formative years, her fairy-like powers will likely manifest with her emotional growth.”
It all made sense. Her stopping me and engaging in this conversation suggested she spoke with confidence. If she expected adults to appear once she seized the child, she wouldn’t act this way without reason.
Even so…
“So what? The definition of family doesn’t simply stem from bloodlines—it is forged by love and bonds…”