Chapter 53 - Gen

Right now, I sat in a seiza position with Gen. Mayers, Emilia, and the others standing behind me. Ten elves, with long ears, blonde hair, and green pupils, sat in the same position in front of me. They wore kimonos, and their beautiful visages clearly identified their race.

They were elves...

The reason for our seated arrangement was that we were participating in a Japanese-style tea ceremony. You might be wondering why we were doing this. For that, let’s go back three days to when Mary and Victoria arrived at my home.

Liza was very excited as she waited with me, along with Emilia, near the gates for Mary and Victoria. My younger brother and Cecilia, Duke Mearess’ daughter, were playing inside with my mother. As for Carlos and his twin servants, they were strolling around my home with very bored and irritated expressions. Thanks to my ultimate skill, [Ignore], his expression didn’t bother me one bit.

When the carriage carrying Mary and Victoria arrived, Liza immediately ran towards the gate in high spirits. At the same time, Emilia received a white envelope. It had Gen. Mayers’ seal on it, and judging by the residual mana around it, it had been sent through magic. She asked for my permission to read the contents and walked away. I was left to receive Mary and Victoria alone.

While we conversed, Emilia suddenly returned with a very pale face. With a nervous voice, she whispered the contents of the message to me. Hearing it, I quickly stood up and headed to where my mother was. I told her that I was going to the borders, where Gen. Mayers was stationed.

I expected her to stop me, but instead, she gave me a wry smile and told me it was okay. I was both relieved and melancholic. I was glad she supported me but saddened by her casual acceptance. Still, due to the message’s urgency, I didn’t dwell on my emotions.

With a tight face, I gave my mother a deep bow and said, “I’ll be back.”

I ordered Emilia, who stood behind me, to pack my clothes and quickly headed outside to meet the bewildered Liza, Mary, and Victoria. I explained the contents of the message and told them to get ready. Liza quickly ran to her room to pack, while Mary and Victoria waited with me near the carriage.

As we waited, Carlos suddenly appeared. I used [Ignore] against him, but he countered with [Annoying Questions] rapidly. I tried to use [Run Away], but he used [Chase While Asking Annoying Questions]. He then activated his active skill, [Annoying Aura], which proved to be very effective against me.

I had no choice but to concede.

Since Mary was emitting an aura similar to Emilia’s, I unconsciously assigned her the task of explaining the message to Carlos. When Carlos received the message, he quickly ordered the twins to pack clothes. I was taken aback by his decision to come with us. If I reacted, it would feel like a loss, so I maintained a poker face and waited for Emilia and Liza.

When they arrived, the five of us, along with Carlos’ group, quickly flew to the sky. It took us two days and one night to reach General Mayers’ location. The scene we saw was quite tense.

General Mayers rode a horse with his aides beside him. Looking closely, I saw three familiar boys near him. Behind them stood a large number of soldiers in formation. I turned my gaze to the group they were watching.

What I saw was a group of elves. Unlike the human side, their numbers were few—only about a hundred. A few paces in front of them, I saw an elf sitting on a tatami, drinking from a clay cup. He looked very relaxed.

I landed beside Gen. Mayers and asked him when the elves had arrived. He told me that a few days ago, they had sent a messenger to the fortress where he was stationed. They wanted to meet with a refined individual of the human race. When the elves arrived three days ago, Gen. Mayers decided to be the one to meet them.

However, the strange customs of the elves left him confused and bewildered, making him appear unworthy to them. When he was about to give up, Anthony mentioned the weapon I used in a duel. He noted that my weapon resembled those of their warriors. By the way, the weapon I used was a Wakizashi.

Gen. Mayers quickly ordered an emergency message to be sent to me. As he finished his explanation, I turned and walked toward the elf. Gen. Mayers, Emilia, and the others followed closely behind me.

When we reached the elf, I removed my shoes and sat in a seiza position in front of him as he instructed a servant to prepare tea.

“It seems you’re familiar with our customs,” the elf said in a deep, relaxed voice.

“Not at all, I’m only copying what you are doing,” I replied with a smile. In my previous life, I had watched many shows featuring Japanese customs (anime), so I was somewhat familiar with this scenario.

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

We exchanged a few words. I could have said more, but I felt so nervous that I couldn’t think of anything else. I observed my surroundings.

Emilia and Mary stood behind me like maids waiting for orders, while Liza and Victoria looked uneasy. Gen. Mayers and the three boys were doing their best to keep Carlos at bay, who was trying to force his way into the tatami. Thanks to Gen. Mayers, Carlos was stopped.

When my attention returned to the elf, I noticed the servant had finished brewing the tea and was now delivering the cups. I received mine, turned it in my hands, and drank the entire cup in one gulp.

“Haa~ so it’s green tea. Un, it’s quite delicious,” I said.

“Thank you very much for the delicious tea,” I added, placing the empty cup beside me and giving the elf a deep bow.

“I’m very glad you liked it,” the elf said with a wry smile, returning my bow.

“I think it’s a good time to introduce ourselves. My name is Aeris, the third son of the elven chief from Silverwood Forest.”

“Silverwood Forest? I’m sorry, I don’t know where that is. I’m just a humble individual from a race that hid behind a barrier for a thousand years. So forgive my ignorance.”

“I was named Lumina by my parents and belong to the noble house of Chis Chem.”

Aeris appeared shocked for a moment, then smiled. I returned his smile as a servant brought some sweets.

They were dango.

Seeing the dango, I quickly took one and ate it. Emilia’s face turned pale as I chewed with satisfaction. Aeris also enjoyed the dango.

“May we know the reason for your abrupt appearance?” I asked Aeris-sama, swallowing a dango.

“I actually came here as an envoy of both peace and war.”

“An envoy of peace and war?”

One of my eyebrows twitched at the mention of ‘war’. Who wouldn’t?

“Yes, the purpose of this tea ceremony is to test your race.”

“To see if we are cultured enough?”

“Yes.”

Aeris nodded in satisfaction at my words.

“If your race has an individual who can converse with us in a civilized manner, I will come as an envoy of peace. If not, I will come as an envoy of war.”

“I see.”

I took another sip of green tea, contemplating the situation. According to my memory, this didn’t happen in the game. In the game, the elves attacked the human race immediately after the barrier was broken.

Could this event have occurred because the nobles they sent were so obnoxious that they failed the test, leading to the elves attacking?

I need to do my best to pass this test.

Go me! Let’s do our best!

Ei Ei ooh!

I gathered my courage and met his eyes.

“Aeris-sama, may I ask a few questions?”

“Go ahead.”

“Is this all of the test?”

“Yes, this is all.”

“Then…”

“Your race has passed the test. I have come as an envoy of peace.”

I sighed in relief at his declaration.

“Thank you very much (Anime).”

Aeris-sama’s smile was radiant. I noticed he had many different smiles.

“May I ask for an adult from behind me to join us? I am still a child and need an adult to supervise any subsequent discussions.”

Aeris-sama’s eyes widened.

“You’re still a child? I thought you were an adult because of your demeanor.”

I gave a wry smile and said, “I’ll take that as a compliment. However, I am indeed still 12 years old. From our race’s viewpoint, I am still a child and will need six more years to be considered an adult.”

If I added my previous life’s age to my current age, I should have been an adult already. However, I’ve been so immersed in this life that I forgot how old I was in my previous life. So, let’s just say I’m still 12 in this world.

“It’s the same for our race. However, for us, a 12-year-old is still an infant. To reach your height, a child would need 50 years, and to become an adult, 400 more years.”

“I see.”

“Yes.”

We both drank our green tea simultaneously. It felt strange to be in sync with him.

“Forgive me if you’ve taken offense now that you know I’m a child, Aeris-sama.”

“Ah, no, I was just shocked.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

We both picked

up a dango stick and took a bite at the same time. Stop doing that already!

“Then, I shall have an adult come here.”

“Yes.”

I instructed Emilia to call Gen. Mayers. She gave me a slight bow and went to fetch him. After a while, Gen. Mayers arrived and introduced himself. He did not sit in seiza; instead, he stood close to us.

“My name is Gen. Hawthorn Mayers. Because of my son, I now serve the house to which Lumina-sama belongs.”

In the party, he did not use the honorific ‘-sama’ when referring to me. Still, hearing an older person with a higher social standing call me that gave me goosebumps. Please stop...

“So you belong to an influential house, Lumina?” Aeris-sama asked me as he sipped his tea.

“Not exactly. A lot has happened, leading to this situation.”

“I see.”

“Then, with him here, let’s continue our discussion.”

“Before we start, please have some of this mochi.”

“With pleasure~”