Magic Gems Gourmet

Chapter 168

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ED: LonelyMatter

Chapter 168 – Confused About Many Things

――Or rather, do the elves really remember Chris? And do they recognize me? These are the questions that come to Ain’s mind.

Chris was returning to her hometown, but if the people of the elven village were forgetful by nature, they may not remember her. Whether it felt like a long time or not was up to the individual.

And one more thing.

He wondered if the information about Ain and the others would reach the elven village, which was so far away in the middle of nowhere.

It would take half a day to reach the village. Should he start with a polite introduction?

While he was thinking about it, several elves came to meet Ain and Chris.

“――It must have been a long journey. Thank you for your hard work.”

A male elf who looked like the group leader spoke to them.

As he said this, he pressed his right arm to his left chest and bowed his head in silence.

The other elven warriors also bowed their heads, mimicking his gesture.

“Ah… um, my name is…”

Ain tried to introduce himself as a member of the royal family.

But the elf interrupted him.

“I know who you are. You are the current Crown Prince, descended from the noble blood, aren’t you?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

What a strange way to refer to someone.

When he said “noble blood,” it felt like he was praising Olivia, and that made him feel good.

It was probably the best way to win Ain’s heart.

But how did he know?

Ain looked at him with a confused expression.

“I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself before. I am the chief warrior of this village, and my name is Cyrus. The young elven warriors behind me are my subordinates.”

He nodded at Cyrus’ introduction.

He wondered what to do and looked at Chris.

Then Chris spoke to Cyrus.

“It’s been a while, Cyrus-san.”

“Ah, it’s been a while too, Chris-dono. It’s been a while since you came home.”

“We came today to talk about something important to the chief.”

Chris seemed to know the warrior chief Cyrus and spoke to him in a calm manner.

Ignoring the “it’s been a while” part, she spoke about the purpose of their visit.

“I understand. In any case, we need to bring the noble person to the chief’s residence. The chief is awake today, so it’s a good day for it.”

“…How is the chief’s health?”

When Chris asked with a serious expression, Cyrus’ expression changed as well.

“It’s hard to say. But the chief will eventually be led to the World Tree.”

Ain, who was listening next to them, could guess the general situation from these words.

The chief was obviously the oldest elder of the village. In other words, being led to the World Tree probably meant death in the language of the elves.

Even here, the influence of the elves’ belief in the World Tree could be felt.

“In the last ten years or so, the number of days the chief doesn’t wake up has increased.”

But as you would expect from an elf.

It’s probably just old age, but even though the time was approaching, the fact that the chief was still alive after ten years made Ain feel that the difference between the elves and humans.

By the way, how old was Cyrus?

It’s not really appropriate to ask at the first meeting, so he’d ask him when he got the chance.

“I understand the situation. Then, after dinner… I think we’ll ask the chief in three hours. Can you tell the chief that?”

“…Hmm. I thought I should take you to the chief right away.”

There was one thing Ain thought.

Chris’ tone of voice seemed a bit more formal than when they were at the castle.

She seemed calm, but her posture was stiff in contrast.

He wondered why that was.

“I agree that we should meet as soon as possible. However, Ain-sama has just arrived. So I think we should take a short break first and then go over there.”

“Oops… you’re right. I’m sorry. I guess I have forgotten my manners because we don’t get many visitors. I apologize.”

Chris had asked for a break, thinking about Ain’s condition.

Then, remembering that it had been a long journey, Cyrus apologized to Ain.

Even though he apologized, Ain felt the opposite since it was he who had come suddenly.

“N-no, no. It was me who asked you suddenly, so there’s no need to apologize so much…”

Following Cyrus, the warriors bowed their heads.

“――By the way, how do you know about me? I’m a long way from the royal capital, and I’ve heard that elves don’t have much contact with outsiders.”

Since he was the one who had come to ask, Ain thought he should be the one to be polite.

But since he was the crown prince, he thought it would be inappropriate to be too polite.

So he ended up with this strange, half-hearted attitude.

…Unlike the time with Oz, things went badly.

When he was told that he was of noble blood, he failed to appreciate the distance between them.

“It’s no big deal. We just avoid interacting with other races inside the village, but we do interact with them outside. Some of us regularly go out to buy food, so even in Holtra, we hear rumors about the prince.”

――They interacted more than Ain thought.

Ain was stunned for a moment, but he realized that there were elves like Chris who lived outside the city.

He nodded in understanding, knowing that the city was not completely isolated.

…In fact, since Ain was the crown prince, it was only natural that he would know about him.

“Oh, so it is. No wonder you knew about me…”

Now that he understood, he said a last word of thanks and turned to Chris.

“By the way, Chris. Where do you think we should rest?”

“――I think my house and the chief’s house would be the most suitable in the village. So, I’m sorry, but we’ll take a break at my house…”

Is that okay? Chris asked, looking worried.

Since they would have to make the trip there and back in half a day, Ain thought they would probably need about three days.

In other words, he planned to stay at least one night.

He thought they would rent a place to stay, but he never thought it would be Chris’ house.

“That’s okay, I’ll leave it up to you.”

Although he was a bit more panicked inside, he was worried about Chris’ firm attitude, so he answered calmly.

Chris, hearing this, nodded with a relieved look on her face.

“I’m sure Cyrus-san and the others have things you want to talk about, but for now, please give priority to Ain-sama’s health.”

“Yes, I understand. …We elves welcome Your Highness. Welcome to the Elven Village!”

＊＊＊

Creak…

As the thick wooden door was opened, a creaking sound echoed around the entrance.

The room was still dim, although the first rays of sunlight were beginning to stream in.

Then Chris touched a crystal-like sphere placed nearby, and the room instantly brightened.

“…A magic tool?”

“Yes. I bought two magic tools with my first salary. This is one of them.”

After saying goodbye to Cyrus, Ain followed Chris to her house.

The house they arrived at was as big as the Mouton Mansion in the capital, and it was a magnificent house made by hollowing out a magnificent tree like a pillar tree.

It was shaped like a tree stump, and they entered by climbing a wooden staircase.

“Huh… what about the other one?”

“The other one is… that!”

She pointed at a wooden box with several air intakes. A brown tube was connected to the outside.

“W-what is that?”

“It was expensive. It’s a magic cleaning tool that works by absorbing light. I bought it because I’m often away from home, and I didn’t want dust to build up.”

Chris, happily explaining, seemed softer than before.

Ain was confused about whether it was okay to ask why, and in the end, he didn’t ask.

However, he watched Chris as she walked lightly through the house.

Chris walked around with her hands clasped behind her back, humming a melody.

She was wearing light clothes, but when she removed her armor, she also removed her knight’s jacket and hung it on the wall.

When she was wearing a white shirt and a knight’s skirt, she unbuttoned one of the buttons on the shirt and looked around the room, looking as if she were walking lightly.

“I see. That’s why the room was so clean… there wasn’t even any dust on the floor.”

“Hahaha… otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to say I brought you here, Ain-sama…”

She shook her long blonde hair and looked back, shyly scratching her cheek.

The sound of footsteps on the wooden floor was pleasant to the ear.

“I’ll take your jacket too, Ain-sama.”

As Chris approached Ain, she put her hand on the jacket Ain was wearing.

With this natural movement, Ain obediently took off his jacket and handed it to her.

“I also brought a spare jacket, so I’ll put this in your bag.”

“Ah, yes, thank you.”

She folded the jacket cheerfully and carefully put it away.

“Please take a seat wherever you like. It’s not as comfortable as the chairs in the castle, though…”

She smiled wryly and gestured for Ain to sit down.

When she said, “Take a seat wherever you like,” Ain looked at the furniture in the room.

The atmosphere of this house was warm wherever he looked, and it was full of furniture made of beautiful wood with a nice grain.

Perhaps due to the orange glow of the lights, it was a very relaxing environment.

In the center was a large table made from a tree stump, and the pattern of the tree rings was captivating.

Next to it were several wooden chairs, and in the back, a leather sofa lined up by the window.

The high ceiling and the large atrium-like living room soothed Ain’s tired feelings.

“Can I sit on the sofa?”

“Of course. Then please wait while I get you a cold drink and heat up the food Martha-san gave me.”

“What? Martha-san prepared that for us?”

“I received some. I guess she was worried about me not being able to cook…”

As expected from Martha.

She probably stored the food in a magic tool or something and gave it to Chris.

Perhaps because it was food he was used to eating, Ain felt a sense of relief.

“B-but don’t worry, I can do it! I can at least heat it up…”!

“…I’m not worried about that, so please don’t worry.”

Ain replied looking slightly disappointed and then turned his attention to the scenery outside the window.

The elf village, lit by the crimson light of the setting sun, looked like something that would make Ain feel nostalgic.

It was a strangely soothing sight, and it felt like it was washing his heart clean.

“Well… I don’t know how to put it, but I feel like I’m being treated with more respect than when I was in the capital.”

He remembered the events that had taken place before they reached Chris’ house.

As they walked through the village, it was natural for Ain to be noticed by the elves.

When the elves noticed Ain, they all put their hands on their left chests and bowed deeply. This was the same gesture that Cyrus had shown him, and it was probably an elf custom.

The sight continued like a path lined with flowers, so it was probably something that had never been seen, even in the royal capital.

Of course, that didn’t mean that he wasn’t respected in the royal capital, but it was a different atmosphere.

“…What’s this? This is comfortable to sit on.”

Ain sat down on the leather sofa and sighed as he remembered the attitude of the elves.

Chris was being modest, but the sofa was quite comfortable.

The soft, squishy feeling was addictive, and he found himself checking how comfortable it was several times.

“Chris? What’s in this sofa?”

“Yes? The sofa?”

Chris, who was in the large kitchen, noticed Ain’s voice and looked up.

“Yes, it’s very comfortable to sit on, but I was wondering what’s inside.”

“H-huh? Is it? Do you like it?”

Hearing this, she looked at Ain in surprise.

“Uh, yeah… I mean, I like it, but I was wondering what was in it.”

“…Won’t you be angry?”

When she asks with a worried look on her face, Ain nods immediately.

“There is no reason to be angry.”

When Ain answers like that, she replies with a mixture of relief and excitement.

“W-well then, I’ll tell you…! The contents of that sofa are made of tree sap.”

“…Eh?”

Is this sap the same sap those insects are licking?

He couldn’t believe that it would cause such a feeling, and he couldn’t help but look doubtful.

“Even if it’s sap, you know! There’s a kind of sap that swells when you heat it. You collect that sap, clean it, and then you heat it and make it swell using an old method.”

――It’s like rubber!

Ain remembers this from his almost-forgotten memories of a past life and is amazed by the elves’ mysterious technology.

It’s really comfortable to sit on. Ain is satisfied and replies to Chris.

“…If you don’t mind, could we have a chair like this in the castle next time?”

“Y-yes… As long as we bring back the sap, I can make it for you…”

It didn’t seem to be a secret technique, so Chris readily agreed.

Ain felt in a good mood as if he had made a small souvenir.

“Wait, so this is also handmade by Chris?”

“A-ahaha… Even though I’m clumsy, I tried my best to make that sofa.”

That’s amazing.

She says she is clumsy, but she carefully sewed the leather together and filled it with stuffing, so he doesn’t think he can call her clumsy anymore.

Ain thought she should be proud of it.

“I like this sofa. It’s amazing, Chris.”

As he spoke his true feelings from the bottom of his heart, Chris was stunned for a few seconds.

She probably never thought that she would be praised for something like that.

“W-what? D-did I get praised?!”

“No need to be so surprised… I like it. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to put one in the castle as well.”

“…I’ll do my best to make it! I’ll leave the sewing to the craftsmen, but I’ll do my best to make the contents!”

She clenched her hands tightly and held them in front of her chest.

Ain naturally smiled at her sweet gesture and words.

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