24~ She’s a Gold Elf!
“But the academy officially announced three days ago that freshmen are forbidden to enter Coleman Forest.” The tall Wood Elf stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Miss Sophia should have had ample time to receive the notice.”
“That I don’t know, but I saw it with my own eyes,” said the Elf Prince.
“If Her Highness Aistride knew, she would surely be very worried.”
There was naturally a reason these four second-year Elf students had hurried here to Coleman Forest.
Aistride, as well as Sophia who was currently trapped in Coleman Forest, were twin sisters, the twin princesses of the Moon Elf clan, the beloved treasures of the Moon Elf King.
This morning, the Elf Prince accidentally discovered that Her Highness Sophia had gone to Coleman Forest alone, so he hurriedly brought his team.
Within the upper echelons of the Elves, it was rumored that the second princess, Sophia, had an unusual fascination with her older sister, Aistride. This fascination bordered on the extreme; she had been quite opposed to any male figures getting close to her sister from a very young age. She had even stated, “I will marry my sister and protect her” and “I will never let anyone else have my sister,” among other things.
Why Sophia had gone to Coleman Forest alone, an area where Demon Race leaks had been spotted, was still unknown to the students.
However, fortunately, she seemed to be fine. Not long after, the four Elves found Sophia unconscious in the jungle.
“Miss Sophia!……….”
“Be on guard!” Just as several of them were checking on Sophia’s condition, the bespectacled Elf Prince in the group spoke.
After a brief moment of shock, the other two drew their own weapons and became alert around them.
“Prince, please share the enemy’s position with us.”
“………” However, the Elf Prince looked peculiar, pointing to a patch of bushes ahead. “There, something’s there, but I don’t sense any living presence.”
The two male students gave each other a nod, using mutual cover as they entered the bushes. Soon, they walked out, dragging a massive humanoid creature.
“What?? They asked, looking at the sight in surprise.
“It’s probably an Orc, but it’s already dead.” The towering male student tossed the Orc’s corpse aside, disdain written all over his face as he hefted his greatsword.
The thing was, even male Elves would consider touching it dirty.
“Dead?…….. Could this be Miss Sophia’s doing?”
“No, I don’t think Miss Sophia did it.” The Elf Prince calmly analyzed. “This Orc’s body has traces of being bombed by alchemy, and at an extremely close range. Plus, its mouth, neck, and throat were all blown out, indicating that the marks were likely left by a firearm.”
“Miss Sophia isn’t particularly interested in alchemy, let alone using firearms.”
This was the analytical ability bestowed upon the Prince by the Divine Analysis Technique.
“But you can see signs of its skin being slashed by a sharp weapon, which is probably Miss Sophia’s doing,” the Prince glanced at the Elf Scimitar planted nearby.
“So, it seems that when Miss Sophia encountered and fought with this Orc, she was at a disadvantage. Then, an alchemist intervened and defeated the Orc.”
“Most likely, something like that happened.”
“Jellin, you’re saying that during Her Highness Sophia’s battle with this Orc, a third person entered the battle and defeated the Orc?”
“Add to that, it was after Her Highness Sophia’s battle with the Orc ended that the third person appeared.” Jellin, the Elf Prince, adjusted his glasses perched on his nose.
“There were no traces of alchemy left in the area where Her Highness Sophia fought the Orc, indicating that there were two battles here. The place where the third person fought the Orc must be nearby.”
“How do you know all this, Master Prince? Is that also what the Divine Analysis Technique tells you?” The tall, handsome Wood Elf was very curious about his Prince’s reasoning.
“You don’t need the Divine Analysis Technique for that.” Jellin shot the fellow Elf a disdainful glance, pointing to the banana leaf beneath Sophia. “There’s a banana leaf under where Her Highness Sophia is lying. Use your head, this can’t be something she placed underneath herself, and an Orc would never do it.”
“It can only have been placed by the person who interrupted. They took care of the Orc and then kindly placed a banana leaf under Her Highness Sophia, showing that the person was still composed after the battle. They also deliberately avoided Her Highness Sophia, so there must be another battle site nearby.” As Jellin said, the tall Wood Elf soon found traces of alchemy explosions, as well as leftover residue and fragments, in the neighboring bushes.
“Could there be such a gifted alchemist among the freshmen this year?” The Wood Elf wondered. He doubted he could defeat an Orc without using Divine Authority back when he was a freshman.
“Unlikely to be a freshman,” Jellin analyzed. “I have some knowledge of alchemy. Novice alchemists only understand the basics from books, while beginners can only make some less effective healing potions. They’re far from being able to create explosive alchemy drugs. Whoever made such pure alchemical drugs must have been studying it for a long time.”
“Of course, it’s possible that these alchemical drugs were bought. But killing an Orc with no less than three bottles of alchemical drugs… Either way, it’s extravagant.” Jellin adjusted his glasses.
“So, that student didn’t even leave a name after saving Her Highness Sophia?………” One of the elf mages in the team couldn’t help but feel sentimental.
The Elves are the type to return even the smallest of favors in a grand manner. This was a life-saving deed, and many Elves’ first loves and lifelong commitments began with such acts of kindness.
It might sound a bit utilitarian, but the truth is, relationships can’t be measured by market rates. After all, relationships are priceless. Their value lies in the person who owes you the favor.
Even if not for the sake of reciprocity, just for the sake of networking, one should leave a name so the other party knows who had saved them, right?
Just for this, the Elves harbored a favorable impression of the unnamed benefactor.
“Perhaps Her Highness Sophia remembers?” All eyes turned to the unconscious Sophia after hearing this.
After tidying up the site of battle, the four carried Sophia back safely to Coleman Academy.
After recovery, the refreshed Sophia leaned back on the soft bed, still somewhat weak but already able to speak.
“Thank you… Was it you four who saved me?”
“No, we didn’t save you. We arrived when you were already safe.” Jellin shook his head. “You were saved by someone else.”
“Ah, I seem to recall…” She remembered the flash of gold she saw just before fainting.
“Your Highness Sophia, did you clearly see what that person looked like?” Jellin frowned.
“Golden hair, emerald eyes… a girl…” Sophia said dreamily, still caught up in the sight she’d seen before losing consciousness. “Yes, she’s a Gold Elf!”
“Gold Elf???” Hearing this, Jellin first froze, then couldn’t help but chuckle. “Your Highness Sophia, did you mistake hair color?”
“No, I’m sure I didn’t mistake the color.” Sophia’s little head shook firmly, and her voice, though childish, was tinged with assurance.
“So, according to what you said, it’s a blonde elf with emerald eyes?” Jellin crossed his hands, leaning his head down slightly.
“That’s right, I remember her face.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Why is it impossible??” On hearing this, Sophia pouted unhappily.
“Because Gold Elves disappeared from the continent of Caleburn long ago.”
“Indeed, Gold Elves, who, alongside Your Highness Sophia and Aistride, are referred to as ‘High Elves,’ according to reliable documents, have been extinct up till now.”
“Gold Elves, extinct??” Sophia was in a state of shock.
“Who knows? Gold Elves are close kin of the Elven Mother Goddess, and the Elven Goddess in mythology has always been in the form of a Gold Elf. In other words, Gold Elves are the elf subspecies closest to the authority of the Elven Mother Goddess. It’s highly likely that their stronger members are demi-gods or even beyond demi-gods,” Jellin shrugged.
“They are unimaginably wise, incomprehensible not only to me but also to those sages.”
“Of course, it’s not impossible that they have gone extinct. Many texts indicate that Golden Elves have an astronomically low birth rate. Even for us Elves who already have the lowest birth rate among races, Gold Elves take the first place, even surpassing the Moon Elves among the High Elves.”
“So, if they have gone extinct due to some natural reasons, it doesn’t sound too far-fetched.”
“Actually, by rights, Gold Elves should be the royal family of our elf clan, but due to their extinction hundreds of years ago, the crown was temporarily taken over by the leader of the Moon Elves.”
“But since ascending to the throne, the Elf King has never officially declared himself as the legitimate king of the elf clan, only indicating that he is governing on behalf of the non-functional Gold Elves, temporarily leading the Elf clan. I personally speculate that Gold Elves probably haven’t gone extinct and are still in contact with the Elf King.”
“In fact, I thought that since you are also High Elves, your Highness might know some information about Gold Elves. But it seems…” The Elf Prince looked at Sophia, who knew nothing about Gold Elves.
“Even if Gold Elves haven’t gone extinct, it’s likely only the Elf King knows where they are.”
“………” Hearing this, Sophia said nothing, muttering softly to herself, words only she could hear.
“Gold Elves, huh?”
She couldn’t have been wrong; the girl who saved her must definitely be a Gold Elf.
Where is she now? Why did she leave without a word after saving her?
Sophia’s thoughts involuntarily wandered to the unknown Gold Elf girl. A spark of sentiment quietly took root like a planted seed, growing and thriving unbeknownst to the owner.
