Chapter 224

Elf (2)

When people thought of fantasy, one race immediately came to mind: elves.

They loved nature and were famous for possessing nation-toppling beauty regardless of sex.

They also possessed an innate affinity for mana and exceptional magical abilities.

Then there was their natural talent for archery and the physical ability to leap effortlessly between trees.

Furthermore, their peaceful temperament had made them objects of admiration since ancient times.

In many ways, they stood in sharp contrast to demons, who tended to be violent and cruel.

Many scholars described them as a race chosen by the gods, but nothing in the world was perfect.

Title: Goddamn Elves

They’re so fucking frustrating I could die.

I run a merchant guild, and I found a new trade route, okay? So I asked them to handle things a certain way.

Know what they said? They refused because they already had an established system.

They said that even if they did approve it, the permit wouldn’t be issued for another ten years. Fucking hell.

This is why straightforward demons or beastfolk are way better than elves.

└ For real. Elves make good friends, but I’d never want to deal with them professionally.

└ Amazingly, elves were still using antiquated paper documents until half a century ago.

└ Watching them handle administrative work is seriously frustrating, lmao.

└ Most elves think, "Time will solve everything eventually, so why rush?"

└ The younger elves are at least tolerable, but those over a hundred are hopeless.

└ Even humans become conservative after fifty. Imagine how bad elves must be, lol.

Why were they like this?

Because they had never experienced any problems living that way.

They occasionally went on alert whenever the demons caused trouble, but El Dorado always dealt with it for them.

They were born nearly perfect, possessed long lifespans, and were admired by countless other races.

Because of these traits, elves were the last race to establish what could truly be called a civilization.

Apparently, they had simply seen no reason to advance any further. After all, elves were vastly stronger than the monsters inhabiting the wilderness.

The result was an extremely rigid society and culture.

Elves lived several times longer than most other races.

While countless nations rose and fell, Alvenheim maintained its existence with unshakable serenity.

While other races—particularly humans—struggled desperately to surpass their rivals, the elves remained committed to preserving the status quo.

Title: Why Elves Started Advancing

Because "humans" started hunting them as slaves.

└ Lmaoooo. There were other reasons, but I can’t argue when that was the biggest one.

└ Humanity apologizes...

└ If you had to name the biggest source of trouble in the world, it would be humans.

└ Bullshit. You’re a demon, aren’t you?

└ Demons cause more trouble on average, but humans have definitely reached the highest peaks of depravity.

└ The separation of the dark elves? Humans persecute ethnic minorities all the time.

It was closer to the elves hastily devising countermeasures once humans and the other races began posing a threat to them.

Naturally, changing a few things overnight did not improve their characteristically rigid social atmosphere.

If anything, establishing order made their society even more inflexible. Once they set a course, they refused to deviate from it.

This contrasted sharply with the demons, who advanced their "culture" in search of ever more forms of entertainment.

Title: Then Why Do People Call Them Knife-Ears?

The separation of the dark elves? Honestly, humans have done far worse than that.

What did elves even do to deserve so much abuse? They only started planting trees relatively recently, too.

└ Because you act all noble while doing shady shit behind everyone’s backs.

└ We never pretended to be noble. You people were the ones who thought we were, lmao.

└ Is that why you got hunted? Lol.

└ At least humans accept half-elves. You people exile them on the spot, lmao.

└ These knife-ears expelled half-elves even before they expelled the dark elves, lmaooo.

└ Shut up.

└ Ooh, looks like that struck a nerve, lmaoooo.

Title: When I Look at Elves

I get the feeling they secretly look down on other races.

Sure, I’m less than 150 centimeters tall, pockmarked, and ugly, but isn’t openly showing their disgust a bit much?

└ Can I be disgusted by you too? I want to become an elf.

└ Is this what they call being an elf by comparison?

└ That’s seriously too cruel, lmaooo.

└ Are those really words a human being should say?

└ Hey, give me just ten centimeters of your height. You can grow a beard and tell everyone you’re a dwarf.

└ Yooooou are seriously—lmaoooo.

└ You’re a demon, lmaooo.

└ This is fucking hilarious, lmaoooo.

└ You’d better not enter a forest at night. Someone might mistake you for a goblin and hunt you.

└ You motherfucker, lmaoooooooo.

Furthermore, it would hardly be an exaggeration to call elves the ultimate racial supremacists.

Having been revered since ancient times, their race had developed a deeply rooted sense of superiority.

And since they really were close to perfect as a species, that tendency had only grown worse.

As a result, rude and utterly inconsiderate elves appeared rather frequently.

That was no mere prejudice. Anyone who met a few elves would quickly realize it for themselves.

└ What do they have other than the World Tree? Isn’t that their one and only claim to fame?

└ Even the World Tree was bestowed upon them by a god, so...

└ The dark elves were originally the progressive ones, but they expelled all of them.

Title: Honestly, Have Elves Ever Accomplished Anything?

Civilization? Humans established the first one.

Science? Don’t even try to compete with dwarves.

Magic? Demons can use it too, so that’s no longer special. Demons are even better at practical everyday magic.

Looks? Personally, I think beastfolk are better.

└ That last one is just because you have weird tastes.

└ It is my preference. Please respect it.

└ Come to think of it, elves haven’t accomplished a single thing, lmaooo.

As the rose-tinted glasses gradually came off, the way people regarded elves began to change.

They went from being considered a superior race to merely a race with great bodies and beautiful faces.

As one supposed virtue after another disappeared, only their flaws remained, and derogatory names for them began emerging one after another.

Their reputation could only sink further once the current elven queen ascended the throne and began encouraging "tree planting."

This stood in sharp contrast to the demons, who were too busy amusing themselves to pay any attention to other lands.

The current elven queen had effectively dealt the finishing blow to the elves’ already abysmal reputation.

Then what kind of person was the elven queen currently promoting the planting of trees?

Title: The Current Elven Queen’s Achievements

Ascended to the throne despite being politically isolated.

Cut off every last one of the senators’ arms and legs despite their relentless attempts to keep her in check.

At least three elders and prominent families were ruined as a result.

Used that foundation to implement all kinds of open-door policies. Ushered in the greatest economic boom in Alvenheim’s history.

Embraced demon culture and introduced all manner of entertainment.

Invested in the military and expanded the borders.

Even made some progress toward solving the chronically low birth rate suffered by long-lived races.

Established a strong national identity and united the people. Abolished pure-blood supremacy.

Honestly, even I would worship her like crazy if I were an elf.

└ She may be a little unhinged, but she’s an incredibly capable elf.

└ Whatever else you might say, defeating the entire Senate was seriously impressive, lmaooo.

└ But aren’t the other nations siding with the Senate now?

└ Yeah. Because the elven queen is even crazier than anyone imagined.

Even more remarkably, this was not merely a thing of the past. It was still happening now. The people of Alvenheim continued to show overwhelming support for her.

If the elven queen gave an order, any elf would obey it. They had been completely captivated by her.

Title: The Scary Thing About the Elven Queen

Even the dark elves who were persecuted and forcibly separated from them view her favorably.

I have a dark elf friend, and according to them, the separation would never have happened if this queen had been around back then.

At this rate, aren’t they going to reunite?

└ They won’t reunite. Their nation has already split in two.

└ Besides, Alvenheim and Setan are incredibly far apart. The Forest of Four Seasons lies between them too.

└ That is a little frightening. Even the dark elves feel that way about her?

└ Aren’t half-elves returning to Alvenheim now?

└ Yeah. I heard half-elves with an elven parent are returning.

One could describe her as an enlightened monarch whose name would be remembered throughout Alvenheim’s history.

Above all, the elven queen’s greatest strength was her ability to unite people.

The elves had managed to build a civilization, but national unity had never come easily to them.

Their attitude had been closer to, "The other races are becoming a threat, so I suppose we should stick together for now."

Furthermore, their rigid society and culture meant that disagreements were rarely resolved properly.

They were what one might call a dysfunctional people. This contrasted with humans, who possessed a powerful instinct to unite first and foremost whenever their survival was threatened.

Then how had the elven queen solved this problem?

Was it merely because she possessed exceptional political ability?

"Why is Her Majesty suddenly giving an address to the nation?"

"Who knows? Nothing bad has happened, has it?"

"I haven’t noticed any particular warning signs."

Yggdrasil, the capital of Alvenheim.

It was a city built around the World Tree at its center.

The World Tree looked large enough to cover the entire city, presenting a truly awe-inspiring sight.

Ordinarily, a tree of such size would have blocked the sunlight and cast the city into darkness, but that was not the case with the World Tree.

Its lush foliage should naturally have obstructed the sunlight, yet the rays passed straight through it.

It was a sight that defied the existing laws of nature, but the elves were accustomed to it.

"Her Majesty must have something to tell us. By the way, did you watch yesterday’s match?"

"I did. It was so frustrating I thought I’d die. I never would’ve done something like that if I were the coach."

"What can you do? It’s a racial trait of ours. Without Her Majesty, it probably wouldn’t have changed for another year."

"Without Her Majesty, we wouldn’t even have sports."

Alvenheim had originally been known as a beautiful but boring country.

Before the elven queen ascended the throne, that description had been entirely accurate.

It possessed no notable forms of entertainment, and the elves’ hobbies were hopelessly old-fashioned.

Without the elven queen’s open-door policies, Alvenheim would have remained stagnant forever.

Wooooong!

The elves gathered in the plaza had been chatting among themselves when a noise almost like deliberate static reverberated throughout the square, as though telling them to pay attention.

[Her Majesty is ascending the platform.]

A woman’s voice echoed across the entire plaza.

The instant the elves recognized it as amplification magic, they turned their heads.

A tall platform stood prominently in the plaza. A woman was ascending it.

Click. Click.

Only the graceful sound of her footsteps echoed through the now-silent square.

Golden hair gleaming as though it had been woven from threads of gold.

A graceful white dress that revealed glimpses of her snow-white skin here and there.

Even among the elves, a race renowned for beauty, her appearance was more than worthy of being called exquisite.

And finally, in contrast to her girlish face, she possessed the mature figure of a grown woman.

Her bearing and beauty were truly befitting the title of "queen."

"..."

The elven queen surveyed the crowd with a benevolent smile.

Her youthful appearance even lent her a slightly mischievous air.

Once the elves gathered in the plaza had become captivated by the queen’s presence, she began to speak.

"First, allow me to express my gratitude to all of you for gathering here despite the sudden notice."

With those words, the elven queen placed a hand over the center of her chest and bowed her head.

Her courteous words and actions dispelled any lingering dissatisfaction among the elves.

When the other party—no less than the queen herself—had personally apologized, there was no room left for complaint.

The only question remaining was what she had gathered them there to say.

"There is only one reason I called this gathering so urgently. We are ready."

"Ready?"

"What are we suddenly ready for?"

The crowd stirred at her declaration.

The elven queen silently waited for them to settle down.

A gentle smile remained on her face, as though she had anticipated this very reaction.

"I imagine many of you are puzzled. You must be wondering how we can be ready when you know of nothing we have been preparing. But this is what I can tell you."

The elven queen paused briefly before continuing in a powerful voice.

"We are ready to take a step forward!"

Her previously gentle tone vanished without a trace.

She clenched her fist, transforming into the very image of a resolute leader.

"Let me ask you this: among all the races, what have we elves accomplished?"

"..."

"Were we the first to establish civilization, as humans were? Did we advance science like the dwarves? Did we develop culture like the demons? Did we establish democracy like the beastfolk?"

No one answered. Had someone not once said it?

That elves were an incompetent race whose only virtues were their pretty faces and handsome appearances.

Since that statement was half true, no one could readily respond.

"Nothing. Even the World Tree is merely a gift bestowed upon us by the gods. We have never accomplished anything through our own efforts. Of all the races, we were even the last to establish a civilization."

The elven queen boldly struck directly at their sore spot.

They were hardly words one would normally say before one’s own people, but the elven queen remained steadfast.

"Many people call us a perfect race. But I think differently. We are not perfect. Perhaps we are even more incompetent and indolent than the other races."

One brutal truth after another struck the crowd like a hammer.

Just as discontent was about to arise, the elven queen swept it all away.

"But that is no longer true! Look at what we have accomplished recently! Children who once played with nothing but swords and bows now play with balls! Goods produced using the World Tree are spreading throughout the world! Our academic community has also advanced and now influences countless scholarly societies!"

Clenching both fists tightly, the elven queen cried out as though appealing directly to their hearts.

Her girlish appearance and crystal-clear green eyes—

Her expression filled with hope and happiness, along with her words and actions, brought smiles to the elves’ faces.

"We are not perfect! We were merely born close to perfection! We were born as the race most beloved by the gods, yet we have remained arrogant until now!"

"Recently, the first paladin descended upon El Dorado in response to a divine calling. This means that the gods still regard this world—"

She was not merely appealing to their emotions. Her pacing and modulation were masterful as well.

It was an innate gift that compelled everyone to focus on her speech.

"We are not perfect. Even at this very moment, the other races are not walking—they are running. It may be difficult for us to catch up. But that is all right. Even if we move as slowly as a tortoise, our ultimate goal remains the same."

The elven queen drew a deep breath, then cried out passionately.

"To make Alvenheim—the land of the World Tree, a gift from the gods—great again!"

"...!"

"Even if we cannot walk! Even if we fall behind the other races! Even if we are not perfect!"

After speaking in a highly impassioned voice, the elven queen gradually regained her composure.

Then, rather than continuing in that forceful, stirring tone, she spoke quietly.

"United under the name of ’elves,’ we will achieve our goal."

"..."

"We are not perfect. The same is true of me. And so—"

Elijah Mary Yggdrasil, Queen of the Elves, made an earnest plea.

"I ask this of all of you."

This was the fundamental reason the elves, who had once been as dysfunctional as a broken family, could unite as one.

Elijah’s overwhelming gift for oratory.

And—

"So that Alvenheim may become great once more."

She had given them a clear identity where once there had only been uncertainty.

It served as a kind of rallying cry.

It also revealed precisely why Elijah was so beloved by her people.

"Will you walk beside me?"

Alvenheim slowly began to stir.