Chapter 249

Meteorite (2)

The dark elf nation of Setan was famous for being a desert country.

One might assume that a desert renowned for its barren environment would lack natural resources, but the opposite was true.

There were mana stones used in all manner of magic, ancient ruins that emerged whenever anyone dug into the earth, and even gold that was discovered whenever a new mine was excavated.

Despite its desert environment, Setan was rich in resources.

On top of that, Setan possessed considerable geographical value. It served as a bridge connecting the nations of the west to the Central Plains.

Abundant resources. An excellent geographical position. And lastly, the powerful traits of its dominant race.

Even if it had not been inhabited by dark elves, it would most likely have developed into a powerful nation.

Title: One Fact

Setan was founded jointly by dark elves and humans.

So much time has passed since then that the population of pure-blooded humans has dwindled away, leaving only the dark elves.

That’s why dark elves are extremely friendly toward humans.

└ Huh? I thought dark elves were a highly xenophobic race.

└ Don’t know where you heard that, but it’s the opposite nowadays. They have a strong culture of hospitality toward guests.

└ It got so bad that the government had to issue an official notice telling people to stop feeding census workers, lol.

└ Why would anyone feed census workers?

└ The comment above literally just told you. They have a culture of treating guests well.

└ Don’t most countries treat guests hospitably?

└ Sure, but because Setan was originally founded in the middle of a desert, that tendency is much stronger there.

└ They were all nomads originally. They only founded a country after the dark elves arrived in droves.

└ That’s how their culture of hospitality developed. No matter who visits, they feed them first. Government officials are no exception, lol.

└ On top of that, refusing the meal is considered an insult to the family, so they become hostile.

└ That’s strangely hilarious, lmao.

Title: An Interesting Fact

Dark elves originally were highly xenophobic.

There were several reasons, but it began after humans established civilizations and started capturing elves as slaves.

Later, the elves established their own civilization, and numerous ethnic groups naturally merged into a single people.

They assumed it would be fine because all dark elves shared the same roots, but what happened in the end? They got expelled, lol.

That caused them to develop an intense hatred of other races, leaving them effectively isolated.

Normally, they would have gone extinct, but they somehow ended up wandering into the desert, where they met a group of nomads.

The nomads welcomed them with open arms, and the dark elves settled down, thinking, This place isn’t so bad.

As time passed, they founded a nation and grew close to the nomads, gradually changing their culture.

└ How ironic. Humans caused them to unite, but it was their own race that expelled them, lol.

└ And then the race they ultimately united with was humanity. The world really is a strange place.

└ So are the humans the problem, or are the elves the problem?

└ Honestly, aren’t the elves the problem? When you look at the things those bastards do, they’re genuinely vile.

└ What about the humans who hunted them for slaves?

└ That was just humans doing what humans do.

└ As far as I know, dark elves are very particular about repaying both favors and grudges.

└ Yeah. If you do one of them a favor, you’ll become rich in no time, lol.

└ But if you become their enemy, that dark elf will use every means imaginable to destroy you.

The history of the dark elves was turbulent even when compared to those of all the other races.

It had been eventful enough to completely overturn even their once-brutal culture.

In the past, dark elves had been seen as sinister beings who lurked in the shadows, but that was no longer the case.

They were generally perceived as wealthy, and they could be surprisingly generous as well.

Were they sexually liberal?

That was only half true.

Title: Why Do Dark Elves

(A photograph of a dark elf bundled up in layers of clothing)

Why do they dress like this? Aren’t they hot?

└ PraiseTheSun: I’m cold.

└ I guess you’d feel cold outside after living in the desert, lol.

Whatever they might have worn in the distant past, most modern dark elf clothing covered a great deal of skin.

In the desert, they had little choice because they needed protection from the scorching sunlight. When they traveled abroad, they dressed that way because they were cold.

Having lived beneath the blazing sun for so long, they had naturally become extremely sensitive to the cold.

But it was difficult to call them conservative based solely on their clothing. People merely misunderstood them that way.

Dark elves practiced polygamy because women overwhelmingly outnumbered men among their race.

Furthermore, their nation had been founded after generations of nomadic life, resulting in several peculiar cultural customs.

Title: Why the Dark Elf Gender Ratio Is Completely Screwed

First: A lot of the men died trying to protect everyone during the slave hunts.

Second: A lot of the men died during their years of wandering.

Lastly: Most dark elves are mixed-race, and mixed-race children inherit the mother’s genes. In other words, male children are rarely born.

That’s why the gender ratio among present-day dark elves is so severely skewed.

At least their birth rate is decent because they intermarry with humans. Otherwise, they probably would’ve become an endangered race.

└ Is it the same for elves? Are most mixed-race children female?

└ Up through the second generation, yes. Starting with the third generation, it becomes an even fifty-fifty split.

└ For reference, there have recently been cases of unmarried elf women kidnapping human men.

└ Isn’t that a crime?

└ The kidnapped human men are usually satisfied with the arrangement, so hardly any of them report it.

└ Besides, if the man already has a partner, they let him go without a fuss.

└ What the hell is this? Lmaooo.

└ Dark elves can at least compensate through polygamy, but elves devote themselves exclusively to a single mate...

Elves, who shared the same roots, also had a higher proportion of women, but the imbalance was especially severe among dark elves.

That was also why they practiced polygamy.

So many of their men had either died or were simply never born that the practice had been established as a form of social welfare.

Of course, it sounded enviable on the surface, but the reality was different.

Title: You’re Jealous? Lmao

Sure. There’s no problem if your partner declares, "I’m the only wife you need!"

But the moment your wife brings in members of her birth family or relatives, things become troublesome.

If you can’t persuade them otherwise, you’re obligated to take responsibility for them. One guy ended up with three wives he never wanted—and they were all biological sisters, lol.

At least you get to live like a kept man, but you’ll suffer every night.

└ So, do you like it?

└ Stop laughing. I asked whether you like it.

└ If it were a choice, maybe. But it’s an obligation, so it’s exhausting.

└ Still... you love them, right?

└ You can’t take another wife without your existing wife’s consent, either. The moment you do, your life is over, lmao.

└ There was even a case where a man secretly took another wife and got beaten half to death. Society still ostracized him because everyone said it was his own fault.

└ They’re surprisingly strict. I thought the system meant their society treated men as superior to women.

└ One of the Prophet’s sayings is literally, "If you don’t like it, don’t do it."

└ The fact that you’re allowed to do it as long as you’re "capable" is strangely fascinating, lol.

For dark elf men, marriage was not a choice but an obligation.

Naturally, the men had protested against this as well, demanding to know what had happened to their rights.

But there was nothing they could do when their numbers were so desperately low.

The crisis threatened their entire race, so they had no choice but to accept it, however reluctantly.

Even so, Setan’s society somehow functioned quite well. Above all else, the country possessed tremendous wealth.

That wealth granted them economic freedom, while the inherent power of their race meant they lacked nothing in terms of personal ability either.

In truth, their system of polygamy had been created largely because their society valued the formation of close-knit bonds. Love was important, but loyalty mattered even more.

Such was Setan, a country whose culture was rather unusual compared to those of other races.

"Extra! Extra!"

"The Rahman family has purchased a dinosaur carcass!"

That very nation of Setan was presently abuzz with talk about the dinosaur carcass.

Normally, the news in Setan concerned such things as where a new mineral vein had been found or what had happened to a shipment of goods.

Mining and trade were the country’s primary industries, but this time was different.

After all, it wasn’t as though the people of Setan didn’t use the Gallery—the perfect source of consequence-free entertainment.

"Dinosaurs actually existed?"

"It came from the Forest of Four Seasons. You could probably find just about anything there."

"I heard mithril even grows naturally in his backyard."

"Really? The mine near my house had gold buried in it."

To the people of the desert nation of Setan, the Forest of Four Seasons was something beyond mysterious.

Their country had a great river, so they could see trees, but the terrain made actual forests a rare sight.

They had an underlying assumption that a forest couldn’t possibly be all that dangerous.

"Still, it sounds like that place has quite a few fascinating things."

"Forget it. From what I hear, the man can’t be tempted with money."

"There’s someone who doesn’t like money? How peculiar."

"It’s probably because he’s somewhere money can’t be used."

The people of Setan had a very simple impression of Grylls.

He was like a fish swimming tirelessly inside a fishbowl.

They were far more interested in other matters—such as which family had discovered a mana-stone mine, who had uncovered some ancient ruins, or who had begun raising an unusual animal.

Perhaps because it was already a nation filled with wealthy households, all manner of bizarre incidents occurred there on a regular basis.

But the moment they learned that the dinosaur carcass had come from Grylls, their perception of him gradually began to change.

"Think I’d get something if I invested in this guy too?"

"What are you planning to invest?"

"Date palm seeds?"

But even this was closer to a joke than a serious proposal.

Except, of course, for those who had been investing in him from the beginning.

If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve beaten him to it.

Salman, the highly esteemed head of House Basim, was one such person.

He was a dark elf with black hair that possessed a subtle violet sheen, healthy bronze skin, and long ears protruding from the white cloth of his turban.

"Darling, what are you looking at?"

"Let us see it too."

Beautiful dark elf women were nestled affectionately beside him.

They were all Salman’s wives, as well as his most dependable supporters.

Salman showed them the newspaper and spoke.

"It’s news about the dinosaur carcass Grylls posted. Word will probably start spreading soon."

"Ah, he’s the gentleman who gave us that mysterious ambergris last time, isn’t he?"

"Thanks to him, we got to enjoy quite an unusual experience."

Salman’s wives knew perfectly well who Grylls was. They used the Gallery too.

Naturally, they also knew Salman’s fixed nickname, but as mentioned earlier, they were bound together by strong ties.

Salman trusted them enough to reveal something like his Gallery identity without hesitation.

"I should’ve made the first move. It’s not as though we’re lacking in money."

"You should have told me. It was listed at the auction house, wasn’t it?"

"You never registered a fixed nickname?"

"No. I keep telling you, Lord Salman, you’re the unusual one."

Salman shrugged at his wife’s remark. He wasn’t particularly bothered.

"It doesn’t matter. We have dinosaur hide of our own anyway. And... Naya?"

"Yes, Lord Salman."

A stoic woman’s voice came from directly in front of him.

At first, nothing could be seen, but her outline gradually began to emerge.

Rustle—

She was a dark elf woman draped in the dinosaur hide Grylls had gifted him.

Unlike the wives gathered affectionately around Salman, she exuded the air of a warrior.

"What is Rahman up to at present?"

"Just as you predicted, Lord Salman. He will soon begin preparing to claim the position of Sultan."

"As expected. It makes no difference to us whether that man becomes Sultan. However..."

Rahman was ambitious, in both the good and bad senses of the word.

He had spent an enormous sum on the dinosaur carcass to attract scholars from across the world.

But that ambition would not end there. He would undoubtedly make every effort to contact Grylls.

Failing that, he might personally organize an expedition into the Forest of Four Seasons.

That would be troublesome.

House Basim would inevitably be ordered to lead such an expedition.

His family was currently going through a dark period.

A business venture undertaken by the previous family head had ended in complete failure, and Salman had only just managed to drag the family back to its feet.

If they organized an expedition in their present circumstances, they would cross a river from which there was no return.

Grylls is the unusual one. The Forest of Four Seasons must never be underestimated.

Many people had developed the wrong idea from watching the Gallery.

Grylls had adapted so well that he was practically living there. Didn’t that mean the forest might not be as dangerous as it appeared?

They assumed mana simply couldn’t be used there and that, as long as they prepared thoroughly for that limitation, they would be safe.

They were all gravely mistaken.

Living there and escaping from it were entirely different matters.

If anything, they should have focused on the fact that even Grylls had been unable to escape.

The best course of action is to provide Grylls with whatever support he needs to gather more information. We can acquire rare treasures in the process too.

Salman had received a great deal from Grylls.

Every single thing could be considered a meteorite-level artifact.

The ambergris went without saying, and the mithril he had received before was no different.

It was about time Salman sent Grylls another gift, but he couldn’t think of anything suitable.

The fact that money can’t solve this is the most troublesome part.

Even the shield Salman had given him last time had been one of House Basim’s treasures.

Salman had simply deemed it useless to him and given it to Grylls.

In return, he had earned Grylls’s goodwill and strengthened their connection.

Should I at least give him some date palm seeds?

While contemplating the matter, Salman logged into the Gallery.

Ding!

"Hmm?"

"What is it?"

"Oh, it’s nothing. I received a message from that guy."

"From your friend?"

Salman chuckled at his wife’s choice of the word friend.

Friend.

It was accurate.

They were friends in the most literal sense, with wealth and social standing having no bearing on their relationship.

Wondering what message Grylls had sent him, Salman—known as PraiseTheSun on the Gallery—opened it.

[Wild Grylls: PraiseTheSun, are you there?]

[PraiseTheSun: Yeah, I’m here. Why’d you call me?]

[Wild Grylls: I wanted to ask if you’d be interested in raising a dinosaur.]

[PraiseTheSun: ???]

He was asking if Salman wanted to raise a dinosaur.

The question left Salman so bewildered that he was practically speechless.

What in the world is he trying to give me this time?

Just as that thought crossed his mind—

[Wild Grylls:(Photograph of a massive egg) I found it in a dinosaur nest. Want one?]

[PraiseTheSun: Where the hell did you find that?]

[Wild Grylls: I rested for a few days, then found it while exploring near the waypoint. Want one?]

[PraiseTheSun: What about you?]

[Wild Grylls:(Photograph of a large pile of eggs) I picked up several more besides this one. There were dinosaurs there, but I killed them all.]

[PraiseTheSun: ;;]

Salman thought to himself.

This bastard drops meteorites on us every chance he gets.

And this time, it wasn’t merely a meteorite.

It was closer to an asteroid.

What if that egg hatched and a baby dinosaur emerged?

[PraiseTheSun: Is there anything you need? Want some date palm seeds?]

[Wild Grylls: What are those?]

[PraiseTheSun: They’re similar to sugarcane, but sweeter.]

[Wild Grylls: Oh! I’ll gladly accept them. Thank you.]

There was no way Salman could resist.

He completed the trade immediately.

A moment later, an egg nearly as large as an ostrich egg appeared squarely on his lap.

"Oh my. What is that?"

"You’ve brought home something strange again."

Salman shrugged in response to his wives’ questions.

"Do any of you like pets?"

Some people raised tigers.

Others had now begun raising dinosaurs.

Still, it’s better than the guy raising a dragon.

After all, the strangest man in the world was already living in the Forest of Four Seasons.