Chapter 23: Elves and Witches

"Hmm..."

At night, in the tavern of White River Town, the old bartender squinted at the rare customer in front of him with silver hair and long ears, looking a bit troubled.

Even he could see that the young-looking woman in front of him was an elf, and her age was probably even older than his grandfather's.

Originally, he, who had lived in this town all his life, should not have even heard of what an elf was. But thanks to the Spring Fountain Guild, this ancient and mysterious race gradually entered people's sight, and young elf adventurers occasionally appeared in some big cities.

However, knowing about elves didn't mean understanding elves.

For example, now, he had no idea how to entertain this guest.

"A mug of beer, a bowl of stew, with meat and spices. The same for the person next to me... Hey, Elder Maelan, your sword is showing."

"Oh."

Maelan hid the sword in her cloak with a straight face, and the originally somewhat heavy atmosphere in the tavern immediately relaxed a bit.

"...Okay."

The old bartender answered blankly, then turned and walked towards the kitchen.

Watching the old bartender's departing figure, Eve sighed with her head propped up.

"Geez... Is it that hard to understand that elves eat meat and drink alcohol..."

In fact, not only Eve's Moon Elves, but the vast majority of elves, except for the Wood Elves living under the roots of the World Tree, are pure omnivores.

After all, the resources in the forest couldn't possibly be as abundant as humans imagined, and an elf's life was so long. If they caught prey and didn't eat the meat, they couldn't just release it, right...

Soon, the food and drink for the two were served. Even though the food seemed rough in comparison, Eve's eating still appeared very elegant and meticulous, making her noble aura that already didn't match the tavern seem even more out of place.

Suddenly, the tavern door was pushed open again, and two more beautiful... one of them a bit smaller, figures walked in.

"Boss, two of the usual, hurry up, we're in a rush... Ah..."

The two who walked in immediately noticed the two silver elves in the tavern who looked like they were photoshopped in.

"...Eve?"

"That witch?"

...

In the tavern, within a ten-meter radius of these four people, almost no sound from any patron could be heard.

Although the folks of White River Town didn't understand the background of these four people, they only knew that now that they were sitting together, the air in the entire tavern felt like it was turbocharging, and it was uncomfortable no matter how they stayed.

Olivina and Evie sat across from Eve and Maelan, observing each other.

"I didn't expect to meet you here, President Eve."

"Same to you, Miss Olivina."

The two each took a sip of alcohol, then silently observed each other.

Speaking of which, they weren't strangers.

One of the major reasons why the Magitech Electrical Device could go from being introduced to being sold to the entire southern continent in just less than half a year was the rapid takeover by the Spring Fountain Guild.

According to the normal procedure, for a witch's research product to be profited from with the help of the Witches' Council, it needed to go through a series of processes such as theoretical verification, practical verification, achievement evaluation, value judgment, etc. This whole set would take at least two or three years, or even more than a decade, to get a result, unless you didn't go through the Witches' Council's channels and found your own business route.

Olivina was such an example.

With Lister's connection, Olivina met Eve, who was then a little famous for selling Elf Medicine as the president of the Spring Fountain Guild.

Now, one had become the wealthiest person on the entire southern continent, and the other had become a legendary witch known as epoch-making.

But the relationship between the two was actually not that good.

If you ask why...

Because they both knew that the other was a hindrance to their search for the only confidant in the world / forming a contract with their destined person.

Moreover, they were particularly difficult to deal with.

"At this time, I wonder what important matter brings President Eve to condescend to visit this small town?"

Olivina picked up her glass, crossed her legs, adjusted her hat brim, and looked at Eve with raised eyebrows.

"Important matter? Indeed, there is. For example... finding my fiancé back?"

"...I've never heard that he was your fiancé."

"Oh my, there are many things you haven't heard of, Miss Olivina."

Eve calmly answered Olivina while pinching the base of her ear with her hand.

"Do you know? At that time, he was just like this, teasing my ears... It was really too much, so sudden, so rough. Obviously, this is equivalent to a marriage proposal for elves... But I also really like it when he, who is usually gentle and meticulous, shows this wild side..."

"Stop right there."

Olivina interrupted Eve's monologue with a dark face and turned to look at Maelan, who was calmly drinking tea with Evie on the side.

"Is this true?"

Maelan nodded.

"..."

"Now you understand, right? The relationship between Lister and me is witnessed by nature, with a sacred..."

"Even so, I, I have also spent a long time with Lister day and night! Besides, being in sync mentally and ideologically is far more reliable than some inexplicable misunderstanding..."

"Yes, that's why I never deny your status as Lister's 'good friend', right?"

"You!"

"...You two, isn't it about time to stop?"

Evie, who had almost finished her tea on the side, finally couldn't help but interrupt when she saw the two still eating vinegar across the air.

"Is there a possibility that even if you two are tied together, you're not as important as Aurola in his heart?"

"...Oh?"

"Evie..."

"...Forget it, let's not bring this up."

Even the new star Miss Evie couldn't help but shudder when stared at by the two with deep eyes at the same time.

"Anyway, Miss Eve, you and Sword Saint Maelan appearing here together means you probably also know something, right?"

"That's right."

Seeing that they had finally entered the main topic, Eve also put away her previous demeanor, and her tone became solemn and formal.

"Let's go to my place and talk slowly."

...

In Eve's carriage, the four sat inside.

Although it was called a carriage, it might be more appropriate to call it a horse-drawn RV, as the compartment was spacious enough to accommodate these four people sitting together and talking.

The interior decoration was also full of the mysterious and smooth style of the Moon Elves. Being in it was as reassuring and relaxing as bathing under the starry sky.

"Take a look at this."

Eve took out that pendant from her bosom and activated the positional projection inside.

Generally speaking, she was reluctant to show others this token that represented her supreme feelings with Lister, but now was not the time to be particular about these things.

"This is one of the secret tools of our race, called Moonsilver. It was originally a pair, with the other half in Lister's hands. It can locate the position of the other half of the secret tool, but... you can see the current situation now."

At this moment, the projection of the secret tool was a chaotic and disorderly magical turbulence, and no useful information could be extracted.

"There are only two possibilities that can cause this situation. One is that a mage of the 7th tier or above used an interference technique, and the other..."

"Is because Lister is now in that Demon Realm... right?"

Olivina finished Eve's sentence.

She stood up and said to Eve:

"According to the intelligence I obtained before, Lister was captured by the current Demon Lord and taken to the Demon Lord's Castle... I originally had some difficulty believing it, but now it seems to be indeed the case."

"...Demon Lord?"

Hearing this name, Eve frowned.

"Why did she capture Lister?"

"Who knows... But since he was captured and not directly dealt with, it means he is at least safe."

Olivina's mechanical magic wand flew to her side, flashing with red sparks.

"Eve, we have many conflicts between us, but now we may have to temporarily put those aside."

"Let's go find Lister first, then compete with our own abilities, how about it?"

"...I have no objection."

Eve responded faintly.

"Then, as a temporary ally, I can provide you with a piece of intelligence for free first."

"Aurola is already on her way to White River Town."

...