Chapter 96

For a moment, I had the illusion that the back of my neck was getting cold, but the conversation with Arwen did not stop.

I liked Arwen, who pretends to be an adult but acts like a child in the middle, and Arwen also seems to like me in his own way.

Afterwards, I learned that Arwen is also a bookworm who likes books very much. And like a long-lived elf, he knows a lot more than I do.

Adult elves are like walking libraries, and I've come to realize that it's not a lie at all. It was not enough to answer every question I asked, but Boo even explained it to me, which made me admire.

But it doesn't end here. She made me realize just how great the gap between elves and humans is.

"Um… I didn't know this book was here. It's been 80 years since it was published."

"8… 80 years? Is it that long?"

"It is a book that was quite famous among our elves. I know it is kept in our holy land."

It was no exaggeration to say that he lived 10 times closer than me, so Arwen read all the books that had been discontinued long before I was born. She even surprised me once more with the details she remembered.

It is very difficult to publish and even distribute a book that has been published for more than 20 years. Even if you visit the library, it is difficult to find as it is stored in a corner.

For this reason, unless it is a book that has become a worldwide hit like Xenon's biography, an esoteric process is required to purchase even one.

But Arwen remembers everything beyond just reading the book at the time it was published. Thanks to this, I was able to look at Arwen with a new look of greatness.

Because of the girl-like behavior, I used to speak nonsense, but now I feel like I have to use respectful words.

"Well, you don't have to speak loudly to me. Wouldn't this be comfortable for you too?"

"…It's comfortable. But it doesn't change the surprising thing."

"From a human point of view, however, it is very natural for us elves. It is not only a holy place that each individual walks, but also a powerful army. It would not be a task to remember all the stories in the book."

After all, the racial characteristics unique to elves do not go anywhere. Arwen showed her pride by raising her nose when I truly admired her.

Still, it is not arrogance or arrogance, these two must harm others or themselves to be born in the true sense. In the case of Arwen, it was close to pride in a pure sense.

Of course, because she has a cute appearance like a girl, it seems like a child is making fun of her. Obviously, he's much older than me, but he's a young kid with no qualms in his behavior.

As if to envy him, I looked at Arwen, who was still bubbly, then grinned and poked at the fact.

"Maybe those elves suffered great humiliation in the tribal war 500 years ago?"

"… …"

When I hit the facts based on historical facts, Arwen's smile shattered like glass.

Elves have a custom of valuing history, so for them, a tribal war would be a humiliation among humiliation. But it is a history that must be learned.

"…our ancestors were fools."

Arwen turned his head to the opposite side and muttered timidly. Still, it seemed that the concept was firmly embedded in the fact that he did not deny it.

I laughed a little at her reaction, then immediately brought out a positive story to lighten my mood. Arwen might hate me if she only says bad things about elves.

"Nevertheless, using that as a teacher, the elves also made great progress. There was another accident in the middle, but now they are actively interacting with neighboring countries. ?"

This is a fact I learned through Cindy.

The elves of the past firmly believed themselves to be a race chosen by the gods and kept their distance from other races. To be precise, he did not interfere in the affairs of other races.

Even if they did, they could only suppress it by force, and they did not feel the need to do so. That was actually true.

However, after the civilization of other races developed to a level comparable to that of the elves, the situation changed after the racial war broke out.

The elves clearly recognized that they were mortals living in this world, and began to engage in exchanges with those around them.

"Yeah, that's right. Until just 100 years ago, Albnheim ran the country as if it was cut off from its surroundings. But after the Queen took the throne, it completely changed."

Arwen is somehow proud of what the Elf Queen has accomplished. It was presumed that he respected the elf queen like Cindy.

I smiled softly at Arwen, who once more squawked. He's much older than me, so it's natural to look like an adult, but because of his looks, he's like a child pretending to be an adult.

"Arwen looks good on the elf queen. The elves I know do, too."

"The elf must be young, and he must have had the right gaze. Well, this time the Great Queen ruled well."

"For that kind of thing, 80 years ago, I heard that there was a big diplomatic defeat. You've suffered a huge economic loss because of the wrong tariff."

As Arwen said, it is true that the Elf Queen, who took the throne this time, ruled well in general. However, for an elf, she had many shortcomings, probably because she became a queen at a very young age.

One of them is the customs case I just mentioned. In the Minerva Empire, he cleverly exploited the customs issue and established diplomacy at the level of extorting money from Albnheim.

If you were older or a little more careful, you'd know it was a scam right away, but the Elf Queen couldn't. She is guessing that the senate is the force that needs to step forward in such a case, and she probably ate it on purpose.

So far, the elven kings have not been able to overcome the pressure of the Senate and have descended on their own, so I wonder if this is part of that.

"Hey, that was unavoidable! But since then, there hasn't been any problem…"

Arwen shouted in surprise at first, but then spoke in a more and more crawling voice. Seeing the pale expression under the robe, I thought I should stop joking around.

Still, I wanted to see the reaction. I told her about her positive side to lighten her gloomy mood.

"Well, you're right. The Elf Queen hasn't suffered any major diplomatic losses since that incident. It's even embarrassed us. Elves tend to settle for the present and downplay progress, but this time the Elf Queen is a little different. more."

"What do you think is different?"

As I tried to come up with a good word, Arwen looked at me with his silver-gray eyes shining brightly, as if he had ever put on a gloomy expression.

Is this innocent child who has no intention of hiding her feelings really over 100 years old? When humans recognize that they are getting older, their personalities change gradually, and elves may be slow in that process.

I slowly shrugged my shoulders and brought out my opinion while facing Arwen's face full of anticipation.

"They are constantly craving for development, and in order to do that, they form connections with other countries. Some of the professors working at the academy right now are elves. As far as I know, I heard that elves have to go through a very arduous process to become a professor. We human beings Esau is a talent that we really need to take, but he sent them out."

"Hmm. Hmm. And what?"

Arwen coughed and persuaded me to say more. Unfortunately, as far as I know and know, this is the limit.

"I want to say more, but from the knowledge I have, I can only say this far. But I'm sure this alone is a great feat."

The elves believed they were superior to other races and did not try to go outside. Occasionally a few species go out and experience the world, but to a very small extent.

But now it's different. Many elf scholars are traveling around the world to acquire various knowledge, and based on that, they are gradually developing Alvenheim.

However, the speed is rather slow due to 'relaxation', which is one of the characteristics of long-lived species. Still, compared to the past, it is a remarkable achievement.

"Are you looking at this elf queen favorably?"

"I don't know it as a person, but as a leader of a country, I see it as good. There will be a lot of opposition to his policies, but it is socially natural. If you look at the policy, it was nonsense at the time."

In many cases, the policy of 'foresight (先見之明)', which was not understood at the time, but which had a strong reaction against it, is often brought to light later. It's a phenomenon I've seen often in my past life.

But people can never be perfect. Even if the policy is close to foresight, there are side effects. Those who oppose it are also likely to raise their voices for fear of the side effects.

"Instead, a wise king should know the cause of the backlash and figure out whether the backlash is just to bring him down politically or if he's genuinely worried about the country. Well… I don't know because I don't know politics. There are cases where both are mixed."

"… …"

Even after my explanation was over, Arwen didn't stop staring at me. There was an interest in me in the silver-gray eyes that shone like crazy.

"…that's great. It doesn't seem like the terms and conditions were met, but you have such thoughts."

"If you study hard, everyone can know."

"It's knowledge, not the same view as you. Having knowledge and applying it are all different things."

"Yeah? I don't know."

I shrugged at Arwen's praise.

The fact that he has a different perspective than others due to the influence of his previous life will also play a role. Things that were most natural to me were considered unconventional in this world.

You can tell just by praising that my style, which was normal in my previous life, suggested a new paradigm here.

"Anyway, that's all the story is about. Why did you stop by the bookstore? What book are you going to buy?"

"I don't really want to buy any books. It's safe to say that all the books in the world are stored in the Holy Land. I just visited the bookstore because I was curious about what the bookstore was like in the place where the exhibition was held."

"So how about it? Honestly, compared to the fame of Zeno's biography, isn't it?"

"If I'm going to judge it coldly. Of course, my eyes may have been raised by the Holy Land. However, keeping books is the same as storing knowledge. Even though the scale is small, its significance cannot be underestimated."

Arwen brought out his own thoughts in an elegant voice. It was a very unique answer that contained the pride of her race and her own beliefs.

I glanced at her side profile as she looked at the books on the bookshelf, then moved on to the next question.

"Then what about Zeno's biography?"

"yes?"

"As an elf, what do you think of Zeno's life?"

Did I not know if I would ask such a question? Arwen had a slightly bewildered expression on his face when I asked him about Xenon's biography.

Then she looked away from me and glanced to the side. Perhaps she had averted her gaze for a moment, so she turned her head to follow the direction her eyes moved.

Again, there was nothing but empty space. It's true that he really avoided my gaze.

When she finally met Arwen again, she opened her mouth quietly.

"…there is."

"What?"

"I said it was really fun."

A positive reply came out of her mouth. However, seeing her face slightly reddened, she must have been a little shy.

Still, from the original author's point of view, it's not too warm. I smiled and bent my knees slightly. In order to be at eye level with Arwen.

Arwen was perplexed when he was at eye level with me, but I asked quietly, looking straight ahead with her silver-gray eyes.

"Which part was fun? I don't think it would be that much fun for an elf?"

"Hey, what do you mean! Although the main character is a human being, it's like another world has been created. And our elves were also moved by the tragic story of Kair and Elisha."

Arwen, who passionately believed in Zeno's biography with excitement, mentioned Kair and Elisha. After all, the love story seems to be applicable to everyone regardless of gender, and regardless of race.

No matter how I looked at her, I smiled a little at her childish appearance, and then asked a question.

"Then do you want the two of you to be connected?"

"Ask a question like a question. Of course, it should be connected. Only then, won't our relationship with humans be strengthened even a little bit?"

"Hmm… yes?"

I'm sorry, my dear.

"I hope so."

Kair is dead.