Chapter 232 - Elara

"Anyway, it will take some time for me to get in touch with the queen. I'll assign a trusted guide to accompany you. Enjoy our humble village"

Saying these words, Lyria snapped her fingers, and in an instant, an elf with two earrings in her ear materialized in front of us. Moreover, the way she appeared was surprisingly similar to mine when I use my dark teleportation ability.

"This is Elara. Please rely on her to assist you. I have full confidence in her, and I know she will take good care of you"

After saying these words, Lyria turned to Elara with a calm smile on her face. Lyria truly conveyed a sense of serene, kind, and experienced leadership.

"Elara, please lead our guests to the place where they will stay. Also, if they need me for anything, inform me"

Saying these words, the elf Elara bowed slightly forward, maintaining a stoic expression on her face. Although her behavior is reserved, it is evident that she has great respect for Lyria.

"As desired, Lyria-sama"

Hearing this, Lyria let out a small laugh and then turned towards us, pointing to Elara with both hands.

"As you can see, she's not much of a socializer, and her expression may seem a bit cold, but I assure you she is a kind-hearted person"

After that, we bid farewell to Lyria, who promised to try to contact the queen of the sun elves as soon as possible. We then headed to the place where we would stay. Initially, this was one of my concerns; I had come prepared to spend the night in the middle of the forest, so I was truly grateful to have a place to stay.

As we walked through the village, various moon elves going about their daily activities began to appear. Although it was no surprise, they were all incredibly beautiful and elegant. I was sure that these people probably had no trouble finding marriage partners.

"By the way..."

While I hesitated about which name to use to refer to her, Elara spoke.

"Just call me Elara. Anyway, Moon Elves don't have last names"

I simply nodded and continued with what I was about to say.

"By the way, what is the meaning of these earrings? I noticed that many other elves wear them, some in greater quantity than others, and I was curious about the reason"

Upon hearing my words, the girls also seemed to notice it and started to observe the ears of the elves around. Apparently, they hadn't noticed it before.

"These earrings symbolize our age; each one represents a hundred years of life"

Upon hearing these words, both I and the girls stared at Elara in surprise. Upon realizing our looks, she turned to us, tilting her head with a confused expression.

"Is there a problem?"

Upon hearing her words, I tilted my head to the side. Although I knew in advance that I would encounter beings with much longer lifespans than mine, including the goddesses who live eternally, somehow it was a bit surprising to see a being that is not a god with over two hundred years.

"Not at all, we were just a little surprised because you don't seem to be... two hundred years old"

Upon hearing my words, Elara averted her gaze for a moment, as if pondering, before responding.

"From a human perspective, I believe I should be around nineteen to twenty years old, so please, treat me as such if it's easier for you"

Upon hearing this, we fell silent and decided to accept things as they are. By the way, this conversation made me wonder how many years I would live. Technically, no longer being human, my life expectancy has probably changed, although I don't know if it has increased or decreased.

(Aurora-sama, do you have knowledge about the life expectancy of the Netherborns?)

Right after I uttered these words, Aurora-sama's responses echoed calmly.

"Life expectancy? If I'm not mistaken, the longevity of Netherborns is related to the number of monsters they have consumed throughout their lives. Oh, it also depends on the type of monster in question. If we consider only the Wyvern, you added a hundred years to your standard life expectancy. Taking into account all the other monsters or animals you have consumed, it is likely that you could reach up to eight hundred years of life"

Upon hearing this, I stopped in my tracks, surprised. Certainly, the news that I would live longer made me happy, but thinking about the girls, I feel that something is wrong. If they were to leave before me, I probably wouldn't be able to move on in the same way I have been doing until now.

"Makoto?"

Upon hearing these words, I raised my gaze once again, focusing specifically on the faces of the girls I have come to love and cherish. With a sigh, I chose to set this matter aside; after all, it wouldn't be resolved just by thinking about it.

Later, when I needed to find a solution to this, I would ponder on the matter again. For now, I decided that I would simply spend as much time as possible with them.

"No problem. Let's continue"

By uttering these words, I resumed walking, surpassing the girls and Elara. However, I stopped abruptly when I realized that I had distanced myself a bit from them, turning back towards the group.

"What was the path again?"

With that, Elara, maintaining her stoic expression, glanced at me for a few seconds before resuming the walk.

"Please follow me"

After that, we followed Elara towards the place where we would stay. Passing by some tents, we arrived at an area that resembled a residential zone, culminating in a modest wooden house. Although of considerable size, the house seemed spacious enough to accommodate our group, even though it was relatively large.

"Make yourselves at home"

Elara said while opening the door. Upon entering the house, the first thing I noticed was that it was already furnished, which made a lot of sense. However, something that truly surprised me was that as soon as we entered, Elara also entered and began undressing, wearing only underwear.