Elves in human city.

I stood by the window, looking out at the quiet human city at night. The streets were empty except for the human guards on patrol. Behind me, Vereesa sat at the table after talking with the human woman until night.

"That girl never shuts up," Vereesa said, resting her head on the table.

"Like you can talk, elf," Sylianner chimed in, sitting on my shoulder and swinging her feet.

"At least I have the voice of a fairy, fairy queen."

"No, you don't, damn idiot."

"You're just jealous because an elf can sing as beautifully as a fairy."

"I am the one who created fairies, you imbecile."

"Enough," I interrupted, stopping their bickering.

"You have much to explain, Lady Veronica." I turned around and stared into Vereesa's eyes.

"Hehehe, well, you see, I... hehehe, things happened, so..." Vereesa stammered, letting out nervous laughter.

"No excuses, Vereesa, speak clearly."

"Because it's boring. Our city, our people, you, Mother—it's all boring. And I didn't do anything with humans. Nothing; do you understand? Nothing!" Vereesa shouted, slamming her hand on the table and breaking it. Her emotions triggered her magic, causing chaos in the room. But Sylianner acted quickly, creating a barrier around us to prevent Vereesa's magic power from leaking outside.

"Calm yourself, sister," I said, placing a hand on her shoulder and using my own magic to stabilize her as she trembled in anger.

"How can I calm down when you're questioning me like this?" she replied, looking at me with anger.

"I only asked one question, sister. Just a simple question about why," I answered.

"I think she's lost it, Elvy. Let's just leave her here," Sylianner whispered to me while Vereesa tried to regain her composure by closing her eyes and taking deep breaths.

"I'm sorry, Mally," Vereesa said, hugging me tightly. "I get scared because I thought with your hatred against humans, you might be angry with me; think I did something with them."

"Worry not, sister," I reassured her, returning the hug.

Being angry would be the last thing I would do if that were the case. I would not spare her, even if she is my own blood.

After a while, she calmed down completely and used her magic to fix the table and chairs.

As we sat down, she cupped her face and smiled sweetly at me.

"It feels like ages since it was just the two of us, Mally," Vereesa said, completely ignoring Sylianner, who was dancing on top of my head.

"I'm still waiting for your explanation, sister," I said, noticing her smile falter for a moment.

"You won't let this go, will you? You stubborn idiot."

"You're the biggest idiot here," Sylianner chimed in, continuing her dance.

"Anyway, I wasn't lying when I said it's boring, Mally. At home, I just wake up, eat, go to the magic district, come back, and sleep. There's nothing fun to do. Sure, we have festivals, but they only come once a decade. Outside, though, it's different. There are ancient ruins, mountains, and all sorts of creatures. Every day is an adventure out there, you know? And humans have so much to offer. They have places called inns where you can drink and listen to stories and music from bards."

"We have bards as well, sister."

"Don't interpret me, and our bards just sing. They don't tell stories as well as humans. Anyway, humans have pit fights; they just fight each other to death and sometimes against monsters. and it gets really messy with blood and guts everywhere. I love it, hehehe," Vereesa said with a goofy grin, clearly having a good time.

"Oh, ohhhh," she suddenly got very excited. "Gambling! They have this game called gambling, and it's so much fun. Let me explain how it works. You take a pair of six-sided dice; each side has a number, and you roll them. The person who guesses the number or is closest wins. Winning feels amazing, and seeing your opponent's despair is just thrilling. Just thinking about it gives me chills," Vereesa said, running her hand along her neck as if she were in heat.

"Yeah, she's definitely lost it, Elvy. There's no going back now," Sylianner remarked as we both observed Vereesa's odd behavior.

Feeling our gaze, Vereesa paused and looked at us, then coughed, her face turning red as she sat up straight, feeling embarrassed.

"I'm not addicted or anything. I don't go looking for gambling, you know. I only play when someone invites me, and I only play until I either win everything or lose all I have. I don't take on debts," Vereesa quickly tried to clarify.

"How long have you been walking among those humans?" I asked, ignoring her stranger behavior.

"A few decades."

"Have you ever..."

"No, never. I swear, Malgath, I never ever did anything with humans."

"Does Mother know?"

"Yes."

"Yet she allows it... You will cease to exist in this persona and return home. It's too risky for you."

When I said this, Vereesa didn't argue, but she looked at me, unsure if she should speak before closing her eyes.

"I'm not alone; there are seven others. Blood rangers have been pretending to be humans for a few decades too," she shouted, looking relieved.

An anger began to boil deep inside me.

"It doesn't matter what age or what ties you have; they will always betray you," Sylianner whispered in my ear, but I chose to ignore her.

"Why?" I asked, gripping my forearm with force, trying to keep my anger in check.

"They have been infiltrating this human city for decades now, preparing to strike from inside when we attack."

"Is it Mother's idea or the elders'?"

"No, it was Sylvanas' idea, sort of."

"Sort of?" I looked at Vereesa, confused. It was either Sylvanas' idea or it wasn't.

"I overheard Mother and Sylvanas chatting while they were in the bath. After Sylvanas burned the human villages, she wanted to call back the Blood Rangers. But Mother suggested that they could do something else, something more. This led to a conversation about spying on humans and sneaking into the city. Eventually, Sylvanas planned to use glamour to sneak the Blood Rangers inside the city and have them take on important roles. Mother is really scary, honestly. I still get chills thinking about how she manipulated Sylvanas without her realizing it. It took me years to understand that. I think Mother is trying to make Sylvanas queen, you know? Lately, she has been giving her more responsibilities." Vereesa explained to me, but once she started talking, she couldn't stop.

"Vereesa," I called out her name to get her attention.

"Hmmm, yes?"

"Who are the Blood Rangers in the city, and what roles do they have now?"

"Well, there's Guild Master Lydia and two Archer Captains, Malcolm and David... let me think," Vereesa said, tapping her finger on her lips.

"There's also a Mage Squad Captain named Elizabeth and a couple who run a herbalist shop. But don't underestimate them; they supply potions for the soldiers."

"Their positions are lower than I expected."

"Well, it took them some time to get used to human culture."

I want to meet all of them, but that might raise suspicion. The only one I can meet freely is Lydia; since she is the guild master and Vereesa is an S-rank, it wouldn't be odd for us to meet her.

"What's the ranking system for humans?" I asked Vereesa, as I just remembered humans ranked themselves based on their strength.

"The ranking goes from weakest to strongest: E, F, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS, and EX. But EX is a special rank only given to heroes, so there are only 10 EX ranks."

"Why don't we have one as well? It's easy to understand and practical."

"We had one before, but it's not used now. With so few of us left, everyone knows each other's strengths, so a ranking system isn't needed. But if you're interested, our ranks are: seed, sprout, seedling, sapling, elder, ancient, and Yggdrasil, which is a rank given only to generals, archons, and the king."