One advantage of living as an elf: you can never get lost in a forest.
It doesn’t matter whether it’s a familiar place you’ve frequented or somewhere entirely new.
Call it a unique elven skill, but we have an innate ability to sense our way through the forest by reading the wind and sunlight.
Thanks to this, even though I’m here alone in an unfamiliar place, I’ve been able to move confidently in the direction I want without getting lost.
Another great thing?
Looking in the mirror every day is a delight.
I wasn’t unattractive in my previous life, but compared to this face, I might as well have been a crumpled lump of clay.
Hmm, why am I suddenly talking about this?
I stop walking and unconsciously look back.
By now, my parents must have read the letter I left behind.
What would they have thought?
Would they be saddened that their son ran away,
Or would they be angry, thinking, “This brat ran away because he didn’t want to learn magic or spirit arts! Fine, live your life with a bow!”
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel guilty.
I’ve lived with them for almost 30 years.
Even though I still remember my past life, when I think of “parents,” their faces are the first that come to mind.
For people like them, I simply announced my departure and ran away.
Of course, I couldn’t feel at ease about it.
Oh, and just so you know, 30 years isn’t considered an adult age for elves.
So please, spare me the “kangaroo kid” remarks.
Anyway.
“I’m leaving for the sake of the elves.”
Ten out of ten, a hundred out of a hundred elves dismiss the outside world’s opinions as trivial.
They see terms like “knife ears” or “pointy ears” as silly insults born out of jealousy.
But I know.
I know that if things continue this way, the future awaiting the elves won’t be pleasant.
Wherever you go, humans are the main characters.
Accepting this change leads to prosperity; rejecting it leads to ruin.
“Make Elf Great Again…!”
Tweaking someone else’s slogan feels oddly fitting for my situation.
Don’t worry, though—I’m not planning to build walls, demand more contributions, or make a cameo as a hotel owner in Home Alone.
“Hey! Tyreal!”
“…?”
Wait. What?
Why is there suddenly another set of quotation marks?
Wasn’t I alone?
I turn my head—and what do you know?
Why is she here?
No, when did she even get here?
“Wipe that dumb look off your face. Don’t you remember? You never found me even once during hide-and-seek.”
“What does that have to do with… Wait a minute. Don’t tell me—”
“That’s right, you idiot. I’ve been following you since you left the village.”
Seriously, stop saying you ran away so casually!
I cover my face with my hands and glance at the elf, standing confidently with her hands on her hips.
“Seril.”
“No.”
“I haven’t even said anything yet.”
“You’re going to tell me to go back, right? No.”
Seril.
She’s the elf from the house two doors down.
Incidentally, we’re the same age and grew up together—a classic childhood friend situation.
But when I think about my life—or rather, my elven life—I question if that label fits.
As a child, she constantly teased me, clung to my words, and, as we hit adolescence, annoyed me with pranks and strange remarks.
Ugh.
Even thinking about it now feels like a nightmare.
“Hey. You’re having some disrespectful thoughts, aren’t you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I mean your eyes look weird when you’re staring at me.”
“Stop spouting nonsense. Your parents must be worried. Go back home.”
“And you, Tyreal? Aren’t you going back?”
Nope.
I shake my head, and Seril responds enthusiastically, “Then I’m not going back either!”
“Why on earth…?”
“Where are you headed, anyway?”
Oh, that. Where I’m going is… like I’d actually tell her!
Crossing my arms, I give her a why-should-I-tell-you look, and Seril glares back.
“Not going to say?”
“I don’t see a reason to.”
“Then I’ll just head back to the village and spill everything about where you’re going.”
“Do as you please. If I were going to get caught so easily, I wouldn’t have done this in the first place.”
Besides, elves live long lives, so most people wouldn’t make a fuss over such things.
If humans were involved, they’d probably rally the whole town to look for a runaway, but our kind?
At best, they’d say, “Oh, I see,” and forget about it moments later.
“…You’re really not going to tell me?”
Seril’s blue eyes bore into mine.
Damn it.
I can’t let myself waver.
Having known her for so long, I know that whenever she pulls that sad puppy face, my resolve crumbles.
She knows it too, which makes this worse.
And yet, I always fall for it.
“I’m heading to the forest’s border.”
“The border? Why?”
“To meet the exiles.”
“What?!”
“And I’ll ask a favor. That you pass on to me what you’ve seen, heard, and learned.”
“Tyreal!”
“You startled me. I’m not deaf, you know. You don’t have to shout like that. Besides, elves naturally have good hearing, so we actually don’t like loud noises.”
“What are you suddenly talking about? Why meet the exiles! If you do that, it won’t end with just getting scolded by the elders! If you’re not careful…”
“Listen more. Seril, aren’t you curious why I want to meet the exiles?”
“C-Curious?”
“I like Seril’s expression. After always being on the receiving end, seeing her uneasy in return. Hmm. Looks good.”
“I’m going to change our people.”
“…What?”
“I want to present a new vision to our closed-off, self-absorbed race.”
Even after I finished speaking, Seril remained silent for a while.
It was so different from usual when she would say ten words for every one of mine.
“What on earth are you talking about?”
Finally, when she spoke, her face was full of worry without a hint of playfulness.
“Tyrael. What’s wrong with you? And what do you mean by changing our people?”
“Seril, aren’t you worried? About how the world beyond this forest is changing. We’re still standing still, but who knows how humans are evolving out there.”
There was no answer. Instead, what came back was a strangely assured voice.
“You’re saying that if we don’t follow that change, something bad could happen. Right?”
“Yes. That’s what worries me. So I want to change things, and I will definitely do it.”
“Even if it takes a long time. Even if a lot of preparation is needed.”
“After all, I’m an elf. We have plenty of time, so there’s no need to rush.”
“What’s your plan?”
“The Bow of the Mother Forest.”
“You intend to use that? Hey, are you crazy? Your magic and spirit arts—you’re worse than me at all of them!”
“Hey, isn’t it too much to hit me with facts like that? You’ve killed all the romance of childhood friends.”
“There must be other ways. Surely there are methods to use the bow besides those two?”
“You really are crazy. Completely nuts.” Seril grumbled quickly.
Even so, she kept glancing at me before continuing.
“Well, fine. Let’s say you can do that. Let’s say you draw the Bow of the Mother Forest to change your position. Even so, it’ll be difficult. It will be a very tough journey.”
“Probably. But I’ll do it. I can overcome it.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Even so, you can’t do it alone.”
“That’s why I’m saying I’ll overcome it.”
“I’m saying you can’t do it alone!”
“I’m telling you I’ll manage, but she keeps arguing. Does she want to pick a fight?”
“Alone! You can’t do it!”
“Yes, yes.”
“Did you hear me? I’m saying you can’t do it alone!”
“My magic and spirit arts aren’t great. Yes, I know, Seril. That’s why I’m going to find the exiles.”
“I’m thinking of trying other methods besides those two, so could you stop now?”
It hurts too much to be beaten down with facts, so I cross my arms and give her a crooked look.
Seril suddenly glares at me.
Why?
What?
What are you going to do by looking at me like that?
“…Idiot.”
“Huh?”
“Fool.”
“Hey.”
I wonder what’s gotten into her.
She came running out of nowhere, told me my ambitions won’t work, and now she’s making personal attacks by calling me an idiot and a fool out of the blue!
Oh no, could it be that even Seril is following in Kanph’s footsteps?
“I don’t know. Go if you want.”
Seril turns her body, and her ears oddly seem to droop.
Just as I tilt my head, trying to observe her a bit more, Seril turns back around.
“You’ll be back soon, right?”
“Not until the coming-of-age ceremony is over.”
“Are you crazy? You’re planning to run away for ten years?”
“Anything less wouldn’t count as running away.”
“This is absolutely insane…”
Muttering to herself, Seril approaches me.
She fiddles with the necklace around her neck.
“Seril?”
“Hold out your hand.”
She places the necklace she had been wearing into my palm.
As far as I know, she treasures this necklace dearly.
“Why are you giving me this all of a sudden?”
“It’s my lucky charm.”
“Your charm? Why are you giving it to me?”
“It was yours to begin with.”
“…What?”
I stand there dumbfounded as Seril grumbles, “Ah, are you going to take it or not? My hand’s getting tired.”
When I hesitate, she grabs my hand and presses the necklace into it without further ado.
“Wear it for now, and return it to me later.”
“Uh, okay…”
“Unlike you, I’m not really keen on leaving home. See you later, Tyreal.”
“Hurry on. I’ll leave once I see you go.”
At her words, I nod.
Why is she acting like this all of a sudden?
Did the fruit she ate yesterday go bad?
Maybe it fermented into alcohol?
Pondering these thoughts, I continued walking.
*
As Tyreal’s magical presence faded into the distance, Seril let out a sigh.
“Idiot. I was waiting for you to ask me to come along. If you’d just said so, I would have followed you in a heartbeat.
But I’m still a coward, back then and even now. I’m waiting for you to reach out to me.”
Seril smiled weakly and turned away.
Sadly, unlike Tyreal, she couldn’t leave.
Her mother, who would be left alone at home, came to mind.
Her father had left, saying he wanted to see the world.
If her husband and now her daughter left, her mother, left as a lonely wife and mother, wouldn’t be able to bear it.
“Here, this is for you.”
“Huh?”
When she was very young, back when she was clumsy at magic and spirit arts, an elf from a neighboring house gave her a flower necklace.
They said that if she wore it, she’d become better at magic and quickly befriend spirits.
She fell in love.
It was her first love.
Though it happened when she was little, she carried that feeling with her to this day.
“Idiot.”
As she got older, she realized Tyreal was a fool, even worse at magic and spirit arts than herself.
As time passed, Tyreal grew stranger, suddenly declaring she would change her kind.
And yet, for liking such a fool, Seril considered herself the greatest fool in the world.