Time, which seemed eternal, eventually comes to an end. This is a truth that even the gods cannot change, an immutable law.
Our warm and affectionate moments together, Marie and I, were also destined to come to an end.
Though our hearts wanted nothing more than to embrace each other for hours on end, we parted ways with the hope of seeing each other again tomorrow.
Even as we said our goodbyes, we didn’t forget to exchange a light kiss, filled with a mutual sense of regret. It was surprising that Marie was the one to initiate the kiss, not me. I simply responded in kind.
Thus, our tooth-achingly sweet time together came to an end, but the lingering taste remained on my tongue the next day.
“Hehehe.”
“What if someone sees us like this?”
“Let them see. We don’t need to hide anyway.”
It was like secretly holding hands during a lecture, with no one else in the room knowing.
“Let’s go over there today! The tiramisu there is so delicious!”
“What else is there?”
“There are many other things. For starters, there is…”
After class, we would stick together and wander around the academy.
“Ouch.”
“Ah! Why did you bite me?”
“Just because I wanted to. Sometimes I think I understand why some people nibble on their partner’s face.”
She would suddenly bite my cheek and so on.
The progress of our relationship was surprisingly fast, to the point where I couldn’t have imagined it in the early stages of dating. We had already gone beyond holding hands to kissing from the very beginning, so I expected this much.
Of course, I would prefer to avoid being bitten on the cheek like that. It might seem like a joke, but it really hurt from the receiving end.
“Then I’ll bite your neck. Ahh!”
“Eek!”
However, every day was enjoyable. Even when I was writing my manuscript in the dormitory, I would think of Marie’s bright smile, and I would think of her even while walking on the street or eating a meal.
Although I had been in love in my past life, this feeling gave me vitality. Perhaps because of that, my writing speed became amazingly fast.
Even though we were sometimes stared at by people around us, I didn’t really care.
Marie’s stance was that it didn’t matter if anyone found out about our relationship, and I was also able to maintain a confident attitude because I had nothing to be ashamed of.
From the outside, it may seem unlikely for the daughter of a duke and the son of a baron to be in a relationship, but if you delve into the details, it’s a complete 180. If anyone were to look at us with that kind of gaze, we would both inwardly sneer.
“…Hello?”
“… …”
“Yes, hello?”
I hastily regained my senses at someone’s call. I had briefly lost myself in thought about Marie.
As I looked ahead, an elf named Cindy with dark circles under her eyes and a pair of sunken eyes was staring at me, her voice quavering in its characteristic way.
“You seem to be spacing out again… what are you thinking about?”
“Oh… I just have a lot on my mind right now.”
“Is it something weird?”
“Um…”
I couldn’t help but evade Cindy’s question and speak vaguely. I couldn’t bring myself to mention the memory of kissing Marie just a moment ago.
Today, Marie had gone ahead because she had something to do with her brother. I had taken this opportunity to come to Professor Elena’s lab, where I had been teaching Cindy about writing. But Marie kept popping up in my head. I guess it’s a serious problem.
I quickly erased the thought that it was rude to have different thoughts in front of other people.
“It’s not strange. It’s really true.”
“Hmm…”
Cindy looked at me with lifeless eyes for a moment, then turned her head. On the side she turned her head, there was a note.
“So, how do I do this?”
“I always say that the most important thing in writing is what you convey. Especially for the paper that Cindy is trying to write, this part is more advanced…”
Although it had been almost three months since Professor Elena had proposed the idea, I had visited the laboratory significantly less often. Various incidents had occurred since the proposal.
So I felt like I was being too presumptuous, and when I had some free time, I visited the lab today. Also, there was information I needed to ask Cindy for the development of Xenon’s Biography.
“First of all, Cindy is okay with basic things like spelling and spacing. It’s just that the grammar is a mess.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize. As the grammar gets more complicated the more you dig into it so it’s as simple as possible. To put it simply, it’s easier to think of everyday conversation. There are no academic institutions like academies in Cindy’s hometown, right?”
“We have it… Because the academy is the education institution that our elves established first.”
It’s possible that humans imitated the civilization achieved by elves, so they may have followed suit with educational institutions. Still, it was like new knowledge to me, so it was a bit surprising.
Sometimes, listening to the stories that Cindy tells, I wondered why the elves left humans alone. Could it be because humans had so much confidence that they couldn’t do anything to them, no matter how hard they tried?
In reality, even if a human knight were to charge at an elf warrior with all their might, it would be extremely difficult to defeat just one. From basic specifications alone, there is an enormous difference, so the elves may not have even bothered paying attention.
‘There is no record of them being pushed back during the racial war either.’
The decisive reason the racial war ended was not because one side was defeated, but because the elves self-destructed. Specifically, the leadership repeated their mistakes and blunders without rest.
No matter where you go, the problem is always with the old people, especially those in higher positions. After that, a generational change took place, but their influence is still tremendous.
‘Well, humans will certainly experience faster changes with the frequent generational shifts.’
Anyway, to putting it aside-
“No. You’re doing it again. It’s not that difficult to explain, is it? Just write exactly what Cindy wants to say. Think about when Cindy talks with me.”
“Um… Okay…”
Cindy’s learning was truly catastrophic. It took repeating the same explanation several times just for her to barely understand it.
It’s like having to chew the explanation into tiny bits and forcefully swallow it just to understand it. Other species apparently learn slower than humans, and according to Professor Elena, Cindy is even less intelligent than other elves, so it was frustrating.
“Sorry for getting angry. I should have come more often…”
“No, it’s okay… You don’t know, but I’m an elf, so you came here quickly…”
As I was sighing while scratching my face, Cindy was fidgeting with a look of genuine apology. Seeing her like that helped to calm the anger that was boiling inside me.
I knew that it wasn’t entirely her fault and that she wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, so getting angry would only make things worse. I could potentially crush her spirit if I lost my temper.
‘We still have plenty of time. Once I’m in my third year, I can visit the lab regularly. She just needs to be patient until then.’
Elves have a very different sense of time compared to humans. To them, a year is equivalent to only about a month for humans.
As Cindy scribbled in her notebook with a pen, I watched her silently and then spoke up. As I had mentioned before, teaching Cindy how to write essays could be done slowly.
“Cindy.”
“Hmm?”
“Did you read the book I recommended last time?”
“Xenon’s Biography? Yeah, I read it… it was really interesting and helped me a lot…”
If this is the level of help that she got from reading it… I felt a wry smile coming on despite feeling glad that she enjoyed reading it.
Anyway, the reason why I brought up Xenon’s Biography is because it concerns an elf who will play an important role in it. Also, the devils executive who is in charge of “pride” in The Seven Deadly Sins is an elf. I wanted to confirm Cindy’s reaction since I didn’t have time to ask Professor Elena directly.
Of course, I need to make sure that she has read up to the ninth book first. I nodded my head and asked Cindy the next question.
“How far have you read?”
“I’ve read all of it… When I told the professor, she willingly lent it to me…”
“What do you think about the fact that among the Seven Deadly Sins, the elves are in charge of pride?”
“Hmm…”
Cindy stopped scribbling on her notebook with her pen and pursed her lips as if she was contemplating my question. It seemed like she was giving it some serious thought.
Interestingly, Cindy was the type to faithfully answer my questions without any suspicion. She may not know it, but she has a natural inclination for explaining things to others. She’s even good at it.
Although it’s extremely difficult to transcribe her explanations into writing. If it was perfect, Professor Elena wouldn’t have been so troubled.
“Well, I’m not sure since it’s been a long time since I left my hometown… Maybe they’re seriously considering it? Our elf race crumbled from within due to arrogance, not external pressure even during the racial war… So they might reluctantly admit it…”
“Then what about their lack of reaction?”
“It’s definitely not a lack of reaction… Even if there was a generational change, there are still internal conflicts… Fortunately, the Queen is reasonable, so there shouldn’t be any problems for now…”
On the other hand, it means that there are people on the elf side who are working to find me. The Queen’s mild personality is preventing them from doing so, but if the problem gets worse, it will surely come to light.
I listened to her explanation and recalled the future development. If the 9th volume was about the Seven Deadly Sins’ appearance, I planned to deal with the story of the elves in the 10th volume.
More specifically, it’s the story of the “master” who taught the elf queen and Xenon. Originally, I would have written it without any hesitation, but considering the influence of demons and the Seven Deadly Sins, it was difficult to write casually.
“Hmm… Cindy.”
“Why?”
“What do you think about elves having deep relationships with humans, Cindy?”
“What?”
Cindy blinked her eyes a couple of times and an expression of confusion appeared on her face as she heard my question and looked at me.
The reason why I was asking this question was because of the relationship between the Elf Queen and her ‘mentor.’ It was a love story between a long-lived elf and a short-lived human. How poignant of a story it was.
However, strangely enough, I couldn’t find such a story anywhere in this world. Even in other romance novels, there was no love story between elves and humans.
I don’t know if there is a taboo for elves to share love with other races or if there is a separate reason, but it is a very important issue for me. That’s because it could prevent incidents that could happen in the future.
After dropping the demons, steam locomotive, and the seven deadly sins in a row, I had no choice but to be cautious. If this also has serious consequences, I plan to exclude it boldly.
“Why are you suddenly asking about that? Do you have any interest in me?”
Cindy suddenly asked me such a question while staring at me quietly. It was a shocking remark that could make me freeze, so I immediately shook my hand and denied it.
“No, no. It’s not that. It’s just something I’ve been curious about, and besides, I already have a girlfriend.”
“Oh, really? Hm…”
Cindy looked at him suspiciously and began to think deeply. After a while of pondering, she shook her head and replied.
“The idea of us forming a bond with humans…it’s almost impossible. Compared to the elves, humans have an extremely short lifespan…”
“Then what about other species instead of humans?”
“Well…as you know, we elves tend to look down on other species…although that attitude has decreased as generations pass, it still exists. If it’s not someone we acknowledge, we won’t treat them the same way…”
They certainly seemed like a proud race. However, considering where that pride comes from, it’s not hard to understand.
As I was lost in thought, Cindy paused for a moment before adding.
“Even if we were to form a bond, it’s likely that the elves would reject it… Is there anything sadder than living with the memory of someone you loved all your life buried in your heart? It’s better to refuse than to live with regret for the rest of your life.”
“Well…the lifespan is certainly the biggest problem.”
“Why is that? Don’t tell me your girlfriend is an elf?”
“No, it’s not that, but…”
I answered Cindy’s question with a sincere smile of happiness.
“Well, elves are pretty, aren’t they?”
“Eugh.”
Cindy made a face as if she had heard something absurd.
Translators note:
It just keeps getting better.
Another 20 ratings at NU, so 1 more chapter today.
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