kscans

Chapter 158 - The Elves

Meanwhile, the reaction of the elves in question was, as expected, delayed by the distance, causing them to get a late start. It took nearly two months for Katra's letter to arrive, partly because they could not find a suitable traveling merchant to carry it part of the way.

However, once its contents became known, their response was swift.

A stone tool that elves and half-elves, who have poor compatibility with metalware, could handle without issue, and that had an incredible affinity for magical power. Not only that, but when infused with magic, its sharpness was said to rival that of a knife made from dragon materials. Was this not a knife created for the very sake of the elves? A stone tool that could be called the elves’ dearest wish was on the verge of being obtainable. As if determined not to be late, they immediately decided to send a messenger… or rather, they only decided to send one.

It was the selection of the person that caused a dispute.

"...I’m telling you! The village’s most skilled warrior should be the one to go!"

"And what do you plan to use that skill for!? We can’t threaten him and force him to make them!"

"Shouldn’t we send someone skilled in negotiation…"

"No, according to Katra’s letter, the other party doesn’t seem to bear any ill will toward us. It would be better to ask honestly rather than trying to negotiate."

"Wait. Even if he agrees to make them, he likely won’t be able to produce enough to distribute to the whole village. Shouldn’t we think about the problem of allocation before selecting an envoy?"

"There are other problems. With a product of that quality, we can’t be the only ones aiming for it. There’s no telling if those sorts of people will resort to drastic measures to get the knives."

"That’s why! Shouldn’t we send a skilled warrior!"

"And what about the possibility of causing a commotion and drawing even more attention to ourselves?"

…And so it went, a perfect example of a meeting where much was said but nothing was decided.

In the end, it took five days for a single male elf to be chosen as the envoy and leave the village. Furthermore, despite the envoy, a man named Nagara, using every means at his disposal to hurry, he did not arrive in the town of Laurenzen until the year was about to close, long after Yuri had returned to his own village.



"Don’t be ridiculous! Heading to the Salt-Sour Mountain now is obviously impossible!"

A young male elf was being scolded by two half-elf women.

"B-But, the village’s intention is to meet with the creator as soon as possible, and by all means, to obtain those ‘Magic Stone Tools’…"

His name was Nagara. He was an envoy dispatched from the home village of Katra and Dalia to meet Yuri. He had rushed his journey using magic and back roads, but the elves’ home was deep in the mountains. Traveling the already snow-covered roads took more time than expected, and Nagara reached Laurenzen in early December. A month had already passed since he left his home.

"That’s just the selfish reasoning of the people in your village, isn’t it? We can’t possibly be so rude as to show up unannounced without making arrangements beforehand."

"Besides, the Salt-Sour Mountain is probably covered in snow by now. We don’t even know Yu… the creator’s exact address, so how do you plan on finding him?"

Nagara fell silent for a moment, apparently not expecting that Katra and Dalia did not know the creator’s whereabouts either.

"But… you two were the ones who brought this up in the first place…"

"And what of it? That’s a separate issue, isn’t it?"

"If the creator’s opinion of us sours, we won’t even be able to ask for what we want. Do you understand?"

"I can’t give you the details, but there are already people making moves on this matter."

"Just so you know, there is an agent who has been formally granted the rights by the creator."

As Nagara’s expression grew tense at the thought of being outmaneuvered, the two women drove home their point, hammering in one thick nail after another to make him stop thinking about doing anything strange.

"The creator understands our situation, so he shouldn’t treat us poorly."

"We should be able to meet him next spring, and the agent should be sending a message before then, so I’ll ask him to mention our village at that time."

The two drove their point home again and again, as if to say that it would be a disaster if he ran around on his own and caused trouble. The comment about upsetting the creator seemed to be effective, as Nagara reluctantly agreed to remain in this land until spring.

Incidentally, when Adon heard this story from the two, he saw it as a golden opportunity and decided to add Nagara to his guard detail.