Chapter 8
"Could I take the food upstairs and eat it?"
Worried about Katrina, who looked unwell, I asked the clerk if I could take the food upstairs.
"Ah, we don't normally allow that... but given the special circumstances, I'll make an exception this time."
It wasn't exactly a special circumstance that I looked unwell, but there was no reason to turn down such kind service.
"Thank you."
"By the way..."
?
"Your wife seems to be pregnant. Are you sure you should let her live the life of an adventurer...?"
"Ah... well..."
"Oh, I'm sorry. It's my first time seeing elves, so I got a little nosy."
... ...
Ah, I guess we did look like a special case.
After I mentioned that it seemed hard to go downstairs, given how packed the dining area was, Chris bought some food downstairs and brought it back to our room.
Chris returned and looked at me with narrowed eyes.
"I'm sorry... I'll try to get used to it."
"No, not that. She thinks you're pregnant."
?
"Normally, we're not allowed to bring food upstairs, but they made an exception because of that strange misunderstanding, so you can explain it properly later."
"What misunderstanding?"
"She thought you were pregnant."
Oh, so she got that idea after seeing me retch at the end?
"But are you suddenly feeling unwell? You don't have to adjust to humans in a hurry. There's still two and a half months until enrollment, so don't push yourself."
I couldn't exactly admit it was because of my own imagination.
Besides, I felt perfectly fine now.
"Thanks. Don't worry, I'll take it slowly."
After saying that, I looked at the food Chris had bought.
The tray held a golden-brown roasted bird dish, savory potato soup, and salad.
Ah, that looks delicious.
In some novels, elves were depicted as a race that mainly ate vegetables.
When I first started living in Edren, I'd been worried about that, but it turned out elves were omnivores. In fact, the range of foods we could eat was even wider.
Maybe it was a god's consideration for a long-lived race, but as long as something wasn't poisonous, we could eat it and enjoy it.
The most bizarre food was a bug that looked like a rhinoceros beetle grub, roasted and dipped in fruit sauce.
Mom ate that weird thing with relish...
She called me a picky eater and forced it into my mouth, pinning down my flailing arms and legs and even enlisting Chris to make me chew it thoroughly,
and she wasn't satisfied until she saw the food go down my throat. Then Mom went back to her meal. Honestly, it tasted good, but...
Its grotesque appearance, the crunch when you bit into its head, and the bodily fluid that burst out when you took a bite...
"Urgh."
"Are you sure you're okay?"
The meal was delicious.
The golden-brown skin was crispy while the meat was moist, and the tangy dressing with the salad cut the richness, making it a satisfying meal.
"By the way, that president of Deus said she was friends with Mom, right?"
"That's what I heard too."
Mom said she'd asked a friend for a favor, so I'd assumed she just knew a professor or something. I never imagined she was friends with the president.
"She said Mom's stories would come up at Deus. Do you think she might be some kind of hero who saved this world?"
"Who knows... Honestly, she does have the ability for it, doesn't she?"
After all, Mom was one of only two Grand Masters on the entire continent.
It's true elves were long-lived, but there weren't many of them, and age didn't make everyone strong.
Humans, a short-lived race with a much larger population and many more Masters, were far stronger.
With humans so full of desire, why else would they have made peace instead of invading the elves and beastfolk?
The martial might of a Grand Master surpassed anything you could imagine.
"So that means we have no choice but to reach Gold rank, huh?"
"Well, it doesn't look too difficult..."
But it would be a pain...
"Then we're stuck here until two days have passed?"
"Right?"
Wait, so we have to stay cooped up in this room until then?
It wasn't solely because of what had happened sixty years ago that I was uncomfortable around humans.
When I was young, I met Chris, and through Chris, my introverted personality gradually became more outgoing. I even made a few friends.
But after my friends betrayed me, I developed social anxiety, and when Chris suggested I try playing a game, I started Falia Online.
From then on, Chris kept trying to help me.
I'd gotten along well with the elves in Edren for sixty years.
That had been easy because elves loved and cherished their own kind, and because they were a different race. But I knew people weren't all like that, so I should ease Chris's worries now.
Thinking that, I looked at Chris, and my one-of-a-kind friend in this life looked more dependable than ever.
Thank you, Chris.
"What are you staring at so intently? It's creepy."
It was something I'd have to face eventually.
That moment just happened to be now. I couldn't rely on Chris and hide behind them forever.
With that in mind, I stared intently at the receptionist, who was tidying up the counter early in the morning to start her day.
"Um... Miss Katrina, did I do something wrong?"
Maybe I'd stared too much, because she asked with nervous sweat trickling down her face.
Ah, this isn't what I meant to do.
"Uh... well..."
"?"
"About yesterday... I heard you accommodated us. Thank you..."
"Oh, that's what this is about. It's all right. We should help each other out."
"Thank you again. And, um... Chris and I are siblings. We weren't trying to deceive you. You helped us out, and... I'm sorry."
"Oh? I see. It's all right."
Once we'd broken the ice, we ended up chatting about all sorts of trivial things.
Mostly Ren asked questions and I answered, but I felt proud of myself for talking with someone I'd only met yesterday.
Oh, her name was Ren.
"By the way, Katrina, is there something you might have forgotten? You look like something's missing..."
I hadn't forgotten anything in particular... No matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn't figure it out.
"Well, if there's one difference from yesterday, it's that you aren't wearing the robe you had on."
"Oh, I see. But, you know..."
It was only then that I learned the truth.
Elves basically don't age.
And their standards for choosing a partner were different from humans'.
Since everyone was beautiful, looks didn't help them appeal to the opposite sex.
For that reason, elven clothes were either designed for comfort or to express one's aesthetic sensibilities.
And since most elves favored comfort, unlike human women, they didn't have an undergarment called a bra.
That's right. I wasn't wearing a bra right now.
"Did you know?"
"Well... everyone was like that, right? It never occurred to me."
Ah, this is embarrassing... Come to think of it, I couldn't remember ever wearing one. I'd been so moved at the prospect of talking to a human for the first time that I'd talked with gestures and all.
Imagining how vigorously certain parts of me must have been moving made me incredibly embarrassed.
I should go buy some underwear...
Following Ren's recommendation, I went into a lingerie shop.
Maybe because it was still early in the morning, the store was quiet and empty.
I'd come in, but what was I supposed to buy? I didn't even know my size.
"Oh my, we have a customer?"
While I was worrying, a woman who looked like the owner came over.
"Um, I'd like to buy some women's underwear."
"Oh, I see. The underwear is upstairs. Would you like to go up and take a look?"
"Yes. Oh, and actually, I don't know my size..."
"I see. Then I'll measure you upstairs."
I went upstairs and took off the robe I was wearing, putting it in my inventory.
"An elf?"
"Haha..."
"Wow! I've never seen an elf before!"
As the owner measured me and repeatedly complimented my clear skin and pretty face, I gave an awkward smile and prayed for the ordeal to end quickly.
"There aren't many styles in your size. We only have these three designs, so take your time trying them on and choose one."
"Um, sorry, but I've never worn one before. How do I put it on?"
"Goodness, is this your first time?"
I felt like some kind of uncivilized barbarian for not even knowing how to do this, and my face flushed hot.
"Well... elves don't wear them."
"Oh..."
"Thank you~ Please come again."
It was a little uncomfortable, but I was glad that my breasts bounced much less.
After arriving at the guild and thanking Ren, I went straight up to our room and tried moving around in front of the mirror.
The reflection showed a girl about 165 centimeters tall, her long sky-blue hair swaying as she moved this way and that.
Finally, I gave a little hop in place and checked myself from head to toe for one last time.
"There! This should be fine."
"Yeah, that's definitely better."
When I turned around, Chris was nodding with an expression of disappointment.
"Why are you just standing there watching like it's perfectly normal?!"
I grabbed a nearby pillow and whacked Chris, who was nodding.
"Hey, hey! Don't put mana into it! That hurts!"
"I'm hitting you to hurt you. If I just hit you normally, would it even hurt?"
After a good workout, I started getting hungry.
I picked up the grumbling Chris and went downstairs, ordered a meal, and sat at a reasonably empty table when...
The old man who'd introduced himself as Schutz yesterday approached us.
"Having a meal? Would you mind if I joined you? It's a little lonely eating alone."
"Ah... you said that yesterday too..."
"Yes, that's fine. I'm sorry about yesterday. Humans are still unfamiliar to me."
Chris had tried to refuse, but since Schutz had been friendly yesterday, I answered without hesitation.
"I was only going to ask, but I didn't expect you to agree. And for the young lady to answer, too."
Soon the food we'd ordered arrived, and a little later Schutz's food came as well.
We chatted about this and that as we ate.
As we talked, I learned that he was a mage, around the third circle.
He also said his party had three members, all of them Silver rank, and they mostly hunted goblins.
Perhaps because he'd remembered our conversation about advancing in rank yesterday, he kindly explained that the ten quests we had to complete to advance to Silver rank were all goblin extermination requests.
"Since fate brought us together, would you like to come with us?"
"Us? But our adventurer insignias haven't been issued yet."
"They're just not finished yet. There's no problem with accepting quests starting now. As it happens, a goblin settlement was discovered, and I was a little worried about going with just three people."
He added that we could enter the city as long as someone could verify our identities.
"Let's go together, Chris. We have to get this done quickly within two months anyway."
"Are you sure?"
"I can't keep troubling you forever. I have to get used to it."
Chris placed a hand on my head and gently stroked it.
With the proud look of someone gazing at a little sister.
"Don't pat me like that. I'm definitely your older sister."
"You're making a big deal out of being born a little earlier."
"By the way, how old are you two? I need to go talk to my companions."
Hmm, we're 27 plus 60 years, so 87?
"We're both 87."
Schutz's pupils trembled violently when he heard my answer.
Worried that something was wrong, I waited until Grandpa Schutz spoke.
"... Older sister?"
"?"