And Yet, I Won't Stop (4)

At night, we eat at a tavern in town.

There are eight elves in the caravan besides me.

Besides Airena, Huresio, and Rebis, there are three elf adventurers who also serve as guards, and two elves who have only just left the forest and have yet to decide how they want to live.

But not all the elves eat at the tavern. Two of the eight always keep watch over the wagons while we're staying in town, and they sleep in the wagons as well.

That's because much of the cargo this caravan carries consists of weapons and armor purchased from dwarves, fruits and medicinal herbs gathered in the elven forest, and many other goods that can't be obtained elsewhere. If the wagons were left completely unguarded, someone might target the cargo.

Even if the wagons are parked on the grounds of the merchant company we're doing business with, we can't let our guard down.

When defenseless bait is dangling right in front of people, desire can sometimes overpower reason, so people make foolish decisions... rather often.

For that reason, the elves never leave the wagons completely empty, even in town. They leave people behind in shifts so they never show an opening.

Elves who spend a long time in the human world know well that this is for their own sake, as well as for the sake of the people they're dealing with.

But since we're in town, even those assigned to watch the wagons would surely like to have a warm meal.

I tell Airena, then carry the food she has wrapped to the wagons.

The meal consists of stew, soft white bread, bone-in chicken, and lightly alcoholic wine.

There isn't enough wine to get drunk on, but it does serve to make the meal a little more enjoyable.

Technically, I'm being treated as a guest by the elf caravan, so I'm never assigned to watch the wagons.

That's why I want to volunteer for something as simple as carrying their food.

Even after all the commotion he made during the day, Huresio is singing at the tavern again at night.

As a bard, he looks like a delicate pretty boy at first glance, but he's actually incredibly tough.

With his singing behind me, I walk along the nighttime road toward the wagon.

I hurry so the food in my hands won't get cold, but proceed carefully so I don't spill anything.

On watch tonight are Jurucha, a veteran adventurer who is second only to Airena in ability among the caravan, and Pyune, who has only just come out of the forest.

Incidentally, Jurucha is a man, while Pyune is a woman.

"Oh, Eisa-sama. Is that food? Thank you so much!"

Jurucha notices me approaching first, pokes his head out from beneath the wagon's canvas canopy, and raises one hand to welcome me.

At his words, Pyune also pokes her head out, looks around curiously, then turns toward me and bows.

I climb into the wagon after Jurucha lifts the canvas flap to welcome me, serve the stew from the pot into their bowls, and distribute the bread and chicken.

Then I pour the wine into their mugs.

"Wow, that looks delicious!"

Pyune gives a delighted cry at the sight of the dishes I've set out.

She's a young elf of about a hundred and twenty years old, and perhaps because she has only just left the forest, she seems to find every human meal endlessly delightful.

When I lived in my homeland—the deep forest at the center of the Pluha Great Forest—I ate almost nothing but fruit. But the elves living in other forests don't have diets that are fundamentally all that different.

Apparently, they sometimes eat mushrooms or meat from monsters they've killed, but unlike humans, they don't prepare food very elaborately; they generally just roast it.

I've heard that elves who can't adapt to life outside the forest often stumble first when it comes to food.

In that respect, Pyune eats with such obvious relish and delight that it's a pleasure to watch her.

It feels a little wrong to turn around and leave immediately after delivering the food, so I sit down inside the wagon.

Since I'm going back anyway, it would be more efficient to collect the stew pot and dishes on my way back.

"Come to think of it, Eisa-sama, that picture-story show earlier... It was amazing! I didn't know High Elves knew about things like that, too!"

I can't help giving a wry smile at Pyune's slightly giddy words.

That's because my knowing about picture-story shows has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not I'm a High Elf.

Besides, I don't think I could explain anything about my past life very well.

"Hmm, who knows? It was just something I came up with. I like books quite a bit, too."

So my answer is riddled with evasions, but I had no other way to put it.

Jurucha tilts his head slightly beside me, but doesn't voice any questions.

Pyune shows no sign of doubting me. Nodding repeatedly, she brings stew to her mouth with a wooden spoon.

"B-but, mmph. You're amazing, Eisa-sama. I don't even know what I should do yet, and I just ran out of the forest. I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't been with everyone..."

She speaks with her mouth full, then swallows.

Well, from what I'd seen of her actions, Pyune did give off a somewhat careless impression.

But that's because she's still unfamiliar with the human world and hasn't yet developed her own standards for judging how to act.

Once she learns the common sense of the world outside the forest and can distinguish between safety and danger, the actions that make her seem careless should gradually become less frequent.

And as her knowledge increases, she'll have a better chance of discovering what she wants to do.

Take adventurers, for example. People lump them all together under that name, but there are swordsmen and archers, and an elf can even become an adventurer as a spirit mage.

The same goes for bards, painters, and blacksmiths: if you don't know what kind of profession something is, you won't have anything to aspire to.

All she needs to do is slowly build up her knowledge.

As a young elf, Pyune has plenty of time.

The elf caravan is a place for that, too.

Incidentally, I'd recommend becoming a dancer.

If she wore an exotic costume and danced to Huresio's music, she'd be sure to become immensely popular.

I don't think elves need to show too much skin, so instead she could hide her mouth with a face veil and dance with some fluttering cloth... Ah, I mean a belly dance.

Airena absolutely doesn't seem like she'd ever do it, but Pyune might get interested if I made the right suggestion.

Of course, in the end, she should do whatever she wants, but she'll need all sorts of experiences in order to discover what that is.

Or, if she felt embarrassed about dancing herself, she could become a puppeteer.

Both creating the puppets and operating them.

Performances using the power of spirits would probably be a better fit for puppet theater than picture-story shows.

"But if you feel like doing something, then, well, next you should try reading the picture-story show aloud, Pyune. It's actually quite fun and rewarding to see children watching, completely absorbed."

I smile and encourage her to give it a try.

Whatever it is, start by trying it.

After working up the courage to leap out of the forest, it would be a waste not to try.