What Changes, What Remains (13)

When I reached the elven settlement, they lined up outside it to welcome me.

Apparently—yes, they really were welcoming me.

One person stepped forward from among the assembled elves. Judging by the atmosphere, they were probably the settlement's elder.

Of course, since they were an elf, they still looked like a young adult despite being an elder.

"That was a magnificent wind to announce your arrival. As expected of a High Elf-sama. All of us elves of the Ha Forest are truly honored by your arrival."

The elder came right up to me and said that, then tried to kneel on the ground, but I stopped them with a gesture.

If the elder knelt, the other elves would surely follow their example.

I appreciated their welcome, but there was no need to go that far.

"Even though my visit was sudden, I'm more than happy that you welcomed me at all. I don't like anything too formal, so I'll simply accept the feeling behind it."

As I said this, waving my hand lightly, the elven elder looked slightly bewildered. Even so, they nodded and straightened back up.

Then, when I held out my hand, they seemed to understand the response I was looking for. Though a little hesitant, the elder took it.

You don't need to be so wary. I won't scold you, much less bite.

Looking around at the elves lined up all around me, then over the settlement, I realized there were more of them than I had expected.

Not all of them could be standing before me, so well over a hundred—perhaps two hundred or more—elves must live in this settlement.

Ah... I see.

These were the elves who had moved away when that incident occurred in the Kingdom of Rudoria.

The settlement's population was larger than I had expected because it included elves who had moved to forests in other countries and put down roots there.

Before they merged to become Zieden, the forests of Zainz and Jideer had been among the destinations for those migrants.

Looking over the assembled elves once more, I felt that some of the faces among them looked vaguely familiar.

At that time, the elves of the forests in the Kingdom of Rudoria had followed my words and left the forests of their homeland.

There was no way they had been free of complaints about moving to an unfamiliar land.

Yet their expressions now showed no ill will toward me; all I could see were smiles that seemed to welcome me from the heart.

"Eisa-sama!"

As I entered the settlement under their guidance, one child came running up to me.

In human terms, the child looked to be under ten years old.

Of course, the face was unfamiliar to me.

"Um, I heard you picked me up when I was little, Eisa-sama. Um, um... do you remember me?"

And yet, the child said those words...

Ah, but that's right.

A human child under ten would be around sixty or seventy by elven standards.

During that incident in the Kingdom of Rudoria, I had gone to one of the settlements to ask its people to relocate to a forest in another country, and I did indeed remember picking up a baby who was not yet a year old.

I definitely remembered that infant, apologizing for making it endure the hardship of moving to a forest in another country and asking the spirits to grant it their protection.

...So that infant from back then was still only around this age by elven standards.

Win, who had been born afterward, had long since become independent.

Somehow, I could really feel the difference between our races.

"Ah, I remember. I called you Shi... Hmm, was it Sheez?"

Elves, like High Elves, aren't particularly concerned with names.

But being nameless was too inconvenient, so a name for use within the settlement was decided by the time they reached a certain age.

When they went beyond the forest, they either used that settlement name as their own or came up with a completely different name for themselves and introduced themselves by it.

But since this child had been less than a year old, no settlement name had been decided yet, so I ended up choosing one, since it was convenient.

When I pulled the name I'd given from the corner of my memory and said it aloud, the child broke into a delighted, proud smile.

Nostalgia made my own lips curve into a smile.

I had never imagined that I would sense the slow passage of time in a way like this.

"While I'm here, just tell me whatever you need me to do!"

I nodded to Sheez, who said this with great enthusiasm.

Actually, it was a very welcome offer.

I wanted to ask all sorts of questions about the settlement, but quite a few elves would probably get nervous if I questioned them myself.

But if a child from the settlement stayed with me, that might ease their nerves somewhat.

Elves raise every child born among them as one of the settlement's children.

Of course, that doesn't mean parent-child affection is entirely absent—especially a mother's affection for her child—but everyone loves children born into the community as if they were their own.

In other words, Sheez was still a child, so while I couldn't say every elf did, most of the settlement probably loved them.

"Yeah, thank you. If you know this settlement well and lend me a hand, I'd really appreciate it."

I meant that sincerely.

Besides, I rather liked children, so having a child around Sheez's age look up to me and earnestly lend a hand was bound to make me happy.