CHAPTER 12 – SPRING AND 14 YEAR OLD MERC

It had been a few days since the spring breeze had brought warmth to the village. Merc, the young female elf, was swinging her wooden stick in her backyard as she always did.

She’d grown up, and she’d turned fourteen this year. Her growth was noticeably faster than normal, and her female charms were beginning to emerge.

After all, a fourteen-year-old was regarded as an adult in the human world. Elves were considered adults at the age of sixteen due to their long lifespans1, but their growth up to that point was very similar to that of humans.

Even so, Merc’s growth could be deemed noteworthy.

It may be stated that she exuded both the cuteness of a young girl and the elegance of a proper woman around this time. This phase would almost certainly last a long time.

Merc’s mature charm drew a lot of attention even in the elf village, which was lauded for its attractiveness.

Aside from her attractiveness, she was also assigned with the work of a veterinarian for the village’s cattle, thanks to her Master, Rosemary’s instructions. Merc’s achievements at such a young age had already earned her a strong reputation in the village.

“It’s not like anyone wants this…”

Merc grumbled as she examined a letter that had been put in front of her house. To keep the letter from flying away, a pebble had been placed on top of it.

Merc instantly understood the letter’s objective from the contents. A confession. Recently she had been receiving a lot of them.

“I’m curious as to what they see in plain old me.”

She snapped her fingers after reading the letter and concluding that it was simply another love letter. The letter burnt up in an instant, leaving just ash behind.

It was a simple but efficient Flame Magic. Despite this, casting it without using a chant was a difficult task.

Merc had been Rosemary’s disciple for six years at this point. To her, something like this was as natural as breathing.

“There you go using magic for stupid things! Father will get mad at you; you know?”

As Merc was putting out the last of the flames with her foot, her brother, who had witnessed everything, began to scold her.

He had gone somewhere early in the morning, yet it appeared like he had just returned.

Merc turned her face towards her brother, a grin on her face, to try to hide her annoyance.

“Hey, Law! Where were you?”

“At the forest’s barrier. I went with Mother.”

“Did you go to wait for the adventurers again? Didn’t I tell you that they won’t show up that easily?”

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Even though Merc had a rough idea of what her brother would say, she was nevertheless astounded by his persistence in repeating the same pointless deed over and over.

Law had apparently gone to the forest barrier that separated the human and elf settlements. They were able to visit freely because Merc and Law’s mother, Terese, worked there as a guard.

And there was no problem with them visiting her. However, the reason Law went there was to study the human adventurers, who weren’t even guaranteed to show, so Merc wasn’t overjoyed.

“But the Chief issued a request to the Adventurers’ Guild, didn’t he? Which means they should show up soon.”

“Calm down. It’s only been three days since then. They won’t come that fast.”

“Why?”

“Because the subjugation request is for a Ghezo Velche2, and this is the elf village.”

Merc had stated the same thing to her brother several times, but it was still difficult for the 11-year-old Law to accept.

It was most likely due to Merc’s clumsy explanation as well. Merc hadn’t been able to adequately describe the dread of the Ghezo Velche that had emerged in the village, nor could she explain the humans’ peculiar feelings toward the elves.

“Listen here, Law. A Ghezo Velche is classed as an Orange Grade in the Guild’s Danger Ranking. You might assume it’s a hundred times more powerful than the Velche we met in the mountains three years ago. Furthermore, because there is a Ghezo Velche, there must also be Velche who protects it.”

“… Really? But aren’t the adventurers strong? I remember Father telling me so!”

Law exclaimed, refusing to believe Merc. The words of his Father had totally persuaded Law. His father, after all, was a teacher to those same humans.

“There are some who are strong, yes. Only a few parties, though, will simply accept a subjugation quest for a Ghezo Velche. In the entire continent, there are probably less than ten such parties.”

“What? Is a Ghezo Velche really that strong?”

“That’s what I’ve been telling you all this time…”

It appeared that Law had finally grasped the gravity of the situation. Merc, on the other hand, was fully depleted, but that was unavoidable.

After all, Law knew nothing of the outside world.

He’d lived his entire 11 years in this cramped village, and he’d gotten all of his information from adults or books.

In comparison to Merc, who had seen a lot in her previous life as an adventurer, he was still a beginner in terms of experience, knowledge, and imagination.

And this didn’t apply to only Law. Mostly all of the children in the village were the same. One of the elf village’s laws was that no one may leave until they were an official adult.

“So, when you say that humans won’t come here just because it’s an elf village, what exactly do you mean?”

“That… You see, humans are just… How should I say it? They feel this sort of reverence towards us… Hmph… Like, it’s hard for them to approach us maybe? Like we’re some sort of sacred beings or something…3”

“I don’t get you, Sis.”

“ARGH! I’m not sure what I’m trying to say, either! In any case, you can think of it that we… no, humans, humans. Humans find it difficult to visit the elf village.”

“… Hmph… I see.”

Merc was remorseful as she glanced at Law, who was still perplexed because she couldn’t explain herself. She couldn’t say it any clearer, though.

Law had no choice but to accept things as they were.

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“Even still, it’s a pity that we can’t go to the mountains until that Ghezo Velche is gone… It’s been three years since the kids haven’t been allowed to go there.”

“You’re right. Even hunters have to go in pairs of two. However, it was also because of this that they were able to find the Ghezo Velche without anyone being hurt.”

“You have a point.”

According to what Merc had heard, two of the village’s hunters had discovered the Ghezo Velche inside a mountain cave. They were then pursued by one of the Velche, but they had managed to flee uninjured.

Because the pursuer had been alone, the hunters had been able to assist one another in reaching the foot of the mountain. After witnessing so many elves, the Velche had given up and fled. Those two were obviously extremely fortunate to be alive.

“For the time being, you don’t need to be concerned about the mountain. In the worst-case scenario, if an adventuring group does not arrive in the next two or three days, the Chief will most likely tell us to handle it ourselves.”

“What?”

“If that happens, I’ll finally be invited to the subjugation party. And once I’ve defeated the Ghezo Velche, the Chief will have no choice but to acknowledge my accomplishments.”

Even though Merc was still 14, she would be considered an adult if the Chief deemed she was capable. This meant she would be allowed to leave the village officially.

“Master also told me that I’m nearing the end of my training. So, after that’s done, I intend to leave the village.”

Merc had repeated those words a thousand times by this point. And Law would chuckle every time he heard them. He’d glance at her with a ‘Yeah, right’ grin on his face.

“…”

But now, just this once, he stared at her without saying anything, a peculiar expression on his face.

Robinxen: I don’t see why this is a lifespan thing, but sure. Ghezo Velche is the name the author gave the monster, judging purely based on the kanji, which is 炎翼狼, it can also be translated as: Flaming Winged Wolf Robinxen: Must be confusing.

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