The Flirtatious Elf's Search for the Purest Love (1)
1499 Words
Even though I've kept Rutherfordine Mabanglou company and saved her from a forced arranged marriage...
I still need to comply with her true desire...
...finding a man she wants to be with for all of her life and beyond, of her own free will.
“Well you see, Ruth, I haven't told you yet that I have a girlfriend back at the capital. Her name's Belle.”
We discuss this important matter over a cup each of Rasta Blue Mountain coffee in a cafe in Soreshi, Willowcreen Prefecture, which is due north of Viwiv Yuq.
“So that's why you were freaking out when I tried to make a move on you. I'm sorry.”
“That's OK. If I have to act as your boyfriend for a short period of time just to save you from a life of never-ending physical and mental trauma, then it's all worth the trouble.”
“Yeah. I hope you can introduce me to her someday!”
“Yup, I will.”
Even though...
“OK, then. Onto something more pressing. You're definitely looking for your Mr. Right, and that's why I'm still not letting you go despite the completion of your quest.”
“How nice of you to do this, Walter.”
“I'm doing this because... your story doesn't have a happy ending yet.”
“Yeah.”
“First, we'll go to your hometown.”
“Why would I? I... I don't want to face my old friends again!”
“I know you're having mixed feelings about going back to where you came from... but we need to. Like you, I need to know the concrete answers behind your circumstance. There are multiple sides to a story, you know.”
“Y-Yeah, you're right. I admit that I ran away, not facing the music. Now I must do it if I want to achieve that happy ending.”
“That's the spirit, Ruth!”
After we finish our coffee, we proceed to her hometown, the Elven Enclave of Bea-Davaeth, on foot.
The town is seamlessly integrated into the forest that covers roughly half of the prefecture, and is appropriately named Willowcreen Forest.
Many houses are either tree-houses or standalone multi-floored spires that are homes to several generations of elven families.
The way these structures are built also serve another purpose, which is defensive in nature.
Any time lawless elements seek to disturb the town's peace, elves, who are traditionally archers, can use these tall structures to their advantage and easily rout off the invaders with their high-accuracy shots from above.
As expected, once Ruth is within the sights of her fellowmen, they all turn around, as if they're shunning her.
She's what the kingdom calls a persona non grata in essence.
It seems they still can't move on after the arrest of one of their brethren.
Fortunately, not every elf here is wary of Ruth.
One kind soul approaches us, for example.
“Rutherfordine, you're back! It's been so long since I last saw you.”
She replies with happy tears...
“Yes... I've missed you so much. Through thick and thin, you were always there for me.”
“Yeah. And I was devastated when I learned you just ran away without warning. Glad you decided to come back here. And this human companion of yours?”
I introduce myself to this kind fellow as per normal.
“Nice to meet you, Sir Deschantes. I am Kenticoricum Abrenica. You can call me Kent.”
“Nice to meet you, too, Kent.”
“Before everyone else suspects us, let's go to my pad.”
We all nod in agreement as we are directed to his abode, which is a tree-house on the southeastern side of town.
Kent's “pad” is indeed a bachelor's pad, but with lots of books, scrolls, and... what do I see? Lenses, glasses, and telescopes.
I ask him, “So you make these for a living?”
“Yes. I figured that if we elves have excellent eyesight, this natural gift should be shared with humans as my own contribution to the continued harmony between the two races. Thus, I make lenses and glasses that make the eyesight of humans as excellent as that of us elves.”
“How noble.”
“Now, I figured you want to know why most of us have seemingly betrayed poor little Ruth, right?”
She can only answer...
“Yes, Walter only knows the basic details. But he wants to know the entire story. And...”
“You want to look for a man you will love for all of eternity, right?”
“Right.”
“If only I weren't busy with my work, I could have married you out of pity. But... as your best friend, I wish nothing but the best in you; so to help you and your human friend here, I will divulge the entire story. Undiluted.”
He drinks a glass of water before he narrates the truth and nothing but the truth.
“It's widely known that elves and humans live in harmony ever since the elves' assimilation into the kingdom of Lebenswasserheim 700 years ago. But what many do not know is that a clan of elves secretly resisted the assimilation plan, suspecting that the founder's descendants were bad people. As everyone who hasn't slept through history class should know, the descendants were anything but evil, because breaking the promises the fairy of legend made meant imminent doom for the kingdom.
“Not content with resistance, the clan lied low for the next six hundred years, as they have kept their bloodline pure by openly opposing miscegenation with humans, citing the retention of old elven traditions.
“But in recent years, the clan – the Gill clan – enacted a series of events in secret to spearhead elven independence, which should be realistically impossible since the two races have the friendliest of relations all those years. One of those events is... yes... the arranged marriage of Rutherfordine of House Mabanglou, an illustrious clan of mages, to Brajiravrakorune, the son of House Gill's patriarch.”
I ask Kent...
“I'm curious as to the other events the patriarch started.”
“What an inquisitive one, eh. Well, based on the information compiled by several informants, Mavroackdoseth Gill, the patriarch, did other unsavory acts such as slave labor of half-elves, which he covered up as a legit manufacturing business; abduction of human suitors of sons and daughters of other elite elven clans; and the development of elven super-weapons such as the Turret Arc, which utilizes so much magical energy and can destroy an entire town in just one shot.”
“Ugh. I hope he's brought to justice with those despicable acts.”
“Fortunately, he was... almost. Fearing that his plans for elven dominance broke down after the Royal Constabulary eventually put a stop to them, he and many of his clan members committed 'revolutionary suicide' by drinking wine mixed with poisons. When the constabulary raided the clan manor, everyone inside was dead – even the women and children. Only the son, Brajiravrakorune, was nowhere to be found.
“Swearing vengeance, and a desire to revive his clan, Brajiravrakorune went underground, employing elven informants and hitmen to do the dirty work for him. And that dirty work...”
Ruth finishes the sentence...
“...is forcing me to marry him. I knew he was a bad guy from day one, but unfortunately... my entire family didn't think so. I even saw them being bribed by his goons to keep silent. And if I said 'I won't marry that bastard', they would disown me outright. And I did, even if that meant I'm dead to them.
“Brajiravrakorune even led a smear campaign against me, turning my once best friends into the worst enemies. The only way they would welcome me with open arms again is if I finally said 'I do' to him. Which I rejected... six times so far, by deliberately delaying my supposed wedding day.
“And so... I ran away from home. As far as I could.
“I didn't care where I would end up, inside or outside the kingdom... as long as I sustain myself as an accredited adventurer.
“But then... something gnawed at my very being. And that something... is the yearning for true love.
“The purest love that knows no race, no barriers... just... trust and understanding. This is one of the tenets of the fairy of legend, right?
“Since then, I've searched far and wide for the man of my dreams. But all those attempts at finding my Mr. Right would end up yielding nothing. I got catcalled, I got harassed, I was called names...
“And thus, in desperation... I wanted... to close that chapter of my life once and for all... by employing the services of another adventurer.”
And thus she hired me.
- Writer
