This is basically the story of Celesta Lapar’s trip, around episode 428 to 488. “Looks like all that snow has melted in just a few days.” Sebory leaned against the window frame as he gazed out at the cold wind blowing through the tavern’s windows. He closed his eyes and appeared quite comfortable. Hannah, the tavern owner also known as “the landlady,” replied while preparing food. “Still, be careful of the frozen ground in the shade on the north side. People who’ve just arrived often get lured into having a picnic there.” “Oh yeah. They don’t notice the frozen ground and sit down on it.” “They should check first, but they decide to rest under trees or think that everything around them is grass so they end up sitting on it. Then after a while they scream.” “Ahaha. Elves wouldn’t make such a silly mistake.” “Really? Well, maybe we just didn’t run into each other because we lived next door all along, huh?” “Yeah, something like that. And you know, even though people see me and Oregano as 16 or 17-year-old girls by human standards, we’re actually close to thirty?”
“Oh?” “…Well, my master doesn’t know about this. But apparently, humans at around this age tend to feel a very difficult-to-express emotion.” “I guess so.” “Just so you know, elves under 100 years old are basically treated like kids? We’re not particularly childish, though, right?” Hannah couldn’t help but burst out laughing at Sebory’s desperate defense. “Hehehe, I get it, I get it. And besides, neither me nor Origan think you guys are kids. There are plenty of people older than twenty who still act like brats. Like Kiel from the Landon family.” “It’s complicated to be called an adult when compared to him…” Kiel was easily the most childish—or rather, immature—of the regulars at the tavern. Being considered more mature than him wasn’t necessarily a compliment. Just as they were talking about this, Cutey cheerfully opened the front door and came in. “Nya!”
“Hey, Cute. Don’t use ‘nya’ as a greeting.” “Nya… G-good morning” “That’s better.” “Sebory, isn’t it okay to say something like ‘good work’ instead? It’s not even morning anymore.” “W-well, Hilda said that in the industry there are no nights or days, so people greet each other with ‘good morning’ whenever they start working.” “I don’t know what kind of industry you’re talking about, but we have mornings and nights here. I’d like to hear a proper morning greeting when it’s actually morning.” “Nya…” “Cute! Don’t use ‘nya’ as an address either. Speak properly!” “Nya….” “And don’t use it instead of saying ‘yes’!”
“Sebory. …If you can tell the difference between ‘meow’ and that, maybe it’s okay to just leave them as they are?”
“That won’t do. Young ones need to be taught manners. And besides, saying meow just because of cat ears is a bit too much. Stop using cheap tricks!”
Sebory was holding her fist up while passionately lecturing.
“I don’t really get what you’re talking about, but cute, listen to Sebory’s words.”
“Meow.”
“You there! Don’t say ‘meow’ again! Are you even listening?”
“I didn’t really understand anything.”
The tavern was peaceful as always.
“Actually, this is our first spring in Polka.” “Hmm. I see, that makes sense.”
Around the same time, after finishing her morning paperwork, Aileen was chatting with Fennel while he made tea. “Was it around late autumn last year when you came out to Polka?” “Yes. It had already started snowing…” “Have you ever left the forest?” “I have a few times… I also served as a liaison between Misty Palace and the outside world. But with my weak arms, I couldn’t draw a bow, so I never ventured into human settlements.” “Silver was quite restless back then.” “Yes. So this is the first time for me to see grass and flowers sprouting like they’re reborn from the snow. Isn’t it wonderful how the earth’s activities change according to the seasons?” “Aye. While the eternal spring of the northern forest is beautiful, perhaps the cold winters and warm summers outside shape life just as a blacksmith shapes iron with his hammer.” Aileen was seated in a chair that was too big for her, dangling her legs while absentmindedly stroking the collar around her neck. Fennel chuckled at this. “What’s so funny?”
“Since we were talking about blacksmithing, I couldn’t help but stroke the collar.” ”…Well, it’s understandable. You’d think of the same person too.” “Yes… Master, what do you think you’re doing?” “I wonder. Celesta has so many places we don’t know about. Well, wherever she is, her bed must be crowded with people.” “That sounds a bit envious.” “Mm. Truly, Christine, even though your winter work isn’t urgent at all, just because you can’t move around yourself due to your position, you’ve stopped me too.” Iryna started complaining loudly, but elf ears were much better than human ones. “You’re the official Polka ambassador and head of the White Clan? If you take on that responsibility yourself, you shouldn’t keep delegating full authority to someone like me who’s just a representative for another clan so often.” Christine entered the office naturally from outside. Fennel widened her eyes in fear, while Iryna pouted unhappily.
“I doubt we’ll ever have to use our full authority in Porca. Besides, there are Misty’s dragons around here.”
“That’s exactly when problems arise. If all it took was brute strength, what would be the point of being an ambassador?”
“Mu… Muu…”
“It’s not just about following a man everywhere. Sometimes distance can strengthen a relationship. Just like how cold and heat forge iron,”
“Mm… Well, I suppose there is some logic to that. But…”
“If you follow him around, in a place where he already has many women vying for his attention, you’d have to compete with them while also dealing with the fatigue of travel. Wouldn’t it be more effective to prepare yourself fully and wait for your chance to offer something special?”
”…You’re quite cunning… or perhaps just petty.”
“You haven’t improved much by rephrasing that, Irian?”
“I-I admit it’s true. Don’t get so worked up over it,”
Irian hurriedly defended herself against the slightly menacing tone in Christie’s voice while she still smiled.
“But in reality, the amount of service we can provide isn’t as much as those who are accompanying him… It’s about quality, right? Indeed.” The atmosphere relaxed a bit and Fennel thought it better to steer the conversation towards Iryna sitting down. She chimed in.
Christie nodded. “If we want Porca to be the place our master wants to return to first, then we need to carefully consider how to serve him. For example… Our master likes clever group sex, so maybe we should put some thought into that.” “Our house is already separated from others, so it’s suitable for such things… Should we wait in provocative outfits to stir his lust?” “Lust? Are you going to have Oregano make us clothes like prostitutes?” “That sounds good too. Oh, and putting up a sign might be nice. Like ‘Elven Province Public Brothel’.” “If we don’t keep it secret, the other clans will get red-faced and angry when they hear about it.” “Of course, if we put up a sign, Iryna-sama would become one of our prostitutes too, right?” Fennel spoke with a mischievous grin. Iryna nodded hesitantly but didn’t seem entirely opposed to the idea.
“Well, if only Lord Smisson is to be the customer… perhaps it wouldn’t be too bad to take off my collar and sell spring for a change.”
“Everyone would buy you with just one coin and use you however they want. It might be fun to limit certain plays and say ‘Anything beyond this point will cost extra,’ right?”
“Hmm, good, not bad… Of course, Chris蒂也会参加吧？”
“I don’t know if I’d fit in…”
“Then why don’t you set up another brothel with Lila or the Glorious Princess Hilda? It would be a different kind of fun.”
“It feels like they’re treating me as an old maid…”
“That’s just your imagination. The Glorious Princess and Lila aren’t that much older than I am, after all.”
Andy’s private brothel project. It later involved the catkin people in their “Cat House,” and even had Joan mint a special coin for it, but that’s another story altogether. And somewhere along the line, a certain prostitute from Talc got involved as well, but let’s leave that out.
“That aside, if there’s anything I miss about being back in Porca, it has to be the hot springs.”
“Hmm. Indeed, that feeling of your travel fatigue washing away with a sound is indescribable.”
“I wonder if we can’t do our service without sneaking around when healing my master at the hot spring?”
“What? But whether it’s men or women, I cannot completely keep out other guests. Also, asking for permission from Baron to divert water from the source would be awkward.”
“Considering all this, wouldn’t a barrier prison be the best solution?”
Iriena and Fenner gave reasonable answers.
“That’s true, but actually, there’s potential to make hot springs outside of town too.”
“What?”
“A little way into the forest, before you reach the ancient barriers. There seems to be an outflow point about two kilometers from town. The Baron apparently knew it existed all along, but left it untouched because it was in a forest and he thought it might upset the elves. But since we are those elves now, that’s no longer a problem…”
“Are you planning on taking over there?”
“It’s a terrible idea. When I asked Baron if he wasn’t going to use it, he said, ‘The townspeople have a hot spring bath nearby, so there’s no need for them to venture into the depths of the forest.’ In other words, we could set up our own bath there and make it a private one just for my lord. But…” “But?” “We can’t use anyone else’s help on this kind of project.” “Oh…” “Indeed… It would be hard to ask even an elven master builder to keep such a thing secret, wouldn’t it?” Humans probably wouldn’t go out of their way into the forest for a hot spring, but elves might visit if they knew about it. All the springs in Trotte territory belong to Baron by law (though not really), so we’d have no choice but to let people use them if asked. The three elves shared the desire to use this place freely for their naked trysts with Andy and wracked their brains over how to do that. “Deiane is said to be good at construction, too. But when would we even find time to build something like this?” “I’m worried there won’t be enough manpower. We can’t just have the dragon help us out in the forest…” “If we take our time, couldn’t we do it ourselves? All we need is a bath that’s easy to clean and somewhere to put clothes.”
“Also, we need a meandering channel to cool the hot spring to an appropriate temperature. Ideally, we’d pull cold water from somewhere and adjust it easily…” “You’re asking for too much without having enough expertise, aren’t you? Christie, haven’t you studied that kind of thing?” “At least I haven’t trained in wielding hammers…” The three of them whispered back and forth with various ideas. And the half-elf’s ears are far better than a human’s at picking up sounds. “Looks like you’re having trouble!” “If it involves Andy, we’ll help out.” Seren, who was holding her swollen belly near term, and Jeanne, carrying Peter, opened the door confidently.
(To be continued)