The room was so simple that it was hard to believe that it was the audience room of the castle where the Elf King lived.
A large curtain was laid out in front of . It was just a room like that. There were no portraits of the king, nor were there any gorgeous suits of armor. The walls, which were probably carved out of the mountain, were polished white. But the room itself has a cold atmosphere. The audience halls I have seen so far are all luxurious and glittering, all of them showing the prestige of the country. However, in this room, I felt the coldness first.
An elf, who appears to be a woman, is standing in front of the curtain in front of . She stares at us, not moving an inch. There is not the slightest hint of a welcoming atmosphere in her gaze, but rather, a feeling of contempt. I can sense this more than enough from the elves gathered in this room.
"Please stop right there."
A quiet, but emotionless voice echoes through the room. It is in the middle of the room, well away from where the woman is standing. As we are wondering what we are going to do if we are made to stand in such a place, Ortó passes us and walks briskly away. As I stare at his back with confusion, he stops just opposite to the woman and turns around to face .
"Please get on your knees."
The woman says even more coldly. The tone of her voice bothers , but I solemnly try to kneel down.
"It's useless!"
A voice cos from behind . It's Princess ek.
"You are the one who saved . There's no need to be afraid."
"In the presence of the king."
The woman's voice denies ek's voice. But she will not be silenced.
"Even this man is the king of Agartha. You are being disrespectful.
The woman's mood changed. She is clearly angry.
"Leila, that's enough!"
Ortó rebuked the woman with an exasperated expression. She turns her head away from us without changing her expression. He makes a huffing gesture and bows to the curtains.
The curtain slides up. There stood a man dressed in white. It seems that this is the Elf King.
"......"
No one speaks a word. Silence reigns in the room.
"Uh... ......, I'm sorry to bother you..."
Unable to bear the silence, I break the ice. But at that mont, the gazes of all the elves in the room, including the two in front of , turned to .
"......!?"
I freeze, too, because of this unexpected reaction. Silence envelops us again.
"U......ohon, first, tell your na."
Ortó urged with a puzzled look.
"Uh, ....... I am Bertham Darke Rinos, King of Agartha. My wife, Considie, is standing next to . Please allow to make your acquaintance. I am pleased to help Princess ek and bring her here.
"......"
Silence again. ...... sothing is hard to do.
At that mont, the Elf King sits on his throne and leans toward the direction of Ortó.
"My king,...... the elf-king Honnoiti, says it is a great honor."
"Thank you."
...... ssage ga! It would be faster to speak. Honnowaichi...... what a kind na. I think to myself, but decide to thank him anyway.
At that mont, Princess ek slips past and walks swiftly toward the king. No hesitation at all. She walked calmly toward her father. When she cos to the throne, she stops and stands there for a mont.
"......It seems that they are having a conversation."
Sidi is muttering in a small voice behind . The king and the princess stare at each other, and if you look closely, you can see the king nodding faintly.
"Ugh, ugh, ugh... ......"
ek broke down crying as if he was about to explode from sothing he had been holding in. The king stares at him blankly. Ortó, however, puts his hands over his eyes and wipes away his tears. On the other hand, the woman called Leila is still standing there, not trying to hide her unhappy expression.
At that mont, the king looks at Ortó, who is wiping his tears. At that mont, he turns to the king and assus an erect and immovable posture. And for about 10 seconds. He turned his body toward Princess ek and again assud an erect and immobile posture. Then she, who had been sobbing, turned her eyes to Ortó and they looked at each other.
After a while, ek spun on his heel and strode back to us. When she was right in front of us, she sighed loudly with a tired look on her face.
"It was a big deal. Father says you should get so rest. I really, really appreciate everything you've done for .
"That ...... is good to hear. You look very tired, by the way.
It's been a long ti since I talked to your father.
"Hahaha, King Agartha doesn't know much about us elves, does he?
Ortó speaks to with a smile. He continues his words with an air of good mood.
We elves do not speak. We are able to communicate with them by the slightest glance, body movent, or mood. For this reason, few elves are able to speak. I, for example, think it is better to communicate with words, but apparently people do not like that. It's a problem. Ha ha ha."
"I see. That's what elves are for. I didn't know they could talk to each other without speaking ....... I'm glad you can control your words, Mr. Ortó. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to do anything about it.
He nodded broadly at my words. He told that the life span of an elf is long and the average life span of an elf is 500 years. Especially the life span of the royalty is so long that they sotis live for a thousand years.
"Perhaps the water of Lossa has sothing to do with it.
Sidi mutters as he listens to Ortó's explanation. He shivered at the sound of her voice. Apparently, he had hit the nail on the head. It's a good ti to ask him to do sothing about it.
"As for the water of Lossa, the fox-god, Ohii-sama, wishes to trade the water of Lossa with the elves, as he has done in the past. I ask for your kind consideration."
At my words, Ortó turns his gaze to the Elf King. There is silence again, and then his gaze turns to .
"The king says he will think about it.
"I see. I look forward to working with you.
"Yes, sir. You have co a long way to this elven village. Take your ti.
No, we will leave you now. We would not wish to inconvenience you by staying here too long. ......"
I did not miss Leila's small nod at my words. Why do they hate us? ....... Well, you can't help it if you don't like us. Let's leave it at that.
"We can't do that. You are my benefactors. You owe a debt of gratitude. We'll thank you.
No, no, it's not worth it.
No, that doesn't please . Is that all right with you?
ek looks at Ortó. He looked a little puzzled, but then smiled and nodded broadly. At that mont, however, his body jerked and he looked at the Elf King who was sitting behind him with a surprised expression on his face.
"......"
For the first ti, there is silence. As I was wondering what was going on, he turned his head in our direction again and opened his mouth with a puzzled look on his face.
"The king of ...... says to wait."
"What?"
"He says he has so questions for you."
I felt a cold thing run down my back. .......
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