A long silence hung over the shop.
Then Hulim slowly raised her head. "......Um, is the ‘World Tree’ so new type of plant?"
"Ooh~, playing dumb won’t work~! There’s only one tree in the world worthy of that na, isn’t there~?"
......N-No, wait a second! It’s precisely because I know what that World Tree is that I’m confused! How can you have sothing like that?! Is this the kind of thing you casually brew into tea?! Where on earth did you get it! Oh right, co to think of it, you casually pulled out Hadra Abyssal Fish and Enchanted Dragon Fruit before—
Could it be that you’re so kind of legendary mysterious rchant?
"Haha~, sorry, sorry~! Your mind’s racing so much right now, I can’t even read half of it from your eyes alone. Why don’t you just say it out loud~?"
The elven shopkeeper said, looking thoroughly amused.
"......"
Hulim silently picked up her teacup, took another sip, then set it down and said very seriously:
"Cut it out already. I’m here to pay you back the money—!"
......
After quite a while, seemingly realizing that Hulim was genuinely a little annoyed,
the elven shopkeeper changed her tone and apologized profusely.
For the sake of the delicious tea, Hulim reluctantly forgave her for teasing her.
"Speaking of which, even though we’ve chatted quite a bit, it seems we never properly introduced ourselves, huh?"
The elven shopkeeper said, then adopted a rather solemn expression and began to introduce herself.
"Let
go first. My na is Irus Verdant Star Feyl, and I hail from Ravenrim, the Elven Kingdom—"
What a weird na. It’s as aningless as Semiris’s full na. Still, that middle na sounds pretty cool. Verdant Star? Is there a star with that na......
Hulim thought to herself.
Besides, the Elven Kingdom of Ravenrim she ntioned was one of the most powerful nations in the world. In particular, its capital was said to be built directly beneath the World Tree, known as the Holy City.
"Although I run a potion shop here now, I used to be quite the wanderer. I’ve traveled all over Himmler, seen all sorts of fascinating things. If you tell
honestly what you were up to at the docks, I’ll share those stories with you~!"
Irus said, as if trying to tempt Hulim.
Not interested. I’m not falling for that.
After ntally rolling her eyes, Hulim introduced herself in turn.
"My background isn’t as impressive as yours. I’m just an ordinary youngest daughter from a humble noble family in the empire."
"A humble country noble, huh——"
Irus drawled in a deadpan tone, clearly skeptical of that description.
"What’s with that tone? You don’t believe ?"
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"Nope, nope, nope! Um....... Go on, what were you saying?"
Hulim shot Irus an annoyed look, then continued: "My na is Hulim Heyerar. I just got into Manacos——"
"Wait a second——!"
Irus suddenly cut her off.
"What is it?"
Hulim looked at her in confusion.
"You......" Irus stared at Hulim intently. "——What did you say your na was?"
"?"
"Hulim Heyerar. Is there sothing wrong with my na?"
Irus didn’t answer imdiately. Instead, she sized Hulim up and down, then asked:
"——What is your relation to Olubet Heyerar?"
"......"
......That na ca out of nowhere, from the last person she expected to hear it from.
"......He’s my ancestor."
"I knew it! I knew it......"
Irus nodded to herself, as if everything suddenly made sense.
"?"
What is she going on about? What’s so "I knew it" about this?
"——So you were lying through your teeth just now!"
Hulim: "???"
"I was not——"
"Oh really? Descended from the Imperial Guardian Knight family, and you call yourself a ‘humble country noble’? I can’t believe I almost fell for that. I must’ve been out of my mind~!"
Huh——? Wait a minute, what is this elf talking about? Our family really only has a few villages as fiefs—we’re as humble a noble family as they co!
"Ooh, look at that ‘what is this person even saying’ face~!"
Irus suddenly stood up, leaned in close to Hulim, and smiled at her.
"Little Miss Hulim, do you really have any idea what your surna ans in this empire~?"
"......What does it an?"
Under Irus’s gaze, Hulim felt a flicker of self-doubt, her voice unconsciously growing softer.
"Heh heh~!"
Irus sat back down.
"I don’t know what happened to your family over the years, but you could walk out that door right now, ask any resident of Langard, and they’d know the na Heyerar."
"The Heyerar na—for the Parasara Empire—is one of the nas enshrined in the top row of the Hall of Heroes. Do you know how many nas are on that top row, and what kind of people they are?"
"......"
Hulim shook her head.
"Only six people~! And aside from the Heyerars, every single one of them is a founding father of the empire!"
"!"
"The Heyerar na is sothing every mber of the imperial royal family must learn about from childhood. And it’s not just the royals—any noble, even any commoner living in Langard, knows this surna. After all, every major festival has a ceremony honoring the heroes. It’s impossible for them not to know."
"I don’t know why you think you’re just a ‘country noble’, but I’ll say this—here in Langard, the na Heyerar carries that much weight!"
"......"
"Ooh, what’s wrong, Hulim? You look like you’re in shock. You’ve been in the capital for a while now, haven’t you? Did you never visit the Imperial Monunt? Olubet’s statue is right up there in a very prominent spot, you know~!"
......The empire really is vast.
That was Hulim’s only thought at that mont. She knew about her ancestor’s achievents, but she also knew the current state of the Heyerar family—declined and diminished.
The empire was too big. Places like ntor Town had long forgotten who the empire’s heroes were three hundred years ago. That was why she’d thought the Heyerar na had faded into obscurity. When Colette had co looking for her, Hulim had assud it was just because the scholar was interested in researching her ancestor.
But now that she thought about it, there had been clues.
More likely than not, Colette had chosen to study the Heyerars precisely because the na still held such great significance in Langard.
Ah...... Co to think of it, was this also why Djelte had invited her to those tea parties filled with upper and middle-class nobles? Maybe Djelte had never seen her as so lowly noble at all.
Is this what people an when they say even a fallen noble house remains a noble house among nobles......
While Hulim was still pondering the huge gap between her own perception and that of the capital’s residents, Irus suddenly spoke up again.
"Sigh, it just goes to show—short lifespans really are a problem for humans. It’s only been three hundred years, and the descendants have fallen so far. Tch, and he was a Rank S powerhouse, too. What a sha~!"
Hulim: "..................................................Huh?"
"R-Rank S?"
"Huh——?"
Irus froze, looking just as surprised.
"......"
"......"
The two stared at each other, an awkward silence hanging in the air between them.
"Could it be...... You didn’t know?"
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