Chapter 129
After receiving Kara’s message, I headed straight for the elves’ district.
‘What in the world was this? My mana formation was similar to the elves’?’
Countless questions rose in my head.
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t make sense of the situation at all.
‘Why? Did the body I transmigrated into have some connection to the elves?’
Until now, I had never once thought I could be related to elves.
It was only natural—there wasn’t a single trace on my body that suggested anything elven.
‘If my ears were at least pointed, I’d understand, but they weren’t, and my lifespan… that, I didn’t know yet. I’d have to wait years to find out. No, but even so—elves? My body had something to do with elves?’
The more I thought about it, the more questions piled up.
So I quickened my pace even more.
Just moments ago, I had been in the northeastern area of the Protected Zone for Other Races, in the Centaurs’ district.
And the elves’ district was on the west side.
Almost the complete opposite side.
‘How long will it take to get all the way there again?’
The Protected Zone wasn’t small.
It was about the size of a decent city.
Heading all the way to the elves’ forest at this late hour felt overwhelming, but I began to walk even faster.
I was simply too curious.
‘If I don’t confirm this, I really won’t be able to sleep tonight.’
A possibility that my body might be related to elves.
Maybe this, too, was connected to the secrets of my family that I had to uncover.
With that thought, I sped up again.
Thanks to that, I arrived at the elves’ district faster than expected.
‘…I came here a few days ago too, but this forest really is… strange and beautiful every time I see it.’
The elves’ living area.
It was an incredibly dense forest.
Most of the Protected Zone was forested, yes, but the elves’ forest felt completely different.
Starting from the size of the trees, down to the entire atmosphere.
It was vastly different from the forests of other races or other regions.
‘The beastkin district was also a forest… no, practically a jungle. But even with the same abundance of trees, this place… was different.’
How should I put it—this forest felt as if the elves and the forest were coexisting as one.
Homes were built atop enormous trees.
Unlike other races, it didn’t feel like they were simply exploiting nature.
I could sense the elves’ love for the forest and their desire to live together with nature.
‘And not just elves—there were plenty of fairies here too.’
Fairies had been companions to elves for countless years.
During all that time, the two races had never separated even once, or so it was said.
Those fairies, too, just like the elves, built their dwellings on trees and lived as part of the forest and nature.
‘Well, that aside… where was Kara?’
I entered the elves’ district and immediately looked around to find Kara.
But the forest was too dense, and there were countless homes built high up in the trees.
Finding one elf among all that was not easy.
While I was wondering what to do—
“Gideon, what brings you here at this late hour?”
An elf approached me.
“Oh, I’m looking for Instructor Kara. Do you happen to know where she is?”
“Ah, that human magician? Follow me.”
Thanks to the elf I met by chance, finding the way became simple.
Following him, I went to a massive tree nearby and climbed the staircase built around its trunk.
Then, upon entering the house built at the very top of the tree…
“Wh-what are you touching?!”
“Aah, hold on. Hmmm… there isn’t much difference in the pelvis either? The general skeletal structure resembles humans… I should note that… Yes, please remain still for a moment.”
“Wh-what, what are you doing?!”
“Oh, just a simple clairvoyance spell. I’m trying to examine the bone structure in more detail… Oh, but you’re wearing rather impressive undergarments. Is that also part of elven culture by any chance…?”
“D-d-don’t look!”
The elf woman inside the house shouted while covering herself.
Kara gave an awkward laugh and looked toward the male elf beside her.
“Spi seems to need a bit of alone time. Then Lana, would you like to come first? Ah, and I’ll have to touch you a bit to check your bones like earlier, so please understand in advance…”
“Uh, th-that, um…”
“…Instructor. What exactly were you doing?”
Only after I spoke with a hollow laugh did Kara finally turn to face me.
“Oh, Gideon! You’re here. Good timing. I needed to compare the skeletal structure of human males and elf males, so with you here I can make an even more direct comparison—”
It had already been a week since I arrived in the Protected Zone.
But even after a full week, Kara’s enthusiasm still overflowed.
“Okay. I’ve gathered enough information on body structure, so using this—”
“Instructor. You’re done with everything, right?”
“Yes, all done. Spi, Lana, thank you both so much. You were a huge help.”
“…I… don’t think I can ever get married now. I feel… defiled…”
The elf woman named Spi was completely spaced out.
I let out a sigh and lowered my head.
“I apologize on behalf of the instructor for the disrespect.”
“No, Gideon, it’s fine. I’ll comfort Spi properly. We’ll be going now.”
“Yes, thank you, Lana.”
Lana led the dazed elf outside.
And just like that, only Kara and I remained inside the small house.
“Hmmm, good, good. I’ve got enough on elven body structure… Starting tomorrow, I can study their lifestyle.”
“Instructor.”
“Ah, sorry. Let me just write this down. Hmm… okay. But you got here faster than I expected. You said you were in the Centaurs’ district? I thought it would take you much longer.”
“I came as fast as I could. After what you told me, how could I take my time?”
“In that case… I’ll get straight to the point.”
Finishing her words, Kara activated a spell.
Hologram-like images appeared in the air.
They looked like drawings of magical circles, and the moment I saw them, I realized what they were.
“Mana formations?”
“Yeah. These are the mana formations inside the body. From the left, the first four belong to the elves I met today. The fifth is that of an ordinary human magician. And the one on the far right is the mana formation inside your body.”
I examined the magic circles floating in the air.
Mine, the one belonging to a regular magician, and the ones belonging to elves.
“Indeed, mine and the elves’… really were quite similar.”
“Right. As you can see, human mana formations are usually inclined toward one or two directions. But yours and the elves’ are completely balanced.”
“…Why is that? Why is my mana formation similar to the elves’?”
At my question, Kara paused for a moment as if to organize her thoughts.
Then she spoke again.
“First of all, you need to know this—not every elf’s mana formation is like yours. In fact, elves with balanced formations like yours are relatively few.”
“But you said there wasn’t a single human with a mana formation like mine.”
“That’s exactly it.”
Kara nodded and dismissed the hologram hanging in the air.
“I thought there wouldn’t be any living creature with a mana formation like yours… but there are a few elves who have it.”
“Then what kind of connection do I have with the elves?”
“…That, I’m not sure about yet either.”
Kara showed me the notebook she had been busily writing in earlier.
“You remember how I compared Lana’s body to yours? Well, your body… is quite far from that of an elf. No, to be exact, there’s nothing elven about it at all—you’re just like an ordinary human.”
“Then why in the world…?”
“That’s what I can’t figure out either. Could it be that one of your distant ancestors was an elf? But even figuring that out is difficult. Back when there were wars between humans and other races… all mixed-bloods between humans and other races were persecuted.”
I nodded at Kara’s words.
That sounded like something I had seen before in the lore.
“So there are no records about mixed-bloods of other races?”
“Right. So just by examining your physical composition, it’ll take time to prove that elven blood flows in you. We’ll probably need the help of experts from several fields.”
“Hmm…”
I sank into thought.
In the end, I had gone in circles and returned to where I started.
It did feel like my body had some connection with elves.
But there was no proof yet of what that connection was.
While I was thinking that—
“Gideon. What brings you here at this hour?”
“Hm? Ah, Veron.”
Through the open window, the leader of the fairies—their king—flew in.
“I heard you came into our district, so I thought I’d stop by to see your face. So? What brings you here all of a sudden?”
“I had something to discuss with the instructor.”
“I see. Ah, speaking of which, Kara.”
“Yes?”
“I know we’re being lenient with you, but teasing elves like that…”
“T-teasing?! I was merely conducting academic research—!”
Kara immediately reacted indignantly.
But Veron didn’t look convinced in the slightest.
Seeing the two of them like that, I let out a hollow laugh… and then, when I looked at Veron, something came to mind.
“Veron, come to think of it—remember what all the other races kept saying when they met me?”
“Hm? What about it?”
“They said I resembled ‘her’ a lot… What does that mean? And who is ‘she’?”
“…What were you two just talking about?”
Veron’s expression darkened sharply.
To be precise, fear began to appear in his eyes.
“Kara was studying the elves, and she discovered that my mana formation was similar to a few elves’. But my formation is quite unique—”
“Stop. I think I already know what this is about.”
Veron quickly cut me off.
Now, clear fear lingered on his face.
He fell silent for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth again.
“Gideon. I—no, most of us among the other races aren’t as brave as Sakiel. There are very few with the courage to endure that painful curse as Sakiel did.”
Veron let out a deep sigh and continued.
“That curse… is far more agonizing than you can imagine. Everyone on this land has experienced it once, and since then, they’ve lived in fear, doing whatever they can to avoid it.”
“You don’t have to force yourself to talk about it.”
“Thank you for understanding. Because… even about your very birth, we can’t speak.”
I simply nodded at Veron’s words.
I was genuinely curious about what kind of secret surrounded this body’s birth—but I didn’t want to be the cause of suffering for the other races.
“Well, if there’s anything I can tell you at all… Gideon, you’ve been wandering around quite a bit lately, haven’t you? Searching for something in our lands?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“It’s pointless, so I recommend you stop. What you’re looking for… he’s already erased it.”
“…Thanks. At least now I won’t waste any more time.”
“I had to help somehow. And…”
Veron hesitated for a moment.
He still looked afraid, but soon, with a determined expression, he spoke again.
“I suppose it’s fine to say this much. Gideon, have you ever heard the saying—‘A daughter resembles her father, and a son resembles his mother’?”
“I think I’ve heard that before.”
“Yes. I strongly agree with that saying.”
What he said was quite sudden.
But I instantly understood the meaning hidden within those seemingly random words.
“And your eyes, Gideon. I think your eyes are truly beautiful. Just like… this forest we live in.”
“…Thank you for the compliment.”
The forest we lived in—that meant the fairies’ and elves’ forest.
He said my eyes were as beautiful as the elves’ forest, and that a son resembles his mother.
‘He was saying it in the most indirect way possible.’
At the very least… I was not a pure human.