The Long-Eared Girl

“…………………………”

A beautiful long-eared girl with fresh-green, emerald-like hair and eyes was staring blankly at Jonah.

‘Uh, um… she’s gotta be an Elf… right?’

Günter had explained the traits of the Elf to him.

Long ears, beautiful regardless of gender—she matched every condition.

She was clearly older than Jonah, and more than twenty centimeters taller than his small 130-cm frame.

Her clothes looked suitable for moving through a forest, yet she also wore leather chest armor and greaves and carried a large wooden bow on her back.

“U-um—”

“…!?”

The instant Jonah called out, the girl snapped back to herself and tensed up.

But then, for some reason, she shook her head with a resigned expression.

“…Please. I’ll leave right now, I won’t say a word to anyone—just let me go?”

She raised her hands in surrender and pleaded.

“Uh—what are you talking about?”

“Isn’t it obvious? You’ll cut me in half like that tree over there because I saw that ridiculous magic.”

“Ehhhh!?”

Jonah had no idea how she’d reached that conclusion and yelped in confusion.

“W-wait! I would never do something like that!”

“Lies. If it becomes known you have that kind of power, the country won’t leave you alone. Things will get messy. So, the quickest solution is to erase—”

“Please stop saying scary things like that!”

If anything, Jonah felt lucky—this Elf encounter was an absolute miracle.

If he hurt her, he’d lose all chance of learning about the Fairy Forest. Killing her was impossible—unthinkable.

“…Really?”

“Really!!”

With the girl still eyeing him suspiciously, Jonah raised his voice in frustration.

Then—

“…I thought I was going to die.”

She exhaled and collapsed weakly onto the ground.

Her expression barely changed, but upon closer look she was trembling—she’d truly been terrified of him. Much to Jonah’s dismay.

“S-so… who exactly are you?”

Unusually for him, his tone sharpened a little.

“Ah… My name is Titancia Figbloom. A guild member from the frontier town of Mittenberg.”

“Guild member? What’s that?”

More than her name, the unfamiliar term caught Jonah’s attention.

“You don’t know? …Are you not from the Duchy?”

“N-no. I’m from the Empire.”

“I see. Then it makes sense that you don’t know.”

Titancia stood and brushed off her clothes before explaining.

The Duchy of Aubern has organizations called “Guilds,” created by people of various professions. Those belonging to them are called guild members.

Each town has its own guild. In the capital, Minga, all towns invest in a Central Mutual Aid Association, which sets commercial standards and influences national policy when needed.

There is also an unwritten rule: to work in the Duchy, you must be a registered guild member. And to become one, you must meet conditions like “no criminal record” and “must be a native of the Duchy.”

Thus, the guilds protect the livelihood of their members—but conversely, they treat outsiders harshly: non-members cannot get jobs or trade, making the system very exclusionary.

“…So if someone from another country wants to live here, they have to be rich enough to never need to work. And even then, locals are cold to outsiders.”

“Uwaaah…”

For an Imperial like Jonah, the guild system sounded like nothing but trouble.

He made a strange noise, thinking it would be impossible for him to ever live here.

“Anyway—your name?”

“Ah—m-my name is Jonah.”

Prompted by Titancia, Jonah hurried to introduce himself.

“Jonah… a nice name.”

“…!?”

She suddenly leaned in, and Jonah gasped.

He hadn’t been this close to a girl’s face since Marguerite.

And she was an Elf—beautiful like a sculpture and close enough that he could feel her breath. Even someone as innocent as Jonah couldn’t help tensing up.

“R-right! Um—Miss Titancia, you’re an Elf, right?”

“Mm. That’s right.”

Jonah stepped back, and Titancia flicked her long ear playfully and nodded.

“Th-then, do you know anything about the Fairy Forest?”

“The Fairy Forest? …Ah, that legend.”

“Yes. I’m actually searching for it.”

He’d asked based on what Günter told him—that the Elf knew the way—but Titancia only tilted her head.

It seemed not all Elf possessed that knowledge.

“Sorry. I don’t know where the Fairy Forest is.”

“I see…”

He slumped, though it made sense—if the forest was still only a legend, it wouldn’t be easy to find. Maybe the Elf kept it secret.

Either way, his journey had only just begun.

Thinking that, he composed himself again.

Then—

“…But maybe the Elf Chieftain would know about the Fairy Forest.”