A Peaceful Land of the Orcs (6.7)
"... Today, just for today, I wish to speak with the king alone."
When she softly made her request, Advin gazed up at her with those gray eyes, pondered in silence for a moment, and then—
"... Very well. There are things only you can accomplish."
He agreed.
"Thank you, Advin."
Among the many things Dineluth had recently thanked the Mother Silver Tree for during these peaceful days, one was how she had grown quite close to him and had fully acclimated to their interactions.
The fact that he agreed to her request without being given a reason suggested that Advin, too, saw their relationship in that light.
It seemed this Great Wolf had not lived for many years. Lately, Dineluth suspected he was likely around the same age as Gustav.
Fortunately, Gustav showed no suspicion over the absence of Advin, who usually lounged nearby. That was likely because the imposing, warship-like door to his office had a special passage that only Advin could use, allowing him to come and go freely.
That day's lunch featured seafood from the North Sea.
Pickled herring drizzled with olive oil, served with a sauce made from summer tomatoes and mustard.
Crisp-fried scallop adductor muscles, accompanied by wine vinegar, lemon, and rock salt.
"Well, well."
Dineluth was thoroughly delighted.
Pickled herring was a familiar dish from her homeland, often appearing at dinner.
For the Dark Elves, a mountain-dwelling people, it was one of the few non-smoked, non-dried seafood items they could regularly consume. When she thought of fish dishes, she was more accustomed to trout and pike from lakes.
As for scallops, she had tasted them for the first time after coming to Orcsen.
While the North Sea coast had them naturally, it was only thanks to advancements in railroads and refrigerated food preservation that fresh scallops were now available even this far inland. Before that, they could only be transported by waterways along with seawater, making them a rare delicacy.
Nowadays, they were served even in city taverns and were not particularly expensive. Yet, to her, they still felt like a luxury.
In the capital, Wildschwein, they were popular as an appetizer among gourmets, often sautéed in butter or fried.
When she first tried them, she had been nervous, but she was immediately captivated by their flavor.
Rich. Savory. Pure. Thick and meaty.
They were delicate yet substantial.
To her, they also paired well with strong spirits.
"Haha, Dineluth, you really like scallops."
Gustav, too, counted them among his favorite foods.
In fact, he had been actively encouraging the expansion of scallop farming in the North Sea, where aquaculture was still relatively new, to increase their availability.
After the meal, they were served dark, hot coffee, and as they lit their pipes and cigars, Dineluth brought up a topic Gustav had been intrigued by—one of the past queens of Elfynd.
It was about the third queen, from the age of myth and legend, who had succeeded the first monarch and was said to have established the fundamental framework of Elfynd's modern governance. She enacted numerous reforms, and what was remarkable was that she had conceived of them all on her own—an undeniable founding figure of the kingdom’s rebirth.
"This may be hard to believe, but it is said that, in the age of the divine, Elves originally had distinct sexes—male and female. Like other creatures, they bore children through mating. However, this queen, believing that Elves should be more complete beings, altered them so that only females remained."
"... Oh?"
Gustav listened intently, his admiration evident.
"I had heard such stories before, but… how fascinating."
"What makes this queen even more interesting is what comes next."
Now, let's see.
How will he react?
"Hmm?"
"It is said that the queen was originally human. On her deathbed, as she succumbed to an epidemic, she confessed to this."
"...... A Human becoming an Elf? What do you mean? How is that possible...?"
"'A Human' is not quite accurate. This part may be even harder to believe, but it is said that there exists another world apart from this one, and that the queen’s soul came from there and was born into this world as an Elf."
"......"
"In Elfynd's traditions, there are records of such beings—those who were reborn as Elves or, in some cases, who suddenly appeared in Elfynd one day while still in their original Human form from that other world."
"...... Suddenly Appeared?"
"Yes. There was simply no other way to explain it. One day, they were suddenly found in forests, plains, hills, or by lakes. This happened multiple times, until eventually, Elves grew accustomed to the phenomenon."
"......"
"Strangely, many of these individuals already harbored goodwill toward Elves. They shared their knowledge with early Elfynd, which was still in the chaos of the Fallen Star Era—teaching agriculture, science, metallurgy."
"......"
"They called themselves 'Reincarnators.' The word originally meant something akin to 'various forces' or 'different powers.' In plural form, it was 'Vilar.' The singular form was 'Vila,' and in the feminine, 'Viliera.' The fact that there was even an ancient term for it suggests that they were once common."
"......"
"I had never encountered one myself, so I never believed such stories. I simply enjoyed them as fairy tales. But after coming to this country… No, more precisely—"
"......"
"After getting to know you, I started to reconsider. Perhaps it is possible."
"......"
"Your Majesty. My King. Gustav. Are you not the same? Are you not originally a Human from another world?"
Silence filled the air.
Gustav neither confirmed nor denied it.
With his gaze lowered, his expression unreadable, he quietly exhaled a wisp of purple smoke and asked—
"… Why do you think that?"
"For one, your talent."
—Agriculture, science, industry, military.
Unparalleled brilliance.
Even Zebeck and the others had said that most of Orcsen’s advancements were the result of his ideas.
His alone!
No matter how gifted one might be, such a feat should have been impossible.
The development and refinement of technology rely on collective interaction.
It would make sense if he had already known of such things beforehand—if he had knowledge from somewhere entirely different.
"Another reason is the specialized terms you use, which you claim to have gleaned from memory and books."
Total war.
Combined arms tactics.
Brigade combat teams.
Aerial reconnaissance.
Paper warfare.
—Several of these terms did not yet exist, even in Orcsen.
"They likely originate from a completely different world."
Having been compelled to record unfamiliar words and expressions, cross-referencing Orcsen’s dictionaries and the Alrbic tongue, she had noticed this.
"You were not born with such talents. Until the Battle of Rosalind Valley, you were just an ordinary soldier—your own words. The catalyst must have been that magic you used. That’s when something within you awakened. This aligns with the testimonies of General Schwerin and the others."
"......"
"And another reason—your uniqueness as an Orc."
—The absence of basic desires such as sleep and lust.
Especially lust."
What do you think about this chapter?
