The Beginning Of The Ruler
Chapter 11: The Princess of the Elf Kingdom

It felt like a good hour before the little fairy girl could finally calm down. I don't blame her; being forcibly kidnapped would cause trauma even to an adult, even more so because she seems only a little older than me.

While sitting next to her, comforting her, I realized how strange this scene was. A four-year-old boy gently patted the head of an elven girl behind the carriage as four bloody corpses were being devoured by the ferocious beasts next to them.

"W-What happened to those bad guys?" he sobbed, his voice came out a little stingy.

Not knowing if telling a seven-year-old about the murder was appropriate, I ignored it by telling him, "Er."

He studied the hesitant expression on my face by raising an eyebrow, only to look down and whisper, "Serve them properly." Taking a closer look at her now, I inevitably noticed that she brought all the necessary features that would allow her to develop into a sufficient beauty later on in the future.

With the long gunmetal gray hair that I thought was silver in the sun, the girl's disheveled state could not mask the innate beauty that seemed to radiate from her pores.

A pair of sparkling teal eyes shaped like perfectly round almonds trembled as his dashing nose was so red from crying that it matched the reddish color of his lips. While all of its individual facial features look like carefully shaped gems, on the creamy white skin of its face which is a canvas, it brings its features into a surreal and almost fantastical work of art.

Of course, this I just observed from speculative as a man and a king who enjoyed the beauty in the world. I'm not going to say that I "Tortured him".

I helped him up before speaking again.

"The people who tried to kidnap you won't come after you anymore. Even so, do you think you can make it to your own home?"

Instantly, his eyes were pulled in fear as a panicked expression spread all over his face. As tears welled up and both hands clenched tightly on my shirt, even a baby would be able to figure out what the answer was through his actions.

"Listen, I should go home too. Aren't elves generally safe in these woods?" I sighed, trying to open his claws—I mean his fingers—from my shirt.

He fiercely shook his head, like a dog drying himself, and denied, "The savage beast is only afraid of adults … Parents warned me that children would be eaten by dogs or tree golems."

I would usually be very amazed by something like a tree golem, but it became very difficult to find something that shocked me after watching the demon king metamorphose into a dragon.

I rubbed my nose, trying to find a solution to all this.

"How long does it take to get to where you live from here?"

"…"

Still holding onto my shabby shirt, she lowered her head and admitted, "I don't know."

I resisted the temptation to sigh again, as the poor girl seemed to be about to cry, and agreed to take her home.

Elanoir Kingdom is quite far to the north so my only hope is that there will be a teleportation gate there that can make me return somewhere, anywhere, in Xafir .

I instructed the elf girl to wait inside the carriage while I gathered some necessities; the main reason was, I don't want him to see the carcasses of the slave traders being crushed even when I find it hard to eat. Finally finding a backpack small enough for me to wear without dragging it to the ground, I carefully folded and stuffed a small tent into it, along with a leather water bag and some dried rations. I took the Pinky knife from the ground where I fought against Danton and George and tied it to the front of my waist to balance the awkward large equipment on my back. Before returning to the carriage, I freed the coyote after realizing that, while they could pull the carriage, they could not be ridden.

I thought for a while about taking the train to the elf kingdom but thought it was too dangerous and we would stand out like a sore thumb in the forest.

"Let's go now" I said, trying to sound more enthusiastic for her sake.

"Ein!" He nodded, jumping out of the carriage as I carried him away from the carriage where all the corpses were.

I learned a lot about the elven girl along the way. First, her name is Thania Elanoir and she is only five years old, which means she is about a year older than me, although physiologically it is.

Thania is also a pretty quiet girl, if not shy. He was very polite to me, given his younger age, and never complained, making him a very pleasant companion. Maybe, if I don't travel in the opposite direction to my destination, I'll really enjoy him with me.

With the sun setting and the thickening fog, we set up a tent under the roots that grew from a very large tree for the night.

I can't fit any support rod into the backpack, so use the long straps I carry and tie them to the two roots and hang the tent canvas on top of them, overload the ends with moss-covered stones. After I finished setting up the tent, I took some dry rations and handed some to him.

"…Thank you very much." He bowed a little.

"You know, you don't have to be so polite to me. I'm younger than you and I'd feel a lot more comfortable if you weren't too uptight." My cheeks are full of dry food.

"O-okay, I'll try!" he smiled shyly while holding back a laugh.

I began to wonder if she was raised by such strict parents. Maybe it was just the habits of the fairies and by telling her to be more comfortable with me, I accidentally invited her to marry me. Shrugging my shoulders, I continued to fill my face with more food.

We sat under one of the tree roots next to our tent and continued the chatter.

"W-can you tell me about the human kingdom?" He suddenly asked, his eyes twinkling in curiosity..

"What do you want to know?"

"What is a human city like? How's human? Is it true that all men are perverted and have more than one wife?"

I choked on the dried fruits I chewed, spraying them before they got stuck in my lungs.

"No. Although it was not against the law, only nobles and the royal family tended to have many wives." I said after calming down, wiping my mouth.

"I understand now!" His eyes seemed to say, still sparkling.

You sure?...

I continued, explaining a little about Ashber city and my family, to pass the time before I ask as well.

"What's it like to live in Elanoir?"

"Mmmm…." He pondered for a bit before finding the words to explain.

"I don't think it's too different from what you told me about where you grew up, except kids all have to go to school to learn about our history and how to read and write. When we wake up, we get a mentor assigned to us and we become their student. From there, many have only practiced with your master."

"So ..." I muttered, pondering about the different educational systems of humans and elves. While the method of education of elves was much more advanced and non-discriminatory, it only worked because the elf kingdom was much smaller and tighter compared to the human kingdom, but it just shows how culture makes a big difference in the world.

"Sleep in the tent, I'll keep it next to you outside."

I saw him think for a moment as his eyes were fixed on me, full of determination.

"I don't mind sharing the tent, if you agree." He tried to sound indifferent but his voice betrayed him..

"It's okay. I'm not sleepy now anyway" I replied much sooner than I meant.

"… Okay," he sulks. Are his ears just a little drooping?

Making sure he got inside the tent, I leaned against the trunk of the big tree and started meditating.

I started to check which core I was. Silvana left me with something she called "Will" but how did it affect my mana core? Checking closer, I noticed, very faintly, a few marks at the core of where I was when,

"A-Arthur?" Thania's head poked out of the tent.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, turning my head to face him.

"Y-good! you know. .. ferocious beasts will be more likely to appear if they notice you because they will see that you are a child. Therefore, I propose that for our safety, it would be better for you to go inside the tent. " At this point, Thania had covered her face with the tent opening cover, peering with just one eye.

"Pft~ Thania, are you afraid to sleep alone in a tent?" I laugh.

"J-not at all! I'm just suggesting, for both of us's safety, what's the best option!" he insisted on leaning in, almost falling out of the tent.

"Then, I'll hide in the tree and keep watch. You know.. for the sake of 'our salvation'," I winked.

"Uu.." He hid himself inside the tent before muttering softly, "I'm afraid to sleep alone."

Smiling at myself, I opened the lid and crawled into the tent.

Surprised, Thania let out a small cry before immediately lying down with her back to face me. Seeing how red her ears were, I could easily see myself enjoying teasing the poor elf.

After a moment of silence, he peeked over his shoulder. "May I hold your shirt?"

Seeing her tremble, I remember she was a child. I could not imagine how difficult it was for him; kidnapped, separated from his family and taken away, not knowing if he would see them again.

Shifting closer to him, I patted his head again gently as he turned his body and gripped the tattered end of my shirt. His eyes closed in satisfaction and after a few minutes, I heard his breathing change rhythmically, and I began to fall asleep as well, still sitting.

My eyes opened on their own and it took me a few seconds to remember where I was. I lowered my head to look at Thania's head on my lap, her body curled up comfortably.

Gently shaking him to get up, I whispered, "Thania, we have to leave now."

He slowly woke up, but when he realized our position, his body lifted up with a surprised scream. "Sorry! I didn't mean.. w-did I weigh?"

"Don't worry. Let's fold the tent" I replied with a wry smile. His cheeks were a little pink, he nodded in response and we started packing everything up before continuing our journey.

A few more days had passed quite smoothly when, out of nowhere, I was hit hard with a deep pain in my stomach. The first pain occurred on the third day of the journey; we were inside the tent, Thania was already sound asleep, when a searing pain suddenly spread from my breast bone. It disappeared quite quickly, but even that short moment caused a pain that made me shiver.

In addition, the most interesting incident was when some coyotes tried to get close, but a reinforced knife throw where I chased them away.

The night passed as I continued to sleep in the tent with Thania and she was getting more comfortable around me, at least comfortable enough not to feel embarrassed every time she woke up. Our conversation became more natural and less awkward as she started joking with me, even teasing me about the way I spoke; in her words she said that I was "Trying too hard to sound like an adult." Fortunately, my concern that a wave of pain might occur again was gone. Our steps were not hindered by the tree golems or even which monsters were stronger looking for children to eat.

"Can you know how far we are from Elanoir now, Thania?" I asked on a very sunny morning on the fifth day of our trip?

His elongated ears twitched as he began to observe his surroundings. Suddenly, he ran into a very crooked tree and moved his fingers to the tree trunk. A few minutes of silence passed before he came, looking excited.

"That tree is a tree that I sometimes come with my Grandpa! I remember carving my name on a tree trunk when she wasn't looking. We're not too far away anymore! I think if we speed up our pace a little bit. Little bit, we'll be able to do it tonight!" he said pointing to the tree.

"That sounds good" I replied, following behind him. No matter how wonderful the trip was, I needed to make my plans to go home, and it wouldn't be possible until I brought it home.

Although, I admit, I will probably miss him after this.

"Arthur White? You said your family and those close to you called you White. I felt, through this journey, I was close enough to call you that as well. "We were crossing a river on a wooden bridge covered in moss when he suddenly stopped. "So.. May I call you White too?" Thania turned around, showing a wide smile.

"Hmm? Sure, I don't mind," I said, returning her smile.

"You 'don't mind'? Cih, you can sound a little more enthusiastic.." she stuck her tongue out at me.

"I would be honored to be called White by you, Your Majesty," I bowed gracefully enough to a noble despite my tattered clothes.

"Hehe, and you might as well have the honor of calling me Thania," she giggled, bowing towards me before turning around and jumping off the log.

We continued the rest of the day, with only a few short stops to rest ourselves and fill our stomachs. The constant use of mana rotation has kept my body from straining, but it is clear that Thania is getting tired.

After our last short break in a patch of soft moss, we continued on our way to the final stretch. Thania and I got closer on this trip; the once shy and quiet elven girl showed a bright smile that was contagious despite our uncomfortable condition. She would keep teasing me too, saying that I should call her older sister because she was a year older than me. I teased her back, mimicked her as she cried, rubbed my eyes and shouted, "WAAA~ MAMA, I'M SCARED!" This turns it bright red. He hit me in the arm before he started to pout. Crossing his arms and lower lip bulging out, he stepped away before shouting, "HMPH! Wicked!"

It was already dusk and the fog around us seemed to be getting thicker. My view is completely useless in this ruined forest. Enough so that, if I were separated from Thania, I could go around in circles without even realizing it.

He suddenly turned his head towards me, his face mixed between happiness and doubt before he muttered, "We've arrived, White."

Looking around, the only thing visible was a collection of trees and fog. Confused, I was about to ask where we were, but I stopped myself when I saw Thania put both of her palms on the tree and muttered a spell.

Suddenly, the fog around us was sucked into the same tree and what was seen was a giant wooden door that seemed to be propped up by itself on the ground.

Thania grabbed my hand and pulled me to the door. When he opened it, I was reminded of the portal that Silvana had pushed through. The experience didn't feel better the second time around, but at least I knew what to expect. As we gently landed on our feet, arriving at our destination, I immediately stirred up my bag to make sure I still had the stone Silvana entrusted to me. Only after confirming that it was still there did I finally look up and see the scenery around us.

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