The Beginning Of The Ruler
Chapter 12: Becoming A Disciple Of The Former Elf King

Is beautiful.

That was the word that appeared in my head as I gawked at the city of the elves. It seems we have directly teleported through the gate. What I saw in front of me was a building that seemed to be constructed from jade-like materials. This jade building was so perfect and seamless that each of them seemed to be carved from one large stone.

Making this place look even more amazing are the large trees intertwined with buildings, filling this entire city with a more distinctive and organic atmosphere. Looking up, look up, I saw houses built on unnaturally thick branches extending out from huge trunks even larger than buildings with smoke coming out of their chimneys.

The entire land inside the city is covered by lush soft moss, with only narrow sidewalks and main roads paved with fine stones. Rows of dense branches spreading from the trees covered most of the city in the shade of a canopy, but there is a warm and glowing light throughout the city thanks to the many floating light balls located on every corner and street.

While I was standing, agape, still processing the world around me, a shadow whizzed in front of me all of a sudden, waking me up.

Thania was still holding my hand when a group that looked like guards arrived out of nowhere. These elf warriors exuded a dignified atmosphere, all of them wearing coordinated black suits with green ornaments and golden shoulder guards on their left shoulder. These five guards carried rapiers tied around their waists. I mentally noted that these guards did not have a reasonable aura emanating from them.

The Augimenter and Magician both naturally emitted a faint aura from their bodies. The fact that I can't sense which ones are leaking means one of two things: The core where they are is at a fairly high level where I can't feel them, she said, or they have enough control over where they are to not let any leaks out. Either way, it means that these people are just as impressive as their clothes.

The guards ignored my presence as they suddenly knelt in front of Thania In in unison. "We welcome back the Princess of the kingdom."

"…" My gaze went back and forth between the guard and Thania and I remembered the moment I jokingly called out to Tessia 'Your Majesty'.

Tessia was actually the Princess of this entire kingdom?

When I tried to release Thania's hand, she suddenly squeezed her hand tighter. With a voice so cold and apathetic that I thought it was someone else's voice, he said, "You can get up."

They stood with their right hands still crossing their chests as the knight in front spoke. "Daughter, we arrived as soon as we saw that the royal teleportation gate had been used. The King and Queen have…"

Before he could finish speaking, I heard a cry not too far away.

"My baby! Thania, you're fine! Oh dear!"

Running towards us were a middle-aged man and woman. From the crowns on the men's heads and the tiara encircling women's foreheads, I assume that they are the King and Queen.

The King's tall and strapping body was uniformed in a loosely decorated robe. His emerald eyes pointed upwards and his thin lips stiffened, matching his short military-style hair.

While the King had a dignified but somewhat reserved appearance, the Queen was dazzling. Although she was slightly past her youth, her age could not cover up her beauty. Her round eyes exuded a light blue hue, contrasting sharply with her pink and lush lips. Her silver hair rolled down, waving past her back as she ran towards us, her proportioned figure visible behind her dress.

The mother's cheeks were covered in tears as the father had a tense expression that looked like he was holding back tears as well.

I turned my gaze to see Thania's face seeming to soften as she started crying as well. I let go of her hand and gently pushed her towards her parents, feeling a little sentimental.

Thania landed in the arms of her mother who started sobbing while kneeling, both of them buried their faces on their daughter's shoulders.

The last to arrive was an old man who had already passed his prime. His facial features were all sharp, with a gaze that could kill someone who touched. Her hair was pure white and tied back, her face was shaved clean. This old man did not say anything, but his eyes warmed slightly when he looked at Thania.

It took a few minutes for Tessia and her parents to calm down. Meanwhile, the guards glared at me with daggers in their eyes, even the older ones looked at me curiously.

The king finally stood up and while his eyes were red, he still carried an atmosphere of dignity. "As King of Elanoir and father of Thania, I must apologize for my unsightly and more important appearance, I want to thank you for bringing my daughter back home safely" she said, her voice coming out a little hoarse. "Please accompany us to our house so that you can rest. After that, you can tell us what happened."

Her tone was gentle but implied that there was actually no choice, so I just nodded in agreement. As I was about to follow behind them, Tessia came to me and grabbed my hand again, filling the people around her with shocked expressions. Inevitably I laughed uncomfortably as I scratched the side of my head, unable to gather the right words for a situation like this.

After an awkward journey that felt much longer than it actually was, we arrived at the castle. Instead of a castle, however, it looked like a huge tree. This tree, which probably needed at least a few hundred people to circle it, was made of white stone which, I can only guess, had somehow gone through a petrifying process.

Stepping through the front door of the tree, I was surprised at how impressive the interior of this castle was. There were two curved stairs that formed a circle, with a giant chandelier floating in the center. This chandelier seemed to be made of the same ball of light scattered throughout the city.

I have told the King and Queen that I do not need to rest and it is better to tell them as soon as we arrive, so that is what we do.

Not even a shower, the welcoming crew were all located around a rectangular dining table downstairs. Thania's father was at the end of the table with me right across from her. Thania's mother sat straight with her husband, with Thania sitting right next to her. The grandfather sat across from his mother and daughter, leaving a considerable distance between us, while five guards stood by the side behind the King.

With both elbows resting on the table, fingers intertwined, the King was the first to speak. "Son. You said what's your name?"

"I'm sorry for the late introduction. My name is Arthur White, and I come from a remote town in the Xafir Kingdom. Nice to meet you Kings, Queens, elders, and Gentlemen." I stood up and bowed slightly at them one by one before sitting back down.

Discussions won't develop if they treat me like a child.

Both the King and the Queen and the guards behind showed a clear shocked expression of my mature behavior, while even grandfather had an amused grin on his face; thania gave me a timid smile.

Regaining his composure, the King continued. "It looks like you're a lot older than your age. I'm sorry for assuming. My name is Aldin Elanoir and this is my wife Maria Elanoir and my father Victor Elanoir. As for what happened, please let us know. We want to hear your side of this."

Waving an apology, I started telling stories. I made sure to be very vague in telling them how I was able to enter the Elshira Forest from the very beginning; I only told them that I had separated from my family after meeting with the bandits, only managed to survive due to luck.

Inevitably, I had to tell them that I was a witch. This was followed by a wave of incredulous gazes from everyone, including Thania. Due to the lack of obstacles we faced on our way back, I never really needed to use mana so I didn't bother explaining.

One of the guards told me that I was a liar and to prove that I was really a witch when, unexpectedly, Thania's grandfather held her back. He then clenched his hands on the table and looked at me with a frightening new interest.

I immediately continued, telling them how I saw the carriage and observing them carrying the child strapped to the back of the carriage before leaving.

Hearing this, the King slammed both of his hands on the table, his eyes narrowing into menacing gazes.

"I should have known it was human …"

I corrected his somewhat racist comments and said, "They are slave traders. They and the bandits both preyed on, not only the elves, but also the humans, speaking as their own victims."

This caused the King to cover his mouth before sitting back down, letting out a gentle cough.

"I didn't ask Thania.*ahem* the Princess, but I was wondering how the slave merchant could get this royal princess," I asked, almost calling out Thania by her nickname. I didn't think of calling her something so informal because Thania would be sitting right with everyone present.

Hearing this, the King almost looked embarrassed before saying, "My wife and I had a bit of a disagreement with Thania and she decided to rebel by running away. We had decided to let her calm down a little before picking her back up because we knew.where she usually stayed when she frowned, but unfortunately, she met some slave traders."

Ah. runaway princess. I grinned a little at Thania and she replied with her tongue out, her face red.

I stared at the details of the fight with the slave traders.

"Luckily, I had surprised the slave traders and managed to throw them away before untieing the princess and escorting her here."

"So, a four-year-old managed to 'luckily' kill four adults, one became an augmenter at the time, and you just waved it off as if it wasn't a big deal," the bells ring to the king's father, sitting across from Thania, leaning back. In a chair so that only two feet touch the ground.

"Yes. Half of them were sleeping and both were not on guard, so throwing them away was not too difficult" I argued back.

The elder only responded by shrugging his lazy shoulder.

After finishing the event, I cleared my throat before asking what I came here for. "As I've mentioned, it's been almost two months since I saw my parents. I don't plan to disturb your kingdom as long as I want to meet them quickly, though, so I wonder if you guys have a teleportation gate that can take me to Cyrus City or to anywhere inside Xafir."

"You're leaving, White?!" Thania got up from her seat, her face engulfed in panic.

Both his mother and father stared at each other in confusion as they uttered 'White'.

The elder simply smiled sinisterly and chuckled, swinging his chair.

"I don't think it's appropriate for a human like me to be in this Kingdom for too long, Princess. Besides, I want to make sure that my family is safe and tell them that I'm fine too" I replied, giving a timid smile.

The king retaliated for Thania. "It has been several hundred years since the last man set foot into the Kingdom of Elanoir and you, Arthur, are the first humans to be in the capital of this Kingdom, the City of Zastier. However, saving our daughter and taking the trouble to accompany her all the way back to us gave you a worthy gift.”.

"…Unfortunately, the teleportation gate connected to Xafir Kingdom opens only once every seven years, for the Peak Conference between the three races. Since the last summit two years ago, it will be another five years until the gates will be functional" the king continued.

I can only sigh disappointed.

"However, we are more than willing to send a group of guards to escort you back home. You are right that it may not be wise to stay in this kingdom for too long. While some are tolerant, many have hostility towards humans due to war since long ago." He let out a short and sad smile because of this.

I nodded in agreement. At least I can go home safely.

"For now, please stay here. We'll get your bodyguards ready by morning. I advise you not to wander outside the city, for the reasons mentioned earlier."

The king flicked his finger and an old elven woman in a brown servant uniform rushed out, taking me to my room.

The room I was going to was large, but the furniture was simple and elegant. While the only furniture consists of sofas, tea tables, beds, and dressers, each appears to be handmade from wood by experienced craftsmen. As soon as I entered the room, I closed the door behind me, stripped naked and went straight to the bathroom. The bathroom was a pleasant surprise; it was a simple waterfall that seemed to flow naturally from the ceiling and flow back to the floor. However, the constant flow of water that never seems to go out is a very pleasant temperature, warm enough to relax my body and pores.

When I finished wearing a very fine robe just for your top and shorts, I placed the stone Silvana left for me inside the breast pocket inside my robe and once again, placed the stone that Silvana left for me inside the breast pocket inside my robe, trying to learn my mana core.

About thirty minutes and making only a little progress, I heard a knock on my door.

"Who's coming?!"

Opening the door, I was greeted by a sullen Thania who threw a light header into my chest.

"Basic stupid! Why are you acting so cold with my family there," he snorted, sneaking past me and sitting on my bed.

"Well, first of all, you did not tell me that you are the princess of this whole kingdom!" Shaking my head, I clutched Thania's hand and pulled her out of my room. Kids or not, I don't think her parents would like her to be in a boys room.

"Come, show me around the castle! I won't get a chance to visit this place again." I'm instantly sorry to say this.

I heard a slight sobbing when Thania suddenly cried, trying to speak while sobbing.

"White! I don't want you to*Sniff* go…"

"…You are *Sniff*the first friend I've ever been close to…"

"…"

I just gently patted her head as she rubbed her eyes with an arm that didn't hold my hand.

As we continued to walk in silence, except for Tess' gentle sobbing, we made it out, in the courtyard behind the castle. The floating spheres emitted a dim, glowing light, illuminating the well-preserved garden in a gentle atmosphere.

Inevitably I imagined how different this scene would be if we were ten years older.

Before I could even finish my mind, a very clear killing intent bombarded my senses. A few milliseconds later, a faint glimmer of light showed the position of the projectile aimed at Thania. I pushed the still crying princess out of the way and I prepared to fend off the projectile with mana impregnated hands.

Just then, a black-clothed figure was facing my back, his right arm in an attacking position. Grabbing the projectile, I immediately twisted my body to block the assassin with whatever was thrown at me. To my surprise, I came face to face with Thania's grandfather.

I jumped back out of range before shouting furiously, "What the hell is this! Why are you trying to kill us?"

"Son. It might hurt a little, but I doubt the toy you're holding can kill anyone" he chuckled.

I looked down at my hands to see a pencil-sized projectile with both ends blunt and coated in a layer of something close to rubber.

I'm fooled!

"Haha! Good reaction, good reaction! I didn't expect you to capture my little reward and use it to block my next attack! It's absolutely incredible! However, your mana usage is mediocre!"

He proceeded to throw me a wooden sword that matched my size as he took out his wooden sword, only slightly larger.

"I'm coming!" Not even giving me time to take a stand or even a chance to receive impromptu training, she ran towards me.

This crazy old bat!...

I lowered the horses and, instead of defending, I also launched myself towards him, speeding up my speed to waste his swinging time. Aiming for the fingers gripping his sword, I swung upwards, strengthening my entire body.

Just before my sword came into contact with his hand, I only met with air as he disappeared from my sight.

Whipping my head back, I saw him several meters apart from where I was standing.

"You're a scary brat, aren't you? I think I should be a little more serious!" grandfather grinned.

His speed is increasing. Even with my previous life consisting solely of training and combat, I could only hold it in front of my eyes. However, being able to see it and being able to respond to its attacks were two different things.

I felt like a sandbag because I could only curse my own body.

I could block one of his movements from every three of his movements that landed on my body.

Screw technique, this old bat is toying me at high speed. The only reason I could compensate a little was by using sword techniques and footwork to minimize my movements, along with the fact that, due to my size, I was a small target.

After about ten, long minutes of being treated like a wooden training post, I began to notice some patterns in grandfather's attack.

As he flashed behind me to do a horizontal sweep to my feet, I exerted all my strength onto my feet and jumped backwards with a sword tucked in my armpits pointing to his head.

With the loud thud created from my landing blow, the old bat stumbled slightly before it got a balance.

"HAHAHAHA! I think I deserve it!" he laughed, rubbing his swollen forehead.

Throughout all of this, Thania was shocked at first but upon realizing it was just a spar, she calmed down. However, he used this opportunity to jump out and step on the older one.

"Grandfather! You hurt White too much! You should have been more gentle to him!" Pinch the older side.

"AHH! It hurts the little guy. Haha I'm worried that if I go easy on Arthur, he'll bully me!" he gently replied while lifting up his grandson.

He flashed in front of me and suddenly placed his right palm onto my breast bone.

"As I thought. Your body is in danger…"

I stared blankly at him. Through the constant use of rotation and mana meditation, my body should be much healthier than the four-year-old who eats the most.

Victor, noticing the gaze of my body, pressed his palm against my breast bone at a certain angle, triggering a burning pain.

"Your manipulation is good for beginners regardless of your age, and your sword techniques and combat experience are scary enough to make me wonder what kind of life you lead to learn all of this." Eyes squinting. "But you failed to mention one important thing in your story earlier."

I could feel my heartbeat start to increase as I began to suspect that he knew about Silvana.

"I've decided. Arthur, be my student!" He nodded, making me really careless.

...----3.003 Word----...