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“Exactly, it has only just been ten years,” mumbled a visibly confused Aivar Redleaf. “All I did was return home to handle some small matter. Are you in that much of a hurry to grow up?”

Unfortunately, while her words were meant for her only, her voice was too loud, thus we heard it all anyway…

Ten years… how many “ten years” does a human have, though? For a normal person, anyway.

When compared to a nature elf’s lifespan, a human whose lifespan could only be measured in tens was surprisingly fragile…

Still, the Prince Sersan maintained a calm, polite manner as he held his judgement towards this elf’s problematic sense of time. “I just so happened to be out when you came back, I wasn’t able to find a good time to visit you afterwards–”

“Yes, yes, you all may leave now.” The ever-talkative Aivar Redleaf curtly cut him off with a wave of her hand. “Also, don’t call me sister. I don’t have a little brother with such an awful voice and rough appearance like you. Geez, he was so cute when he was young too, what went wrong in his development to turn a lovable angel into that?”

That last bit was clearly meant for herself once more, but we heard it all the same.

Now, if I was our dear prince, I would have probably called her a beetch, but I wasn’t, and our dear prince would have to deal with having to suffer on our behalf alone.

I could already tell that this elf was a sinful fellow. Like those kids back on Earth, who constantly cried for a little bunny, only to find that it looked a little dumb and fat upon growing up. At that point, there was naught but displeasure left for little Bunbuns, in fact it might even be bound for the dinner table…

“Well, I just so happen to have official matters to attend to. Farewell, Lady Redleaf.” The king smoothly said his goodbyes despite the fact that this lady had just insulted his own son. As for the unfortunate son, there wasn’t much he could do, seeing as his own father did not even deign to defend him.

However, the pair did not forget to give me a lecherous look before departing…

With the pests out of the way, Aivar Redleaf withdrew that scalding look on her face, turning back into that caring big sister mode she had when she addressed me. “That father and son pair aren’t good people at all. Nana, you need to be on guard against them, don’t let them take advantage of you.”

“Not at all… Actually, I…”

“Actually?”

“Actually, I’m even stronger than all of them.”

I was planning to explain that I was a man, thus they couldn’t take advantage of me to begin with, but then I realised that some people didn’t mind that either, as long as I was pretty enough…

Besides, she wouldn’t have believed me either way, especially not when I’ve assumed my daughter’s name…

“Oh? I never knew our Nana was such a fighter!” Aivar declared with playful surprise, however, her voice quickly turned solemn as she said, “Just remember to come find me if anything were to happen. This garden is my territory, even they wouldn’t dare to go overboard here.”

“Mhm. I will take you up on that offer.”

Her territory? Isn’t this the palace grounds? Lady’s got balls claiming this as her territory!

After a quick round of chatting, I finally felt that it was about time and made ready to leave. I was honestly prepared for a round of verbal subterfuge with the elf, but I quickly learnt that her heart was as pure as she was talkative. Her acerbic tongue was merely a manifestation of how honest she was. In that case, it would be remiss of me to even consider plotting, thus I decided to just be friends with her, for now.

“You’re leaving?” Aivar Redleaf tugged on my hand a little. “How about Nana just stay with me instead? I haven’t even brought Nana around to see my little hut, and there’s all sorts of hidden corners to be explored in this garden alone…”

That last bit got me a little, but still…

“No, I think it’s better if I leave for now. If time will allow me to, I will come find you again.”

Honestly, Aivar Redleaf seemed like a good choice for a friend. Even if there was a couple centuries separating us, we hit it off surprisingly well… But her lengthy sense of time made her almost seem distant, and her acidic words disqualified her from any association with the word kind. Yet, she felt like a kindred spirit to me, and I never was one to be stingy with someone like that.

But, I had my plans for leaving. I needed the wealth of this kingdom to enact my grand magitek plan. While Andassis the Seventh was clearly afraid of her, there wasn’t much point either in staying here if I wanted to further my plans.

After all, how was I to claim his treasury for my own without talking to the man… I mean… humbly request that he crack his coin purse for me to pioneer the field of magitek in the Western Human Realms.

That’s right, I was going to be a pioneer! Not a gold digger!

With Aivar as my guide, I quickly found my way to the entrance of the gardens.

“Nana, here’s a book for you to read in the meantime.”

An intricate, leather-bound book suddenly popped into existence in her hands. The cover was black, embossed with the imagery of the Aivar tree and its leaves dancing in the winds.

Naturally, books did not just pop into existence, not even in a fantasy setting. Barring some sort of invisibility tool or spell, there was only one explanation for this: a dimensional storage ring!

“This is an elven tale, known as the Steps Beneath the Aivar Tree. The book speaks of a pair of lovebirds, borne of a pair of feuding families, ultimately parting because of untimely death. But death did not stop the man from waiting beneath the Aivar tree daily. His lover, too, would quietly sit beneath the tree, as if waiting for something… truly touching… it always brings a tear to my eyes to read this…” As Aivar continued explaining the plot for me, her eyes started to water from the deluge of emotions she felt.

I turned to look at the nearly two pound book with a wry grin on my lips, “But I don’t know how to read Elvish…”

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