Chapter 122: Chapter 121: The Old Elf Enters Winter City

When he teleported to the outskirts of Winter City, Saint El thought he had come to the wrong place.

He wasn’t in a hurry to get to the meeting spot arranged with "Golden Dragon Loves Drawing." It was still early.

Since he rarely got out, he might as well take a stroll around the Northern Domain.

For most people, there was nothing to see in the Northern Domain; poverty and ruin were practically its calling cards.

Saint El, however, enjoyed observing the living conditions of people in different regions, whether they were happy or sad.

He believed such things were more worthy of appreciation than any natural beauty or man-made wonder.

Around the age of five hundred, his mindset had shifted to one that was somewhat close to that of an observer.

That was why he had visited the Northern Domain three times before.

Each visit was separated by several decades, and what remained consistent was that, despite the long intervals, the place never seemed to change.

In fact, for most places on the Continent, a lack of change was the norm.

A place like Twin Tower City, which had developed rapidly in just two hundred years, was an exception among exceptions.

To an Elf, two hundred years wasn’t a long time. But turning a small town into the largest city on the Continent... Elves were simply incapable of such a feat. No kind of Elf could do it, not even those traitors who hid underground, obsessed with digging holes and piling up dirt.

Yet the Northern Domain of today felt foreign to him, just as Twin Tower City had felt back then.

’But what does the Northern Domain have?’

The city was filled with houses under renovation or new construction, which must have cost a fortune.

The last time he was here, the rule was: if a house hadn’t collapsed, you lived in it. If it had, as long as it blocked the wind, you made do and kept living in it.

If it weren’t for the familiar sight of Winterfort, he wouldn’t have even recognized the city.

Now, Winterfort was no longer the tallest structure in the city.

The highest point had been replaced by a massive smokestack.

It was constantly belching smoke.

He couldn’t imagine what kind of massive fire would require such a large smokestack.

Elves had never been fond of fire.

’Could it be a Steam Engine?’

’The last time I heard rumors about Steam Engines, weren’t they only capable of weaving cloth or ventilating and pumping water out of mines?’

’That was only a little over a decade ago, wasn’t it?’

The sounds coming from the Factory now were no less of a commotion than dozens of Mages Casting Magic.

’It seems I’ll have to encourage the young Elves to get out more.’

He had a feeling that, in just a few years, the image of Elves would change from a noble race of recluses in the Holy Forest to an old, undying, and backward race of fossils clinging to their antique instruments.

The Elves were a paranoidly arrogant race, believing that only their own creations were superior.

That was why, when he chose to learn the Magic of other races in his youth, he was ostracized by his own kind.

Facts proved that his choice was the right one.

The name Eldron was sung in Elven poems as one of the greatest Mages.

It was only under his strong advocacy that the Elves began to explore a wider range of magical knowledge.

However, the Elf King still had to declare it as Magic improved by a great Elf Mage—superior Magic with Elven characteristics—before the rest of their kind would accept it.

’Nothing but conceit.’

So, when the Steam Engine appeared, the Elves were just as dismissive.

Because even with the aid of machinery, the productivity of an Ordinary person still couldn’t match that of an Elf, every one of whom could perform Casting.

’Just another bit of petty cleverness,’ was how the Elves saw it.

But Saint El insisted that this progress made by Humans was different from all the rest.

Or rather, all those so-called "petty clevernesses" from the long past had accumulated into the leap forward of today.

From his understanding of Humans, the current balance was maintained only because everyone was an intelligent species of roughly the same level.

Once a gap formed, only Humans would be considered an intelligent species. Everything else would be considered an animal.

The Elves might face annihilation then. Slavery, or even being kept as pets, would be their future.

He didn’t particularly want to be an observer watching his own kind meet such an end.

The turning point should be when Magic and technology fully converge.

The current Magical Devices or Alchemy Creations were still like clumsy combinations of the two, not yet fully integrated.

’So there’s still a chance to catch up.’

At the very least, his support for the forum was certainly a step in the right direction.

El found a teahouse and, out of his love for tea, ordered a new item the shopkeeper highly recommended: jasmine milk green tea.

He had absolutely no idea it would taste like this. It was far too sweet.

’I recall Humans treating sugar as a symbol of nobility.’

’This must be a drink for nobles, then.’

He glanced at the price list. 1 Copper Coin.

If his understanding of the value of a Copper Coin wasn’t mistaken, this was clearly a commoner’s drink. It seemed sugar was no longer a rarity. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

The next customer to enter confirmed his suspicion.

It was a young man in an ordinary worker’s uniform, accompanied by a female companion. The young man bought a cup of milk tea for her.

The female companion seemed to be a Mage Apprentice.

But what surprised Old El even more was their attire.

They had drawn dark circles around their eyes, painted their faces a bluish-gray, and even wore a pair of fake Sharp Ears.

’Are they imitating the Zor?’

The Old Elf, who had always considered himself tolerant and open-minded, suddenly felt like a conservative.

’Why would they imitate the Zor?’

"The new music video from Underground Discard is about to start!" the two suddenly exclaimed in excitement.

As they cheered, music began to play from the Magic Vision Device hanging on the wall.

’Magic Vision Device, that must be what it’s called. A merchant group tried to sell them in the Holy Land before, but they were turned away at the gates.’

On the screen, a small band appeared.

It was a band made up of Zor Elves.

What surprised Saint El more than seeing the Zor being cheered by Humans was the song this group of traitorous Elves was singing.

Accompanied by an extremely simple Arpeggio Harp, the lead singer sang in a voice that was almost completely devoid of skill.

"Wake me up when September ends."

’What is this? Is this even a song?’

The two young people even excitedly asked to take a picture with him, saying they had never seen an Elf in person before.

’Do they not know the relationship between the Zor and other Elves?’

Old El felt that the mental shocks he had received in this one day were more than he had experienced in the past hundred years.

"Teacher El!"

A familiar voice called out from outside the shop.

Still in a state of shock, Saint El looked outside, following the sound of the voice.

"Lady Furin?"

"What are you doing in the Northern Domain?" the Elf and the Dragon asked in unison.

They were indeed old acquaintances. Although Furin was several hundred years older than Eldron, she had always addressed him as "teacher" because she had once studied Elf Magic in the Elf Holy Land.

"I’m here to help a certain red idiot," Furin answered first.

’That would be Zog,’ Saint El thought. ’Those two Dragons have been in their complicated dance for nearly a thousand years, and it’s still not over.’

"I... am here to," Saint El searched for the right words, as the truth was a bit awkward and could damage his reputation, "visit a friend. Yes, visit a friend. The appointed time is almost here."

"Then where are you going to meet your friend?"

"Beheading Plaza."

"What a coincidence, I’m heading there as well. If you can’t find it, I can show you the way."

"Then I’ll trouble you," Saint El said, standing up with his unfinished milk tea. "Do you know why the plaza has such a terrifying name?"

After watching the Zor’s performance, the Old Elf found himself completely unable to comprehend Human aesthetics.

"Oh, that’s because the Lord here beheaded the biggest bandit in the Northern Domain in that plaza. To commemorate the victory over the bandits, the plaza was renamed. They say it reflects the character of the Northern People—fearless in the face of strong enemies and willing to fight to the end."

’Alright, my stereotype of Humans has just been reinforced.’

Saint El stroked his beard.

The plaza wasn’t far, and the two of them arrived quickly. It was working hours, so the plaza was empty.

"Are you sure this is the right time?"

"It’s fine, I’ll wait. You go on with your business."

"Alright then. I’ll visit you again when I have time." As Furin spoke, she opened the forum and, under Old El’s gaze, began to type.

"I’m here. Where are you? You’re not scared to meet me, are you?"