After a long horse ride, we exited this pitch-black forest area and finally arrived at a normal road. I spotted a crowd of elves moving along the road and roadside, and I appraised them out of curiosity. Elves have bodies and ears that are different to humans, but other than that, they possess characteristics that are pretty much the same as humans. This street and the tiny hawker stalls along the roadside are the same as what you would see in human society.

I thought elves would segregate themselves and spread themselves out in the mountains and forests. I never imagined they had their own cities. Could it be due to the influence of the humans in this world?

“Wear your head cloth properly, son.”

I suddenly felt a warm sensation in my ears which made me jolt. When I turned around, I saw mom looking at me with a gentle smile as she fixed the part of the head cloth covering my ears. Mom gently held her slender finger out and cutely went “shh”, and said: “Don’t let anyone see your ears~”

Looks like elves really care about blood lineages.

To be honest, I didn’t understand the things I saw and experienced. Perhaps I only have the memories of up to one day before he died. He led a group to battle, but they were virtually completely annihilated, yet I had to lie to those that saw us off with the bag in my hand. It wasn’t a victory. It was a crushing defeat.

I don’t like this feeling. None of this has anything to do with me, but this goes against everything I was taught growing up. I know that I have to tell this lie. No one enjoys the feeling of defeat. But the warriors who fought with their lives can’t rest in peace like this.

“Trot~ trot~ trot~ trot~~”

The foot soldier walking behind us suddenly blew his horn and all the people around us who heard it, quickly gathered around us and admired the cavalry as they cheered in celebration. Perhaps this was their way of celebrating victories.

Mom gently nudged me and said: “Take these items and share it with everyone. Remember, you were victorious, so be happy. You’re the star today.”

I opened the bag and took out a handful of dragon scales; the Earth Dragon scales had a golden glow to them, but if you touched them, you could feel the traces of a pattern on them, while the back of them had a soft skin-life touch. The centres of the scales were very thick, while the edges were sharp. I scattered the scales into the crowd. They responded with loud cheers and began fighting over the scales I scattered.

“In the name of the great Morigan! In the name of the great forest! In the name of the Goddess Clementina! For our triumphant warrior, Prince Troy Galadriel Rosvenor’s campaign against the wild beasts! May the glory of the forests and lakes be with him forever.”

The troops behind us cried out. I tried to understand what they were saying, but realised I couldn’t understand their language at all. However, that didn’t seem to affect my comprehension skills or ability to speak. It appears memory and language belong in different areas of the brain. I absent-mindedly scattered the dragon scales into the crowd. It was because I was a bit nervous, but also because I truthfully didn’t want to witness this scene.

My mother seemed to be able to tell I was not in high spirits, so she pinched my cheeks softly, and said: “Smile, my son. I couldn’t be happier to know that you’re still alive.”

“Uhm.”

I nodded and slowly made my way into the elf city. The city looked similar to those of humans. It had magnificent walls and a thick iron city gate covered with the skin of beasts. After passing through the city gates, I looked up to see a big hole where boiling oil is poured down when defending the city walls. By the looks of it, the hole had been used more than once.

Elves should be able to use magic, right? I’ve checked my hands many times, but I don’t feel any magic flowing through them…

We passed the streets and crowds crying in joy and the palace at the centre of the city finally came into sight. The palace had a European nuance. I couldn’t see any distinct elf-like characteristics. It seems the elves from here are very close to humans, because even their culture is the same. Mom and I rode our horses inside after the palace doors opened. Upon entering, we saw a giant flower garden, and there was a pond right in the middle of the garden. It looked very sturdy for a pond that was merely used for entertainment in the palace. The surrounding grass was lush green, so there must be people taking care of it daily. In the middle of the pond were some geese lazily grooming their feathers. After passing the garden, we arrived at the square which was behind the garden with a fountain in the middle. The floor was spotless. Not even a stone was in sight.

Behind us, the palace path looked so long, it would take some time to cross even on horseback.

“Son, head in and rest for a bit, you must be exhausted. Rest up. Don’t worry about a thing, mommy is here. Don’t worry about a thing.”

“But it’s the middle of the day right now…..”

Mom and I dismounted, but mom was a little clumsy, so I carried her off. Mom then tightly grabbed my hand as though she was not going to let me go anywhere. Mom’s blue eyes still showed a hint of fear and worry, and her hands were trembling more fiercely than mine. She was more afraid than I was. She must’ve been so worried when I left.

“Come with mommy, okay? Come with mom… Mommy is scared, scared that you……”

Her beautiful face and alluring lips trembled uncontrollably, so I helplessly nodded and walked hand-in-hand with her into the palace.

“Your highnesses! Congratulations on your victory!”

As soon as we entered the door, I heard a shout which shocked me. In front of the hall knelt an elf with his left hand on his chest and his head bowed down congratulating us. Mom smiled and then walked up to them and said “Thank you, but the prince is exhausted after the tough battle. Please try to refrain from burdening the prince with your questions. After the prince has recovered, he will be glad to share the story with you.”

The two pretty maids standing by my side gently said: “This way, your highness.”

“Ah… Okay…”

I slowly followed the two maids along the red carpet, and stole a look outside to see the flowers in bloom, neatly pruned trees and grass. This isn’t a place I should be at, but… You could say that everything here belongs to me now.

One of the maids walked in front of me while the other followed behind me. Their ears moved in rhythm with their steps which made me really want to feel them…. But I felt that I shouldn’t do anything impolite so I withheld the thought.

I must ask, is my room that damned far away?! Could you be a little bit more considerate towards a victim who just returned from the dead and rode a horse a heck of a long way to arrive here?! I didn’t feel tired when I woke up on the battlefield, nor did I feel tired on the way back on the horse, and yet I’m so exhausted walking to my room that I want to take a break……

“Your highness, please take a short break. We will help you wash up soon.”

The maids pulled the door open and respectfully bowed. I nodded and entered my room. The room was huge! The bed which would make anyone jump out of shock was on one side and above it was a massive hanging light, but… It wasn’t hanging from the ceiling…. It was floating in mid-air. The entire room was decorated and there was even a fireplace, but the flame inside was blue.

I walked over and touched the flame out of curiosity. I found that the flame felt like the air…. I couldn’t feel anything. No, the flame was slightly warm. In fact, it was the same temperature as the room. To be more precise, it was this flame that controlled the room’s temperature.

How interesting. This is basically like an air-conditioner.

A lazy voice suddenly spoke out to me from behind. I was so shocked that I almost dived head-first into the fire. I swiftly turned around and saw a small delicate face that looked like a westerner behind the bed curtain. Her eyes had a very rare green tinge but also have off the feeling that she wasn’t fully awake. Her pointy ears trembled a little, and she crawled across my bed to ask me in a lazy tone: “What’s wrong, are you hot?”

I asked: “Umm… this is my room… isn’t it?”

The maids couldn’t have made a mistake right!?

“Ah, yeah….”

She then rolled over without a care and in the world and said: “So… Is there a problem? I mean, I come into your room everyday….”

Who are you, miss? Would you care to explain how you’re able to enter my room so casually? I don’t even know you…… She rolled over on my bed and then somersaulted onto the floor and stoop up. Her long skirt didn’t seem to affect her agile body. She walked up to my side and skilfully grabbed my hand. Her lazy eyes gazed at me. Her fine and smooth skin appeared in front of me in a flash but her boobs were not as firm as mom’s…

She tilted her head to one side and asked: “So you won?”

“But, Atta… Tracy… and Gela aren’t back.” She let go of my hands, looked down and I noticed a slight tremble in her tone. I juggled the names around in my hand for a bit, but I couldn’t recall ever hearing those names. I never met those people before. But for some reason my heart was aching. Why did I feel ashamed?

“Sorry……”

I looked down to the floor, clenched my first and mumbled under my breath: “Sorry… I… I… We… Failed… Everyone… Everyone… I’m the only one who survived….”

I was the only survivor. Everyone else died… Why? Why? Why am I hurting inside and feeling despair when this has nothing to do with me…? Why didn’t I feel fear during my moment of death, and yet feel like I’m going to break down in tears now? Whose feelings are these? Are they mine or his?