Martial Elf

It would be inaccurate to call it porcelain due to its low quality, yet it was too well-made and blue-glazed to be termed earthenware. It was a finely crafted cup that he lifted to drink the liquid within.

“…Only slightly better than mop water.”

Araya sipped the tea thoughtfully.

In her past life, the greasy foods and weakening effects of alcohol had stressed her frail body, leaving tea as her only real enjoyment. Her family, using her as a martial scholar, hadn’t neglected even such pleasures. As a result, she had tasted almost all the so-called finest teas in the world—White Peony Silver Needle, Xihu Longjing, Tieguanyin, Enshi Yulu, Huangshan Maofeng, and Dahongpao.

Compared to these teas, whose flavors and fragrances were achieved through painstaking effort, the so-called tea presented to her this time was nothing more than water boiled with dried leaves left to dry indiscriminately.

I lowered the cup with an ambiguous expression, sighed, and placed it down.

The gaze was uncomfortable.

“Does it not meet your satisfaction?”

The woman who served it approached with a dissatisfied look the moment I set the cup down.

“Aren’t you supposed to be the advisor to King Priegoss? Is this really where you should be right now?”

“For His Majesty has commanded that I tend to our esteemed guest.”

Araya smiled coyly, her innocent face tinged with a seductive charm.

I inwardly sighed and looked at the dried plant leaves floating in the water that was supposed to substitute for tea leaves. Since meeting King Priegoss a week ago, he had been unusually kind, to the point of being burdensome. After the momentous first formal encounter between elves and humans, the king had repeatedly brought precious food, wine, and jewels.

Yet the true intent was obvious: while food develops when culture has reached a certain level of refinement, merely fatty foods were insufferable. I had no experience with alcohol and declined it, and the gold decorations and roughly cut jewels held little interest. When I requested tea from my past life out of boredom, they began boiling various fragrant plants one by one, attempting to approximate it.

Though they didn’t know what tea trees looked like, I explained the characteristics, and they searched accordingly.

“…Perhaps I need to find a tea tree first.”

She herself had only seen the finished product and didn’t know what tea trees looked like. Moreover, given the difference in the vegetation of her past world and this one, the likelihood of them resembling each other was slim. Nevertheless, drinking strange liquids masquerading as tea offered by them during the last week was becoming tiresome.

“Perhaps it would be easier if they showed hostility.”

Recalling the events that led to this situation, she thought back to a week ago when she was invited to the palace by King Priegoss. Surrounded by tense soldiers, she engaged in long discussions with him. During these talks, when the atmosphere slightly softened after reading her brief travelogue, Priegoss requested a demonstration of martial arts.

Martial arts were called divine powers and it was an attempt to steal her techniques.

Amused by this, she used her inner voice technique through her sword to instantly incapacitate all the soldiers.

The issue began shortly thereafter.

To be honest, after showcasing her technique, she had felt a slight sense of pride, but she didn’t expect that it would result in the human king kneeling to ask for martial arts lessons. After a moment of silence, his face stiffened, and he knelt with his forehead to the floor, seeking instruction in martial arts.

Caught off-guard by this sudden and unexpected turn, she failed to manage her expressions at the time, which posed little concern. Since then, the king had begun overtly begging for instruction, kneeling in humility, and offering precious gifts to display his goodwill.

Thinking about this, she contemplated spreading the martial arts among humans but was unsure. Her intention was to gradually disseminate martial arts with measured control, but given the king’s proactive attitude and rapid-thinking mindset, the spread could potentially be much faster.

“Would acquiring official influence in the human world via teaching humans be worthwhile despite the difficulty of regulating its spread?”

Considering the significance of being the teacher to the human king, it was akin to assuming the prestigious role of a Grand Academician or higher ranking academic in the Imperial Academy.

Reflecting on the historical absence of renowned scholars like Confucius and Mencius in academic fields or the legendary founding figures of martial arts such as Zhang Sanfeng or Bodhidharma, the potential impact could be immense.

However, as someone skilled primarily in martial arts, she lacked expertise in calculating the political repercussions of her actions. Thus, she was undecided, pondering the matter for several days.

Stepping away from her desk, she took a walk outside.

“Are you going out for a stroll? I will accompany you.”

Turning around, she caught sight of Alia, who trailed three steps behind her, and puckered her lips.

“If the king’s advisor spends the entire day accompanying me, others might think I am the king.”

“His Majesty instructed me to treat you with the same respect as himself, so your words aren’t entirely incorrect.”

Alia’s witty response left no room for argument. Based on past experiences, further debate would only cost her.

While wandering quietly around the palace, she sensed a familiar energy and directed her steps toward it.

“What’s going on here?”

“That’s the deer the elf brought with them. Both Alia and King Priegoss treat it like royalty, but we should probably do something about it.”

“Even so, why should we be the ones taking care of the animal’s food?”

“Ouch! This animal won’t eat again!”

“Kyaa! It licked my boob!”

“…Should we kill it?”

“Hold on. If we kill it, Alia will kill us.”

“It was still eating bean leaves just the other day.”

“What else could this deer eat?”

“Would bamboo shoots work?”

“Will it eat them?”

While quietly walking around, she observed the chaos of some bat-human hybrid servants of Alia — called succubi — trying to feed bamboo shoots to the picky Rudolf.

“Sorry to trouble you.”

“Not at all. If it lessens Lady Araya’s burden even a little, it is worth it.”

She sighed and continued forward. After a bit, she reached another part of the palace where a commotion was occurring.

“This! This is the way the elves train in basic martial discipline!”

“Oho…!”

“All things begin with basics! You must clearly feel the sensations in your thigh and glute muscles!”

A space suitable for martial training had been set up in the palace courtyard.

A boy was demonstrating martial stances while a group of soldiers followed, attempting to mimic the horse-riding stance known as Ma Bu. The boy demonstrating the stance was Duberv, the former gambler of the Adreel family, whom she left behind during her stay in Priegoss.

Duberv was demonstrating Ma Bu to the soldiers, which seemed absurd. Upon approaching, the soldiers noticed her. While the soldiers stiffened in her presence, Duberv turned around and ran towards her.

“You arrived, Teacher!”

“Teacher?”

Duberv, who had previously shown disdain for training and muttered complaints during sessions, now showed an uncharacteristic level of respect.

“What’s going on here?” she asked in a low, ominous tone.

Duberv puffed out his chest and proclaimed in a loud voice for others to hear, “I am the disciple of the Teacher! And these soldiers have shown interest in learning the basics of martial arts from me!”

Instantly, a headache began to form. Since when had he considered himself her primary disciple?

So far, all she taught him were Ma Bu and some foundational techniques for hidden skills.

She glanced at the soldiers, who looked somewhat impressed and envious of Duberv. She realized that because she received royal treatment and was referred to as someone’s teacher, they showed him respect and it had gone to his head.

Perhaps, they were using Duberv to extract secrets of her martial arts.

Still, she hadn’t taught him anything significant. Ma Bu wasn’t necessary for soldiers with well-balanced strength, though the exercise could strengthen their lower body foundations.

The soldiers were blindly following Duberv, who was leading them under a false premise that such training would unlock secret techniques.

“…Should I really teach this guy martial arts?”

While the idea of spreading poor martial arts among humans didn’t bother her much, the fraudulent nature of Duberv’s character made her hesitate, imagining the embarrassment if he became her official disciple.

Duberv leaned over and whispered softly, “Teacher, shouldn’t I start learning real martial arts soon?”

“…Didn’t you say you didn’t want to learn?”

“But I’m your disciple, right? I’m the disciple of someone who even the king teacher refers to with reverence. How can I go on without proper martial arts training?”

The mention of the “king teacher” caught her off guard.

“Du…ber. I am your teacher.”

The memory of examining his vital points in their accommodation came back to Duberv, who grinned nervously at the mention.

“Yes! Teacher!”

“You need mental conditioning, starting now.”

“Huuuuuuuh?”

Thwack!

Duberv froze at the shift in her expression, trying to step back but was hit by a shockwave from the Qi emitted through his stomach, sending him flying to the center of the training yard.

The soldiers stared at Duberv sprawled out like a squashed frog, then turned to admire her as they began applauding.

“Amazing…”

“…Let’s return to my room.”

Rubbing her temple, she informed Alia.

Alia fell in silently, understanding the situation.

“…While I’m lost in pointless worry, they seem to be enjoying the show.”

On her way back, feeding the arrogant stag with bamboo shoots prepared by the succubi, she gave him a taste of flying as well.

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