NOVEL NEXT Chapter 8
Chapter
Three years passed, and Enok turned 13.
Though his exact age was uncertain, Rionne, who could somewhat pierce the veil of truth, determined it to be so.
At the age where one should be growing, Enok had shot up and was now at Rionne’s chest level, and his skills had surpassed even Rionne’s expectations.
Yet, one thing remained unchanged.
“Enok──!”
– Yeah…!
As Rionne called his name loudly, Enok came running from somewhere and jumped into her arms.
Rionne naturally patted the head of Enok.
“Do you like the forest?”
“A little?”
“You’ve been in the forest a lot lately.”
“It smells like Rionne in the forest.”
Especially from the large and elegant Satis tree.
Enok affectionately called that tree the Rionne tree.
“What’s that about?”
Rionne chuckled.
Shaking Enok’s body playfully seemed to bring her great joy.
Undine found it ridiculous.
[Seriously, it’s absurd. What are those two up to?]
As always, they ignored Undine.
Undine sulked.
“Today, we’re going to the city for the first time in a while.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Don’t like it?”
“I like home.”
“Honestly, so do I.”
But one couldn’t just stay at home for a lifetime.
Though more than a hundred years remained until Enok became an adult, he needed to slowly get accustomed to human life.
After all, he was born under the decree of Heavenly Death.
To escape that heavy burden, he would have to raise his own level, which inevitably needed independence and trials.
When Enok became an adult, he would have to mingle with humans, go on adventures, build various relationships, and navigate life-and-death struggles all by himself.
Otherwise, reaching an exalted state would be impossible.
“Uh-huh.”
Enok was being evasive.
Independence didn’t appeal to him.
It would be nice to live with Rionne forever.
As if to lift his mood, Rionne picked him up and whistled.
Then the sword hanging at her waist unsheathed itself and floated in the air.
“Enok, be good, okay?”
Rionne sat on the sword, placing Enok on her lap.
As the sword gently soared into the clouds, Enok hugged Rionne a little tighter.
“You like flying, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Hey, cheer up. Big sister will buy you something tasty.”
“…Food from humans isn’t very good.”
Undine peeked out from Rionne’s pocket with a frown.
[Geez, if someone didn’t know, they’d think you’re not even human.]
Crack-!
[Ouch, that stings…! Hey! Don’t do that!]
Enok glared as he zapped Undine with a small electric shock.
At that look, Undine flinched for a moment.
[Seriously…]
That brat’s Heavenly Death.
Not a drop of killing intent towards Rionne, yet always wreaking havoc on me.
But to be fair, Undine was somewhat better than the rest.
When lounging in the forest, her killing intent oozed out, making nearby animals tremble in fear.
Undine understood that and said nothing.
Just that Rionne was a very special case.
“Enok, look over there.”
After a bit of a staring contest with Undine, Enok turned his gaze following Rionne’s slender finger.
She pointed towards the scene below the clouds.
It was a wide expanse of forest landscape.
“This is the forest we live in. Isn’t it huge?”
Although he’d seen the view several times before, Rionne showed it to Enok every time she flew, due to her special affection for the forest.
“But, you know…”
“Yeah?”
“It’s wide, but can others not come here?”
Rionne skillfully understood Enok’s clumsy question and answered.
“We’ve put up a barrier around our house. There’s nothing special in this forest anyway.”
No matter how wide the forest was, if superhumans were determined to rampage through it, they could still navigate.
Just Enok alone could reach the nearby village in a day or two if he sprinted at full power.
But there’s really nothing worth searching for in this forest.
Ultimately, the only people who might come would be common folks living nearby.
It would take them months to make their way to Rionne’s house, not to mention the risk of being hunted by mana-infused animals, so they’d likely not be around.
Moreover, with the barrier Rionne set up, it made sense to say that others wouldn’t have a reason to visit.
Unless someone who reached her level intentionally sought her out.
“Uh-huh.”
Enok slowly nodded.
After chatting a bit longer, Rionne smiled widely and hugged Enok tightly.
“We’ve arrived.”
“Errands again today?”
“Yep. It won’t be hard.”
Rionne hopped off the sword, picking up Enok and landing discreetly in a secluded spot near the city gates.
If she had come alone, she would’ve jumped directly into the city, but since this was for Enok’s education, she couldn’t show him anything bad.
Typically, one had to go through the proper procedures to enter the city from the gates.
Swoosh—
Rionne cast a spell to alter her appearance to look human.
Her elf ears became short like a human’s, her facial structure altered, her brilliant blonde hair lost its vibrancy, and her forest-green eyes turned blue.
In short, a beautiful elf became a slightly less beautiful human.
Afterward, the group smoothly lined up at the city gates to wait for their turn.
Before long, it was their turn.
The guard, recognizing Rionne, grinned at her.
“Back again, huh? How’s today treating you?”
At the guard’s crude gestures, Rionne responded with a cold stare.
“Don’t get too cheeky. Let us through.”
Normally, one would need to show a pass, but a beauty like Rionne was her own pass.
If a guard had seen her before, it was impossible to forget her face.
Rionne walked with a haughty stride, staying true to the vibe of her human form.
Enok remembered the guard’s face.
‘How dare this human…’
In three years, Enok had become quite the little racist.
*
Dendalo was a small city.
It barely passed the standard of what one might call a city.
Yet, even such a city had its things.
Enok strolled through the market holding a list of the necessities.
Of course, Rionne had distanced herself again, making excuses to buy other items.
Did she truly believe that the errands were a great help in his education?
It was hard to tell.
‘Clothes, pens… There’s even a book.’
He didn’t want to study, but it was something Rionne ordered.
He didn’t want to buy any, but he had no choice but to get a book.
“Sigh…”
“Ah…! O-Over there…!”
As he turned at the sound of approaching footsteps, Enok saw a girl standing there, her face bright red.
In fact, it was a bit more than just one girl.
Girls were scattered everywhere, all gazing at Enok with sparkling eyes.
“P-Please accept this…!”
Being born under the decree of Heavenly Death with exceptional physical prowess, Enok’s form was perfectly balanced.
Moreover, due to a bit of luck, his looks were entirely adequate for being called a handsome guy; with added long ears, he could easily call himself part of the beauty race, the elves.
“Eek…!”
Enok glared at a girl who hurriedly handed him a letter and then ran away, carelessly stuffing the letter into his already full pocket.
[Humans, really. What do they see in such little girls? Everyone’s lacking in aesthetic judgment too much. Why is it always this chaotic?]
Ignoring Undine, who followed him as a guard, Enok glanced into his stuffed pocket.
Letters, handkerchiefs, trinkets… and even the underwear he was wearing.
Truly, humans were full of insane people.
Suppressing his killing intent, Enok slipped into a nearby alley.
He dumped the contents of his pocket onto the ground and burned them all with his power.
Feeling a bit dirty, he roughly shook his pocket a few times.
“Sigh…”
Finally releasing a deep sigh, Enok lifted his head.
His eyes had grown cold by then.
“You there, human.”
Enok’s voice echoed through the quiet alley.
But only silence returned.
With a furrowed brow, the current snaked around Enok’s feet.
Zap-!
In an instant, Enok’s form vanished,
Boom-!
And the alley wall crumbled.
Shaking off his hand, Enok glared at the quickly retreating man.
“Why are you stupidly following me like a gloomy dwarf? Is there thief blood running through your veins?”
[H-Hey, how could you say something so harsh…! Aren’t you being too rude without Rionne around!?]
Though Undine was shocked, the man didn’t flinch.
Asking an elf-style insult was quite vague for a human.
“This is why I hate humans. Creepy little bugs.”
[You’re human too, you dummy!]
“I’m half an elf.”
[Rionne…! This is bad! He’s lost his mind!]
While Undine, worried about Enok’s mental health, wailed, a man dressed in dark clothes opened his mouth.
“Do you have any connections to elves?”
Hearing that, Enok’s demeanor turned foul.
“Aha… So you’re trash even worse than humans.”
“There seems to be some misunderstanding. I am not an elf hunter.”
Enok remained silent.
Instead, purple lightning gathered in his clawed hand.
Crackle─────────!!
Along with the emanating killing intent, the man’s expression hardened.
The aura released was not that of a mere child, nor was the killing intent ordinary.
“How about a conversation? I’d rather not hurt you.”
Of course, the splendid racist that Enok was, he didn’t listen.
He simply had no desire to converse with a human!
Thunder rumbled in the small city’s alley.