Chapter 11 : She must be terribly in love with me
“Like this?”
El made a gripping motion with his hand.
After receiving confirmation, he closed his five fingers, clutching the round stone tightly in his palm.
“Use your heart to feel the elemental force, sense the fluctuations of nature,” Meira explained. “If you manage to feel the elemental force, the stone will warm up.”
Humans cannot comprehend things they don’t understand, just as El couldn’t grasp the abstract concept of this “elemental force.”
Still, he concentrated earnestly for quite a long while.
Finally, he felt the stone grow warm.
Excitedly, he shouted to Meira, “Miss Meira, it seems the stone is heating up.”
Meira glanced at the dull stone in his hand and smiled lightly, shaking her head.
“Mr. El, that’s just because you’ve been holding it too long. It’s your body heat.”
“……”
“Don’t be discouraged, Mr. El. When you’re just starting out, it does take quite some time. But you have magic within you. With the right chance, you’ll learn quickly.” Seeing his drooping spirits, Meira offered some encouragement.
“That’s true.” El clenched the stone again. “I’m a transmigrator, after all. Learning magic should be a breeze.”
“Miss Meira, if you don’t mind, could I borrow this stone for a few more days?”
Disappointment came quickly but faded just as fast. In the blink of an eye, El perked right up again.
“If you need it, Mr. El, I’ll give it to you.”
“Give it to me?” El was surprised. “This thing should be pretty valuable, right?”
“For elves, things only have value in the hands of those who need them,” Meira smiled. “From a human perspective, it doesn’t mean much to me, so feel free to keep it.”
“Well… since you say so, Miss Meira, I won’t be polite.”
El took the stone and suddenly looked around as if recalling something.
After confirming something, he leaned toward Meira.
“Oh, by the way, Miss Meira, there’s something else I want to ask you.”
“What is it?”
El had wanted to directly ask, “What should I be aware of when looking for an elven wife?” but that might scare her off.
So he chose a roundabout approach.
“I’m curious—how do elves view love and marriage?”
Sure enough, after he asked, Meira’s expression shifted slightly.
“Mr. El, why do you ask?”
“Just curious.” Proud of his own tact, El rambled, “You’re all so elegant and beautiful. I’m sure there are plenty of admirers of your race, right?”
“There are quite a few,” Meira said without suspicion. “But elves generally don’t intermarry with other races.”
Now El was genuinely curious.
“Why?”
“Elves hold many views that differ from most races on the continent,” Meira explained. “If the concept of marriage is too different, quarrels are inevitable. Over time, cracks appear in the relationship.”
“Besides, elves are a pure race. Most other races on the continent—especially humans—do not reject polygamy.”
“That’s a form of desecration to elves. They cannot accept their partner being impure… Also, elves…”
Meira was about to continue when El interrupted, sensing something was amiss.
“Miss Meira, hypothetically—just hypothetically—if an elf were to have relations with someone else, could she still love another person?”
“No. Elves give their hearts to only one person for life. Even if that person changes, an elf will never try to love another until death.”
El sucked in a breath of cold air upon hearing this.
He hadn’t expected Nia to like him so much that she would stay loyal for life like a widow!
But it made sense—he had saved her life, so through her grateful eyes, he was her savior…
If this were a novel, it would be a classic ‘devotion through sacrifice’ storyline.
Whether coincidence or not, just as El thought this, Nia came out of the room.
Instinctively, El looked over.
Nia met his gaze without understanding why.
Their eyes locked in the air.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
“…”
The burning intensity in El’s eyes sent a chill down Nia’s spine, forcing her to look away.
Meira hadn’t noticed the awkwardness between them.
She greeted Nia.
“It seems Nia had a good rest last night. It’s rare to see her sleep in this late.”
Hearing Meira’s teasing, a trace of shame flashed across Nia’s face.
“Sorry…”
“Sorry for what? Injured people should rest more.”
Meira’s voice was gentle and warm, making Nia feel even more guilty.
Guilt was guilt, but some things couldn’t be solved by guilt alone.
Like the curse that flared up in her at regular intervals.
The emptiness made her no longer easily satisfied as before, so she fixed her gaze on Meira beside her.
Facing Meira, Nia’s deep blue eyes grew wilder, an almost maddened look thickening inside them.
She stared at Meira as if looking upon a perfect holy statue.
She forgot her duties, shamefully kneeling before the sacred figure.
The intense sense of taboo twisted into a thrill, filling her hollow soul.
At this moment, she became a heretic who profaned the divine.