Volume 6 Chapter 64
by Golden DragonVolume 6 + Chapter 64: Occupational Hazard
Xia Yi clearly heard the words Balan had spoken.
The old king has passed, a new king has ascended?
Taken literally, that was also remarkable intelligence.
Evidently, the elderly Elf King had died, and the next Elf King had taken the throne.
That person could only be Eve.
Eve… had she become the Elf Queen so soon?
Xia Yi found it hard to believe. Judging from the elves’ earlier attitudes, they had not held the Elf Princess in high regard.
Could Eve secure her position as Elf King?
Moreover, given Eve’s personality, it seemed unlikely that she would order the country isolated and closed off after ascending the throne.
No matter how Xia Yi pondered, she couldn’t figure it out. There would be no answers until she met Eve.
As for Balan’s other remark, that the world would be completely rewritten,
That was frankly too ambiguous to interpret.
Still, Xia Yi’s intuition told her it probably had something to do with the changes in the Elven Kingdom…
“Balan? Balan?”
Atiya tried to shake Balan awake, but he was truly asleep and didn’t respond.
“Milady, he’s fallen asleep.”
“Hmm…”
Xia Yi looked up at the clock. It was already past midnight.
As things stood, she and Atiya couldn’t go out to find an inn, the innkeepers would run away the moment they saw them.
“Let’s rest here for a while and wait for Balan to wake up.”
“Okay.” Atiya nodded.
“Atiya, you worked hard drinking so much… Are you drunk?”
“A little.”
“Then you should rest too.”
“No, I have to watch over Milady. After all, I am your personal maidservant, assistant, steward, advisor, guardian Atiya!”
The blue dragon lady proudly recited her chain of titles like a menu item.
“Alright, then I’ll go rest first.”
Xia Yi found the server, tipped him, got a blanket, and went to a sofa in the corner.
She lay down on the sofa, wrapped herself in the blanket, covered her head, and fell asleep under Atiya’s watch.
…
…
The next day.
Xia Yi heard beautiful music and opened her eyes.
In the tavern, Balan was intoxicatedly playing an elven tune. It seemed he had sobered up.
Since it was already morning, the tavern had almost no patrons left. Those who needed to go home had gone.
Xia Yi lifted the blanket and saw Atiya standing right beside the sofa, eyes wide open, motionless.
“Atiya.”
“…”
“Atiya?”
“Huh? Milady?”
Atiya rubbed her eyes and looked at Xia Yi.
“What… were you doing just now?”
“Oh, Milady, I was sleeping.”
“Sleeping? With your eyes open?”
“Yes! This is my unique skill, standing sleep with eyes open!” Atiya laughed. “If there’s any suspicious movement or I sense hostility, I can activate my mind and body in the fastest way possible and take action.”
“Atiya, you… are amazing.”
Xia Yi didn’t know how to comment.
Even during her human sword saint days, she could sleep standing up, but sleeping with her eyes open… that she truly couldn’t do.
“Milady, thank you for covering my bill yesterday and letting me drink to my heart’s content. Please allow me to perform a piece for you on the spot.”
Balan noticed that Xia Yi was awake, walked over to her, and began playing a tune of his own accord.
“A wonderful piece. It has woken me up quite well,” Xia Yi applauded. “But since Balan is a bard, could you tell me some stories from within the elven clan?”
“With pleasure. Then I shall tell you the story of our elves’ great sage, Falma.”
Balan began narrating a story while accompanying himself on the harp, adding a BGM that filled the tale with atmosphere and immersion.
It was roughly about the conflicts between the dark elves and the elves. The dark elves invaded the elven tribe, and eventually, under the leadership of the great elven sage Falma, the century-long war ended.
One detail particularly caught Xia Yi’s attention.
It was about the prophecy of the world-ending elf. She had heard this for the first time.
“Balan, when it says that a black-haired elf will destroy this world, does it mean the Elven Kingdom or the entire land?” Xia Yi asked.
“The great elven sage explicitly said the whole world, not just the Elven Kingdom,” Balan replied. “Therefore, the world-ending elf is terrifying. We elves must always be vigilant to prevent such a being from being born, ”
“That would be very difficult to achieve, wouldn’t it? Destroying a single country might be possible for the strongest king of the higher races, but destroying an entire world would require an enormous amount of energy.”
Atiya turned into a contrarian and began arguing.
“Are you saying that the world-ending elf’s strength could reach a thousand or even ten thousand times that of the strongest king of the higher races?”
“Well…”
Balan fell silent. Falma had never specified how the world-ending elf would end the world.
“Alright, Atiya. ‘World-ending’ might just be a figure of speech. Don’t overthink it,” Xia Yi mediated. “Destroying the world isn’t that easy. This isn’t a manga book, how can anyone go around ending worlds on a whim?”
“Exactly. It seems Milady understands better~”
Balan plucked his harp to ease the awkwardness.
After a moment, he broke into a smile.
“Meeting you two by chance has made me very happy. But all good feasts must come to an end. It’s time to part ways. Each of us must continue our own journey.”
“Are you leaving?” Xia Yi asked.
“I’ve never been to the Dragon Kingdom. As a bard, I would very much like to learn the stories of dragons…”
Balan looked resigned.
“However, I need to return to the Elven Kingdom. Fine wine truly delays one too much. I’ve already lingered in this tavern for several days.”
Xia Yi was thinking about how to ask Balan to take her along to the Elven Kingdom.
Having an elf as a guide might allow them to enter safely.
“Balan!!”
Before Xia Yi could speak, another voice halted Balan’s departure.
It was Bear One, the one who had been bullied by Atiya yesterday.
The burly bear-man walked up to the bard and blocked his way. “Balan, our mercenary group would like to hire you to enter the Elven Kingdom with us. How about it?”
“Hire me?”
“Yes! Our mercenary group has taken on a mission to escort foreign merchants into the Elven Kingdom. But the situation in the Elven Kingdom is somewhat dangerous. We don’t dare to rush in blindly, and we badly need a guide,” Bear One explained. “As an elf who has traveled far and wide, you are the most suitable candidate. We’re willing to pay you a high price!”
“Hmm, I have indeed been short on money lately. I can’t even afford wine anymore, but…”
Balan looked very hesitant, clearly worried about something.
“Balan, if you go to the Elven Kingdom, could you take us along?” Xia Yi asked opportunely.
“You two…?” Balan was somewhat surprised.
“Yes. I have a friend among the elves. I really want to see her,” Xia Yi said. “Also, if you want to hear dragon stories, we can tell you along the way.”
This greatly appealed to Balan. After all, every bard is interested in stories, it’s an occupational hazard.
Moreover, these stories would come directly from dragons of the mysterious Dragon Kingdom.
He thought for a moment, plucked his harp, and agreed. “Very well then. A journey accompanied by two dragons might turn out to be quite wonderful~”
[Translator’s Note: Please join the Gravity Tales’ Discord Server, if you want to hang out.]
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