Over the following days, I get the hang of how to survive in the wilderness all by myself and how to hunt my own food without getting killed by some wild beasts.
Not only has my accuracy in archery improved, but also my stealth skills as I often tend to sneak past some monsters or big wild animals that I know are too ferocious and dangerous for me to take on.
Now, following the path that supposedly leads to another civilisation based on the map, I find someone walking by.
I click my tongue and pull the reins to stop my horse as I hop off, looking at the person, noting their lack of weapon.
'I guess that the civilisation is close by if they don't bother to be armed despite the lurking dangers right over in the forest.'
"Uhm... Excuse me? May I ask where I am?" The young boy only looks at me with his big, curious, dark blue eyes.
"I'm a tad lost, you see." As I explain, my eyes trail down to his fardel full of vegetables that seem to be freshly harvested. It's around mid-August right now, which makes sense for the carrots to get harvested if he sown them in early June.
I feel myself salivating just at the sight. 'Never have I ever thought that I'd ever miss the feeling of chewing on a fresh carrot... or any vegetable, in fact!'
"Uh... Would you mind if I sto- I mean, begged for one of your delicious-looking marks?" My eyes are focused solely on the fardel full of those fresh, juicy looking vegetables as I plead for one of those.
'I've only eaten chewy and tough meat these past few days. Most likely because it wasn't cooked well. I can hear my digestive system crying out for a well-deserved break!'
The boy looks at me with a sympathetic look before he freezes up slightly. "Ah..." His soft and quiet voice breaks the momentary silence, making me look up at him.
"Is there a chance that you're an elf, mister?" He asks while tightening his grip on the stuffed fardel a bit, anticipating my answer.
"Huh? No. Why do you ask?" I'm most definitely not an elf. What's up with people asking me this question? First, it was Merle, now, it's this boy.
"Well... you used an Elven expression just now, mister." The boy's words come across as a small shock to me. 'What does that mean? An Elven word?'
"Merk. It's an Elven term. Other humans and some races use simply carrots." He explains, although his wide eyes betray the emotions brewing inside of him. He's curious. But there's a glint of confusion as well.
"Ah, right. Stupid me. How could I forget?" I try to play it off before I look at the slightly younger, almost white-haired boy.
"And how do you know that?" I quickly change the topic, narrowing my eyes a bit. It's most likely that I used an Elven word subconsciously as I've been living with elves for a while in Silvailia...
'I just hope that I'm not making a fool out of myself. I'll simply pray that humans aren't familiar with the Elven race and language.'
The boy's eyes widen, and his expression is now full of guilt and something between nervousness and fear, it seems. Looks like I hit the nail based on his reaction.
"Oh! Uh..." He stutters, struggling to form a sentence since he's caught off-guard. His gaze lifts up from the ground, our eyes meeting as he seems to study me for a split moment.
"Elves keep this a secret, but Elvish and Elaris differ a bit in certain parts..." He nervously stammers out the word, now avoiding eye contact.
For a moment, I only look at the young boy, putting the pieces together. 'So... this boy is related to elves!' A smirk slowly forms on my face as I look at him once more.
"So I take it that you're an elf?" 'Let's test him a bit.' A wave of excitement and thrill runs through my body once I see the boy's reaction.
"N-no! Not really..." The poor boy now seems to be seriously distressed at my assertive gaze. 'He's trembling so much... Now I feel kinda bad.'
But despite that, his reply piques my interest, and my smirk only widens at that. He really looks like he's about to cry...
"Then what are you? A normal human wouldn't know this, would they? After all, humans, who use Elaris, don't understand some words that elves, who speak Elvish, use. Your own words."
'I'm sorry, but I can't really let anyone find out more than this. My deal with Ellirith is an absolute secret. Although seeing him like this is kinda cute... A small, almost crying kid... I should stop acting so sadistic.'