CHAPTER 229: CHAPTER 229 - BLACK AS THE DEVIL, HOT AS HELL, PURE AS AN ANGEL, AND BITTER LIKE MY SOUL.

We had just a little interaction with the Seer of the elves, and there are already so many mysteries.

But some I can solve by just asking Shalia and Lovelace.

"Shalia... what is the name of the Elvish language for the elves? I know that humans just call it ’Elvish,’ but I want to know the actual name."

Huh? What’s with that reaction? Why’s she laughing?

"Hehehe... I’m sorry, but I couldn’t contain myself. This is the first time ever that someone actually asked me about the name of our language. It’s Quenya."

Quenya... I knew it. No wonder the language sounded familiar...

It’s the same name of the Elvish language published by an author on Earth... which means... was that author a traveler between worlds?

It wouldn’t necessarily mean that he was from here. The elves are not native to this world, and, given how long-lived they are, their language probably didn’t change much since arriving here.

There are many worlds out there... and they seem to be part of the same universe, somehow. He could have met the elves in basically any other world.

Judging from the quantity of god statues my mother saw, the possibilities are almost endless.

Hm... just imagine... being able to journey through the universe, visit several worlds... It sounds so exciting.

Well, as often occurs, answering one question just opens up another. But at least one of the little mysteries was solved.

"I see. Thank you, Shalia. I will remember that name."

Then, the other question I’ll have to ask Lovelace.

"Lovvy... who is the Holy Seer of the West, and how does she know about you?"

She seems a bit embarrassed by the question? Why???

Seeing me puzzled at her reaction, she finally speaks.

"Well... she was the daughter of the leader of the elves back when Juno was not a goddess yet. She had that title and was famous even among the humans, who saw her as a wise priestess.

She saw through Juno’s mask very quickly and tried to warn people against her. She even sent some letters to me, but I was stupid and burned them without reading..."

She was looking at her own feet when she talked those last words... like a child confessing a very embarrassing misdeed.

But... that woman is not only more than one thousand years old... she was already considered wise back then. It was of little surprise that she was able to recognize Lovvy at a glance, then.

If we manage to convince her to come to our side, she will be a strong ally.

But first, I have to take care of another thing.

Yawarete and Shalia were already saying comforting words to her, and I shall add my own hug to that.

"It’s okay, Lovvy... you were under the fetters of her power at that time. You were blinded by an external actor. It’s not your fault."

I won’t let you suffer like that ever again. Ever.

I suddenly feel my shoulder a bit wet, but it’s okay. It’s really ok to cry at a time like this.

I keep caressing her back and her head until she finally stops crying. When we part our embrace, I notice that the other two aren’t with us anymore.

Did they go to their rooms to let us have some alone time?

:::

Calmacil came to fetch us soon after daybreak. We were all already up and ready, of course.

"Tarindor is inviting you to have breakfast with her."

I was almost reaching for the remnants of yesterday’s dinner to eat them. But this is even better. Breakfast chat is the best chat.

And it at least seems a way better place for our conversations than having a formal audience.

So we quickly agree and follow him out of the house. As we walk around the streets, I feel again that sense of wonder I had yesterday when I first saw this town.

’I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of Marble.’ Who said that? Was it Marcus Aurelius? Or Augustus? No matter, any of them would tremble with envy if they saw this place.

We quickly reach one of the houses in the central plaza. It is quite big, but it looks more like a personal home than a government building.

There are some guards outside, but they let us in without question. They don’t seem too worried or alert. And they really didn’t show any hostility towards us.

It seems that these elves don’t fit the ’xenophobic racist elf’ stereotype, either. Which is great.

The front door opens to reveal... Tarindor herself opened it? Whoa, that is nice. But isn’t it too much deference for strangers? Or does it mean that they don’t have servants?

"Welcome, esteemed guests. Please, come in."

There is nobody else inside the house. I fully expected the guards to at least follow us inside, but none made any mention of doing it.

Either they have full trust in us or in the Seer’s abilities to defend herself if we tried to attack. Obviously, we have no intention of doing so. Maybe humans are the weird ones.

"Please, take a seat wherever you like. I’ll bring the food to the table."

"Do you want any help?"

"Oh, no, no... Yawarete, was it? I’m not so old that I need help with such trivial matters."

Well, but you ARE old. Though I obviously wouldn’t dare to say that out loud.

As we sit in the comfortable chairs around a round table, she brings some trays to said table, one after the other.

Bread, fruits, yogurt, honey, cereals, cheese, butter... it’s a very nice breakfast. It isn’t fancy like those in the palace, but everything smells fresh and well prepared. The bread is even still warm.

"I just took the bread out of the oven not long ago, so take care handling it."

"Did you bake it yourself?"

"Of course. We elves don’t have the strict hierarchies of the dragons nor the loose hierarchies of the humans. Here nobody serves."

I couldn’t help but nod happily as I served myself a loaf of bread, some cheese, and honey. I can easily stand by that approach, as it is the right approach to life.

But it was the last tray that she brought that really impacted me. Even before she brought it to us, I recognized the smell.

"Coffee... Is that coffee???"

I couldn’t believe my luck to finally find coffee after all those years.

"Oh, you know about it? I thought that it wasn’t yet known in the human realms. Yet your pronunciation is a bit different; we call it kuufi."

I don’t care about pronunciations. Coffee is the staple food of any proper breakfast. There is a reason why the word for ’breakfast’ in my country is ’morning coffee.’ No breakfast is complete without it.

Yawarete and Shalia were obviously very puzzled by my reaction, but not Lovelace, who heard countless times my complaints about the absence of coffee.

"Is that the beverage you always talk about, Aurea? Its aroma is really interesting, to say the least. Very unique."

"It is, Lovvy... that’s the drink I’ve been craving for the last seventeen years."

It was Tarindor’s time to be puzzled by our banter. She put the tray on the table, with a porcelain coffee-brewing pot. Then she sat on the remaining seat.

"Seventeen years, you say? Well, though your body is thatof a teenage human, your eyes seem older than that. Are you a reincarnated person?"

Huh?

Like that? Bull’s-eye, when we have barely interacted yesterday and today?

Okay, I can see why she is called the Holy Seer of the West and why she was so famous for her wisdom.

"Indeed. You recognized Lovelace yesterday, and you were able to tell my nature with so little interaction. You truly are amazing."

"Oh, it’s just the instincts of an old lady... though I’m not so old that I need help, I am somewhat old. As I suspect Lovelace has already told you."

"Yes, she did."

I served myself a cup of coffee. I’m so happy right now that I could forget everything else exists.

"Oh, you’re one of the ones who drink it pure. The other three, I assume this will be your first time tasting it?"

Lovelace answered Tarindor’s question.

"Yes..."

Even though she experienced several things from my previous life through my memories, I only allowed her to access certain things. And eating/drinking wasn’t one of those things.

"Right. Coffee is a beverage that can be consumed in several ways. If you try to drink it pure, like Aurea, you might find it too bitter. If you prefer, you can add milk to it, and also sugar helps with the bitterness."

"In my original world there were some phrases about how one would prefer their coffee. My favourite one is ’Black as the Devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, and bitter like my soul.’ It always makes me chuckle."

I’m drinking coffee. I might be in heaven right now.