The clear skies, glistening road, polished walls, massive gate, and the immensely powerful Mana in the atmosphere.
This could have only been one place.
"Welcome, humans, to the Elf Capital." Princess Freya and Prince Claudius took the lead as they addressed us with smiles.
Our team, with Fabian at the center, all marveled at the glorious display before us.
The Elf Capital had tall walls of polished stone, and the gate was large as well. One could only guess how amazing the City would look like within.
"I'll handle the Elf denizens and our soldiers, you handle the delegates," Claudius spoke to his sister.
She nodded instantly and bid her brother a temporary farewell.
"Come with me. I'll lead you to your guest quarters." Freya urged our group.
One look from her was enough to tell the garrisons to avert their suspicious glares and open the gates of the Capital.
Royalty was feared and respected among the Elves.
Not only were they longer-lived thanks to their closer proximity to the Sacred Tree, but their superior genes also made them more adept at Mana.
And so, even if the guards were wondering what mere humans were doing at the Capital, it wasn't in his place to question Freya's authority.
The City gates slowly opened, welcoming us to the glorious civilization of the Elf people.
"Alright. Shall we get going?"
******************************
Within the City were busy roads and large buildings.
It was amazing that they were able to build so many intricate structures without the use of Magic Technology.
It just went to show how very skilled the Elves were at the use of Magic.
Many people would have the mistaken idea that our long-eared neighbors were primitive and perhaps lived in thatched huts so they could be closer to nature.
However, their assumptions would be flawed.
Elves indeed were close to nature, and they also avoided technologies because of this very fact.
However, that simply meant that they found alternatives that were just as good as utilizing technology.
Mana was the very essence of the life of Elves, and unlike humans, these beings utilized it very freely.
Magic was as easy as breathing.
Thanks to that fact, and their immensely long youth, they were able to build a strong civilization for themselves.
Freya led us down the streets, and we walked behind her--well almost all of us did.
For some reason, the Elf Princess made me walk beside her and also began conversing with me about the earlier Teleportation Spell I performed.
I didn't know if she was just playing dumb, but, several Elves were already shooting us surprised looks.
Of course, the Princess still had the respected gaze of the people, so that meant I was exempt from the icy stares of the Elves since she was talking with me.
I kind of felt bad about the others who were behind us.
'Sorry, guys. This is all for diplomacy!' I apologized internally and made sure to engage the Princess in whatever we were discussing.
Even though I wasn't getting as many icy glares from the Elves, I could still feel a very strong one coming behind me.
It felt so close, and the fact that I was talking with Freya made it rude for me to avert my attention elsewhere.
But, upon using my sensory abilities... I found out it was actually coming from our diplomatic group.
As for the person responsible, it was none other than Maria.
'A-ah, I almost forgot... damn...'
Even though I had wanted to ask her lots of questions, it was quite difficult to approach her so I postponed the matter.
Now that things had gotten quite busy, I no longer had any free time to talk.
'Just hold it in, Maria. This is for the greater good. You understand, right?'
I knew she was most likely jealous since Freya was snuggling me all to herself, but who would have thought the stoic Maria would have such a side to her?
Her jealousy was unwarranted, though.
Humans had no appeal to Elves.
We weren't as smart, mature, or skillful as them.
They also kept their youth even after hundreds of years, but we were quick to age.
Of one added all the factors of being human, Elves would rather find members of their race attractive.
I mean, sure, I was handsome. But, I was only human, right? Give me a couple of decades, and then old age would catch up.
That was how things were.
For an Elf like Freya, who was over a hundred years old, what good would having a fifteen-year-old boy do to her?
'She'll still live for about three hundred years, or more. Compared to that...'
Still, even though my analysis of the Elves was perfectly logical, there remained some weird ones among their bunch...
... Just like one I used to know.
'Na. No one can be as crazy as that one!'
An Elf that would fall in love with a human. A weak-ass Inept human for that matter.
There could be no Elf as crazy as her.
"I apologize for the rude behavior of my people." Freya broke me out of my thoughts.
I stared at the white-haired Elf with surprise written on my face.
It was rare to see an Elf apologize to a lowly human.
"Your comrades are receiving quite the number of stares, aren't they?"
Now that she brought it up, it was the perfect time to score more points.
"It can't be helped. I understand well. Humans suddenly walking through your capital are bound to attract attention. Based on your perception of our kind, this was the inevitable outcome."
I had offered to teleport us straight to our destination, but Freya told me it was better if the public knew of our arrival.
Since we would be forming an Alliance, they had to be aware at some point.
The sooner the better.
"Why did you single me out, though? Shouldn't it have been our leader?" I asked with a smile.
Freya's green eyes glimmered a bit as she returned my grin with hers.
I liked how she wasn't fazed at all.
"That's because I like you, Jared. You're a different case."
