Chapter 418: Prarlulu, the Elven Maiden

“......Alright then, Auntie Irus.”

Prarlulu reluctantly let go of Irus, her eyes lingering on her.

“You must come find me later, okay?”

The young elven girl returned to her original spot in the procession.

But no sooner had she gotten there than she ran straight into the elven archbishop, whose face was as dark as a storm cloud.

The archbishop fixed her with a silent, piercing glare.

“Eep!?”

Prarlulu paled, shrinking into herself like a frightened little bird.

As she scurried past the archbishop with trembling steps, the elder’s cold voice drifted down to her.

“We’ll settle this when we get back to the church.”

“......”

That one sentence drained all the color from Prarlulu’s face. She hung her head dejectedly, standing silently behind the archbishop with her lower lip jutting out in a pitiful pout—on the verge of tears.

Led by the elves, the Federation procession made its way toward the elven royal palace.

Along the journey, Hulim glanced over at Prarlulu, who was still moping in the elven ranks, and studied her quietly.

Judging by human standards, Prarlulu looked to be around thirteen or fourteen years old—but for an elf, her actual age was certainly much older.

She had the same bright emerald eyes as Irus, paired with silvery-gold hair of the same texture. A flower-shaped emerald ornament adorned her forehead, and she wore a flowing white sacred vestment emblazoned with the church’s emblem.

And most importantly—

That feigned “wronged” look was exactly the same as someone else’s just a moment ago.

If they weren’t closely related by blood, no one would believe it.

Come to think of it......

Hulim realized she knew next to nothing about Irus’s family or relatives. All the information she had was about Irus herself.

“Irus——”

Hulim turned to look at the elf walking beside her.

“Yes~?”

Irus looked over with a wide, playful grin.

“......”

For some reason, seeing that smile made Hulim suddenly lose the urge to ask her question.

“You can ask me anything you want, you know~?”

When Hulim stayed silent, Irus leaned in eagerly, clearly eager to keep the conversation going.

Sighing inwardly, Hulim gave in and asked,

“Irus... Is Prarlulu your family?”

“What? What’s this?” Irus’s eyes lit up like she’d just uncovered a juicy secret. “Prarlulu? Why are you so curious about her, Hulim? Could it be that——”

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Hulim resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

This elf!

She’d definitely noticed her staring at Prarlulu earlier and was waiting for her to ask that question.

“——Could it be that you’re jealous of Prarlulu~?”

“Huh?”

“You’re too cute~, worrying about such silly things!”

“??”

Irus chuckled, reaching out to poke Hulim’s cheek with her finger.

Poke. Poke.

“Don’t worry, Hulim will always be my number one favorite~!”

“???!”

Poke~.

What in the world was wrong with this elf?!

Poke~.

Had she finally lost her mind? Someone please fix her!

Poke. Poke!

Veins popped on Hulim’s forehead. She finally snapped, swatting Irus’s hand away,

“Cut it out already! How long are you going to keep that up?!”

......

Inside the Elven Royal Palace.

After the elves’ reception ceremony concluded, Hulim slipped away alone to wander the palace gardens.

The architecture of Ilz was vastly different from that of human or orc cities—it was far more natural and elegant. Most notably, there seemed to be no concept of “height” here; buildings could be constructed at any elevation. The plaza where they’d landed earlier, for example, was built over a hundred meters above the ground.

Naturally, the garden before her was no exception—it was a genuine floating garden, suspended in the air.

According to what she’d heard, the elves built their cities this way to draw closer to the World Tree, striving to raise their dwellings as high as possible to be near its sacred presence.

“Hey! Are you the one who was with Auntie Irus earlier?”

A voice called out from nearby.

Hulim looked up to see an elven girl perched on top of a garden wall.

“It’s you...... Prarlulu.”

“Whee~!”

Prarlulu hopped down from the wall, bounding over to Hulim in a few quick steps. She circled around Hulim once, eyeing her with curious interest.

“You know my name?”

“I do,” Hulim nodded. “I heard it earlier.”

“Oh right! I forgot about that! By the way, what’s your name?”

“I’m Hulim Heyerar.”

“Hulim?!?”

Prarlulu’s eyes went wide with surprise, then sparkled with excitement. “I know that name! Auntie Irus has told me about you before! I can’t believe you’re the Hulim!”

“Irus did? What exactly did she say about me?”

“Hmm......” Prarlulu tilted her head, thinking hard. “She said you’re super strong, and really cute, and lots of fun...... Oh! I always thought you’d be some kind of reliable grown-up, but you don’t look like one at all! Can I ask how old you are?”

“I’m fourteen.”

“Ehh——! Fourteen years old!!?”

Prarlulu gaped at her, counting on her fingers in disbelief.

“Fourteen... Fourteen years old... That’s younger than me... Younger than me! Is that true? Are you sure you’re not lying?”

“You can probably tell just by looking,” Hulim said with a faint smile. “Humans mature much faster than elves, after all.”

“R-Right... That’s true......”

Prarlulu’s voice trailed off, her shoulders slumping in dejection.

“But you’re younger than me, and yet you’re already so powerful...... Why do I suddenly feel so discouraged?”

“Don’t just ask me questions,” Hulim said, changing the subject. “Tell me about yourself, Prarlulu.”

“Oh—right!”

Prarlulu straightened up suddenly, performing a graceful little curtsy to Hulim in apology.

“I’m sorry, I forgot to introduce myself properly.”

“My full name is Prarlulu Fael. My father is Inulson Fael, who currently serves as the King of Ravenrim......”

A bead of sweat rolled down Hulim’s forehead.

Really? That was one way to introduce your father—making the elven king sound like some random office clerk.

Through her conversation with Prarlulu, Hulim quickly learned all about the young elven girl’s background.

In short, Prarlulu was the current Crown Princess of the Kingdom of Ravenrim. Irus was her father’s younger sister—the previous elven king had only two children, Irus and Inulson. Since Irus had been chosen by the World Tree as the Holy Maiden from the moment she was born, she’d walked a path completely different from that of other elves. Thus, the throne had passed to Inulson.

As for why Prarlulu was wearing church vestments—it was because she’d shown exceptional Light-element affinity ever since she was a child. She was being raised as a future leader of the church in Ravenrim, spending most of her days training in the church. That was why her words and actions were also bound by the church’s strict rules and regulations.

“Hey, Hulim—you spend a lot of time with Auntie Irus, right? Can you tell me what she’s been up to out there in the world? She never tells me anything about it.”

Huh. That was unexpected.

Even Irus had a side of herself she didn’t dare reveal to her family back home.

The thought of that elf—who loved teasing her and messing with her for fun—made Hulim suddenly lose any desire to keep Irus’s secrets.

“Listen carefully, Prarlulu,” Hulim said, leaning in with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “What I’m about to tell you might turn everything you thought you knew about her upside down. But you have to promise to believe me—every word I say is the absolute truth! No matter how ridiculous it sounds, don’t doubt it.”

“Mhm! Mhm! I promise!”

Prarlulu nodded vigorously, her eyes shining with anticipation.

So easy to fool.

Hulim smirked inwardly, satisfied. Then she leaned in closer, ready to spin a highly exaggerated tale about all of Irus’s “exploits”.