With his intense curious stare, I couldn’t help but observe his full head of dark buzzed hair, his strong manly jawline, his stunning green eyes, and the black piercings on both ends of his eyebrows. “Come on, Ael, I said to get decent.” Odelia sighed, “You didn’t even bother to put on a shirt.” Pointing out to him that he was only wearing simple brown trousers and was completely shirtless—showing off his large and well defined muscles, and a series of scars and tattoos all over his body.

“Give me a break, I was working out.” The man defended himself, taking a second to put on the cloth shirt on top of some heavy weights in the corner of the room. “Besides, I didn’t expect to be introduced in front of my room, and if I'd known that it was a young man that looked like this...I would’ve freshened up first.” Giving me a wink as he checked me out. “But it’s strange that you brought someone to the House, is he joining us? Did Verana already approve?”

“Yes to the first question, no to the second, but I know she will.” Odelia stated confidently.

“Really? Why’s that?” The man asked, being intrigued.

“I’ll explain everything after dinner.” Odelia said, dragging me away. “Oh, and take a bath, you reek!”

“Yeah, yeah!” The man replied, “I guess we’ll just get introduced to each other later.” giving me another wink before closing the door.

“Do not mind him, Lord Eyes, I promise that he is not usually that way all the time.” Odelia assured me.

“It’s okay, it wasn’t a bother, but just how many floors do we have left to go?” I asked, walking down another flight of stairs.

“In truth only six, but we do not have to see them all if you do not wish to, Lord Eyes.” Odelia then decided to skip the 6th, 7th, and 8th floors as they were just more bedrooms—the 6th being Shurtyrr’s, the 7th being Amariina’s, and the 8th apparently being the House’s baths.

“I think I remember Verana saying Amariina wasn’t here yet, but why didn’t we knock on Shurtyrr’s room like we did with Aelthar’s?” Bringing up the point as we headed onto the 9th floor.

“That is because our Shur is deeply in love with our Ama, and always waits for her to arrive on the 9th floor when she has work.” Odelia explained.

“Are they together then?”

“Sadly for the both of them, Ama recently got engaged to a wealthy House, though I cannot recall the name right now.”

“Didn’t you say Ama joined the House 80 years ago? If Shur is deeply in love with her, why didn’t he make a move before she got engaged? Or did he get rejected?”

“Their love story is long and complicated, but the gist of it is that Shur lied to Ama about what he did for a living, and when she found out she hated him.” Summarizing it for me, “She has been cold to him for 75 years now.”

“75 years of the person he loves hating and being cold to him, only for her to get recently engaged to someone else, and he’s still deeply in love with her?” I couldn’t imagine, “How...depressingly heartbreaking."

"Indeed they are." Odelia agreed.

But curious, I asked "What was he doing for a living then, I can’t imagine how a job could’ve made her hate him so much?”

“Well you see, Shur works in the markets in the Roots, more specifically...the black market.” Revealing the fact to me.

“The black market?!” I exclaimed, now slightly more intrigued in their love story. “But just because Shur works in the black market doesn’t automatically mean he’s a bad person, right? So why did Ama have such a problem with it?”

“It is because Ama correlates the black market with the bad memories she has of it from her past, and the horrible time she spent as a multi-sold slave in the Human Kingdom—that was until I was able to free her and the other slaves from another slave auction she was sold back to again.” Odelia explained, “And is the reason why all of the House went along with not telling her about Shur and his work. However she did eventually find out in time, being extremely furious at the House and threatening to leave, but ultimately forgiving everyone except for Shur.”

“Why didn’t Shur just stop working in the black market then? Or why didn’t the House encourage him to quit? Especially if all of you already knew what happened to her.”

“It is complicated..." Telling me "At the time Shur truly believed he found a lead about where the last known location of a descendant was, and needed to use all his black market and underground connections to follow it up. We could not just give up that chance lightly, but sadly as it always does, the lead turned out to be a dead end.” Odelia then showed me a warm smile, “Though it would seem things turned out quite alright with you here now.”

“Wait, go back. Do you remember anything about that lead?” I questioned Odelia intently.

“Not personally, Shur kept it pretty private from Ael and I, but he should have recorded the details about it in the library.” Odelia answered, surprised by my eagerness. “Though I do not exactly know where he put those records.”

“It may be nothing, but a lead is a lead, and I’ve got to start my search somewhere.” I thought to myself; asking “Where’s the library, and can you show me right away?”

“Of course, we are already headed that way. However, may I ask why you are so interested in a lead from decades ago? I am sure you were not even born yet, or were you?” Second guessing herself as she looked me over.

“I told you I was looking for something, and that lead may help me start my search for it.” Walking a little faster down the stairs.

“Are you sure you do not want to tell me what you are looking for? I will gladly help you find whatever it is, you know?” Odelia offered, as we finally arrived at the bottom of the stairwell where a double door entrance stood.

“I’ll consider it if I can’t find anything.” Pushing the two doors open and getting greeted by the smell of papers and books.

Entering the room, I immediately realized that the whole 9th floor was one giant, round, two-storey library; and that we stood on the second storey. Walking over to the balcony railing, I had a perfect view of the handful of spiral staircases evenly spread throughout, the bookshelves all along the sides of the first and second storey, as well as the even rows of them on the first storey—with a couple bookshelves that had fallen over. There were also a few desks, tables, chairs, and stepping stools spread all throughout the space. But directly in the center of the library, on a slightly elevated stone platform, was a now very recognizable teleportation circle on the ground.

“Who are you?” A voice asked, as a man with long damp brown hair walked out from behind a bookshelf—holding a bouquet of purple and white flowers in his hands. But before I could answer him, the runes on the teleportation circle suddenly began to glow brightly and they caused him to completely ignore me, only focusing his attention onto that.

A moment passed and a contained pillar of light erupted within the teleportation circle, and a hooded robed woman came stepping on through the quickly dissipating light. The man immediately presented the bouquet of flowers to her, and she surprisingly took them, though she didn’t speak a word or even look at the man. She then jumped up in excitement, shouting “O’de, you’re back!” As she unexpectedly flew through the air straight towards Odelia and gave her a hug. “When did you get back? And why didn’t you look for me at the TCs?”

“I just got back a few hours ago,” Odelia informed her, “and I didn’t know you were working today.”

Releasing Odelia from her hug, the woman looked at me and asked “Who’s this? Another one of Ael’s ‘friends’?" Judging my shirtless attire with her eyes, "He doesn’t look like Ael’s recent types, but maybe it’s changed again, though who can keep track with him?”

“I was wondering the same thing, O’de.” The man added, somehow appearing beside me—sitting on the balcony railing.

“I’ll introduce him to everyone after dinner, but I was just showing him around the House.” Odelia told them, amusingly smiling.

“A new member?” The woman openly wondered.

“Not exactly, but don’t worry about that for now, just go help Verana with dinner.” Odelia instructed.

“Alright, but tell me about your trip later.” The woman listened, rushing up the stairs and secretly smelling the gifted flowers as she did.

“Interesting…” I thought.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“I’ll leave you to your tour then.” The man tried to leave but was stopped by Odelia's arm.

“Actually Shur, I need you to show us the lead you found 75 years ago.” Odelia told him.

“75 years ago? W-Why would you want that? Verana told you and Ael it was a dead end, remember?” He then quickly changed the subject, “Wait, if you’re letting him see the records, does that mean he’s actually joining the House?”

“Maybe, just hurry up and show us please.” Odelia demanded politely.

“Okay, okay, it’s over here.” Leading us past a few bookshelves and stopping to grab a certain book at the very bottom of one. “It’s this one, but Verana gave me strict instructions to tell you and Ael that neither of you are allowed to read it without her permission.”

“Huh? Why not?” Odelia questioned, shocked by the fact.

“She didn’t say that to me, so…” I easily grabbed the book from the man's hands as he was too distracted by Odelia’s interrogating stare.

“Hmmm...” Odelia loudly hummed at him, but the man kept his mouth shut. “Fine! To think you would still keep secrets from me even after I’ve worked so hard to help you with Ama.”

“Yet she still hasn’t spoken to me in over 75 years, and her wedding is basically only two and half months away...What do I do, O'de?” The man asked desperately.

Not all too interested in their absoulutely crazy conversation about how to sway Ama’s feelings with a Love Potion, or how exactly they were gonna sabotage her engagement and or wedding with outlandish schemes, I simply took the book to an empty table and opened it up—shocked at the realization.

After a few minutes of flipping through all the pages in the book, I couldn’t help but laugh at myself, “Haha...of course everything’s written in Elvish.” Grabbing a few random books from the nearest shelf, I found they were all written in Elvish too. “I might actually need to start learning Elvish if I ever hope to read any of these, but at least I can see—” I was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a bell audibly echoing throughout the whole library.

Odelia and Shur seemed to recognize the sound, and Shur left for the stairs while Odelia walked over to me explaining, “That was Verana’s bell, she rings it to let us know when dinner is ready, and it can be amazingly heard on all floors of the House.” She then inquired, “So, did you find something to help you with what you are looking for, my Lord?”

“No...But unrelated to anything, you wouldn’t happen to have some type of translation dictionary, would you?” I half-heartedly asked, “Or maybe know if there’s some leads written in Common somewhere?”

“Well this whole library is made up completely of the records of past members searching for the descendants over the span of 999 years, so I am sure there are a few written in Common, but do not tell me you cannot read Elvish, my Lord?” Odelia looked worried when she saw my reaction to her question, “Oh no, what am I going to do with you, Lord Eyes?”

Trying to move past it, I commented “999 years of searching and nowhere close to finding any descendants, that’s insanity, you know?”

“Some do call our House that, but it is all for the prosperity of the Elven Kingdom and its people. Though fortunately we can stop looking now.” She smiled at me again, “Now are you ready for the feast I am sure Verana prepared for us?”

“Actually, if it’s alright with you, I’d prefer to stay here and look around for a bit. Is that okay?” Asking to be excused.

“Are you sure? The other members might get a bad impression of you if you decide not to eat with us when you have just arrived.”

“If they’re anything like you, I doubt it.” I stated confidently, “They won’t mind a single bit when they find out who I am.”

“That is true, when they come to know who you are, they will also dedicate themselves to you—like I have.” Odelia proudly claimed. “I guess I will simply have to introduce them to you later then.” Waving me goodbye as she left up the stairs.

Waiting a few moments and now seemingly left all alone to my own devices, I said to myself “Time to collect the rest of them.” Activating the Eyes Of A Seer, I began to thoroughly search all the bookshelves in the entire library for any hint of Significance I could see glowing from any of the books’ pages—stacking and piling any I found around a desk off to the side of the library.

After spending the next hour painstakingly scouring the thousands of books in the library, I only amassed a total of 246 books; but nearly half of them had less than a page glowing with Significance, less so with more than a page, and only a handful that appeared to be much more significant than the others. “I think that’s all of them.” I said to myself, sitting down on the chair within the stacked pile of books—slightly tired from carrying all the surprisingly heavy books.

While I rested for a bit, I suddenly heard a series of faint footsteps rushing down the stairs, and a few moments later I saw the 3 people I met earlier come bursting from the library doors—followed by Odelia and Verana who entered behind them. “He’s over there!” The muscular man directed them, vaulting over the railing and recklessly charging towards me. On the other hand, the robed woman flew in the air straight towards me, while the long haired man swiftly ran on top of the bookshelves, and Odelia and Verana who simply took the spiral staircases like normal people.

Then as they all stood in front of me, everyone except for Odelia said “Thank you!” and another Quest popped up when they did.

Quest Completed

Once A Teacher Always A Teacher has been completed:

At the request of the family who deeply love her, help them find a way to convince Odelia to willingly start teaching once again.

Reward: Immense gratitude from all current members of House Ven’Thyl.

“Why'd I only get this now, didn’t I convince her to teach me a while ago?” Then figuring, “I guess they’re the Quest givers so maybe that's why it didn't complete earlier? But isn’t their gratitude redundant after they find out I’m the Heir?”

Odelia stepped forward and explained, “Verana told the others that you are my student, and they all wanted to thank you for some reason.”

“It'd seem he'd prefer to speak in Common if Odelia is doing so.” Verana noted to the others, stepping forward as well—now without the white apron she wore earlier. She then clarified in Common, saying “We have been trying to get her to teach again after the incident with her last student, but she always refused, claiming she never wanted to teach again. So imagine how overjoyed we were to find out that you are her new student.”

“We are very thankful that you helped O’de decide to teach again.” Ael also spoke in Common—now wearing a tightly fitted cloth shirt.

“If you ever need anything, we can all find a way to help in our own different ways.” Shur offered in Common, with his long brown hair now dry and very voluminous, making me realize he was quite a good-looking guy.

“O’de is our family, so no request you could ask for would be too much to show you our thanks.” Ama continued in Common as well, no longer hidden by her hood—showing her beautiful face, piercing blue eyes, and her short blonde hair tied up in a simple high ponytail.

“That includes staying for as long as you would like.” Verana generously expressed. “But is there something you need help with right now?” Gesturing to all the books I piled up, “Odelia informed us you are searching for something related to the missing descendants, is there something particular you have in mind?”

But before I could respond to their thanks and Verana’s question, Odelia suggested “All of you should formally introduce yourselves to him first, I am sure it will greatly help him to know what exactly we can offer to help with.”

“Great idea, Odelia. I will go first.” Verana volunteered. “I am Verana Ven’Thyl, Head of House Ven’Thyl, and I may be old but I do have a lot of influence and connections in high places within the city. I am also a top-notch Healer if you ever find yourself in need of healing.”

“She is like a mother to all of us.” Odelia added, and the others nodded their heads in agreement.

“I am Aelthar, but my friends call me Ael. You can call me Ael too if you want.” Giving me another wink. “As for what I can do...I am one of Ven’Thyl’s 10 Guard Captains, I overlook half of the Roots, but I can help you get away with things in other sections if need be.”

“A possibly corrupt Guard Captain? How useful.” Listening to Shur speak next.

“Ael, you’re gonna make us look bad when I tell him I work in the black market there—” We all quickly noticed Ama visibly cringing at the words black market, but no one chose to address it, including myself. “Uhhh...you can call me Shurtyrr, or Shur for short, whichever you prefer. I mostly deal with rare and smuggled goods, being able to obtain almost anything you need, but that does not mean I am not well connected to the other parts of the—market.”

“I wonder if he can show me around the black market sometime? I’d love to see what I can buy there.” Showing Ama attention next.

“I’m Amariina, and I may not be as useful as the others, but I can freely teleport you to any of the other Kingdom’s TCs if you’d like.” After they all finished introducing themselves, I took a second to read their levels and name: Lv.59 Amariina Ven’Thyl, Lv.63 Shurtyrr Ven’Thyl, Lv.82 Aelthar Ven’Thyl, and Lv.94 Verana Ven’Thyl.

“Holy shit these guys are high level, and they haven’t even gotten their bonus for following me yet! But what the hell’s up with Verana? Why’s she so significant?” I wondered to myself, staring at the golden glow of Significance radiating all out from Verana.

Subsequently they all stared back with a look of intrigue on their faces, and Odelia said to them “I noticed the Ocular Skill he uses too, though I do not know exactly what he sees with them when he stares at us like that, but I assure you he has no ill will towards us.”

“She's noticed my Seer eyes this whole time? Maybe I should start being careful when I use them then, I wouldn't want people I can't trust seeing them.”

“Lord Eyes, I think it is your turn to introduce yourself.” Odelia smiled, suddenly kneeling down and causing the others to be utterly confused about what was happening.

“I guess so, it’s only polite.” Standing up from the chair, I finally pulled my hood back to reveal myself. “My name’s Eyes, and it’s nice to meet you all. And I’d like to thank you for accepting and allowing me into your House.” Though the whole room just stood in silence.

Everyone except for Odelia appeared to be stunned and speechless from my reveal, their faces strangely mesmerized at the sight of me standing before them. Then slowly coming back to their senses and acknowledging who I was, they all immediately knelt down alongside Odelia, announcing in unison “The Heir to the Elves has finally returned!”