Drip. Drip. Drip.

The sound of the water droplets coming from the ceiling echoed across the wood and dirt corridor. Accompanying the sound of dripping water were footsteps at the other end of the corridor.

“I must warn you, comrades, the eyes of the guards are sharp like a hawk. Do not try anything funny, because jokes are banned in the Union.” The elven prison guard guided us through the maze of prisons.

All sorts of elves were locked behind cages. Some looked like they still have a fight in them, some looked lifeless and there were some who had lost their minds. As I looked through the prison, I stopped to stare at a prisoner.

She was wearing simple green robes and was sitting calmly in her prison cell with her eyes closed, probably meditating peacefully. Her brown hair slightly shone with a hint of yellow, making anyone wonder whether they were made of gold.

I placed one of my hands against the cell and she opened her eyes. Slowly, she raised her head and met my gaze. Her green eyes still radiated a sense of…royalty.

“Comrade! Pay no attention to that filthy upper class! Come!”

“Huh? Ah…yeah. Coming.”

I gave her one last gaze before setting off to join the rest of the group. I looked back, thinking whether I should go chat with her later or not. As I thought about that, my group reached my abomination’s cell.

“Here is the person you want to see. Hey! Get up, you scoundrel!” The elf aggressively slammed his wooden baton against the prison’s bars and a large ape-like thing got out of his bed.

“Huh? Boss?”

Realizing the identity of his visitors, he quickly fixed himself and approached us. The elf guard made some distance between us but still kept a vigilant watch.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Rookie. How’d you end up here?” Daggerless was the first one to open a dialogue.

“Ah, Master Demonhunter. It’s a pleasure to see you, too.”

“No, no. I am Daggerless now.”

“Oh…..oh?” The monster turned its masked face towards me and I just shrugged.

Ts’tsku’Rook, nicknamed ‘Rookie’, was an abomination made from rotten food, sewage and other questionable things. With majority of my stronghold taking separate paths, Rookie chose to pursue a degree related to some magic-science-thing.

He said he was going far north so how’d he end up here?

“Disregarding that, the reason why I am here was because of some misunderstanding. The elves are civilized, and I am sure they will surely give me a fair trial.”

“Are you sure?” Maven, the supposed creator of Rookie, was like a mother-figure to him so she was very worried about him.

“Of course, Lady Maven,” Rookie assured her with a bow.

“That said…” I leaned up closer to him and inspected the mask and moustache duo slapped on his face and whispered, “How did you managed to hide your identity?”

“I used my superior intellect, forsooth. As I heard that I was going to receive a court trial to determine my innocence. It should be easy to defend myself using my intelligence alone, so don’t you worry.”

I cracked my neck to the side and gave a low sigh. Scratching my mask, I looked up to the beast.

“Are you sure? You’ll be defending yourself against a mob of peasan….workers.” I bit my imaginary tongue as I almost slipped. I looked behind me towards the elf prison guard and was relieved he didn’t hear what I said.

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“Pardon me? A mob of workers? Against me? This is preposterous! This is unheard of! I did not study law for 50 years for this!” Rookie started pacing around in his cell on all four, murmuring to himself.

“Beor, got a plan?” I turned to my spy master, Beor.

“Hmm…Boss, I haven’t set up a proper spy network here. It will take some time since for some reason, the mana here is…controlled, so to say.”

“Elf guard, how does this court trial work?” I asked the obvious source of information just idly standing around drinking something out of a white bottle.

“Hmpf. Allow me, Comrade Longhairivky Oakisky, to enlighten you! In accordance to the revolutionist law, the scoundrel and enemy of the Union, that being that person inside the cell, will receive three days of judgements against the Union itself!”

“Three days of judgement? How long does each trial last?”

“About an hour or two. We shouldn’t waste any more time on useless cases since all criminals are guilty until proven innocent. We could be spending the time on picking potatoes for the Elvenland.”

“…R..right. So basically he just has to be proven innocent within those three days?”

“Niv! No! The moment he is proven guilty, he goes straight to the gallows or worse…The survayits - The work groves. The only groves allowed to exist within the Union!” The elf snickered as he downed the white bottle.

.

.

.

Seeing as there was nothing more we could do, we spent some time talking to Rookie about what my side did. Sadly, we weren’t allowed to give him some souvenirs.

“The university is very nice. The Vallen Empire is a true-to-the-bone meritocracy, so they pay scholarship for students with aptitude. Though I wouldn’t say that I’m boasting but I am one of the top non-citizen students in the University of Rhinia, the capital of the Vallen Empire.”

“Oooh, that’s my boy!” Maven cheered.

“Hmm…you sound like you’re having fun,” I noted.

“Indeed. If you wish, why not join the magic university? It’s just a few years of enrollment.”

“…We can?”  I gasped. Me? That sounded truly fun!

“Certainly. As someone who had…ahem…over a thousand years of magic experience…you’d fit in well. Plus, you could learn something new.” Rookie tried to whisper how long I had been alive but I was sure if the elf heard that he’d just shrug it off as exaggeration. Actually, he’d just shrug off anything we would have said since he’s drunk.

I wasn’t interested in learning junk and crap. I didn’t want to waste away my immortality listening to some old crone talk about numbers. I wanted to experience what I couldn’t experience – To live a normal school life, one without so much trouble except for when to hand in assignments and all that trivial problems.

As I dreamt about my future school life, something snapped me back to reality.

“If we’re going for magic, why not that place called Sorcerer City States?”

“That place? Erm…I must admit I am utterly unfamiliar with that place, though I heard it is quite rough there. Might I make a suggestion? If I were to be released, we should check that place first. I am actually planning to head there myself.”

“Very well. Count us in.”

I gave one last nod to Rookie before my group said their farewells and left. I walked slowly and tapped my mask, thinking on how to bust my man-beast-thing out. Once again, I found myself stopping in front of the cell with the green-robed elf. Looking ahead of me, the guard elf was drunkenly leading my group back out of the prison.

I crouched in front of the prison and whispered, “Who are you?”

“…”

“Rude.” I got up and patted my robes. I immediately lost my interest in her.

“That sigil on you…”

Gasp. The air in my lungs escaped me. Wait, I didn’t have lungs.

“Ye..yea..Huh? The sigil? What sigil? There are no markings on my robe.” I quickly covered my necklace which I always hung around my neck.

“I am not personally aware, but the legends passed by the elders…I should be the one asking the question – Who are you?” She turned the question back at me, but still kept an expressionless face.

“Pfft. I am a wandering adventurer who steals artifacts all over the continent. Hypothetically speaking, if I was to be related to this amulet, why would I reveal myself to you?”

“…I see. Very well, Oh Wise One. I am Princess Evergreen.”

“You’re named after a tree?”

“…Most of elfkind’s royalties are named after plants.”

“Is there a King Cucumber or something?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.” I knitted my imaginary brows and crouched.

“Why are you imprison-..”

“COMRADE! Get away from the Royalist! She might implant weird ideas such as passing down titles down your children or stealing the means of production!” My drunken escort worriedly grabbed me and stood in front of me, as if he was shielding me against the Princess.

“Slowly back away. Nobles are known to be less aggressive if you look down, so slowly back away without making eye contact.”

What was she? A wild bear? Nevertheless, I followed my panicked guard’s instruction until we had escaped from the prison.

“Aaaah…That…that was so close. I wouldn’t have taught that nobles could talk! That was so scary…I wondered how my babuyivka…grandmother fought against those monsters.”

I wanted to say something about nobles not being wild animals but I just nodded out of sympathy.

“Ay, vadiya kadim! Glad to be alive to work for another day for the Union! Come. Let’s head back to your accommodations. The court trial for the person you talked to will be held next week so you should look forward to it!” Giving me thumbs up and an ear twitch, I just continued nodding.

“Right…”

I might as well go around touring…I mean, investigating the area. The diplomat manor should house diplomats from other countries....