Chapter 137: The Last Talking

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"You know, you don't have to be the sacrifice," Lily said as she entered Lord Eldamar's inn on the last of his days. His days were peaceful, and his work was mediocre. But since Lily pulled some strings behind the scenes, nobody reprimanded him. He wanted to feel like a commoner, and Lily granted it. But just like me in the past, he never excelled at anything.

"If not me, then who else?" he smiled. Lily nodded as tears started flowing from her eyes.

"Do you hate me or other elves for forcing you into this situation?"

"At first, I hated humans and the undead who caused all this. However, I am powerless. I could not command troops better than Alistar or Ghander. I could not use magic better than Edelweiss. Even now, I could not be a better lord than you or other lords. I am just an excess lord," Eldamar said, nodding in sorrow.

"It is a cruel world, isn't it? Even if you graduate from the Lord's curriculum, if there are other lords who are better than you, you will still end up as excess, unneeded baggage."

"Ah, you understand how I feel?"

"Lord Edelweiss' position was the same. She would have ended up jobless if she had never received a blessing. Am I right?" Lily tried to recount her stories with Edelweiss.

"Yes, that's right! Now that our positions have switched, I feel bad about bullying her. We tried to appeal to meritocracy, but bloodlines played a part too. Don't you agree?"

"Not really. I don't care about merit," Lily's answer was surprising.

"So, bloodline? Hmm… when you are the child of a great person, they usually teach their descendant their secrets. And thus, we believe the child of a hero would be better than the normal masses. However, in that case, how about the first hero? What is he if not judged by merit?"

"I don't care about any of that. I simply wanted to live with everyone in peace. Just drinking tea together like this and talking. Sometimes we have to work so we can earn our food. However, just being together like this is fun. Being the best, hero, or merit is meaningless to me."

"I see. We are different species, after all. You differ from humans, elves, and dwarves. No desire for power, no greed. How odd," he replied. "Why did the gods give you blessings?"

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"Some say that it was because of hard work. Some say it is because of luck. Who knows? I have never met and asked the gods directly."

"If I were to have blessings, I surely would be a lord, right?"

"Yes. I became a lord because I have a blessing. It is odd since I never thought it was my blessing. Do you believe if I tell you the blessing came from my tail?"

"Hahaha. A tail is still a part of you, Lord Lily. Just like my hand is a part of mine. What it has is also mine," he said arrogantly. However, I didn't feel offended. After all, since some time ago, I felt that was true. I am part of Lily now, and what I desire most is for Lily's sake.

"I see. But you have to take care of your hand in return, right? Give it what it needs." Lily brushed my tail on her lap, feeling the smooth comb slide across my fur.

"Hm... if we were on my territory, I would not permit you to do that."

"Yes, it is against decorum. But why can you wash your hands in front of others but not your feet? Isn't it weird?" Lily replied, and Eldamar remained silent. As this was just small talk and not a debate in the council, he didn't take any offense and merely sighed at our quirkiness.

"What is the use of a tail anyway? It is just a useless appendage," he sighed. "All of you tailfolk are so attached to it that I find it bizarre."

"What is the use of hair? Why are your ears long? What is the use of your clothes? Please don't comment on something you don't understand," Lily reproached, speaking defensively as she tightened her grip around me. Her eyes glared coldly at him.

"I apologize for my rude behavior."

"You are forgiven. I find this heart-to-heart small talk to be fruitful. I have done this before with Lord Alistar and Edelweiss, and we found a compromise after talking all night. And I believe we have also done the same, Lord Eldamar," she smiled.

"I see. Very well. It appears the time has finally come. Let me prepare for my journey before I bid you farewell, Lord Lily."

"Do you intend to travel to the Dwarven Kingdom wearing such attire? Please bring the attire with you and change it there. The mountain path will soil your nice clothes," Lily said.

"I see. I shall trust you with my appearance then. I believe you will not bring me shame."

"Thank you for your faith in me. I bear you no malice."

Eldamar then went back to his inn, and with his entourage, they changed into mountain gear as advised by Lily. They folded their white dresses into a box to be brought with them. Eldamar never retracted his statement about being a sacrifice. I disliked him. However, he reminded me of my old self now. He had given up on everything, no longer defending himself and just accepting whatever came his way, just like me, who didn't even defend myself against the injustice that befell me before I arrived in this world.

"I bid you farewell, Lord Eldamar," Lily said as she bowed to him.

"I bid you farewell too, Lord Lily. We will not meet again. But I pray that Elves will thrive after this. And I pray for Tailfolk too," Eldamar bowed to Lily. They hugged each other in a sad farewell. I refrained from commenting or encouraging him during this month, fearing that he would pull away from being a sacrifice. However, Lily forgoed such logical reasoning and answered him with all of her heart. She even felt pity and tried to reason with Eldamar.

However, sacrifices still need to be made. And after he left, we still had a war to win.