It took us some time to calm down, but it happened eventually. The men have reset their game. Camilla sneaked over to my side, apologizing once again, and everything seemed to move back to its original course.

I was asked to recount some of my adventures with the Bronze Company, especially the story where I received my title. My suspicions about how big of a deal receiving an actual title from a prince was, had to be reevaluated seeing their reactions.

The title, which I originally thought to be a cheap way to avoid giving out actual rewards, seemed to be quite useful. Official titles like these held power and prestige. Things that I could use in the dwarven cities, especially in the capital.

At least, that was what Camilla and the rest told me. We have talked for hours, sharing some of our experiences and stories, along with a lot of useful information.

After I so easily overlooked Camilla’s banter, the adventurers seemed to open up and readily accept me into their company. I could feel that they were amused by my easygoing nature, but they were accepting it gladly.

Based on what Emrum told me in the past two weeks, elves were not exactly the easygoing type. Of course, there were exceptions, but it was rare and such sides were only showed after knowing the individuals for a very long time.

While I was very much an elf right now, my worldview and understanding was still belonging to that of a human. It will probably remain that way for a few centuries if I truly get to live that long. A concept which my brain was struggling to accept or understand in its entirety.

Anyway, hours went by in heated discussion and finally I finished telling the stories of the expeditions. Describing the battles really took the wind out of my sails, and I was feeling extremely tired right now.

The long travel and the excitement finally caught up to me and it was high time to excuse myself. Lying down on the bench and taking a quick nap was all I could think about right now. Not even mentioning that Emrum was still nowhere to be seen.

It was not a comfortable sleep. The cart was moving, jerking around sometimes. True, there was a surprisingly modern suspension built on the carts. As without such things, it would be completely impossible to traverse the deep roads. Of course, the technology level was far from what we known back on Earth.

Still, my sheer level of tiredness allowed me to fall asleep. My sleep was not ideal. I was often awakened momentarily before returning to my hazy and troubled dreams.

It turns out that retelling stories of bloody battles in which you recently participated and still were yet to come to acceptance was not your ideal good night charm.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

I was plagued by nightmares. The general sense of discomfort, lack of familiarity and background noise would have done it already, but with the recounting of so many traumatising events caused me to flow from one nightmare to the other.

I was drenched in sweat, dreaming about being chased by goblins only to be caught in a giant spider web and being unable to escape while a huge black spider creeped closer and closer…

My eyes snapped open. I looked around, heart beating in my throat like a sledgehammer as the intense memories were still very much present in my mind.

I sat up, breathing in the cold air of the cave. I noticed that at some point; I was covered in a blanket. Must have been one of my new acquaintances doing. I thanked them silently, considering the possibility of simply going back to sleep, then stubbornly shaking my head as I remembered those horrible nightmares.

Immediately dropping the idea, even if I was far from rested.

I channeled a bit of mana into my staff, creating a stable stream of light in the otherwise dark place.

I raised my staff to look around, noticing some of the others in similar sleeping positions. Except that they were sleeping on the floor instead of on top of a bench.

They have also placed down their sleeping bags and stuff.

I frowned at that. Should have done that too… yet again, I was not really intending on falling asleep. It just happened after being overwhelmed by the sense of tiredness.

“I see that you can’t sleep after all… You were having some nightmares, quite obviously.” — Camilla’s voice appeared next to me, and I jerked a bit in fright. I didn’t notice her still sitting by my side.

I glanced at her, nodding to her, heart skipping a beat or two at her unexpected presence.

She bit the side of her lips anxiously before saying.

“Should have realized it previously… asking you to describe those scenes, the way your golem… Tsc… it’s my fault again isn’t it? I guess I was too excited to actually meet an elf mage… I keep messing up.”

I turned towards the girl. She was quite depressed, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at her conclusion.

Of course, talking about that was partly the reason for my unusually troubling nightmares, but it was only partly the reason.

I tended to have these nightmares either way, not this intense usually, and not every night, but it was hardly rare.

“Yes… you are a handful, I will admit that.” — I said teasingly. Camilla glanced at me, a flicker of annoyance mirrored in her dark green eyes.

“You were supposed to tell me otherwise, not agree with my self-loathing.” — She complained.

An amused smile spread across my features in the pale light of my staff. I moved my shoulders and arched my back a bit, feeling stiff after sleeping on a bench. My muscles and bones were popping and stretching under the strain of my movements.

Camilla wasn’t amused by being ignored and throw a frustrated glance at me from the side. — “You are a weird elf. I would take you for a dwarf sooner than an actual elf, except I have seen your ears, and you are way too thin for a dwarf either way.”

“Well, thanks I guess.” — I answered, unsure how to take her words.

She chuckled heartily at my uncertainty. — “Just as I said… a weird elf, if I ever known one… not that I did. Still, I would hardly believe any elf would take it in a good light if they were compared to dwarfs.”

There was a moment of comfortable silence, then Camilla’s eyes widened in realisation. She asked in an excited whisper, careful to not disturb the other sleeping adventurers.

“Come to think of it, I have never asked what sort of elf were you?” — Camilla stated all of a sudden.

“You are not a dark elf obviously, you lack that sense of wildness from wood elves, and you are too short to be a high elf, even if you are barely adult, and aside from that your skin color isn’t quite right to be a high elf either. Another mystery…” — The girl noted with a sigh.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I turned towards her, a serious expression coming to my face as I also just realized that I never mentioned my actual race. I did not intend to hide it, since too many dwarfs know about it already. It simply didn’t come to focus.

“Oh… well, I suppose you are right about all that.” — Not that I would know any of those particular details about those elven races. — “I don’t belong to any of those. I am a white elf, the last of my kind, as far as I am aware.”

I said solemnly while redoing the combing of my hair, which came loose in my sleep.

Camilla stared at me. There was a thoughtful and somewhat doubtful expression mixed on her face. Something that I have already anticipated.

“A white elf? You must be pulling my leg, right?” — The girl said, and I could feel her eyes wandering all over my body. Searching for any signs of joviality or dishonesty.

I pointed my deadpan look at her. Trying to give off an air of annoyance.

My attempt must have succeeded because Camilla, seeing my glare, coupled with my tense body language, quickly deduced that I was not joking around. At least not anymore.

The girl fidgeted slightly before continuing our conversation.

She began with a frustrated huff. — “I thought that white elves have gone extinct a few millennia ago. They were a race of true immortals that were blessed equally with mana and wisdom. Their knowledge regarding magical practices challenged even those of the Great Guardians. If indeed true, this would explain your incredible aptitude with magic even compered to your young age.”

I bristled at that. — “Would you finally stop speaking to me in such a descending tone? I might be considered young as an elf, but you are still a quarter of my age!”

To my surprise, the girl didn’t act bashful or apologetic after hearing my perfectly sensible demand.

She instead grown a wide smirk over her face, grinning at me like I was a fool. She mock twirled her non existent beard as if she was contemplating some great mystery. Standing on the precipice of a weighty choice that had to be made with complete commitment.

I was momentarily mystified and simultaneously taken aback by her antics.

It was at that time she stopped her act and stated in a teasing voice. — “What about, no?” — I blinked, flabbergasted by the sudden turn of events.

She continued with a huff. — “I mean… how often do I get to baby an elf? There is absolutely no way I would miss this chance. Aside from that, since I already messed up my first impression big time… And seeing that you didn’t run away in terror, I might as well swallow this bitter pill and act as myself from now on. Shamelessness included.”

I felt my jaw loosen a bit as I stared at the young woman sitting by my side, mumbling to herself while staring into nothingness.

I realized, perhaps a bit too late, that the previous accidents caused quite the damage to her mental state. I guess something like that was comparable to throwing up in front of your role model.

Camilla was quite young herself. I guess I should say that, unlike me; she was truly young.

I guess it was time to call on my seventy-two years of life experience.

I turned towards Camilla sideways and placed a gentle, reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Realising that I was up to something, she looked up. Her dark green eyes met my own silvery ones as I stated with a serious expression.

“Don’t worry about it. I promise I won’t mention those previous incidents to anybody.” — I nodded, listening to my own reassuring words, feeling quite pleased with myself.

The sensation of satisfaction didn’t last for long, though.

The sound of a snort cut through the dim room, and my expression quickly morphed into something unsightly as my ears picked up the following words.

Camilla was giggling while praising me in a mocking tone. Something that felt overly familiar compared to how short a time we actually known each other. — “Oh, look at that, someone is trying to act mature! How cute."

I grimaced, feeling infuriated by her antics once again. I couldn’t figure out if she was intentionally leading me by my nose from the very start or was genuinely this spontaneous and moody.

That said, I continued to glare daggers at her, something that eventually managed to shut her up.

After a few minutes of heavy silence. Which consisted of me glaring at Camilla, who was trying and failing to act innocent or just generally ignore my piercing eyes.

She coughed, clearly unable to keep the awkward silence any longer.

“So…” — She glanced at me tentatively, trying to figure out if I was still angry, and if I was, how much.

Lucky for her, I was also relatively bored. The lack of the internet’s convenience leaving a large sense of emptiness behind. A space that I was struggling to fill in.

Casting magic was quite entertaining in general, but there were times and situations when it was unwise to waste mana or, just like in my present situation, the effects of practicing magical abilities could lead a horde of monsters right to our location. In other words, it was not an option.

Anyway, seeing that I didn’t immediately cut short of her attempt at conversation, she continued her words.

“You mentioned that you are the last of your kind, yes? How can you be so sure? I believed that white elves were already extinct just recently.”

I shrugged at that. It was not like I could be sure or that I really cared about it right now.

“True, I cannot know that. There might be others roaming about or hiding away from civilisation.” — I said indifferently.

Something that made Camilla raise an eyebrow. — “Why do I get the feeling that you don’t really care?” — She asked, half jokingly.

I turned my head towards her and said. — “Well, because I don’t. They are elves, like any other. It doesn’t really make a difference for me, befriending dwarves, humans, or elves. At least not until they want to put my head on a pike. Something which those deranged dark elves seemed to be quite keen to do.”

My own words slightly surprised me.

I guess I was holding a grudge for that, aren’t I?

Camilla winced, listening to my words. She paused thoughtfully before deciding to continue.

“I see… and I completely agree. As a matter of fact, dark elves are quite horrid.”

The memory of that Arachne knight still lived vividly in my mind. I was starting to doubt that the picture would ever dull, not even mentioning forgetting it entirely.

“So…” — Camilla continued. — “What is it like being a white elf?”

I quirked an eyebrow at that. It was a surprising question, yet something I could quite easily explain given my own unique circumstances.

"Well… it’s quite similar to being a human. Except that my ears are a lot sharper, and my eyes can somewhat see in the darkness, not perfectly mind you, but the difference is still noticeable.” — I said.

Camilla was listening to my words with an interested expression. Waiting for me to continue.

I thought about it, then decided to share a few more details, but it was all I could scrape up.

“Aside from the obvious difference in my ears’ shape and size… I have a leaner body shape, and a surprising amount of muscles.”

Camilla snorted, poking me into the side. — “Now you are just boasting needlessly about your body-shape, aren’t you?”

“You were the one who asked the question…” — I answered, covering my side under my arm in a defensive sort of way. I didn’t like being poked, something that clearly amused Camilla to no end.

“Anyway, thanks for your explanation.” — She said with a sigh. — “Even if it was unexpectedly boring.”

“…You are quite rude, aren’t you?” — I pointed it out. To which she only laughed.

“Took you long enough to realize, you are a bit slow regarding these things, but that’s alright sweety.” — She playfully slapped me on the shoulder. — “Anyway, it is high time for us to swap with the other guards. Why don’t you go back to sleep in the meantime? Your bloodshot eyes are starting to creep me out, anyway.”

I blinked, lightly shaking my head while suffering her witty retorts. Adventurers were something else indeed. If anything, they had a free spirit. A complete opposite of what the Bronze Company was all about, but their lack of discipline made them into natural conversationalists. At least if you could endure their sharp tongue to actually listen.

While I was spacing out, Camilla already left my side and started to wake up her companions. It was too late to form my own retort, therefore I decided to drop it.

Her words were still lingering on my mind.

I thought about sleeping… While the chance of having another nightmare wasn’t that alluring, it couldn’t be denied that I needed more rest.

I nodded to myself, slowly stretching over the bench once again while Camilla began to wake the other adventurers.

I felt a harsh pull on one of my hair locks. I looked up, seeing a flustrated Camilla pointing at her own sleeping beg which was still placed on the floor. — “Get over there and use my sleeping bag, stupid elf! I can’t bear to see you toughing it out on a stupid bench for no reason.”

I blinked and nodded, quickly following her instructions.

She spared me one last disbelieving glance and left, following the others.

This time, the nightmares seemed to avoid my dreams. If only temporarily.