I was reincarnated and became a high elf, but I got tired of the slow life after 120 years

town is a dwarf, so they probably wouldn't sell to us elves.”

 

Ailena responded with a bitter expression.

I see.

Certainly, dwarves and elves detest each other, and a dwarven blacksmith would definitely not sell to me or Ailena, who are elves.

 

But none of that matters.

Because I don't have any to begin with, I can't buy anything from the dwarf.

 

Dwarves, huh…

 

“That's fine.
I want to see that dwarf, too, so that's timely.
But if Ailena doesn't like dwarves, you can just tell me where they are.”

 

It was a good thing to be hopeful.

Well, it's unlikely that the dwarf would teach me anything, but it was a good oppotunity to see for myself how dwarves really are.

 

“Um, Acer-sama, do you not hate dwarves?”

 

Ailena looked at me as if she saw something unbelievable.

I was prepared to be met with that look from elves ever since I decided to stop acting like a High Elf.

That's why I can smile and nod under that gaze.

 

“I mean, isn't it weird to dislike someone just because you never met them?”

 

At those words, Ailena turned her gaze away from me.

In elven mythology, dwarves were said to have stolen fragments of fire from all of nature and locked them in a furnace.

 

However, such a thing can't be true.

Because that would mean that dwarves had a complete mastery over nature.

If dwarves had the power to do so, it would be strange if elves, who they don't get along with, still aren't extinct.

At best it is a metaphor of some kind, and if an elf took it seriously, they are a fool.

 

But it wasn't so easy to remove that instinctual hatred, no matter how many times you might say don't feel such a thing anymore.

Nor was I willing to force Ailena to change her views.

It's fine if I can live the way I want.

 

“Ah, but it's already evening, so it would be a nuisance if I went now.
I'd like to go to an inn first, but I don't have any money.
That's right, Ailena, would you be willing to buy this from me?”

 

I took out an Apua fruit from my bag and placed it in Ailena's hand.

I didn't try to sell it at the gate because I thought humans might not be able to identify what this fruit was.

But since she's an elf, she should know what it was.

Apua berries have an enduring vitality which prevents it from decaying, and even half a month later now, it's still as fresh as ever.

 

“Eh, could this be…”

 

Ailena's complexion changed as she confirmed the fruit in her hands.

From her expression, it didn't seem like the assumption of elves living deep in the forest about the Apua fruit's value in the outside world was false.

I patted my chest in relief.

 

Now that I look back at it, it was only because of Ailena that I was able to enter the town, and it was also only because of her that I found out that the blacksmith I wanted was a dwarf.

It would be ungrateful of me to have take such good care of me and not thank her in any way.

 

“Also, I would like to express my gratitude from earlier.
Thanks, you've been a great help.”

 

So I took out another Apua fruit and placed it on her hands.

Maybe Apua fruits are a favorite of the elves.

I'm already sick of eating them, but they taste so good that I might crave for them again I don't eat one for a long time.

 

Ailena's friends looked at our exchanges curiously, but then they hardened in surprise, and they took a while to recover.

Then Ailena made me promise not to show this fruit to others so easily, and that tomorrow she will teach me more baout money and the human life, and that blacksmithing should be put off for now.

She came to with such a straight face, throwing all her respect for High Elves, and warning me that she was scared to the point where she was trembling, so I think should learn a lot from her tomorrow.