Forgetting

Convincing Sabedra to use the front gates might go down as my greatest feat. She grudgingly landed us outside the city entrance. Why would it matter to her where we were landing? She might just not want to follow orders.

Lyla greeted us in her signature scanty armor plus silky outfit combo. It was obvious from her wide eyes that she had noticed I was missing an arm. But she decided not to comment on it. “Nice to meet you, travelers. I’m Lyla Everhart. Part of a baron’s family here.” Watching her curtsy was a bizarre sight that didn’t fit my image of her at all.

“You can ask about my arm,” I said.

“Why would I be so rude?” She maintained a phony tone that I had never heard her use before.

“You don’t have to be so formal.”

“Actually, keep being formal,” Sabedra interjected. I threw a glare at her. She shrugged innocently and added, “What? She is representing her city here.”

I didn’t want to admit it, but Sabedra had a point. Rushing to close our distance would backfire, so I should go with the flow for now. It wasn’t like I had anything in mind that I wanted to say to her.

I bowed to her, hoping I got the etiquette right. “My name is Thomas. And the woman behind me is Sabedra, the Dragon of Knowledge. I believe everyone here has heard her name already, from her… embarrassing display. And for that, I would like to apologize.”

“You forgot the ‘Lady’ before my name.” Sabedra somehow nitpicked the most irrelevant part of what I said.

“Fine, Lady Sabedra.”

“It’s Lady Sabedra, the Dragon of Knowledge.”

My smile strained. Could this Dragon of Knowledge KNOW when to shut up? Lyla evidently felt my rage; she gave a refined chuckle to defuse the tension.

“I see you two are very close. I’m glad to see that humans and dragons can have this kind of relationship.” Wait a second. What kind of relationship was she referring to?

“Yes, I’m acquainted with Lady Sabedra, the Dragon of Knowledge, for she was my ride to this place,” I hurried to clarify any potential misunderstanding.

“You’re welcome,” said Sabedra.

Lyla gave me a wistful smile. “I have arranged for someone to give you a tour of our city. We will give the best welcome to the Dragon of Knowledge and her companion.” I didn’t know if she phrased it this way as part of diplomatic speak or to avoid saying my name.

“If you would excuse me, I have to prepare for my wedding. You are both cordially invited. You can take part if you are interested.” After this, she left with a quick nod, not giving me a chance to respond.

“Wait, Ly… Lady Lyla.” I called out without thinking. She stopped, but didn’t turn around.

“What is it, sir?” The “sir” pierced through my heart like an arrow, more painful than what I felt when I lost my arm. And to make things worse, I couldn’t think of anything to say. This feeling of not knowing the right words, I didn’t realize it would be so hollow.

“If there is nothing, I bid you farewell.” The last chance that Lyla gave me was over just like that. I couldn’t chase after her. There was no reason to. Somehow, I felt that this would be the last time I spoke to her. Like a fool, I watched Lyla’s figure getting more distant, entering the streets of the city, until she disappeared behind a corner.

“Excuse me, do you want me to plunge your hair into flames?” Sabedra spoke right into my ear. The uncalled-for ASMR jolted me back to reality.

“Finally, you’re back.” Sabedra pointed at the elf standing next to us. “This young man said that he would show us around.” I didn’t even notice he was here.

The elf performed for us an impeccable bow. “It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Cyrus Everhart, the elder brother of Lyla.” He had a full set of armor on. And his smile, something about his smile looked familiar. My memory clicked. He was the psycho elf.

“You!” I couldn’t stop myself from exclaiming.

“Thomas, watch your manners,” chided Sabedra, like she wasn’t the most embarrassing person here.

“I do not mind at all,” Cyrus said. His unyielding smile was as horrifying as ever. “Shall we go?” And with the green light from Sabedra, not waiting for me to say yes, he started our tour of the city. I followed Sabedra and Cyrus like a robot. It was as if a weight was tied to my chin, and my head drooped. Cyrus seemed to have introduced different notable areas of the city, but I couldn’t see or hear any of them.

At some point, Sabedra elbowed me so hard that I couldn’t ignore her. “Look, everyone is staring at you with such a repulsive look. I know elves dislike children, but not this much. What did you do?”

I replied without looking up, “Why do they dislike children anyway? Isn’t it better for the lineage to have as many children as possible?”

Sabedra gladly started explaining, “That’s simple; it is all because-”

“Because with our lifespans, having too many children would increase the chance of accidental inbreeding. At some point, a general dislike of children was developed.” Sabedra was upstaged by none other than Cyrus. She let her frown show on her face as obviously as possible. I didn’t think of cheering her up. Misery wants company after all.

“And to answer Lady Sabedra’s initial question. It is well known in the city that Thomas here is the demon child who kept Lyla away from her true love,” Cyrus had to say more. It wouldn’t sound as offensive if not for his punchable smile still on his face.

“Of… of course, I know that. It was a rhetorical question.” Sabedra didn’t forget to keep up appearances, albeit no one seemed to be fooled by her.

“Who told them?” I murmured. Lyla never acknowledged that she knew me. Judging by her attitude towards me, I doubted she would even tell anyone in the city about our time in Nautia. And from our brief interaction, only conspiracy theorists would put together that Lyla and I had met before.

“I did. It was my responsibility as the dispatch team leader to report everything I had learned to the mayor,” Cyrus spoke as if that was the most obvious answer, in a tone that carried no malice.

Whatever. I’m never stepping foot in this city again after this anyway. I couldn’t care less if some random elves hated me or loved me.

“Look, Thomas. Have you seen this creature before?” I wished Sabedra would stop bothering me and let me splash around in my pool of sorrow in peace.

“This is called an iron-skinned boar. It can use strengthening magic that increases both its attack and defense. But of course, I can kill it anytime I want.” Sabedra immediately followed up with an explanation before Cyrus had a chance to cut her off. The name of the creature hooked my attention as she said it. I raised my head immediately to examine the creature in question.

Roaming behind the fence, it looked as I remembered it. A boar the size of a truck. Snorting out a foul scent blended with droplets of mucus. A tough hide that I could pierce by borrowing its strength. The time that a boar treated me as a plaything was a humiliating memory, but what stood out to me more was another scene the boar reminded me of, one that was mundane in comparison. When I first saw Lyla standing in front of the carcass of the boar; when I wondered why a grown woman would threaten a little kid.

It was because of the dead boar, wasn’t it? It was because the “little kid” might have murdered a boar several times his size; even an idiot would realize that the kid must be dangerous. But back then, I didn’t realize.

While I was deep in my thoughts, we arrived at the training grounds.

On the left was a row of square-shaped archer ranges, each enclosed by see-through walls with a light blue tint that looked like jelly, supported by poles in the four corners. Inside, elf archers were practicing their aim by shooting moving discs that came hurling out from the ground on all four sides.

On the right was a big open space with no one in it.

“We have archery practice on the left. The slime walls make it completely safe for spectators. And on the right is an area for magic practice. All our mages are busy at the moment, so no one is using it.” Cyrus explained.

“Only nobles and some rich commoners can afford the time and money to learn magic. If you don’t have talent, what you get back won’t be worth the investment at all. And it might take a few years just to know if you have enough talent to earn a living with magic,” Sabedra practically forced herself into the role of a guide, even though she was the guest. And Cyrus still maintained that annoying smile while Sabedra robbed him of his spotlight.

Talent and magic. Lyla’s lifeless complexion flashed in my mind. She could use the Clarity spell. How much magic did she learn? Did she have more success in magic than in archery? “What about Lyla? Does she know magic?” I gathered up the courage to ask, not even realizing that I hadn’t added “Lady” when I referred to Lyla.

“She is passable in healing magic. Particularly, she knows the Heal spell to heal injuries, and the Clarity spell to calm the body.” Cyrus’s answer brought a sigh of relief out of me. I didn’t even pay attention to Sabedra’s additional hundreds of words about healing magic theories.

I could enjoy the tour better after that, but we were already at the last spot: the workshops where mana-stones were processed. Again, Cyrus and Sabedra wrestled for the right to explain (mostly Sabedra).

Mana-stones are materials several times denser than normal stones, and they emit invisible energies that our skin can absorb and convert into mana. Its effect is much stronger if made into potion form and directly consumed.

Wait. Mana stones are just radioactive elements. That was my takeaway, but again, I couldn’t be sure. I wasn’t a chemist anyway. But if my guess was correct, it would mean that the living things in this world had gotten used to taking normally lethal doses of radiation daily. Because the elf workers looked just fine.

“The workers here don’t have an unusually high mortality rate, right?” I asked to be sure. The patronizing look on Sabedra’s face answered me with no need for words. Yeah, maybe I should put more faith in the elves and not treat them as if they were clueless. They should know better than anyone about themselves.