Volume 3 – Chapter 30: Going Home, and the Mysterious Art Booklet

After two weeks, Dylin and Yimi returned to Coleman Academy. The journey went smoothly, and although the carriage was as mixed a crowd as ever, this time no one dared to blatantly ‘leer’ at Yimi anymore.

On the carriage, anyone who developed indescribable interest in Yimi—those who kept sneaking glances at her—would meet Dylin’s face full of deep, knowing smiles. Instantly, all their excitement would vanish, and they’d hurriedly turn away, pretending as if nothing had happened.

Dylin had seen too many of these types on carriages. He couldn’t help but sigh at the extraordinary allure of Gold Elves. Even when concealing her identity, Yimi still managed to draw in so many humans and turn them into lolicons.

But then again, being drawn to beauty, even to the point of desire, was only human nature. Dylin had once been human, and he understood that such impulses were instinctual and unavoidable—he didn’t press the matter too hard.

Although Coleman wasn’t truly my home, after experiencing the trials of camping and rough travel, returning here still brought with it a certain warmth—like coming home.

I led Yimi back onto campus. Since it was still a vacation period, the campus remained quiet and lifeless.

When we arrived in front of the Crown Villa, Yimi finally realized—she didn’t live here. She wasn’t part of my team. In other words, once we returned to the Academy, she’d have to live alone again, separate from me.

“...........”

Yimi didn’t speak or respond, only silently lowered her head. The small hand I held in mine tightened its grip.

Of course I felt her tiny fingers subtly clench around my hand and couldn’t help but smile.

“Ah, so we’ve arrived back at the Academy. That trip really went by fast.”

“We’re not on the same team. From now on, we’ll be going our separate ways.”

“Where’s your team dorm? I’ll walk you back.”

“...........”

So... I was going to be separated from Dylin from now on?

Just like the other students, we’d each attend our classes, and barely see each other. Even if we did, it would just be a nod in passing, a casual greeting.

Unlike me, Dylin had his own teammates.

Compared to his team, I wasn’t even his teammate. At best, I was just another Elf of the same race—and one who had previously gone through great trouble trying to kill him.

I slowly realized... Maybe I didn’t mean anything to Dylin.

But wasn’t that exactly how it should be? Was I really hoping that I would be someone special to him??

Even as I told myself that, I couldn’t shake the deep, aching sense of loss.

Ever since I’d mysteriously appeared at Coleman Academy, I’d felt like a dandelion without roots—no place to land, no place to belong. I drifted with the wind, aimless and unanchored.

Whether it was the human world or this Elven world, I never truly belonged. I was always the outsider, the jarring stroke in a carefully painted scene.

It had taken so much just to find someone of my own kind. Just to find someone—anyone—willing to accept me. Even if that person was Teresa, it gave me a faint sense of belonging. Like a traveler exiled and rejected, finally finding a fellow kindred to huddle with for warmth.

Like a drenched cat rescued to a campfire—I didn’t want to let go of this warmth anymore. I couldn’t bear the thought of returning to the coldness of spring water.

No matter how much I tried to reject it, I couldn’t hide what I truly felt.

I... didn’t really want to leave Dylin.

But how could I ever say such an embarrassing and humiliating thing out loud??

Seeing every bit of Yimi’s reaction, I knew it was time to stop teasing this tsundere goldenhead.

So clingy. No wonder tsunderes had gone out of style.

“There’s still one spot left on our team. Also, the Divine Child slot needs to be filled. Your Divine Child aptitude far exceeds mine. Why not stay and be our team’s Divine Child?” I offered at just the right moment.

At that, Yimi lifted her head, quickly hiding the joy in her eyes, and returned to that eternal poker face.

“You’re saying your Divine Child aptitude isn’t as good as mine?”

“Of course. Isn’t it obvious? You saw through my disguise at a glance—that already proves your Divine Child ability is better than mine.” Yeah, I even needed to flatter her a bit more.

“The Divine Child role clearly suits you more. And I can’t be both Divine Princess and Divine Child alone—too much on my plate, don’t you think?”

“Tch, w-well since you put it that way...”

Clearly pleased by those words, Yimi turned her head aside. Her face flushed slightly from the compliment, yet she still forced an expression of reluctance—like “you’re such trouble, but I’ll do it anyway.”

“But..........” I suddenly changed the subject.

“What?” Yimi asked, a bit of nervousness flashing through her eyes. “You’re worried I won’t get along with your teammates?”

“Not quite. It’s just... our dorm’s a little crowded. No rooms left for you, so you might have to sleep on the couch from now on.” I said it like everything before, had just been polite talk—and she’d taken it seriously, so I had to come up with a reason to turn her down.

“.............”

“Pfft.”

Seeing her holding in her reaction, twitching her nose like she was about to cry, I felt deeply satisfied. I scratched my head with a clueless act.

“Ah, my bad. Memory must’ve slipped. Turns out we do have plenty of rooms in our dorm—adding one more person’s no problem.”

“Mm.........”

Realizing I’d been had, Yimi lifted her head and glared at me in embarrassed annoyance. She pouted and muttered under her breath, “damn woman, I’ll slay you one day.”

I opened the courtyard gate with my identity Black Card, then unlocked the villa door.

After being gone for two weeks, a layer of dust had gathered on the table surfaces. It wasn’t enough to choke us the moment we entered, but it definitely needed cleaning.

Ever since Clarity of Sun and Moon took over the villa, she had managed its upkeep—including its cleanliness.

Usually, some cat-eared maid took care of the general cleaning. The rest of us only had to maintain our own rooms.

Still plenty of holiday time left, and with nothing to do, I decided to clean the villa thoroughly.

Inside, Yimi looked around with wide eyes, clearly curious.

She felt a strange sense of familiarity from the villa—which made sense, as the place had been built with a touch of Elven aesthetics. Of course she’d feel some fondness for it.

“You’re just walking in like that?” I placed my hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

“Not even changing your shoes?”

Yimi blinked a little in a daze, then bent down awkwardly to remove her little leather shoes.

Maybe the villa’s style really did stir some ancient memories in her, giving her a strange sense of déjà vu.

In her view, the contours of this place gave her the feeling... of returning to a long-lost homeland...

“Wait.” I suddenly halted her steps again.

“？” Yimi turned around, confused.

She’d taken off her shoes this time—why was I stopping her again??

“This place is dirty enough already. You step in, it gets worse.”

I changed into my slippers.

“? But I already took my shoes off.”

“Doesn’t matter. You’ve slipped and fallen who knows how many times, fought so many battles, walked so far—your body’s filthy, let alone your feet. They’re probably clammy as hell.” I raised an eyebrow. “You might even have foot odor.”

“You!” Yimi’s cute little face finally twisted—her baby-fat cheeks puffed up like a pufferfish.

“I don’t stink! How dare you slander me like that with no evidence!”

“You smelled it? How do you know it stinks? You tasted it? How do you know it’s clammy? Passing judgment without experience is slander. And seriously—who tells a girl her feet stink?!”

Yimi had clearly been angered into nonsense, spouting all sorts of wild lines to prove I was making baseless accusations.

“You’re the dirty one! Always barefoot in those stockings, stepping all over the floor, never wearing shoes—even during battle! You’re way filthier than me! You have foot odor! You and your whole family do!”

She flared up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Her counterattack was... elementary school level, completely ineffective in my eyes.

“Well then, if my feet stink—how would you know? You smelled them?”

“O-of course I did! Sleeping beside you, I often got woken up in the middle of the night by the stench!” Yimi lied. In truth, when sleeping next to Teresa, there wasn’t any odor—just a faint minty herbal scent...

“Oh? In that case, I shouldn’t trouble you. Better sleep on the couch from now on. I wouldn’t want my foot stench waking you again—that’d be too cruel.”

“Ugh!........” Yimi was left speechless again.

This damn woman—so mean!.........

Not talking to her anymore.

So evil—glaring at her! And a five-minute friendship break!

“Here, your slippers. Don’t get them dirty.” I placed a pair of slippers at Yimi’s feet.

She looked down—pink kitty slippers, adorable and a perfect fit.

“.........Did you prepare these for me?”

“No way. They belong to one of my teammates—the same size as you.” I said as I walked in. “She went home for the holidays, shouldn’t mind you borrowing them.”

The other slippers were all too big for Yimi, and wouldn't fit.

I clipped the butterfly hair ornament to my hair and turned from boy to girl.

“Alright, I won’t tease you anymore. But you do need a bath.”

“Hmph........” Yimi turned her head away.

“I wasn’t lying about that. After all these days without bathing—even a Gold Elf has a bit of a smell now.”

“..........”

Though she ignored me, her actions were honest.

“No need to cram into the public bathhouse. Each room has a private bath. Mm, go use mine.”

I pointed her toward my room, and she padded upstairs on her small pale legs—turning her head with a “hmph” to show her displeasure as she went.

I needed a bath too.

After days of travel and no water, I felt gross all over.

Gold Elves, blessed by the Mother Goddess, didn’t get dirty easily. Even after all this time, my hair wasn’t greasy. But that didn’t mean I didn’t value cleanliness—daily baths were a must.

For Elves, going barefoot wasn’t strange. It was a way to connect their bodies directly to the earth and nature—a common practice.

Yimi used my room’s bath, so I had to use someone else’s. I stripped off my bulky male clothes and tossed them into the laundry pile, wrapped myself in a barely-covering milk-white towel, and went to the third floor. I could already hear the sound of running water.

Yimi was using a water crystal for her bath.

I glanced at the third-floor rooms and casually opened one.

It was Astrid’s room.

It didn't matter. During the holidays, their room keys hung on the door. I was just taking a bath.

I took off my slippers and entered the bathroom—then suddenly felt something underfoot.

Looking down, it seemed to be a printed magazine.

Left behind in the bathroom? Astrid probably forgot to take it with her.

I picked it up, intending to put it somewhere safe—then the cover caught my eye.

Hmm. The cover was... unusual. Unusually bold. The bizarre form of performance art made me suspect this wasn’t a proper publication.

But that couldn’t be. Astrid was the Moon Elf King’s eldest daughter—a pure, untainted Elf Princess. No way would something improper be found in her room. That would be as likely as surviving a truck crash and getting isekai’d.

This had to be some kind of art zine. Art is like that—an indecent book remains indecent no matter how dressed, but strip everything off and it suddenly becomes profound.

I flipped it absentmindedly. It seemed to be full of models, fashion... or maybe performance art.

But the more I looked, the weirder my expression became.

Okay, maybe this kind of artistic performance was a bit too avant-garde for me. I could barely understand it.

Judging by the layout, it resembled those comics I used to read in my past life.

Still... probably within the “normal” range?

“Ah ah~ seems the sensitive spot is here, take this, take this~” I read aloud in a mock-dramatic voice, my face twisting further.

All the characters were girls. For example, this panel: one girl hugging another from behind, both flushed and panting.

Taking pure, innocent maidens as the base to amplify the artistic impact?

I see. What was the artist’s intent?

But no matter how many times I looked, I still didn’t get it.

I had some understanding of art—Elven or otherwise. But no matter the angle, I couldn’t “appreciate” this book.

It left me with a very indescribable feeling.

At the end, I noticed all the characters were young girls—and the leads mostly had gold or silver hair.

This art was clearly too advanced for me. Has my artistic sense fallen behind?

When Astrid returned, maybe I’d ask her to discuss it with me.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.