Why don’t the elves tell us their names? Are they hiding them on purpose? Did they just forget to say? Does the fact that they aren’t telling us their names mean something?
Will they tell us their names if we just wait a little more? Should I ask? I don’t think it’s good to ask someone something they don’t want to say.
That’s what I’ve been thinking about.
I fall asleep, and when I wake up in the morning, the elf girl that miss Lan and I are staying with brings us breakfast. There’s a lot of vegetables I’ve never seen, and not any meat. Do elves not eat meat? That’s another thing that’s different from beast people.
“If you are going to get used to life here in the elven village, you should spend time with me. Come meet me outside once you are done eating.”
She says as she leaves.
“…Miss Lan.”
“What is it?”
“…They didn’t, tell us their names.”
“Ah, that’s right. I don’t think they feel the need to. There’s also the possibility that elves don’t have individual names, but they did in the old books I read, so I don’t think that’s the case.”
“Why, don’t they tell us, their names?”
“Maybe they welcome us here in the village, but don’t want to get too close.”
“…It’s difficult.”
I don’t understand. If they welcome us here, then we should just be friends. Is there any reason to welcome someone you don’t want to be friends with?
“Maybe the elves have their reasons and we just don’t understand, but it’s true that a lot of things feel unnatural.”
We talk as we eat breakfast. This soup is good, I’ve never tasted something like this. It’s probably something that’s been passed down from generations. Rema keeps saying it’s tasty while eating, so apparently it’s good for gryphons too.
After we’re done eating, miss Lan and I go outside like the elf girl said. It’s a house on a tree, so I’m surprised by what I see when I open the door. I didn’t look back when we were taken here, so it’s my first time looking down like this.
Ah, I can see Gaius. I wave to him and he waves back.
“Come down first.”
Says the elf girl, as she uses a ladder to climb down from the tree. Miss Lan and I follow her, and Rema flies down. This tree is tall, so I’m a little scared of falling, and climb down slowly and carefully.
“I will show you around the village.”
Says the elf girl plainly, before she starts walking. Maybe she’s doing it now because there was no time yesterday. I’m relieved to see mister Nirushi, miss Shinomi, and the others. They all look well.
The first thing that I thought of yesterday when I came here was that the way the elves build their houses on top of trees is a lot different than how humans and beast people build their villages, but there are actually a lot of differences.
They are growing plants I’ve never seen, obviously on the ground and not on top of trees. There is a fence, probably so monsters stay away.
One building stands out. Is it a church? That’s what it looks like. It’s like a big building being supported by several trees, like it’s placed on top of a bunch of branches.
It’s in the back of the village, so I didn’t notice it yesterday. It’s an incredible building.
“This is where we offer our prayers to spirits, though we have no intention of forcing you to do so.”
That’s all she says. This elf girl doesn’t talk a lot. Could it be that she is not saying her name because she’s bad at talking? I have to ask the others if they were told the elves’ names.
“Elves really do have a deep connection with spirits.”
“Yes.”
It doesn’t look like the elf girl wants to say anything more than that to miss Lan. So the big church on top of trees is a place to offer prayers to spirits…
Elves really have a deep connection to these beings called spirits. The elf girl is staring at the church. Is she thinking? After pausing for a little, she casually moves on to the next place.
That is how we spend half of our day.
Our lunch didn’t have meat either. Maybe they really are a species that doesn’t eat meat. I ask her if she wants to eat with us, but she declines.
I thought we would get along better if we did. Will we eat together someday? I think, as I eat with miss Lan and Rema.
During the afternoon, I help pick medicinal herbs in a garden in the middle of the village.
—Girl and elves – part four
(The girl that is probably the miko is shown the village, and helps pick medicinal herbs. She still doesn’t know her name.)
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