Chapter 372 - 371: Daily News
After returning home, Colin took out the small items from his bag one by one and placed them on his bookshelf. They were things like the toy from the children in Silverpine Village, the handkerchief a little girl had given him, the Halfling’s Furnace Stone, and the small pebble from the Orc Tribe.
Before he knew it, his collection of these little knick-knacks was growing.
After he finished tidying up, Colin took a refreshing shower and lay down comfortably on his soft bed.
’Come to think of it, this bed feels too soft. Is sleeping on this bad for my back? Ah, whatever...’
Lost in thought, Colin slowly drifted off to sleep.
-----------------
Light filtered through his eyelids.
Colin, now awake, kept his eyes shut, sensing the brightness beyond his eyelids.
After a moment, he opened his eyes and sat up.
Colin glanced at the fireplace in the corner of the room. ’I should probably buy some tea bricks and a teapot,’ he mused, ’so I can brew tea later on.’
His mind wandering, he got up and went to the washroom to freshen up.
Through the window beside the washstand, he could see a small cart in the courtyard below. On it were some food and copies of the Thousand Masts City newspaper.
Seeing the free breakfast, Colin hurried downstairs to collect his portion and returned to his room.
On a whim, he picked up a few logs from the pile beside the fireplace, tossed them in, and lit them with Magic.
Listening to the crackle of the burning firewood, Colin sat on the Beast Hide bench.
He sandwiched the bacon between two slices of dark bread and took a hearty bite, washing it down with a gulp of goat’s milk before he started flipping through the newspaper.
The newspapers here were mostly black and white. Although they had illustrations, they were all hand-drawn, so you could only get a rough idea of what they depicted.
Colin briefly scanned the newspaper’s headlines.
[Fierce Battle in the Endless Sea: Navy Governor Laine Deville Leads Forces Against Frost Giants]
[Conflict Erupts East of Silver Star Court, Dragon Worship Cult Suspected of Covert Plot]
[Rommon Begins Reconstruction Amidst Frequent Raids by Hobgoblin Legion]
[Shocking! New Treat from Magic Bakery Makes You Burp Rainbows!]
...
It occurred to Colin that his primary source of information up until now had been listening to people tell tall tales in taverns. With a newspaper, he finally had a more official channel.
Come to think of it, this news was similar to the intel he’d gathered on his recent quests, like that whole mess in Rommon.
’Conflicts are breaking out all over the world. How much longer can Thousand Masts City remain peaceful?’
At this thought, Colin took a closer look at the article about Silver Star Court.
After folding the newspaper, he left his room and went to knock on Ale’s door.
After a moment, Ale opened the wooden door.
Her delicate little face peeked out from the crack in the door, her wide eyes staring blankly at him.
Colin glanced down and saw that, sure enough, the young girl was holding today’s newspaper.
He asked, "How are you doing?"
"Hm?"
"I asked, how are you doing?"
"Me?" Ale blinked. "I’m okay, but... I’m a little worried about Silver Star Court."
"If something’s wrong, you can talk to us. We’re a team, after all," Colin reminded her.
"Can I talk to you for a bit, then?"
"I just lit the fireplace. Come on over."
After Colin spoke, Ale immediately turned and ran off. Just as he thought she’d changed her mind, the Half-Elf came running back, dragging a Beast Hide chair and carrying her breakfast.
The two of them settled in front of the lit fireplace.
"How much do you know about Silver Star Court, Colin?" Ale asked, breaking the silence.
Colin shook his head. "Not much, to be honest. I just know that Silver Star Court is an Elf City, and that many other races supposedly live there too. It’s relatively famous for its lumber, Scrolls, and Potions.
Because the Dragonbone Mountains west of the Supreme Forest are the Dragon Worship Cult’s sphere of influence, Silver Star Court has frequently been harassed by them. Also, many underground Drow slave-hunting parties come to the Surface at night."
It might sound strange for a Cult to pose a threat to an entire city-state, but that was the reality of the situation. After all, the Dragon Worship Cult was backed by several Legendary Evil Dragons.
Ale sighed.
She began to speak slowly. "After the age of the Elves ended, there are very few independent Elf Cities left in the world. Even in Silver Star Court, pure-blooded Elves only make up about seventy percent of the population.
Because most Elf souls remain in the Divine Kingdom, fewer and fewer Elves are being born. The entire population of Silver Star Court is only twenty thousand, a number that’s unimaginable for a human city."
’Only twenty thousand?’
Colin calculated silently. He didn’t know the exact population of Thousand Masts City, but it was certainly far higher than that.
It was also worth noting that the cycle of life and death for the Elf race differed from that of Ordinary mortals. To put it simply, it was a mechanism similar to reincarnation.
The souls of deceased Elves would return to the Divine Kingdom of the Elf Main Deity, where they could then choose whether or not to return to the Mortal World.
Because of this, most Elves could, to some extent, recall fragments of their past lives.
"Although most adult Elves have learned some combat skills, it takes an incredibly long time for an Elf to mature. We have a hard time dealing with constant harassment."
Ale continued, "On top of that, Elves have never liked being confined to crowded, rigid settlements. This means our communities are much less dense, with homes scattered throughout the woods, which obviously makes us vulnerable to surprise attacks."
"In other words, Silver Star Court is somewhat helpless against this harassment," Colin summarized.
"Our situation is... difficult."
After she said this, Colin noticed that Ale seemed to want to say something more, but she hesitated.
A good while passed, but the Half-Elf couldn’t manage to form a complete sentence. She would struggle to utter a single syllable before falling silent again.
"Why don’t you eat your breakfast first."
"I’m sorry, I..." Ale rubbed her forehead.
"There’s nothing to be sorry for." Colin took a bite of his bacon sandwich. "I’m glad you’re willing to talk to me about this. If you want to talk more later, I’ll be here to listen."
Ale let out a long sigh.
She leaned back on the bench, her eyes silently fixed on the crackling Flames in the fireplace.
"Colin... are you going to die someday?"
"Today? No," Colin said. "A hundred years from now? That’s hard to say."
Ale immediately asked, "Are you going to be in trouble a hundred years from now? Was it a prophecy from a Mage? I can help you!"
Colin couldn’t help but chuckle. "I’ll have died of old age in a hundred years, my dear elven lady."
Ale fell silent for a moment.
Then she replied sullenly, "...Oh."
Colin asked, "When you’re done eating, want to come with me to train with the Dwarves?"
Hearing this, Ale quickly picked up her breakfast and began to eat.
The faint chill from their conversation was slowly driven away by the warmth of the fireplace.
Sunlight streamed in through the window, and the faint sounds of a lively city drifted in from the distance.
Regardless, today was, at least, still a good day.