The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 126

The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I’m a “Farmer”, Not a Demon King! ~

Chapter 126   Differences between elves

“Acquaintance? …Why do you ask?”

I showed no particular reaction to those words, genuinely tilting my head in curiosity.

“I don’t know why, but it didn’t really surprise me, just seemed a bit unusual. I’ve seen a fair share of people, even though I’m still a ‘youngster’ among elves. I can easily sense a feeling of incongruity. You know? Despite my appearance, I’m over three hundred years old. Still a youngster among elves though.”

The ‘youngster’ comment is irrelevant, so how should I respond?

Certainly, I am acquainted with elves, and this guy is an elf himself, but does that mean it’s okay to tell him whether we have connections with an elf group or not?

There’s a possibility that this guy was exiled by the elves, and upon finding out that we have a connection with elves, he might try to use that information to deal with us.

As I pondered, it seemed like Randel understood that we were skeptical. He continued speaking a bit flustered, waving his hand in front of his face.

“Ah, no, I don’t intend to do anything to you. I called you this time not with the intention of causing you trouble… Well, I might still cause trouble, but I called you to figure out how to deal with that. You see, I… Well, I don’t have any intention of being hostile towards you. Whether you believe it or not, I swear it on the Sacred Tree that’s with you.”

“Do you understand?”

“The Sacred Tree? Yeah, I know about that. After all, it’s like a god for elves.”

I glanced at the Sacred Tree seed that I’ve been carrying with me since I set out on this journey.

But then, an idea crossed my mind.

Wouldn’t it be a good idea to ask this guy about it?

What’s holding our conversation back is simply because I’m not sure if I can trust this guy. If I can confirm this with the Sacred Tree, then maybe it’s okay to trust him to some extent.

Thinking that way, I tried asking the Sacred Tree seed, and the response I got was an indication that it’s okay to trust.

Well, I won’t reveal everything, but I guess I’ll show some of my cards.

…Actually, I need to plant it properly.

Unfortunately, since I’m already on this journey, I can’t plant it anywhere right now.

Whether I’ll live as royalty, or return to my parents, or something else… I still don’t know what will happen, but if I ever establish a base, I’ll make sure to nurture it properly. Sorry, but please wait for a while.

As I spoke these thoughts in my mind, an intent like ‘don’t worry about it’ seemed to come back in response. So, I gave the Sacred Tree seed a gentle stroke and then turned my gaze back to Randel.

“—About your earlier question, there’s nothing particularly significant. It’s just that the Elf I know had a quite different feeling.”

“Someone you know… I see.”

“Well, when I was at my family’s place, there was a certain degree of interaction.”

I left without saying anything about Lilia, but I wonder how she’s doing~. Even if I say ‘wonder how she’s doing,’ it’s been less than half a year, so she should be fine. But I feel like she might get angry when I return.

Prior to that, considering her personality, she might come chasing after me like, ‘How dare you leave me behind!’… Well, maybe not. It will take quite some time for her to find out that I left on a journey. Even if she were to chase after me, she probably can’t go to other cities by herself… I thought. But she did go from the Elf Forest to Karakas alone, so she has the achievement of traveling alone, at least to a nearby town.

But going to other towns is impossible. I mean, Karakas was relatively close, so she managed to walk there, but in other towns, I think she’d get lost, unable to read a map. Even if she somehow made it to a neighboring town, she might fall victim to fraud or kidnapping.

…I should contact my father later just in case. Knowing my father, he might have already taken precautions… but I’m a little worried.

Well, I don’t really care about her right now. Let’s get back to the conversation.

“So, the Elves I know all had somewhat similar personalities, but you, Randel-san”

“Just call me Randel~”

“…Randel, I thought your personality was quite different from those guys over there. How should I put it, more human-like than them?”

Lilia and the others had an innocent, fluffy-headed, straightforward personality, but I felt Randel had a hidden side to him. By ‘hidden side,’ I don’t mean something criminal; rather, it’s like a personality with a bit of a bite. Fundamentally, he seemed soft, but I sensed there was more to it. That’s why I was cautious.

“Well, yeah. Being the deputy section chief in a place like this is a part of it… Hm~ Do you know about the origins of Elves?”

However, Randel affirmed my thoughts and asked in that manner.

The origins of Elves, huh… I vaguely remembered something I heard from Lilia before. If I recall…

“In ancient times, spirits resided in trees, transformed into living beings, and later mated with humans, resulting in the birth of Elves, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. That’s exactly it. However, it wasn’t just one.”

It wasn’t just one—meaning, several spirits transformed into living beings? Well, that’s quite natural if you think about it. If one person could do it, it wouldn’t be surprising if others imitated. But what’s the point?

I tilted my head, unable to understand what Randel was getting at. He took a sip of tea and then began speaking again, coming to a conclusion.

“Essentially, even though the origins are the same, it doesn’t necessarily mean the ancestors are the same. The personality of the original spirit and the plant it inhabited also matter, and even the will of that plant is relevant. Humans are the same, right? Think of it like different races. Just as there are cheerful and reserved races among humans, there are Elves with different natures for each ancestral spirit. Do you know why Elves don’t establish a large country in one place?”

I see, that makes sense. For example… if asked whether the one based on lilies and the one based on flytraps would have the same personality, I’d say they wouldn’t. Their orientations are clearly different.

So, if told that they have different personalities because they’re based on different plants, I can fully accept that explanation.

The term ‘race’ is accurate as well. For Elves, the difference in the plants they originated from forms different races, rather than a nation.

However, why didn’t they create a single country? If I think about it, it makes sense. I know about the Elf village, and that forest still had plenty of space. So, for the sake of defending against kidnappings and attacks, they should form larger groups—perhaps even a country. But Lilia and the others didn’t do that.

As Randel is here, it’s not like there are no other Elves around. I’ve heard about Elves in other countries too, so it’s clear that Elves exist elsewhere as well.

If that’s the case, rather than living scattered in small groups based on their respective races, they should gather together. I would think that coming together to form a large country would make for an easier life.

Nevertheless, there must be some reason why the Elves live separately based on their respective races.

And as for that reason…

“Is it because the races are different, as mentioned in the current discussion?”

Considering the current conversation, it seemed to be heading in that direction.

My answer seemed to be correct, as Randel nodded in response.

“Yeah. It’s easiest and most enjoyable to hang out with those who share the same ancestors. After all, everyone around you is someone you get along with.”

If the plant they originated from determines their general personality and traits, then those who share the same ancestors would be like siblings—more like twins, even. They’re parents, children, friends, and strangers, all at the same time, yet they’re all close-knit siblings.

In that case, it must be quite easy for them. In society, the most troublesome thing is human relationships. The occasional danger to life and the constant vigilance required for human relationships. If we consider which is more troublesome, it’s the latter—human relationships are more difficult and burdensome.

Elves have a calm personality, and if they dislike such troubles, then I can understand why they live separately based on their respective ancestors.

“However, there are some like me who live apart from their companions. Well, I didn’t abandon my home, so I go back there occasionally.”

However, even though they all get along like siblings, there are still peculiar ones among them, and it seems Randel is one of them.

There are odd ones in the ones I know too, like Lilia being peculiar, so it’s not rare.

It’s like Mendel’s laws. No matter how many dominant traits you combine, a recessive (anomaly) can still be born. It’s similar to that idea, considering they originated from plants. Well, not that it’s inferior, but you get the idea.

“But I see. So, you both are from Karakas. I understand your strength and behavior now.”

With Randel’s words, I flinched slightly. I could sense a hint of wariness from Sofia, who was sitting beside me.

Why would she be wary? Well, that’s obvious. We haven’t mentioned where we came from at all. Yet, he knew we came from the city of Karakas. How did he know that? It’s definitely something to be curious about.

There are two possibilities for how he knew. He either deduced it from our conversation just now or he had researched it beforehand.

Certainly, based on our recent conversation, he might have been able to understand our origins. I don’t know what led him to that conclusion, but considering he’s the second-in-command of a major organization like the Adventurer’s Guild, he might be able to deduce things from brief conversations.

However, if he knew beforehand, then naturally either he or the Adventurer’s Guild had investigated us. It’s true that they wouldn’t know about my background from a brief investigation, but as someone who doesn’t want my identity known, I can’t help but be cautious.

Yet, I also think that for the Adventurer’s Guild, investigating someone’s background isn’t entirely unreasonable.

Soon, Sofia will become a B-ranked adventurer. Once she reaches that point, she won’t be just an ordinary adventurer. She’ll be one of the limited elite within the adventurer community. In such a case, it wouldn’t be unusual for them to investigate aspects like one’s background.

However, even with that understanding, I can’t help but be wary of someone attempting to pry into our affairs.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

While staying vigilant against the fact that we were being probed rather than just our origins being known, I answered calmly as if it was nothing.

“Huh? You’re not going to deny or try to dodge the question?”

“Would there be a point in denying or evading when I’m dealing with someone who seems pretty sure of their knowledge? It’s not a situation where hiding something would benefit me. It’s best to be straightforward to move the conversation along, right?”

The seed of the Sacred Tree says he’s trustworthy, but humans are creatures whose judgment isn’t always definitive based on intuition alone. Even if someone fundamentally has good intentions, there might be circumstances pushing them to do something wrong.

While the seed might trust Randel, there’s still a possibility he could pose a threat to us.

“Well, that’s true, but… You see, it’s more like confirming, making sure you understand my perspective… and, above all, I want to talk!”

But no matter how much I try to be cautious, watching Randel’s demeanor makes me relax involuntarily.

…Well, even if I feel an affinity with him, I should be able to tell if there’s hostility or malice, and I’ll decide whether to doubt him based on why Randel knows about us.

“Sure. Well then, I’ll ask: how did you know?”

“It’s because of my involvement with the Elves. The places where Elves reside around here are limited. To be frank, there are only two forests in this country where they live: the forest where I used to live and another. It seems you have some connection with the Elves, so you likely have interactions with them. I don’t know you, so it would have to be the other forest. When it comes to cities close enough to have interactions, apart from the one you’re linked to, there’s only one more forest. When you consider interactions, it’s either a forest that has been infamously called a malignant city, a corrupt city, a criminal’s city, a cesspool… well, it has various names—a city known as Karakas, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

I see. Judged based on having a connection with Elves. If that’s the case, it’s certainly a plausible explanation.

Since it doesn’t seem like he had prior knowledge, I decided to let go of my guard.

Maybe I’m being overly cautious, but considering my position, I think it’s necessary. I feel sorry for suspecting someone, but it’s needed when dealing with a doubtful party.

“Ah. So, well, there’s that. The reason I called you here is because there’s something I want to confirm.”

“Confirm?”