Volume 6 Chapter 18 The Age of an Elf
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Even if I logically understood that you can’t judge an Elf’s age by human standards, I still couldn’t wrap my head around it. Saran-san is a batsu-ichi¹? I couldn’t bring myself to pry too deep, but apparently, she’d split up around the time Shu was born. She came from a fairly prominent noble family, and the social stigma back home was so suffocating that she volunteered for the advance party to this world. I hated how pathetic I was-fantasizing about Saran-san doing the same lewd things and striking the same erotic poses as Sister Sheena.
Just seeing her in a swimsuit at the diving school made me look at her through a completely different lens. Shu must have picked up on my weird vibe, though she completely misread the reason.
”Don’t worry, Halt!” Shu said. “I’d never order Saran to have s*x with you!”
”That’s not exactly the problem,” I muttered quietly.
Meanwhile, it’s officially been decided that Sister Sheena is heading back to Nevada, so today is her farewell party. In the end, I never found a moment for us to be alone. My “becoming a man” has been officially postponed.
”Huh. So Saran-san is a batsu-ichi, then?” my father, George, asked. He was clearly starting to feel the booze.
”I’d prefer if you didn’t make a habit of bringing it up, but facts are facts,” Saran-san replied. “At the very least, I’m glad there were no children involved.”
She was surprisingly cool about it-very mature.
”But in the Elf world, being a batsu-ichi isn’t rare, right?” Shu-Shuria asked.
”Yes,” Saran-san added, after a pause. “After all, our lives are dozens of times longer than a human’s. Staying tethered to a single person for that long is… complicated. Even the Queen is a batsu-ichi now.”
Saran-san, is the alcohol hitting you, or are you just being blunt?
”Now that you mention it, I’ve never actually seen Queen Asuka’s face,” I said.
”Wait, really?” Shu asked, looking at me with genuine surprise.
”Yeah. Over here, info on VIPs from the other side is top-secret. High-level classification, right Dad?”
”That’s the gist of it,” George said, nodding.
”Oh, is that all? I’ve got a photo right here,” Shu said. “Want to see?”
”Wait, Shu-Shuria! That’s classified!” I shouted.
”Maybe for this world. To me, she’s just my mom.” With that, Shu grabbed a digital camera from her room. “Here, look… I took this with Mother right before I came to this side.”
I looked at the screen. Displayed there was a tiny Elf girl in exquisite clothing-she looked less like a real person and more like an ethereal masterpiece drawn by a god-tier illustrator.
”The one on the left doing the peace sign is Shu, right?” I asked, my voice trembling. “So this other one is… your little sister? Where’s the photo of your mom?”
”Halt, what are you talking about?” Shu replied. “This is my mother. Queen Asuka.”
”Wait… What?!”
Hold on. No matter how I looked at it, the girl in the photo looked my age. And the level of beauty was… insane.
”There is no mistake,” Saran-san said from beside me. “That is Her Majesty.”
My brain started to short-circuit. You’re telling me that is the mother of a grown daughter? Shu looks like the older sister! And wait-if Uncle Yuuta had s*x with that person to conceive Shu… isn’t Uncle Yuuta basically a federal case?
”Heeey. Halt? You still with us?” Sister Sheena asked, laughing at my expense. “Ah, looks like the Queen completely stole his heart. He made that exact same face when he first met Saran.”
She wasn’t wrong. Saran-san had been a total knockout, a straight-down-the-middle strike to my heart, but the Queen? She’d just sniped my heart through a pinhole from a mile away. And they’re both batsu-ichi? The Elf world is way more hardcore than any light novel.
”When I met her back home, she looked even younger than that!” my mother, Tomori, muttered. “Honestly, I still can’t believe Yuuta.”
* * *
[Alright, Kalua. Let’s begin the briefing.]
[Understood, Zau. Any breakthroughs this week?]
An apartment in Soho, New York. Kalua and Zau, two international students from the Spirit Clan², met every weekend to exchange intelligence. Both were prodigies carrying the weight of their nation’s expectations.
[So, Kalua. What about… the ‘other’ side of things?] Zau asked.
[Hmph. It’s difficult for us to wrap our heads around, but in this world, even commoners can easily access ‘that’ kind of information,] Kalua replied. [Not just things useful for daily life, but the dark stuff. Instructions on how to make explosives and poisons. Manuals on how to defraud people or cook the books… I’m genuinely impressed this world hasn’t collapsed into total chaos.]
[True. We must emulate their strengths, but we have to be careful not to bring back anything that could destabilize our own world. On that note, Kalua, I’ve been researching this world’s weaponry.]
[Oof. Not exactly a light topic. But… unavoidable. And?]
[According to a man named Stantz, there are weapons in this world that cannot be used.]
[Cannot be used?] Kalua asked. [Then they are pointless.]
[No. The context is different. Apparently, if they were used, the collateral damage would be so catastrophic that everyone is too terrified to pull the trigger.]
[That’s absurd. If you can’t use it, it’s still meaningless.]
[Listen to the end. In this world, they refer to that concept as a Deterrent³.]
[A deterrent?] Kalua asked, after a pause. [So, they’re just using it as a bluff? That’s a dangerous game.]
[Think about it, Kalua. What happens if one side has it and the other doesn’t? The side without it has no choice but to obey. Even now, the Elves and the Demon Clan are burning resources to maintain armies for a war that may never happen.]
[…I see. A deterrent. That might actually align with Elder Zea’s philosophy.]
[Right? But for now… it’s just a pie in the sky.]
[What? After all that buildup… what’s the catch?]
[We can’t exactly pack one in a suitcase, and we certainly can’t build one. Given their nature, they’re kept under incredibly tight security.]
[I figured as much,] Kalua said. [Still… it’s worth including in the report.]
—
Summary:
Halt discovers that Saran is a divorcee and is stunned to see a photo of Queen Asuka, who looks like a teenager despite being Shu’s mother. The scene shifts to New York, where Spirit Clan students Kalua and Zau discuss the concept of ‘deterrence’ and nuclear weapons as they analyze human society. They conclude that while powerful, such technology is too strictly managed for them to replicate.
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Trivia:
- Saran volunteered for the advance party specifically to escape noble social stigma.
- Uncle Yuuta’s relationship with the Queen is framed as morally/legally questionable due to her appearance.
- The Spirit Clan students are located in Soho, New York, showing the global scale of the isekai presence.
- The ‘Stantz’ mentioned in the weaponry discussion is likely a human contact or teacher.
- The concept of ‘Deterrent’ is being considered as a potential solution for the political tension between Elves and Demons
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Character Insight:
Halt’s romantic preferences are expanding from mature ‘onee-san’ types like Saran to ‘loli-mama’ types like the Queen, though his moral compass makes him feel conflicted about it. Kalua and Zau show a cold, analytical intelligence, viewing human ‘dark’ knowledge (poisons, fraud) with a mix of horror and tactical interest.
—
Behind the Scenes:
The use of the digital camera highlights the mix of modern tech in the fantasy-human world interaction. The chapter title ‘Elf’s Age’ refers to both the biological mystery and the social baggage (divorce) that comes with long life.
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TL Notes:
Notes:
• Sheena – A Lizardman from the Apocalypse Empire, specifically a junior researcher in the teleportation research team of the empire’s army. She is the 47th resident (hence ‘No. 47’) of the secret underground facility in Nevada, where she has been living for several years after accidentally being transported to this world through a failed gate experiment. Yuuta’s saffle too. Grey hair, long hair.
• Saran – An elf; part of the joint team working on the Gate. A Royal Palace Guard Officer from the Zerlant Royal Family. She has very white skin, is small in stature, and is described as incredibly cute. Despite her appearance, she is a master of all martial arts and exceptionally strong. She is described as ‘stiff’ or serious.
• Halt – A sixteen-year-old high school sophomore living in the suburbs of Washington D.C. He is the grandson of the President of the United States and is recognized as a severe otaku by his peers. He attends a prestigious high school for children of celebrities and elite families.
• George – An U.S. military officer and the son of Michael Anderson, a high-ranking official. He is also the brother of Gregory. Tomori’s husband. Halt’s father and a Major General in the military.
• Kalua – Member of the Spirit Clan; telepathic and socially observant.
• Zau – Spirit Clan member; calm and resolute.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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