Chapter 473 Great Wish ②
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Can you even imagine it…?”
Carley¹, the Ancient Elf², began her tale slowly. Her voice and expression remained as still as stone, yet I could feel the intensity of the thoughts she held within. This was a story from her youth – an era she had lived through herself. A story from a time long, long ago.
”The agony of living in constant terror, with no way to fight back against monsters that were far stronger and more numerous than they are today. That was the life of the common folk – people who had no nation, no church, and didn’t even possess the spark of magic.”
”It was a pitiful existence,” she continued. “They would find a watering hole after days of trekking, only to be torn apart and eaten. Settlements that took months to build were wiped out in a single night. Children they spent years raising would perish before they could even grow tall. Those who traveled all the way from the Southern Continent in search of a utopia found only a deeper, darker despair.”
We held our breath as we took in her words. I thought I’d learned a fair bit about this world’s history by spending my spare time in the library, but this was a history I’d never even caught a whisper of.
The history books of this world – or at least, of this country – usually begin with the founding of the Kingdom of Canaria. They start with the First King and his band of heroes slaying the Demon Dragon of the northern mountains.
History prior to that is detailed in texts held by the church. Even then, those records only begin with the establishment of the Church of Demon-Subjugation³. It is almost impossible to conceptualize the era when humanity first reached this continent.
However, some in the room seemed to recognize the weight of her words. Gustav, the assassin of Wielope and Carley’s “son,” nodded silently. He had likely heard this story before.
Our own Queen Cecile narrowed her eyes with interest, resting a hand against her lips in deep concentration. Perhaps there were secret legends passed down through the royal bloodline.
Then there was Holy Figure⁴ Loire-Rose. She alone visibly tensed at Carley’s words. As the head of the church, she was undoubtedly the one most familiar with the pre-history hidden within their archives.
If my disciple, Sacred Artificer⁵ Nina-Mailse, had been here, her scholarly heart would be racing. She’d probably be devastated to have missed this, though there’s no point in worrying about those who aren’t here.
”Were the elves already living on the continent back then?” I asked.
”Indeed,” Carley replied. “Even I cannot fathom how long we have called this land home. But I know that by the time the common folk arrived, we were already masters of high magic, living in established forest settlements with a culture all our own.”
The Northern Continent as a land of only elves… It was hard to picture, an even more fantastical version of our world. An untouched, primeval wilderness where the elven reinforcements lived through the eons in silence. And into that world, the first humans appeared.
By my old world’s standards, that would make the elves the indigenous people. Usually, that’s a setup for a bloody conflict, but it seemed their first encounter wasn’t quite like that.
”These newcomers appeared suddenly – people who looked just like us, save for their short ears,” Carley said. “But most were incredibly frail, both in body and in their mana circuits⁶.”
”I guess from your perspective, we must have looked like glass,” I said.
”Indeed. To be honest, we were baffled. We couldn’t understand why they would venture into such a dangerous place without any means to defend themselves. Our forests were bountiful, yes, but we wondered what they were thinking – why they didn’t just wait until they had the strength or the tools to survive.”
I felt a heavy sigh forming in my chest as I realized where this was going. It made sense. When elves and humans first met and finally learned to speak to one another, the shock must have been mutual.
”Before long, the reason for their recklessness became clear,” she said. “The life granted to them was so much shorter than ours. In that brief window of time, they were desperately trying to carve out a path. When we saw our first human friends begin to wither like autumn leaves, we finally understood.”
”That must have been… quite the shock,” I said.
”It was beyond surprising. One moment we would look away, and the next, a child who felt like they were born only yesterday had become a withered old man. At first, we feared it was some kind of horrific plague.”
It sounds almost like a dark comedy when you hear it now, but it couldn’t have been funny back then. There are so many beautiful elves; surely some humans fell in love and proposed. If any of them actually wed – or even just became dear friends – it wouldn’t have been a joke to the elves left behind.
”It was a constant source of trouble,” Carley sighed. “Human villages would change their leaders in the blink of an eye. To us, it felt as if they were changing their minds from one day to the next. We thought that even if their mana circuits were weak, we could train them over a few centuries – only for them to die long before that day ever came. There is so little a human can achieve in such a fleeting life.”
Carley looked at us with an unreadable gaze – not quite pity, but something more painful. “Well, I suppose I’ve grown somewhat used to it by now,” she added. If I had to put a name to that look, it was regret. She loved humans, but she was in despair over them. It was a face etched with a tangled mess of sorrow, pain, and joy.
”That is why my heart soared when I first witnessed the Holy Arts⁷. Those common folk – people who couldn’t live even a fraction of our lives – had birthed a technique that even we elves did not know. I was moved… no, I was more overjoyed by their achievement than even they were.”
The story shifted from the history of the race to Carley’s own life. She turned her gaze toward Loire-Rose, the successor of those who had created the Holy Arts. Rose stared back, but despite Carley’s words of joy, her face didn’t hold a hint of happiness.
”I still do not understand this ‘God’ the common folk speak of. I understand spirits, but ‘God’ remains a mystery. Even though they taught me much, I could never grasp even a fragment of the Holy Arts. But that was fine. The humans could use them, and they believed their God could do anything. I even began to hope that, eventually, they would find a way to live as long as we do…”
Carley must have truly believed it. She didn’t believe in the deity, but she believed in the people who did. A golden age of harmony. From the way she spoke, she might have even played a role in the early church. But then…
”The human population exploded. Unlike those first settlers, they now had the means to survive. They began to drive back the monsters and expand their borders.”
We all remained silent.
”But the era of hope was short-lived. They grew arrogant. They decided they were no longer the ones under threat. And from there… well, you know the rest. They began to loathe our ways, calling them ‘magic.’ Within the church, they became obsessed with fighting over who was superior and whose interpretation was ‘correct.’ They forgot the despair they had so narrowly escaped, and the hope they had only just found.”
There was nothing we could say. It was a bitter pill for Rose to swallow. She hadn’t personally done these things, but she – and all of humanity – were the product of that corrupted history.
”I fretted over it constantly, trying to intervene by counseling those who would still listen. But as you know, their lives are short. They are not a single, unified whole. Even if one person shines brightly for a moment, if those around them don’t carry the torch, it all comes to nothing. Eventually, I had no choice but to give up. It was around that time that I met him.”
”Was that… the First King of Wielope?” I asked.
”Indeed. A new glimmer of hope… though perhaps he was too fragile to be called that. Regardless, he represented a path entirely separate from the church.”
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Summary:
Carley recounts the prehistoric era of the Northern Continent, describing the initial struggle of magicless humans and their encounter with the long-lived Elves. She explains how the Elves were moved by the human creation of ‘Holy Arts’ and the eventual rise of human arrogance and religious strife. The chapter ends with Carley introducing a ‘new hope’ found in the First King of Wielope.
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Trivia:
- Elves are the original inhabitants (indigenous) of the Northern Continent.
- Early humans arrived from the Southern Continent searching for a utopia.
- The Church of Demon-Subjugation has suppressed/omitted history prior to its founding.
- Carley was personally involved in the early stages of the Church.
- The Holy Arts were a miracle discovered by humans that Elves could not replicate.
- The term ‘Magic’ was originally used as a derogatory term by the Church for Elven arts
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Character Insight:
Carley displays a deep maternal yet tragic affection for ‘common folk,’ born from witnessing generations wither away in an instant. Her motive for intervening in human history was a genuine desire for harmony, which turned into weary resignation after witnessing human greed and religious conflict.
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Behind the Scenes:
The distinction between ‘Holy Arts’ and ‘Magic’ is a core lore conflict, explaining the historical tension between the Church and non-human races.
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TL Notes:
Notes:
• Carley – Ancient Elf ‘Mother’ leading Wielope Empire assassins—young human looks with ancient aura, long green hair, carefree villain vibe calling Emperor ‘Dee-bou.’ Never birthed but matriarch figure, grants Forest Blessing, stays chill even tentacle/slime-trapped.
• Gustav – Leader of the Wielope Empire’s elite ‘Shadow’ assassin crew—captured in royal dungeon & victory parade hit, now snagged by shop defenses. Die-hard Emperor loyalist, shakes at the thought of Carley getting hurt from political fallout.
• Cecile – A queen in the capital who possesses the authority to regulate business and commerce, particularly concerning moral or public order issues. She is currently investigating Kento’s shop, ‘Harvest.’ Have long golden hair, elegant, and wearing expensive white dress with gold accesories.
• Loire-Rose – Current Saintess and top of the Great Cathedral food chain. White hair, pale skin, blue eyes—the full divine aesthetic. Can literally manifest light and blessings, but don’t let the holy glow fool you. She’s pragmatic, money‑minded, and way too playful for church politics. Runs a workshop (yeah, even sells adult goods on the side) and keeps her “holy” mask on… most of the time. Originally born to a Salvation Faction family, later adopted by the previous Holy Figure. Total mix of divinity and chaos, and somehow it works.
• Nina-Mailse – Sacred Artificer from the Holy City with short violet hair and those thick, bottle‑bottom glasses that somehow still look good. A Ward from a big Purist family in the Wielope Empire, but she ditched the whole fundamentalist thing. Sticks close to the Saint and might end up as Kento’s apprentice in the Church of Demon‑Subjugation. Smart, loyal, and quietly rebellious.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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