The Elf Journey In The Western Fantasy World

But when he opened the door and saw who stood outside, he felt an inexplicable sense of relief wash over him. Fortunately, it wasn’t Sage Miletus come to play tricks on him.

The person standing at his door was none other than the white-haired butler, Sebastian, whom Illiya had met only once before. To be honest, seeing Sebastian was a surprise, but remembering that he was a trusted servant of the Demon King, Anos, Illiya suddenly felt it made perfect sense.

If Sebastian was knocking on his door, then it was probably because the Demon King had assigned him another task.

While Illiya was lost in thought, Sebastian began to speak.

He bent at the waist to greet Illiya, his attitude so humble it bordered on deferential. His tone was respectful as he said, "I have not come this time because of any arrangement from His Majesty the Demon King. This is a personal matter. I have a request for Your Esteemed Elf, and I would like to ask for your help."

Illiya was startled and instinctively took a step back, avoiding Sebastian’s bow.

Even though Illiya was being groomed as a reserve candidate for the High Priest of the Elven Tribe, at the end of the day, he was still just a slightly higher-ranked young elf. Sebastian, on the other hand, had genuine status and power—there was nothing illusory about it.

Elves traveling outside their homeland needed to be cautious; otherwise, they risked being snatched up and thrown into a sack. That was one of the travel rules his teacher had drilled into him.

Indeed, caution was the key to survival.

Still, Illiya couldn’t help but wonder: what could someone of Sebastian’s rank and stature need from him, someone who wasn’t even part of the Demon Realm?

This genuinely piqued his curiosity.

After returning a polite half-bow, Illiya asked, "You don’t need to be so formal. Please, tell me what this matter is. After all, I’m just a young elf, and you can see that clearly." freewebnσvel.cøm

Who was Sebastian? A figure who had held sway in the Demon Realm for a thousand years. How could he not catch the deeper meaning behind Illiya’s words?

Translated, Illiya’s meaning was clear: You speak first, and only afterward will I decide whether to help. After all, I’m just a young elf. Surely you understand that?

Sebastian couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle. In the midst of all those rigid old elves, it was refreshing to find such an interesting and candid young one.

He didn’t intend to hide anything, either, since his request wasn’t a particularly difficult one.

"Your Esteemed Elf, what was your first impression of His Majesty the Demon King?"

Illiya’s brow furrowed, and his mind instantly went on alert. What did Sebastian mean by this question? Was he testing him?

Seeing Illiya’s expression, Sebastian realized that the young elf had misunderstood his intention. He couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless. Do I really look so sinister that he’d automatically think I’m up to no good? he wondered.

It was truly baffling.

Noticing that Illiya’s thoughts were wandering further down a dangerous path, Sebastian hurried to cut him off. "Your Esteemed Elf, I have no ill intentions. I consider myself to be fairly decent-looking, certainly not the sort of villainous figure that would inspire such thoughts. So why would you assume I meant harm?"

Hearing his words Illiya felt a bit embarrassed. Yet, holding to the principle that those who wish to accomplish great things must not be overly concerned with saving face, he forcibly suppressed any fidgeting and met Sebastian’s gaze squarely. With an air of righteous composure, he replied, "You can’t blame me for this. Wasn’t it your own words that prompted my doubts? Anyone would read into them."

"Your phrasing left a lot of room for misunderstanding," Illiya added.

Sebastian, bested in the exchange, could only rub his nose with a wry smile. These kids today are really not so easy to fool, he thought.

Illiya, emboldened by Sebastian’s reaction, pressed further. "This is your problem, so don’t try to shift the blame onto anyone else."

Sebastian... what else could he do?

He could only nod and admit his fault.

He was, after all, the one making the request, and the person before him was someone he absolutely couldn’t afford to offend. In the past, someone speaking to him like this would already have grass three meters high growing over their grave.

But things were different now.

Sebastian was quick to apologize. "It was my poor phrasing. I hope Your Esteemed Elf will forgive me."

"Let me rephrase it more clearly," he continued, prepared to lay out his true purpose. "Here’s the situation: I’d like to ask you to cooperate with me and my fellow demon lords on something."

At this point, Illiya was momentarily taken aback.

He listened as Sebastian went on, "As an elf, you’re surely aware of some things regarding the Demon King. You know that he does not belong to this world, correct?"

Illiya nodded his head dumbly, stunned by the unexpected turn of events.

As one of the long-lived races, the Elven race’s vast collection of books was beyond what most other races could imagine. And there were some things recorded within those books that even the races being written about might not fully comprehend.

The records of the Demon Realm were indeed kept within the Elven race, and among them, there were mentions of the unique nature of the Demon King. Each generation of Demon Kings was not actually a native of the Demon Realm, but rather someone from another plane of existence.

Actually, to say it that way might not be entirely accurate. Though it was said they were from another plane, in reality, they were still considered demons. They were simply those who had the misfortune of being swept away by a rift in time and space to another plane, or descendants of a former Demon King who had run away from home to another plane and settled there.