บท 3: Chapter 3: Pleasure
It's been a few days since I've been declared a guest in Arthuri. So far, I'm quite enjoying my stay here. At first, I believed that they'll put me on house arrest and try to wring out every single thing I know. But contrary to my expectations, I was allowed to roam around quite freely. Provided I'm escorted everywhere by Moro, of course.
It's surprising how despite calling themselves a Kingdom, every structure here is built quite frugally in regards to being harmonious to nature. Thus, I spent the first day exploring only the villa and its vicinity. Merely admiring their aesthetics. Dinner was vegetables, fish, corns, potatoes. They tasted a little different and seems a little bland to me. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing really wrong with the food. As a matter of fact, it could be considered a luxury for it to be seasoned and salted as it already is. The problem here is actually myself. Since intensely seasoned and flavored foods are easily affordable to most people in the modern age. As a matter of fact, the quantity of spices, salt, and sugar the average person in my world consumes in a single meal might rival what a peasant would consume in a few weeks, perhaps months here!
On the second day, I decided to venture a little bit further, leaving the boundaries of the estate. For a place that calls itself a Kingdom, I find it odd seeing each settlement quite sparse from each other. Rather than a Kingdom, you could say that they are more like clusters of villages spread across the land. Also, what's with 'Hidden Elf Kingdom'? Maybe there's a cloaking barrier or something? So, I decided to ask Moro about it. I turned around and look at him, implying with my expression that I wanted to talk. He nodded and established a telepathic link.
"Hey, Moro. Can I ask you a question?"
"Yes, Mike-sama. I will answer it if it's within my abilities", he put one hand on his chest and bowed slightly.
"Why do you call yourselves the 'Hidden Elf Kingdom'? I mean, do you have a magical barrier that makes this entire area invisible?"
He paused, looking lost for a moment before answering.
"Surely you overestimate the prowess of our Kingdom, Mike-sama. The reason why we're named so, its because this entire area is actually hidden underneath the surface of a mountain range."
"You mean on a mountain range? Or hidden between mountain ranges?"
"No, Mike-sama. I meant literally underneath a mountain range", he pointed up the sky.
I followed his fingers and shaded my eyes. Squinting as my eye adjusted to the bright sky and saw it. Beyond the clouds. Myriads of crystals jutting out from the ceiling's surface. Illuminating the sky as bright as the sun itself. Giant LED lights made out of crystals. Nice. I made a 360-degree rotation, trying to find the wall and failed. This place must be huge.
"Did you use magic to power the crystals up?", I asked curiously.
"No, apparently there's a network of crystal that connects from here to the surface. As a result, all the sunlight from above gets refracted through the crystals with almost no loss in spectrum. You could even say that it's slightly amplified since the receiving surface of the crystals outside is more than those inside here."
I narrowed my eye in suspicion, "Is it really okay for you to be telling me all this information? I might just be a spy for some other faction, ya know."
Moro gave a faint smile. "Maybe."
On the third day, I was invited to dine together with the Princess. I've been craving some intense flavors for some time now. Maybe I'll cook up some instant noodles from the car when I get the chance. Also, I'd rather wear the clothes I came with (100% comfortable cotton!), but I gave it to the attendants for a wash. But since I'm going to be dining with royalty, I will be required to dress appropriately.
For that, I made my way to the bath-house within the villa where they prepared the water for me. Entering the bath-house, I noticed two female attendants standing by. Are they going to help we wash up? I told Moro to relay to them I can do it myself. The attendants showed an expression of relief, and speedily made their way up. How rude! I might not be handsome, but at least I'm not ugly either. In terms of look, I could even be considered slightly above average. I shook my head and proceeded to wash myself. While doing so, a sudden shower-thought hit me. I've never thought about this before. But if I'm only considered average back in my world, right here where all elves are all beautiful - could it be... I'm the ugliest person around here!?
As the thought struck me, I suddenly became self-conscious and decided to scrub myself squeaky clean, reaching out to every single nook and cranny. It's bad enough that they considered me ugly. The least I can do is not be filthy.
Finally clean, I dressed myself up in the loose-fitting clothes they prepared for me and followed Moro to dine with the Princess.
She wore a wide-sleeve kimono, vibrant colors of red and purple patterns. Contrasting to my navy colored one. I bowed to the Princess respectfully and said in Elvish what I rehearsed earlier, "Good evening, your grace. It's truly an honor to be given an opportunity to dine with you. Please take care of me."
The Princess lifted an eyebrow. Suddenly the attendants let out a gasp, they all seemed shocked. The guards immediately drew their katana out, shouted something in elvish, and charged towards me. "Holy crap!", I blurted out in English and stumbled backward in panic, landing on my butt. One of the guards zoomed in front of me, lifting his katana and aiming for my head.
"Hait!", The Princess shouted, and the guards froze. After listening to the Princess's explanation, they reluctantly sheathed their blades. Returning to their spot, but not before giving me a death glare that says "You're lucky our Princess is tolerant, if it were up to us your head would've been rolling on the floor."
I sigh in relief, it would suck to go from another world to the afterworld in just a few days.
"I appreciate the effort, Mike of Asia. But please make sure to get your pronunciation right next time", the Princess said telepathically.
"I beg your pardon, your highness?", I asked innocently.
The Princess turned her gaze to Moro, and he explained to me, "Mike-sama, apparently what you said in Elvish was 'Good gracious, your night. It's truly fun to be given an opportunity to lie with you. Please pleasure me.'"
I turned red in embarrassment, no wonder they were trying to kill me! I just booty-called their Princess right in front of their faces. If I were them, I would try to kill me too!
I kowtowed on the floor and desperately apologized to her. I might be a prideful person in heart, but when it comes to mistakes that are truly my fault, I would swallow it up whole and genuinely apologize.
"Lift your head, Mike of Asia. You are forgiven", she tried not to smile, but I can obviously see the child-like amusement in her eyes. Knowing that I'm going to have to give up some juicy knowledge to make up for my blunder, I prepared myself for a long night. And so, I told her about my world.
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