Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 95: Seeking an Alliance with the Elves
When Kaelos saw who it was, his pupils contracted slightly — Merlin. A sharp tension flashed through his eyes, instinctively wary. The group of fawning elves standing around him reacted at once, especially Yale, who stepped forward in an instant, placing himself protectively between Kaelos and the approaching human.
Kaelos’s brow furrowed. With a faintly irritated growl, he pushed Yale aside. “Move. I don’t need protection.”
Yale hesitated, but Kaelos’s glare left no room for argument.
“Merlin,” Kaelos called out, forcing a steadiness into his voice, though the faint tremor betrayed his unease. “What are you doing here?”
He didn’t know why he always felt such a lack of confidence in front of this man — perhaps it was because Merlin had once beaten him senseless, or maybe it was the suffocating memory of those hundred thousand gold coins that still weighed heavily on his pride.
After all, his current life of extravagant ease — the wine, the jewels, the admiration of lesser elves — all of it came from the gold Merlin had paid for that patch of land planted with wooden sweet potatoes.
One hundred thousand gold coins.
For a marginal member of the elven royal line like Kaelos, such an amount was staggering, almost mythical. He’d never seen so much gold in his entire life.
“I’ll tell you this now,” he said coldly, “you’re not getting your money back. The transaction is over. Even if you regret it, there’s nothing you can do.”
Merlin smiled — a soft, almost courteous curve of his lips. But to Kaelos and the elves around him, there was no warmth in that smile, only a chill that prickled down their spines.
“Relax, Kaelos,” Merlin said evenly. “I’m quite satisfied with the cassava field you sold me. I’m not here to reclaim my gold — I came because I want to cooperate with you.”
He took a single step forward.
That simple movement carried an oppressive aura — invisible, yet tangible — pressing down on the elves until several of them instinctively took a step back.
“Cooperate?” Kaelos echoed, narrowing his eyes. He didn’t believe a word of it.
“What do you really want?” he demanded, his patience thinning.
“I already told you,” Merlin replied, his deep, magnetic voice calm and unhurried, as if he were recounting some ancient tale. “I wish to work with you.”
He gestured lightly, as if painting a vision in the air. “The pearl milk tea you’ve been enjoying — that’s my creation. You already know that. What I want is simple: to establish a proper business, one that serves your kind alone. Imagine — a brand of pearl milk tea made exclusively for elves. That way, you can enjoy it openly, with pride, rather than sneaking around to taste food made by humans.”
Kaelos’s eyes hardened. “Are you threatening us?”
The meaning was clear — if they didn’t cooperate, would Merlin stop selling them his delicacies? No more fragrant milk tea, no more refreshing lemon water, no more sweet ice cream that made even the stoic elves sigh with delight?
Merlin lifted his hands lightly, as though brushing away the accusation. “Threatening? No, no, no… I said cooperate. Do you elves not understand that word? Honestly, talking with your kind is exhausting.” He sighed, a note of helplessness in his tone.
“I only want to help you — to create a drink culture unique to the elves. I’ll use the finest, purest ingredients, and craft a version of pearl milk tea that only elves can enjoy.”
Kaelos frowned, interest flickering beneath his skepticism. “A version exclusive to the elves, you say? Fine then — tell me.”
Merlin’s eyes glimmered mischievously as he began, his words flowing with deliberate extravagance.
“To preserve the purity of your race, the tea must be plucked by delicate elven maidens — soft of limb, graceful as moonlight. If they happen to be acolytes or priestesses serving in the Temple of the Moon, even better. And—” he raised a finger, “they must use their lips to pluck the leaves.
Before that, they’ll bathe — in spring water drawn from the mountain stream, infused with osmanthus, white pine resin, broom flower, lily, and lavender. After half an hour of soaking in that perfumed water, when their skin gleams like lotus petals emerging from the pond, then the tea may be harvested.”
He paused for effect, enjoying the widening eyes of his audience.
“The milk must be freshly drawn, the pearls cooked in moonlight water or dew gathered under the full moon. The honey — naturally — should be the rainbow nectar unique to your forests. Add to that the richest, darkest brown sugar pearls… only then will the drink be worthy of your noble lineage.”
Inwardly, Merlin added with a sly grin, And the price will be astronomical. I’ll make those elves bleed gold till they shine like their own coins.
Kaelos’s mind reeled. Such a drink… could this even be called pearl milk tea anymore? This was a sacred ritual — a divine offering fit for temples!
Yet, the thought that such a beverage might enhance cultivation power tugged at his greed. He hesitated, torn between temptation and pride. Finally, he gave a cold laugh.
“You speak beautifully, human. But we don’t trust your kind. You’re all the same — greedy, manipulative. You don’t want cooperation, you want control. You want us to depend on you.”
Merlin raised his hand slightly, signaling calm.
“Dependence? No, Kaelos. That’s not my goal. You elves possess power and wisdom beyond comparison. I simply want to share my experience — to help you make the most of what is already yours. Of course,” he added with a half-smile, “I won’t deny that I, too, will profit.”
“I knew it,” Kaelos snapped. “You’re no different from the rest of your kind. We elves will never cooperate with vile humans like you. Give up!”
His glare was like a blade, sharp enough to pierce the soul — as though he could lay bare every dark intention Merlin harbored.
But Merlin only smiled again, serene and unruffled. “You elves are always so stubborn,” he murmured, a trace of mockery curling in his tone. “It’s truly exhausting.”
He turned slightly, his cloak shifting in the sunlight. “But I didn’t come to argue — I came to offer an opportunity.”
“Opportunity?” Kaelos’s voice was laced with scorn. “You mean enslavement — to become tools in your hands!”
Merlin chuckled softly, unconcerned by the venom in the elf’s tone. “Think it over, Kaelos. This could benefit both our races. But for now, I’ve wasted enough breath — I should go check on your sister. She’s been acting… strangely today.”
He waved lazily over his shoulder and began to walk away, unwilling to spend another moment on creatures who couldn’t recognize profit even when it glittered before their eyes.
Still, he had no intention of letting the elves go so easily. They’d taken a hundred thousand gold coins from him — and he intended to make them return it a hundredfold, a thousandfold, ten thousandfold if possible.
Besides, the idea of having elves work for him was far too delightful to abandon. Tea leaves picked by the lips of elven maidens — imagine the reaction when such tea was marketed to the nobles. He could already see the gold flooding in.
And perhaps later, he thought, smirking to himself, he could buy out a vineyard — have elven girls tread grapes with their delicate feet. Elven wine, kissed by moonlight and maiden’s grace — he’d sell it for dozens of times the price. The nobles would go mad for it.
Behind him, Kaelos exhaled shakily, watching Merlin’s departing back. Though he wouldn’t admit it aloud, his heart wavered. Merlin’s words had struck something deep within him — curiosity, perhaps, or greed. But above all else… fear.
Fear that if he accepted, he would be devoured whole, not even bones left behind.
The greatest lesson the elves had ever learned in their dealings with humankind was simple — Never trust a human.
Merlin strolled through the academy grounds, the faint breeze stirring his robes. As he rounded a corner, he saw his mentor, Professor Harrington, approaching with a group of instructors.
“Professor Harrington?” Merlin called out, raising an eyebrow. “What’s all this about?”
He recognized them — the very same teachers who had been supervising the dueling arena earlier.