Kays Translations

Chapter 27

The book I received is Tinameril-san's history.

I read through it with a sense of taboo, as if reading someone's diary.

It starts with her origins, then delves into the ecology of elves—discussing the preservation and forgetfulness of memories, and describing the Grand Forest of Justinbanal.

But it doesn't seem to contain many positive things.

Actually, even from last night's conversation, I got the impression that she has a somewhat harsh view of her own kind. In the writings as well, phrases like "like trees," "lack of ambition," and "always sleeping" suggest she doesn't have a favorable opinion of the forest elves.

"Maybe it's like a country girl putting down her hometown... I guess that's a common thing."

As someone from the countryside myself, I could somehow relate.

And about the events, I immediately come across a term I've never seen before—

"War with the demon race!?"

The content describes the invasion of the continent by the demon race, leading to a war with the elves. 

Fortunately, the Grand Forest of Justinbanal was not directly affected, but they participated in the war as reinforcements. The elves managed to repel the demon race, but there were forests of elves that were devastated.

"Ugh! There's a demon race... ah!"

I recall what the Creator mentioned.

"Come to think of it, the first and second races were said to have conflicts. Could it be that it's the war between the demon race and the elves?"

There's no confirmation, but it's probably accurate. I'll ask the Creator about these things next time.

As I continue reading, I come across what appears to be Elvish characters and grammar, along with mentions of traditions and religious practices. However, it doesn't seem to contain anything particularly significant.

"Really, it's at the level of a lower-grade elementary schooler's content..."

Well, it's true. If she were writing seriously, it would be like copying the entire contents of a school textbook. It's probably just the essentials.

In the first place, even if they forget, elves retain memories from the past three hundred years. That's equivalent to five human lifetimes—something you would never forget if you lived a normal life.

The concept is that elf knowledge disappears if it hasn't been used in the last three hundred years, so she's self-studying to prevent that.

"Self-study, huh..."

Suddenly, I recall grammar terms I've learned in school.

"Things like 'Irregular Conjugation of the ka-row,' 'Past Perfect Tense,' 'Subjunctive Second Form'... I wonder if you'd forget them if you didn't use them in conversation..."

Judging from this, the language system is probably phonetic. If it's close to an alphabet, the number of things to remember would be relatively small. However, speaking might be challenging with just reading and writing.

Considering yesterday's conversation didn't sound like "foreigners speaking strange Japanese," I guess it's still okay.

"Having a conversation partner is important from now on too... yeah."

I smile, feeling satisfied with the reason for the tea party.

Then I discover the most important matter.

"Oh... so this is magic."

I see not only the 'Preservation Magic' but also several other types written.

"Wow, this is amazing! Quite a variety!"

I can't help but do a little dance.

"Preservation... Growth... Concealment, what's that... does it disappear?"

I turn the page.

"...Detection! There's something like a radar, too. Awesome!"

There are suddenly a lot of magic spells that seem quite practical.

"But wait... it's not like I've decided I can use them yet. Magic is for later."

Finally, I find records of her life outside the forest.

"Here we go. At first, it seems like she lived alone in the forest."

As expected, or rather, since there's no interaction with others, the concept of years doesn't seem to exist.

And since elves themselves have long lifespans, there's no concern about the duration. The descriptions are just about the atmosphere of the forest.

"To be honest, I have no idea. Even a grade schooler would write more."

I skip through and flip the pages randomly.

"...Still no contact with people."

After what seems like a long period of solitude, there's finally contact. It's unclear how many years have passed since she left the forest.

"All right! First village found!"

...And she learns the language of the people.

...But it quickly meets its end.

"Oh, the village was destroyed."

It seems she got caught up in a war. Tina Meril-san is alone again.

After that, she leaves the forest again and goes to another one. This time, she starts interacting with a nearby village. Since the language is different, she has to learn from scratch... and she does.

"She really only wrote the bare minimum as information. Isn't she interested in people?"

But I quickly realize. This feels like social awkwardness.

"Well, yeah, I guess contact with both humans and elves would be quite intimidating. We're different races."

I decide to think that way and continue reading. And finally, she settles in a certain village... living in a human's house—

"What!? She lived together with them!"

She ended up living with a person quite easily.

"Eeeehhhhh! No wayyyyy!"

It feels like getting hit in the back of the head with a hammer.

"Well... she is beautiful, you know. It's natural to end up living with someone at some point. Yeah... but still."

She's a woman over a thousand years old, and there must have been good people in the Elf's forest. She couldn't possibly be a virgin. I know that.

But the fact that she lived with someone was not something the slightly twisted boy wanted to see.

"Well, if they were happy, then it's okay—oh, they died."

The person she lived with apparently passed away due to illness.

"Oh... this is really unfortunate. My condolences."

Instinctively, I close my eyes and offer a silent prayer.

After that, it seems there was a period of famine and war in the human city for a while, so she couldn't get close. Therefore, she continued her solitary life in the forest...

Before long, she resumes interacting with people. 

It's not the Tiara guild name... there are a few names mentioned.

"Oh, she's become an adventurer. Formed a party too. Still using a bow."

Here it is! The expected development!

As I read on, the initially indifferent descriptions gradually start to include people's names. 

It feels like a doll unfamiliar with emotions touching the warmth of people and blossoming... a classic and I love it.

After that, she lives in a human city again, shares her life with someone, experiences loss, and moves to another place. 

There seems to have been a major war, but she wasn't involved and has reached the present...

And finally, at the very end, it simply says 'Tiara Adventurer Guild.'

I close the book and take a breath.

“Truly, the scale is incredible. The depth of life is overwhelming.”

More than ten years pass in a single sentence—like a chronological history.

“Interacting with people and parting ways an extraordinary number of times. It may be fine if only good things happen, but it's tough when sad things keep stacking up.”

In the case of humans, farewells due to death happen only a few times, including family and friends. However, for elves, if you associate with people, it multiplies by dozens.

I wonder if memory erasure is necessary to live—somehow, I felt like I glimpsed a hint of a secret.

The main purpose of this book is to preserve memories, so it seems that the focus is on describing information related to the fundamentals of elves. The content after leaving the forest may not be as important.

In particular, there was a mention that it is necessary to review the elf language properly since it is rarely used. This is likely because there is a high probability that it could be erased during memory erasure.

If I were to forget Elvish and only know the human language—just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine. It's not something that can be solved by just being sad.

First of all, if I were to write events seriously, it seems like it would go ten times beyond the 18 volumes of 'Showa Emperor Chronicles.' It's both tiring to write and read.

—But, I do feel like I want to see that.

Post-reading impressions—let's make a request: 'Forbidding the forgetting of events with me.'

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