Alas, his joy only lasted a few moments before it was sent crashing down by the harsh, cru--- ... no... warm, kind reality would be more apt for describing this situation.

"I admire your resolve, but you are still young. How about you start with training under some of our warriors first?" after a short pause, the captain held his hand to his chin and asked Alz.

Hearing this, Colt immediately reacted and followed up after the captain, "He can follow the other children in their training, I'm sure they would also be happy if Alz were to join them." Maya also nodded her head vigorously while looking towards Alz.

Meanwhile, the males from the expedition revealed strange expressions as they looked towards Alz, with some forcefully trying to hold back their laughter while the females also looked at Alz with some surprise, wondering how Alz would act.

Some of them might have wondered how he survived in the five years he was missing at the start of the trip, but these doubts had long since faded with the many surprises he had brought them, causing them to feel thankful at his presence now.

Having travelled with Alz over the past two weeks with Alz being the center of attention during most of the trip, they had all learnt several things about his character. The captain and Colt clearly had good intentions in their comments, but they knew Alz wouldn't like that arrangement.

No one here bore any doubt towards Alz's capabilities as a warrior. Alz had earned their respect from the bottom of their hearts on the way here though the hunting skills he showed at the start and his unparalleled fighting prowess demonstrated in the spars.

In fact, Alz was oblivious to this, but there was an unvoiced conclusion that Alz was the strongest, most versatile elf amongst them, making they feel safer just by having him within the expedition.

However, they also felt strong pain at this, wondering what pains he had to go through to reach this point. This made want to allow Alz to act his age more often, leading to the special treatment he had received along the way.

Well... at least initially. Later on, many of them were mused by Alz's reactions each time they teased him, providing a constant source of entertainment and laughs along the way, helping to soothe the unsettlement many of them felt.

"Why is this happening again!?"

Alz screamed inwardly as his inner gloating was interrupted by a thick wave of dejection that swept through his mind, causing his expression to distort slightly. The three foreign elves did not notice it, but muffled laughter was heard from some of the elves in the expedition.

"Just you wait."

It was soft, but it did not escape Alz's notice. He felt an urge to turn his head around and glare at them, but forcefully suppressed it as now was not the time for it. Instead, he made a mental note of the voices he recognised as he lifted his head to look at the captain.

"Captain, the tribe sent me here because they were confident in my abilities. It would be a stain on my pride to be treated differently just because I am a child." Alz held his back straight and saluted while uttering each word with a strong resolve.

The captain looked at the other elves for a moment, puzzled by their weird reactions, but his attention was quickly brought back to Alz, making a slight frown at his words. He was slightly displeased at his goodwill being rejected and thought Alz was simply being foolish.

"Your pride may be important, but your life holds more value, particularly for a young one like yourself. Do not let excessive pride cloud your judgement and make a mistake you will regret." the captain said in a stern voice, lecturing Alz.

"Captain, What Alz is saying is true. We have all witnessed his abilities along the trip here and believe him to be a great warrior. To look down on him because of his youth would be an insult to our tribe." the elf who presented the scroll earlier suddenly spoke, supporting Alz's words.

The other elves from the expedition also directed fiery gazes at the captain, showing that it was not he alone who felt that way. It was one thing for them to tease Alz, but none of them liked the fact that an elf who had earned their respect was being looked down upon.

The silent laughter within the group was eroded in an instant as the captain's words reignited some of the residual anger they felt from the earlier in the dining hall, triggering a strong reaction from them.

The captain was slightly taken aback by the sudden piercing tension, backing off half a step when he met their eyes. He quickly regained his composure, but he felt an irritation rising within him. He had already been in a foul mood from the earlier incident and did not want to deal with this right now.

"Fine, just do whatever you want. Colt, bring them around the guardhouse and show them to the empty bunks in the Right Wing. Don't forget the uniforms. You may leave now." the captain turned around and spoke coldly, chasing them out of his office.

Colt felt sweat forming at his palms at the suddenly confrontational air in the room and heaved a sigh of relief at the captain's next words, saluting to the captain's back and attempting to leave the room.

Alz feet remained planted to the ground while a heavy bitterness started welling in his heart. A sense of deja vu began to assault him as he directed a question towards the captain's back," Can I stay outside of the bunks?"

He realised that it was probably unwise for him to ask now, but this was an integral part of his plans and he had no idea when his next chance to meet with the captain was. Hence, he still decided to ask it after some hesitation.

The captain turned around slowly and stared at Alz with an emotionless gaze. He simply continued to stare at Alz without speaking, causing the atmosphere to become more strained as time went by.

Many of the onlookers were holding onto their breath at this unexpected development, but many of them felt their respect for Alz growing at his bravery, unbeknownst to the helplessness he was currently feeling.

Alz's breathing slowly became heavier, feeling as though there were countless barbs constricting his lungs. Despite this, his gaze remained strong, staring straight into the captain's eyes, unwilling to display any signs of weakness.

The two elves continued to stare at each other as though time had frozen in place. The others watched on nervously, wanting to help in some way but were powerless to do so. This went on for two minutes before the silence was finally broken by a hearty laugh from the captain.

"Hahaha! It seems I have really underestimated you. Fine, I already said to do whatever you want already so go ahead. You can leave now, or is there still something else?" the captain spoke in a tone mixed with anger and surprise, his voice sharpening towards the end.

"N-No... There is nothing else." Alz hastily replied, turning around and rushing out of the office.

Now that his objective had been achieved, he did not want to stay in the room for even a second longer. He was also nearing his limit from the two minutes and was feeling slightly nauseous due to the pressure he felt.

"I'm so pathetic"

After leaving the room, he held onto the closest wall for support and retched a few times. He slowly turned to look down at his body with a bitter smile. He suddenly began to shake his head vigorously, looking up with bright eyes that were lit with will.

After Alz left, the others frantically scurried out of the room. Colt waited for all the elves to exit before he gently shut the door, leaving the captain alone in the office.

When they all finally exited, the captain slowly turned to look at the door with his face in thought, suddenly breaking into a light smile as he muttered, "He's an interesting one for sure."

He then moved to sit at the desk by the back and started to flip through the scrolls that were scattered on the table with a serious expression.

In his eyes, this was simply a small request, something that many other guards were already doing. Unlike the Calla tribe, there were simply too many guards here and it was not feasible to fit them all in the guardhouse, so the elves were already allowed to stay separately.

However, little did he know, the many events that would eventually be triggered by this request, generating large waves that would eventually bring about massive changes in the political landscape of the capital.