"Long time no see!" Tasha opened her arms as she saw some Dark Elves approaching them.

The three Dark Elves started to run after hearing her voice.

"You punk!"

"You didn't send us a single letter for five years and then you just pop up with a 'long time no see'?"

Two of them berated Tasha, while the third respectfully greeted Cale.

"Nice to meet you. I will first guide you to your residence."

"Shawn, long time no see!"

"Please follow me."

Tasha came and greeted Shawn, who just ignored her.

"Aww, come on Shawn. Are you mad at me?"

"Do you have any luggage? If you do, we will transport it for you." He flat out ignored her.

Cale smiled before responding to Shawn. "We do not have any luggages. Please lead the way."

Shawn quietly observed Cale, who was smiling gently. "...I heard you were a noble, please feel free to speak informally."

"Sure. I'll do that." Cale was not one to reject such an offer. After the time as Kim Roksoo, the formal speech he learnt as Cale Henituse were only for necessary occasions.

Cale's group and the three Dark Elves entered the Dark Elves' stronghold, otherwise known as the City of Death.

They could see more clearly once they entered into the city. There were even more reasons for them to be shocked.

"Isn't it more developed than most cities?" Tasha asked Cale's group with a proud expression on her face.

The city was pretty developed, such that it was at the level of most large cities in the Roan Kingdom.

However, Cale did not respond to her statement. He was busy looking at something else. "There are people here too."

Tasha continued to smile.

'I see.'

They saw other Dark Elves as soon as they entered the city as expected, but there was approximately 1 human for every 10 Dark Elves.

The Land of Death was one of the 5 Forbidden Regions. It was said that nobody who went into the Land of Death made it back alive.

Their deaths were said to have made the sand as red as it was. Some people even thought that the curse of the necromancers led people to die in the Land of Death.

Cale started to speak. "There was a reason the people who ran away into the desert never came back."

The Dark Elves who were with them started to smile. Tasha shrugged her shoulders as she responded.

"We couldn't let them just die, especially since the Dark Elves have a similar history of running away."

As people who have had to run for their lives, they understood the people who ran away to this desert known as the Land of Death.

They were so desperate that they ran away, even though they knew it would mean their death. They had felt the same way before.

Cale was really in awe now. "Amazing. This is simply amazing."

It really was amazing. Although they had never harmed humans, Dark Elves were chased out by people because the places they lived were associated with death.

However even after receiving such treatment, they were able to accept people within their midst.

It was very different compared to the Elves, who hated getting involved with humans.

Nonetheless, this was probably why nature, and the elementals, did not choose to leave them.

"I understand why nature loves the Dark Elves."

Nature did not shun the Dark Elves, instead, it created a space in its arms for the Dark Elves.

Cale did not miss the fact that the expressions on the faces of the humans in this city were bright.

"Well, it is all thanks to the unique nature of this land."

Cale looked toward the Dark Elf named Shawn, who pushed up his glasses and continued to speak. His gaze landed on Rosalyn for a moment before moving away.

"This is the Land of Death. We do not know the reason behind it, but an aura of death resides in this desert. We noticed that a phenomenon occurs twice a year where a small amount of dead mana rises up from the sand."

Cale motioned with his eyes to Cage, who nodded her head. "This desert is full of the aura of death. However, it is not evil. The aura of death follows the laws of nature and simply resides here for a moment before dissipating."

"You must be a priestess-nim of the Church of the God of Death."

"I have been excommunicated."

Shawn flinched at Cage's response. On the other hand, Cale nodded at her words and shared his sentiments.

"Maybe this is a land granted by the God of Death. Just because you need dead mana as a creature of darkness does not mean that you are evil." Cale continued to speak to the Dark Elves who were looking at him. "There are many humans who are crazy or evil. Wouldn't it be the same thing?"

"You are right, young master." Ron agreed with Cale.

Shawn peeked toward Ron before putting on an awkward smile as Ron smiled at him.

Tasha looked at everyone before finishing it with a beautiful conclusion. "Anyways, it is a good place to live."

That was the correct answer. Cale arrived at their residence, which was a pretty decent inn.

"This is the first time we have had guests here."

"Really?"

Shawn nodded his head. "We built this inn for visitors in case we find any other Dark Elf Villages, however, we have not managed to find one yet. Furthermore, people who come here are not really in a state to stay at an inn."

"What kind of state are they usually in?"

Shawn had no problem answering Choi Han's question. "They are malnourished or close to death. Some of them are even in a state of fear after coming to the Land of Death and meeting Dark Elves like us. That is why we immediately move them to the hospital ward."

Shawn approached the innkeeper. "You have your first guests."

"Oh, Hyung-nim. I finally get to have guests!"

The innkeeper was human. The old man, who seemed to be in his seventies, clapped as he welcomed Cale's group.

"Aigoo, welcome esteemed guests. I may not look like it, but among the humans, I have spent the longest time in this city. I know the layout as well as the Dark Elf Hyung-nims!"

Tasha whispered to the group. "For your reference, Shawn and I are the same age."

Cale shook hands with the innkeeper. "Owner, take good care of us while we are here."

"Of course. Welcome to the City of Life."

"City of Life?"

The old man smiled brightly after hearing Cale's confusion. "Yes sir. That is what we call it."

"That name is more fitting." Cale answered before turning toward Shawn in order to ask a question. "Now that we know where we are staying, I want to go shopping right away."

"They are already waiting for you."

***********************************

The market was in a three-story building. Only Tasha and Shawn led Cale and Choi Han there.

Of course, the invisible Raon was with them as well. The rest of the group was waiting for them at the inn.

"This is the building for the city's administrators."

They were definitely different compared to the Elves, who lived like hermits in the wild. The Dark Elves seemed to have a similar economic structure to humans.

There were many young humans who were working in administration with the Dark Elves as well.

Tasha noticed what Cale was looking at.

"The majority of the humans who come here do not know how to read or write.

Most of them wanted to learn technical skills or farming.

However, all of the children that are born in this city are given the same education as the young Dark Elves."

Cale had wondered in the past about which part of the Western Continent would be most similar to Earth.

'This is probably it. This underground city was the closest to Earth.'

It might because it was a place where people who ran away from tyrants gathered together.

"This is the mayor's office."

They could see a simple wooden door.

Shawn pointed at the door and started to speak. "Our city is usually managed by the eldest Dark Elf. The current mayor-nim is 521 years old."

It was at that moment.

Click click click. They heard the doorknob urgently turning.

And finally, bang! The door to the mayor's room burst open.

"M-Mayor-nim?"

An old Dark Elf who had a white beard and white hair that was a steep contrast to his dark skin appeared. However, the well-dressed and tidy Dark Elf's face was completely pale.

"T-This feeling!"

Shawn became anxious. He peeked toward Cale's group before rushing over to the mayor. "Mayor-nim, what is going on?"

Tasha rushed over as well. Her attitude was a bit different than Shawn's. "Grandpa, what is wrong?"

'Grandpa?' That word made Cale flinch.

Was she calling him grandpa because she was close to the mayor? Or was she actually related to the mayor?

If they were family, he would finally understand why this Dark Elf City seemed to have a deep relationship with the crown prince.

"Your granddaughter is here for the first time in a while! Why do you look so surprised?"

Tasha really was related to the mayor.

'...I knew someone like the crown prince would have a pretty noble background.'

Crown prince Alberu seemed to have a pretty hefty background. Cale looked toward Tasha and the mayor with a shocked expression.

At that moment, Cale and the mayor made eye contact.

The mayor seemed to have only been staring at Cale the whole time.

The mayor started to speak. "P-Perhaps..."

His voice was shaking. Cale had a bad feeling about this.

The old Dark Elf took out a handkerchief with his shaking hand and wiped his forehead before taking a deep breath.

"Sir, I heard that you had a Dragon's dead mana on you."

'Something is weird.' Although Cale was a noble, he was not at the level for someone like the mayor to speak respectfully toward him.

"Young master-nim, are you perhaps a Dragon-."

Shawn and Tasha both froze up, while Choi Han's pupils started to shake.

"No." Cale was very stern. "I am not a Dragon."

Shawn and Tasha looked relieved after hearing Cale's response.

However, the mayor was different. "I definitely feel a Dragon-nim's aura around you, young master-nim! It is coming from your vicinity, sir. The power that presides over nature is coming from you!"

– That old Dark Elf is pretty smart.

Raon, who was floating behind Cale while still invisible, was amused.

Cale did not care how smart the Mayor was as he was honestly answering the mayor. "I am not a Dragon."

"...That is very odd." The Dark Elf finally calmed down a bit.

He continued to wipe away his sweat as he mumbled. "I have met a Dragon-nim in the past and felt the same feeling that I am feeling now. My Elemental, which met that Dragon-nim with me, says it is similar as well."

This time, it was Cale's turn to flinch. 'What did he say he saw? And his Elemental saw it with him? The Elementals were the most difficult beings to scam.'

– What? A Dragon?

Raon seemed to be very interested as well.

At 521 years old, the mayor definitely lived long enough to have seen a Dragon at least once.

It was at that moment.

"Mayor-nim, I am here as you requested."

Cale thought it was a GPS speaking at that moment.

The calm yet robotic woman's voice continued to speak. "Shall I wait here?"

Cale turned around only to see a person who was covered from head to toe with a black robe.

At that moment, he heard Raon's voice in his head.

– Hmm? She is a human, so why does she have the darkness attribute?

'I knew it.'

There were only a few ways for a human to obtain the darkness attribute. His intuition had been right. However, there was something he needed to take care of first.

"Are you really, really not a Dragon-nim?"

"Yes, Mr. Mayor."

Cale let out a sigh after seeing that the mayor was still having a hard time believing him. Cale entered the office and his group followed him inside.

Cale looked toward Choi Han, who understood what Cale wanted, and quickly closed the door.

Cale started to speak inside the quiet office. "Raon."

Raon? The Dark Elves all looked confused.

It was because the word that Cale said with a serious expression after having Choi Han close the door was a word that they were not familiar with.

"It is okay for me to appear?"

The Dark Elf, Shawn, flinched. He heard a young voice coming from next to Cale, but he could not see anything.

"Hohoho."

Shawn turned his head after hearing the mayor laughing. He could see the mayor continuing to laugh as if he was shocked while wiping the sweat off of his palms with his handkerchief.

Was it for real? Was it really a Dragon?

He heard the voice one more time.

"Tada." It appeared behind Cale.

"Oh my god!" Tasha covered her mouth with both of her hands.

"Don't be playful, and introduce yourself, Raon."

None of them heard Cale's voice, as their focus was on the face that was peeking out from behind Cale.

Raon only peeked his head out from behind Cale. Cale let out a sigh before taking a step to the side. As he did that, Raon was slowly revealed to the Dark Elves.

"No, this-." Tasha was so shocked that she was struggling with her words.

She turned around to look at Shawn. She wanted to ask her friend if she was hallucinating.

However, Shawn was frozen stiff, like he was sleeping with his eyes open. Thinking that she wouldn't be able to get any info out of Shawn, Tasha quickly turned her gaze to her grandfather.

The Dark Elf mayor was calm. The person who seemed like the one who would be the most shocked in this situation was calm, even if he was still sweating profusely.

"Grandfather-" Tasha had to stop speaking.

The Dark Elf mayor started to speak to Raon with a pious expression. "I cannot greet Dragon-nim while standing on my two legs."

The old man calmly tried to kneel. Cale let out a sigh at the mess in front of him. He knew that Elves were crazy for Dragons, but he didn't expect the Dark Elves to be the same.

'But it's not like I can lie when he said his Elemental has met a Dragon.'

Elementals, as creatures that have a strong affinity with nature, were very sensitive to things like mana, and thus were rarely wrong.

If the Dark Elf Mayor's Elemental has really seen a Dragon and confirmed that there was a draconic aura around Cale, the Dark Elf mayor would never believe him, even if he claimed he didn't have a Dragon.

That was how accurate Elementals were with auras they have experienced at least once. With this being about a draconic aura, Cale had no choice.

Cale looked toward the door to see Choi Han standing there like a guard with an awkward smile on his face.

The person who was wearing a robe, so Cale could not tell anything about her, was just standing there like a scarecrow.

At that moment, Raon stood in front of the three Dark Elves.

'Is he going to introduce himself?' Cale looked toward Raon with a smile.

"I am the great Raon Miru!"

Cale could see Raon puffing up his chest. He took care of his self-introduction very well.

"I am a grand total of 4-years-old this year!"

'Was there a need to tell them your age?'

"Oh, great Dragon-nim!" The Dark Elf mayor was already kneeling and responding to Raon's every word like they were the words of a god.

'What to do about this?' Cale was starting to get a headache.

However, Raon's introduction was not over yet. "And I am protecting Cale Henituse because he is my good Human!"

'...I don't think this is the thing you say when introducing yourself...' Cale let out a deep sigh.

He walked over to Raon, who seemed like he would continue to share useless information, and petted Raon's head. Raon finally stopped talking.

Cale looked over toward Tasha and started to speak. "It looks like you'll need to help the mayor-nim back up."

"Ah." Tasha let out a gasp like she was finally coming to her senses.

The mayor started to speak at that time. "No, I cannot do that. The Dragon-nim that I met last time said that standing in front of him was like asking for a fight. I do not wish to fight with Dragon-nim."

'What kind of Dragon did he meet?' Cale wondered if the mayor was actually feeling fear instead of respect right now.

"You can stand. I do not like things like that!" However, the mayor instantly stood up after hearing Raon's response.

Cale raised both hands and clapped once.

Clap!

That clap got everyone's attention on Cale, who then started to speak. "Let's all calm down first."

Cale pointed toward the couches like it was his office. "Everybody, please sit down."

Cale avoided the chair reserved for the mayor and walked over to a three-person couch before he sat down.

The mayor followed behind Cale with a calm expression. He was also no longer sweating. He then started to speak to Raon. "Dragon-nim, please sit over here."

It was the seat Cale had left open for the mayor.

Cale looked toward the mayor weakly as Raon responded to the mayor. "I don't want to. You sit there!"

Raon flew over and sat down next to Cale. He then put his head on Cale's knee, as if it belonged there.

The mayor immediately sat down to listen to Raon.

Cale finally felt like things were calming down, so he asked Shawn. "Can you bring me a cup of water? I am thirsty."

"I will do so right away." Shawn looked like he was the calmest person in the room, but he was the palest one as well.

Cale put a hand on Shawn's back and started to speak. "The Dragon is a secret."

"A secret." Raon echoed from behind Cale.

Shawn bowed his head and responded back. "I promise on my relationship with the Elementals that I will keep it a secret."

A Dark Elf promising on their relationship with Elementals was similar to a vow of death. An Elf who could not interact with Elementals would have to live in despair for the rest of their lives.

Raon looked toward the mayor and Tasha, who then made the same vow.

"Dragon-nim, I promise on my relationship with the Elementals that I will keep it a secret."

"...I also promise on my relationship with the Elementals that I will keep it a secret."

Cale finally seemed to be relieved, as he leaned down into the couch. Shawn soon brought, not just a glass of water, but a fancy snack tray.

The mayor took a sip of tea before he started to speak. "My name is Obante."

"My name is Cale Henituse."

The mayor was still being very formal with Cale. He had no choice, since Cale was with a Dragon. Furthermore, they seemed to have a pretty close relationship with each other.

The Dragon that mayor Obante had met in the past was a temperamental one who was very egotistical. That was the only experience Obante had with Dragons.

"Young master Cale, does Alberu know?"

Seeing the mayor call the crown prince's name so casually helped Cale understand that it was very likely that the mayor was related to Alberu.

"His highness does not know. Yet."

"Ho- Alberu got to know such a precious person while keeping me in the dark. I'm guessing we cannot tell even Alberu?"

"I will take care of that." Cale was telling Obante to keep his vow.

Obante looked disappointed, but still nodded his head and continued to speak.

"Of course. I will definitely keep my vow. Young master Cale, I heard that you haven't been given a thorough explanation of what the item is."

"That is correct."

"For your reference, it is in the shape of a bracelet."