I, with full confidence, asked Cyve again.
"Cyve, do you know where we are?" (I asked)
Supposedly, since Cyve at that time managed to catch and almost cook my body, that meant she had been here longer.
Even though I already knew that this was one of the games given by Weinz.
"No, I don't know" (Cyve answered, her voice sounding a little sad)
"Yukito-sama, do you want to listen to my story?" (Cyve asked)
"I don't mind" (I said)
——
Cyve began telling about her origins, and why she could be inside this game owned by Weinz.
—
(Cyve side)
My full name is Cyve Varia, I was born to a married couple and I am the first child of this family.
My father had black hair and a thick beard on his chin. His tall and muscular posture made me a little scared when I first saw him.
My mother had white hair, in contrast to Father. Mother's body looked very slender, which made her look very beautiful.
Since the two of them were elves, of course, I was also an elf.
And my body resembled Mother's more than Father's. For example, my hair was white, inherited from Mother.
Since I was a girl, my body resembled Mother's very much. Slim, our skin smooth and soft, and I inherited beauty from Mother.
My ears were also inherited from Mother. Father's ears looked a little longer and sharper compared to Mother's. Meanwhile, Mother's were shorter than Father's but not too sharp.
I felt happy when I realized that my father looked cool and my mother looked beautiful. It felt like a combination that complemented each other. And I was the child born of this combination!
That's why I was quite confident with my appearance. Even when I only looked at my reflection in the water, I felt so embarrassed because I saw someone who was so cute and beautiful.
—
Our elf race lived in the forest and not once did we ever think about living in the outside world.
And in our place, it would always be led by the head of the family who had strong fighting and survival skills.
When I was little, I didn't know and didn't look for who the leader of this elf group was.
On the contrary, I preferred playing with my peers.
And if my friend couldn't play with me, I would just stay in my room and read books all day.
Because, Father hadn't allowed me to go outside the elf settlement.
"You're still little, don't act tough," That's what Father said when I asked if I could go play outside.
Since my friend couldn't play with me, and Father didn't allow me to go out… I could only read books again in my room.
In my room, Mother had prepared a fairly large bookshelf filled with books.
Sometimes books about survival, sometimes about romance, and many others I didn't yet know.
There were so many books on that shelf, it felt like every time I took one, more would appear.
This time, I was looking for another book to read. I had just finished reading a book about cooking and was looking for the next volume.
I carefully observed that bookshelf in detail, so I could find it faster and not waste time.
And I found the second volume on the top shelf.
My small body couldn't reach it. With my height at that time, I could probably only grab books from the middle shelf.
I left my room and looked for Mother.
"Mother!" I shouted. Father had said earlier that he had some errands outside, and the one who usually accompanied me at home was Mother.
Father was more often outside than at home. Usually, Father left in the morning and sometimes returned late at night.
Mother only welcomed him warmly. And she never once asked Father where he had been that day.
—
I kept calling for Mother and walking around the house to look for her.
In the kitchen, in the front room, in the bathroom… Mother wasn't there. "Maybe Mother is out looking for medicinal herbs?" I muttered.
On some days of the week, Mother would usually go deeper into the forest to look for medicinal herbs.
Many people said that Mother's medicines were very effective. They said so after being given Mother's medicine when they were sick.
Sometimes, I helped Mother make the medicine. And often, Mother would invite me to go with her.
"Rather than being bored at home, come with me," Mother invited.
And because I sometimes felt bored at home from only reading books, I chose to go with Mother.
The place Mother usually went to was south of the elf settlement.
On the way, the trees stood tall like they pierced the clouds. It felt like being surrounded and protected by the trees.
"Mother, isn't it far? My legs are starting to get tired~" I complained to Mother.
Maybe because my legs were small, my steps were short, so my stamina was very low.
"Just a little more~" Mother replied.
I could only fall silent in exhaustion and follow Mother's steps, until we finally arrived at a place.
That place actually looked just like the forest. Around us were trees and the ground was covered with grass.
"Mother, what exactly are we here for?" I asked, feeling a little annoyed, because this place only looked like an ordinary forest.
RUSTLE
Mother began to crouch down and pluck some grass from the ground.
"Help me here~ Later I'll make you Mother's special tea," Mother invited.
I immediately became excited after hearing Mother's words. Mother's tea was, in my opinion, very delicious with just the right sweetness. That's why I loved Mother's tea and called it "special tea."
I crouched down a little, squatting beside Mother on her right.
"Take only the ones around here, then look for the ones with red color on the grass," Mother explained.
I only nodded and searched for the grass with red color as Mother had said. And after some time searching, I started to get frustrated because I couldn't find it.
"Motheeer, I don't see it~" I said while puffing my cheeks at Mother.
Mother only smiled softly and gently stroked my head warmly.
"Try looking again, this time let me help, okay?" Mother invited.
I nodded and began scanning the ground for that grass.
Suddenly, Mother pointed at a spot near my feet. "Cyve, near your feet," Mother said.
I immediately looked at the grass near my feet and found one with red on it. Without being told, I carefully plucked it.
Once it was pulled out, I showed the grass to Mother.
"Mother! I found it~" I said happily.
Mother clapped her hands for me, then stroked my head again.
"Cyve, that's it," Mother said while stroking my head.
——
After some more searching, Mother stood up again and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
I followed Mother and stood up, wiping the sweat from my forehead as well.
"Cyve, let's go home?" Mother asked.
That's true, it felt like it had been quite a while since we had been searching for that grass.
"You're hungry too, aren't you~?" Mother asked.
I nodded my head slowly.
Then, Mother held my right hand with her left and began walking home while holding my hand.
Mother's hand felt so big and warm… but at the same time soft.
It felt like I wanted to keep holding Mother's hand and make it mine alone.