Absolutely Do Not Touch Eldmia Egga – Chapter 5

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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And so, the first day with Asirye passed, and morning dawned.

After completing my parents’ graves, we visited the village Asirye had mentioned in order to dispose of the bandits’ belongings.

There was no problem entering even though Asirye was wearing a hood to cover her ears, perhaps because the town was slowly building the foundation to become a small city, as Asirye said, with vigilante groups taking their positions and starting to keep watch.

The bandits’ belongings were shabby, but the horses were sold for about one and a half gold coins each.

According to Asirye, even that price was discounted because the horses weren’t fully cared for, so horses must be quite valuable in this world.

Surprisingly, the horse that was valued the most wasn’t the bandit leader’s horse, but another guy’s horse.

Was it Glen? I remembered it because it had a white spot between its eyes, and it turned out to be the best-managed and finest horse.

We also decided not to sell that one and raise it, since we needed a horse. After disposing of everything, our pockets were filled with 7 gold coins, 16 silver coins, and 18 copper coins of the Itisiel Kingdom.

I was quite shocked to learn for the first time in 8 years that the currencies issued by the country and large merchant associations were quite troublesomely divided.

“Ordinary people rarely get their hands on merchant association currency. The same goes for other kingdoms’ currencies.”

I heard that merchant association currency only comes in gold coins. It seems to serve as a kind of check.

As a result, it has a high gold content and is larger in size, so it is considered to be worth almost twice as much as other gold coins.

Most other kingdoms are similar, but the advice was to avoid the currency of the Ragnel Kingdom if possible, as it has the lowest value.

“1 silver coin is about a week’s worth of food for an average adult. Not lavishly, but if you only eat two meals a day, you can have some money left over.”

It would have been nice if it had a structure like 10 silver coins to 1 gold coin, but 40 copper coins are 1 silver coin, and it takes about 30 silver coins to make 1 gold coin.

Although it was cumbersome, there was nothing I couldn’t understand in the end. I quickly understood and answered the questions she threw at me, and Asirye smiled.

“Your parents must have taught you arithmetic well since they were adventurers. You’re even quite skilled at mental calculation. That’s a relief.”

I couldn’t say I had graduated from university, so I just replied with a smile.

As we went through Asirye’s abridged economics class that would become our flesh and blood, and continued to purchase necessary items, 10 silver coins disappeared in an instant.

Of course, we carefully selected what we needed, but from the perspective of an ordinary commoner, it was a dizzying expenditure.

Even if the house was intact, many things that could have been resolved through barter in the village under normal circumstances had disappeared.

The small handcart was loaded with miscellaneous items as well as livestock such as a pair of chickens and a pair of goats.

I realized anew that I would be living with her for the next 8 years. And I expressed my gratitude once again to her for making that decision.

“Thank you so much.”

Asirye, who had covered her face with a hood, didn’t bother to ask again and instead replied with a faint smile.

“I’m more grateful.”

Asirye… she’s a goddess…!

When we returned from our first outing, a whole day had already passed. In the end, we only finished simple organization, and it was the next day when we could start preparing for wintering and livelihood in earnest.

Since I decided not to use physical strengthening for a while, what I could help with was ultimately limited by the constraints of an 8-year-old, but as the son of a hunter, I could manage to drain the blood and skin the animals she caught.

There, the first prejudice was shattered. Elves in this world eat meat!

No, rather than just eating, they made it their staple food. It was such a culture shock that I asked, and I could see Asirye laughing so hard that I thought it was impossible to laugh like that.

“It seems some strange prejudice from who knows where has slipped into the knowledge you’ve acquired. All things in the world are meant to ultimately revolve in balance. Protecting the forest is the same as maintaining the balance of plants and animals.”

They only hunt as much as necessary. That’s all, Asirye told me.

“What we always guard against is only excessive greed.”

“Oh… so is that why you don’t get along with dwarves?”

Based on what she said, it seemed impossible for them to get along with dwarves who dig up perfectly good tunnels for the sake of making jewelry and metalwork, but Asirye herself couldn’t give a definite answer regarding that.

“Well, I don’t think it’s to the point of not getting along. They’re a race obsessed with creating better and finer things, so that obsession sometimes causes displeasure.

When you nitpick and look at their actions, they seem annoying, but when you look at the end result, should I say all those actions are a reasonable process?”

While deftly skinning the deer she had caught as if it was only natural after rushing out at dawn, Asirye continued.

“They never waste resources. Just as we try to efficiently use the animals we hunt for our lives, they efficiently use the minerals and gems they mine.

Looking only at the process they take to make weapons and accessories, it may seem like excessive consumption by elven standards, but that’s only from the elven perspective, and it’s an indispensable element in their way of life, so there’s actually no problem at all.

It’s closer to us being slightly picky because there’s something a little wasteful by elven standards, don’t you think?”

“You’re very blunt in pointing out the prejudices of your own race, sis.”

“Hoho. Proper intellect is built on the foundation of proper criticism. Rather, it seems there’s a need to correct your biased knowledge about races.

I’ll tell you about it as a bedtime story before you fall asleep at night.”

I couldn’t bring myself to say that the racial knowledge I had acquired was based on fantasy novels from Earth, which didn’t even exist, so I just responded with a childlike smile.

If earthly authors created something that doesn’t exist to this extent, that’s fucking amazing.

Maybe they were real visitors from another world.

While having such nonsensical thoughts and butchering the deer, Asirye constantly taught me various things.

There was some simple knowledge related to hunting right away, but most of it was about the ways of the world.

Judging from the fact that the contents were interesting and aroused curiosity, she seemed to be making an effort not to bore me, conscious of my young age.

The stories that I would have listened to diligently even without such effort continued into the night without a moment of boredom.

“Eldmia. How do you want to live with what you learn from me?”

Asirye asked while washing the dishes after finishing a hearty dinner.

“You’re clearly different from other children in many ways. Above all, the biggest difference is that you don’t hesitate to kill people even at that age, but I can’t get the feeling that you have a twisted sensibility or problematic thoughts.

At first, I thought you might have a mental illness because your parents passed away in an accident, but you actually control your emotions better than most adults.”

I wanted to say it’s only natural because I’m perfectly normal, but since abnormal people say they’re normal, I just kept my mouth shut, met her gaze, and waited for her to continue. I vaguely understood what she wanted to say.

“But rather, that’s why I have to ask. Do you want revenge?”

“Will the commander of the Demon King’s army who swept away our village still be alive by the time I take revenge?”

Asirye’s eyes widened at my question that came out without hesitation. This time, it was my turn to continue.

“I’m confident I can learn everything diligently. Not only compared to my peers but even compared to kids about 5 years older. If they’re not geniuses, I’ll understand and learn faster, right?”

That was only natural. I already knew some things, my way of thinking was different, and the motivation for putting in effort was different from the start.

“Still, even if I learn as much as I can from you and turn 16, I don’t think I’ll be able to catch the commander of the Demon King’s army. If it’s a commander who would die like that, he would have died long ago.”

But I’m not a genius. I just have a different mental age than others. I’m not special.

“If I keep trying, I think I can at least pull my own weight by the age of 20, but if that bastard is still alive by then, of course, I have to take revenge. But it’s not an emotional revenge.”

It’s not something an 8-year-old child should say. Even if a little kid said this in front of me, I wouldn’t listen seriously, let alone take it in one ear and out the other. But Asirye was different.

“Then?”

She still waited for my answer with calm and serene eyes. Even though we had only known each other for just two days, they were eyes that made me naturally trust her.

“I don’t want to suffer like this ever again. I don’t want to experience the unfairness of losing everything without having done anything wrong or committed any sins.”

Therefore, I will become strong. Therefore, I will survive.

“If he’s still alive by then and I have the ability, I will find him and kill him. And I will leave a mark with his blood for all to see.”

In the darkened night, relying on a single light orb summoned by Asirye, I declared while holding her gaze.

“Never, no matter what happens. Never mess with Eldmia Egga again.”

Asirye’s eyes wavered.

“I will take revenge, survive, and become strong to warn everyone like that.”

For myself. And for those who may become acquainted with me in the future as I live on.

I will tenaciously become strong.

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