I Became a 10,000-year-old Elf

“So they didn’t come back after all? That’s unfortunate. It’s not easy to create perfectly hypnotized organization members.”

“I apologize. I never imagined they would be taken down without even sending an emergency signal.”

The subordinate bowed his head to him, seemingly ashamed. Everything was as expected, especially the fact that the team members would fail the operation and be captured by Ethan was somewhat anticipated.

However, one thing was unexpected: that they would be taken down without even sending the pre-prepared emergency signal.

If they had received the signal, the standby team could have been deployed, creating enough variables, but that didn’t happen.

“Lord Chirga, information has come in that all the artifacts Ethan is collecting are items for resale. Perhaps the item that appeared this time was also something he attempted to resell after purchasing it without proper knowledge?”

“Then find out who Ethan got that item from. The higher-ups absolutely want to know the source of that item.”

At this point, the false information that Ethan had started to spread began to circulate.

Logically, it was natural to assume that Ethan, merely an executive of an organization, wouldn’t have the ability to restore such an artifact, so the possibility that this was false information was hardly considered.

‘But something’s suspicious. Ethan is definitely hiding something. Even if it’s not related to the artifact, it’s worth looking into.’

Nevertheless, Chirga couldn’t shake off his instinctive suspicion. From suddenly starting to buy unrestored artifacts to subduing the subordinates he sent without giving them the slightest chance.

This was why, although he was taking a step back for now, he hadn’t withdrawn his watchful eye on Ethan.

“Are you saying to sell these in the black market of the neighboring city?”

“Considerable attention is already focused on the black market here. It would be right to disperse that attention before more troublesome things happen. If possible, I’d like to sell them further away, but I’m planning to do that later with only the more valuable items.”

Ethan, not being a fool, was being cautious for the time being. The first thing he tried was to change the black market where he would sell the items.

He was planning to change his trading partners soon anyway, as a long tail gets caught. This way, he could shake off trackers and buy more time.

‘At this rate, I might have to use spatial teleportation to sell items on another continent.’

Ethan sighed, intuitively realizing that this matter would bother him for quite a long time. Still, he couldn’t make excuses because all of this was ultimately a situation he had brought upon himself.

* * *

“Looks like you’re busy?”

“I never imagined it would get this tangled. You have no idea how much effort I’m putting into cleaning this up.”

“But it can’t be helped. It’s a job where you can make big money with little effort, right?”

“Ugh…”

When I bombarded him with facts, Ethan, who had been frowning, groaned. As I said, if he wanted less trouble, he could just stop selling artifacts.

The fact that he couldn’t do that was purely due to his greed.

“Seems like you’re enjoying playing adventurer. I see you going out every day.”

Feeling unfair about being the only one attacked, he counterattacked, looking at me wearing the maid outfit that had become my outdoor clothes. I shrugged without denying it.

“It’s better than just staying at home. You might not believe it, but I’m seeing results every day.”

Even if I just stayed at home and breathed, my power would continue to grow, but I didn’t particularly want to do that. It was much more fun to go out into the world that had changed so much over 10,000 years and see and experience new things.

Knowing that fun, there was no reason to just stay still.

‘Soon, I’ll be able to try communing with other spirits as well.’

Moreover, the continuous growth as a reward brings me closer to the level I was aiming for. Although it hasn’t been long since I started this kind of training, I was already approaching the next stage.

“You’re here. As I said, today we’ll look for a male Rake’s nest.”

When I went out to the meeting place with Lina, Patrick, who had become our new companion after the last incident, was waiting for us.

As I had judged, he was the type who couldn’t stay still. All I had asked was for him to watch our backs, but before we knew it, he was taking the lead to guide us.

‘This is convenient.’

It would be foolish to refuse when someone offers to drive the bus. We joined him, putting Lina in front, and once again left the city for the dangerous areas teeming with enemies.

“Well, I’ve been thinking…”

It was then that Patrick opened his mouth, glancing at me.

“How about having this child wait in a safe place? Of course, seeing how she talks back, she seems unusual, but the road is rough, and if we take her to a place full of dangerous magical beasts, everyone will be in danger.”

He suggested to Lina that she leave me in the city. It was a quite reasonable proposal he could make because he didn’t know I was the main body.

“That’s not possible. I can’t be separated from this child.”

“If that’s the case, there’s nothing we can do. It’s better to protect her well. If you don’t want to regret it later.”

Naturally, Lina flatly refused his suggestion. Patrick just clicked his tongue but nodded without insisting further.

Both his statement about never making companions again and this reaction clearly indicated that he had some kind of backstory.

“It’s the city guard. Did something happen?”

“They’ve been like this often lately.”

Just before we left the city, we saw a group of people rushing out of the city with urgent steps.

Wearing unified armor, they passed by us, and I could see them too. They were the guards protecting this city. The public authority that Ethan was so wary of.

“They were even carrying mythical weapons. It must be quite a big incident.”

Meanwhile, Patrick focused on the weapons some of them were carrying. I couldn’t help but snort at the grandiose term “mythical weapons.”

“Are you talking about the weapon the soldier at the front was carrying?”

“Yes. That strange-looking weapon is a mythical weapon restored from an artifact of the mythical era. I’ve only seen it in action once.”

As if it was a field of interest for him, Patrick excitedly started explaining when I showed interest.

‘It’s just a gun. It looked like a shotgun though.’

Of course, it wasn’t that I didn’t know about it. It was clearly a weapon I knew, with its familiar shape. I already knew about this part from Ethan’s explanation.

“Mythical weapons have the powerful ability to ignore all mana. Unless you’re wearing extremely durable armor or holding a shield, there’s no way to block it.”

However, there were some parts that differed from what I knew. After the collapse of the Tower, a strong negative force that was intentionally generated destroyed and erased everything from that era.

And when these objects were restored after a long time, it was said that some items gained special powers they didn’t have in the past.

‘There’s no way an ordinary gun would have such power.’

I knew about the battle between the monsters crawling out of the Tower and the army. The real war that might have dragged even me, a reservist, if it had gotten just a little worse.

If the power of the mythical weapons Patrick was talking about had existed in that era, we wouldn’t have struggled so much.

The transformation of guns from ordinary gunpowder weapons to completely new forms of weaponry was also one of the changes that occurred in this world, along with the appearance of different races and the development of new civilizations.

The exact principles are unknown. The 10,000 years after the collapse of the Tower were that long and intense.

“Oh dear, I think I know why the city guard was dispatched.”

As we left the city and entered the forest along the road, we discovered numerous adventurers gathered and murmuring, along with the city guard who had gone ahead, and learned what had happened, just as Patrick had sighed.

It was a murder case. And it was said to be the work of a werewolf.

“Werewolves are cursed wolf beastkin. They’re monsters that lose their reason and go berserk, so they must be caught.”

Patrick muttered, glancing at Lina. Lina flinched and emphasized that she was a cat, showing off her distinctive tail.

“I-I know you’re a normal person too. Anyway, if a werewolf is roaming around this area, we need to be careful.”

Patrick said that while it varies by individual, werewolves are generally quite strong in exchange for losing their reason. He also mentioned that it might be difficult for us to handle at our current level.

“Aren’t we safe during the day?”

“That’s true, actually. Well then, let’s continue.”

Of course, werewolves only rampage at night. We’re unlikely to encounter them as we’re active during the day.

‘Just in case, search around.’

I instructed the earth spirits to keep detecting the surroundings. Even if it’s said to be safe during the day, it doesn’t hurt to be careful.