Chapter 255: Primal Fear

The group walked toward a flock of birds loitering in the direction the youngest, Lily, had pointed.

’Are feeding birds really fun?’

Even while seeing the children’s joyful expressions, Regis could not help but be doubtful.

After all, as a child of the slums, he found it difficult even to feed himself, much less take the time to feed others.

However, just as his thoughts were flowing freely, he could not help but glance up at the sky, ’It’s all thanks to Aunt Amabel...’

Even though those were already distant memories, Regis had never forgotten where he came from.

At that moment, he felt a tug on his sleeve as the beastkin boy looked excitedly toward the nearby flock of birds. "Brother Regis, let us hurry!"

Regis could not help but smile as they arrived beside the elven girl.

His gaze wandered to the seemingly clueless birds hopping about and to the children who had already lined up to receive small portions of bird feed from the elven girl.

"Hey, don’t push me!"

"You were the one who pushed me first!"

...

Seeing a small commotion brewing as a human boy and a beastkin girl began to fight, the elven girl immediately patted their heads.

"Do you remember our number one rule when playing, hm?"

The two children pursed their lips before looking up and seeing the elven girl’s gentle smile.

"No fighting."

Both of them answered with pouts on their faces.

"Very good!"

The elven girl clasped her hands happily before crouching and giving each of them a small portion of bird feed, "Always remember not to fight with your friends, okay? They’re like family, after all. Understood?"

"Yes, Big Sis."

The human boy and the beastkin girl awkwardly smiled at each other.

"Alright, go ahead and feed the birds with the others!"

"Yes!"

The two children then ran off with fistfuls of birdseed, their expressions cheerful.

Noticing that all the children had already gone out to play with the birds, Regis took the chance to walk over with the friendliest expression he could muster.

"Ehem, hello—"

However, before he could talk, the elven girl stretched out a fist in front of him.

"What’s thi—"

"Bird feed."

"Bu—"

"Will you take it or not? My arm’s getting tired."

Speechless, Regis did not have any choice but to stretch out his palm and receive the bird feed from the elven girl.

He looked down at his hand and saw the brown pebble-like bird feed that seemed to give him a sense of deja vu.

’Wait a minute, don’t these look like...’

The memory of Aurelia feeding the griffins back at Falkor Valley resurfaced in his mind.

"Haha..."

Regis unwittingly let out a soft chuckle.

The bird feed in his hand looked really similar to the ones they used to distract the griffins back then.

Tweet—- Tweet—-

Two birds with feathers of brown and white in a peculiar pattern suddenly landed on his left arm and shoulder.

"Oh?"

Regis fell silent for a second, not knowing what to do.

"Feed them." A gentle voice made him come to his senses.

"Oh, right!"

Regis hurriedly moved his right palm filled with bird feed closer to the birds perched on him.

Tk— Tk— Tk—

The soft sounds of their beaks clamping the bird feed were relaxing.

’Hm, this is a little fun...’

A subtle smile appeared on Regis’s face as he watched the birds eating with relish.

Even though he was not really doing anything and just watching the birds eat, a warm feeling of satisfaction welled up in his heart.

However, just as he was being immersed in this feeling, he felt a presence near him.

Then, with his gaze still focused on the birds, he spoke, "I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean to be disrespectful."

The elven girl’s eyes widened slightly before replying, "Your senses are sharp, as expected."

"It seems like you really are a respectable adventurer." After a pause, she continued, "Let me apologize as well for my rude behavior towards you earlier."

Hearing her words made Regis wonder, ’Why so formal...?’

"I do not really mind. But if it is not too personal, may I at least ask why you had that look on your face earlier? I did not expect my interest in elves to get such a reaction from you."

He said as he finally took the chance to glance at her, observing her features from up close.

The elven girl pursed her lips, her eyes fixed on the children in the distance.

"You’re right. Even I had made such a reaction when I saw humans for the first time as well, though not as obvious as yours."

"Yeah, sorry about that."

Regis could not help but feel a little pressured as he was not used to formal language.

’Even Killian’s not like this... though I guess it’s in his nature as well...’

Oblivious to his mental comparison of a specific human noble towards her, the elven girl continued.

"It’s just that I feel a little uncomfortable whenever someone places their attention on me."

Regis smiled, "Well, the plaza isn’t exactly the place to come to if you had such worries, is it?"

Faced with his sarcastic remark, the elven girl pursed her lips and hung her head lower.

Seeing that her reaction was not what he was expecting, Regis almost jumped.

He immediately said, while mentally waving his hands in a frantic manner, "I’m just joking."

"Hahaha..."

However, what he did not expect was for the elven girl to suddenly giggle, "I know."

"You got me." Regis inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

Tk— Tk— Tk—

The sound of birds pecking the bird feed filled the air for a few moments before Regis opened his mouth once again, albeit carefully.

"If I had to guess, is it because of your black hair and eyes?"

The moment the elven girl heard his words, her face became serious.

After a few seconds of silence, she slowly nodded.

"Hmm, I get it. Did they discriminate against you and call you cursed or somethi—"

"Enough, how arrogant of you to think that you can understand what I feel."

The elven girl said strongly, anger apparent on her once calm face.

Regis then looked at her and spoke slowly, "You... can I ask one last question?"

"Make it quick. The children and I need to go." The elven girl looked impatient.

Regis took a deep breath and said, "Why haven’t you looked at me? In fact, besides the children, you haven’t looked anyone in the eyes."

"That’s none of your business. We need to go. Thank you for making the children happy."

The elven girl lightly brushed her pitch black hair and prepared to leave right there and then.

However, before she could take a step forward, she felt a strong grip on her wrist.

"Hey—!"

The elven girl could not help but turn her head, and just as she was about to shout, she flinched as she met the pair of blood red eyes looking at her.

Regis then smiled, "You finally looked at me. I’m sure you can understand now why I said the words I said earlier."

"Thank you for today as well. Goodbye."

He said with a wave of his hand, shaking off the birds and scattering the bird feed evenly across the pavement in the process.

Looking at his departing back, the elven girl slowly came back to her senses.

She placed her hand over her chest, feeling her rapid heartbeat.

"W-What was that... A d-demon?"

She could not help but stutter as sweat trickled down her temple.

The intensity of the emotion she was feeling was not something that could be describe by mere words.

And no, it was not budding love.

It was fear.

Not the fear that one develops during childhood.

But a kind of primal fear that a prey feels whenever it meets its predator.

At that moment, an elven maidservant suddenly appeared beside the elven girl and supported her.

"Young Lady, are you alright?"

The elven girl nodded weakly, her breath stabilizing, "I-I am... but what took you so long? How could you let a human touch me?"

Even in her current state, the anger in the elven girl’s voice could not be hidden.

The maidservant bowed her head, "I apologize, Young Lady. But that human earlier... he’s dangerous."

"You’re telling me that even you, a mage on the verge of the Five Star Realm, were helpless against a mere human adventurer?"

Seeing the maidservant not at a loss for words, the elven girl snorted, "I’m fine now, let go."

"Of course, Young Lady." The maidservant repeatedly apologized as she bowed her head.

The elven girl fixed her dress and said, "Hide now. I don’t want the children to see you."

"Understood, Young Lady."

As if on cue, the children swarmed towards the elven girl.

The elven flashed a gentle smile as she patted their heads, "How is it? Did you enjoy feeding the birds?"

"Yes!" The children replied joyfully.

The youngest, Lily, had a huge smile on her face, "Birb!"

"Haha... What do your children want to do next?"

At that moment, the beastkin boy looked around and said with a puzzled face, "Eh, where’s Brother Regis? He said that he’ll tell us stories."

"..."

The elven girl flinched, but composed herself in the next instance.

She smiled, "Regis said that he had to do something first and will tell us his stories next time..."

"Aww..."

The children looked visibly disappointed, but the elven girl immediately soothed them.