My Servant Is An Elf Knight From Another World

I should be plenty used to this by now, y'know?

The otherworldly, the mystical, the unrealistic, etc, etc… I've been through more than enough for long enough to the point I'm pretty sure I've gone off on a similar tangent more than a couple of times.

But wandering about in an illusionary world of a bygone realm, guided hand-in-hand through its sheer vastness by a succubus who had orchestrated the entire thing as the world's most elaborate birthday present… I'm pretty sure it's warranted to be even just a little bit surprised, right?

Ruria certainly wasn't complaining; with every show of wonder or astonishment on my face to every little thing we passed by heightening the look of joy and delight on hers.

We were following a trail, and ahead of us on the paved path of dirt was one of those distant villages, now much closer and bigger, and from the vast peaceful silence surrounding us, I could faintly hear the rippling echoes of what sounded like music, cheering… some sort of celebration.

That alone was already enough interest roused to continue forging on ahead, but every now and again, Ruria would have us making a detour along the beaten path to introduce some other brand new discovery to blow my mind all over again.

Like a flower the size of a small tree, its stem as thick as lumber and petals looming high above our heads. Apparently, the pollen it puffs out makes for a good sweetener for meals.

"Want to try some?" Ruria offered, catching a sprinkling in the palm of her hand. "It's healthier than grass, I'll tell you that much."

"Sure, I'll just…"

But right before I could take a pinch from her, Ruria veered her hand away to the side. I heard her click her tongue and let out a sigh.

"Yeah, you would just do that, wouldn't you?" She chided me, pinching a portion with her other hand and raising it to my lips. "The romantic flair of a rock."

"Oh, uh…" I went along with it and fed out of her hand. And as the powder soaked into my taste buds in a surge of sugary sweetness, that delighted smile returned to her face again.

"Good?" she asked.

"Very," I nodded, smacking my lips. "That… I didn't expect that."

"You mean the flavor or me feeding you?"

"Both."

"Oh, so it's fine if Adalia does it but not me?"

"Alright, I did not say that."

"So then what are you trying to say?"

"That you're perfectly at liberty to stuff whatever you want in my mouth any day, trust me on that," I told her straight. "It's just I don't usually expect you to, y'know?"

She chuckled at that, pulling me by the hand back to the path and resuming our trail. "I don't, no. But that doesn't mean I don't always think about wanting to. We're adults. Can't always act the one we want to. There's a time and a place for things like that."

As we walked, I felt her cling to me, the deep red of her arms wrapped around tightly on mine. I felt the shock and ecstasy with every one of her motions, the sound of her voice… resounding so tender.

"And right here, right now… I can finally do everything I want to do with you."

It was like the moment she shed her human appearance, a switch had flipped on inside her; some dormant entity of love amplifying her affections a hundredfold.

While before she could be loving and endearing, there was always this feeling of restraint. She'd be composed. Her displays of affection always with a hint of hesitance, bashfulness… now there was none of that.

Just her with nothing else holding her back.

Suddenly, while I was deep in my thoughts, I felt something poke me on the back, and in the corner of my eyes—a swish and flick of a tail. Turning towards Ruria, she had this suppressed look of excitement, a twinkle in her eyes, with a finger pressed lightly against her smiling lips. Then she removed the finger and pointed it far forward in front of us.

Whatever she was pointing at, I couldn't see it just yet—not until I saw a heavy rustling in a patch of silver and gold.

The next thing I knew, a black fuzzy blur leaped out of the tall grass, then another fuzzy one in stripes, followed by a final one that was covered in patches. They sat there, obstructing the pact in a pack of pointed ears, thin whiskers, and little paws.

"Cats," I said, only to be punished by the shock and surge of hormones as Ruria shushed me with the same finger to my lips.

"Neplims," she whispered back, slowly lifting her finger away after ensuring my silence. "And they're extremely wary of sound. They're not fond of noisy things—humans for instance.

True to her claim, one of the three perked their fuzzy faces toward our direction, ears twitching, and that was when I saw it—those eyes. Like glass marbles, tiny bright beads that encompassed an entire sprawling starry vista. It was like they held an entire universe within their eyes the way they glimmered and glowed.

Neplims. One of the three guardian creatures of the realm. Arbiters of the just and wicked. That's what I remembered being told about them. I see what they mean now… they certainly do look the part; mythical beings sent down from a higher celestial plane.

"Aren't they rare?" I quietly asked, recalling another detail about them. "Like a one-in-a-million kind of sighting, are they not?"

"Usually, yes," Ruria said, and seemingly no longer content with simply admiring from afar, began slowly approaching the litter. "Every other season, it'd be a miracle to even spot one—but Reenma's special. I mean, just look at the state of the world, all this beauty… even if you were such a reclusive being from the heavens… wouldn't you also want to come out of your hidey-hole and enjoy some time relishing how breathtaking everything has gotten?"

The three didn't take long to notice her closing in and promptly reacted with cocked heads, raised noses, and slow, wary tail swishes. With every inch forward, I expected them to scatter, and yet I continue to be proven wrong with every step she took.

I mean, fair enough. If I had a succubus approaching me the way she was, and with the way she looked, I wouldn't budge a single muscle in my body either.

Ruria came to a stop a respectful distance away, close, but not too close to the point of overstepping boundaries. She got down to her knees, reaching one arm out, offering them a chance in turn to approach instead should they choose to.

And maybe they were in an amicable mood at the moment, or maybe they could just simply sense the good vibes emanating from her because they immediately scampered and surrounded her the very next instant.

I watched the black one leap into her arms, the one in stripes attempt to scale her thighs, while the last one eagerly pitter-pattered a ring around her, affectionately brushing its fuzzy coat against her on occasion.

"Just gonna stand there?" She asked, turning toward me, the creature in her arms wriggling in bliss, her fingers lightly running along its furry back. "You're a cat person, aren't you? Help yourself."

"Cats, not Neplims. Big difference," I pointed out. "And I hear they can be awfully picky with who they allow to approach them."

"You mean regarding the fact that if they snarl and run from you somehow that means you're cursed to forever be the greatest evil known to the world?" Snorting and snickering as she spoke those words, and for such a heavy statement, she sure sounded awfully dismissive. "Personally, I wouldn't worry about it too much. If they think you're bad, so what? Are you going to go off to slaughter innocent civilians now just because you got hissed at?"

That was a good point. I know I'm not evil, so why should I let something that isn't me dictate what I am?

Then again, they are renowned for doing exactly that… and Ash does seem to hold their judgment with significant weight when she talked about them… and then when you consider my heritage, the things I've inherited… well…

"Is there any merit to it? Or like—?"

I was then interrupted by laughter. A brief spurt of the giggles that she couldn't hold back.

"So self-conscious, wow…" she said, shaking her head and smiling wide. "All you've done, and for some reason you're hung up about your moral alignment? Come over here already, alright? One way or another, you're bound to find out."

And with the combined pressure of her demands, my curiosity, and those fluffy faces that just begged to be squished, I slowly shuffled forward.

One after the other, the litter of three turned their spiraling, sparkling eyes toward me. I took that as a sign to stop, to kneel, gauging Ruria's expression as a way to know if I was doing anything wrong. Needless to say, she wasn't of much help.

It was the striped one that made the first move; silent, precarious paws scurrying its way to me. I met it halfway and extended my hand out, to which it stopped in place and gingerly reared its head for a sniff.

"Well?" Ruria asked sarcastically. "Has it sensed the evil in your blood yet?"

I didn't respond back, I was far too preoccupied with anticipating having to avoid the quick swipe of claws. But that never happened. Instead, still holding my gaze back at those star-studded eyes, I felt the startling coarseness of a lick against the tip of my fingers.

Something heavy lifted off my chest. It licked me again, and I was practically weightless. Then, when it began rubbing its face against me, the silkiest, softest sensation enveloping my entire hand, that's what officially sealed the deal for me.

I was accepted.

"Look at that, you're a good person… as if there was any doubt about it," Ruria said, rolling her eyes yet nevertheless beaming wide at the sight of me. "Now you better go and forge world peace after this otherwise I'm just not buying it."

"Don't test me," I retorted. "I just might."

"Oh, I know, and annoyingly enough, you'd probably succeed too. You have this bad habit of somehow making the impossible possible. So many different examples to choose from…"

"What's your favorite?"

"Oh, that one's easy," she said with a chuckle.

"Well?" I urged her. "I'm all ears."

"Loving you…" she answered quickly, readily. "...and as much as I do. I remember a time when I never believed I could. Then you came along."

I looked at her, and she looked at me… her affection overflowing in the deep red of her eyes.

"And I don't think I've ever been more happy to be proven wrong about something any more than that."