There was a building located on the side of the mansion’s courtyard. After leaving the guard station, we entered a corridor that connected the buildings to one another. We were now in front of the two-story tall, box-shaped building. Though it looked small compared to the surrounding buildings, it was still slightly larger than the houses in town.
There was an elegantly designed door knocker attached to the simple wooden door, and when the captain knocked on it a man’s voice was heard from within.
“It’s open〜”
In contrast to Ariane’s and my tension, the voice was rather relaxed and the captain paid it no mind as he opened the door.
“Excuse me.”
The captain opened the door and stepped aside after accepting the invite, allowing Ariane to enter first. I followed suit and the two guards were right behind me.
Thick wooden pillars lined the sides of the first floor, the centerpiece of the room being a large table. There were chaise lounges and armchairs on both sides of the room. The fact that they were rarely used, coupled with the bare stone floor, resulted in a slightly bleak atmosphere.
Once he entered, the captain walked in front of the group and led us to a back room that was on the other side of the table.
The back room was an utter mess.
Multiple books, parchments, and rolled up scrolls were hastily piled atop the table in the center of the room. There were many bookshelves arranged along the wall, but they were already filled to the brim with more scrolls and books. The room’s carpet was woven with beautiful patterns, but they were mostly covered by rocks and the fangs and tusk of various types of animals.
There was a large glass window at the back of the room and a man was sitting with his back to us at a crooked work desk.
“We’ve brought the messenger from Canada.”
“Ahh, thank you.”
The captain offered his salute to the man’s back before turning around and leaving the room.
“I never imaged that a messenger from Canada would come for me〜, welcome to my humble abode.”
The man stood up as he voiced his greeting.
His unkempt blonde hair was tinged green, he had the characteristic long ears of the elves, and his emerald green eyes could be seen from behind a pair of round glasses.
Instead of the traditional clothing of the elves, he had opted to wear similar clothes as the general public, but they were in shabby condition.