Transferred to Another World and Became a Teacher

As I thought about such things, the other elves brought us chairs identical to the ones they sat on themselves. Surprised by the sudden equal treatment, Glenn sat down happily.

"Oh, this helps. Standing for so long was indeed hard on me."

After Glenn took the lead in sitting, Strass and the others sat down in turn. Finally, when Shenley and I sat down, Edra and the others also lowered themselves into their respective seats.

Just then, the two elves from earlier returned, having opened the door. They brought several other elves behind them. Apparently, these elves were the next king candidates. There were four of them.

At the front stood a tall male elf. Next came a long-haired female elf and an elf who was clearly a child. And then, an elf with sharp eyes that I had seen somewhere before.

"…Owen?"

I called out the name involuntarily.

At that, the sharp-eyed elf raised his head, looked around, spotted me, and raised one hand.

"Hmm? Aoi? It has been a while."

The reaction that came back was as if meeting a distant uncle at a family gathering.

Greeted with such an ordinary attitude, I nearly forgot the fact that I was in the elven country. I felt as if I had returned home after a year away.

However, I was currently in the elven kingdom of Aqua Vitae, at a Senate meeting inside the royal castle where outsiders could not normally enter. Moreover, this was an extremely important occasion to decide the next king. I could not very well start making small talk with just the two of us.

Thinking this, I watched the situation, but Owen narrowed his eyes, looked around at the members in the hall again, and then fixed his gaze on one point, stopping his movement.

"…Surely not, Glenn?"

Owen furrowed his brow and pointed at Glenn. Come to think of it, I had heard that the two of them had lived together for a time as children. Regardless of Owen, Glenn's appearance had changed considerably, so Owen likely did not recognize him at first.

Glenn gave a wry smile at that reaction and lightly raised one hand.

"Yes, it has been a long time."

When Glenn replied thus, Owen blinked his eyes.

"…You have aged. No, even so, you have aged too much. You look like an old geezer."

When Owen spoke such indelicate words, Glenn dropped his shoulders and let out a very, very deep sigh.

"Do not call me an old geezer. If we go by age, we are the same… or rather, you truly have not changed at all, neither in appearance nor personality."

After muttering this, Glenn gave a wry smile with eyes that looked at something nostalgic.

"Well, at this age, it makes me happy when a friend shows me an unchanging appearance. I am relieved you look well."

When Glenn said this and laughed, Owen crossed his arms and groaned.

"Elves do not change that much over a mere hundred years or so."

"That is not what I mean."

Owen gave a mismatched answer, and Glenn interjected with a wry smile. Though it seemed like casual conversation, I felt a certain familiarity. They were likely feeling nostalgic for each other.

However, only Aoi and Glenn might be able to perceive Owen's change in emotion.

Seizing the moment when the conversation between the two paused, Edra opened his mouth.

"…It seems you are acquainted. However, there are those here who do not know you. Allow me to introduce the candidates again. Do you mind?"

When Edra said this, the candidates nodded graciously, though sparsely. As befitting royal candidates, Edra also showed signs of being somewhat considerate.

Judging that he had obtained everyone's consent, Edra turned to us.

"Then, allow me to introduce them one by one. First, the current king's legitimate son, Prince Langus Ricard Travel. One hundred and twenty years old. He possesses the knowledge of elven royalty and the magical skills befitting a candidate."

As Edra introduced him, the young elf named Langus puffed out his chest, bowed to the assembly, and opened his mouth.

"My name is Langus Ricard Travel. I aim to live up to my father the king's expectations and become a king superior to any other. I look forward to working with you."

Langus gave that greeting while looking at everyone's faces in turn with powerful eyes. Thinking it resembled the greeting of a new employee brimming with motivation, I lightly clapped and nodded.

"I thought he would be a scarier person."

"Right, me too."

I heard Shenley and Eliza exchange such words in small voices from behind me. As befitting elves, all four candidates had youthful and beautiful appearances, but in terms of expressions and gestures, they each had a different atmosphere.

There was no doubt that Langus possessed the most powerful and royal-like atmosphere. Incidentally, Owen showed no motivation whatsoever. Rather, he wore an expression that seemed to say, "Why am I here?"

Thinking that far, I belatedly realized something important.

"…If Owen is a candidate, does that mean Owen is royalty?"

When I asked Glenn this, a blank look turned toward me.

"Yes, he is. Though a collateral line, he would be the child of a relative of the current king. Actually, I do not know the details. Owen does not like to talk about it either."

Glenn whispered to me about Owen's bloodline. It was likely something like a relative. A distant relative such as a cousin's child would probably not become a candidate, but if he were the child of the king's sibling, they would say so. In that case, he would likely be the equivalent of the heir to a ducal house even in other countries, but I was not well-versed in noble society, so I could not judge.

There was no point thinking about things I did not know, so I decided to focus on listening to the next candidate's self-introduction.

As I thought this, Langus stepped back, and the long-haired woman stepped forward. She was a beautiful female elf with slightly wavy blonde hair extending to her waist. Combined with her translucent pure white skin, she felt a sacredness that could be mistaken for a fairy. Since the Maple Leaf Holy Empire's saintess was not at all saint-like, I felt confident that if someone called this woman a saintess, I would be convinced.

Edra confirmed this and opened his mouth.

"The second is the current king's first princess, Princess Lenji Moe Travel. One hundred and five years old. She is inferior to Lord Langus in royal studies and combat knowledge, but they assess her magic as approaching His Majesty's level."

When Edra introduced her thus, the woman named Lenji raised her face. With a vague expression as if she did not know who she was looking at, she opened her mouth.

"…Lenji Moe Travel. If I become king… queen. In this country's history, there have only been two queens. If I could become one, I would be somewhat happy."

Lenji gave her greeting in a halting manner like a young child. Her demeanor did not seem at all fit for representing a nation; it would be more fitting to say she was aiming to become an artist or something.

"She is a… unique person…"

"I think I could become friends with her."

When Eliza muttered, Shenley for some reason said that happily. Well, she indeed seemed likely to get along with Shenley.

Personally, I found the part about her being superior to Langus in magic quite interesting. There might also be hidden magics passed down exclusively within the royal family. My expectations rose.

As I thought this, the child elf stepped forward. They were a short-haired, childlike elf, not very elven in appearance. However, because their features were too refined and their figure slender, I could not determine their gender. They had an atmosphere that would make either boy or girl believable.

With the nervous child in the corner of my eye, Edra opened his mouth.

"The third is the legitimate son of the current king's younger brother, Plutony Od Blair, Lord Asor Teenic Blair. Though only forty years of age, he displays extremely excellent talent in academics and magic. They assess him as having the qualities to become king. However, because he is still too young, they currently judge him as a position next in line after Prince Langus and Princess Lenji."

When Edra introduced him, Asor straightened his back and opened his mouth.

"I am Asor Teenic Blair… Um, I will do my, my very best, so please treat me well!"

His voice cracked with nervousness during the greeting. At this, both Eliza and Shenley smiled warmly.

"H-He is cute."

"He truly is."

Shenley let out a voice as if she could not contain herself, and Eliza also expressed agreement. This introduction had a different atmosphere, but no one seemed to comment on that.

However, I had something else on my mind, and I turned to Glenn.

"He does not appear to be the current king's own child…"

"I believe Owen is the same."

As we exchanged such words in small voices, Edra turned around.

"In the elven kingdom, the successors to the throne are not limited to the king's own children. They include the king's siblings, as well as the children and grandchildren of the previous king's siblings, and even their children. Gender does not matter in this. The only conditions are good health and being under one hundred and fifty years of age."

Our conversation must have reached his ears. Edra explained the rules of succession in the elven kingdom. Was this due to the difficulty elves had in bearing children? Perhaps for these reasons, they clung to the notion of pure-blooded elves.

"…Then, let me introduce the last one. The legitimate son of the current king's sister, Alta Cartu Mirards, Lord Owen Alan Mirards. At one hundred and thirty years old, he is the oldest among the candidates. However, he has spent most of his life outside the elven kingdom, and they assess him as inferior to the other candidates in knowledge and magic learned within the elven kingdom. What they expect from him is his knowledge gained from traveling through various countries, and they judge that if that proves important for the kingdom's future, he has a high chance of becoming the next king."

Thus introduced in a slightly different manner from the other candidates, Owen turned away, looking displeased. No, to begin with, he should have no interest in the position of king. With Owen's personality, he would rather spend that time researching new magic.

Why, then, did Owen go out of his way to return to the elven kingdom to compete for the position of next king as a candidate?

Looking at Owen's dissatisfied profile, I thought about such things.