Moonlight in the City

Roy sat on the granite railing beside the bridge, his legs dangling over the edge as the clear waters of the Da Nei River flowed along its straight channel into the Endless Sea.

A crescent silver moon hung in the night sky, its snow-white light spilling over the small city.

The streets were deserted, with only the occasional carriage passing by.

This was Castleton Harbour, a natural port only two hundred kilometers from Silver Moon King City Buenos.

From afar came the crisp jingle of bells as Three-Masted Sailboats set sail. It was high tide.

The ships at the docks left according to the tides.

He had been in this world for over a year now, yet he truly was not a qualified transmigrator.

Roy laughed at himself. Other people could change their lives with soap made from tallow, olive oil pressed from olives, salt dried by the sea, or a talent for cooking delicious food. But what about him...

The civilization of this world had exceeded Roy's imagination. Gorgeous carriages could be seen everywhere on the streets, Three-Masted Sailboats dozens of meters long were moored in the harbor, and beyond the city stood an Air Port Dock, with airships floating beside tall towers. This was a world with magic.

Mages were merely a somewhat special profession here. Roy had seen Elven mages in robes on the streets more than once.

Roy felt like a country bumpkin who had wandered into the city, utterly out of place among its Elves.

His mother, Ms. Belinda, was a pure-blooded Silver Moon Elf. She had told Roy that his father was a bard who had wandered here from the other side of the Endless Sea, a place known as the Grimm Empire. That made him a Half-Elf, a mix of Elf and human. He simply looked more human.

However, Ms. Belinda was usually a little drunk whenever she said such things, making it impossible for Roy to tell whether it was drunken nonsense.

Roy did not think so. He had inherited none of the traits of an Elf. His body grew quickly, and even though he often drank the sap of the Tree of Life, he still grew at an astonishing rate.

Roy's home stood on a long street near the sea in Castleton Harbour, with the Da Nei River passing beneath the bridge at the end of the street.

This area was relatively low-lying and counted as a commoners' district. Whenever there was heavy rain, water rushing down from higher ground turned the streets into swift streams.

The rippling river water tinkled and chimed as though playing a joyful melody.

Roy sighed.

Even in an Elven World filled with magic, life still had to go on.

Roy had also wondered whether this was all a dream. He had tried all sorts of ways to wake himself up, such as shouting in a bustling square or challenging Mrs. Winnie, the owner of the Potion Shop at the street corner, and her pet Night Blade Leopard...

Now, sitting on the railing of the stone bridge at the end of the street, he watched the rushing Da Nei River, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and spread his arms.

Wake up, Roy.

With his arms spread wide, Roy imagined himself as a seagull and leaped headfirst into the icy river...

Splash!

The moment he fell into the river, Roy's mind went blank.

The freezing water wrapped around his body. Yet when he opened his eyes, he found himself still submerged. His feet had already touched the soft silt at the bottom. He thrashed desperately, swallowed several mouthfuls of river water, and finally crawled onto a set of steps by the bank before exhaustion overcame him.

The stone platform here was where the neighbors usually washed clothes and fetched water. Fortunately, no one was around at night, or Roy would have been thoroughly embarrassed.

Panting, he lay weakly on the stone slabs.

His soaking clothes clung uncomfortably to his body. The stone slabs were a little cold, but they made him clearer-headed than usual.

Though he had expected it, Roy still felt somewhat disappointed.

It seemed he really could not go back...

"Roy, is that you?"

An Elven woman's head poked out from behind the riverside railing. Her ears were pointed, her head wrapped in a silk scarf, and she stared suspiciously toward the steps.

"Ha, good evening, Jillian!"

Roy recognized the Elven woman as his neighbor, Jillian. He immediately pushed himself upright from the steps, forced himself to sound energetic, and replied.

"Do you need help?"

"Oh, no. I wanted to try night swimming." Roy tried his best to force a smile. His Elven Language was still somewhat stiff.

"All right, suit yourself."

Seeing that Roy was still lively and did not look like someone who had lost all hope, Jillian stopped paying attention to him. She pushed her cart toward the docks. It was high tide, and Fishing Boats returning from outside would be arriving at the harbor. She was going to buy some sea fish from them.

Ms. Jillian was Roy's neighbor. She sold spanish mackerel at the Fish Market by the harbor docks.

If there was anything Roy liked about this city, it was that fish was truly cheap. Occasionally, Ms. Jillian brought home unsold spanish mackerel, and when she was in a good mood, she even gave Roy one.

The fresh sea fish here was not overly fishy. With just a little salt, pepper, and lemon juice, it tasted amazing when fried.

The Elves here ate only fish and fruit, so their diets were quite healthy. Fat Elves were rarely seen.

Roy walked down the street dripping wet. The night wind blew over him, making him shiver. He felt that running a few steps might drive away the cold, but his soaked clothes clung to him and made every movement especially heavy.

Roy's home was just across the street, a detached two-story wooden house. No light shone from the windows. Ms. Belinda had not returned yet.

The Art Gallery had been busy lately. Even when she came home, she only hurriedly bathed, changed into clean clothes, slept for one night, and disappeared again the next day.

Elves Roy's age were usually still receiving their early education at home. Yet he already looked like a human youth of seventeen or eighteen.

Elves lived for around eight hundred years, but Half-Elves like Roy were said to live to about three hundred. Even those who took exceptional care of themselves likely would not live beyond four hundred.

To Roy, suddenly discovering that he could live for three hundred years was practically no different from immortality. The road ahead of him was truly long.

But for Ms. Belinda, there was an unavoidable reality: Roy's lifespan was not even half that of a normal Elf's, and he might very well die before her. Whenever she thought of this, Ms. Belinda became melancholy for a while.

Ms. Belinda believed Roy was more mature than other Elves and could begin school earlier, so she decided to spend some money on his education.

The Elf Academy in Castleton valued freedom. Students could choose their own courses, and Roy could begin with some less important electives to give himself something to do.

The Elves in this port city lived at an extremely casual, slow pace. After all, they had plenty of time...

Elves enjoyed living freely. They fished, grew flowers, sang, danced, listened to music, and attended all kinds of gatherings. Still, living in the city inevitably came with expenses. High-ranking Elves knew how to enjoy life; only those at the bottom needed to work.

Ms. Belinda was an assistant to a sculptor and usually worked at the Art Gallery.

When things were quiet, she had plenty of free time. When things got busy, she practically spent all day at the Art Gallery, just like now...

Pushing open the door, Roy saw moonlight pouring in through the windows. Though the corners were pitch-black, he could still make out the furnishings in the living room. A square wooden table stood against the wall with only two chairs, while the floor was covered in a thick sheepskin rug.

The windowsill was packed with flowerpots filled with tiny white baby's breath blossoms.

Roy's room was to the left of the living room, while the kitchen was on the right. Ms. Belinda's room was upstairs, along with a terrace that allowed access to the steeply sloped roof. The terrace was also full of potted plants. In Elven eyes, growing flowers cultivated one's taste.

He kicked off his shoes, walked barefoot around the creamy-white wool rug, and entered the washroom beside the kitchen.

Standing beneath the shower, he took off his clothes and rinsed away the mud and water weeds clinging to him. He quickly dried himself, careful not to use too much water. Hauling water up to the roof was exhausting work, and Roy had always been responsible for it.

Roy changed into clean clothes, washed his wet clothes in a wooden basin, and only then hung them out on the second-floor terrace.

When he stepped onto the terrace, he happened to see Moira, the young daughter of Jillian next door, sitting on the opposite terrace with her arms around her knees. She lifted her pointed chin toward the silver moon in the night sky.

She was a mix of Silver Moon Elf and Dark Elf. Her skin was somewhat gray, and she had awakened the Dark Elf bloodline talent, Stealth, at a very young age. Like other Dark Elves, she was quiet and reserved and disliked communicating with others.

But this was the land of the Silver Moon Elves, and many Silver Moon Elves even rejected Dark Elves...

"Moira, you're still awake this late?" Roy casually greeted her while hanging his clothes on the line.

Moira turned, revealing a delicate and beautiful face. "I slept a little too much during the day, so I can't fall asleep now. Roy, I heard you're going to school next week?"

"Yeah. Belinda thinks I should start learning some things at the academy earlier." Roy tugged at the wrinkled hem of his clothes and invited her, "Moira, do you want to come with me?"

"I... think I'll wait a little longer. I'm afraid I won't fit in." Moira shrank back slightly and answered shyly.

Roy casually chatted with Moira for a few moments before going downstairs to his room.

Snow-like moonlight fell over the white bed sheet. Sitting on a bed padded with thick layers of fragrant grass, Roy opened his right hand and stared at his palm. A firefly-like glow appeared there. He had no idea what it was for.

He touched his flat wallet. After saving for a long time, he had accumulated seventy-six Kole. He calculated silently:

Only twenty-four Kole more, and he could afford the basic appraisal fee. Since this was a dream he could not wake from... or perhaps not a dream at all, then he should properly plan his future life.

Roy looked at the faint glow in his palm, rubbed his brow, and turned his gaze toward the city outside the window.

Snow-like moonlight covered the entire city.

The Elves in the city had their own ranks. The powerful and wealthy lived in estates, wore splendid clothes, and attended all kinds of balls.

Ordinary Elves did not live so freely. Mixed-blood Elves and Half-Elves were considered the lowest-status groups in the city. Half-Elves like Roy and mixed-blood Elves like Moira even suffered some discrimination from other Elves.

Whenever the Elven nobles gave speeches, they always shouted about "freedom and equality." In Roy's eyes, it was all complete bullshit...

But since he had come to this fantastical world, he should travel around and see it for himself.

The book had just been approved. Since it was approved, bottoms up first. I'm back...