Death Notice

Roy clutched two books and was about to run out to Elf Academy. It had rained for several days in a row, and the Da Nei River had swollen, turning the entire channel muddy.

The moment he stepped outside, he saw two Elf Rangers standing on the street beyond the courtyard, apparently checking house numbers.

This was on the outskirts of the Lower District near the harbor. Many of the buildings here were haphazardly built wooden shacks, making the area look rather disorderly.

"Who are you looking for?" Roy asked the two Elf Rangers.

He recognized one of them. He had seen him at the tavern a few days ago.

The Elf Ranger looked Roy over and asked uncertainly:

"Are you Roy?"

"Yes, I am."

The Elf Ranger immediately stepped in front of Roy, studying him as he said, "Pelius is dead. We found his body in a sewage ditch near his home. We need you to come identify him. Was he the elf you saw climbing over the wall that morning...?"

"Can we make it quick? I still need to get to Elf Academy for class." Roy patted the books in his arms.

The Elf Ranger pointed to a carriage waiting at the street corner and replied, "It won't take much of your time. You only need to identify the body."

"All right..."

In truth, whether Roy agreed or not, the outcome would have been the same.

Commoners in the Lower District had no privileges. The nobles of the Upper District were another matter...

As Roy climbed into the Guard Squad Carriage, Sabrina happened to emerge from her house with books in her arms.

The Guard Squad Carriage traveled through the streets and alleys, rolling along the noisy roads.

The morning sunlight was bright, and the elves living in the Lower District began their day's work.

Roy sat inside the carriage with the two Elf Rangers across from him. They wore Light Leather Armor, and their swords hung from hooks by the carriage door.

He briefly described his encounter with the Elf Thief that morning.

The Elf Ranger Roy had met before suddenly asked:

"You were there when Jefferson died too, weren't you?"

Roy answered calmly, "I was."

The younger Elf Ranger remarked, "What a coincidence."

Roy glanced at him and said:

"Every elf has bad luck sometimes, don't they?"

After that, he said nothing more, and the carriage became stiflingly quiet.

Fortunately, their destination was not far away. It was a cemetery on the edge of the Lower District, with graves scattered all over the hillside and the grass slopes around them neatly trimmed.

The Elf Thief's body had already been transported there.

Roy had thought they would take him to the crime scene. He had not expected to follow the two Elf Rangers into a cemetery in the Lower District.

They entered a gloomy building, passed through a long corridor, and finally arrived at a morgue.

A heavy smell of mildew hung outside the room, and the inside was extremely damp.

Roy followed the Elf Rangers in. No daylight reached the room. A wall lamp stood every three meters or so, but each wick bore only a soybean-sized flame, casting a faint glow.

Roy caught a foul smell.

The Elf Thief lay on a mortuary table, covered only by a sheet of linen.

The Elf Ranger stepped forward and lifted the linen covering the man's head, revealing a twisted, bloodless face...

It was a face contorted in terror. There was a clear arrow hole between his brows, which was likely the fatal wound.

The corpse had already begun to rot, giving off a nauseating stench.

Both Elf Rangers covered their mouths and noses with handkerchiefs. Roy also fought down the urge to vomit as he examined the body carefully.

Though the face was distorted, Roy could still confirm that the elf on the mortuary table was the Elf Thief. His appearance was simply too ordinary; even among Half-Elves, he was something of an oddity...

"That's the one I saw that day," Roy said with certainty.

The Elf Ranger nodded and immediately pulled the linen back over the corpse's head.

The three of them did not linger in the morgue and turned to leave.

"So, did you find the Holy Grail?" Roy asked curiously.

"Not yet. By the time we got to his house, someone had already searched it ahead of us," the Elf Ranger said.

Roy looked up at the sky. The coolness of the morning had begun to fade.

Then he asked, "Can I go to school now?"

"Of course," the Elf Ranger replied.

Elf Academy in the Upper District was still quite far away, so he told Roy, "If you find any clues, come directly to the Guard Squad and look for me. I'm responsible for security around the harbor."

"Understood, sir," Roy replied respectfully.

The reward Roy had been hoping for in exchange for providing information was not mentioned by either Elf Ranger...

By the time Roy ran to Elf Academy, the first class was already halfway through.

The entire academy was quiet, with only the Training Ground crowded with students.

At Elf Academy, being late was not considered particularly serious.

Many teachers did not even care how many students missed their classes. Elf Academy's student management was exceptionally lenient.

It was easy to enroll but difficult to graduate.

Anyone who failed the final assessment and defense would inevitably have to retake the course the following year...

However, if a student recklessly barged into a class while it was in session, they would likely be thrown out by the teacher.

Elementary Martial Arts Training was an outdoor class at the Training Ground. Roy waited for the right moment and slipped into the running group.

Klayr, who was mixed in with the group, spotted Roy and deliberately slowed down. He came alongside Roy and said happily, "I thought you weren't coming."

"Why would you think that?" Roy replied between breaths.

"Steve has been giving you trouble these past few days. I was worried he'd scared you off..." Klayr chuckled.

Roy shot him an annoyed look.

After everyone ran two laps around the Training Ground, they began preparing to learn some basic Elementary Martial Arts movements.

At that moment, Instructor Abbott. Nora, standing at the front of the group with her hands on her hips, shouted, "Roy, step out!"

Roy knew he could not escape this time, so he could only force himself to step out of the line.

"Keep running!" Instructor Nora ordered.

Without hesitation, Roy immediately resumed running around the Training Ground.

The other students had already begun practicing the broken-down martial arts movements, while Roy was still running...

However, after Roy obediently completed two laps, Instructor Nora called him back.

"If you're late again, you'll keep running until class is over," Instructor Nora said sternly.

"Yes."

"Fall in!"

Roy practiced the broken-down basic martial arts movements very seriously.

But he helplessly discovered that many of the movements the other elves could perform easily were extremely difficult for him. Either his movements were inaccurate, or his hands and feet would not coordinate...

No matter how hard he practiced, his movements remained clumsy and stiff.

During the break, Klayr complained beside Roy, "You really don't have any foundation at all."

Roy said nothing, lying on the grass in utter exhaustion.

Klayr asked him, "Besides Elementary Martial Arts Class, what else did you sign up for?"

"Geography and Modern Elf History."

Klayr sat on the grass with his hands braced behind him and said helplessly, "You somehow picked classes that completely miss all of mine. How did you even choose them...?"