Chapter 45: The Elven Pioneering

A new day found Hissia once again clad in her black-and-white maid dress, bustling about the shop. Compared to her initial green and bewildered self, she was now able to complete various tasks with considerable proficiency.

As the midday rush came to an end, the bar where she worked grew slightly quieter, and it was soon time for her lunch break.

"Then I'll go take a rest, Sister 'Seere'," the young girl said, looking at the maid who was still intently mixing tea behind the counter.

'Seere': The 70th demon among the 72 spirits of King Solomon, holding the rank of a noble prince, commanding 26 legions, and subject to the King of the East. Her true form is that of a handsome man riding a winged pegasus.

Hissia knew that if this senior 'Seere' became engrossed in blending tea and she failed to speak up, it could easily take half an hour for the other person to snap back to reality.

"Oh, 'Dantalion' is back. Sorry, I didn't notice just now. Well, go take your rest; I'll handle things here from now on."

This maid was in her early twenties, with thick, shoulder-length black hair and a jade-leaf-shaped hairpin tucked behind her ear. Her black-and-white maid uniform was trimmed with green accents, giving her a soft and gentle aura.

The bar section she managed focused primarily on tea drinks and pastries. 'Seere' herself excelled in blending many types of Eastern teas—ranging from common green, black, flower, and oolong teas to even herbal infusions. To accompany them, she also baked various cookies and pastries, primarily designed for gatherings of female patrons.

Having worked by her side in recent days, Hissia's duties had mainly involved preparing raw materials and helping bake cookies and pastries.

"Right, 'Dantalion'." Just as Hissia was about to leave, the other woman called her back.

"Take this. You probably won't be able to eat a proper meal at noon again. Have some cookies." She handed over a small paper box containing freshly baked, homemade cookies.

Tier-4 'Red Berry Cookies' (Excellent): Crafted using special King Strawberries, emerald-cranberry jam, and Dawn Flour. Offers a fairly good feeling of satiety and supplements some nutrition. Its advantages are being mild and non-irritating, soothing anxiety, and containing a trace amount of stabilizing transcendental core essence. Suitable for all kinds of people in all kinds of situations. (Deeply beloved by those who fear gaining weight, suffer from loss of appetite, or have a poor palate.)

"This..."

Hissia hesitated slightly. Although the staff occasionally consumed minor food and beverages from the shop, those were generally Tier-5 ingredients. Tier-4 items were not treated so casually; for instance, when 'Forneus' had treated her to a set meal previously, the cost of the raw materials had been deducted from her own bonus.

"It's fine. These are considered necessary losses, and we usually handle them ourselves." Seeing her hesitate, 'Seere' smiled and pushed the box into Hissia's hands.

"I make about 30 portions of pastries and cookies every day. Among them, roughly one or two aren't quite up to par in quality, so they aren't given to customers. We usually just take care of them ourselves."

"Can't they be sold at a discount?" the young girl asked curiously. Although 'Seere' claimed the quality wasn't stellar, that was merely compared to her usual high standards. If taken outside, this box of cookies would easily fetch several hundred Federation credits.

"Not at all. Even if you eat them yourself, they can't be sold at a discount. They are either given to other maids as a perk or thrown into the trash." 'Seere' recalled the manager's instructions.

"The manager put it this way: selling them at a discount would lower the shop's class, giving off a cheap and stingy impression. The reason we are able to maintain such high-premium operations is precisely because we cultivate a superior atmosphere and reputation—something that the meager profit from discounted sales could never compensate for."

"I see..." Hissia accepted the small box of cookies, lowered her head in gratitude, and then waved goodbye to 'Seere'.

Watching the young girl's retreating figure, 'Seere' muttered to herself, "Dantalion has been at the shop for nearly a month now. It must be about time for her to open her own bar counter."

In the wisteria conservatory during the afternoon, Hissia continued her violin practice from earlier. However, today was still about familiarizing herself with the violin's performance; she had to consult Andraste regarding many details and transitions on the sheet music.

Time slowly slipped away. 'Andraste' would occasionally take the violin and demonstrate for Hissia. Unlike her usual steady and mature demeanor, once holding the violin, 'Andraste' resembled a swan lifting its head, possessing a sudden, radiant beauty as if standing on a prominent opera stage performing as a renowned virtuoso.

Watching 'Andraste' so immersed in the music, Hissia even forgot she was supposed to be studying the techniques and rhythms. It took her quite a while, after 'Andraste' finished playing, to snap back to reality.

Seeing the young girl's dazed expression, Andraste found her somewhat endearing and amusing, leaving her no choice but to slowly demonstrate once again from the beginning. This time, however, it wasn't as fluid as before; she made sure the young girl could see every step clearly before moving on to the next.

"It's been so long since I played like this. I couldn't quite help myself today," Hissia said, putting away the violin as the lunch break drew to a close and chatting with 'Andraste'.

"Were you a professional violinist before, Sister 'Andraste'?"

"I did work professionally for a short period, but I spent most of my time playing the cello. That was probably twenty years ago," Andraste recalled.

"Wait, twenty years ago?" The young girl's eyes widened.

"Yes. Didn't Beelzebub tell you? I'm an elf." She brushed aside the golden hair by her ear, revealing her long, tapered ears.

"An elf's lifespan is different from a human's—roughly three times as long. Right now, I'm equivalent to a 27-year-old human."

"So you really are a big sister..." Hissia mentally calculated Andraste's age, but the other woman seemed to notice her thoughts, glancing at her before tapping the young girl lightly on the head.

"Don't measure things by human standards. I'm still very young."

"Understood, Sister 'Andraste'." The young girl apologized for her impolite thoughts just now, then asked with great curiosity about many things regarding elves.

"There are very few elves left in Emerald Skirt nowadays. Where did most of them go?"

"Most moved to the Central Starfield, while some who prefer tranquility went to pioneer the distant outer starfields," the golden-haired elf elder sister reminisced.

"My great-great-grandfather was once among the first batch of pioneers to come to Emerald Skirt. Back then, they used purplish-red microorganisms to absorb and purify the sulfides permeating the planet, and then began scattering and cultivating numerous types of algae until the oceans slowly turned a greenish-blue.

"The abundant oxygen oxidized many active substances on the planet, eventually forming the ozone layer. After that came the sowing of plants. The initial phase wasn't smooth because the surface was mostly rock, but eventually, vegetation slowly weathered it down to create the initial soil.

"By the time my great-great-grandfather completed this project, more than half of his life had passed—it took him about 180 years. In the end, though, he was happy because he personally witnessed the birth of a verdant planet. He and his colleagues eventually named this planet 'Emerald Skirt' because the tilted continental forests and plains looked as beautiful and layered as a cascading skirt."

Probably only elves possessed such patience and perseverance to transform a barren planet. Human lifespans were far too brief, making it difficult for them to settle down and persist in such endeavors.

Even in the Federation today, the pioneering of certain remote planets was still led by elves. No wonder their numbers were extremely small, yet their influence within the Federation remained profound.