(this work is fiction, do not believe in it)
Till the eyes could truly believe what they saw, a silver haze stretched across the land before me. Morning had only just awakened. Clouds drifted lazily through the sky while cool breezes swept over the hill, rustling the bushes with a soft whisper.
Beneath the shade of a massive tree sat a girl quietly pricking at her pointed ears as she watched the children below.
"Ew! Don't pick that up, it's disgusting!" a nearby child cried out.
The other child, Dorro, lifted a tiny slime creature in both hands.
"It's fine, Rosa. Slimes are harmless unless you try eating them."
The girl finally spoke, her voice smooth as velvet.
"Dorro is right. Slimes rarely attack people."
She was an elf.
Long pointed ears peeked through her black hair, neatly trimmed into a bob that brushed against her neck whenever the wind blew. Her clothing was modest and simple, yet carried a quiet elegance only elves seemed capable of wearing naturally.
Below the hill rested a peaceful village wrapped in harmony.
"Hm… it's been far too long since I began living here," I murmured while gazing down at the village beneath me.
My parents were the ones who discovered this place centuries ago, and ever since then, I had remained here.
It was peaceful.
Warm.
Beautiful.
But humans did not live long.
Every friend I had ever made in this village had already disappeared into time. Parents died. Their children grew old. Their grandchildren vanished soon after.
Meanwhile, I remained exactly the same.
I was already 5,536 years old.
An elf could live for nearly twenty thousand years, and I had only recently reached the age where most elves began searching for a life partner.
"It would be nice… to meet someone who walks through the same length of time as me."
Humans and elves could never truly become life partners.
At least, elves believed so.
Humans barely lived beyond a hundred years. To an elf, an entire human lifetime felt no longer than a fleeting season.
Even so, elves cherished humans deeply. We protected them from demons and watched over their fragile lives.
Most races ignored humanity altogether.
Demons, however, were different.
I rose from beneath the giant tree and brushed the dirt from my clothes.
Then I made my decision.
I would leave this village and search for someone who could remain beside me.
Every five hundred years, elves from across the world gathered at a place known as the Elf Bouquet.
There was an official elf village somewhere far away, but most elves disliked staying in one place for too long. The elves who lived there were usually over fifteen thousand years old and already married.
The Bouquet was different.
It was where wandering elves gathered to meet companions, lovers, and possible life partners.
"Surely there will be someone there for me," I whispered while lifting my bag onto my shoulder.
Fortunately, my village rested closer to the Bouquet than expected. The journey only took six months.
Though I understood very well what leaving meant.
The next time I returned to this village, Rosa and Dorro would likely no longer exist.
But that was simply the life of an elf.
Every elf eventually learned how to lose people.
When I finally arrived at the Bouquet, the sight before me almost felt unreal.
Floating balloons drifted through the air beside glowing fireballs sustained by magic. Flowers decorated every corner of the entrance, and hanging above it was a polished wooden sign engraved with elegant letters.
Elf Bouquet.
I stepped inside.
Elves filled the enormous gathering space in numbers I had never seen before. Some laughed together while others played harmless tricks with magic.
Toward the far corner stood rows of neatly arranged tables and chairs. Another sign hung above them.
Speed Partner.
I stared at it blankly.
Humans called it "speed dating," yet elves somehow managed to make it sound even stranger.
At every table sat two elves speaking together. Every ten minutes, they switched seats to meet someone new.
I approached the host, who radiated enough excitement to power an entire city.
"Ooh! You want to join Speed Partner too?! Wonderful! Welcome, welcome! I wish you the very best!"
I awkwardly laughed my way through the conversation before taking a seat at one of the tables.
Soon, the event began.
The first elf sat across from me. He had long blonde hair and wore elegant robes overflowing with magical energy.
Without hesitation, I asked my first question.
"How old are you?"
The man looked slightly startled by my suddenness but answered politely anyway.
"Ah… I'm 8,690 years old."
"Ah… sorry. This won't work."
"Oh… alright."
He walked away scratching his head in confusion.
But my reasoning was simple.
A few centuries of difference was acceptable.
A thousand years or more felt impossible to me.
The next elf sat down.
"Um… I'm 10,066 years old."
Next.
"6,613."
Next.
"4,478."
One after another, they came and went, yet none of them felt right.
Then another man sat before me.
Straight green hair framed his face neatly, brushing against his neck. His sharp emerald eyes carried an oddly calm intensity, and like every elf, his beauty looked almost unfairly perfect.
Elves were often called the most beautiful species in the world.
Legends even claimed the Queen of Elves possessed beauty so overwhelming it could blind mortals.
"Hello," I asked immediately. "How old are you?"
The man answered calmly, his deep voice steady.
"I'm 5,940 years old."
My eyes instantly brightened.
"Oh really?! That's barely any age difference at all! I'm Aniel. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Dermis."
"You must also be looking for a partner?" I asked with genuine interest.
"Yes," he replied without hesitation. "I want as many as possible."
"…What?"
My thoughts froze.
Did this man intend to marry multiple elves?
"O-Oh… why do you want that many partners?"
"It's simple." A proud smile spread across his face. "The more, the merrier."
I stared at him silently.
So he was trying to build a harem.
"Um… do you want me as one of your partners too?"
"It would be nice," he answered casually. "You seem like a decent person."
My face completely lost expression.
I was just about to reject him when he casually added.
"It would also be nice if there were some guys too."
My jaw nearly slammed into the table.
I immediately stood up.
Dermis blinked in surprise.
"Oh… you're one of those," I sighed awkwardly. "Sorry, but marrying someone like you would be difficult for me. Please understand."
"Marriage?" Dermis repeated. "I never said anything about marriage."
I pressed a hand against my forehead.
Speaking with this man was genuinely exhausting.
So this fool wanted a group of men and women traveling together… without marriage?
"I just thought it would be fun if we all traveled together and became best friends," he said innocently.
"…Huh?"
Suddenly, everything clicked into place.
This idiot thought "partner" meant "companion."
"Wait… are you actually here to find friends?"
Dermis blinked several times before answering honestly.
"Isn't everyone?"
I slowly collapsed back into my chair, feeling all the energy leave my body.
"Yes. Of course. I also came here to make companions.:
"Oh, great!" Dermis smiled brightly. "Then let's become companions and go on a journey together!"
Looking at him reminded me of the children back in the village.
Clueless. Innocent. Completely hopeless.
A giant seven-year-old trapped inside the body of a handsome elf.
***
And somehow…
Before I even realized what was happening, I found myself being dragged away by that oversized child to begin a journey.