Betta soon replied, “Brother Roland, find a half-elf named Losandel in Ill, a town at the border between the Elf Forest and Urganda. He should be able to reach out to Ans for you.”

After that, Betta told Roland how to go to Ill.

“Thank you.”

“You’re too kind.”

Turning off the guild system, Roland informed Vincent of his trip and then teleported to the edge of the Elf Forest. He had left a magic beacon here after the epic quest in this place.

Then, he followed Betta’s instructions and flew westward along the border of Urganda. He found a town at the border of the forest.

It was a trading post between mankind and elves.

Though the elves generally lived in seclusion, there were daily necessities that they needed, such as salt and ironware.

Salt was extremely rare in the Elf Forest and had to be imported from human beings.

As for metals like bronze and iron, although the elves did not have a high demand for them, they still needed those metals. There were plenty of mines in the Elf Forest, but exploiting the metals would destroy the environment. As friends to the environment, the elves simply imported metal products from the human world to keep the forest minimally polluted.

By the same logic, the raw materials for most of the dyes among the elves were imported from the human world, too.

Ill was a town that was established at the border between the two peoples after regular, long-time trading.

Roland slowly descended from the sky and looked around.

The town was not huge, surrounded by a symbolic wall about three meters tall.

The town was divided into two parts. The rear half of the town was full of trees. Many cottages could be vaguely seen from the crowns of those trees.

The human part of the town was much more natural. Black smoke was rose from the blacksmith shops.

The entrance of the town was quite huge. Wagons and carts were coming and going. Many merchants were chit-chatting excitedly.

Roland drew a lot of attention when he landed from the sky, but they soon moved their eyes away.

Mages were indeed revered among human beings, but this was the border with the elves, who were all spellcasters and who were all charming. Human Mages weren’t as remarkable as them.

Actually, Roland liked the atmosphere. He didn’t like special treatment.

Walking on the street, Roland found that the town was very clean.

The human beings here might’ve adopted better hygiene habits under the influence of the elves… When he thought about that, a patrol team of elves came close and stopped in front of a shop. The leading elf dragged the shop owner out and pointed at the trash near the shop. “This is the second time in a month. If I catch you a third time, your shop will be closed for ten days.”

The shop owner was shocked to see the trash. He complained, “Mr. Sheriff, I didn’t throw the trash. I don’t know who did it…”

So that was the case.

Seeing that, Roland knew to whom the cleanliness of Ill should be ascribed.

He was about to leave, when the elven sheriff saw him and walked to him quickly, frowning.

Although he was a dozen meters away, he stopped in Roland’s way after only three steps.

Shadow Walk!

Roland stopped and smiled at the handsome elven male. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

“You’re new here, and you are a Mage.” The elven sheriff observed Roland up and down. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m told that many herbs here are perfect magic materials.” Roland found a justifiable excuse. “And they’re very cheap. So I’m here to see what I can find.”

The magic materials related to plants were mostly from the Elf Forest, so Roland’s claim was absolutely understandable.

The elven sheriff was convinced. He nodded and said, “As long as you don’t cause any trouble. We welcome all merchants and guests, but we have no mercy on troublemakers.”

“I understand.”

The elven sheriff cleared the way for him seeing how obedient Roland was.

When Roland was about to walk on, the elven sheriff suddenly said, “If you grow tired of the human world someday, come back to our home in the forest. Though your ears are short, you will not be despised.”

Roland was rather puzzled.

The elven sheriff put on a friendly smile.

Roland quickly realized why the elven sheriff said that.

He had chosen the elven bloodline when he acquired the Hybrid specialization.

Therefore… the elven sheriff regarded him as a half-elf.

“Well… I’ll think about it.” Roland left, not knowing what he should say.

He had read that elves treated half-elves fairly without discrimination. It seemed true.

Roland wandered on the human side of the town and checked in at an inn that seemed reasonably good and had many guests.

During dinner, he threw a silver coin to a waiter and asked, “This is my first trip to Ill. Is there any taboo or anything that I should know?”

Looking at the silver coin in his hand, the waiter replied with gleaming eyes, “Honorable Mage, the same rule in the human world applies here. It’s fine as long as you don’t cause trouble. Right, you don’t want to go to the elves’ side of the town without an invitation, or you might be thrown back.”

“Anything else?”

“Well… Red-faced Ralph is a powerful person on the human side. He has a lot of connections in the town. He’s quite ruthless, but I’m sure you aren’t scared of him. You can go to him if you have any problem.”

Roland tossed another silver coin and asked, “If I want to make acquaintances with the big shots among the elves, who should I turn to?”

“Undoubtedly, Susie the Silver Fox,” the waiter said without any hesitation. “She’s a slut. She’ll do anything for you if you can get her appreciation, including introducing you to all the big shots in the town.”

She was so good?

Roland asked, “Where can I find her?”

The waiter pointed out of the window and said, “The manor with red tiles, white walls, and golden windows. It will open in the evening.”

In the evening, the town brightened. Though lanterns and candles were lit in every house on the human side of the town, the town was mostly illuminated by the tremendous balls of light on the elves’ side that were circling the crowns of the trees.

They were special creatures of the Elf Forest, officially known as Light Element Larvae.

But people preferred to call them wisps.

When Roland came to the manor that the waiter pointed out for him, he found a long row of carriages parked outside of the manor.

Five guards were on duty at the entrance, only letting in the guests in glamorous clothes.

The servants of the guests could only wait outside.

Roland’s magic robe was the most convenient pass for him.

He entered the manor and found the woman who was the center of attention.

She was lying on a long chair and laughing lazily now and then, her silver hair dangling to the grass.

Her clothes were revealing, and her skin was dark.

She was a drow.