The Elf Journey In The Western Fantasy World-Chapter 98: Back to Shore

Since there was no one, who was he supposed to pout at?

Eoryun had a logic of his own. Once he soothed his slightly dejected mood, he pulled himself together once more. He quickly gathered his belongings, wrapped up his bundle, and set off again.

Mimicking the movements of Tiana, Eoryun awkwardly flicked his tail.

He gave a strong flick of the tail, then pushed forward.

With a sharp whoosh, his body shot forward like an arrow leaving the bow. Thankfully, the bloodline of the merfolk was quite powerful—even someone like Eoryun, who was transforming into a merman for the first time, could easily harness the innate talents of his new form.

It had to be said: the merfolk bloodline truly lived up to its name.

Repeating the motion—"flick the tail, then push forward"—Eoryun swam with increasing ease. Boosted by his bloodline, he soon left the depths behind and headed toward the shallower waters.

The dim surroundings gradually brightened.

With hope in sight, Eoryun’s movements became faster and more energetic. Holding his breath, he swam with determination toward the shore. Driven by a powerful desire from within, he pushed himself to his very limits, operating at two hundred percent capacity.

Before long, Eoryun broke through the still surface of the sea. The moment he burst out of the water, fresh air filled his nostrils and rushed into his lungs, making him feel as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

He suspected that during his time underwater, his entire body had filled up with seawater. Was the sea really a place for humans to live?

Obviously not.

The pressure of the water, the darkness, the lurking dangers... all of it overturned everything he was used to in his daily life.

It was truly hard to get used to—but he had no choice. If he didn’t force himself to adapt to life here, then life itself would eventually teach him how to live. Or rather, teach him how to be a merman.

He often forgot he wasn’t human anymore.

In short, Eoryun fully approved of his decision to leave the seabed. When he finally breathed in the fresh air, his eyes immediately turned red. The phrase "eyes brimming with tears" wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

His heart was pounding with emotion.

He really, really loved his life on the land.

After calming himself down, the young master carefully observed his surroundings. His main concern was whether any other living creatures were nearby—after all, merfolk were a legendary race to the people of this world. And with rumors circulating that every part of a merfolk was a valuable treasure, he couldn’t afford to let his guard down.

He was genuinely worried that some dimwit might actually believe those tales.

It was always best to stay cautious.

Once he confirmed the area was safe, Eoryun leisurely swam toward the shore. Just as he was about to land, his thick, powerful fish tail suddenly transformed with a swish into a pair of human legs.

His pale legs glistened under the sunlight, almost reflective in their brightness.

But this little scenic view was quickly covered up.

Eoryun stood with bare legs, and the sea breeze swept past, bringing a wave of goosebumps over his skin. His body shivered involuntarily, and he rubbed his arms instinctively.

"Merfolk really have one major flaw," he muttered under his breath. "Every time we come ashore, we have to change back into human legs—and the worst part is, we don’t have clothes on when that happens. Good thing it’s summer. If it were winter, I’d already be a frozen dried fish by now."

He grumbled quietly to himself, clearly unhappy with the ordeal.

The sea breeze swept past again, making him shiver even more.

With trembling fingers, Eoryun pulled a "thick" set of clothes from his spatial bracelet—at least, they were thick compared to what he had on now.

Once he changed into warmer clothes, the heat circulated from his feet all the way up, making him feel so comfortable that he squinted his eyes in satisfaction.

After tidying himself up, Eoryun stepped lightly and made his way toward the city. He was now impatient to see his companions again.

More importantly, he wanted to tell them all about what he had been through, even if, by the continent’s time, only a day and a night had passed.

...

At the heart of the Demon Realm, inside the Demon King’s palace.

"Illiya, Illiya!"

"Illiya, don’t go back to sleep!"

"Illiya, you need to wake up now! I never knew you could be the type to sleep in. That’s really strange."

Illiya who is still half-asleep, felt a persistent buzzing in his ears—like a bee hovering around his head. He instinctively waved a hand around, trying to swat away the annoying "bee."

Seoryun had been calling out to the rare sleepy-headed elf, not expecting that, in return, he would get slapped squarely in the face.

Smack!

A loud sound echoed through the room, and all at once, everything fell silent.

The black-haired king stared wide-eyed in disbelief. Wasn’t he just trying to wake up an elf? Why... why had it come to this?

He’d just been slapped in the face... right That really just happened, didn’t it?

Yes, it did. It was a literal slap in the face, and it really hurt.

Seoryun clutched his face and quickly took a few steps back—mainly to put some distance between himself and the bed. After all this time together, how had he never realized that Illiya, this elf, had such violent sleep inertia?

Seriously, it was hard to imagine.

Now he didn’t dare try waking the elf up again. What if his face got injured a second time?

But... the situation demanded that someone had to wake him. The banquet was about to begin soon. They couldn’t possibly keep the demon nobility waiting forever, could they?

Thus, Seoryun’s gaze landed on Darius, who stood beside him.

Darius: ...

Don’t look at me. It’s not happening.