When I was appointed as a recommended student to Professor Elena, my personal time became very relaxed. I didn’t need to obsess over my grades and could just take the classes I wanted, so I could invest a lot of time in writing. Of course, if Elena called me, I had to run to the lab right away. Since she appointed me as a recommended student, I was practically her assistant. But as a fresh-faced newcomer, I didn’t act like Cindy and make a fuss about it.

So when I wanted to take a break from writing, I would visit Elena’s lab. Marie and Cecily usually met me after her classes were over, so it was okay until then. Teaching Cindy writing skills in the lab was an everyday occurrence, so I didn’t pay much attention to it. Elena would ask me for my opinion or we would discuss things together.

Finally, despite what I thought of myself, I showed signs of having exceptional knowledge and a unique perspective. Elena even gave me various papers and books to read, as if she wanted to cultivate me as a graduate student.

Originally, it was just a discussion, so it was impossible to compare with Elena, who had accumulated knowledge for hundreds of years. She mainly focused on my unique perspective.

“But I’m a recommended student, so I’m okay. But what exactly do other students do when they become third-year students? The number of students seems too small.”

“It’s simple. They become assistants like you and receive knowledge from professors. Professors can concentrate on each student rather than dealing with many students, so it’s also efficient.”

“So are they taking lectures from professors in the main building?”

“Yes. If you want, I can ask them to teach you. These professors are all my disciples and they will be happy to help.”

“...Okay.”

I had nothing to say in response to Elena’s answer that all the professors there were her disciples. It was understandable, as Elena was one of the long-lived elves.

Afterwards, while examining books to acquire better knowledge, I suddenly had a question that came to mind. It was a natural curiosity that arose as Elena was also an elf.

“Excuse me, Professor. May I ask how old you are?”

“Hmm? I haven’t even reached 300 years old yet. Why do you ask?”

Elena looked at me instead of reading her book, her green eyes sparkling with curiosity behind her round glasses.

As I thought about the time when the racial war broke out, I asked the question that had been on my mind.

“I heard from Cindy that there is a lot of conflict between the generations of elves who fought in the racial war and those who did not. Is that true?”

“Um...”

She leaned back in her chair and began to organize her thoughts, gazing at the ceiling for a while. After a while, Elena slowly began to answer my question.

“Half of it is right and half of it is wrong. The race war was a turning point for the Elves to break away from racial supremacy. But as you know, it’s very difficult to change entrenched ways of thinking. Especially for the Elves, who live for many years, this tendency is particularly pronounced. In addition, the race war was not so much a result of the human alliance’s success as it was the Elves’ self-destruction.”

“So, are there still racial supremacists among the new generation?”

“Well, there are, but they are generally treated as uneducated among the younger generation. On the other hand, among the older generation, they hate the appeasers. In other words, it’s an ideological fight.”

“Social phenomena are just as complex for humans.”

Just like the saying, ‘Kids these days have no manners,’ right?

It’s a very famous phrase from not only the 21st century, but even from ancient times. Ironically, those unruly kids are the ones who end up changing the world.

“But why do you ask that? Intergenerational conflict is common among humans as well.”

“That’s true, but the Elves have a particularly strong tendency to conform to rules and regulations, unlike humans. Professor, you know about the case where Ikehr, the former commander, was arrested during the war, right?”

“Of course, I do. Ikehr was one of the few Elves who understood human combat tactics, but he was arrested by the council for violating the law. Even as an Elf, I couldn’t understand it.”

“Although I’ve mentioned it several times before, the Elves had such a lack of conformity during the race war that it was hard to understand.”

On the surface, it may seem like the elves were fighting with one heart and one mind, but that’s only a superficial story, as seen in the case of the arrest of Ikehr, the former warrior leader. Furthermore, Arwen told me that the Dark Elves tried to send support, but the council flatly rejected it, citing their status as outcasts. Despite being outmatched by the human alliance, the Dark Elves were refused their help because of their status as exiles.

On the other hand, humans did not hesitate to use any means necessary to gain victory. Sending assassins was standard practice, and they even blocked supply routes, regardless of the sacrifices that had to be made.

However, due to the complexity of politics, the aftermath of the race war was horrific. One of the most prominent conflicts that still persists is the ongoing tension between the Minerva Empire and the Ters Kingdom.

I listened carefully to Elena’s explanation and thought deeply before cautiously offering my opinion.The? source of this content n/o/v/(el)bi((n))

“Do you really think it’s impossible for the elves to unify as one? Although in a large-scale war like the race war, it may be difficult to follow laws and regulations.”

“Congratulations. Does this mean Cindy has earned a doctor’s degree now?”

“Uh-huh...”

Cindy replied with a sobbing tone and slowly walked towards me. After a while, she approached me and gently held my hand.

Although I was slightly surprised, I stayed still and looked at Cindy’s sincerely happy smile. She then expressed her gratitude to me in a sobbing yet sincere voice.

“It’s thanks to you... I’m really grateful.”

“What did I do? I just taught you how to write. It was all Cindy’s research.”

It’s true. I only taught Cindy writing techniques, and she independently led her research.

But it seems that Cindy doesn’t think so. She shook her head vigorously and smiled brightly.

“It’s true that you helped me... Isaac, if it weren’t for you, it would have taken decades...”

“If Cindy thinks so... Anyway, what are you going to do now? Since you have earned a doctor’s degree, you don’t need to work as Professor Elena’s assistant anymore.”

Now Cindy can become a professor or scholar if she wants to. There is no need for her to work as Professor Elena’s assistant.

Cindy also seemed to know that, released my hand, and thought deeply. However, she seemed to have no specific ideas and tilted her head.

“Well... I’ll probably be here for a while... I still have a lot of unread papers and books...”

“Really?”

“Yeah... So, come visit me often... If you have any questions, you can ask me... I’ll help you as much as I can...”

“Okay then...”

I paused for a moment, thinking about what question to ask, and decided to ask the same question I had asked Elena earlier. It was worth noting that Cindy was still holding onto my hand.

“Do you think that the elves, including the dark elves, can really be united as one? I mean, in reality.”

“...I think that’s something that only happens in novels... And I don’t know what dark elves are like...”

Hmm. As expected, it seems like it’s treated as something that only happens in novels. I nodded my head after hearing Cindy’s answer.

“Oh, by the way... I heard some interesting news in Yggdrasil today...”

“What kind of news?”

“You know Xenon’s Biography that came out recently... Kair and Elisha broke up in it...”

“Oh. That. Why did they break up?”

Cindy didn’t seem to realize it and answered while still tightly holding onto my hand.

“There was a lot of talk about it... The scholars were arguing about it...”

“...Why would they argue about something like that?”

“It’s too realistic... Because of this, many humans either turn their hearts away or die first, so the elves did not readily accept it...”

“... ...”

“There’s even a nationwide survey going on right now... It’s not even a joke... I wonder if a paper will come out soon...?”

I’m looking forward to seeing the reactions to the 12th book.

Translators note:

4/5