Reincarnated Into A World Of Elves As The Only Man-Chapter 26: Eren help

Eren moved swiftly through the lower city district, trading silver-embroidered cloak for simple garments. What had seemed peaceful from afar revealed its distress as Eren ventured deeper.

Outside a modest home, villagers gathered around a fallen elk, its once-luminescent markings faded to ash. A child knelt beside it, small hands searching for life that had already fled.

’Just like my vision,’ Eren thought, approaching the group.

"How long has it been ill?" Eren asked, kneeling beside the child.

An older woman with copper earrings—the district’s senior water-keeper—stepped forward. "Since yesterday. First weakness, then breathing troubles." Her eyes widened with recognition. "Princess Eren!"

She dropped into a deep bow, others following suit. Eren quickly gestured for them to rise.

’I guess I’m getting used to this "she" and "princess" thing,’ Eren thought to himself, though the words still carried an unfamiliar weight after so many years spent defining his own identity.

"Please, don’t bow. I’m here to help, not for ceremony," Eren said, then added with a wry smile, "Besides, I’ve spent enough time on my knees in garden mud to know there’s nothing dignified about it."

A few surprised chuckles broke the tension.

"Tell me about the illness," Eren continued.

The water-keeper straightened. "The palace sends soldiers to guard the aqueduct but healers only when half the district is already ill?"

Before Eren could respond, a commotion drew their attention. A young woman emerged from a nearby home, supporting a small child with grayish skin.

"My daughter can’t keep anything down," the woman explained, voice tight with worry.

Eren moved toward them. "May I?"

After receiving a nod, Eren pressed a palm against the child’s forehead, sensing the familiar flow of water energy—but within it, that same wrongness detected at the aqueduct.

"How many children are affected?" Eren asked, keeping a voice calm.

"Twelve that we know of," the water-keeper answered. "All who drank from the sacred well yesterday."

The child coughed weakly, looking up at Eren with fearful eyes.

"You know," Eren said conversationally while beginning the examination, "when I was about your age, I once turned my sister’s hair bright blue during a water-magic lesson. Lasted a whole week." Eren mimicked an exaggerated stern face. "Mother was not pleased."

The child’s lips twitched into a small smile as Eren continued working.

"I need clean water from another source and whatever medicinal herbs you have," Eren instructed. "Silvermoon root if you have it, and starflower petals."

As Eren moved between patients, the atmosphere was kept lighter than the situation warranted—a joke here, a silly story there. The children especially responded, their fear visibly easing despite their discomfort.

To an elderly woman with labored breathing, Eren quipped, "If you’re trying to get out of next week’s village council meeting, there are easier ways."

The elder’s chuckle turned into a cough, but her eyes crinkled with appreciation.

An hour into the work, the sound of hoofbeats announced visitors. Eren’s heart sank at the sight of Mother’s distinctive silver-white elk and Lyra’s chestnut mount. Eren stepped outside as Elysia dismounted with fluid grace.

"Mother," Eren acknowledged, suddenly aware of a disheveled appearance.

Elysia’s gaze swept over the gathered villagers. "The council was informed of unusual illness in this district. I see the reports were accurate."

Lyra moved beside their mother, concern evident. "You should have told me what you were planning."

"Would you have listened?" Eren countered.

Before Lyra could respond, Elysia raised her hand, silencing them both. "This is not the place." She turned to the senior water-keeper. "Summon your district healer. I would hear their assessment."

After examining patients and conferring with Eren, the district healer approached Elysia.

"The symptoms suggest water contamination, My Queen," she reported. "But of a kind I’ve not encountered before. It attacks slowly, building in the system."

"Can it be cured?" Elysia asked directly.

"With proper treatment, yes. Your daughter’s interventions have already slowed its progress considerably."

Elysia nodded. "Return to your duties. The palace will send additional healers and clean water before nightfall."

She turned to Eren. "We will discuss your... excursion... later. For now, finish what you’ve started here. Lyra will remain with you."

In the private council chamber of the palace, Elysia faced the assembled council members, their ancient faces grave in the pale light filtering through the crystal dome above.

"The water has indeed been compromised," she confirmed, placing a small vial of clouded liquid on the central table. "Our alchemists have identified traces of shadowroot extract—subtle enough to evade standard detection but potent enough to cause gradual illness."

"This is a deliberate act," one councilor stated firmly.

Another, her face bearing the marks of countless centuries, leaned forward. "We should not jump to conclusions about who is responsible. This requires investigation before action."

"I agree," Elysia said, her voice level. "We must proceed with caution. Twelve children and eight elders are ill, but there have been no deaths. Let us not escalate unnecessarily."

"What are your orders regarding the water supply?" asked a third councilor.

Elysia’s expression remained carefully neutral. "The affected well must be sealed, all water reserves tested. I want additional guards stationed at every water source, and samples taken from the upstream tributaries." freёweɓnovel.com

"And the diplomatic response?" asked the eldest councilor.

"We gather information first," Elysia replied firmly. "This may be Thornvale’s work, or another kingdom entirely. Perhaps even internal sabotage. We will not accuse without evidence."

The councilors exchanged glances, a silent communication born of millennia of shared governance.

"We will trust your judgment in this, as always," the senior councilor finally said.

"Thank you," Elysia nodded. "Whoever is responsible will face consequences when the time is right."

✧ ✧

Eren found Naia waiting in his chambers when he finally returned to the palace, exhaustion weighing heavily on his shoulders. The sunset cast long shadows across the polished floor, matching his somber mood.

"I heard what happened," Naia said without preamble, rising from her seat by the window. "The lower city speaks of little else—how the princess tended their sick when the palace sent only guards."

"I did what needed to be done," Eren replied, sinking onto his bed with a weary sigh. "Though I suspect Mother sees it differently."

Naia approached, concern evident in her emerald eyes. "She was worried, Eren. We all were. You disappeared without a word—I should have stopped you."

"I had to see for myself," Eren said, fingers absently tracing the scar along his collarbone. "I had to know if I was right."

"And you were," Naia acknowledged. "But at what risk? If hostile agents had spotted you in the lower city, unprotected—"

"I’m hardly defenseless," Eren interrupted, a flicker of irritation crossing his features.

Naia’s expression softened. "I know that. But I promised to have your back, and instead..." She shook her head. "I told Mother where you’d gone."

"You what?" Eren stared at his sister in disbelief.

"I had no choice," Naia defended. "She summoned me directly, demanded to know your whereabouts. What was I supposed to do?"

Before Eren could respond, the door opened without warning, revealing Elysia in simpler attire than she’d worn to the lower city, though her regal bearing remained unchanged.

Eren stood hastily, bracing himself for the reprimand he’d been expecting since encountering her in the district.

To his surprise, Elysia merely moved to the window, gazing out at the twilight-bathed city below. "The district healer speaks highly of your efforts," she said after a moment. "She claims several of the children might have been lost without your early intervention."

Eren exchanged a confused glance with Naia, who looked equally surprised at their mother’s tone.

"The villagers were quite impressed," Elysia continued, "that one of noble birth would kneel in the dirt beside them, tend their sick, comfort their children." She turned, her eyes meeting Eren’s directly. "Despite the foolishness of venturing beyond the walls alone, you’ve done a service to the crown today."

"I... thank you," Eren managed, uncertain how to respond to praise where he’d expected anger.

"Next time," Elysia added, her voice taking on a familiar note of command, "you will inform me of your intentions first."

"Yes, Mother," Eren agreed, recognizing the olive branch being extended.

Elysia nodded, satisfied with the response. "Rest now. The palace healers will manage through the night." With that, she departed as suddenly as she had arrived, leaving Eren and Naia in stunned silence.

"That was... unexpected," Naia finally said.

"Indeed," Eren murmured, sinking back onto his bed, fatigue overwhelming him now that the tension had broken. "Wake me if anything changes with the villagers."

Naia squeezed his shoulder gently. "Sleep well, sister. You’ve earned it."

✧ ✧

Darkness. Not the comforting darkness of Eren’s chambers, but something deeper, more absolute. He found himself standing in a forest unlike any in Elysia’s realm—the trees black as obsidian, their branches twisting skyward like desperate hands. No moonlight filtered through the canopy, yet somehow he could see with perfect clarity.

’A dream,’ he realized, ’but unlike any I’ve experienced before.’

The air felt thick, almost liquid, carrying scents of decay and renewal simultaneously. As he moved forward, the forest seemed to part before him, creating a path that hadn’t existed moments before.

At the center of a perfect clearing stood a figure both strange and hauntingly familiar—tall and elegant, her midnight-blue robes flowing like liquid shadow around her form. The crown of twisted thorns adorning her head gleamed with an inner light that cast no illumination on her surroundings.

"We finally meet, Eren, daughter of Queen Elysia of Moonlight," Elena said, her voice melodic yet edged with something ancient and dangerous.