Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 996 - 111 Elf Store

Chapter 996: Chapter 111 Elf Store

Huge-hoofed deer leapt and ran among the trees, their graceful figures like the wind that brushed past the forest, leaving only the echo of hoofbeats behind. The most distinctive feature of the Elven City was that, aside from the main thoroughfares, all the areas with buildings had uneven grounds—after all, this was a city built upon trees. The exposed roots and the soil pushed up by the roots made it impossible for the ground to be too smooth; aside from nimble animals like these huge-hoofed deer, it was unlikely that the common mounts such as horses and goats used by other intelligent beings could be ridden here normally.

Riding on the backs of the deer, the girls were surprised to find it much more comfortable than they had imagined. On the Beastmen Prairie, the girls had ridden Silver Wolves, and when the wolves ran, their spines undulated violently due to their anatomical structure. If an ordinary person sat on the back of a wolf, the jolting motion could cause severe dizziness, and only professionals with physical capabilities far exceeding ordinary people could withstand it. But these deer were different; no matter how they leapt or in what posture they ran, their backbones always remained level and hardly moved, which allowed the riders on their back not to feel strong discomfort. As long as one could adapt to their speed, any intelligent being could ride them with ease.

After changing their mode of transport, the pace of the group quickened significantly. Originally, they had been circling near the gates of the Elven Royal Court for over ten minutes, seeing mostly the same scenery, but now, after only a few minutes, the girls witnessed a stark change.

In the city’s outskirts, the area they had been circling for a long time, which was designated as the residential district, nearly all the trees were yvelin trees, bearing the architectural duties. The Elves affectionately called them "house trees" or "Home Trees." The leaves of these trees were an inky green, so dark it almost resembled the color of night, hence the entire area featured a deep-colored theme. However, atop the dark green canopies, a great amount of bright green vines wound around, making the sky composed of tree canopies less monotonous and oppressive.

"Hey, what’s that?" While running, the girls occasionally discovered some wooden plaques attached to the base of a few yvelin trees. Because of their speed, the plaques flashed by too quickly to see clearly what was written on them, but the existence of the plaques was unmistakable. That was because they were too beautiful; in shape, each plaque had its own characteristics, not boringly square but often based on natural objects, like animals, plants, rocks, stars—various shapes were seen. Moreover, they were engraved with many lovely patterns, and the front brought out brilliant colors, which made them more like works of art than mere plaques. After catching glimpses of three or four similar plaques, Lina could no longer suppress her curiosity and couldn’t help but ask, "Do those plaques have a special meaning? I see not every house has one."

"Of course, they have a special meaning," Pannis replied with a strange look at the priestess, "Those houses are shops, the plaques are their signs. The patterns and words on them represent the types and varieties of the shops. Isn’t this the same in all cities?"

"Shops?" Lina was even more surprised, covering her mouth and exclaiming, "There are shops in the Elven City?"

"Cough, cough, cough." A series of coughs emerged from the Elves around them. Although the priestess girl was among the guests and therefore the guards and accompanying officials could not scold her out of etiquette, they still expressed their disdain through their gazes. Catherine, smiling wryly, slowed down the huge-hoofed deer to move alongside Lina and pounded on her bald head a few times, "What are you talking about? Of course, there are shops in the city, it’s not the wilderness, is it so strange? What do you think of the Elves, making them sound so uncivilized? Apologize to them right now."

"Ah, sorry, that’s not what I meant." Lina was startled and said awkwardly, "Apologies, apologies, it’s just that I’ve never read about it in books, and you’ve always given me the impression of being so elegant, almost as if you live in another world, so I never thought that you would do things like running shops, hahaha, so I didn’t think of you as barbarians, please don’t mind."

"We are also living beings, we need to live." Flare said softly, "When we cook, we also need salt; when we sleep, we also need quilts and pillows; when we go out, we also need clothes and weapons. When we lack these things, our first reaction is to go to a shop to buy them, rather than make them ourselves, so shops are still necessary. So you see, not only do we have shops here, but our commercial activities are quite active. Look at the roadside, do you notice that the closer you get to the center of the King’s Court, the more shops there are, and the greater the variety?"

"Yes, it’s true." Catherine nodded, "They are indeed increasing."

The elves’ shops were also located in treehouses, but unlike the ordinary residential treehouses, the entrances to the shops, which are the tree hollows, are usually at the very bottom, allowing anyone to enter the building from the ground. Some shops even have a counter-like hole opened at the bottom, where customers can stand outside the treehouse and trade with the professionals inside. If you look carefully at the signs of these shops that have closed for the day, you’ll see that their scope of business is not much different from that of the human world. Since they are located in a residential area, these shops mostly sell daily necessities to meet the everyday needs of the elf community.

However, as one moves towards the city center, the density of shops increases, and the surrounding scenery gradually changes. Of course, the changes are evident in the trees—the density of the trees gradually decreases, the sky is no longer covered by tree canopies, and you can look up to see vast expanses of starry sky, and the types of trees are also quietly changing. The yvelin trees are becoming less and less, and replacing them is another kind of strange tree.

"They are Scaly trees," Flare pointed out, "another kind of tree we use for construction."

Scaly trees are not thick; even the strongest, at their trunk, is only about as thick as the waist of an adult man. They are not very tall either, generally only five to six meters high. Their most notable feature is their width—their canopies are flat and wide, resembling an umbrella. When several Scaly trees grow very close together, their canopies merge into one, forming a natural roof. And the most distinctive feature is their tree canopies and leaves. Their leaves are like fish scales—overlapping in layers from the center to the edges, very finely covered, so that even in the heaviest of rainstorms, the water cannot penetrate the space underneath the tree canopies and will simply slide off the sides. Therefore, these trees are the most suitable for roofs.

Following the direction of Flare’s pointing hand, the girls saw not only the Scaly trees but also the inhabitants of the Elven Royal Court.