CHAPTER 454: THE ART OF APPRECIATING ARTISANAL BREAD (1/2)
Amidst my wild delusions, Aishael came up and kissed me on the hand. To be exact, she was lapping up the bits of the bread still left on my right hand. Because of their proximity to my fingers, she ended up kissing my finger inadvertently… it was kinda cold and nice… but it wasn’t because I liked little girls! The girls I like just happen to be little!
So she wasn’t trying to seduce me…
Now that the breadcrumbs were gone, she released my hand and went back to her position.
Just like that, the scene descended into awkward silence once more. In just the span of ten minutes, this awkwardness had happened multiple times. Just based on that fact alone, I had to hand it to this little ice princess, her ability to end conversations was something else.
“You mustn’t waste food.” She looked me right in the eyes with utmost seriousness, to the point where I couldn’t help but feel a little ashamed… I actually got lectured by an elementary school kid. I mean, she’s not wrong. It’s still food, even if it’s hard as a rock. But I still stand by what I said before, that bread isn’t meant for eating!
In a lot of ways, you could judge a person by the way he or she treated food. At least… that was what everyone else said -I can’t attest to its accuracy. Either way, the way she treated food so dearly was very telling.
First off, such an obsession with not wasting food had to be learned, or had to be caused by severe shortage. Based on how naturally she lapped up a rock masquerading as a bread, she must have had this stuff for a long time now. Given how little resources were actually allocated to these Half-Elves, it would be safe to say that she wouldn’t have had too many of these to eat as well. In light of that, it was only natural for her to value such a piece of edible weaponry so highly.
Unlike the worryless world I had left behind on Earth, food wasn’t something you could just pick up from a supermarket. Even more so for these Half-Elves. The Dark Elves despised them with a passion and even confined them to the same area they kept slaves. Their rations were not only little but of a low quality. In such conditions, feeling full was basically impossible. Was it any wonder that she would lick up those breadcrumbs? Of course, it could all just be an act… either way, she was trying to use her actions to tell me that the Half-Elves had it really bad.
A normal Dark Elf had the normal lifespan of at least five hundred years. A human, on the other hand, was merely a hundred or so if he wasn’t powerful. Objectively speaking, their genes were inferior to Dark Elves.
The four hundred year gap also meant that any form of romance was an uphill battle. If one could not even accompany you to the end of your days, what right did that person have to claim your heart at all? Barring some special circumstances, the idea of marrying such a race was just absurd, like marrying a dog! Their offspring would be objectively inferior and so would their future offspring. All inferior products of a failed coupling.
This was why the Half-Elf population was strictly monitored and even kept with the slaves. The more extreme Dark Elves would even come to Slave Chasm to find Half-Elves to kill. They would first apply for a duel with the Half-Elf of their choice then duke it out in the colosseum.
During such matches, ties were forbidden. You either killed your opponent or you died. A tie meant death for both sides. And yes… there were those who saw killing Half-Elves as a sport.
Under such circumstances, their living conditions could be said to be worse than slaves.
“Elder Lanbael.”
“Yes, your holiness.” She replied with utmost deference. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if she suddenly dropped to her knees right now and started licking my boots.
“You’re the one in charge of this place, correct?”
She sneaked a glance at my suspiciously calm face and hesitated for a second before answering, “yes, this place is managed by me.”
“Well. These… things are inedible. I want them changed for something fresher.” I tossed the rock-like bread towards Lanbael who was at a loss as she caught it. Then, under her confused eyes, I smiled thinly and said, “since we shouldn’t waste food at all, how about you finish it.”