Earth’s Doom Starts with… Me?

Chapter 85: The prince's heart (2)

"Big brother! Over here!" Although Edelweiss' cheery voice should've struck joy inside me, I couldn't help but pour my attention towards the man, instead.

No doubt, he must be Firiell's father. He was obviously human, judging by his not-so-pointy ears and his different way of dressing compared to the elves. Furthermore, those striking sky blue eyes looked exactly just like Firiell's.

"Edelweiss." Ioriell replied concisely, bearing a tiny smile on his face. His body tensed up upon seeing the redheaded man, hardening the fact that he still wasn't comfortable being around a human.

The owner of the name that he had just called came running over to him, carrying a small, brown pouch with lace details on it.

"Here, big brother! I've finished baking the cookies!" Edelweiss said as she excitedly handed the pouch over to Ioriell, "it took me longer than usual, because I tried adding a new, extra ingredient today!"

"You did? Thank you~" Ioriell giggled lightly as he pulled the drawstring on the pouch, opening it and taking a peek at the content, "what did you add?"

"Try it and guess!" Edelweiss said with a bright smile and a tint of rosy blush on her cheeks.

Ioriell nodded and picked up a piece of the modified rye cookies. As he was bringing the cookie closer to his mouth, I noticed that Edelweiss' eyes were gleaming with excitement, just like how Firiell was when we first met her. Their resemblance truly was uncanny.

'Crunch!'

Oh? Nice, I could also feel the cookie. Although I didn't expect much from a rye cookie, it surprisingly tasted pretty delicious. At least, way better than that cafeteria food back in the Vanguard. Ah, it felt great to still have my five senses intact. This kinda tasted familiar, though...

"How is it? How is it? Is it better than before?" As Ioriell kept munching, he was rained with questions from his dear sister.

"Yes. It's way tastier now," Ioriell gulped and took another bite, "what did you put in here?"

"Hehehe~ It's chocolate! Edmond brought it for me as a gift! Isn't he so caring?" Edelweiss giggled as she made little jumps while talking about her lover. So his name was Edmond, huh? Definitely human-sounding, yep... Wait, that was pretty discriminating of me. I shouldn't make assumptions based on names alone.

"Chocolate? That's pretty rare around here. Where did he get some?" Ioriell asked as I felt my brows curled into a frown.

"He got it from his town. He said that their town has plenty of rare ingredients like this!" Edelweiss explained, "this pouch is also from him. See the lace? Apparently, this pattern is currently popular in his town. Isn't it so beautiful?"

"But if he's so resourceful, how could he end up getting lost in the forest with no food or drink whatsoever?" Ioriell questioned. Ah, I presumed he was talking about when Edelweiss first met the dude. Firiell did say that her father was found barely alive in the forest by her mother, after all.

"Big brother, come on, he was studying the wildlife! He said he gave all of his provisions to a pack of hungry deers." Edelweiss pouted.

"But... Normally, wouldn't one also bring some kind of meat? Deers don't eat meat." Ioriell inquired further. Yep, yep. That was true. Tell her, Ioriell!

"He must've eaten the meat part already, silly brother!" Instead of realizing her lover's blatantly bad lies, she hit Ioriell lightly with a giggle, as if what Edmond did was something cute. Nah, girl. Open your eyes, please.

A pitiful sigh escaped Ioriell's mouth as he patted his sister's head, seemingly giving up on convincing his sister that her lover was as suspicious as a toddler who was caught sneaking a candy.

"Alright, alright, thank you for the cookies anyway." He said with a small grin, although accompanied by a slight frown.

"Hehe, make sure to finish everything!" Edelweiss clapped her hands together, "oh, right. Edmond asked if you would like to join us in the palace kitchen for dinner tonight? We're planning to cook the course for today's dinner and surprise Father!"

Ioriell's eyes darted towards the ponytailed man that was standing a bit further back from them, and was greeted with a warm smile and a wave. Man, he really looked harmless, though. He got these downturned eyes with beautiful, curled lashes that were even visible from here, and although he had a sharp jawline and a toned body, his relaxed gesture made him came across as friendly. He sure got great control over his body language. He would be perfect as a corrupt politician.

"Sorry, but I'll pass. You two can go have fun, alright?" Ioriell replied as he gave Edelweiss one last head ruffle before walking past her and towards the town's gate.

"Aw, alright..."

As Ioriell walked towards the town's gate, he passed Edmond on the way, as well. Both of them didn't greet each other, but they both acknowledged each other's existence with a simple nod. Edmond threw him a smile, but Ioriell only replied with one raised brow.

Ack, this was kinda awkward, but okay. Thank god it wasn't actually my body. I felt like I was playing that 'girlfriend's mean brother' role, you know?

After exchanging greetings with the elf guards at the gate, we trotted inside and immediately headed over past the bustling town hall and marketplace that was filled with elves of various ages. Most of them recognized us and greeted us in various ways, from a simple bow to small talks. I guess Ioriell was the friendly, villager-oriented prince, huh?

During our trip, I managed to pick up on a few things. The town itself wasn't really big or advanced. As expected, they seemed to be living in barely okay conditions. Their houses and stalls were constructed either using a combination of clay, straws, and bamboo, or if it was in the fancier area, woods and bricks.

I saw exactly zero building that was built using cement, and absolutely zero paved roads. Nada. But it wasn't like it was a completely bad thing.

If you pretend like you were taking a trip to the countryside to connect with nature, it would make a nice vacation spot. But if it reminded you of that village in a third-world country that you once stepped foot in to wreak havoc just because your colonel needed you to, it might not be as pleasant. And unfortunately, I was the latter type.

After passing a few more houses, our body finally stopped in front of a large, gated building. But by gated, I meant more like having a beaten down low wooden fence that was covered with moss and overgrown lawn.

In the corner of my eyes, I could barely make out the words 'something something orphanage'. The other word was unfamiliar to me, so I wasn't able to recognize it with only a quick glance.

"It's Pwince Iowiell!"

A high-pitched, enthusiastic voice came from the building's open window. Well, more like a broken window, I guess. The window frame was intact, although wonky, but it had no glass or something else to cover the frame. It must've been extra windy and cold during the night with a hole like that in the middle of the wall...

"Nym! How have you been, my little hero?" Ioriell greeted the little elf boy who was running towards him with open arms, ready for an embrace.

"We missed you, Pwince Iowiell! Hehehehe!"

"Come here, you little brave hero!" Ioriell picked up the boy using both of his hands, and swung him around in the air a few times, as if imitating a flying motion.

"Kyahahah!" The boy's giggle tickled a soft spot inside my heart, and now I wanted to have some kids, too. Dang.

Too bad no one would want to have a kid with me, though. And I wasn't ready to take care of one, anyway. For now, I shall be satisfied with admiring this bubbly little boy from afar. Or near, I guess, since I was basically inside this elf prince's body.

"Hey, where's the jacket that I bought you a week ago?" Ioriell asked as he inspected the little boy's outfit. He was wearing a ragged cloth, filled with small holes here and there, that was a mix of beige, brown, and yellow. From the looks of it, it seemed that the shirt started as a white tee, but over time, accumulated stains until it looked like this.

"Oh, I lent it to baby Naila last night. She wouldn't stop shivewing, and I was worried because she was stawting to stop cwying... Usually, she's a vewy active baby." Nym answered as he put a finger on his little dry lips, looking worried.

"She did?" Ioriell's voice was tinted with a hint of urgency, "then good job. You're a great big brother, Nym. You tried your best to keep your sister safe." He smiled and snuggled the little boy closer.

"Hehe, am I a cool superhero yet?" Nym asked with a giggle.

"Of course you are. You're our little hero." Ioriell answered.

"Prince Ioriell! Welcome!" Another child elf came running towards us, and this time, she brought along a few of her friends. They appeared to be slightly older than Nym, probably around 5-7 years in human age.

"Hey there, Leia! Phaerl, Barael, you came, too!" Ioriell happily approached them and crouched down until he was on the same eye level with the children.

"Yep! We've been waiting for you, Prince Ioriell!" The little girl in the middle jumped around while throwing her hands into the air.

"Yeah, you promised that we'll play hide and seek the next time you come!" The boy on the left chimed in.

"You won't break your promise, right? You said that breaking promises is bad. And you've never broken a single promise with us!" The other boy continued.

"Yes, yes. I'll play with you," Ioriell laughed, and this time, I could feel that his eyes also smiled, "but let me discuss some things with Mom first, okay?"