The elves stood frozen, their minds caught between disbelief and confusion. It was as if their world had tilted slightly off balance.
A human.
A human was the hero chosen to save the demi-human races.
They all blinked, looked at each other, and then back down at Luca, who was watching their reactions patiently.
One elf broke the silence first.
"Wait…Wait, what? A human? That's not even—how does that make sense?"
Another threw up his hands.
"We're fighting against the human race! Why in all of the goddess's names would our savior be one of them?"
A third chimed in incredulously.
"Honestly, I would've believed it more if the Goddess had sent a rock with legs or a talking tree to save us!...But a human? Really?"
A few of the younger elves stifled their laughter, while others groaned in despair.
"This can't be real." One said, dragging his hand down his face. "We've lost the war before it's even started."
Another muttered dramatically. "Out of all the races in the world, this is who we got? A human?"
"Maybe the Goddess was out of ideas." One of the guards whispered to another.
"Or maybe she sneezed while picking the hero and accidentally chose the wrong soul."
A ripple of muffled laughter spread among the crowd.
But there were others who were far from amused.
A skeptical-looking elf woman stepped forward.
"Lady Nyx, forgive me." She said cautiously. "But…Are you certain that this is truly your mother's letter? How can we be sure this human isn't trying to trick us?"
"Humans are clever liars, after all."
All eyes turned to Nyx, waiting for her answer.
Nyx, however, only smiled, a calm, confident smile that carried both pride and a quiet sadness.
"I understand your suspicion." She said softly. "But no, there's no doubt."
She held the letter up between her fingers, the parchment trembling faintly in the breeze.
"Even if this man somehow forged my mother's handwriting." She continued. "Even if he stole our royal seal and knew about the summoning ritual—which, by itself, would already be impossible—there are certain things he could not have known."
Her voice grew firmer, her expression sharpening slightly.
"There are secrets..." She said. "...known only to my sister, myself, and our mother. If she had been captured, or forced to write something against her will, we had a code she would include—a phrase that would tell us the letter was written under duress."
The crowd murmured in surprise.
"But..." Nyx went on. "Instead of using that code, she used what we call the anti-code. A word only she and we would know—a confirmation that everything written is true beyond question."
She looked down at Luca for a moment, then back to the elves.
"So, yes. I can say with complete certainty that this letter is genuine and that this human before us is indeed our Hero the goddess sent."
Gasps spread through the crowd again. The elves whispered among themselves, still struggling to process it.
Lulu too peeked curiously from behind Nyx and then looked down at Luca with wide eyes.
"So… he's really our hero?" She asked softly. "Wow… I always thought he was kind of strange. But who would've thought he'd be our hero of all people?"
Meanwhile, down below, the rest of the elves still looked unconvinced. Some scratched their heads, some folded their arms, others just stared blankly.
That is until a soft but firm voice rose above the chatter.
"Should we really doubt the Goddess's choice so easily?"
The voice came from above and suprisingly Luna had stepped forward slightly, her tone steady though her hands trembled faintly at her sides.
All eyes turned toward her. Even Luca blinked in surprise, glancing up and realizing how many eyes were on her, she got nervous.
But still, Luna took a deep breath and continued, her voice clear and carrying through the quiet forest.
"I mean… think about it." She said. "The Goddess of Balance herself sent him. If she truly took all our leaders and karmic luck in exchange for a hero, do you think she would send someone we couldn't trust? Someone weak? Or a fraud?"
Her words made several elves shift uncomfortably.
"She wouldn't." Luna went on, more confidently now. "She's fair. She's just. If she took that much from us, she would make sure what we received was something worthy..."
"...someone who could actually protect us."
A thoughtful murmur went around the crowd, as Luna raised her chin slightly.
"And not just that." She said, glancing at her mother and aunt. "Our Grand Matriarch, my grandmother herself approved of him. She wrote this letter with her own hand."
She spread her arms slightly, looking around at everyone.
"So what does that mean?"
A few elves murmured softly. Then one near the front said hesitantly,
"It means… she trusted him."
"Exactly!" Luna said, her voice bright and clear now. "If both the Goddess and the Grand Matriarch trust him, then shouldn't we as well?"
Her conviction spread like fire. The crowd began whispering again, but this time their tones had changed—less skeptical, more thoughtful.
"She's right." One said quietly. "The Goddess wouldn't choose carelessly."
"And the Matriarch wouldn't have trusted a liar." Said another.
"She gave her life for this hero. That must mean something."
Seeing the shift in mood, Lulu grinned mischievously and decided to help out in her own way.
"Also!" She said loudly, waving one hand. "He's not just a hero! He's a really funny human, too!"
A few elves turned toward her with puzzled expressions.
"I accidentally shot myself in the butt!" She announced proudly, making everyone blink in disbelief. "And guess what? He helped me patch it up! He even gave me something sweet to eat afterward!"
A mix of gasps, laughter, and groans erupted from the crowd.
"Lulu!" Luna hissed, covering her face, while Nyx pressed her palm against her forehead with a weary smile.
But Lulu only continued, undeterred.
"He also taught Luna some weird, amazing human stuff that I still don't understand! And he didn't even get angry when I called him weird! So yeah, maybe he's the only good human in the world!"
Despite themselves, a few elves chuckled at her enthusiasm.
Luna, regaining her composure, stepped in again to add,
"And not to mention, he's not even from this world. He's from another one. So he's not like the humans here. He's different. Basically what I'm trying to say is that he's not our enemy."
The crowd murmured again, this time in agreement. The earlier hostility had softened noticeably.
"The Goddess sent him."
"The Grand Matriarch trusted him."
"He's from another world."
"Maybe he really is our hero…"
And just like that, the atmosphere began to shift.
The once doubtful, tense air now carried a hesitant but growing belief.
Luca himself couldn't help but grin to himself and feel extremely satisfied.
Just minutes ago, he had been mentally juggling a dozen desperate ideas to win over the elves—from delivering long speeches about purpose to even jokingly considering bribing them with exotic trinkets or 'potential brides' from another world if that's what it took to gain their trust.
But he didn't have to do any of that. Luna and Lulu had done it for him.
He exhaled in relief, his smile warm and genuine as he lifted his hand and gave the two sisters a big thumbs-up.
Luna, catching it, instantly turned bright red and averted her gaze, muttering something under her breath.
Lulu, on the other hand, stood tall and puffed her chest proudly as if she had just saved the entire village single-handedly.
Luca chuckled softly to himself. But deep down, he knew this fragile trust was just the first step.
He had to strengthen it while the momentum was still in his favor.
So, he took a step forward and called out cheerfully.
"Well, I'm glad to see you're all warming up to me a little. Because I've got another bit of good news—and trust me, this one you're really, really going to like."
Nyx tilted her head, amused as ever, the corner of her lips curving into a teasing smile.
"Oh? And what could possibly top the revelation that our savior is a charming human? Go on, Hero—surprise us."
Luca chuckled lightly, savoring the attention before finally saying,
"It's not much, but I've already pushed back the human forces. And the war, at least for now is over."
"The humans have been defeated and from this day onward, your lands won't be invaded again."
A beat of silence followed.
Then chaos.
"What!?"
"He's joking!"
"There's no way!"
"Utter madness—he's lost it!"
Dozens of voices overlapped in disbelief.
"The things he said before were already crazy enough, but now this?!" One elf exclaimed.
"He's just one man!" Shouted another. "There are millions of humans trying to invade us!"
"We're doomed if this is our hero." Another groaned, clutching her head.
"Next he'll say he turned the sea into wine!" Someone else yelled sarcastically, earning a few nervous laughs.
Luna and Lulu, who had been so quick to defend him before, now looked at each other helplessly.
"Okaaay… that might've been a bit much…"
Lulu mumbled under her breath, while Luna's mouth twitched nervously as if she was trying to process whether to defend him again or hide behind her aunt at the absurd statements he was making.