Magister Insanity

For a fleeting moment, I entertained the thought of revealing my true intentions just to see the elf's reaction before wisely letting the idea fade into oblivion.

Since when did I become so mischievous?!

I shouldn't indulge in thoughts like that; they'd only lead me to ruin!

Still… poison and medicine were two sides of the same coin. It wouldn't be strange if I asked her a few questions, right?

That notion lingered as my gaze returned to the elf before me. At the same time, a new idea began to take root.

Unlike most races, elves rarely reveled in gruesome combat or raw violence. Those who did were considered outliers. Instead, they favored intellect, subtlety, and indirect means of confrontation. Calista, from what I knew, was no exception. In fact, the elves seemed to hold her in unusually high regard, reputedly knowledgeable about various topics.

The rumours about her intellect hasn't failed to reach my ears.

Maybe I could use her talents here.

Surpassing a sadistic smile, I straightened then said:

"Ah, you've caught me. Yes, I dabble now and then, mostly because it ties into the course I'm studying. Though, I'll admit, I've run into a fair number of hiccups along the way. Tell me, could you lend me your expertise… or are you just as much a novice as I am?"

Calista looked momentarily surprised. Though really, who wouldn't be when someone suddenly shifted their demeanor? Even so, she replied to my inquiry.

"Well, I wouldn't call it dabbling. I know a thing or two. If you have questions, I'll answer them to the best of my ability."

I narrowed my eyes, a faint smile tugging at my lips, and asked:

"If that is the case, then do you perhaps know why Vorsk poison is said to work so quickly on crossbloods?"

She tilted her head.

"Vorsk poison? Why do you want to know about that?"

I shrugged.

"Just curious, that's all. Most people don't know this but I actually come from a planet named Earth, so it's natural to be curious about another species."

Her eyes widened.

"Wait... did you just see that you come from. Earth?"

"Um, yes?"

"How curious!"

She exclaimed suddenly, her green eyes brightening with unrestrained interest.

"I've heard so much about humans, but I've never met one in person before. Here I thought you were a crossblood from the Kingdom of Crown. What a mistake! How could I have not realized this truth?!"

Before I could interject, the questions came tumbling out like an avalanche.

"Is it true that Earthlings still practice war as a means of settling disputes? Do you all carry strange weapons made of iron and fire? What about your sorcery arts... oh, wait, you don't use magic, do you? So how do you survive against your world's beasts?!"

She leaned in closer and closer, while I instinctively retreated until my back pressed against the shelf.

"And what about your cities: are they really so vast that one could walk for days and never reach the end? I've heard rumors of towers that touch the sky and vessels that sail the stars themselves. Is it true? Do humans actually eat meat from creatures that have been… preserved in ice for months?!"

I raised a brow, unsure if I should be amused or worried by her enthusiasm.

"And the mating rituals!" she continued without a shred of shame! "They say humans court each other in the most peculiar ways. Is it true that a simple flower can win a woman's heart? That a man must kneel before his chosen mate?!"

By now, I was staring blankly at her, wondering if I'd somehow opened a floodgate I could no longer close.

She's asking too many questions. How am I supposed to answer when you keep piling more on me?!

I furrowed my brows.

And doesn't this just confirm the theory that humans are relatively rare in this world? It certainly seems that way. But setting that aside… what exactly am I supposed to do about this eccentric woman?

Would she calm down if I answered all her questions? No. From what I am seeing, she isn't going to lose momentum anytime soon. If I am not careful, I'd be trapped here, forced to feed her endless curiosities!

There's so much to be done, so I can't lose focus because of this elf!

Clearing my throat, I raised a hand to halt the overly curious elf and said,

"Calm down, calm down. I can't answer if you bury me under too many questions at once. How about this: answer mine first, and I'll promise to satisfy all your curiosities after, alright?"

Calista blinked, as if only just realizing how far her excitement had carried her. A faint blush touched her cheeks before she coughed into her hand and tried to compose herself.

"R-Right, of course. Forgive me. I suppose I did get a little… carried away."

"A little?" I muttered under my breath, though judging by the faint twitch at the corner of her lips, she'd heard me.

Still, she brushed her hair aside, the curiosity in her eyes far from extinguished. "Very well then. Ask your question again, and I'll answer it properly this time."

Finally!

"Alright then, why is Vorsk poison particularly effective on crossbloods despite being a weak poison?"

Her expression shifted immediately, playfulness giving way to a sharp gleam of thought. For a moment, she tapped her chin, processing the question.

"Well, that's simple. It is because their bodies are unstable."

"Their bodies are... unstable?"

"The reason ties back to their origins. Crossbloods emerged around the end of the Second Epoch, perhaps the dawn of the Third. It is difficult to be certain since history is never reliable. What is known is that the remaining races, desperate to survive, were forced to co-breed in order to replenish their dwindling numbers."

...Oh?

With a pause, something seemed to dim within Calista's eyes before she continued speaking.

"Because of that, a flaw was born into their very bodies. Crossbloods carry the contradictory traits of their parent races, and those conflicts never truly settle. Vorsk poison does not so much overwhelm them as it magnifies those contradictions, forcing their own nature to turn against itself. What kills them is not the toxin, but the chaos it ignites within."

I raised my brows. This was far more insightful than I expected.

"How Interesting. So it's less about potency, and more about… catalyzing what's already there."

"Precisely." She gave a small nod, clearly pleased that I understood. Then, unable to resist, her eyes sparkled again. "Now then...."

In the next moment, the eccentric elf began to flood me with questions; so many, in fact, that it was difficult not to feel overwhelmed. Somehow, I managed to answer them one after another.

From our exchange, I deduced that she was indeed an intellectually curious sort. Knowledgeable too, just as the rumors suggested. Perhaps, during her upbringing, she had been surrounded by nothing but books, or so I imagined. Yet, from the nature of her questions, I realized something else: when it came to humans, she was surprisingly clueless.

For instance, she had asked me if our kind truly bathed in volcanic springs to ward off sickness, or if we slept standing upright like horses. At one point, she even inquired whether human children were born with teeth sharp enough to bite through stone and bones.

Where in the world did you even hear that from?!

Still, beneath the absurdity of her questions, I noticed a thread of sincerity. She wasn't mocking me, nor was she being willfully ignorant. She simply didn't know, and the thought that knowledge about humans had been warped into such strange myths both amused and disturbed me.

If that was the case, then human presence in this world was far more fractured than I first thought.

Eventually, I noticed the sun dipping low through the windows. We must have been chatting for quite some time.

... So it was time for that, huh?

Realizing this, I offered an excuse and took my leave, and the elf, albeit reluctantly, bid me farewell.