Elves

Elves as depicted in Delicious in Dungeon.

**Elves** (エルフ, *Erufu*?) are a race in the manga *Delicious in Dungeon*.

## Appearance and Biology

Elves are a humanoid race distinguished by their pointed ears, and slight builds with little sexual dimorphism. They are all beautiful (according to modern beauty standards, at any rate). They are one of the taller races. They are a long-lived race, much like dwarves, living about five times as long as Tall-men, but their birthrate is low, and their population is steadily declining. They have the highest magical energy limit among all the races, using a wide variety of spells, often working in parties as attackers or healers.

Elf ears are a lot like goat ears, soft and thin, easily moveable. Some elves consider you more beautiful if your ear tips are sharper.

## Culture

Elves tend to be seen as secretive and incredibly guarded toward their magical secrets. There have been times when people of other races have disappeared after learning the secrets of the elves. They don't tend to get along very well with other races, especially orcs.

Elves, likely due to their long lifespan, generally view the passage of time very differently than the more short-lived races. They also tend to look down on the short-lived races because of this, often making members of short-lived races feel as if they are being perceived as less than equal, or even as children, despite their relative maturity in their own races.

The elves of the west are ruled by the Queen of the Elves, who has been ruling for at least 20 years. She is described as a traditionalist who does not recognize the existence of mixed-blood children. During the gala celebrating the 20th anniversary of her coronation, she gave out small crafted confections (about 2cm in size) called *lyrikmumuare*, the shapes of which show what blessing she gives the recipient - for example, a rose means 'be virtuous', a pigeon means 'serve dutifully' and a strawberry means 'with affection'.

Among the elves of the west are a group known informally as the Canaries, whose mission it is to investigate and take control of dungeons that have surpassed a certain danger level. This ties in to the elves' belief that shorter-lived races are like children who need to have dangerous things taken away from them.

The names of elf nobility are made especially striking. Instead of a family name, their personal name is followed by that of their house. For example, Mithrun is *Mithrun of the House of Kerensil*. As an aside, Sissel's real name is unknown because he was taken from his parents at a young age and doesn't remember it.

The majority of elves live on the Northern Central and Southern Central continents. Their largest nation, an absolute monarchy governed by the 372-year-old Queen of the Elves, is located on the Northern Central Continent. There are also primitive villages deep in the woods and underground, and in some regions cannibalism is still practiced.

## History

Some time in the past, the dwarves and elves were at war, with each side creating more and more advanced technology and magic, culminating in a great disaster, it was during this war when dungeons were created. Both the dwarves and the elves were afraid to have a repeat of this mistake, so any relics left behind after the war found by other races are quickly confiscated. The Island is a remnant of one such war, which had split the island in two halves, east and west.

## References

1. ↑ *Delicious in Dungeon* Manga: Chapter 57, p. 34
2. ↑ Miscellaneous Monster Tales -4-
3. ↑ June 20th, 2022 post from Ryoko Kui's personal hobby blog.
4. ↑ *Delicious in Dungeon* Manga: Chapter 34
5. ↑ *Delicious in Dungeon* Manga: Chapter 9, pp. 16-18
6. ↑ *Delicious in Dungeon* Manga: Chapter 55, p. 15
7. ↑ *Delicious in Dungeon World Guide: The Adventurer's Bible*, p. 138-139
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 *Delicious in Dungeon* Manga: Chapter 45, p. 4
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 *Delicious in Dungeon* Manga: Chapter 74, p. 12
10. ↑ *Delicious in Dungeon World Guide: The Adventurer's Bible*, p. 132
11. ↑ *Delicious in Dungeon* Manga: Chapter 74, p. 15
12. ↑ *Delicious in Dungeon* Manga: Chapter 74, p. 14
13. ↑ *Delicious in Dungeon* Manga: Chapter 45, p. 5
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 *Delicious in Dungeon World Guide: The Adventurer's Bible*, p. 138
15. ↑ *Delicious in Dungeon* Manga: Chapter 50, p. 29
16. ↑ *Delicious in Dungeon* Manga: Chapter 22, p. 7