It’s been a while, yet the Elf’s appearance is still something I can’t get used to.
What is this standard of beauty if not the Elves?
As far as I know, all races except Dwarves consider Elves beautiful… or so they say.
“Who are you! Who dares to use the skills of the Forest Clan?”
The male Elf standing at the center shouted.
Elf language? That’s strange.
Rangers patrolling the forest should know Imperial Language…
Has it changed over time?
I don’t understand this language at all, and Black Wolf looks at me asking,
“What did he say?”
“It must be an Elf. It’s been a while, so my memory is hazy…”
Back then during the exhibition, we had translator mages on standby all the time.
Should’ve learned some then.
“Answer me!”
Seeing us standing there silently, the Elf drew his bow.
Are they really going to attack after witnessing the boundary being broken just now?
Well, they were always the combative type anyway.
My mind raced rapidly.
There’s no benefit in fighting them here.
“…Ah! I remember.”
A word came to my mind, and I stretched out my hand to stop the Rangers.
Then I quickly shouted,
“Camelad!”
“…?!”
The Rangers, startled by my shout, stopped drawing their bows.
“I! Baltclan! Camelad!”
“How does a human know the language of the forest…”
The male Elf scanned me with a suspicious gaze.
That gaze was like looking at a con artist, making me feel the need to explain further.
What else should I say…
Then another memory flashed through my mind.
[Thank you. Thank you, Human. No, Allen. You’re our Camelad.]
The Elf who taught me the word “Camelad.”
During the Southern War, when we united our strength against heretics occupying the World Tree, that guy’s face came to mind.
Though his features were foggy now, the long scar under his eye was vividly clear.
Come to think of it, back then he was the Commander leading the Rangers…
So these guys must know him too.
“I! Anders’ Camelad!”
“…?!”
Even though I look like a child to them, what else can I do?
These are the only words I know.
Fortunately, they seem to have understood my meaning and lowered their bows.
“We’ll take you to the Elder first.”
“But…”
“A suspicious human…”
“Enough! I’ll take responsibility for everything.”
Their words mean nothing to me, just noise.
While watching with blank eyes, the male Elf gestured toward us.
He seems to be the leader indeed.
And what’s with the pointing?
I could snap it off easily.
Of course, I stayed calm and followed behind quietly.
Compared to arguing uselessly, I’d rather finish the mission and go home.
Thus, we finally headed towards the true sanctuary of the Elves.
Already, I want to go back home…
***
Walking while breathing in the fresh breeze, flowers, trees, grasses, etc., made my beggar-like mood improve slightly.
Surrounded by Rangers, Black Wolf tugged at my sleeve and asked,
“So, Allen. What mission are you on?”
“Hm? Are you curious now?”
This late question… Yeah, it doesn’t occur to you.
“I don’t know much either. They just said there was an abnormal reaction detected in the Elf forest.”
Since the report came from a branch of the southern mage tower, it’s probably not wrong.
Not understanding my explanation, Black Wolf tilted his head.
“Abnormal reaction?”
“Seems ambiguous, but it might be Demon Energy… Anyway, they want me to investigate considering the possibility.”
“Why you, Allen?”
Why me indeed…
I couldn’t say that, so I tried to guess the reason by thinking hard.
“As you see, the Elf forest is quite closed-off. After the Heretic incident where their sacred World Tree was polluted… In short, they tend to repel outsiders.”
So they probably thought I, who has some acquaintance with Elves, would be suitable…
But I never expected to encounter such things right away.
Back then, there were Elves who spoke Imperial Language, making communication easy.
Language barrier is inconvenient in many ways.
And it seems the Elves feel the same way, as the female Elf behind hit my back with her bow.
“Noisy! Walk quietly!”
“Oof…! Why not just say it?”
It didn’t hurt, but it annoyed me greatly.
Like having my forehead pressed with a finger.
Even the Sage never treated me like this…
You should be glad I’m on a mission.
“…”
“Hey, I’m fine. Don’t radiate killing intent. One misstep and these guys die.”
As Black Wolf’s killing aura rose, I hurried to pacify him.
After the Southern War, the perception of humans among Elves dropped to rock bottom or even lower.
Though humans helped Elves, the cause of the incident was also humans.
No matter how much we explain the difference between Empire and Heretics, the Elves’ attitude hasn’t changed.
While I understand why, given how hard it is for us to distinguish Elf faces…
Except for a few, relations between humans and Elves remain poor.
You can tell from the minimal exchanges they maintain.
“…I don’t like it.”
“Bear with it. We’ll just check what’s going on and return to base.”
“Quiet! I told you to walk quietly!”
Thwack!
Annoyed enough to hit me again with her bow, the female Elf.
Black Wolf’s ears perked up upon seeing that.
“…!”
“It’s okay. We’ll settle this later.”
While whispering into Black Wolf’s shoulder trying to stop him from moving immediately, his gaze remained fixed on the female Elf who hit me.
If we’re not careful, something big will happen regardless of what it is…
Although it’s not hard to scold the Elf, dealing with the aftermath will definitely be troublesome.
Meanwhile, the voice of the Elf pierced through my ear.
“Tsk, how annoying to bring such a lowly race into the forest…”
“My point exactly. Does this human have ties with such a lowly race? Extremely unpleasant.”
“How dare beasts tread on Mother’s forest?”
“Let’s find an opportunity to cut off their breath.”
I don’t understand what they’re saying, but I can roughly guess from their tone and nuance.
They’re cursing us right now.
I could overlook that, but the problem is that the target includes Black Wolf…
What should I do…
“That said, how disgraceful. How could this face have beast ears?”
The male Elf behind reached for Black Wolf’s ears.
…What the hell?
[Divine Power: Forced Harmony]
Hyunwon Kongpabu
My body moved faster than I thought.
I summoned Divine Power and stomped my foot.
A technique that instantly destroys surrounding space.
BOOM!
“Aaaaah!”
“Kuh! What are you doing? Human!”
Cries sound the same in Elf language too?
Or maybe it’s the same on the battlefield sometimes.
Anyway, that’s none of my concern, you guys…
“Prepare for your death.”
I drew Opheucus hanging at my waist and swung it.
It hadn’t changed form since becoming a sword earlier, just in case for situations like this!
If only!
“Kiiaaaah!”
I took down the female Elf who kept provoking me first, then the other Rangers scrambled.
“Kill! Kill the human!”
Two retreating hastily, two rushing with daggers in hand.
Seriously, I don’t get it.
“What makes you think you can fight me?”
Not even reaching Master level, Expert level rejects.
***
After a while, Black Wolf said with a dull expression,
“You told me to stay quiet, yet…”
“I had no choice. These guys crossed the line.”
It only took three minutes to deal with those fools who could only handle bows from afar.
That’s because I was restraining myself trying to catch the fleeing ones; otherwise, they would’ve been finished with the first move.
Their skills were that pathetic.
“You should’ve left some for me to handle.”
“If you touch them, they might die.”
“They deserve it.”
“We should always leave room for negotiation even after causing trouble.”
No matter how pitiful their skills as Rangers may be, Elves value their kin highly.
If I accidentally inflicted serious injuries, the goodwill we’ve barely accumulated would plummet below zero.
“Will the adults just let this slide?”
“Others will come, and you’ll meet a terrible end!”
“Yeah yeah. I kind of get what you’re saying… Can you quiet down a bit?”
Ssssh-
“…! …!!!”
Following my will, Opheucus transformed into ropes and gagged their mouths.
Such a reliable partner, isn’t it?
– Uuung!
“Now, we should be arriving soon…”
There was a reason I left the representative-looking male Elf alone during the previous battle.
If my guess is correct, he must’ve requested backup already.
Knowing Elves communicate with spirits as one of their specialties influenced my decision.
Whatever happens, talking to the person in charge will be quicker, right?
“Ah, seems like we’ve arrived.”
Whiiiiisst!
Arrows rained down from the high sky.
None of them touched the Elves restrained by Opheucus lying around thanks to precise aiming.
I entrusted handling this arrow rain to Black Wolf who’s getting restless.
“Leave it to you.”
“Got it.”
Responding briefly, Black Wolf leaped into the air and swung his dagger.
The Aura barrier released through the dagger effortlessly deflected the arrows.
With ease, he sliced through the remaining incoming arrows and landed gracefully.
Always an impressive feat, isn’t it?
Clap clap clap
“Good job.”
“Not a big deal.”
While clapping my hands, Black Wolf shyly turned his head.
But his wagging tail revealed his joy clearly.
Such an easy-to-understand guy.
…!!!
At that moment, an Elf wielding a sword rushed toward me at lightning speed, cutting through the wind.
The Aura concentrated on the blade looked far from ordinary.
Which is why I grinned.
“Finally showed up.”
[Divine Power: Forced Harmony]
Hyunwon Ilgi Gong
Gathering the tyrannical energy glowing darkly into my palm, I met it head-on.
A rarely attempted feat – catching the blade with my bare hand.
When else would I try this if not now?
“Long time no see?”
I smiled warmly at the clearly shocked Elf.
Beautiful green and gold mixed hair.
At first glance, it seemed frail, but the body was full of muscles.
Scars were visible all over the limbs, most notably the long scar stretching from the corner of the left eye to the jaw.
“You… How did you…”
“What’s with that look? Already forgotten my face? Anders.”
“…Allen.”
The long-haired male Elf speaking fluent Imperial Language, his name is Anders.
Once, a comrade-in-arms fighting against Heretics on the battlefield…
Together, a hero who overturned the ‘Grand High Priest of Sloth.’
