Chapter 3: Aura's Hard Work

The Dark Elf Village in the Great Sea of Trees. It was no different from the Elf Village. For example, the race called the Wild Elves were once ordinary Elves. Shifting their sphere of living to the grassland produced changes not only in the form of the culture but also physically, to the extent that, at present, they had been recognized as a new species. So the reason that physical or magical changes had not occurred in Dark Elves was that, on top of being the same race as Elves from the start, they were living in the same environment. There were also hardly any cultural differences, and their way of life was centered on the Elf Trees. Hence, the classes they gained were like the Elves, mainly Ranger and Druid.

The differences were just skin color, forms of animal repellent, and other trivial customs at best. In Dark Elf villages, they used an animal repellent that produced its avoidance effect by using scents. The Dark Elves were taught this precious bit of wisdom by the Treants and other inhabitants of the forest where they lived before moving to the Great Sea of Trees. Potent smelling herbs were planted around the village, created and spread around a particular drug that repelled animals, and—although their powers had to be considerably divided between duration and area of effect—used Druidic magic. This method was also influential in the Great Sea of Trees, and compared to other elf villages—excluding the Royal Capital— the Dark Elves villages were safe. However, the Elves did not know of this method. If it were to spread, the avoidance effect produced by scents would drop. Magical beasts and other animals may seem stupid, but that was not. On the contrary, the danger level would rise if they learned that food was at the other end of that smell.

For those reasons, even if they were taken in by their kinfolk, they couldn’t readily teach them this method. However, on that day, the Dark Elves, believing in their own safety, would learn they were on thin ice. The violent roar could be heard from far away. This was a regular occurrence in the Great Sea of Trees. Whether in the glow of sunrise or late at night, there were no days when the animals’ voices could not be heard. Moreover, there were species that, despite being small in body, had howls that would surprise you. So hearing a single roar didn’t mean that something was happening.

The howls were undoubtedly frightening. Various species of magical beasts could put special powers into their roars. Those who heard them would become frightened, confused, lose the will to fight, and occasionally, some could even cause exhaustion. But if it were heard from a distance, then even that unique ability wouldn’t manifest. So a single, distant roar had no connection to danger and should have been a very typical occurrence in the landscape. However, one dark elf man called for everyone to be on guard that day. The man’s height wasn’t outside of the average range for a dark elf. However, his long, slender, supple limbs, whose lively yet efficient movements made you feel like there was a power hidden inside them, easily made the man appear bigger than his actual height.

His refreshing looks were well-proportioned; even within the village, he was very popular with the ladies. There was no one among the Dark Elves living in the Great Sea of Trees who didn’t know this man. A first-rate Ranger who had accumulated vast amounts of experience, bearing the ancient and honorable surname of House Blueberry—one of the 13 families of the beginning —became the central figure during the Great Migration. In his hands, the man—Blueberry Egnia—held a Dark Elf-style compound bow, of which there was only a handful even in this village.

It was a bow one would not be permitted to use unless they had earned an excellent score at the Archery Tournament held in the season when the Becoa flowers bloomed—once every three years. Obeying Egnia’s call, the dark elves’ soldiers assembled immediately. Although they were called soldiers, they were Rangers without going out to hunt, not full-time soldiers. The village where Engia lived was the largest Dark Elf village in the vicinity. And yet, there were only about 200 residents, and they had no leeway to put full-time warriors in place. In front of his friends who had assembled with puzzled looks appearing on their faces, Egnia moved his ears slightly—while focusing on the distant sounds, he announced in a stiff voice,

“There’s no other reason I deliberately had you all assemble. That roar just now. I have heard it once before. That is the roar of an adult, a fully matured one at that, ’Ursus.”

Egnia sensed all those assembled immediately became tense. It was obvious as to why. If you were a Dark Elf living in this forest, even if it were a child, there would be none who did not know the name of the one magical beast that should be feared the most—Ankyloursus. In the area around this village, there were several species of monsters whose danger level was high, but the Ankyloursus was the one at the top of that list. Maybe it would be possible if it were an’ ursus cub, but it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that attacking an adult—a fully grown adult—meant death. It had armor that repelled even arrows and physical strength that could easily bisect a Dark Elf. Furthermore, due to all of its physical abilities being high, running away from them was considerably difficult; it was a truly terrifying monster.

“I certainly did hear some kind of roar, but did it really belong to an ’ursus? Are you sure you didn’t mishear it?”

One dark elf woman asked doubtfully. One of the 3 vice-masters of the hunt and a skilled Ranger who held a composite bow just like Egnia’s in her hands. It seemed that even she couldn’t tell just from that roar whether or not it was an ursus. Moreover—a cute bird called the Howling Bird, for example, could imitate the roars of various species of monsters. And there were other animals in this forest with abilities similar to this. Identifying the owner from a single, distant howl was extremely difficult with those kinds of animals inhabiting the forest. Her question was a reasonable one. However, Egnia was the most excellent Ranger in this forest. He surpassed everyone not just in his skill with a bow but also in the sharpness of his senses and in his ability to analyze the information those senses picked up. Her question was not out of any distrust of Egnia; it came from her more than half-wishing for this to please be a mistake.

“It’s very unfortunate, but there’s no doubt. No matter how much time passes, it’s impossible for me to forget that roar that makes your hair stand on end—that makes you feel the overwhelming difference in strength. Even now it’s still stuck in my ears. It’s not something that I could mishear.”

The next to speak was the Master of the Hunt. So the pillars of authority in the village were the Master of the Hunt, the Council of Elders, the Chief Pharmacist, and the Rite Master. The Council of Elders was composed of three people, so there were six. Meaning he was one of them. There wasn’t a composite bow in his hands. His specialty, if anything, was trapped, but even if you took that out of the equation, his abilities were far behind those of Egnia. Be that as it may, as a Ranger, there was no doubt that he was influential, and though he was younger than Egnia, he had a calm and collected personality, a person with nothing to criticize as Master of the Hunt.

“A mature ’ursus howling... so we can confirm that something has entered its territory?”

In most cases, it would roar when fighting a strong enemy or a hostile member of its own kind. Otherwise, it was when it was announcing a victory or declaring its territory. Or also when it was breeding. However, whichever of those it was, it was highly likely that someone had entered the ursus’ territory. Because once an Ankyloursus established its territory— the territory expanded as its body grew—it would very rarely try to change it. And it was also very rare for it to go hunting outside of it. Therefore, it was reasonable to think that someone had entered its territory.

“Haa... What a nuisance. I don’t know just what monster went inside it, I hope that the careless fools who disturbed the peace end up as the ’ursus' prey.”

The dark elves all around him agreed with the Master of Hunt’s complaint. Egnia gave a wry smile to those friends. Given the Ankyloursus’ disposition, as long as they didn’t thoughtlessly provoke it, it was a well-known fact that it could become the neighborhood balancer, in a sense.

“I will agree with that opinion, but we don’t know whether or not it’s even entered the territory yet, right? When I heard the ’ursus' roar before, it was when two of them were fighting. And the fight that time was being held outside of its territory.”

“Um, excuse me, Egnia-san, I have a question... I hardly heard it at all, but since you mentioned it, I do think it’s true that an ’ursus roared. But, its territory is fairly separated from here, right? So why did you call us all here?”

“Yes, I don’t know if something happened to the ’ursus, but it’s a fact that some situation is occurring that is making it roar. Maybe it’s changing its territory, or maybe the ruler of that territory is changing. Or maybe something even more different is occurring. For example... that’s right.”

After taking a breath, Egnia continued and said:

“Such as a powerful magical beast that is able to escape from the ’ursus even though it lost, and is heading this way. So, we should simultaneously put the village on guard for anything that could happen, and even if it’s tomorrow, we head in the direction of the roar and get a glimpse of the state of the forest.”

Everyone present agreed. It would be problematic if they did not quickly sense changes in the forest and share information. It was vital to those who lived by receiving the blessings of the forest.

“—Today’s hunt is canceled. Maybe it would be safer to stop anyone from going into the forest altogether, let alone for hunting. We still have food, right?”

“We’re fine. We bagged some huge game lately. But even so, we should still tell the Rite Master what is going on right away, so we can have him start making fruit. We don’t know how many days it’ll take until we finish confirming if everything’s safe, after all.”

“After that right. We should also talk to the Elders about that. We’ll have the Elders devise a way to disseminate the information to everyone so that someone who doesn’t know what’s going on doesn’t go into the forest.”

Prompted by Egnia’s call for attention, everyone exchanged opinions. Nobody said:

“You’re overthinking it.” 

The forest brought blessings, but it also suddenly threw misfortune your way. Stacking precaution on top of precaution without overlooking the slightest ill omen was crucial to living in the Sea of Trees. They should quickly make it known that there was a possibility the order of the forest was deteriorating.

“What should we do about the other villages? Should we contact them once we’ve gotten some grasp on the situation? Or should we quickly tell them that we’re facing this kind of situation?”

“I can sense that both of those are correct, but I also think they might be wrong...Why don’t we leave just all the decisions about that up to the Elders?”

“Hey, just hold on a minute, we should consolidate our opinions. If we present it as the opinion from the majority, it’ll come in handy in winning the argument when those hard-headed old farts start proposing we do something weird.”

“Calling them old farts is going too far, Ganen. Certainly, they can be inflexible at times, but in their own way, the Elders have abundant experience. We’re just choosing a path that can be considered even safer by benefiting from their wisdom.”

One of the Vice-Masters-of-the-Hunt—Plum Ganen—was rebuked by the Master-of-the-Hunt.

“That—“

Ganen, red-faced, tried to start loudly talking, but his mouth was covered by Egnia’s hand.

“—That’s about enough out of you. Considering what I called everyone together for, talk about what we need to do right now. You know well enough the threat an ’ursus poses, don’t you?”

Knowing that Ganen had shut his mouth, Egnia removed his hand. Egnia let out an internal sigh.

(We’ve confirmed that it’s not unconditionally wrong to oppose the Elders, but I wish you would consider the time and place.)

“That’s right. What we should be prioritizing is what we are going to do about vigilance in the village, so let’s leave the talk about the old farts for later, okay? That’s a lot of people after all, right?”

“If we’re going to be on guard all day today, we should do it in three shifts. Thinking about tomorrow, even more so.”

They were more or less used to keeping watch all day long, and if they had magic that removed fatigue cast on them, it would affect the next day’s activities. But if they were going on an investigation until they were close to the ursus’ territory, they would want to avoid their senses growing even the slightest bit dull.

“You’re right. That’s—“

They heard a roar. With a worried expression on the faces of everyone present, they stared intensely in the direction it came from.

“Didn’t that sound really close?”

One person put into words the unease they all harbored. Egnia nodded simply once in agreement.

“Just like Egnia said just a little while ago, isn’t it chasing after something that went into its territory and then escaped?”

Ankyloursi had a tendency to stick to their prey. If an animal they regarded as their prey escaped, they would pursue it even outside of their territory. Chasing after it while roaring was a little different than the image they had in their minds, but it was more comprehensible than being beaten and driven out of its territory.

“If that’s the case then as long as the’ ursus catches its prey, that might even fill its belly, then this village might be safe... If there’s fleeing prey, then do we lead it away from here and shoot it to death?”

“Stop it! That would just result in pointlessly provoking it further. First, there’s a good chance the prey has the ability to run away from the’ ursus as much as it can. If the prey comes this way, we should at least drive it away.”

“No, wait. It would be troublesome if the’ ursus came within the vicinity of the village. It would be a nuisance if it considered this place to be a feeding ground. We should have a few people go outside the village, and if the’ ursus or the prey look like they’re heading this way, lead them in a different direction.”

It was fine for various opinions to fly past each other, but it wasn’t as if they could spend too much time on it. He didn’t really want to butt in, but he couldn’t say such a thing. Egnia clapped his hand once and drew everyone’s attention to him.

“Whatever the situation is, the fact remains that this is an abnormal state of affairs. We should get to work immediately. If the’ ursus returns to its territory, then fine. But if it doesn’t... if it loses sight of prey even after leaving its territory—” 

Egnia looked out over everyone.

“—And in addition to that, if it lets the prey get away in the vicinity of the village, it would make for a very long, awful day.”

The faces of everyone, imaging just what would happen, frowned.

“First, what is important is calling for the aid of everyone in the village, not just those of us here. The power of the Druids will become absolutely necessary. Then, the Chief Pharmacist probably has a poison that will even affect an ’ursus.”

For beast-type magical beasts like the ursus, magic that manipulated its mind was more effective than trying to defeat them with physical attacks. Even against an opponent that was protected by a thick hide, fat, and bulky muscles, it was possible to deal damage above that of bows and arrows by using magic—for example, it would be damaged just from touching the flames of the fire elementals that the Druids could summon—and other such methods. They probably wouldn’t win if they fought it directly, but if they used magic and other such methods, then even in the past, they had somehow or other won against a magical beast that rivaled an’ ursus.

“But, gathering here just discussing things is only adding to our wasted time. We should seize the initiative, but—”

Egnia looked at the Master-of-the-Hunt. 

“—Could we leave it to you?”

“Haa—” 

The Master-of-the-Hunt reluctantly shook his head. 

“I guess it can’t be helped at this point. Alright, you lot. Starting from all the ones with outstanding skills on down, solidify the village’s defenses. The other half goes around warning everyone in the village. Those that have finished warning people will next guard those unable to fight. Beniri, I leave the division of personnel to you. Next, Ganen goes to the Chief Pharmacist, and Ovei to the Rite Master, and tells them about this. I will go to the Council of Elders. Come on, MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!”

When Egnia tried to move out, the Master-Of-the-Hunt sent him a signal, so he ran over to him.

“I’ve been thinking this for a long time, but shouldn’t you, the person with the most outstanding skills in the whole village, take the role of leader?”

“Wouldn’t it just make everything more troublesome if we did that? My name, though it’s also due to who my family is, is also somewhat known in the other villages.” 

“It’s not just somewhat.” 

Ignoring the Master-of-the-Hunt’s words, Egnia continued. 

“If it comes to that, the conflict will spread to the other villages more than it already has.”

“Gah, my head hurts... Do you think things would change if the Elders pulled back a little, really just a tiny, little bit?”

“That’s probably never going to happen. After all, what would probably happen is, if they pull back now, the more they’ll want to pull back later. Even if all the Elders retired, the problem would just spread to other villages. We can also say that things will go better for us if the Elders are still being hard-headed about things.”

“What can we do to solve this problem?”

“There’s no way of solving this problem.”

“Until the moment when there’s a major failure at some point, right?”

The Master-of-the-Hunt went silent.

“I’m going to defend the village.”

“Yeah, I’m counting on you, too.”

Parting with the Master-of-the-Hunt, Egnia took up his position, and while he continued his vigil in the direction of the roar, it seemed that information was rapidly spreading within the village. This wasn’t just because Rangers were spreading the news; it was thanks to a well-developed system of information delivery they used daily, resulting from being a village with dangerous monsters living right next door. After not even ten minutes, the Rite Master started producing food. The Chief Pharmacist had also already sent Egnia the potent poison and its antidote, just in case. Time passed with them on alert for now. They hadn’t heard the ’ursus roar since then. The tension Rangers that had assembled because of that began to recede. It was the same for Egnia; he relaxed his shoulders and massaged out the stiffness of the hands that held his bow. Had the ’ursus caught its prey? Or it might have returned to its territory because its prey got away. At that time, the Master-of-the-Hunt was standing next to him.

“Just to be safe it’s probably necessary for us to quickly go and investigate its territory. Can I count on you for that?”

“—I thought this would happen. Leave it to me.”

He was already thinking about his movements when he entered its territory in his head. Egnia stared intensely in the direction of its territory as if he could perceive the figure of the ’ursus that should have been there in his line of sight when he felt that he had seen some big thing behind the trees of the forest.

“Chichii!”

Egnia vibrated his lips and made a sound like a bird's cry. This was a unique sound Egnia could emit through the mastery of his class, telling his friends that they heard it to be on guard. By doing this, allies wouldn’t be hit by a surprise attack. The mood of starting to let their guard down instantly tensed back up. While feeling everyone’s attention was on him, Egnia pointed in the direction where he had just seen the shadow using his chin without taking his eyes off it. 

(Please just let it be my imagination. Please just let it be me mistaking it for something else. Please just let it be a misunderstanding.)

He had only caught sight of that shadow for just a moment. It just happened to be behind the shadow of many enormous trees for just a single blink of the eye as far as his line of sight extended. So it was more than possible that he had mistaken it for something else. However, as a Ranger who possessed high competency, Egnia’s excellent vision easily betrayed even his own expectations.

“It’s the Ankyloursus...”

Despite the volume of the words that someone had reflexively let slip—that voice was frighteningly and clearly audible to the ears of everyone there. Yes. It was already apparent to anyone with eyes to see. A huge shadow was sluggishly approaching them from between the trees. What was there was the Destroyer of the Great Sea of Trees—the Ankyloursus. However—

“He-Hey, Blueberry-san. Isn’t... that... thing... huge? Are ’ursu really that big?”

A young Ranger swallowed his spit and asked. Because it was at a distance and hidden by the trees, they couldn’t definitively confirm what that body was. However, by comparing it with the surrounding trees, they could get a rough approximation. It was far too big. No, it was too gigantic.

“Sumomo. The ’ursus I saw before wasn’t that big. It couldn’t have gotten any bigger. Its growth rate is abnormally fast, an abnormal specimen... if we’re unlucky, what we’re dealing with here is...” 

Egnia said as if the words were being squeezed out of him. 

“A Lord.”

The air shivered with a chill. Those deviating from the usual size, having different colored fur or other peculiar changes, and possessing unique powers, were called abnormal specimens in this village. However, even among them, some soared above all others, tenaciously evolving, reigning as the pinnacle of their species, and occasionally possessing an enormous influence over an extensive area through their combat abilities. Therefore, such individuals were given the title of Lord. In other words, if the one before their eyes was really that, it would be far stronger than the normal ones. Even an ordinary Ankyloursus was a worrisome opponent, but if the whole village fought together, they would probably be able to drive it back. However, if the magical beast before their eyes were undoubtedly an ’ursus Lord, it was unimaginable that there would be any survivors.

“Impossible! I’ve heard there’s a Lord, but it should be much farther north!” 

One of the Rangers was excitedly talking, the spit flying from their mouth. However, they controlled the volume of their voice so as not to provoke the ’ursus. 

“What the hell happened to the Village of Aju?”

A village of the same dark elves—they had learned through hearsay that a Lord existed in the vicinity of the Village of Aju. Lords weren’t something that appeared frequently. That being the case, they could consider this to be the same specimen as the Lord in the vicinity of the Village of Aju.

“—Were they all wiped out?”

If the Lord were to change its territory, or if it were starting to move in the direction of this village, someone from the Village of Aju should have come to warn them. But no one had come. So despite that, the Lord was right over there. Silence dominated this place. If you kept going in the direction from which they first heard the roar, there’d lie the Village of Aju.

(The Village of Aju turned into a feeding ground, the ’ursus learned about the food called Dark Elves and relied on scents or something else to head this way.)

Nobody wanted to say it, but everyone had reached the same conclusion. The color of despair mixed with the tense atmosphere. Even if it had acquired a taste for Dark Elves at the Village of Aju, it shouldn’t have known that fresh food was here. There were many gourmets among the Ankyloursus. They were omnivorous, but they had particular foods they preferred to eat. If Dark Elves satisfied its discerning tastes, they had to abandon this village, and even if they did that, it didn’t mean it wouldn’t pursue them. Therefore, they should lead it away and separate it from the village. However, there was a problem.

“No, we can’t declare that the Village of Aju was wiped-out.” 

Instead, all eyes were on Egnia.

 “As I initially witnessed, there was an ’ursus building its territory in this vicinity. If the Lord came straight here from the Village of Aju, it would have entered that ’ursus' territory. It would be strange not to hear two roars if that happened. In other words... the ’ursus that originally marked out its territory in this vicinity probably grew up and became a Lord.”

There was still a chance it was the Lord from the Village of Aju. If the Lord and the ’ursus that marked out its territory in this vicinity were different sexes, there probably wouldn’t be a fight. It was also possible that if the two of them bumped into each other again one of the ’ursu—most likely the Lord—wouldn’t roar. However, whether or not the Village of Aju survived was unnecessary in these circumstances. What they should be thinking about right now was, if there were no changing the fact that the Lord was heading for this village, what should they do? What would be the best move to make? If that was the case—

“—Fighting the Lord is suicide. There is no other way than to summon elementals and flee while they’re buying us some time.”

“You think that’s something we can just do?! There’s no question we’ll be attacked by that thing in the forest! More importantly, we can just give it all the stored meat and other food it wants, and let it fill its belly.”

“That’s right! ’ursi have a disposition similar to a bear’s. They probably like honey, too! We’ll smear it on the meat too and hand it—“

At that moment, a roar reverberated that seemed like it made the earth, the air, the forest, and the cores of their bodies tremble. It could no longer hide in the shadows of the trees. The slowly walking Ankyloursus Lord was there. The breaths of the dark elves became quick and shallow. The minds of everyone in that place went blank. Whatever ideas that had just a moment ago were blown away. They could taste the difference in power with bodies and shriveled up. It wasn’t as if that roar just now had a unique effect that induced fear or other mental effects. This was simply and fatally their reaction because the dark elves understood their position differences as living things. In other words, it meant that the difference in strength was so big and to such an extent that the dark elves were merely powerless beings that would be trampled underfoot.

(—This is bad.)

Nearly all the dark elves were convinced of the tragedy befalling them and were under the control of resignation. However, it was still too early to accept that.

“—MOVE!!”

It was a shout to scold and rouse himself.

“Muh-Muh-Move, you say? And just what the hell can we do!”

“How the hell should I know!”

Egnia replied to the female dark elf’s shrieking question with a few brief words that hung heavy in the air like a machete.

“Ho, how the hell should you know?”

“You’re just lashing out...”

“You can cou—no! How is there any way that even I would understand or know anything about what to do in this kind of situation! Even so, we have to move! What can we do all huddled together like this! At least those ideas just now were—”

Was its objective to also make them terrified? The ’Ursus Lord’s pace was surprisingly slow. Its head was lowered, trying to catch the scent of the Dark Elves from among the flowers planted around the village. For some reason, the word “plodding” suited that figure, giving the impression that it was truly miserable. Was it wounded? If not, was it sick or even being affected by some kind of poison? Of course, they jumped at those hopeful observations, but that was undoubtedly just a kind of escapism while descending into an extreme situation.

(Do we shoot it? There’s no need to think about provoking its wrath, not anymore. It’s undoubtedly coming this way. Then we should make the first move...bows can reach it. Besides, everyone has probably prepared themselves for the worst. If I can draw its attention and then move so I can separate it from the village... hold on? There is also a more alternative way to do it...)

“It's oil.”

When Egnia muttered that, puzzled looks appeared on the Rangers around him for a moment, but they instantly grasped his intentions.

“That’s it! We can douse it with oil and set it on fire using a fire elemental!”

“It’s got that huge body. It’ll be difficult for it to avoid the oil!”

“We’ll summon water elementals at the same time to make sure the flames don’t spread!”

There wasn’t much oil in the village. So it’s not as if it was difficult to come by. But, because its uses were limited, it was one of the goods they didn’t purposefully store, shouting:

“I’ll go.” 

One of the dark elves ran off, heading for the center of the village. He probably intended to tell one of the Druids that should be in the storehouse. It would be bad if they converted all their magic power into food without knowing about the current state of affairs. At that moment, the ’ursus Lord’s roar made the air tremble. The same one from just before made them feel the overwhelming difference in power, but dark elves had resolved themselves and would no longer be shaken right now.

“What is it doing?”

One of the dark elves shouted curiously. It wasn’t just Egnia; all the Rangers there held the same question. Because of the nature of Ankyloursi, it should have immediately charged them the moment they were seen, but there was no sign of that. On the contrary, it was as if it had no motivation— no, when it came to a Lord, it probably had more alternative objectives. When they were examining the situation, this time, the ’Ursus Lord stood up and roared. Making oneself look big, and intimidating your opponent, was an action that wild beasts often did. However, they didn’t understand why it wasn’t attacking. Not being a mere beast but a magical beast, the ’Ursus Lord, was a reasonably intelligent being. So even though it had visually confirmed that they were there and definitely weak, why was it threatening them, despite all that? First, did those repeated roars have some meaning just a short while ago?

“Hey, maybe this is just hunting practice for its young?”

If that was what that odd behavior was, it was possible, and Egnia also mentally agreed with whoever’s voice it was that said it. The parent would bring the child along when it went on a hunt. The child would learn by observing the parent’s hunt and learn the skills for taking each type of prey. There were many examples where it would die right away if it didn’t do this and left the nest without acquiring any hunting skills. The ’ursus Lord’s mysterious behavior might be trying to teach its child, watching from somewhere, about the food known as Dark Elves.

“If that’s what this is, then considering the future, shouldn’t we hammer it into the cub that Dark Elves are a tough quarry that can hurt you? It’ll be a real pain if we’re remembered as mere food.”

“Won’t the Lord go berserk if we kill its cub?”

“If it’s a child, it won’t be tricked... by meat with honey poured over it. If this is hunting practice, then it’ll probably only eat live bait. But there’s value in trying it, right?”

Suddenly, the ’Ursus Lord twitched its nose and started running toward the dark elves. That dejected appearance it had until a moment ago was already gone. Curiously, they couldn’t feel a looming murderous intent. But, there was something different. Egnia threw his gaze behind the ’Ursus Lord for only an instant. He got a sense that it had the characteristic behavior of a beast that was being driven—

(—There’s no way that could be the case. First, there shouldn’t be any being that could drive an ’Ursus Lord.)

“What the hell... I don’t understand what’s going on here.”

It wasn’t just Egnia. Many of his friends were also confused. They couldn’t read what actions the Ankyloursus Lord was going to take at all. It might have been a mistake to try and understand the magical beast that was the forest king, but this was the first opponent their experience and intuition as Rangers had been useless against so far. However, even with that confusing them, they crossed over one of the bridges and fell back. It was an undeniable fact that the ’Ursus Lord was running right at them. If they were even the slightest bit slow in taking action, they would become the ’Ursus Lord’s prey. The ’ursus Lord, who had now come to the base of the Elf Tree where no one remained, stood up. It was gigantic. A size that was more than enough to reach the height of the bridges. And it swung one of its massive arms. The attack violently shook the Elf Tree, and its trunk had been gouged out as if it had exploded. 

The bridges connecting the trees bent, and the dark elves desperately clung to the sides so as not to be thrown off. The outer circumference of an Elf Tree had been made especially strong. It was a specially made tree that had been raised by having its growth accelerated by using magic many times and giving it vast amounts of nourishment to grow big and thick. The giant tree with the sturdiness to repel whatever monster charged it had been reduced to this state instantly. More than anything else, this was proof that the physical strength of the ’Ursus Lord far exceeded that of any other monster that had come to this village so far.

“You god-damned monster...”

“You could say it’s just as powerful as we imagined it would be, but still... how dreadful it truly is...”

“—This isn’t the time to be impressed. So what are we going to do? What can we do that results in the fewest number of victims?”

Those who had lost the will to fight grumbled from just a single blow. That was also unavoidable, after all, when witnessing firsthand a single blow that they couldn’t possibly match, where even just being grazed resulted in death. Since a short while ago, the ’Ursus Lord had been attacking the same Elf Tree as if it had lost its mind. It was far too abnormal behavior, but it didn’t feel like it had lost control and gone mad because of magic. Instead, the movement made you think it held some kind of particular grudge against Elf Trees. And sometimes, it would pause and take a quick glance at Egnia and the other dark elves before starting to attack the tree again.

(It doesn’t feel like this it's teaching a cub how to acquire food... does it...)

There weren’t any signs of a cub anywhere around the ’Ursus Lord. Egnia glanced at the quiver hanging from his waist and the arrows inside it.

(Did some dark elf attack it just to mess with it? Is that why it holds a grudge against Elf Trees?)

The dark elves were the only ones who thought the Elf Tree didn’t have any scent, but it wasn’t necessarily true that monsters with an excellent sense of smell, like the Ankyloursus, didn’t notice it. But if that were the case, they might be safe for the time being if they abandoned this village.

(No, I can’t imagine things going that well. It would get hungry after it spends a certain amount of time raging... and it might come after us by tracking our scents. We should give it the honey-coated meat and pray that’s enough to satisfy it. But, what worries me is that it sometimes peeks over at us... as if it seems to be observing us.)

The ’Ursus Lord was throwing the occasional flickering glance towards them after all, and it attacked the Elf Tree each time.

“Could it be... that its objective is to keep us pinned down here?”

“So a different specimen is following it to the village from another direction?... Would it even need to do that kind of thing? An ’Ursus Lord?”

“It would be if its goal is to drive us out of the village, wouldn’t it? Maybe there’s another ’ursus waiting to ambush us at the place we escape to, or something.”

“I’ve never heard of ’ursi hunting together... but if that’s not what it is, then it doesn’t make any sense, huh.” 

“So then we don’t have any other choice but for everyone to flee in every direction? And if each person takes meat or some other food along with them, it’ll probably quiet down while it's eating the food then?”

“—Is that really our only choice?”

“Don’t give me that look. It’s not as if we’re abandoning the village. It’ll be fine for us to come back once the ’ursus is gone.”

Some were being comforted, but they couldn’t imagine things going that well. That was because of the crunching sounds the ’Ursus Lord was making as it whittled away at the Elf Tree. Couldn’t it be wanting to make this a part of its territory? If that was the case, then there was no other way than for Egnia and the other dark elves to leave everything behind and abandon the village. Through magic's effects, the growth of an Elf Tree was unbelievably fast. But even though it had grown this big so far, it couldn’t be accomplished overnight. To the Dark Elves who lived together with the Elf Trees, losing one was the same as having everything stolen from them. How many sacrifices would they have to make if they weren’t allowed to sponge off the other villages until they could raise a big Elf Tree once more?

“Okay. Let’s leave the village while giving the honey-smeared meat to the ’ursus.” 

Everyone nodded in agreement with the Master-of-the-Hunt’s words. 

“For the time being, Sumomo and Prune will prepare the honey-smeared meat. The others will remain here and draw the attention of the ’Ursus Lord so that it doesn’t go into the village.”

The two young Rangers ran off towards the center of the village. The ’Ursus Lord, who had already torn one Elf Tree to pieces and moved on to the next, suddenly stopped swinging those claws. Faster than Egnia and the others could even think, “What is it doing?” the ’Ursus Lord started moving. In the direction of the center of the village.

“Stop!!”

Egnia immediately drew two arrows from his quiver and nocked them. Then, at the edge of his vision, he saw his friends holding their bows, ready to fire. So he simultaneously activated a Skill and fired the two arrows. Both arrows hit the ’Ursus Lord’s huge body—both repelled. The next moment, many arrows were flying toward it. All the arrows that were sent flying hit the ’Ursus Lord’s face or forelegs and were repelled, and if they hadn’t hit, they pierced the ground or trees right in front of it. It was not that they had missed. Even if it had started moving, its body was just so huge. It would be harder to miss. The aim of those arrows that had been loosed was not to deal damage to it. It was to draw their foe’s attention and to buy some time. However, the ’Ursus Lord didn’t stop for even an instant. All it did was sneak a glance their way.

“What the hell!”

(—Our opponent sits at the top of the ecosystem, right? What the hell is going on that it completely ignores being attacked by lower-ranking beings like us? It doesn’t view the weak as being weak? It's behaving as if it had some objective... has it attacked a Dark Elf village somewhere else before? Does it know that children and other weak people are in the center of the village? So it was trying to deduce its location by intimidating us? Perhaps it’s because it learned this kind of hunting when it was weak, so rather than ignoring us, the ’Ursus Lord is aiming for the more vulnerable targets!?)

It was precise because this hunt had succeeded in the past and would do the same thing repeatedly, so it made perfect sense. That would hold true even if it became one of those beings that took pride in their own strength known as Lords. If you considered that, repeatedly attacking the Elf Trees was probably to gather the ones who could fight around it or some other such objective. When you thought about it that way, the contradictions in those odd behaviors vanished, and it all made sense. And even that might be based on a successful experience on a previous hunt that went well. But, be that as it may, at the point they had guessed that, there was only one thing Egnia and the others could do about it. Not allowing the ’Ursus Lord to head towards the village center—where the children and the others should be.

“After it!”

The Master-of-the-Hunt didn’t even have to say anything. Everyone jumped off the bridge and ran across the ground. If you were to run across the bridges suspended from the Elf Trees, you would have to make minor but inevitable detours. It was hazardous to run in a place where the ’Ursus Lord’s paws could easily reach them, but they had no choice but to do it. On top of that—

—It was because, even if the ’Ursus Lord were to turn around and start attacking them, they would still be able to buy some time. It seemed difficult for the large-bodied ’Ursus Lord to run through the rows of Elf Trees, and even if there was an overwhelming gap in their running abilities, it wouldn’t have a lead over them—in the running through the village. But, on the contrary, Egnia, who took pride in having the most outstanding physical abilities among the Dark Elves, succeeded in closing the distance between them. He could hear screams coming from the direction they were headed. It wasn’t from someone being attacked. It was because even the people in the center of the village had seen the figure of the ’Ursus Lord.

(Goddamnit!)

There was a place called the Plaza in the center of the village, but it wasn’t on the ground. Instead, it was a place that looked like a wooden tray hanging in the air and was held in place by the bridges that extended from the trees. When the ’Ursus Lord arrived at the Plaza, it rose up. Then, when it spread those two thick, terrifying arms, it roared again. It was louder than the ones from just a short while ago, it held more than enough force to make everyone in there freeze in place. The Plaza was separated from the ground for the time being, but the ’Ursus Lord’s huge body could easily reach it. The roar made you feel the difference in status as a living being, and that massive frame terrified all who saw it. Those two together gave it a fighting power that left countless people—low-skilled, novice Rangers, and children—petrified. Egnia threw aside the Dark Elf-style compound bow and emptied both his hands. These bows were the treasures of the Dark Elves. The materials used to make them were not from this forest but were taken from the land where they once lived. There were few spare parts to repair them with, and they could never be made again. He would probably be reprimanded by the Elders for mistreating one. However, he didn’t have the time to carefully store it away.

“UoOOO”

Egnia howled to raise his morale and jumped on the ’Ursus Lord to try and draw its attention away from the crowd. When he clung to that enormous body, he used the hard, rugged hide as a handhold to clamber up it as if he were running along its back.

“—GoO”

The ’Ursus Lord raged, twisting its body to try and brush Egnia off. In an instant, his body stood out against the background, and it seemed like he would be pulled free and sent flying by centrifugal force, but he somehow managed to withstand it. He was able to reach the back of its head like that. The ’Ursus Lord’s rage grew even more violent. It was evident as to why. Even a Dark Elf would probably act the same if a bee buzzed around their neck. Egnia drew himself closer to the Lord’s neck, as if he were stuck to it, and desperately endured it so he wouldn’t fall off. It was strange that it wasn’t rolling on the ground or scratching at him with those terrifying claws, but it was good luck for Egnia, and he should be thankful for it.

“What the hell are you doing! Run!”

He hadn’t wanted to make a sound, but it couldn’t be helped. In fact, the ’Ursus Lord’s movements seemed to become more intense in response to his voice. Arrows came flying as if to hinder it. If it were someone with a skilled arm, Egnia would almost never be hit, even in this situation. However, not even one of Egnia’s shots had pierced one part of its hide. There was no sign that the arrows were wounding the ’Ursus Lord. If they couldn’t even scratch it, arrows coated in poison wouldn’t have any effect. Egnia poured strength into both of his hands. There was no way he could let himself be separated from the ’Ursus Lord. What felt like an abnormally long amount of time passed, and the ’Ursus Lord’s movement became just a tiny bit slower. Continuing to rage had probably worn it out somewhat. However, their opponent was a Lord. Its toughness shouldn’t even be in the category of common sense. No doubt it would recover right away and go on a rampage again. Egnia’s hands were numb. He probably wouldn’t be able to withstand the next one. This—was his final chance. He reached out one hand to his waist and drew the dagger there.

And then, in one breath, he lifted himself up until he was at the distance where he could reach the parts of the ’Ursus Lord that looked vulnerable—its eyes and nose. It had parts, such as the neck, that didn’t have armor. However, there was thick meat under the dense fur in those places. He had no confidence that he could deal any damage to it with the dagger he held. At that moment, Egnia’s body gently floated up. The instant he had released one hand, the ’Ursus Lord violently shook its body. Even though at the best of times, he had finally been able to cling to using the full command of his body’s faculties, there was no way he could endure it in his current posture with one hand not holding on. His field of vision was spinning around in circles, and he could hear screams coming from somewhere.

(Shi—)

Once he realized what was happening, he immediately threw away his dagger and reached his hand out to his waist. What he took out was a small leather pouch. He was slammed against the ground. The impact had pushed the air out of his lungs, and, for an instant, he fell into respiratory failure. However, while there was pain, the impatience boiling up within him was stronger than that. Egnia, lying on the ground, locked eyes with the ’Ursus Lord right in front of him and glared at him. He couldn’t move. His body was petrified by the pressure from the ’Ursus Lord before his eyes. He knew it would all be over if he made a wrong move. Finally, the breath expelled by the ’Ursus Lord reached him. That it had such an unduly pleasant scent was surprising—no, it wasn’t at that level, it was more in the range of amazement. Egnia felt like he was going to laugh. There was nothing to think about nor hesitate over. He had already prepared himself for the worst.

(Bring it on. I’ll let you eat my flesh together with this.)

Being eaten by the ’Ursus Lord was the worst thing to happen. Because it would remember the taste of Dark Elf. However, what if it didn’t like the taste of Dark Elves? He loosened the string around the mouth of the leather pouch he grasped tightly. It was the poison that had been given to him beforehand. When he considered the size of the ’Ursus Lord, it was far too little. However, even if it wouldn’t be a deadly poison, it would be able to teach it the taste of that poison. When it opened that big mouth and bit down on him, each of his arms would throw the poison-filled pouches into it. It would be over if it attacked with its claws. If he were bitten, it wouldn’t end with just his arms. Egnia had prepared himself for this. No, he had decided a long time ago. He lived and died for the sake of this village. The reason he was stronger than the others was definitely all for this day.

(Now come and get it. The dark elves of this village are gross enough to make you want to throw up.)

The ’Ursus Lord looked away from him.

(—What the hell is it doing?)

The ’Ursus Lord, roaring once, swung its tail and arms. It then repeated those attacks on the surrounding Elf Trees as if it was venting its anger at something. It was almost as if it couldn’t even see Egnia, but there was no way that could be possible. Because he sensed that they had actually exchanged glances.

“Egnia! Hurry!”

Unable to take in the situation, the confused Egnia suddenly noticed the voice of one of his Ranger friends. He was prepared to be eaten, but it wasn’t as if he wanted to be eaten by choice. But would they be able to escape? The ’Ursus Lord appeared to not be interested in them, but he knew it was flicking its gaze towards them. He wondered what it could be after.

(Is running away—the correct answer?)

He didn’t have a clue. Their opponent wasn’t transmitting a shred of its intentions. When Egnia had reached the heights of confusion, an arrow that suddenly came flying by struck the Elf Tree right in front of the magical beast.

“Goaaaaaaaaar.” 

The shrill sound that was enough to give you goosebumps, clearly resonated and spread out like a ripple. All of the dark elves—even the ’Ursus Lord stopped moving. It fell completely silent around them as if someone had thrown cold water over everything. Within that silence, a lovely voice resounded.

“Uh... that’s about enough out of you.”

The whole world sparkled. The figure that suddenly appeared from behind Egnia was a dark elf child. However, they weren't a resident of this village. They looked like they could be either a beautiful boy or girl. No, if you looked very closely, it was a shockingly pretty girl. Despite himself—

Egnia stunned by Aura's world-class beauty.

“Cu-Cute.”

Egnia, let slip. How could a girl possibly be so pretty? It was a beauty that far surpassed that of the morning dew when it changed to droplets of water, fell from the leaves, struck by the light of the dawn, and sparkled like jewels. It was as if she appeared to be emitting a blinding light from within. This was probably the cause of the world flashing just now. Moreover, it was as if the glimmer of life was enveloped in a smell from her movements. Egnia’s nose was twitching despite itself. If he could take even just a tiny bit of that scent into his lungs, it would be to have it fill his entire body through the blood circulating in it. What is this fragrance? It was as if each of his cells were dancing in joy. In the hands of that girl of unmatched beauty—she was wearing gloves, so not being able to see those fingers was frustrating—

“How—“

She was grasping a shockingly beautiful bow. That marvelous workmanship was definitely not just for display, it held more power than any other bow Egnia had ever seen, and his intuition as a Ranger was screaming at him. But who cared about all that? The unbalancedness of the girl having a bow that was out of proportion for that body became one of the factors that increased her cuteness again. Everything about her was charming. She was sparkling.

“Hey there, monster. Go on, get out of here. I’ll never let you do more violence than you already have.”

CuteーToo cuteーSuper cute. He definitely should have heard it just a moment ago, but at that time, that beautiful face had caught his attention, and he didn’t remember hearing her voice. However, this time his brain was adequately responding to her voice. It repeated over and over again in his head like a refrain. And he was on the verge of breaking out in goosebumps every time it did. Then, with a snap, that girl of unmatched beauty thrust a finger at the ’Ursus Lord. Why he wondered, wouldn’t she point that finger toward him? It was frustrating. It was regrettable. He was sad that those beautiful eyes didn’t perceive him.

“Gororororo.”

The ’Ursus Lord growled. That wasn’t a growl meant to intimidate prey. That was a growl out of fear. The ’Ursus Lord was wary of that girl of unmatched beauty. Naturally—Whoever they may be, when a girl of unmatched beauty to this degree appeared right before their eyes, they would shrivel up. They would think that perhaps she was a goddess. Of course, some might believe that magical beasts couldn’t have that sort of aesthetic sense. However, that way of thinking was far too foolish. Egnia vehemently denied it.

He had grounds on which he could deny it. Magical beasts that possessed mighty powers were beautiful. If so, paradoxically, it wouldn’t be strange if this girl of unmatched beauty had absolute power. That’s right. There wouldn’t be anything odd about it. The instant the ’Ursus Lord gave a sign that it would try to move—Egnia opened his eyes wide in surprise. The girl of unmatched beauty already had an arrow nocked on her bow.

After the girl of unmatched beauty had revealed herself, Egnia hadn’t taken his eyes off her for an instant. Even a blink of the eyes would have been sacrilege, and he shouldn’t have done it even once. Nevertheless, an arrow was nocked on her bow. No, it wasn’t strange. She was a girl of unmatched beauty who looked like the world itself had created her. That being the case, there was no doubt that she was capable of that much. Egnia had that conviction. A flash of light raced past him—

“GwoOO!”

The ’Ursus Lord screamed. He didn’t care where the arrow was headed. But, more importantly, he didn’t want to take his eyes off that girl of unmatched beauty for even an instant.

“■,■■■!? ■■■■■■■■!?”

“■■■!”

“■■■■■■!?”

The mouths all around him were saying something. It was annoying.

(Shut-up! I won’t be able to hear that girl of unmatched beauty when she says something!)

From the point of view of Egnia, who was trying to make out the girl of unmatched beauty’s voice, it was all just excessive noise. The footsteps of the ’Ursus Lord were fading into the distance.

“■!?■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■!?”

(I said, shut up! How will you make up for it if I can’t make out what this girl is saying because of you lot!)

“You... okay?”

The girl of unmatched beauty was talking to him. To he, himself. Not to anybody else. To he, himself! Egnia was petrified from excitement and couldn’t get any words out. Unable to think, he didn’t know what he should say. It had even gotten hard to breathe. But, even so, taking this kind of attitude was absolutely disrespectful. So that notwithstanding, mustering up all the energy throughout his body, Egnia squeezed out the most suitable reply.

“Kew〜yuu〜t.”

“Hm...? Eh...? What... was that?”

The girl of unmatched beauty looked at him doubtfully. That expression was also unthinkably lovely. But, no, he was sure that if it were her, then any expression would be cute.

“My-My apologies. It seems that Egnia is confused from his fear of the ’Ursus Lord.”

“Hmmm.”

That was all the girl of unmatched beauty said in a flat voice in reply to the Master-of-the-Hunt’s words. And there, Egnia, who had finally recovered a little bit of sanity, blushed at his own blunder.

“Yeash! ‘ootin’, thn’kee!”

“...? Oh, ‘thanks for shooting that arrow,’ is what you’re saying, isn’t it?”

The Rangers around them probably remembered the first thing they should say to that girl of unmatched beauty. So when they came down from the trees, scrambling to be the first to speak, they lowered their heads to that girl of unmatched beauty and voiced their gratitude.

“Yeah. You’re welcome.”

No. That wasn't right. He wasn’t thanking her for saving him. Instead, he had to thank her for appearing before him—here.

“Yeash!”

“Are you sure... you’re really okay? Did you hit your head really hard when you got sent flying? Shouldn’t you get yourself checked out by a Cleric? Or... would it be a Druid here? That magical beast might have had some kind of special ability.”

“You’re right. It seems that Egnia hit his head pretty hard, so it would be better to carry him.”

He was carried away on a stretcher made from two wooden poles and rope. He didn’t have any pain from when he had been sent flying, but it was entirely plausible that he wasn’t feeling any pain because of his excitement from seeing the girl of unmatched beauty. People could forget about their own pain and take action in extreme situations. That being the case, it would be reasonable that you wouldn’t feel any pain if a girl of unmatched beauty were right in front of you. To tell the truth, he wanted to accompany her. He tried to breathe the same air as her right here. However, if he really were injured, the girl of unmatched beauty might be worried about him. Because she was this cute, it was common knowledge that even her heart was kind. So that was a situation that should have been avoided. As a result of his reason desperately persuading him that that was his desire, Egnia decided to obediently be carried away. While following the back view of the girl of unmatched beauty, who was talking with the Master-of-the-Hunt, Egnia thought.

(What is this violent throbbing in my heart... could this be... love!!)

Blueberry Egnia. At 254 years of age, it was his first love.

Part 2

(—Are the classes different? Like, the one from before could be a warrior, while this one is a ranger. Or is he someone like Victim?)

(Looks like... we are not exposed.)

(Aaaaah—) 

(Why did Ainz-sama want to not let anyone from the village die?)

“Infiltrate the village and prepare the groundwork for an amicable relationship.”

“She should have saved us sooner.” 

(Hmmm. But I still can’t understand Ainz-sama’s thoughts. Considering his instructions, pushing them to the edges of despair and dramatic rescue after would have been more effective... would Albedo or Demiurge have understood Ainz-sama’s intentions better if they were here?)

(Hmmmm. Hmmmmmm... maybe it would be troublesome if someone we killed could have been useful later, but Ainz-sama is probably thinking on a deeper level than that.)

(With Ainz-sama’s intellect, troubles or mistakes shouldn’t occur if I follow his orders to the letter. But, just following orders without thinking is not good...)

(Albedo and Demiurge do enough first-class job to be praised by Ainz-sama. I can’t lose to them. But... hmmm... Maybe I should have used the weaker monster bears around this village instead of killing them all. Would that have been better?)

(Normally, if the savior turned out to be a kid like me, they would be flooded with questions. I didn’t even tell them my name. Is this normal for the Dark Elves? I don’t think so, but...)

(—It seems like it can’t be helped. I should just start the conversation from my side.)

“Elders, right? We are going to meet the people who didn’t show themselves even with the monster bear’s attack, right?”

“Monster bear? Is that how the Ankyloursus is called where you come from?”

“Hm. That’s how we call it.”

Aura smoothly lied.

“That aside, can you tell me more about the elders?”

“Aah. You were right, we are going to the elders’ place now. We need not have walked if the elders were present with us there, but they were preparing oil inside their Elf Tree.”

“Hmmmm. So, how many elders are there?”

“Ah, is it different at your place? There are three of them.”

“The place I lived—a city far away from here, doesn’t have anything like an elder council as far as I know.”

“I see. It sounds very different from our village. I’ve also heard the Elven city is ruled by a king... I heard that a city is like a village with more residents, so could it be something like having three elders just isn't enough?”

“Well? My country barely has any Dark Elves, so I am not sure about those things.”

(If we had three Ainz-sama’s, it would be possible to perfectly rule the entire world without needing any of us...)

“Aren’t you here... on a journey from the country of the Dark Elves?”

“Hm? That’s wrong. Just like I mentioned before, there are barely any Dark Elves in my country.”

“It’s mostly populated by other races like Humans, Goblins, Lizardmen, Orcs, etc. We went through the trouble of traveling here after hearing people from our race lived in this forest.”

“Is that so...”

“But to think that many races can co-exist together... I am surprised.”

“Is that so?”

(Ainz-sama should rule over all the living beings of this world as the absolute ruler.)

This would give rise to absolute peace. Anyone who desired such a world should bend the knee to the Supreme Being. Aura felt pity for the Dark Elves, who didn't know of her master. It was the compassion a civilized person tended to reserve for ignorant savages.

(Albedo would probably get angry about their ignorance, but that would be truly cruel. The crucial thing is kneeling to Ainz-sama after learning of him.)

(I can understand Ainz-sama’s caution because he is the one who has the most experience against them... I feel like there’s no one like that here, though... But I shouldn’t be having such optimistic thoughts while Ainz-sama is being cautious...)

(Demiurge said that we should continue to be on guard after all...)

“We are not exactly on friendly terms with other races, but it’s not like we are in a fierce conflict with them either. There are times when we stand in opposition trying to occupy a safe place in this forest, but there are also times when we have to cooperate because the monsters are our common enemy... are the monsters outside the forest strong?”

“Is that why you are strong too?”

“—Ah, Hm. Strong, I think? But, maybe not that strong for me?” 

“It looks like you don’t know about the world outside of the forest, but how long has it been since you people went outside?”

“I heard from the elders that we came to this forest more than 300 years ago, but I have never heard about any Dark Elf who has headed out since that time.”

“300 years? Have you heard it from others? That’s a weird way to put things... But, Uncle, weren’t you already born 300 years back?”

“—I am only a little bit over 200 years old.”

(200 years? Is he trying to fudge the numbers? That, or the Dark Elves here count years differently...)

“Aa—hm. It’s just that you exude this air of maturity... in a good way.”

“No... don’t mind it. It just shows how exhausting life in this forest is.”

“Phe—eew... So don’t you people feel like coming out of this forest? Like, to the country I live in?”

“Maybe that’s not a bad idea...”

“You sound very reluctant. Our country is great, you know? It’s pretty safe and monsters like the one that attacked before don’t prowl out in the open. You will face different kinds of hardship if you do come, but you will also receive different kinds of support as well. You don’t have to toil as hard as you do now.”

“That sounds like a splendid country. I can feel how good it is from the way you speak about it. Even so, it’s difficult to shed our unease. Unease about going to a new place, and unease about whether we can continue our present lifestyle there... maybe it’s because I am mostly fine with things as they are, I think it would be better to stay put rather than going to all that trouble.”

“In that case, what if some people come over to test things out?”

“That’s not a bad idea too... will they go or won’t they? If they will, how many? If we end up having to decide about it, the elders’ opinions will play a large role... though there are a lot of people who oppose the opinions of those three.”

“Eh? The elders... we will meet soon won't have enough clout in the village?”

“I don’t hate them myself though—we are here.”

“I think you already know, but it's not that wide inside. Let’s call the elders out—Elders, we have a guest!”

(It’s hard to guess the Dark Elves’ ages from their appearance after all. I already made a mistake by calling this guy an uncle... maybe I should have called him brother instead, but he doesn't look all that different from these elders here.)

“Guest, these three are the elders of our village. Elders, let me introduce our guest to you. She was the one who fought back the ‘Ursus Lord, a traveler who came from a country where different races live together in peace and where not many Dark Elves live in, a place beyond this forest.”

(Ainz-sama’s directions were to become friends with them, so would it be bad if I acted like I was superior to them?)

“I am... Aura Bella Fiora. Pleased to meet you.”

“Umu. You have done well in coming here, a sapling from faraway, Aura Bella Fiora.”

“Shouldn’t you be thanking the village’s savior first? And why are you referring to our benefactor without honorifics so naturally?”

“Yes, that’s right. They shouldn’t have greeted her like that if they were truly grateful. Maybe they are being arrogant because the other party is a girl.”

Some of the women raised their voices. Frankly speaking, Aura didn’t think the elder’s greeting was rude. This was probably what people meant when they said that the same action can look different for people with goodwill and those without. The representative of the elders grimaced.

“Hmph. We were just about to give our thanks now—Aura Bella Fiora-dono. We are extremely grateful to you for repelling the Ankyloursus Lord and for saving our village.”

“That’s right. The younglings' impatience is troublesome. There exists an order for the conversation to follow.”

“Your order of precedence is wrong in the first place. It would be bothersome if your brains are also getting fossilized as you grow older.”

(This... I must carefully consider which side I should be on before deciding my course of action.)

(Everything would be far easier if Ainz-sama simply answered...)

(Even if I make any mistakes, he likely intends to clean up after me with one of his usual excellent plans...)

(Did Ainz-sama... aim for this? No, there’s no way. He couldn’t have known that this village was having such problems. Then, to follow his orders to create an amicable position inside the village, I should...)

“Excuse me—are you intentionally trying to make me regret that I went to all that trouble over a long journey to come here? If not, can’t you do this somewhere else without me? I would rather be shown things that I can boast about to my acquaintances from other races when I return back to my country and say that the Dark Elves’ village is a good place.”

(And even if I turn one faction hostile, the other faction would probably try to make me their ally. I won’t mind that, and I can always make a third faction with me at its core if need be.)

“Ahem. Then, can we inquire the reason for Aura Bella Fiora-dono’s visit to our village?”

“Fiora is my surname, so just call me that. I think you can already guess. It’s because I heard rumors about Dark Elves living in this forest. That👏is👏why I came to meet people from my race. There are barely any Dark Elves in my homeland you see. So I would like to stay in this village for a while if you will allow me.”

“We don’t mind, but—alone?”

“For now.”

“For now?”

“Yes. I am good at moving through the forest so the others asked me to go ahead. Actually, according to our plan, they should probably reach here by... three days at the latest, I think. My brother and uncle should be joining us by that time.”

“Uncle?”

“Hm. Actually, because our parents disappeared—” 

“—Uncle raised us.”

“I see... Sorry for making you remember such a topic. So I can understand that you came here alone—seeing that you are strong enough to fight back an Ankyloursus, a Lord at that.” 

“Then, we don’t mind if you are planning to stay. We can lend you an Elf Tree if you want. So, what do you think?”

“Hm. Please do so.”

“Understood. Someone—Apple. Lead Fiora-dono to a vacant Elf Tree. Can you do that?”

“Of course. Leave it to me. I will lead her to the best Elf Tree in the village.”

“Also, since uncle-dono and brother-dono will be joining us in three days, you won’t mind if we held a shindig for you all together then, right?”

“Of course. I will be in your care for a while then.”

“Now that’s done, Fiora-dono. Won't you tell us the tales of your journey later? And we will also be happy if you would tell us about your country where there are no Dark Elves. We know absolutely nothing about the outside of the forest. Of course, we won’t force you if there are painful memories.”

(I will have to discuss this with Ainz-sama and Mare to not create contradictions when they join us later, but it seems like I don’t have the choice of staying silent right now. If I told them to ask Ainz-sama, who will be coming later, they would be suspicious about my reluctance to talk...) 

(Hmmm. There’s no [Message] yet, so Ainz sama is probably telling me to think of the answer myself, but what kind of answer would Ainz-sama like?)

“Fiora-dono, is something the matter?”

“Aah, I was wondering if you will believe what I am going to tell you. Well, it’s probably fine to talk about my home and travels. Like about the Trail of the Fey.”

“The Trail of the Fey? Isn’t that supposed to be just a legend?”

Someone among the dark elves surrounding them asked.

“Things like... the Moon’s Road and the Trail of the Fey do exist.” 

“But I can’t talk in detail about these things with people who are not chosen by the Fey.”

“Hehe. Sorry then. Fio... no, is it fine to call you Aura-dono?”

“I don’t mind at all.”

“Then, Aura-dono. I have been thinking about it since a while ago, but it’s a nice name.”

“Thanks.”

“So Aura-dono is also a Dark Elf chosen by the Fey. That’s splendid... most of the people in this village are not chosen. That’s why they don’t know how we—the Dark Elves who lived in the North traveled to this place.”

(Dark elves... came here using the Trail of the Fey? Does it have an ability like that?)

(I will get praised by Ainz-sama!)

///

Aura headed to her lodging, led by the Master of the Hunt. Ainz, who had been following her this entire time using [Perfect Unknowable], sighed in relief. A part of the relief was from the fact that no one strong enough to rival him had appeared, and the other part was from how well Aura’s first contact went. That said, he couldn’t be sure they weren’t just putting up a friendly act. People who could be so nonchalant about a child just traveling from such a far distance alone should have something wrong with their heads. They would obviously hide their feelings if they didn’t really welcome her. Maybe he was overthinking it, but he wanted to ensure they were not just acting. It would be simple if he could just kidnap someone like the elf from before and cast mind control magic on them, like [Charm]. But, dealing with the aftereffects would be bothersome if he had to use [Control Amnesia]. Everything would be easier if he could just kill them, though.

But, first, he should investigate the village’s present mood. A complete novel topic of conversation known as Aura had appeared in this village that didn't seem to have changed much for a long time. There was no doubt that the villagers were raring to talk about her with others. Ainz wondered how honest the villagers would be when Aura wasn’t around. With Ainz using [Perfect Unknowable], this was their best chance to gather raw intel, free from any lies. The three elders returned to their tree, and the gathered elves dispersed gradually. The issue was which dark elf he should follow and eavesdrop on. During the gathering, he noticed a few dark elf children about Aura’s age—a guess based on their height—during the meeting. Frankly speaking, he wanted to go after the children and hear their opinion on Aura. But—he heard a voice saying that girl from the tree he was close to just a moment ago.

(Shit! I should have been listening in on the elder’s conversation!)

“Now then, how much of what that girl said do you think is real? She did imply that she traveled using the power of the Trail of the Fey after all.”

“I don’t think all of that was a lie. Wouldn’t it be difficult for a little kid to travel such a distance without using the Trail of the Fey?”

“You can’t be sure about that. She is strong enough to repel that ‘Ursus Lord you know?”

“Oh my, isn’t that the strength of that weapon? You saw it, right? That dazzling bow! That’s absolutely something precious! Maybe it’s something the Fey bestowed upon her.”

(Maybe I should advertise Runecraft™ here too...)

“I wonder how long that child is going to stay here. I want her to stay here forever if possible.”

“No, that’s going to be difficult. It’s more likely that she will immediately set out again after joining up with the uncle-dono and brother-dono later. Ours is not the only Dark Elf village. Maybe they will visit the other villages to establish friendly contacts. I don’t know why that child came here to meet us—her kin, but there’s no reason for her to stick to our village.”

“That’s right. We should ask her in detail about why she came to meet us—the Dark Elves. That’s why we should make the welcoming party grand.”

“Aah, you’re right. We have to give them such a grand welcome that they will still think that this village is the best even after visiting the other villages. We should start preparing the foodstuffs in the next three days.”

“Won’t the younglings dislike it?”

“No way they will. We are welcoming the family of the kid who saved the village you know? Even they should understand that they have to cooperate on this”

“You’re right... and we can probably use the welcome party to ask uncle-dono about the Trail of the Fey. He would probably talk a bit if he felt welcomed by us.”

“Yes. But I still hope she stays in this village.”

“Why are you... so fixated on that idea? Is the fact that she may have been chosen by the Fey so appealing to you?”

“Yes. We—no, the people in the villages around us have already lost most of their Fey Blessing. If that child stays here...”

“You are not thinking about lording over the other villages with that, right? I will oppose everything you do if you are planning on that, you know?”

“I am not planning on anything that warrants your opposition. If we can learn how she received the Fey Blessing, maybe we can get ours back as well.”

(I should make sure of this thing.)

“If we can do that, the younglings will also change their opinion.”

“Anyway, don’t force the guests to talk about it. Not only that. Be respectful to uncle-dono and brother-dono, who will be visiting us soon. I don’t want bad rumors about this village and the Dark Elves to spread around when they return to their country.”

(I see... Is this village the wrong choice? I really don’t want to let Aura be used as a tool in internal squabbles.)

He would never let the children entrusted to him by Bukubukuchagama be hurt. Ainz felt irritated with the female elder.

(I should... tell her not to get close to the adults... I just have to hope at least the children here are pure.)

(A-Ainz-sama. Welcome back.)

“I am back, Mare. Looks like everything’s fine here.”

“I see. So Fenrir isn’t back yet.”

“Y-Yes. Not yet.”

(Looks like my prediction is off... I thought they would immediately send out a team with Aura to finish the Ankyloursus... maybe I should just fetch it myself if there’s still time.)

“I see. Then let’s wait here for a bit. Anyhow, you are probably worried so I will tell you... well, you probably guessed it already seeing me returning alone. You didn’t receive any messages from Aura right?” 

“Well, that’s how it is. Seems like Aura infiltrated the Dark Elf village without any issues.”

(—It will be easier for Aura to forget about Nazarick for a bit if there’s no one from Nazarick around, especially guards, who, in a sense, are her subordinates. She can interact with the Dark Elves more relaxedly without putting on a bold front then.)

(First of all, it’s absurd for someone like me who has no experience in raising children to think about things like these. Who should I ask about being a father...)

Ainz suddenly thought of Nfirea.

(Not a bad choice. He is a good father. But—)

(It’s about Bukubukuchagama-san making Mare crossdress to match her tastes.)

([Perfect Unknowable] gets dispelled when you attack someone. No, to be more precise, it’s when you do something that can be considered harmful. In that case... would lifting the skirt a bit and peeking under it be considered an attack?)

“Ah, Eh, Wh-What’s the matter?”

(Am I an Idiot? What the hell am I thinking?)

Ainzu no ecchi! (lit. Ainz pervert!)

(—Stop! Me! What are you thinking?! Wanting to peek under Mare’s skirt is already beyond the bounds of curiosity!)

(—What am I even imagining?!)

“Wh-What happened?”

“—Nothing, my mind just went to some weird places... I will probably try it in the future, but it’s not a matter for the present and I will test it on someone else if and when I do it.”

(Anyhow, Mare will likely be marginalized for his dressing style. That should absolutely be avoided... but I wonder why he dresses like that... no, no, not that. That’s not what I should be thinking about right now... it’s Chagama-san’s decision, so it’s absolutely wrong to tell him to change. It’s wrong, but... is it okay to ask him to change temporarily? It should be alright for Mare to live with Aura in the village if he stopped crossdressing... but...)

“You see, Mare. I have something to discuss with you...”

“Yes.”

(Chagama-san...  am I doing something wrong?)

“E-Excuse me...”

“Sorry... Mare. I was thinking about something...” 

“Mare. I want you to stop wearing female attire for a while.”

“Listen just as I said it will be temporary because you do know I am planning to take you along to the village to act as Aura’s support? So because the clothes you wear are too striking as a part of preparations for infiltration I hope you can change to different clothes for this mission.”

Ainz talked on and on at a hurried pace. Mare continued to stare at Ainz. He thought why he was the only one being told to do so because Ainz didn’t say anything like this to Aura. Ainz couldn’t get any more words out. No possible excuse came to his mind. Actually, it’s illogical to consider a man dressing like a woman weird but not vice versa. Did Bukubukuchagama think so far ahead—

(No, it’s her taste—or more like her fetish. She is Peroron-san’s sister, after all.)

“I also asked Aura to change her gear a bit right? It would be bad if they were to get suspicious of our overly powerful gear. So how about it?”

(This is underhanded... letting Mare decide is the same as pushing the responsibility onto him.)

“U-understood. Leave it to me Ainz-sama.”

“Is that all right?”

“Y-Yes. If it’s for i-infiltration, I think Bukubukuchagama-sama would understand.”

“I-Is that so. Umu. She would definitely understand our reasons.”

(It’s highly likely that she would just faint in agony and start apologizing to Mare... no, the opposite reaction is also entirely probable, I think...?)

“Good, then let’s complete our preparations and join up with Aura.”

Part 3

“The way this was stored leaves a lot to be desired. It’s making all these sounds because parts of it have deteriorated, you know? Is this why no one was able to draw it? Hmm, it feels unstable. I wonder if the arrow will go where I aim it at...” 

These dark elves had yet to nock their bows, although they were holding them. Usually, they would all shoot simultaneously to prevent the prey from escaping and reduce the chances of a disastrous counterattack. Still, they were not doing so now because they didn’t want to get in Aura’s way. The fact that they all stayed on the ground this time showed their intentions. Usually, Dark Elves positioned themselves on trees that were as safe as possible, fearing counterattacks from prey. They would then wait for the kind of prey they could deal with. Bushwhack-style hunting, so to speak. Despite that, they were on the ground, their trust in Aura. And what was Ainz doing as the one worst at stealth among the members of this hunt? He was using [Perfect Unknowable]. He was using it so much he began to feel uneasy, wondering if he was relying too much on it. Anyhow, after he hid his presence with it, neither the prey nor the dark elves looked like they had noticed him. He had followed them all through this hunt, but Aura was the only one who sensed him.

Aura released the arrow. About the same time—or maybe just a little later, in the time it takes to blink—the Giga Horn Elk moved its neck like it was trying to observe its surroundings. It probably noticed the twang of the bow that sounded out of place in the forest. Ainz thought that should not have been possible as the sound was shallow. Furthermore, the target was so far away that it usually couldn’t have heard it, so why did the Giga Horn Elk react then? It was likely just a coincidence, or maybe it had some unique ability. If it was none, then perhaps—although it was just Ainz’s conjecture—it preternaturally sensed the aura of an attack coming towards it.

But, for all its intuition, the arrow managed to sink into the Giga Horn Elk’s head without resistance, like it had already predicted the monster’s response before it was shot. Even with the arrow sticking out of its head, its body twitched but did not collapse. It didn’t matter if it was a magical beast or just a normal one; animals as a whole had a lot of HP. It would have been a fatal attack if Aura had equipped her usual YGGDRASIL-made bow, but it seemed like this bow borrowed from the village was not powerful enough.

(This obviously shows that the gear and weapons do significantly affect one’s strength. Well, looks like Aura didn’t use any special abilities this time, so maybe the results would change if she had used any.)

“Well, that’s how it’s done.”

“As expected of Fiora-sama.”

In contrast to Aura’s calm, the nearest dark elf man raised his voice, full of passionate admiration. He’s Plum Ganen, the village’s vice Master of the Hunt and the leader of the hunting party this time. Ainz didn’t feel that he was putting on an act and even considered him a strong ally for Aura. Nevertheless, he made Ainz’s face twitch. His attitude was just too optimistic. His fiery eyes were filled with respect, adoration, and passion—just like how that girl with scary eyes in the Holy Kingdom looked after her resurrection. Frankly speaking, he should not be looking at someone who looked at least like a child on the surface with those eyes. This was the second time she had hunted with this party, and it was not like this the first time.

It was true that Aura fought back the Ankyloursus, but Plum Ganen only considered that as a measure of her battle prowess and not her talent at hunting. In fact, while under [Perfect Unknowable], Ainz heard him saying that he proposed the hunt because they wanted to estimate her skill as a ranger. But—the way Aura (effortlessly) traversed the forest gave Plum goosebumps; her ability to erase her presence bedazzled him. His eyes shone with admiration when he saw her skill with the bow. However, seeing him standing there with wide open mouths was a bit comical. And so, he ended up being the number one Aura fanatic in the village. However, he was a painful impediment to Ainz’s plan. As long as someone like this existed, it would be hard to turn Aura back into an average child in their eyes. It could have been easily handled if this was just them cozying up to Aura to use her, but the fact that it was not the case troubled him the most.

(Killing them is only the last resort, after all...)

“Hey now! You can praise me later, can’t you? Take it apart already!” 

“Yes! Understood, Fiora-sama!! Let’s do it, everyone!”

“As expected of Fiora-sama!”

The blood collected in the bowl was also used for cooking. During their first hunt, Ainz heard that they rarely took back the blood with them for fear of drawing predators toward them. Instead, they dug a hole and threw the head and entrails into it. After that, they would usually take some offal with them, but the elk’s carcass was too large for them this time. So they stopped field-dressing the carcass after that. The Dark Elves’ custom was to perform the steps like skinning only after they had brought the game back to the village. Although Ainz called it the Dark Elves’ custom as if he was knowledgeable on hunting, if one were to ask him:

“What’s the normal custom then?”

“Half of what you bag is what you get to eat.” 

“—Fiora-sama was totally awesome. That was some great shooting today.”

“Really? Well, maybe it’s awesome for you people... but there’s always someone better than the best. How should I put it... a relative? Hmm— maybe it’s rude. Well, anyway, there’s someone more awesome than I am. Ah! I am not talking about my uncle.”

“I heard that the uncle-dono and the brother-dono will be reaching the village today or tomorrow, but are they excellent rangers too?”

“No, they are not rangers.”

“Is that so? I thought they would be skilled rangers considering the two are crossing the forest alone... In that case, what kind of people are they?”

“It’s true that they are skilled people. As for what they are exactly skilled at, you will understand soon. Look forward to it. That aside, sorry, but can you let me concentrate on guarding the party? I can easily escape by myself, but with everyone in mind, noticing a threat even a second faster could be a matter of life and death, right?”

(I think it’s okay because he is a fanatic, but he is also someone powerful in that village. I should prepare countermeasures in case he starts to hate Aura and drag down the village's opinion of her...)

“Please forgive me! To think I didn’t notice it!”

“Aah—well, you are moderately skilled yourself so you probably would have noticed it normally right? Looks like you were taking it a bit easy because I am here, but that only means you think highly of my skills, right? I am happy about that, but I want you to pay a bit more attention to time and place.”

(Ohhh—She is good at consoling someone from a superior position... maybe that is her experience as a Floor Guardian speaking. I feel a bit happy if this is a sign of an NPC’s growth... or maybe it is something Bukubukuchagama-san left in her? That would be a thing worth celebrating in its own right because it’s a sign of Chagama-san living through Aura.)

“—Everyone! Rejoice! Fiora-sama bagged a big one this time as well.”

“Okay then, I’ll be going back.”

“Yes! Please leave the remaining work to us Fiora-sama!!”

(She looks so lonely...)

(I have to turn Aura from being the village’s hero to just a regular child... but that’s difficult whichever way I look at it. If I try to undermine the position she built up before I reached this village, I will be turned into a pariah instead... well, that’s natural. After being helped by her, the village will obviously value Aura more than the relative who came afterward.)

“Now, remember to be grateful to Fiora-sama for hunting this!”

“Be grateful to Fiora-sama.” 

“As expected of Fiora-sama. She should be the one to lead this village.”

“Aah, absolutely. Not only did she drive away the ‘Ursus Lord, but she is also a first-class hunter. The village would be in safe hands if she was to remain here, but...”

“No doubt, no doubt.”

“But Fiora-chan is... still a child you know?”

“That’s the same as those elders’... those old farts’ way of thinking!”

It was an angry exclamation. Plum, smiling a few moments before, now looked completely different, breathing wildly.

“What is age? Is just being older something great!? No! Indeed, some people have accumulated experience and become skilled with age, but that’s not something that naturally comes with age. Age cannot be the absolute yardstick we measure everything against—But, you see! Only ability can be absolute!!”

“Superior talent! That’s the only power that can protect the most people in this dangerous place! Only ability is absolute! Even if it is someone young!”

“But... isn’t Fiora-chan a bit too young?”

“Isn’t that how those elders think? So you are the same as those elders, huh?”

“—Huuh?”

(Frankly speaking, I feel like they are not doing anything that could cause so much hate...)

“In order to reject the ideology of the elders—that which prioritizes one's age—should we not instead defer to talented Dark Elves like Fiora-sama and even possibly make her lead the village?”

(Stop, please.)

(This is the main problem...)

Ainz wanted to make friends for the twins. Unlike the children in Suzuki Satoru’s world, the children of this world—like Nemu—could approach Aura with innocence and curiosity. However, from what Ainz had witnessed and what Aura had said, there was no one like that here. Maybe they were used to suppressing their curiosity because growing up in a dangerous place like the Great Forest required them to do so. However, what was more likely was that they sensed the adults’ attitude towards Aura and formed an image of her as someone who lived in an entirely different world from them. In their eyes, Aura was a child who was also not a child. He had even felt he should intervene directly and make the village’s opinion of Aura fall just so the children could approach her.

(It’s probably hard to be intimate with... no, friendly with someone deeply respected by the adults... for example, even if the object of respect doesn’t differ much from their age... or maybe it is all the more awkward because she is the same age? At least in the conversations, I snooped on, I didn’t hear parents telling their kids to not approach Aura or ordering them to treat her with the utmost respect. But is that a good thing or a bad thing?)

“Haa...”

(In that case... should I make a move here and directly ask them to become friends? But I can’t be sure that would lead to a good result... or maybe I should just hope that the situation will change. I wonder if every parent has to go through such hardship...)

“—First of all, what do you mean by Fiora-’chan’? It should be Fiora-sama!”

Part 4

(A dream. I have a dream. I know this is a dream. What was it called again? Yeah, right. A lucid dream. A dream where you are aware that you are dreaming. I am a kid in the dream. And—I was sent flying. It doesn’t hurt. Yes. It doesn’t hurt because this is a dream. Yet, it hurts. My face throbbed with pain. I probably have a cut inside my mouth from the impact. It tastes full of blood. I can taste it even though it’s a dream. Strange. Is this really a dream, I wonder. A hand came into my view. A small hand is covered in dirt. So it’s a dream after all. My hands are no longer so small. I am relieved. This is just a dream. My vision moved—no! I don’t want to stand. Yet, I stood. I stood again, picking up the club I dropped. Mother is standing before me. She is expressionless. It’s like she was wearing a mask. She is looking down at me with cold eyes. She held a club in her hand to beat me until I could not stand anymore. And then she swung it. The present me could take it, but it was impossible for me then. Just as I started to feel the pain, I’m flying through the air.

I later learned that mothers are supposed to cook, but I don’t have any memories of eating my mother’s cooking. But I remember someone saying she likely had her hands full with my training. I accepted that explanation back then because I was ignorant. But now—after becoming an adult, I can definitely say that was wrong. I don’t even have many memories of eating together with my mother. Most of my memories were of me eating alone.

“Good morning...”

“Thank you.”

“Congratulations.”

“Isn’t that great!.”

Even such common words. In the first place—did my mother ever call me by my name? I wonder who named me. But, if she really hated me, she should have just killed me. She could have easily done that. But I was not killed. So, it stands to reason that I was not hated. Maybe it’s nothing more than a pitiful hope of mine.

“P-Please hold, Faine-sama. She is still a kid. It’s not good to continue her training in this state.”

“S-She will need to rest soon. I will prepare drinks...”

“She’s fine.”

“I will tend to her wounds while Faine-sama’s having a drink, so...”

“She’s fine.”

“You are fine, right?”

“Yes... I feel fine.”

“That’s right.” 

“Are you... satisfied? She is still alright, and she is already strong enough to withstand resurrection anyway. See? There’s no problem at all.”

“Yes... Underst—”

///

“—Good Morning... excuse me, is Zesshi-sama in there?”

Antilene Heran Fouche a.k.a Zesshi Zetsumei.

“If I am going to dream anyway, at least let me dream about something magical...”

She whispered. She sighed and rubbed her eyes. Then, feeling something moist on her fingers, she realized that she had cried at some point.

“—I woke up, just now. Can you wait a minute?”

“Hiyeeee! Please don’t worry about a lowly person like me! I will wait however long it takes, so please take your time!”

“—Sorry for making you wait. It would have been fine if you took a seat.”

“No, no, I didn’t have to wait for long at all. That said, heheheh. Sorry for disturbing Zesshi-sama’s rest. I would be glad if you could forgive me.”

“So then, won’t you take a seat?”

“No, no, no, no. That’s not necessary. I will return immediately after giving the message so something like sitting on Zesshi-sama’s sofa...”

She shook her hands in a fluster. She didn’t have to reject it so vehemently, Zesshi thought.

“Nothing will happen just because you took a seat, and it’s not like I will get angry you know? No, I really won’t... you don't have to be so abject... aren’t we colleagues?”

“Ehehehe, I apologize that Zesshi-sama has to call a worm like me her colleague.”

“No, you don’t really have to go that far... you see. Among the people I’ve dealt with—among the members of the Black Scripture that I had mock battles with, you are the most servile you know? To think... that you used to be so conceited.”

The Black Scripture was a gathering of heroes. Therefore, occasionally some newcomers would think too highly of themselves. One of Zesshi’s duties was to break them in. Thus, even if the members of the Black Scripture were her colleagues, she was only acquainted with the haughty guys. That said, she did something to every member of the Black Scripture who grew arrogant, so it’s not like this woman was remarkable. Even the captain, who she disciplined harder than this woman—she sometimes even regretted that she might have gone too far with the captain—treated her usually now. Yet, only this woman acted like this. Maybe just getting broken in was already too much for this woman.

(I should take into account things like their personality next time...)

“It’s bad to be arrogant, but couldn’t you at least act a bit more confident?”

“Heh-Eheheh. I can’t do such a thing before Zesshi-sama.”

“And so... what’s the matter today? Though I have an idea what it is about.”

“R-Right. As expected of...”

“—Ahh, enough with the flattery.”

“Ah, Y-Yes. As the elf subjugation army started advancing further, I was entrusted with informing Zesshi-sama to start her preparations to head out.”

“Is that so...”

“I’m wondering if I can finally get one of the bones out of my throat.”