episode_0357

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The story that Rielnia, that is, Riel, started with her race called elves.

First of all, from what I’ve heard, their racial name is called ‘Elven’, but I’m wondering if there’s any difference between that and elves, so I’ll just call them elves.

The race of elves did not seem to deviate that much from the framework I had imagined.

They are a race of pointy ears made up of good-looking men and fairies who love nature, and subhumans who can be called pseudo-humans who are slightly better than humans in physical aspects.

“Human… ? What is a human?”

Rather, when I asked them about humans, I saw that they did not know humans, so it seemed like they were aliens who existed separately in the world of the dungeon.

‘Could something like that exist…?

‘Living your whole life in a place like this…?’

Considering that when I was listening to Vivian and Aurora talk about common sense about this world, I heard that there are demi-humans similar to elves in their world.

Perhaps Riel’s race is a race that lives in isolation in this world called the dungeon in some way.

Instead, their species does not insist on a vegetarian diet, such as eating only tree roots and fruits.

Considering that they sometimes eat meat, they might be closer to a dark elf than just an elf.

‘But your skin is white, right?

No, what I was thinking about was fantasy in the first place, but…

Who knows if the dark elves are white here?’

Anyway, their village is said to be hidden deep in the forest, about a three-day walk from here, and the forest is the only landform that never changes despite numerous changes in the terrain.

“No change?

Is that really true?”

Is it because we have seen too many trees fall due to earthquakes, flat lands turn into mountains, and hills turn into swamps?

As soon as she heard that there was no change in the place, Leah’s face turned bright red.

For Leah, the forest was truly a natural home.

In the first place, there is nothing better than trees for spiders to build their nests on, and if you are in a forest that is a treasure trove of natural beauty, you will not have to worry about being eaten.

But I was more concerned about the other side.

‘Three days away…’

This can’t be… … ?’

The location we are currently in is about a day away from the outpost, so in reality, their village is about four days away from the outpost.

Due to the nature of humans wandering around for about a week, the distance from the outpost was not that dramatic, so at first I had an ominous feeling that the humans who entered the dungeon might be causing trouble.

If it turns out that it was my fault for giving Vivian permission to run the dungeon instead of giving her permission, wouldn’t that make me feel uncomfortable?

“It’s not like that, is it?

Could you first tell me what a human is? ?”

Fortunately, listening to Riel’s story, which gave a completely different reason, I was able to feel a little relieved knowing that it was not my fault.

So the conclusion is, there is nothing to eat.

In the end, it seemed like the idea of her trying to catch Leah came from the desperation to catch and eat something right now.

“There is nothing to eat? Isn’t it a forest?

Does it make sense that there is nothing to eat in the forest?”

A forest where elves live.

That place is not a treasure trove of heavenly blessings for nothing.

The existence of a forest means the existence of trees, the trees bear fruit, and the small animals that eat them exist.

If small animals exist, then of course there are predators that prey on them.

Even if it were a dungeon where monsters lived, it wouldn’t completely violate those laws.

Moreover, if it had consistently maintained its form as a forest, it would have been natural for animals that instinctively knew it to flock there.

Of course, it was natural for Leah, who thought that was nonsense, to raise her voice.

Riel’s face gradually became distorted as he gave the answer in confusion, and the tears that seemed to have stopped earlier seemed to be bursting out again.

“That… That too is long… …

Our village receives the blessings of the World Tree…

I was just living peacefully… … Black… … ”

It was hard to understand what they were saying because they were crying so hard, so to sum it up a little, they said that a strange monster appeared in the forest of the village where they were living normally.

We don’t know the guy’s identity, and the only information we have is an eyewitness account that a village girl saw in passing.

At first, there was a lot of people thinking that the girl had mistakenly seen the shadow of a tree at night, so I ignored it and moved on.

From that day on, when villagers began to disappear one by one, regardless of gender, the elf village, unable to find another cause, listened to the maiden’s words again and prepared to hunt.

In the end, it is said that the hunters who hunt monsters are like many elf tribes, and all the male elves in the village, including her father, came together to hunt the monsters that were causing trouble.

From that day on, contact with them was suddenly lost, and even the last men in the village who went to search for them were now completely missing.

“I haven’t seen my dad since that day…

From that day on, everyone didn’t know what to do… … ”

The elf village, with only the women left, became a crucible of chaos.

All the men who protected them disappeared, and there were not many female elves with hunting skills.

It was realistically difficult to completely provide the food the village needed with only women who did the work of gathering rather than hunting, and the villagers were still being targeted by an unidentified monster.

“The girls who are good at shooting archers… Hehe… .

I can’t go hunting because I have to protect the village…

I survived by eating only small amounts of fruit from trees… ”

It is a natural fact that an omnivorous animal can also eat meat, so it cannot fully supplement its nutrition with just that.

Meanwhile, because she was delirious from lack of nutrition, she couldn’t tell the difference between the poisonous fruit and added it to the dish she was eating, which became a fatal blow, and the remaining women in the village also began to fall ill one by one.

“I put it in… … I am…

Black!! If only I came to my senses… !!

I found beef jerky in the corner of the kitchen…

Even if you didn’t try to eat it alone secretly… …

I’d rather be with my sisters… With mom… ”

Unfortunately, Riel was the only one who didn’t eat the dish because he was greedy even though he put poison in it due to timing.

Although she was able to gain some strength because she ate beef jerky, because of that incident, she became the only elf in the village who could move properly.

I swallowed the beef jerky because my eyes were hungry, but it was already too late once the hunger subsided and my eyes finally became clear.

“I have to go back quickly…

Anything… Hurry and grab something…

If you catch something big and take it with you!!”

It is said that after seeing everyone collapsed complaining of pain and hunger, he suffered from guilt, and reached this point by borrowing the bow of a fallen female elf, a neighboring hunter.

Depending on whether she returns to find food or not, it will be determined whether all the remaining elves will be able to avoid annihilation.

Therefore, she, who had no experience in hunting at all, thought that Leah, who was large, would have a lot to eat, so she decided to hunt for the village elves.

In a way, the sound was downright reckless, and even Leah, who heard it, looked like she was pointing her forehead, and I was shaking my body too.

‘this… Am I right… … ?’

“Ha… Okay, let’s say you caught me.

So how do you plan on taking me to town?

Isn’t it three days away to the village?”

“That’s… … If the World Tree’s protection is with you… ”

“Aren’t the women in the village starving to death even after four years of waiting?

How far can you go with heavy steps, without any way to carry a large burden?”

“Hehe… Black… … ”

‘Don’t be so mean, Leah.

‘I’m not the type of kid who normally hunts.’

“Hunting is not easy.

How could it be possible to take one’s life?

If only half of this woman’s plan had come true…

I was probably left rotting on the floor… ”

Perhaps Riel’s inexperience affected the current hunter’s hunting philosophy.

Even if you say that, it is probably advice to not be greedy and create waste that you cannot afford, but to hunt for things you can properly afford.

Rhea also hunts a lot of game, but she knows how to dispose of most of it, such as eating or preserving it.

Moreover, the fact that Riel didn’t encounter anything for three days, and the first prey he targeted was Leah, was probably luck in some sense.

‘If I had met another monster with that bow skill, I would have been eaten a long time ago.

Honestly, I can’t deny that even if I want to… ‘

“Even if you cry like that, the prey will not fall into your hands.”

“Hmm… … But… … ”

‘Then how about doing it like this?’

“My son? that… Hmm… ”

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two days later.

We were continuing to move in one direction, covering the terrain at high speed.

‘I think it would be better for us to live in that forest anyway.

‘Why don’t you think of helping me this time?’

“Helpful?”

‘There’s nothing wrong with becoming friends with the natives anyway.

If we help them first, won’t they look at us favorably?

‘Because we want to go into the elf forest and live.’

“That seems like a problem that can be solved if you just let it die… … ”

‘Hey!! They say another monster is targeting the village!!

Then, if the elves die, we’ll have to deal with him alone, right?’

“Hmph~ You mean to increase the number of meat shields?”

‘That’s too direct, and I think there might be a better word for it: “cooperation”?’

“Well, I guess I’ll just keep that in mind.

Now that I think about it again, I guess it’s not a bad idea?

I think you are my treasure after all♡”

To put it bluntly, the elves themselves are beings that have nothing to do with us.

But as always, if you can easily find allies with a little effort, there is no reason to refuse them.

Thanks to my persuasion, Leah, who was carrying various pieces of meat on her spider belly, was busy moving her legs and seemed to be busy heading towards the elf village that Riel had mentioned.

Behind her, an elf girl could be seen running slightly behind her, panting.

“Huh… Hehe… Hehe…

go… Let’s go together… !!”

Apparently, Leah was carrying a lot of luggage, so it was as if she didn’t have the space or weight to carry Riel.

However, since we didn’t know the way to abandon Riel, Riel got on Leah’s back and then got off and ran repeatedly.

Still, perhaps because they are a species that lives in the forest, their bodies are quite healthy, and their stature is quite good considering their mental age, which still seems immature.

Riel was somehow able to keep up with Leah’s speed and seemed to be running desperately.

We covered the distance that would have normally taken three days on foot in two days, and when Riel finally collapsed from exhaustion, we were finally able to reach the village in the forest we were aiming for.

‘What can I say about this…

It’s a unique scenery.’

A large tree as large as a small building located in the center of a large clearing in the forest, and numerous cabins surrounding it.

It’s called a village, but it’s not that big, and at best it looks like huts made by tying together some of the thicker fallen tree branches.

Still, seeing as they were quite numerous, it seemed like they could be called a village.

“Definitely… It seems like there is something there.

Be careful, be careful again, you bastard.”

Even as she entered the village, Leah did not let down her guard, looking around as if she sensed something suspicious.

Seeing Leah’s nervous expression, which was rarely seen, I too opened my senses as much as possible and looked around to help her.

“Mom… mom!!

I brought you something to eat!!”

But in the meantime, Riel was so happy to have arrived in the village that, even though he was sick from running for two days, he jumped off Leah’s spider boat without even looking back.

She soon appeared to be running hurriedly towards a certain place, even though she was limping on her tired legs.

“Mom… !! thank god… Black… … ”

As I was roughly listening to the sounds coming from the cabin, it seemed like her mother was fortunately still alive.

As her first goal was to save the elves of the village, Leah narrowed her eyes and was constantly alert to her surroundings, while placing the monster corpses that were on her spider belly on the ground.

“Please come here quickly.

Don’t you think you have to feed them something to survive?”

“Yes!! Cooking here… !!”

Thanks to Leah, who quickly removed the bones from the monster’s corpse, Riel’s actual cooking was able to proceed at a very fast pace.

When the food was finished, Riel took it in a hurry and started to feed it to each house, busily moving around alone, and his actions were getting busier.

“Sister… !! I brought you something to eat!!

Open your eyes, sister!!”

“Madam!! I’m going to eat it!!

Ah!! There’s more, so eat it slowly!!”

Of course, it was a pity to see Riel running around alone and having a hard time, so Leah could have helped as well.

Imagine this.

When I opened my eyes, I suddenly saw some kind of monster(?) feeding me?

In the first place, there wasn’t enough time to explain it in detail, and I thought it wouldn’t be good for the mental and physical health of people who were already suffering from monsters.

After finishing her work, Leah sat down in a corner of the village, shared the remaining raw meat with me, and waited for Riel to finish his work.

Among those who regained their strength little by little, those who were relatively young and energetic walked out of the hut first.

“Monster… Monster… … !! ”

“Sister!! no!! therefore…

It’s similar, but it doesn’t hurt anyway!!”

“Ah… Ugh… … ”

“Yurne!! Come to your senses!!”

When the elves saw Arachnella, whom they had never heard of, they screamed, foamed at the mouth, and fainted. It was only after Riel somehow explained the situation.

We were finally able to receive our own welcome in the village as beings rather than enemies.

“Welcome once.”

‘I agree… ‘

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