Ch.195195. Finding Traces (1)

Pleta slowly surveyed those lined up before her.

The elite unit, composed of carefully selected Forest Keepers from each house, stood fully armed and on high alert, waiting to deploy. They were monsters among monsters.

“It seems all the Forest Keepers and heroes have gathered.”

Like Pleta’s soft whisper.

Those assembled here included not only Sion and me from the Count’s family, but also Diolia—making three from the Count’s household. The group consisted of only the most prominent elves competing for supremacy within the Great Forest.

Among those reflected in Pleta’s spectacle lenses and her murky green eyes were quite a few individuals I needed to be wary of.

As decided in the discussion, not only had Ianette’s eldest daughter joined the unit, but the Chelnis elves—though few in number—were the swiftest and most merciless. Even Pleta’s daughter, Friel Arielt, had ended up joining this group.

Among them, what might be worth paying attention to—

‘She looks quite displeased.’

Friel, glancing repeatedly at one elf standing in front of Sione and me. It was unusual to see her so conscious of the elf with distinctly crimson hair.

I briefly looked at Sione, who stood stiffly among the disciplined soldiers, and confirmed that her gaze was also fixed on the same elf that Friel was focusing on.

‘Crimson hair… that must be Elder Aina’s daughter.’

I quickly took in Airine’s visible features.

‘Eunice Kallia said Airine was like a doll-like elf.’

I could certainly understand what she meant.

Her expressionless, colorless face could easily be described as cold rather than cool-headed.

Like a mannequin displayed in a store, she stood motionless in a rigid posture, quietly staring straight ahead, looking only at Pleta who would give us the deployment orders. She maintained an attitude of indifference to everything else.

‘…She also said she was like a puppet.’

It would be better to remain vigilant about what intentions of Aina she might harbor inside.

In the midst of this,

Friel brushed back her hair, which shone even more brilliantly in the sunlight. With her characteristically fresh smile on her face, she addressed Airine.

Even with my better-than-average hearing, her voice was extremely quiet.

“Airine.”

At her call, only Airine’s blackish-red eyes with a faint redness rolled to look at Friel.

“……”

“It’s been a long time since we’ve entered the forest together like this. And of all places, the Eastern Forest…”

However, Friel’s natural smile gradually became more artificial.

“Friel—”

“I wonder if the God of Fate is playing tricks on our relationship, Airine.”

“Could it be that you’re still holding onto that incident?”

At Airine’s strange words, Friel produced an even more artificial smile.

“I do hope… this time things can pass quietly, Airine.”

In the silence, I cooled my head at the conversation that barely reached my ears, requiring complete focus on the two of them.

It seemed there had been some kind of incident between Airine and Friel in the past. As a result, the two elves didn’t appear to be on good terms.

“……”

Airine, who had been staring blankly at Friel, soon rolled her eyes again.

After completely withdrawing her gaze from Friel, the moment her reddish-black pupils faced forward again,

Pleta Arielt’s voice resonated across the training ground.

“The tracking and subjugation unit—”

Pleta’s clear, resonating voice no longer carried her characteristic languidness.

The Forest Keepers’ discipline and sharp spirit began to stir at her resolute syllables.

“Will now commence the operation.”

“Ha!”

At the forefront were the representative Forest Keepers from each family, and us from the Count’s family with Sione at the very front.

As I moved forward ahead of everyone else, I inevitably found myself looking at Sione’s back.

‘She’s completely tense.’

Should I say she was like a robot with malfunctioning joints? Or perhaps more like a wooden puppet controlled by a novice puppeteer?

Watching her slightly jerky movements, I thought:

‘Later, if I just give her the cotton ball… no, Orna, she’ll be fine.’

The atmosphere was too stiff right now… and with only elves around me, it would be a bit awkward to summon a spirit now.

I thought it might be good to toss Orna into Sione’s arms later, just before entering the forest, when everyone would summon their spirits.

Despite their bickering about how the moth had grown bigger or how it should stay away because it sheds fur, these were all actions that could only come from a good relationship.

The problem was—

‘Aina’s puppet. An elf who only cares about where Aina’s intentions point.’

Not with Sione, but with Airine.

She only looked straight ahead, and occasionally just rolled her eyes reflexively to check on Friel, who kept giving her persistent glances.

‘Why is she suddenly acting like that?’

She had somehow turned her head and was now glancing at my master, Sione.

* * *

We reached the entrance of the Eastern Forest.

The jungle visible right in front of us was not to be taken lightly. While it might be a familiar sight to elves who lived their entire lives in forests,

The humans here had basically spent their lives in open plains rather than dense forests full of obstacles. And unlike mercenaries who would go anywhere for money to complete requests,

Being knights of quite high status, they were naturally unfamiliar with or quite burdened by such a dense sea of trees.

“Hmm…”

Sione was clicking her tongue at the scene spread out before her.

“…I can see why those half-demon people fled this way. They said there are lots of monsters too, and with so many trees, if they hide midway, it would be hard to hit them with arrows…”

“Are you that worried?”

“Of course. What about you, Ray—oh… right, Ray…”

Since Sione knew what I had done before, she nodded with a look of understanding.

“Don’t worry too much. We’re here, aren’t we?”

“……”

“Sione’s safety will be ensured by Diolia who came with us and—”

At my words, Diolia grinned and placed her left hand on her sword hilt.

As she slightly bowed her head in courtesy, I continued speaking.

“I will take responsibility for protecting you, so there’s no need to worry.”

This is the important part now.

“Sione, you don’t need to engage in combat in such a complicated place. Conversely… I hope you’re not deeply fixated on the idea that you must personally cut down and shoot monsters.”

Sione probably thought it was entirely her responsibility to advance while cutting down monsters that might appear at any moment, while simultaneously searching for the half-demons.

She needed to change her thinking.

If she rushed ahead impulsively and made a mistake, that would be more troublesome.

“Sione, you can just focus on your assigned task of tracking the half-demons’ traces.”

She’s already busy tracking the half-demons.

She doesn’t need to draw her sword. While we engage in combat, she can more carefully search the surroundings and find clues, which would be more helpful.

With those final words, I summoned my spirit as if I had been waiting for this moment.

The wind spirit Orna, still just a slightly larger cotton ball despite being close to advancing to intermediate level.

—Myeong!

Orna puffed up excitedly as if it had been waiting, and I quickly snatched it up.

—Mya, myeong?

Without delay, I placed Orna in Sione’s arms, and both Sione and Orna stared at me blankly.

“Ah…?”

—Hoe…

Their foolish expressions made me smile slightly as I said:

“Both Orna and I feel the same. Just trust us. What is there to worry about when you have Diolia and me by your side?”

“Ah…”

Sione, who had quietly let out a voice, finally broke into a smile.

The robot-like Sione had returned to natural body movements.

After summoning Tania as well and taking a short break,

“Enter the forest!”

We finally stepped into the Eastern Forest.

* * *

The elves, masters and residents of the great forest. Their characteristic nimble footwork truly shone the moment we entered this complex forest.

They suppressed their presence and footsteps, naturally concealing themselves behind trees, yet never slowing their forward progress. Their movement technique seemed ingrained in their racial instinct, showing no signs of disorder.

The only ones occasionally showing awkwardness as we advanced were Sione and Diolia. But as Diolia quickly adapted and began actively helping Sione, our forward pace was not slowed to match hers.

As we went deeper and deeper into the forest, I could see it.

“…Sione, are you alright?”

Sione’s expression, as she tightly hugged the cotton ball with one arm, looked as troubled as when she had been looking down at monsters from atop the castle wall.