episode_0067

My impressions of the elf village I arrived at under the guidance of Ispi were very simple. In this hellish flood where endless tree trunks grow densely, the only space that can be called an open space seems to be their village, as the elves say. It felt like seeing a town where you could change into a wizard from the RPG game you played as a child.

“Wow… there are more elves living there than I thought.”

As seen in various media, I thought that they would be living in a much smaller group than humans, but the only elves that appeared were in such a state that it was difficult to recognize them at a glance. Since they always offered sacrifices at the same level as humans, it was natural that the populations were similar.

‘But why is everyone out there like this…? ‘Did you know in advance that Arjen would come?’

As I looked around, I saw the elves whose faces I had recognized earlier among the colorful, beautiful men and women. It seems that as soon as Arjen let go, he ran to the village and informed the other elves that Arjen had arrived.

“Ah, Arzen! What on earth is going on here…”

“Elder….”

Among the elves who all had young and beautiful appearances, a male elf who appeared to be somewhat older stepped forward. As Ispi muttered, it appears that he is an elf with the title of elder.

‘Even when elves grow old, they age very gracefully.’

As I was thinking nonsense, Arjen lowered his voice seriously and spoke as if he was sentencing the elves.

“I have come to punish you.”

“Huh?”

I was startled by Arjen’s sudden action of saying something unexpected and looked at her. However, whether she was trying to control her expression or was really serious, her face was extremely cold.

“What a punishment…!”

Even I, who was just listening as a bystander, was surprised, so it was only natural that the eyes of the elf elder who was involved in the conversation were about to pop out. Although he looked like an old man who was about to collapse from high blood pressure at any moment, Arjen continued speaking regardless.

Her explanation, spouting out harsh words, included all the things that ISP had done directly or indirectly to her so far. However, the part that bothered me was that it was all Isp’s personal fault, not to mention that he had come to punish the elf village.

“That… like that…!”

Sure enough, what I had feared was exactly what I had been concerned about, and the elves began to stir. If the overwhelming A was to ask for joint responsibility, it would have been the right thing to do, but on the other hand, it was said that joint responsibility was absurd enough to cause dissatisfaction even with such an overwhelming difference in position.

However, perhaps this reaction was also within Arjen’s expected range, and she began to say something else. This was the first time I had heard of it, and it was that a rumor was spreading among the elves that Arjen treated humans and elves differently.

‘It seems like he heard what we were talking about before he met us.’

Even though I have bright ears, I thought it was too bright, but anyway, since it was said as a verb, it meant that there was no lie.

“I also know that you guys openly call me a crazy dragon. But I didn’t hear it directly, so I won’t say anything. Likewise, I understand that you are complaining and swearing, as long as you don’t hear me.”

“Well, we have never uttered a curse word regarding discrimination!”

One elf countered, but Arjen dismissed that opinion with great logic.

“If it’s loud and hurts my feelings while listening, that’s an insult.”

Oh, I didn’t understand what you just said because it was in Elvish. I don’t know what he said, but since it wasn’t an idiom, I thought he might have said something he didn’t mean to. Of course, no one here can point out that point.

“Anyway, if it were me normally, I would have killed all the kids involved in this… but lately, I feel like a part of my heart is feeling uncomfortable when I act like that, so I’m trying to hold myself back a little.”

The elves who were just quietly waiting to be punished brightened up when they heard Arjen’s words, which seemed to give them some hope.

“So, I’ll give you a choice. One is to end the life of this elf who hurt me and the elves who cursed me, and to double the tribute this village pays me from now on.”

Talking is a choice, but a very bleak option came out first, to the point where I was wondering if I should choose the latter without even listening.

“And the other thing is, give me this bow. Now, take your pick!”

As Arjen spoke while holding up the bow he had stolen from Ispi, the expressions on the elves’ faces brightened noticeably. Well, even if it were me, if I were given two choices like that, I would definitely choose the latter. However, there were some elves whose expressions were even more devastated.

“Well, that bow… is an item imbued with the power of the World Tree…!”

“I know. Are you saying this is a new weapon that has been passed down from generation to generation in your village? So what do you want to do? Is it the former or the latter?”

There was no one who would worry about options that were so unbalanced that it seemed like they were just saying it as a question. So, as Arjen had originally planned, he was able to take the bow, which was the treasure of the elf village.

‘The reason everyone was talking about bees was to build up like this…’

“Hehe, you made the right decision. I’ll show you something good in return.”

Arjen said that and suddenly threw his bow at me. When an object suddenly flew forward, I reflexively grabbed the bow.

“Wow, it’s a surprise.”

But there were a truckload of people who were more surprised than me. The elves were all astonished when they saw the bow in my hand change its shape to the same shape as before.

‘Ah… that’s why I left it to Arjen…’

I’m not the type of person to be embarrassed by other people’s gazes, but for some reason, I felt embarrassed to be met with such awe when I hadn’t achieved anything great. I was just holding a bow, but these elves were looking at me like they were looking at a firefighter who jumped into a fire pit and saved a baby.

“Well, the legend was true…!”

“Then that is really a bow made from the branches of the World Tree…?”

Because so many people were talking, Sirocco couldn’t interpret properly, so I couldn’t understand them, but I could roughly guess what they were saying by feeling the intonation and the tremor of their voices.

‘Wow… I feel like ESPI has suddenly increased to thousands of people…’

Perhaps thanks to the bow that revealed itself in my hand, all of the elves’ weak resistance seemed to have disappeared. Anyway, with the permission of the elves, I legally obtained a new weapon.

For some reason, I felt like I had experienced too much while coming to catch an elf, so I felt quite mentally tired. While I was writhing under my burdensome gaze, Arjen was having a conversation with the elf elder.

“Ah, Arzen… Let’s go back soon. I can’t take it anymore….”

“Huh? huh? Is that so? I like it!”

Arjen must have misunderstood my words about wanting to go home because he was tired, and his eyes suddenly lit up with lust, and he quickly resolved the situation. To put it simply, when I returned to Rare, I experienced not only mental fatigue but also physical fatigue.

***

The elven forest left behind after Arjen left. Ispi approached the elder while everyone was still chatting with each other, still feeling the lingering emotion of seeing the bow’s true form for the first time in their lives.

“Elder… I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”

The elder did not reprimand Ispi, who bowed his head and apologized. This is because, to a certain extent, but not entirely, he was in a position to listen to the progress report from ESPI, so he was also largely responsible.

” was done. No one died, so that’s enough. To be honest, compared to the thought that the whole forest might burn down when I heard the story, I can say that it is a very good result.”

The elder recalled Arjen when he was young. It was unbelievable how the crazy dragon, whose temperament was so fiery compared to now, had become so docile.

“It must be thanks to that man…”

The elder recalled the human male next to Arjen. It was completely different from what I heard from ESPI’s report. He could feel his mana well, his face clearly showed what he was thinking, and he was talking to Arjen in a friendly manner next to him. He was not a threat at all from his perspective or the elf village.

“No wonder he was the one who received the most love from nature…”

The elves believed in their gods through the world tree. From their perspective, it meant that God, nature, and the world tree were a trinity.

“I have to manage the young elves in the village well so that they do not commit extreme actions.”

It didn’t matter who he was or what he looked like. The moment the bow’s true form was already brought out, the elf had no reason or thought to oppose him. Rather, the elder was worried that the young elves might express their desire to follow him in a radical way.

“I will take good care of you.”

“I shouldn’t say this, but I’m most worried about you.”

“Ugh… Now, elder too…”

“What. Anyway, it’s a good thing. It would have been terrible if we had lost many of the village’s outstanding elf warriors, including you, and had to pay double the tribute.”

“What about losing your bow?”

“It seems wrong to say that I lost the bow since I saw it in the first place, but compared to the survival of the village, what’s the problem with the bow… If I had cared for it so much, I wouldn’t have entrusted it to you.”

“Woooo……”

“It’s a joke, so don’t be so upset. This is a saying that means that a bow is worth more if it is pulled by its string than if it is left hanging on the wall.”

The elder comforted Ispi, who was in tears, and looked at the sky in the direction Arjen had flown.