The Sleeping Pointy-Eared Princess of the Forest (1)
Two horses carrying three people galloped across the wasteland near Junk Town. Yohan worried that a gang of mounted bandits might attack them like last time. No, it wasn't so much a worry as it was an expectation—or rather, a hope. He was already highly irritated for various reasons. If some bad guys jumped them now, he could blow off all his built-up stress in one go. Thus, Yohan secretly hoped a band of bandits would come charging at them, kicking up a storm of dust. But to his disappointment, the wasteland remained peaceful. Perhaps they had crossed paths with the same kind of low-level devils that had raided the village and been completely devoured. After traveling a few kilometers from the village, Yohan pulled to a stop at a low-lying spot that couldn't be seen from the village with the naked eye.
"Alright. This should be far enough."
Flash! The moment Yohan finished speaking, the Goddess materialized out of thin air and landed on the dirt ground. Yohan and Billy dismounted as well.
"But this memory is from a really long time ago... Are you sure this is going to work?"
"It matters not. As long as the memory is vivid, it maketh no difference how ancient it may be." Replying to Yohan's question, the Goddess immediately closed her eyes. A glowing magic circle spread out with her at the center, engulfing Yohan, Billy, and even the horse carrying Falco.
"The Great Forest, the Great Forest..." Yohan squeezed his eyes shut and recalled the memory of when he had visited the outskirts of the Great Forest. How much time passed as he kept his eyes closed? Suddenly, Yohan noticed a distinct shift in the surrounding air.
While the temperature around Junk Town, the surrounding wasteland, and Balifield was generally mild, the air was quite dry. In contrast, the air brushing against his skin now felt warmer and heavy with humid moisture. Yohan slowly squinted his eyes open. Dazzling sunlight poured down, blinding him. It wasn't just the temperature that was warm; the sky was exceptionally blue, and the sunlight was far more intense. That wasn't all. Green meadows stretched out as far as the eye could see. While there were forests in the mountainous regions occupied by the man-eating trolls, a closer look revealed that the native vegetation here was entirely different. The area around the Great Forest was remarkably similar to a tropical rainforest from his original world.
"Whew."
"It's a bit hot here," Billy remarked, fanning himself with his hand at the sudden change in temperature as Yohan let out a sigh of relief.
"So this is the Great Forest."
"The outskirts of it, to be precise." In the blink of an eye, they had traveled from the southwestern fringes of the continent to the Great Forest in the central continent.
"Alright. Let's head out right away. I have a rough idea of the direction."
"Yes, sir." The two mounted their horses, and the Goddess vanished from sight once more.
"Since we're in the center of the continent, we should watch our step from here on out."
"Yeah. But while the Great Forest is technically Imperial territory, even they don't come here often."
The Empire and the Holy Kingdom were the nations occupying the prime real estate in the center of the continent. Among them, the Empire boasted a vast territory befitting its name. At the same time, it was constantly expanding habitable zones using technology that combined magic and science. Even so, the Empire left the Great Forest, located right in the heart of its territory, completely untouched.
"Is it because of the Forest Elves?"
"Exactly. No point in poking a hornet's nest and inviting trouble, so they just leave it alone."
—Those Imperial fools possess decent judgment, at least. Pointy-ears are faithless creatures by nature; attempting to befriend them will only earn one a dagger in the back.
Meanwhile, the Goddess was busy spouting racially prejudiced remarks based on her own biases inside Yohan's head. And here we are, having traveled all this way from Junk Town just to save one of those pointy-ears, Yohan thought, shrugging his shoulders.
"Anyway, if there's anyone we need to watch out for, it's not the Empire—it's the pointy-ears. I actually steered clear of the Great Forest in the past because I heard you'd get an arrow through your skull if you stepped foot inside."
"An... an arrow through the skull?" Billy stammered. Although they had a pointy-ear right behind them who preferred swords over bows and meat over vegetables, the primary weapon of this world's elves was indeed the bow.
"Alright, alright. Enough chatter. Let's get moving for real."
"Yes, sir." Yohan lightly nudged his horse's flanks with his heels. The obedient beast began to trot forward, and the horse carrying Billy followed close behind.
In truth, Yohan was only acting nonchalant because Billy was watching; he was actually quite tense inside. Elves were fundamentally isolationist. Falco was the first pointy-ear Yohan had ever befriended during his travels across the continent, and he had rarely even crossed paths with them on the road. On top of that, Falco had admitted herself that she fled her tribe after some terrible incident. Bringing her back to meet other pointy-ears was a recipe for disaster, and there was no telling what might go wrong. Still, he couldn't back out now. This was the only way to save Falco.
After traveling toward the massive, ancient trees looming in the distance, Yohan and Billy finally crossed the boundary into the Great Forest.
"They don't call it the Great Forest for nothing. Every single tree around here is massive enough to block out the sky."
"Stay alert. There might be pointy-eared archers hiding up in those branches."
—I sense the presence of others in the distance.
As the two chatted, the Goddess's voice echoed in his head once more. Yohan narrowed his eyes, halted his horse, and immediately leaped down to the ground.
"She says there's something ahead. We're moving on foot from here."
"Understood." Yohan made sure Falco was securely fastened to the horse so she wouldn't fall off. Then, holding the reins, he led the way forward.
Murmur, chatter... Just as the Goddess had said, the voices of others drifted through the dense foliage as they advanced. Yohan unbuckled his sword, sheath and all, and handed it to Billy. Then, channeling his divine power, he summoned his Light Sword in the form of a one-handed blade.
"Uh..." Billy seemed momentarily flustered by the sudden hand-off, but he quickly steeled his resolve and slid the sheathed sword into his belt. Yohan continued forward at a slow, deliberate pace. With every step, the murmuring grew louder.
Rustle! Finally, Yohan pushed through the dense undergrowth and stepped into a clearing.
"Wait, what?" he muttered, his voice instantly losing all its tension.
"Hold on. What in the world is..." Billy, emerging from the trees behind him, spoke in a similarly dumbfounded tone.
Welcome, Visitors!
Yohan doubted his own eyes as he read the banners hanging across various wooden buildings. What lay before them was neither an isolationist pointy-ear village nor a military encampment of their scouts. It was a fully-fledged campsite run by the native elves of the Great Forest.
A campsite in the middle of the forest? Yohan was utterly flabbergasted. Sure, stretching his imagination to the absolute limit, he could understand the existence of an outdoor campsite in a fantasy world. This was, after all, the territory of the Empire, the continent's dominant superpower, meaning it was relatively safe from monsters and criminals. Moreover, the high and mighty of the Empire and other nations had all sorts of eccentric hobbies, long-distance travel being one of them. In fact, the large carriage Yohan had purchased back in Junk Town was originally looted from some nameless noble. But even so, the idea of the Forest Elves building a campsite in the middle of the woods and running a commercial business was beyond comprehension.
—What in the heavens is the meaning of this? My head aches.
The Goddess reacted in much the same way as Yohan. Billy, completely oblivious, merely tilted his head in confusion, but Yohan and the Goddess were genuinely horrified by the tragic sight before them.
"I mean, elves are supposed to love the forest..."
—To think those bloodthirsty pointy-ears would stoop to such trivial commerce...
Of course, their points of shock were slightly different. However, they had no time to dwell on that.
"Welcome! Are you here to check in?" As they stood there, utterly overwhelmed by this reality-shattering environment, a Forest Elf spotted Yohan and approached him.
"Uh, no, not exactly. We're looking for someone..."
"Ah, a lost child?"
"No, no, no, no."
The elf staff member tilted his head at Yohan's flustered response, then quickly flashed a professional smile. "Understood. Well, have a wonderful time at our campsite!" With that cliché customer service parting phrase, he casually strolled away.
"Wait, that guy..." That pointy-ear had clearly written them off as crazy, difficult customers and brushed them off. That was a skill that could only be honed by a thoroughly jaded service industry worker. In other words, this campsite was definitely not a trap to lure unsuspecting travelers. They were actually running a legitimate business.
Sigh. Well, whatever. Since they seemed to have arrived at the right place, he might as well ask around about Peony's whereabouts. Yohan looked around with that thought. Seeing elves bustling about all over the campsite, this was definitely the Great Forest. It was just completely different from the image he had in his head.
"Excuse me," Yohan called out, stopping another elf staff member passing by.
"Yes, yes? Are you a guest?"
"No, not a guest. I'm looking for someone." As Yohan spoke, he reached into his pocket and pulled out an Imperial silver coin.
—Oh, you foolish Apostle! Do you truly believe those arrogant pointy-ears would greedily snatch up a bribe?
The Goddess's scolding echoed in his head, but Yohan ignored her completely and held out the silver coin to the elf.
"I'd be happy to tell you anything I know." With a bright grin, the elf staff member smoothly swiped the silver coin and slipped it into his pocket, completely making a mockery of the Goddess's words.
—Well, I'll be damned.
Witnessing this tragic display, the Goddess abandoned her usual majestic tone and spat out a curse.
"Judging by your look, I take it you're not searching for an ordinary human, correct?" At the elf's question, Yohan nodded vigorously.
"I'm looking for a pointy-ea... I mean, an elf. I heard she lives inside the Great Forest."
"I figured. Go ahead, tell me." At least this elf was easy to talk to. Yohan let out a small sigh of relief.
"Do you know someone named Peony from the Dawn Dew Tribe?" The moment Yohan finished his sentence, the smile instantly vanished from the elf's face.
"Huh?" It wasn't just his smile that disappeared. The elf's eyes widened in shock, and then his face contorted in disgust as if he had just laid eyes on something utterly repulsive.
"I wondered what kind of guy you were, but you're just a raving lunatic!" Ptooey! The elf spat on the ground right in front of Yohan, cursing. Then, he threw the silver coin he had just received onto the dirt and wiped his hands off.
"Wait a minute. What's wrong with you all of a sudden?" Yohan asked, bewildered, but the elf continued to glare at him with pure contempt.
"If you're suffering from madness, you shouldn't be coming to a campsite. Go pray at some temple instead!"
"No, seriously, what did I do to deserve this?" Yohan protested, feeling deeply wronged. But the elf merely crossed his arms and shook his head.
"You said Peony of the Dawn Dew Tribe, right?"
"Y-Yeah."
"The Dawn Dew Tribe was burned to ashes ages ago."