Sleeping Pointy-Eared Princess of the Forest
"Tsk. This leaves a really bad aftertaste." Yohan clicked his tongue as he picked up the ring that had fallen onto the dirt ground.
It was a wooden ring set with an indigo-hued gem—the final trace left behind by the faded guardian deity. The entity he had thought would be a sworn enemy had regained its senses at the very end and sacrificed itself.
"Hey, dummy. This ring..."
At a glance, it didn't look particularly fancy, but Yohan could sense the immense power dwelling within it.
"The guardian deity hath crafted it by consuming every last drop of her divine power," the Goddess murmured.
"Is it some kind of Sacred Relic?"
"It is similar, but strictly speaking, its grade is far loftier."
"Hmm."
Ending his brief conversation with the Goddess, Yohan turned and walked over to Falco. He lightly brushed the dirt off the ring and thrust it toward her.
"Here. It's yours, so you should keep it."
"..."
But Falco didn't readily take the ring from his hand. Of course, Yohan understood her hesitation all too well, so he didn't scold her as he usually would.
The guardian deity had undoubtedly viewed Falco as nothing more than a tool to revive the tribe. She had even declared she would control Falco's mind to continue the bloodline, and had tried to eliminate the Goddess's followers—who stood in the way of her plans—right before Falco's eyes.
Yet, at the final moment, that very deity had repented and personally apologized to Falco, who had clearly declared her apostasy right in front of her.
To Falco, the guardian deity was essentially the root of all evil that had allowed necromancy to take root in her tribe. And yet, as she died, she had left behind a gift specifically for Falco. That was why she couldn't easily bring herself to accept it. Yohan thought as much, watching the complicated expression on Falco's face.
"My arm's getting tired, you know? Just take it." But they couldn't stand here forever. Yohan urged her with a playful nudge. "Or I could just throw it to her as a snack."
"Thou impudent wretch?!"
Yohan had deliberately spouted nonsense, and the Goddess played along.
*Thwack!*
"Gah!"
No, wait. She definitely put some real feeling into that punch just now! Yohan let out a yelp of pain as a sharp blow struck his ribs.
"Ugh... Anyway, no matter how you look at it, this is yours." Rubbing his aching side with one hand, Yohan thrust the ring toward Falco once more.
At that, Falco seemed to make up her mind. She nodded slightly and extended her left hand.
So she's too lazy to even put it on herself and wants me to do it. Yohan let out a soft sigh and slipped the guardian deity's parting gift onto her index finger.
"There. Happy?" Yohan asked grumpily.
But Falco slid the ring off her index finger and slipped it onto her ring finger instead.
"Yes. Now it's perfect."
The moment she finished speaking, the ring shrank on its own, molding itself to fit her finger perfectly. It certainly was an item left behind by a god. Yohan shrugged and looked around.
"Well, looks like everything's wrapped up here..."
Their business in this place was finished. It was time to leave.
"Hey. Um, you know..." Yohan trailed off. After a brief hesitation, he seemed to steel himself, looking at Falco with a remarkably serious expression. Sensing the gravity of his tone, Falco nodded, her expression turning solemn.
"I'm sorry about your tribe. In more ways than one."
But at his words, her eyes widened in surprise before she suddenly burst into a giggle.
"Pfft—"
"Hey! I'm trying to be serious here..." Yeah, right. I'm the idiot for trying to act all solemn. He didn't even have the energy to argue. Yohan shook his head and let out a sigh deep enough to sink the ground beneath him.
After laughing for a moment, Falco lightly tapped his shoulder.
"Yohan. You said it yourself last time. None of us exactly had a sheltered upbringing."
She meant there was no need to go out of his way to comfort her over something like this.
"Ha, seriously." In the end, Yohan couldn't help but chuckle along.
"So, dost thou feel any different now that thou art wearing that ring?" The Goddess, who had been watching the two of them with a warm, pleased smile, chimed in.
Falco leaned down slightly to match the Goddess's eye level.
"Honestly, I'm not sure. It's definitely not an ordinary ring, seeing how it shrank to fit my finger."
"The gem embedded in it is certainly extraordinary as well. Its color is beautiful, as if it holds the dawn sky itself, just like thy tribe's name." The Goddess observed Falco's ring closely. Seeing this, Yohan and Billy poked their heads in to get a look too.
"But it's quite strange," Billy remarked.
"What might that be?" the Goddess asked.
"Their tribe's name is Dawn Dew, but the art they practiced was necromancy. The two images don't really match, do they?"
He had a point. Just hearing the name, one would picture a pastoral lifestyle—the quintessential forest elves, to borrow Falco's phrasing. In reality, however, starting with their guardian deity, they had dabbled in necromancy, which caused friction with neighboring tribes and ultimately led to their annihilation. To muster enough military force to wipe out an entire tribe of necromancers, the surrounding tribes had likely formed a massive coalition.
"Perhaps Falco's tribe was not obsessed with necromancy from the very beginning. At some point, a generation produced a necromancer, and the practice did gradually spread."
Yohan tilted his head at the Goddess's explanation.
"Then, instead of the guardian deity ruining the tribe like she said, it was actually the tribesmen who turned their own guardian deity into a necromancer?"
"The possibility cannot be ruled out. Nay, I believe it is highly likely. A clan's guardian deity possesses infinitely less power compared to a true deity such as myself."
"Right, of course." And yet that 'infinitely weak' deity could hurl a living person into another dimension and manipulate space itself at will. Yohan shook his head inwardly at her explanation.
"Furthermore, since their very origin and purpose of existence lie in protecting the tribe, she must have been influenced by the minds of her believers. However... there is still one thing that weighs on my mind."
Just as she seemed to finish her explanation, the Goddess suddenly voiced a lingering concern.
"Falco."
"Yes?"
She turned to meet Falco's gaze.
"According to thy words, the Dawn Dew Tribe was wiped out by an invasion from other tribes, was it not?"
"I don't know the exact details. I managed to escape while the entire village was burning, and I've been wandering outside the Great Forest ever since."
Watching their exchange, Yohan quickly realized why the Goddess was bringing this up.
"Hey, wait a minute. Then, Falco, you..."
The sole survivor of a tribe so notorious that other tribes had banded together to eradicate them. And since she had been wandering outside, no one in the Great Forest knew she was still alive.
"Doesn't that make you a prime target for the other knife-ears to hunt down and execute?"
*Thwip!*
No sooner had Yohan finished speaking than an arrow came flying from behind. The arrow was aimed precisely between Falco's eyes, but Yohan caught it effortlessly.
*Snap!*
"Dammit, I had a feeling this would happen." Yohan muttered, snapping the arrow in half with his bare hands.
Soon, dozens of armed elves emerged from all directions. Some stood on the ground, while others perched high up on the branches of massive trees, aiming their bows. From beyond the surrounding crowd, an elf who appeared to be their leader stepped forward.
"An accurate analysis, mortal."
"This is driving me crazy."
Cursing under his breath, Yohan pulled Falco behind his back. Billy immediately moved behind Falco as well, shielding her from both front and rear. As for their dummy Goddess... well, she would probably turn into her spiritual form on her own if an arrow came flying her way.
"When the campsite staff first reported it, I was skeptical. I never expected there to actually be a survivor of that cursed tribe."
"Yeah, well, I didn't know about all this complicated history either," Yohan retorted loudly, refusing to back down.
"You seem to be far more capable than the run-of-the-mill greenhorns we usually deal with. There is no need for us to cause unnecessary friction, is there? Hand over the criminal quietly."
Yohan smirked at the Elf Captain's demand. He was so used to being called things like 'some bum who'll starve to death on the streets' that this was the first time a stranger had actually recognized him as a strong opponent. Actually, now that he thought about it, Agnes had said something similar before...
Whew.
Now was not the time for idle thoughts. Yohan shook his head vigorously.
"No can do. I can't hand her over." He replied in a stern, solemn tone.
*Creak—*
The moment he finished speaking, the sound of bowstrings tightening echoed from all sides. Yohan swallowed hard, but for some reason, the Elf Captain raised his hand to restrain his subordinates.
"Are you simply refusing out of stubbornness? Or do you have a legitimate reason?" he questioned Yohan.
"Of course I have a reason." It seemed this pointy-eared captain was at least somewhat reasonable.
"First of all, this girl barely escaped with her life after her own tribe tried to burn her at the stake." Yohan glanced back at Falco as he spoke. "And we just defeated the guardian deity of that cursed tribe. If anything, shouldn't you guys be thanking us and offering a reward?"
The Dawn Dew Tribe was treated as a public enemy within the Great Forest. If the other tribes had their own gods, it would have made sense for them to completely destroy the Dawn Dew Tribe's guardian deity as well, separate from wiping out the tribe itself. Yet, for some reason, the Dawn Dew Tribe's guardian deity had survived alone for a very long time. Why? Yohan came up with his own answer.
"You wiped out all the living members, but you figured touching the guardian deity would cause too much of a mess, so you just left this entire area alone, didn't you?"
The Elf Captain fell silent at Yohan's question. After a brief pause, he nodded.
"Yes. It is as you say."
I knew it. Yohan confirmed his suspicion. He glanced sideways at the shrine where the guardian deity had resided. That structure had likely been built not by the Dawn Dew Tribe, but by the elves of the other tribes. It wasn't a shrine to worship her, but a seal to keep her locked away.
"That's all I have to say. I think that's a good enough explanation," Yohan called out to the Elf Captain.
Meanwhile, he quietly gathered a portion of his divine power, ready to unleash his Apostle's Authority at a moment's notice. He had seen plenty of bastards who pretended to have a friendly chat only to stab you in the back. Thus, while Yohan maintained a calm exterior, he remained highly alert.
"I see that your claims have some merit," the Elf Captain said condescendingly. Yohan shot a glance at the Goddess, signaling her. She understood and gave a small nod.
"However, you must still accompany us. Whether your claims are true or false will be decided by our superiors."
"Sigh..." Yohan let out a blatant sigh at the captain's words.
"Sorry, but we're actually pretty busy people, believe it or not." Now that Falco had recovered her health, they needed to head back to Junk Town as soon as possible. There was no telling when those demons might attack the town again.
"That is unfortunate," the Elf Captain said, shaking his head.
"Yeah, it is," Yohan replied curtly.
"Arrest them. You may shoot the cursed tribe member on sight."
Wait, isn't it normal in these situations to capture their own kind alive and kill the short-lived mortals? Yohan was genuinely taken aback by the Elf Captain's order.
*Thwip-thwip-thwip!*
But his shock lasted only a fraction of a second. He instantly summoned a hemispherical barrier around them, blocking the incoming barrage of arrows.
*Whoosh!*
"F-Fire!"
At the same time, he unleashed his Divine Flame, completely blinding the elves. Since the pointy-ears weren't demons or their lackeys, they wouldn't suffer any actual damage from the Divine Flame, but that was exactly what Yohan wanted.
"Dummy!"
"Very well!"
The moment the Goddess answered Yohan's call, a magic circle enveloped the entire party beneath their feet, and in an instant, all four of them vanished without a trace.