Welcome to Edelia!
Welcome to Edelia! A dark underground prison. A cold floor impossible to sit on, firmly shut iron bars. And a thoroughly pissed-off Yubel to boot.
"Care to explain what's going on here? Huh? Liela?"
She was smiling, but it wasn't a smile at all.
"Ehehehe... S-sorryyy..."
"No!! I said explain!"
For the record, it was only natural for Yubel to be this furious. She'd followed the elf's invitation to what was supposed to be a hospitable visit to their home, only to suddenly become an accomplice to an arsonist and get thrown in jail. Talk about a backstab—this one was straight-up dogshit.
"Uwaaa... Sorry! Don't be mad..."
At Yubel's demonically angry glare, Liela hid behind Seon. Instinctively entrusting herself to Seon, whom she saw as the senior.
But Seon had nothing to say either. After all, he'd been the one to suggest trusting Liela.
"Sigh... So, why'd you set the World Tree on fire? Lady Liela?"
For now, staying calm here seemed the wise move. Acting on emotions was kid stuff. He couldn't stoop to her level.
"Uwuu... Wellll... The World Tree said mean things to meee..."
"Huh? The World Tree? Where's this lie coming fro—"
"It's true! I can hear plants talking..."
After that, Yubel and Seon heard the full story of how Liela ended up setting the World Tree ablaze. And it was shocking!
The World Tree hadn't done anything wrong! Liela had gone to chat with the World Tree, which maintained Edelia's barrier, because she wanted to talk. Surprisingly, Liela could actually speak with the World Tree. And it had said, 'Foolish child, you mustn't enter here carelessly.'
Liela took that as, 'Foolish? Uwuuu, the World Tree said mean words!' and summoned a fire spirit to set it on fire.
"..."
In the end, it was all on stupid Liela's obsession with words over context. No excuse for that. Were they really going to be branded as arsonists like this?
Just then, an elf with dignified bearing appeared beyond the bars.
"Liela, you were exiled—why did you come back?"
"Daddy!! Uwuu, I thought I could come home now..."
The elf was Liela's dad. Liela had a dad? Oh, not a fat joke. Just surprised since she'd never seen him in the game.
"Call me Elder. But returning after just a month in exile—what's your game? Don't you value your life?"
"Sniff, sob..."
Unable to hold back at her father's cold response, Liela started crying. Sob-sob.
"..."
Seeing the usually cheerful Liela in tears made Yubel's heart ache a bit. Hmm, kinda pitiful. It wasn't like she'd done it with bad intentions, but her dad was so cold. Was this some balance—cold dad, fiery daughter?
"Um... It doesn't seem like Liela meant any harm. Could you give her just one chance?"
Unable to bear her crying, Seon spoke up in her defense.
"I know that. But it's undeniable that Edelia was endangered because of Liela. Without the people's forgiveness, there's nothing to be done."
"Then let us catch the intruders! If the hero party Liela brought in captures them, wouldn't that earn some forgiveness?"
"..."
The elf elder pondered Seon's words for a long moment. Then he nodded.
"You have a month. If you don't catch them by then, their goal will likely be achieved anyway."
"Understood. And... if I may overstep, if we do catch them, could you let Liela call you 'Daddy' again?"
"Hm?"
At Seon's sudden proposal, the elf's half-lidded eyes lifted slightly.
"Hmm... I am Hardrien. One of Edelia's three elders. That proposal... I'll consider it."
Hardrien, huh. First time hearing the name. An elf elder—pretty high up, right? Why hadn't she seen him even once?
"Yes. I'm Baek Seon. I'll make sure to catch the intruders in time."
"Good. I'll inform the people of the hero party's visit. Do your best."
Creeeak... Hardrien opened the prison door and released Seon and Yubel. Out on parole already? Nice. Well, they hadn't done anything wrong anyway. If anything, they were victims of Liela's scam.
Clomp clomp. As Seon and Yubel stepped outside, they couldn't help but be stunned. They'd come in blindfolded, so they hadn't realized, but the elf kingdom was huge.
Find the intruders here? Haa... Yubel's vision went dark.
The elf kingdom of Edelia. A land that reveres the World Tree as its king, with little exchange with other races. The forest terrain played a part, but mainly it was the World Tree's barrier, impassable to non-elves. Though permission allowed entry.
In this isolated environment, the elves were wary of the reported human intruders. But they were curious about the hero party Liela had brought.
"Heyyy, are you the hero?"
"Huh? Ahaha, hi. Yeah, I'm the hero who was just summoned."
"Wooow! Your hair's black like in the fairy tales!"
Kids swarmed around Seon. If they knew what kind of hero he was, they'd be shocked.
"Hey, hero! Why're you here? Is the Demon King around?"
"Waaah, the Demon King scares me. You'll beat him, right?"
"Yeah. I'll definitely take him down."
The kids trembling at the mention of the Demon King seemed reassured by Seon's words. Cute. Even though the Demon King's right here.
As Seon responded, even the hesitant kids joined in. Thud thud thud. Huddled together. The kids clung to the hero every which way.
Watching the scene, Yubel's heart melted away. Aaaah, so cute! Wanna pinch their cheeks. Won't they come to me? Unlike Liela—low mental age but stacked body—this was pure destructive cuteness.
"But who's that next to the hero? She has horns!"
"Whoa, real! Like the Demon King from stories! Is that a tail?"
"Kyaa!?"
A girl suddenly yanked her tail. Ack, wait, uht, that feels weird... Stoppp...♡
Grab! The hero seized the girl's arm firmly.
"Hey! Sis looks like she's struggling, doesn't she? Let's stop now, okay?"
"Oh? Really? Sis looked like she was enjoying it... Sorry, sis."
"Ahehehe... It's fine. Yeah..."
The kids, interest lost, soon scattered elsewhere. But Yubel was still dazed. Uwaa, almost lost my mind from the tail. Should've let it go a bit longer. Felt so good.
"Uuuuh, Yubel? Is your tail maybe..."
Seon fidgeted uncomfortably. The good mood vanished at his look. Why's he glancing like that? Gross.
"Hey. What're you staring at?"
"Ah, nothing! Let's find some mercenaries! Ahaha!"
The oddly flustered hero hurried down Edelia's streets. Arms and legs pumping in sync. What's with him? Drunk or something?
After four hours of this, elves started side-eyeing the hero. Revolutionary synchronized limb movement.
"Hey! Walk properly!"
This was unbearable. Already sensitive since getting this woman's body, seeing the hero like that next to her made her stomach churn.
"S-sorry."
"Haa. Whatever. Do we have any money? Getting hungry."
"We spent it all on the carriage. Shame, but we need cash more than mercenaries right now."
"No need for that, right?"
"Huh?"
"That Hardr... whatever his name was?"
"Elder Hardrien?"
"Yeah. Anyway, can't we eat at the elder's place? Wandering with no leads is pointless. Let's ask him and grab food."
Seon pondered briefly, then nodded at Yubel's words.
"You're right. Let's meet the elder again."
They searched for Hardrien's location. He was upstairs from the underground prison where they'd been held—the elves' elder hall.
"So you came back here after just five hours?"
"Yes. No leads on the mercenary group, so we wondered if you had any info."
"I thought you could find them openly, no clues needed. A bit disappointing."
"..."
"Kidding. Come, the market's open—join me for a meal."
That's a joke? High elf humor? Hardrien turned naturally and led them to the dining hall.
The hall had a huge table with tons of chairs, but only Hardrien was there. Yubel marveled inwardly. Whoa. First time in a place like this. What do elves eat? Grass? Hope it's not plain weeds. Like corn salad maybe.
Hardrien sat, and Seon and Yubel took seats opposite. Soon, food covered the table.
Meat. Meat. Meat. Meat. Huh? Why's the table all meat? Where's my corn salad?
"Hm? Why aren't you eating? Doesn't suit your taste?"
"Nahhh. No veggies or fruit?"
"Sorry, but we elves are carnivores. As servants of the World Tree, we can't abide vegetarianism."
"Ah."
Well, the meat looked tasty. Yubel dug in without care.
Oooh! This melts in your mouth. But... no spices here? Texture's great, but flavor's meh.
"Elder. So who exactly is this mercenary group?"
Clink. Hardrien set down his utensils at Seon's question.
"They're the Black Wolves mercenary group. Appeared suddenly a year ago and grew fast. They snuck in while we put out the fire on the World Tree. Their goal's unknown."
Black Wolves? Cringe. How do they use a name like that? Even I've read tons of webnovels, but this...
"Any idea where they are now?"
Seon kept firing questions, eager for all the info. Not Yubel's expertise, so she just shut up and ate. Nom nom!
"Last sighted in the sparsely populated northern region. We sent forces, but they slipped away. Their whereabouts are a mystery now."
Chew chew. Basically, no clue, right? All this talk's killing her appetite.
"..."
Thankfully, Seon and Hardrien resumed eating. Yubel was chowing down so sloppily they'd gotten hungry too.
"Ahh, that hit the spot."
"Yeah. Thanks to Yubel."
Meal done, Seon and Yubel prepared to hunt Black Wolves again.
"Wait. I have something to say."
"Yes?" "Huh?"
Hardrien stopped the rising hero party.
"What do you think of Liela?"
Retard—
"Haven't known her long, but I think she's a kind, innocent friend."
Seon answered.
"Yes. Despite her coming-of-age, she still has much naivety. If things go well, I'd like you to take her adventuring with you. Would that be alright?"
"Pardon?"
Ack. The word slipped out. Travel together? Your daughter's safety's at risk! Body and chastity-wise.
"She's had this mystical ability to hear plants since childhood, so she never fit in with peers. That's delayed her 'mental growth' among elves. I want to fix that."
Hardrien wanted to cure Liela's idiocy. Suddenly, he looked like a doting dad.
"Anyway, that's my proposal. Compensation... how about a divine artifact passed down among elves?"
They have that? No no, this'll make Liela join the real hero party!
"Ah, um, shouldn't you consult the other elders first?"
"No need. They're all lazy. I handle all admin, so they can't complain."
"But joining a hero party is dangerous, no?"
"I didn't raise her weak. I vouch for her skill."
How to convince him the hero's the real danger? The elder seemed set. Pulling out a divine artifact sealed it?
Having heard him out, Seon seemed resolved and spoke.
"Yes. We'll adventure with Liela. We'll work on her mental growth too."
Aaack! The hero struck first. Can I protect Liela? Her virginity's probably already gone... Yubel's stomach twisted.