Chapter 79: Luna & Elly
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 79: Luna & Elly
Typically, elves are born in the Great Forest and live there until the day their long lives come to an end.
Of course, there were rare cases of elves living in the outside world, but they were usually considered oddballs or had been forced out against their will.
About sixty percent of the elves in the Great Forest live within the walls of Peledeia, while another thirty percent form villages scattered throughout the woods. The dark elves, a minority, also had their own settlements.
However, just as there are refugees on Earth, there were also those in the Great Forest who belonged nowhere, settling down in some corner of the woods.
“I-It’s here…”
Iris and I followed the young elf, who had introduced herself as Elly, through the forest. Before long, a small cabin appeared before us.
“What is this place…?”
“It’s our home.”
While it had the shape of a house, it was crude in many ways.
It wasn’t the neat, charming cabin one might imagine.
Rather, it looked like a novice had struggled to put up a frame, forcing mismatched logs together to form the walls.
“…I’m sorry the house is so shabby.”
“N-No, not at all. It’s a wonderful home!”
At the words of the elf named Luna, who was nestled in my arms, Iris shook her head in alarm.
‘Looks like she knows the house is in bad shape.’
I wasn’t too concerned, since we were only planning to stay one night before leaving. What bothered me more was Luna, who kept repeating like a parrot how the house was too shabby for her saviors.
More specifically, my eyes were drawn to the bandage wrapped around her shoulder.
It was a wound from an arrow shot by the man at the very back of that group of five.
Fortunately, the arrowhead had only barely grazed her skin, so the wound wasn't too deep. She had lost some blood, but I’d administered first aid with a potion and an ointment, so it was unlikely to get infected.
One could call it a stroke of luck in a bad situation, but my mind was filled with a persistent question.
That group of five was weak, but they were skilled enough to easily handle someone like Luna, who hadn't even awakened her magic. Their equipment alone was on a completely different level. Furthermore, with a younger sister to protect, even escaping would have been difficult for her.
They could have used rougher methods to finish the two of them off long before we arrived, but they hadn't.
I couldn't shake the feeling that they had intentionally reduced the arrow's power. No, it was more reasonable to assume they had deliberately tried to injure the two as little as possible.
It was as if they were being careful not to damage the merchandise.
The nets hanging from their waists, and the words of the first man I’d decapitated—that he was offering Luna and Elly to someone.
From that one comment, I could guess it was likely one of those tired tropes from fantasy novels: a slave hunt.
The final piece of evidence was that Luna hadn't been able to walk at all.
At first, I thought she was just exhausted from fighting five men alone before we intervened. But seeing her struggle to even lift a finger and noticing the sticky liquid on the tip of the arrowhead, I realized it wasn't a normal arrow that had hit her.
It was probably a paralysis arrow—not an attack meant to kill, but to capture.
‘Now I think I know why that dark elf told me to head southwest.’
The fact that slave hunters could brazenly enter the forest and attempt to kidnap elves meant that the southwestern border of the Great Forest was poorly guarded.
It was a foolish question to ask why it had become so lax.
Resilia had said they were conscripting young men to prepare for the war with the Northern Empire. Where would an army assembled like that go?
To the northern part of the Great Forest, of course, where the Northern Empire would invade. The border on the opposite side, the south, was bound to be neglected.
Luna and Elly had simply had the misfortune of running into slave hunters who had snuck into the Great Forest, hoping to strike it rich.
In short, they were unlucky.
I suddenly felt sorry for Luna. Elly looked young, but Luna looked just as young.
“Um, if you keep staring at me like that…”
A faint blush appeared on Luna’s face as she lay in my arms.
“How’s your shoulder?”
“Ah, I think it’s fine. Thank you so much. Thanks to you, Elly and I are safe.”
Luna hurriedly bowed her head in gratitude. I supported the back of her neck with one hand and patted her head with the other, telling her it was okay.
Although I’d spent a lot of time rescuing the two and bringing them home, I decided not to worry about it. I wasn't so depraved as to turn my back on a damsel in distress. Besides, even if I had prevented the war by doing so, Iris would have been left with an indelible sense of guilt.
And while it was a bit early, I could just think of it as setting up a base camp in advance.
Elly, who was walking ahead, opened the cabin door with a grunt. Contrary to its shabby exterior, the inside was quite neat. It was clear that two women had taken good care of it.
I followed Elly into an inner room. I gently laid Luna down on a bed that looked like it had been made with considerable effort.
“I really don’t know how to thank you… If it weren’t for you two, we would have been captured by those humans for sure.”
“Don’t say that. People should help each other in times of need.”
Iris squeezed Luna’s hands and gave her a gentle smile. Even though she’d slightly altered her appearance with perception-hindering magic, her beauty still shone through.
Perhaps because she sensed Iris was also a female elf and older than her, Luna’s voice began to crack with emotion.
Sensing the mood, I quietly slipped out of the room.
It was true that I had saved them, but at the end of the day, I was human.
For the sake of the sisters who had almost been abducted by humans, it was probably best for me to step aside for a moment.
‘Should I prepare dinner while I’m at it?’
If it had been a guy, I wouldn't have bothered, but thinking of the frail Luna struggling after being hit by a paralysis arrow, my feet automatically carried me toward the kitchen.
“Oppa.”
“Hm?”
My journey to the kitchen was halted by something wrapping around my waist.
It was Elly, who was a little shorter than my master.
“Oppa, you’re human, right?”
“…Yeah?”
“I heard that humans like elves. Is that true?”
“Uh…”
A serious question crossed my mind. Do all humans like elves?
My answer was no.
What humans liked weren't elves, but pretty elves.
In my case, if it was a guy with a dick dangling between his legs, I wouldn't give him a second glance, whether he was an elf or a beast-kin.
In that respect, Elly was a beautiful young elf with a very promising future.
When I gave a slight nod, Elly beamed, as if she was overjoyed.
“Then, Oppa, please marry me!”
“…”
…That’s a problem.
As I tried to soothe the aggressively courting Elly, my brain felt like it was shriveling up as I wondered how to solve this.
*
Night fell.
The cabin’s dining table was laden with food I had prepared.
“Y-You made all of this, Hyun-woo?”
“If it’s not enough, just say the word.”
After all, I could just pull more out of my inventory.
Luna seemed to have recovered from the paralysis poison, as she was moving without any trouble. It was a relief that she got better so quickly, but still.
“Oppa, say ah~”
“…”
If you’re okay now, can you please take your sister back?
Claiming the seat next to me belonged to her as my wife, Elly squeezed in between Iris and me. I wished Iris would intervene, but she just watched Elly with a look that said she found her utterly adorable.
“…Ah.”
If I kept refusing and Elly started to cry, I’d be branded a traitor on the spot. I didn't have the confidence to face the cold glares of Iris and Luna, so I obediently accepted the food Elly offered.
Pleased with my compliance, Elly dished out various foods and brought them to my mouth.
Her courtship was so aggressive it was becoming burdensome.
“This is the first time I’ve seen Elly follow someone other than me,” Luna remarked.
“It’s a wife’s duty to take care of her husband!” Elly declared.
“…”
“Oh my, I can’t just sit back and watch, can I?”
Iris stood up and came to my side. I was naturally pushed to the center, creating a formation with Iris on my left and Elly on my right.
The competition between them was fierce.
With spoons being pushed at me from both sides, I felt like my mouth was going to tear. Of course, it seemed Iris was just doing it playfully to tease Elly.
I resented Luna for smiling as she watched us.
In wuxia, people repay the grace of having their lives saved with their own lives, but I guess this is a fantasy world with no class. She’s just letting her savior suffer.
“Oppa, do you prefer it if I call you yeobo [darling], or seobangnim [husband]?”
“…”
The headache-inducing dinner continued for a long time.
·
·
·
As the night deepened, we naturally split up into the two rooms.
Surprisingly, the cabin had separate rooms for Luna and Elly. It seemed elves respected each other’s privacy.
In any case, Iris and I took Luna’s room, while Luna and Elly took Elly’s.
During the process of assigning rooms, Elly burst into tears and clung to my pants, but this was a non-negotiable issue.
“Haa…”
At this point, I was starting to wonder if Elly would charge at me with enough ferocity to rip my pants off when I tried to leave tomorrow morning.
“Hehe, you’re quite popular, Hyun-woo.”
“…Give me a break. I draw the line at minors.”
The dark elf I met yesterday was an adult by age, she just hadn't had her coming-of-age ceremony yet. It’s like on Earth—you don’t consider someone in their twenties a minor just because they haven’t gotten their ID card yet.
“A minor?”
A look of confusion bloomed on Iris’s face.
“I’m talking about Elly. I don’t know how it is in this world, but where I’m from, an adult dating a minor would be in huge trouble.”
Of course, it wasn't just about some trivial ethics or laws. How pathetic and charmless must an adult be to try and prey on a kid who isn't even fully grown?
It was a matter of pride.
“Um, but I think there’s one thing you’re misunderstanding, Hyun-woo.”
“A misunderstanding?”
“Yes. I heard from Luna that Elly recently turned 100 and is an adult.”
“…?”
For a moment, I felt like I’d been smacked in the head with a ladle.
She’s over 100 with that face and body?
An image of Elly reflexively came to mind.
She had a petite frame, smaller than my master’s, and was practically flat-chested, but her face was still that of an incredibly beautiful elf.
The thought that I had escaped the fate of social annihilation for being courted by a minor, and was instead being pursued by a beautiful girl who was technically an adult, made my loins ache before I knew it.
There was no way Iris would miss that. She reached out and gently cupped my crotch.
“Just a moment ago, you said you couldn’t touch her because she was a minor, but the second you hear Elly’s an adult, you get this hard…”
With a sensual touch, Iris stroked my hardened dick up and down through my clothes.
Her skilled hands made my hips twitch involuntarily.
Having been with her countless times, I knew this was a signal from Iris.
The talk about Elly was just a pretext.
I gently pressed my lips against hers and laid her down on the bed. Even with the slight impact, her breasts jiggled in a way that no man could look away from.
The fact that she was wearing the negligee I had given her made the visual stimulation immense.
“The walls are thin. Everything will be audible. Are you sure about this?”
Instead of answering, Iris kissed me again.
“I’m sure you can block the sound, Hyun-woo.”
Pulling the alluringly smiling Iris into an embrace, I squeezed her breast firmly.
The night was deep, but the dawn was still far away.
“…Gulp.”
And so, Iris and I, oblivious to the fact that the door was slightly ajar, began to explore each other’s bodies.