An Elf in the Barn

There was an elf in the barn.

Of course, Saria was fully aware that attacking the human princess would provoke a strong backlash from the kingdom. But still.

"The Sanctuary—it was the humans who broke the mutual treaty first—"

"Saria!"

It was the humans who crossed the line first. There was no reason for the elves to yield.

Yet the council of elders, intimidated by the news of five hundred armed human soldiers marching in, decided to meekly let them into the forest.

"Sending that many troops into the forest is a treaty violation in itself! You all know that, right?"

"Then what do you propose we do?!"

"You want to fight those armed forces head-on?!"

"Yes, of course we should stand against them!"

It was the humans who first tried to invade the Sanctuary. It was the humans trying to pin the blame on the elves. And now, using this incident as an excuse, it was the humans breaking their promises to encroach on elven territory.

The fault lay entirely with the humans. So why should the elves act as if they were the ones at fault?

Saria couldn't comprehend the council's passive attitude at all.

"Even if there are twenty knights among their forces—"

"Our ancestors could handle not twenty, but hundreds of knights!"

To the elves, the Great Forest was a natural fortress.

The towering trees concealed them from enemies' sight. The dense undergrowth hid magic traps perfectly suited to ensnare foes' feet. They could lure enemies into monster habitats to whittle down their numbers or use swamps and ravines to gain tactical advantages in ambushes.

"Please, do you really think surrendering without a fight makes any sense?!"

Yet these cowardly elders were abandoning the elves' greatest advantage out of fear over a mere five hundred soldiers. If they let the humans enter the village unopposed, the elves had no chance of victory.

"It's not surrender; it's wise handling of the situation."

"We've even gotten a promise from the humans that their forces will be used solely for searching for the princess."

"And if they don't find the princess? Or worse, if they find her body—do you think they'll just sit still?!"

Saria stamped her foot in frustration, but the elders' expressions didn't waver.

"...We don't need to fight, so why spill blood?"

"You may not accept it now, but in time, you'll see our choice was right."

"Yes, all the other forest rangers' leaders have already agreed—everyone except you."

Hwalek—!

Suddenly, Saria's gaze shifted behind the elders. There, the faces of most of the forest rangers' leaders she knew were frozen like taxidermy.

Seeing them all avoid her steadfast glare,

"...The pride of the elves has fallen to the dirt."

Saria spat out her icy contempt and stormed out of the meeting hall, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

Leaving the village, Saria headed straight north.

Seeing the humans advancing with the forest rangers' courteous guidance filled her with rage—she wanted to nock an arrow and pierce their skulls right then and there.

'Knight, come fight me.'

'...Hm?'

Suppressing her impulse with effort, Saria challenged the human commander to a one-on-one duel.

If she won, they would leave the Great Forest immediately.

'If I lose—'

"We don't care about your conditions, little one."

'...Tch.'

Contrary to her expectation that they'd ignore her without even listening, the human commander surprisingly accepted her terms readily.

She'd managed to drag them into a duel, but.

Kuwoong—!'Guhk—?!'

"Keep going."

"Yes."

No matter how skilled Saria was, facing a human in full plate armor head-on in open terrain was impossible.

Struck in the solar plexus by the hilt of the commander's greatsword, Saria finally lost consciousness.

Soon after, she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was imprisoned in a detention facility far from the Elf Village by the following forest rangers.

.

….

.

Waking on the cold floor, Saria bolted upright.

Clang—

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Her wrists were bound with mana restraints.

"...Ha."

Realizing she'd been thrown into the facility meant for 'elves who mingled with other races and their offspring,' Saria's face went slack with despair.

She soon spotted a letter by her head.

Shrrrip—. Snap. Click—.

Seeing the message to stay put and cool off until things were resolved, she tore it to shreds immediately.

After struggling futilely to open the barn door, she realized escaping on her own would be impossible and slumped in defeat.

'...Even if I went back now, it wouldn't make a difference anyway.'

Judging by the sun's position, several hours had passed since her imprisonment—more than enough time for the humans to enter elven territory.

At this point, there was nothing more Saria could do. She could only hope her predictions were wrong and the council's optimism proved right.

Clang—.

Finishing her thoughts, Saria stood. The chain was long enough not to hinder her arm movements much.

"...Hmph."

Feeling the restraints she'd once imposed on others now on her own wrists, she let out a small scoff. Picking up the dry bread from the corner, she returned to her spot and plopped down.

Crunch.

Chewing the stale bread, she stared out the small high window, replaying her duel with the commander.

She didn't deny the commander's strength, but something felt off about the fight.

'...He definitely did something to me.'

During the clash with the commander, there was a red-haired human standing behind him, smirking.

The moment her eyes met the man—the only one in ornate robes amid the armored soldiers—Saria's arm suddenly stiffened like stone.

The freeze lasted less than a second, but in a duel, even that was fatal.

As a result, she took a blow she could have parried full-force and blacked out.

'Magic? No, an evil eye...?'

Either way, Saria had lost.

If she could have called out the third party's interference right there, maybe—but.

'Pointless.'

Now that everything was over, exposing the man's meddling wouldn't change a thing.

Resigned, Saria leaned against the wall and stared blankly at her palm when.

Weeeeng—

A strong vibration hummed.

Saria turned toward the wall beyond the sound, then slowly tilted her chin up following it.

Finally, her gaze reached the small window high in the prison.

Spotting a shadow partially blocking the window, Saria muttered absently.

"...Bug?"

Immediately, from the tiny green creature.

"Ρε, αυτιά." 「Whoa, what pointy ears.」

Human speech that even Saria could understand rang out.

* * *

Maybe because I'd run into green pointy-ears four times in a row, the word slipped out automatically even upon seeing a real elf.

She scowled, so she must've understood me....

Hm.

'...But it's not wrong, is it?'

Elves do have pointy ears, so pointy-ear fits. What's wrong with calling a pointy-ear a pointy-ear?

"Suka, blyad'! Okhueli?! Kakogo khuya, yobanyi v rot?! Nakhuy!"

No problem at all... Yeah, none.

She'd had these dead-fish eyes like the world was ending a second ago, and now she was yapping excitedly in some language.

Eh, probably something like 'Get me outta here.'

"Okay, okay. Just wait a sec."

Nodding casually at the elf welcoming me so enthusiastically, I immediately tried translating the elven tongue.

[Analysis lv.4]'s base probability hadn't changed. Fairy(Green) still got the fairy interpretation bonus, and what used to be [Small] for [Insight] pre-evolution had upgraded to [Medium].

'Another Fairy(Green) trait?'

Whatever, good is good. Even with a comparatively low 49% combined odds,

True to the lucky fairy who'd succeeded five times at 50%, I nailed it on the first try.

And so, the elf's language finally translated in my ears....

「...Fuck, now even some weird bug-human's come to screw with—」

Ah, yeah. Got it.

Hiss— Thunk!

"Mouth."

「Guh.」

The pointy-ear with a rag in her yap shut ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up obediently upon seeing the fork I'd stabbed right above her ear.

* * *

I hadn't found the Elf Village, but I had found a real elf—not a green pointy-ear.

'Whether we can talk... we'll see from here.'

The elf's eyes went wide, flicking between the fork and me, but her yap soon revived.

「Wh-what kind of creature are you! Familiar? Servant? Or maybe, de-demon...?」

「Demon, no! Uh, um.... Elf, uh—fr...iend? Is that how you say it? Friend, yes? Small one?」

「...?」

At least the language barrier was gone, so time for a proper chat with the elf....

—But first.

I left the elf plastered against the wall, eyeing me warily, and headed down to share the new info with Veronica.

Weeeeng—.

….

Suddenly.

The moment she registered my wing-flap, Veronica popped her head from the bushes with a curious look.

"How was it?"

"Elf, there. Silver hair. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Probably Saria."

"Sa-ria...? The forest ranger leader's locked in that building right now?"

"Yes."

There was a padlock on the barn, and heavy shackles on her wrists, so yeah—she was definitely imprisoned.

"Why is the forest ranger leader here... What on earth is going on...."

Veronica was just starting to mull over what I'd told her seriously when she stared at me intently, then tilted her head slightly.

"But... what about the fork you were holding?"

"Threw it."

"Threw it?! N-not at the forest ranger leader, right?!"

Well, if the elf had been in fighting shape, it might've been tricky,

But she was locked up with no weapons. We had the upper hand, so no need to bow down.

If anything, asserting dominance like this would help us control the conversation. Plus, she'd ambushed us first anyway.

Yep, exemplary judgment all around.

"Good!"

"Not good!"

Wonder why she's mad, though.