Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Elnoa Forest (1)
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After passing through the dungeon, Sion's party headed straight for Elnoa Forest.
Their destination had been Elnoa Forest from the start, with the Arben Ruins just one stop along the way.
"Let's hurry. The forest is in a critical state right now."
Even then, they had only stopped briefly due to Sion's strong insistence. For Linie, who urgently needed to resolve the forest's problems, not a single moment could be wasted.
"Linie... we should... rest a little..."
"..."
Of course, being human meant they couldn't charge straight into the forest without at least a short break.
Unlike Linie, the elf born with a naturally superior physique, the rest of the group were ordinary humans.
On top of that, there were two mages— the class that required the least physical endurance—and while Cloe was Sion's disciple, she was an exception since she wasn't a mage class.
"Everyone, let's take a short break."
The moment rest was called, Sion and Edella immediately sprawled out flat.
Cloe cautiously settled beside Sion and began resting as well.
'...Well, trekking mountain paths without a carriage is tough, after all.'
Linie had no intention of resenting the three, but as time dragged on, her anxiety grew.
[Grand Elder, how can you—who bears the duty to protect the forest—speak of leaving the sanctuary?!]
[Linie, the World Tree's malfunctions are increasing in frequency.]
[Linie sis... how long do we have to keep this up?]
'Aah, so annoying...'
Are all the elves in the world just me?
Why dump everything on me to fix—your messes, natural disasters, all of it?
I can't solve everything, you know.
But why set these expectations on your own and then act disappointed?
Annoying, annoying, annoying, annoying.
Damn elves, I wish they'd just
vanish—
"Ah."
...What kind of thought was that?
"It's all because of this weird ring."
Linie pulled out a ring she had carefully stored in her bosom.
The ring from the Arben Ruins that allowed her to polymorph into human form.
'It gives the wearer whatever they desire most?'
What nonsense.
If given to elves steeped in chosen-race ideology, most would see it as a profound insult.
Yet Linie couldn't bring herself to throw it away.
Whether it stemmed from her disgust toward elves or the dire situation at hand, she wasn't sure.
Either way, it wasn't something pondering would resolve.
So Linie opted to rest like the others.
Her mind was plenty drained just fending off the nonstop clutter of thoughts.
"Rion, let me wipe your sweat."
Sion lay sprawled out, with Cloe settled right beside her.
Even after spilling the secrets they'd hidden from each other in the dungeon, the way they interacted hadn't changed.
'...Back to calling her Rion.'
No, more precisely, only Cloe hadn't changed.
Sion now harbored complicated feelings toward Cloe, who knew her true identity yet had never let it show.
"Shall I get you some water?"
Such unwavering behavior even made Sion wonder if the dungeon events had all been an illusion.
Anything else, and Cloe's attitude simply didn't add up.
"Um... Cloe?"
"Yes, Rion?"
"That... what happened in the dungeon... do you remember it...?"
What if Cloe didn't remember? What then?
Or should she lie about it again?
Sion regretted the foolish question the moment it left her lips, but spoken words couldn't be unspoken.
And she had no answer for her own self-mocking follow-up about deceiving Cloe again.
"Of course. How could I forget?"
"Hic..."
But Cloe hadn't forgotten for even a second.
She had simply maintained her unchanged demeanor, believing Sion would feel uncomfortable otherwise.
Even in this moment, Cloe was being considerate of Sion.
"...Rion? Are you feeling unwell anywhere...?"
That only made Sion's heart ache even more.
"...Sorry. I never meant to deceive you."
In the end, Sion confessed the words she had vowed to share after passing the trial.
"As you know... my notoriety is kind of infamous..."
Sion's infamy, widespread enough to reach even a rural town like Prifre.
To return home, she needed achievements—and those required a fresh identity.
"So... I thought if you learned my real name... you'd run away."
"I'd never do that."
Of course, there was still one secret she hadn't revealed.
A secret the Arben Ruins hadn't grasped—one probably unknown to anyone in this world except Sion.
"There's still... one secret I haven't told you..."
This world was a game world, and she had come from outside it.
The people here, Cloe included, were merely NPCs—and for Sion to go back, she had to fulfill conditions called achievements.
"Someday... you'll tell me, right?"
Even upon hearing there was another hidden secret, Cloe's expression didn't shift in the slightest.
As if she would simply wait until Sion was ready.
"Yeah, I promise."
That composed demeanor prompted Sion to make her vow to Cloe.
Someday, she would reveal every last secret.
That was the promise.
"Oh, right—I need your help with something, Cloe. Would you?"
"Of course!"
"Ah."
She had only meant to rest briefly, yet somehow she had dozed off.
Forcibly prying open her heavy eyelids, Linie dragged her stiff body upright.
Lately deprived of proper rest, her flesh kept rebelling against her will.
Elnoa's crisis, and Sion's situation in that girl's shell—they preyed on her mind.
Convinced she couldn't afford to lie around like this, Linie started to issue the order to depart, but—
"...What the heck are those two doing?"
She froze at the bizarre antics of Sion and Cloe.
They had placed a wooden board with a groove on a tree branch and were pressing a pointed stick against it.
"Um... we're trying to start a fire..."
It wasn't the act itself that puzzled her.
Back in the subjugation party days, they often camped outdoors and had to make fires.
Sion handled it when she was around, but otherwise, Linie had done it herself.
Just not in such a primitive way.
"...You can use magic for that."
No, the real question was why skip magic entirely.
Sion and Edella could do it effortlessly, and even Cloe was capable.
"Well... there's... uh... a reason we can't use magic for this..."
Sion mumbled some garbled excuse, but it did little to clarify things.
"Um..."
Glaring at Cloe as if to say you're the normal one—explain, Linie was relieved when she picked up on the cue.
"It's a bucket list item... y'know, lighting a fire without magic..."
"C-Cloe?!"
Bucket list?
"Buc... bucket list? What's that...?"
"Explaining would take forever—just roll with it."
With her keen elven hearing, Linie could tell from their hushed chatter that it wasn't really about any bucket list.
Well, there was probably some other reason.
Or maybe the grueling mountain trek had finally broken their minds.
"...Here, use this."
"Ooh... thanks..."
Linie tossed Sion a flint from her pouch.
Still, they were about to leave—why bother with a fire now?
And where the hell was Edella—
"Kuheng... Sion... Rion... where you goin'..."
Sleeping.
So much for all that princessly poise amid the chatter—where had it vanished to?
Watching those fools gave Linie an instant headache.
'Still...'
Better than getting lost in idle thoughts.
"I-it's lit!"
Rion beamed with triumphant glee beside the crackling campfire.
Watching her, Linie sank into yet another pointless worry.
Is that really Sion?
Epic Grade: First Step of Camping 1Condition: Light a fire using friction alone
[SUCCESS]
Two days after conquering Arben.
"Finally... we made it..."
The party had at last reached the outskirts of Elnoa Forest, the elves' sacred ground.
"This is... the elves' land?"
"Just... a forest, though?"
No matter how they looked, Elnoa Forest seemed utterly ordinary.
Nothing but dense trees and undergrowth—a plain, unremarkable woodland.
Even after following Linie some ways inside, nothing changed.
"Hey, Linie, where the heck are the other elves—"
Edella started to ask where the elves' sanctuary could possibly be, but the words died in her throat.
Something round, like a spirit, had appeared before the group.
Upon closer inspection, it wasn't a spirit.
Standing before the group was an exquisitely crafted mechanical construct housing a magic stone core.
"Grand Elder of the Elves, Linie."
Declaring her identity to the magic stone-powered machine, it emitted a low hum and slid aside.
Soon, a blue glow spread from its surface, bathing the entire forest.
Wherever the blue light passed, the woods rippled like waves.
Tree forms blurred and smeared, birds fluttered away in puffs of feathers.
Like peeling back a veil, the forest's illusion slowly unraveled.
The woodland facade had merely been camouflage concealing the true city all along.
"Whoa..."
"I-Is this... the elves' sanctuary...?"
What emerged was a highly advanced city in perfect harmony with the surrounding canopy.
"Welcome to Elnoa."
This was the elves' sacred ground: Elnoa.