A New Worker
“This is definitely the place, right?”
“I already told you it is! The forest with dark elves is definitely here.”
Albert had come to Helbram Forest with Hot. Naturally, they had taken a taxi to get this far in comfort. If possible, he would have preferred to head straight to the village, but—
“We cannot.”
“Why not?”
“Because there is a dragon in this forest. It is the domain of one I cannot even compare myself to…… so we cannot enter.”
A dragon lived somewhere in Helbram Forest. Since the forest belonged to another dragon, Gasto—who was still a hatchling—could not trespass without permission.
“I-I’m serious! Even if you clench your fist like that! I want to help, but I cannot. The moment we step inside, we will be discovered, and if things go wrong, we might even face that one’s wrath!”
When Albert silently clenched his fist and applied pressure, Gasto flinched and hurriedly continued.
It seems it dislikes having its territory invaded.
Well, there seem to be other reasons as well.
Gasto thought he was hiding it, but when he spoke of dragons, Albert could sense the emotion of fear from him.
“Hmm……”
“There is no helping it this time. Think about it. We have business with that black-eared fellow. But if we incur the dragon’s wrath, Helbram Forest will surely turn into a sea of fire. There is no need to cause unnecessary commotion.”
Even Hot joined in. Albert judged that there was no helping it this time. Not because he was afraid of the dragon, but because there was no need to deliberately create troublesome matters.
“Then wait here.”
“Wait?”
“Of course. Keep the meter running and stand by. When I return, we leave immediately.”
Albert and Hot entered the forest. The dense trees twisted like a maze, making it a bit difficult to get one’s bearings, but—
“Which way should we go?”
“Hmm, it is hard to get our bearings. We should head north, but since we cannot even see the sky here……”
“We just need to go north?”
“Yes.”
“Then that is fine.”
Albert strode forward confidently. Seeing this, Hot spoke with concern that they might get lost.
“Hey, if we get lost here, we are done for. So be careful……”
“It is fine.”
Right?
Of course!
Activating compass function.
I will guide you by visualizing the direction.
A small arrow appeared in front of Albert. Perfect navigation. Although it could not provide route guidance without a map or similar tools, it could sufficiently indicate direction.
I set it to point north.
Just follow it!
With the System’s appropriate support, Albert walked on with a faint smile. Behind him, Hot scratched the back of his head in bewilderment. He did not know if Albert actually knew the way, but since he was walking so confidently, Hot decided to follow. If they got lost, they could just reorient themselves then.
“By the way, is the territory all right? Being adjacent to Monster Land, it must be dangerous with the current defenses.”
Hot asked as if worried about the territory. Though he had been complaining nonstop, it seemed he had grown attached to the land over time. Normally he would badmouth it as a cursed territory, but now he seemed far more concerned than Albert.
“We have Aiden, do we not?”
“Hmm, that fellow is quite strong even among humans, but he cannot protect everything alone, can he?”
“It does not matter. I left Gluttony behind.”
Before coming here, Albert had entrusted Gluttony with the territory’s defense. It was in preparation for any unforeseen circumstances. As Hot said, even if Aiden was strong among humans, he was not on Albert’s level. No matter how strong, he could not protect everything alone.
Gluttony should be enough. Even if not, it can at least buy time.
Moreover, since he had also assigned people to Elena and the nanny, he could guarantee their safety.
“Gluttony?”
Hot tilted his head at the unfamiliar name. Come to think of it, Hot had met Pride before, but not Gluttony.
“My summon.”
“A summon? Do you not only summon that fellow called Pride?”
“Yeah.”
“Then what is this Gluttony fellow?”
“A slime.”
“A slime? You mean the thing I am thinking of?”
“Correct.”
“No, what do you expect a slime to do? Is that not the weakest monster! To entrust it to such a weakling—!”
“Wait a moment.”
Just then, Albert, who had been walking ahead, stopped briefly. He had been expanding his senses since entering Helbram Forest, and something had caught his perception. Quite a few of them. But just a moment ago, the presences of one entire group had vanished en masse, leaving only one behind.
This presence feels somewhat unfamiliar. A dark elf? A battle?
“It is not a monster.”
It is different from a monster’s presence.
“I suppose I should go check it out.”
“W-where are you going?”
“I am going ahead. Follow quickly.”
Albert kicked off the ground and dashed forward. Though countless trees blocked his path, he moved in a zigzag, advancing at high speed as if water gently flowing around a stick planted in a stream.
“Hah…… Is that movement even possible for a human?”
It was astonishing that he could run through such dense trees like that.
“Ah! This is no time to be standing around!!”
Hot, snapping back to his senses, moved his short legs and chased after Albert.
Judging by the way that madman ran off, he must have found something.
It seemed better to hurry a little.
* * *
“I heard there is an elf here who knows how to make soap…… or rather, a worker. I came to the right place, did I not?”
By the time he arrived at the scene, most of the dark elves were already dead, with only one survivor remaining.
Just by looking, I can see the angle here.
The appearance is 99% similar.
However, one side has white skin. That one must be an elf.
They really are pretty enough to be called the race of beauty.
Similar to that saintess we met before.
Pretty or not, Elena is much prettier.
A doting father remark.
Severe case.
I only spoke the truth.
Anyway, from the situation, it seemed the elves had attacked the dark elves and the latter had been unilaterally defeated.
“You are…… a human?”
“Why is a human here……?”
The elves who discovered Albert seemed quite flustered, as if they had never imagined a human would come this far. But soon their expressions froze cold like midwinter ice.
“I do not know why a human is here…… but since you have witnessed this, we cannot let you live.”
The elves exuded strong hostility and killing intent. It was as if they had shown a shameful secret that should never be revealed to anyone. A firm resolve to eliminate the witness could be felt. They drew up their energy to threaten Albert, but there was no way a mere elf’s threat would work on him.
They really are a handsome man and beautiful woman. All the elves we saw at the Gate were hideous.
Those ones were corrupted.
But those elves seem to be trying to kill Lord Albert right now?
What to do. Since they had already revealed killing intent, Albert had no intention of sparing them, no matter who they were. If they were enemies. But if they were elves who could make soap, he needed to recruit them, so he could overlook a few discourtesies.
“Among you elves, the one who can make soap, raise your hand lightly.”
“Ha! That kind of soap is only used by corrupted nebulae!”
“We have received Mother’s purification, so we do not use such things.”
The elves kindly explained when asked.
Quite the explanation enthusiast.
“Okay. Well, in that case.”
Albert looked at the dark elf whose hair was being grabbed. It was his first time seeing elves from this world fight. Did the female elves here also fight by grabbing hair like that? Thinking it was a unique combat method, Albert slowly approached.
“Do not move!”
“If you take even one step from there…… I will kill you immediately.”
The elves’ killing intent and momentum grew even stronger. At the same time as the elves entered combat stance, a strange energy rose from their bodies. Something invisible to the eye had appeared around them. A familiar feeling.
Spirits.
Correct.
Though they seem to be only low-grade spirits.
All of them are spirit mages……
In the other world, this would have caused an uproar.
It would have. In the other world, spirit mage hunters were rare.
Among hunters, there were those who had contracted with spirits. Their number was at most less than ten. Spirits were remarkable. Unlike mages, they could use magic quickly without casting, and their ability to freely manipulate “nature” in unstandardized forms was truly cheat-level, no exaggeration.
The strongest among them was an SSS-rank hunter who had contracted with a Spirit King.
Park Cheolsoo.
A Korean hunter, Park Cheolsoo was the first spirit mage hunter to contract with the Wind Spirit King, and with a single gesture he could create or dispel typhoons. It was so impressive that he could even push back the fine dust flowing in from China on the wind.
Thanks to that, breathing was really comfortable.
Of course, China had been in an uproar because of it, but no one could voice complaints to Park Cheolsoo, who had contracted with the Wind Spirit King. With his power, he could gather rain clouds with wind and pour heavy rain across all of China for a week. He could not be easily provoked.
Anyway, Albert had lived alongside such a spirit mage. To him, the threat of spirit mages contracted only with low-grade spirits did not even count as a threat.
“Either way, you are going to kill me whether I move or not, right? Whether I stay still or move, I die, so I might as well do as I please.”
Albert’s steps did not stop. Just as the elves were about to command their spirits to attack—
“Huk!”
“Hup……”
“How……”
The elves could not bring themselves to issue the attack command. From Albert’s body—an existence they had dismissed as a mere human—emanated an overwhelming presence they could not possibly resist. The gentle spring breeze-like energy had turned sharp like a midwinter gale. It felt as if their breath was caught in their throats. Their hands and feet trembled, and their legs felt weak.
They wanted to command the spirits, but their mouths would not move, as if their tongues were paralyzed.
I-I am feeling fear? From a mere human?
It made no sense for a great elf chosen by Mother and the spirits to feel fear toward a mere human, but they could not deny this terror. The overwhelming presence and pressure emanating from him felt as if they were facing a ferocious black dragon.
“Kkuk……”
The atmosphere grew heavy. The spirits nearby also seemed to sense something, trembling in distress. Their fighting spirit was crushed under the explosive momentum.
Used Intimidation skill.
Used Killing Intent skill.
Used Suppression skill.
Albert, having used three skills, walked leisurely toward the dark elf. Looking at the dark elf whose hair was still being held, Albert asked.
“Do you know how to make soap?”
“S-soap, you say?”
“Yeah.”
The dark elf was confused. She could make soap, but she could not immediately understand why he was asking such a thing in this situation. But instinctively, she felt it. She had to answer his question well. Depending on her answer, the current situation could change.
“I-I can make it. It is a bit embarrassing to say this myself, but there is no one in our village who makes soap better than I do! To show how good I am, we once held a competition to select the best soap in the village, and I took first place!”
“Ah, really? Enough with the sudden TMI. As long as I know you can make it, that is fine.”
Albert took out a sheet of paper from his bosom and held it out to the dark elf.
“T-this is……?”
“Ah, this? It is not a slave…… contract. Ah, it is a labor contract. It is simple. It is roughly about coming under me and making soap…… that kind of content.”
“……There is something strange here.”
“Where?”
“Why is the monthly salary here 22 gold?”
“……”
“From what I know, humans earn an average of 200 gold. This is……”
She knows more about humans than expected.
You should have written a higher amount.
To think she even knew that much. It was unexpected. A dark elf who had experienced human society? He did not know much about the habits of dark elves here, but she seemed to know quite a bit about human society.
This is why I hate sharp dark elves.
She clearly seemed to have experienced human society. If it were someone else, they would have haggled by raising the price a little here, but Albert decided not to haggle—he would use force.
“Do you not like it? Then forget it.”
“Eh?”
“If you do not like it, then do not. But will that be all right? I do not particularly intend to interfere in others’ affairs. I have no obligation to save you, nor any burning sense of justice.”
“……That……”
“But you know.”
Albert tapped the contract and smiled secretly.
“If you sign here, you come under me. That means you are a subordinate. In other words, I can step in for my subordinate’s matters~ That is what it means.”
Wow, Lord Albert, your expression right now is incredibly villainous.
Takes after Mother.
Enough with the DNA excuses……
Must take after Father.
Now you are even throwing your parents under the bus?
Shut up.
Albert tapped the contract as if urging her to decide. The dark elf seemed to ponder for a moment, then realized she had no other options.
“……Will you also protect my family’s safety?”
The dark elf glanced at Albert and asked.
“Family, huh. Well, I will at least take care of a subordinate’s family.”
Cold to others……
But warm to his own people—a Seoul man?
Hearing those words, the dark elf made up her mind and signed using the pen Albert had given her. It was truly a bizarre situation. Even though her hair was still being held, she was calmly signing. She knew.
If I had not signed, he would have left without hesitation. Regardless of whether I live or die here.
She had doubts about whether signing this contract was the right choice. But in the current situation, she literally had no other choice.
“Good. Signing is done~ Now you are my subordinate.”
Albert smiled brightly and spoke to the elf holding the dark elf’s hair.
“Let go of that hand? Unless you want to die.”