Chapter 41: The Great Forest
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 41: The Great Forest
The Great Forest.
It was another world entirely.
A forest filled with a mystical green light. Sunlight streamed down between the leaves. A carpet of moss covered the ground, as soft as walking on clouds.
Giant trees stretched so high they obscured the sky, their branches bent and bowed by the weight of time. They were so immense and their slopes so gentle that one could walk up them with ease.
It was a sacred land, pulsing with the breath of life. A place where everything was calm and peaceful, as if time itself flowed more slowly. It was, in every sense of the word, a paradise for elves.
“Why are we here? I don’t really like this place.”
But Alfia was not particularly fond of this paradise.
In the static forest, it was difficult to perceive the passage of time. One could spend what felt like a moment here, only to find that decades had passed.
To Alfia, it was a prison where she had felt the pain of eternity. Nothing more, nothing less.
“I have some business to take care of.”
“Hmm, I don’t know what kind of business, but I wouldn’t recommend going in like this. If a non-elf goes too deep into the Great Forest…”
“Halt.”
A melodious voice.
But it was a chilling voice, one that didn’t belong in the tranquil forest, that cut in.
The bushes rustled.
A group of elves with androgynous features appeared.
They had surrounded Karami’s party, their bows drawn and aimed.
“The Forest Guardians are here…”
Alfia sighed.
The Forest Guardians.
A group composed of the strongest and greatest elven warriors, protectors of the Great Forest. They were the equivalent of an entire kingdom’s elite knight order.
“What is your business?”
One of the elves approached.
Just as all Asians might look the same to a Westerner, or all black people might look the same to an Asian, the elves all looked remarkably similar to one another.
This one wore a laurel wreath on his head, but that was the only distinguishing feature. His androgynous appearance made it difficult to discern his gender or age.
‘A dude, huh.’
Karami, however, could tell. He glanced once at Alfia, then once at the elf before him. Flat, so yeah, definitely a man.
“Captain, they are intruders.”
“Then you should have disposed of them on the spot. Why…”
The male elf, called captain by the guardian, trailed off. His eyes met Alfia’s, and his gaze narrowed.
“Alfia?”
“Oh, hey, Leon. It’s been a while.”
The two elves, who clearly knew each other, exchanged an awkward greeting. Alfia, in particular, made it obvious that she found Leon difficult to deal with.
Alfia and Leon had been polar opposites since childhood. Alfia, the dud elf. Leon, the elite elf who excelled at everything.
Alfia had heard the adults’ sighs—‘If only you were half, no, a quarter as good as Leon…’—so many times her eardrums had nearly worn out.
No one in the world likes the source of their shattered self-esteem.
“Weren’t you cast out of the village? Why are you here? No, that’s not what’s important right now.”
Leon’s wary gaze fixed on Karami.
“You’re a human. What were you thinking, bringing him here, Alfia?”
“Well…”
Karami stepped forward. The guardians moved to stop him, but they froze when Leon raised a hand.
“A pleasure to meet you, Leon. My name is Karami. I am Lady Alfia’s master.”
“Master…?”
Leon didn’t understand. He had to mull over the word’s meaning.
When he finally grasped its implication, his pupils dilated wide before he glared fiercely and raised his bow.
Nocking an arrow, drawing the string, and releasing it.
The series of movements was a single, fluid motion.
The elven arrow pierced the air. Alfia reached for the bow on her back to parry it, only to remember it had been broken in their last battle. In a panic, she shoved Karami’s head down.
“Ugh.”
The arrow flew past just inches above him. Alfia let out a sigh of relief, but her worry quickly turned to anger, which she directed at Leon.
“What do you think you’re doing! He almost died!”
“I should be asking you that. What do you think you’re doing? Becoming a slave, bringing a human into the Great Forest, and now you’re protecting him? Is this some kind of revenge for being cast out?”
“It’s only natural for a slave to protect her master, isn’t it?”
“That’s right. He must be a frog in a well, ignorant of the ways of the world.”
A rather large well, admittedly.
A crack appeared in the composure of the tin-knight-like Leon. Having walked only the elite path, he had remarkably little defense against mockery. His bow trembled faintly.
“Watch your clever tongue and leave Alfia here. Otherwise, I’ll burn you to a crisp and use your ashes as fertilizer.”
“To think my ashes could help grow the trees you elves stand upon. What an honor.”
Leon ground his teeth, his patience reaching its limit. As if to reflect his state of mind, a fire spirit materialized behind him.
Fwoosh.
It looked ready to breathe fire at any moment. Karami took a step back. If he pushed his luck any further, he felt like he’d actually be incinerated.
“You don’t have to be so angry. We’ll leave as soon as our business is concluded.”
“What business could a human possibly have in the Great Forest?”
“To be precise, the business isn’t mine, but Lady Alfia’s.”
Karami pushed Alfia forward. He definitely wasn’t using her as a shield because he was afraid of being set on fire.
“I intend to have Lady Alfia participate in The Elven Dance Festival.”
The Elven Dance Festival.
The largest elven festival and competition, held once every half-century. They competed to see whose martial prowess was superior and who could commune more closely with the spirits.
It was a proving ground where one could monopolize all honor and be recognized as the greatest warrior among the elves.
‘It’s also the final gateway to her liberation.’
“Pfft.”
Someone burst out laughing. The sound, a clear snort of derision, spread like wildfire. The guardians began to roar with laughter.
Even Leon, whose expression rarely changed, was struggling desperately to hold back his own laughter. Barely suppressing a grin that threatened to break free, he spoke.
“The Elven Dance Festival? This thing, who spends her days drowning in alcohol?”
“That is none of your concern. The Elven Dance Festival is a place to prove one’s qualifications. Any elf can participate.”
“How do you know that…”
Leon glared at Alfia, his eyes demanding to know just how much she had blabbered.
Alfia just shrugged, as if to say, ‘I have no idea.’ To Leon, it looked like she was mocking him, but it was the truth.
Alfia truly had no idea how Karami knew. She could only vaguely guess that he’d learned it from the other elven slaves who had passed through his hands.
“No need to worry so much. I only know what she remembers, and I don’t know what she doesn’t. Now, clear the path. It would be quite troublesome if she couldn’t participate.”
“Even if that were true, only Alfia is allowed to enter, not you.”
“She is my slave. I must stay by her side in case you people try any funny business.”
“The one trying funny business is you, not us…!”
His ears felt tainted. If he listened any longer, he felt like they might rot off and need to be amputated.
Just as Leon was about to signal the guardians with his eyes, Alfia stepped in front of him. A red haze shimmered over her body.
The clear, intense aura of a spirit.
Her will poured out from her sun-like pupils.
It was a sight he had never seen before.
Leon’s eyes widened.
“You…”
“Move, Leon. We’re going in.”
*
Their party had gained new members.
Elves in front, elves to the left, elves to the right, and elves to the rear. At a glance, it might have looked like they were being escorted. If it weren’t for the plant vines wrapped tightly around Karami’s wrists, that is.
Even this was only because Alfia, an elf, was with them. If she hadn’t been, he would have been turned into a pincushion long ago.
But Karami didn’t care. That wasn’t what was important right now.
‘Damn, I’m dying to play a tycoon game.’
An image of cute, chibi-fied elves working diligently was unfolding in his mind.
So many elves!
He could send them hunting to gather cooking ingredients. Send them gathering to pick herbs. Have them make potions to sell. An all-purpose race right in front of me, and all I can do is look.
It was lamentable.
Only someone who’s lived and breathed tycoon games would understand this feeling.
The procession, which had been moving unimpeded through the maze-like Great Forest, came to a halt. The path was blocked by trees and vines. The elf at the head of the line chanted an incantation imbued with mana, and the space before them shimmered.
It was the elves’ illusion magic, meant to block intruders.
A new, hidden path opened, and the procession moved on. They repeated this process several times. It was a labyrinth that no one but an elf could ever navigate.
‘These guys are fucking bastards, aren’t they?’
Watching them, Karami couldn’t help but curse internally. They had defenses like this, and they still kicked Alfia out beyond the barrier?
So what if a person pokes a few holes in some asses, or a spirit goes on a rampage and burns down a few houses? Damn these ill-tempered elves.
If they were my slaves, I’d have captured them and given them a proper mental re-education.
Tsk, Karami clicked his tongue.
Slowly, traces of civilization began to appear in the untouched forest. A cleared path, and young elves running and playing.
‘They probably look young, but they’re older than me.’
Young elves…
Legal lolis…
The normalization of TOS…
“Keuk.”
Karami clutched his chest.
Alfia spun around, startled.
“What’s wrong all of a sudden? Are you not feeling well?”
“A bad memory…”
It felt like his soul was about to corrupt itself.
Was this what it felt like to have a nightmare while wide awake? For a long moment, Karami couldn’t get a grip on himself.