Picked Up an Elf
As we emerged from the forest, the village came into view. A wooden palisade, roofs huddled close together — humble, and somehow warmly familiar.
A man stood guard at the entrance as we approached.
"We're back, Uncle Jack," Mina called out in greeting. So his name was Jack.
"Mina! When did you sneak out of the village again?!"
The scolding landed at once.
"I told you not to go out — it's dangerous!"
Mina hung her head, thoroughly deflated.
"I'm sorry... but I had no choice if I wanted to gather herbs..."
Those words tugged at my heart. A poor, kind-hearted girl braving the forest to gather medicine for her ailing mother... a whole tragic saga unspooled in my head.
"These are all just weeds," Jack said, peering into Mina's basket. "Why would you even need herbs in the first place? Time to stop playing house."
"..."
Mina scratched her head and laughed.
"Hehe, sorry. I was just so bored..."
Jack sighed.
"This is the last time. If you sneak out of the village even once more, I'll have no choice but to tell your parents."
"Eep — you can't!"
"Oh, I can. If something terrible happened to you, how could I ever look your parents in the eye?"
Genuine worry colored Jack's voice. Mina seemed to hear it too, because she quietly bowed her head.
"I'm sorry. I won't go out ever again. Besides, it really was dangerous this time. We ran into a pack of goblins."
"Right, goblins... What?!"
Jack nearly jumped out of his skin.
"A-are you serious?! See, what did I tell you! No matter how safe it is around our village, monsters still show up eventually! Are you hurt anywhere?!"
"Thankfully I'm not. Shirin here saved me."
Only then did Jack look at me.
"This little kid? Wait... those ears... an elf?!"
I smiled and nodded. I rather liked the shocked reaction.
"But even if you're an elf, you're just a kid... you saved Mina?"
Before I could answer, Mina jumped in.
"Shirin's super strong! She can use magic! She wiped out a whole pack of goblins in one go!"
Jack looked unconvinced.
"...Well, anyway, thank you. For saving Mina. Hold on, I should have something I can give you..."
He rummaged in his pocket and held something out.
A piece of candy.
He really did think of me as a little kid. ...Well, I supposed I looked the part.
"Enjoy it."
Jack wore a warm, satisfied smile — the look of a man certain I'd be delighted.
"...Thank you."
I accepted the candy with both hands. Beside me, Mina tugged at Jack's clothes.
"Me too, me too — I want one."
"Alright, alright. But next time, you absolutely do not leave the village. Got it?"
"Yes!"
Jack laughed and handed Mina a candy as well. We each popped one in our mouths. Sweetness spread across my tongue.
...Okay, it is pretty good.
And so Mina and I walked into the village with candy in our mouths.
The village had a warm, neighborly feel. Everyone we passed called out a greeting to Mina, and she dipped her head politely in return.
We'd just turned down an alley when Mina crouched at the roadside and dumped the roots from her basket onto the ground without a second thought.
...So she really hadn't been gathering herbs.
She'd just gone to play in the forest. She must have been bored out of her skull.
A little farther on, a sizable building came into view.
"This is our house, Shirin."
"Here?"
"Yep. My family runs an inn. It's the only inn in the village."
The building in front of us was two stories of timber. Nothing ornate, but it looked solid, and it gave off a strangely cozy feeling.
In the yard out front, a boy was swinging a wooden sword, sweat pouring off him. His shouted kiai — yah, yah — had a surprisingly practiced snap to it.
"That's my little brother, Rikon. He wants to be a knight, so he's always swinging that wooden sword around."
"I see."
Now that I looked, Mina had a cute face, and Rikon's features were equally well-defined and handsome.
They'll both turn heads when they grow up.
Their parents must have excellent genes. For the record, Mina was blonde and Rikon had red hair.
Rikon suddenly stopped swinging and turned our way.
"Sis. Where were you?"
He wiped the sweat with his sleeve as he walked over.
"You snuck out of the village again to play at gathering herbs, didn't you?"
"No? Got any proof?"
Rikon's gaze drifted to the basket in Mina's hand. Mina laughed awkwardly and hid it behind her back.
"The forest is dangerous, Sis," Rikon said with a sigh. "If you keep this up, the goblins will..."
"I won't go out anymore. More importantly, say hello."
Mina cut him off and pointed at me.
"This is Shirin. I met her in the forest."
Rikon stared at me — at my face and my ears in particular — then looked back at Mina.
"We're barely scraping by, and you picked up a little kid?"
...I was stunned. I wasn't even sure what had stunned me. Was it being called a little kid by a little kid? Or the phrase "picked up"?
Mina took my hand.
"I wanted a little sister. One this cute. Rikon, you said you'd like a little sister too."
"But she's an elf. Send her home already."
"No. She's going to live with us from now on. I'll take good care of her. Besides, Shirin can use magic. She'll be a help around the house."
"This is interspecies kidnapping."
...What on earth were these two talking about. I'd been promoted, without my consent, to kidnapped elf child.
Then I heard footsteps behind us. I turned to find a man with the same red hair as Rikon walking toward us.
"Father."
Mina and Rikon called out at the same time. And just like that, the siblings' good looks made perfect sense.
Their father was extremely handsome. Tall, with broad, powerful shoulders. He even looked young. He was carrying a massive log as if it weighed nothing, and he practically radiated a wild, rugged energy.
"Father, Sis picked up some weird kid," Rikon said. "She says we're going to raise her at our house."
"She's not a weird kid. She's Shirin! And she's an elf!"
"An elf?"
The man glanced at me. His eyes widened.
"Oh."
He strode right up and, without warning, tugged on my ear.
"Ow!"
What the— all of a sudden?!
I smacked his hand away. The man laughed, thoroughly amused.
"A real elf. Where'd you pick up such a rare find, my girl?"
"The forest... I mean, I met her in the village square."
The man's eyes narrowed.
"Mina. Did you go into the forest again?"
"I'm sorry..."
"Who did you even take after, being this disobedient? Your mother, no doubt. She never listened to a word anyone said when she was little either. Always picking the one thing she was told not to do."
"Can I tell Mother you said that?" Rikon asked.
The man smiled and looked at his son.
"Son. Did you finish your training? I told you to do a hundred overhead strikes."
"I finished."
"Then do a hundred more."
"..."
Rikon pouted. But he obediently walked to the corner of the yard and started swinging his wooden sword again — yah, yah.
The man looked at me once more.
"So, our cute little elf lady — where did you come from? It's rare to see an elf wandering around a rural backwater like this, and not even the royal capital."
"I'm just traveling. On an adventure."
"An adventure, huh. That's impressive. But aren't you a bit young to be adventuring alone?"
"I know how to use magic."
Mina jumped in to back me up.
"That's right. Shirin's super strong! She might even be stronger than you, Father!"
The man chuckled and ruffled Mina's hair.
"Mina. Haven't I always told you? There's no one in this world stronger than your father."
The confidence was staggering.
Mina didn't back down. She raised her voice.
"But Shirin blew away a whole pack of goblins in one shot! With magic!"
"They're just goblins. Rikon could take down a goblin or two no problem."
The man grinned.
"Still. Using magic at such a young age is impressive. I'll give you that."
His hand ruffled through my hair. I felt a flicker of happiness, as if I'd been acknowledged.
...Wait.
Why was I happy about being praised? Don't tell me my mental age had dropped along with everything else.
Anyway, I'd gotten Mina home safely. My job was done. Time to be on my way.
"Mina, I should be going..."
That was when someone came running up in a panic.
"Kyle! A pack of goblins is attacking the village!"
So Mina's father's name was Kyle. Kyle raised an eyebrow.
"Goblins? Those cowardly things? Why all of a sudden?"
"I don't know! They're soaking wet from head to toe, and they look furious!"
Mina looked at me. I quietly averted my gaze toward the sky.
A pack of goblins, soaked to the skin. No question — the ones my magic had sent flying through the forest earlier. So they'd chased us all the way to the village. Maybe I should have taught them a more thorough lesson.
Kyle turned to Rikon.
"Son. Fetch your father's sword."
"Yes, sir!"
Rikon nodded with grave determination and scurried into the inn. Moments later he came bustling back out, huffing and straining under a sword as tall as he was.
Kyle took the blade as if it weighed nothing and ruffled Rikon's hair.
"I'll be back."
"Yes, sir!"
Rikon's eyes sparkled. Whatever else you might say about him, he clearly idolized his father.
Then Mina spoke up.
"Father. Can I watch?"
Kyle smiled.
"Want to see your father looking cool, do you?"
"Yes!"
"Alright. You can watch. Goblins aren't particularly dangerous anyway."
"Thank you! Come on, Shirin!"
Mina grabbed my hand.
I was just about to leave...
As a Max Level Mage, watching someone hunt goblins wasn't exactly high on my list of interests.
...No, that was a lie. I was curious. I wanted to see Kyle swing that sword with my own eyes — to find out just how strong you had to be to talk like that.
In the end, I took Mina's hand and followed Kyle out.