Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Elf's Forest - 1
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I wandered across the continent, gathering all the necessary materials. All that was left was to head to the Elf's Forest, obtain blood from the patients there, and use it to make the medicine.
I pulled out the heaps of materials stuffed in my bag and double-checked them. Only after confirming everything was in order did I return to my room in the palace.
"You're back?"
Not long after teleporting into the palace, Lucille entered the room. She must have checked the alarm magic hanging inside before coming in. After greeting her with her beaming smile, we went together to find the queen, and I heard that an envoy had been prepared to send to the Elf's Forest.
"And Lucille will be attending as the representative of that envoy."
"I see."
"I heard the church has also agreed to step in."
"Aren't the other races making a move?"
"For now, we've decided to go first."
It seemed she wasn't thrilled about humans taking the lead.
Or perhaps the other races had pressured her into it.
Had the arrogant elves decided to sit it out after getting a taste of their own medicine?
Whatever. That wasn't my business...
"And we've also decided to receive help from the hero. Sage, is there any issue with that?"
"From Claire? Hm..."
"Yes. Oh, of course, Sage, it's not that you're to move with her. Just..."
"Support for transporting personnel and supplies, right?"
The queen nodded, and Lukel, standing beside her, glanced at me cautiously. Knowing my history with the hero party, he seemed uneasy about reaching out to Claire.
"It's fine."
"Oh? Really?"
Unless they got in my way, I didn't care what they did as long as they didn't hold me back.
Lukel let out a heavy sigh of relief at my indifferent response.
"What, did you think I'd drop everything just because the hero party was involved?"
"Honestly, yes. Given your history..."
"I know how to separate personal feelings from official duties."
"That's a relief."
"You heard that, right? Lucille?"
"...Yes."
Lucille pouted slightly, her lips pursed. She clearly wasn't thrilled that Claire, Leventia, and Evangeline were joining this mission, but what could she do? It was decided.
"The church's support will probably be traveling with them too, so we might have to wait a few days."
"Understood. Then proceed as planned."
"Hm? Aren't you going with them?"
"I'll go ahead first."
Support was support, and my business was my own. We could each handle our parts, right?
Lucille looked disappointed at my words, the queen sighed, and Lukel gave a wry smile.
"Very well, then."
After discussing a few more agenda items, I wrapped up my meeting with the queen. I wouldn't have business in the capital for a while.
I returned to my room to pack for the trip to the Elf's Forest. Just as I finished gathering my things, Lucille came into the room.
"Master... um..."
"Being chosen as the representative for this envoy means the princess is growing even more, right?"
Raising Lucille wasn't just about turning her into an outstanding mage.
It was about preparing her to be the next queen, so taking on the role of envoy representative would be valuable experience.
Especially if this mission succeeded.
"Yes..."
"I pray you do well. After all, you're my one and only disciple."
"Th-that's a bit burdensome."
"Oh, I didn't mean to pressure you. How about this instead?"
"How?"
"If you handle this mission successfully... yeah, how about taking a short break and going on a trip for a few days?"
"A tr-trip? Th-that... um... just the two of us... with you, Master?"
"Bringing anyone else would be awkward. I hear there's a nice resort near the capital. I'll book it."
"...Is that a promise?"
"Yes."
I patted her shoulder as her eyes sparkled with anticipation.
"See you later, then."
I'd stopped by the Elf's Forest a few times while progressing the main story.
Of course, I never entered the forest myself back then. Only Claire, Leventia, and Evangeline went inside.
That's why I could offload the main story progress to the hero party, and I'd cleared all the personal achievements here on my own in the meantime.
In other words, if not for this plague issue, I never would've had to come here at all.
"Hm..."
That was why my feelings toward the Elf's Forest weren't great.
To begin with, I didn't like elves much...
"Who goes there!!"
"It's the Sage."
At the sharp shout from the forest, I raised both hands. Lorellia must have already informed them, right? But the rangers guarding the Elf's Forest didn't seem to care, openly nocking arrows at me.
"The Sage? He's human, isn't he?"
"A human calling himself the Sage? How arrogant."
High-handed and arrogant—that's how elves always reacted to my introduction.
Since most elves responded this way, I wasn't hurt or angry.
I'd been through too much to get wounded over something like this.
"I've come at the request of Light Wing Tribe Chief Lorellia to investigate the plague."
"Hah. Even the Light Wing Tribe has fallen low. Just leave that kind of disease to the Healing Tree Tribe."
True to their arrogance, it seemed they intended to handle their own problems.
The Healing Tree Tribe was a village of elves centered around priests and healers, and if you recruited an elf priest into your party, you'd usually end up with one from that tribe.
Anyway, that wasn't the point...
"Could you pass a message to the Light Wing Tribe? The Sage has arrived."
"Hmph. Wait there."
The burly male elf who'd grumbled earlier dashed into the forest. Meanwhile, the two female elf rangers kept arrows trained on me, but I ignored them and sat down.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm hungry, so I'm eating."
I'd been rushing around without a proper meal. I used the fire starter I'd gotten from Dwarven City to build a quick fire and set a frying pan on it.
As I cooked pancakes, I noticed the elves staring at me.
"What's that?"
"Pancakes?"
"No, that syrup stuff."
"Oh, this? Maple syrup."
Come to think of it, the Elf's Forest didn't have sugar maples, so maple syrup was hard to come by here.
I held out the syrup I'd taken from my bag, and one elf approached with interest.
"It's a syrup I've never seen before. The aroma is wonderful. May I taste it?"
"Sure."
With my permission, she drizzled a bit on a spoon and tasted the brown liquid. Her eyes lit up as she let out a gasp of admiration.
"This... the flavor is incredible. It's not just any syrup... made from tree sap, perhaps?"
"Oh? You know your cooking?"
The blue short-haired elf, who seemed passionate about cuisine, earned a frown from the green-haired one beside her.
"Lucia! What are you doing? This is watch duty!"
"He's not particularly suspicious-looking, and he came to cooperate. He's not armed—he's just cooking. That's fine, right?"
"Seriously, every time you see a new ingredient..."
The green-haired elf sighed deeply and finally lowered her arrow, though her wary gaze lingered. But the blue-haired elf called Lucia was different.
She came right up beside me, intently watching as I cooked the pancakes.
"That's not how you make pancakes."
"I'm no slouch when it comes to cooking."
"The batter's too dense for pancakes that pair with that syrup. Something fluffier would be better."
"Hoo. That confident? I'll give you ingredients—try making some."
"Hmph. Entrusting cooking to the finest chef of the Fertile Lands Tribe? Fine. I'll show you what real cooking is."
With an arrogant laugh—not the usual elf variety, but genuine skill in her hands—she took my ingredients and whipped up pancake batter in an instant.
This woman.
Was the 'real' deal.
Deeply serious about cooking, she deftly made the pancakes and presented them. Not just any pancakes—she'd even drawn a picture on the bottom.
That confirmed it.
She was better at cooking than me.
Beyond skill level, it was probably racial differences.
Ugh, elves!
"Impressive."
"Hmph. Go on, taste it. Opportunities to sample the cooking of Lucia Rotenbeia are rare."
I drizzled maple syrup over the pancake on the plate she offered and took a bite.
Wow. Outrageous. It melted away stress and filled me with satisfaction, like the finest cuisine.
Even the palace food wasn't this good.
Such talent hidden in a place like this?!
"It really is delicious..."
"Hee hee hee. Right? I adjusted the batter for this maple syrup. To match the sweet flavor, I added a bit more flour and salt..."
Buoyed by my genuine praise, Lucia chattered confidently. She went on for a while, and I followed her teachings to make my own pancakes.
"Oh. You picked up the technique on the first try. Not bad."
"I never expected to learn such know-how so easily."
I'd unexpectedly acquired the 'Delicious Pancake' recipe.
Pancakes were a frequent travel meal, so it'd be great to feed to adventurers later.
"Thanks to you, I learned something good, so here—have this."
Maple syrup was easy enough to get more of. I pulled a bottle from my bag and offered it; Lucia grinned and accepted it boldly.
"Bring me ingredients I don't know next time, and I'll teach you recipes to match."
"Oh, really? Then I'll give you a list of ingredients I know—let's see you match them."
I'd gained an unexpected boon in the most unexpected place.
Anyway, with my belly full, I tidied up. And shortly after.
"You're later than expected."
A familiar face appeared. Lorellia.
The exhibitionist chief of the Light Wing Tribe walked out in nothing but bikini armor and spoke to me.
"Let's go."
"Wait. Chief Lorellia. Unauthorized humans can't enter the forest."
"It's an emergency right now."
"That may be for the Light Wing Tribe."
The male elf who'd gone to fetch Lorellia earlier eyed me suspiciously. As Lorellia opened her mouth to retort, Lucia shook her head.
"It's fine. Let him in."
"But Captain Lucia."
"I tried the food he made earlier. He doesn't seem like the type to cause trouble."
You can tell from food? Anyway, with Lucia backing me too, the green-haired elf sighed and nodded.
"Just let him through."
3:1. In the end, he eyed me warily but opened the path.
I'd been granted entry, but it was still quite a trek to the Light Wing Tribe's area.
Since I'd never been there, teleporting wasn't an option—I had to follow.
After walking some distance, Lorellia spoke up.
"Sage. There's something you should know."
Her tone was serious.
I thought ahead and spoke first.
"Someone's started turning undead?"
She nodded.
"Yes. That's why... what's your relationship with Evangeline from the hero party?"
"Just old comrades. Why?"
She hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Even if you don't get along... try to understand. She's Evangeline's sister. Can you save her?"
"No issue."
Those were separate matters.
I wasn't some idiot who couldn't distinguish public from private like that guy earlier.
Author's Note
Hello, it's Malmoomalmoo. Why is it raining so much... Everyone, please be careful of floods!
Have a good night~