In the middle of the night, inside the dark forest, two individuals met up at the designated location away from the city. One of them was carrying a big bag under his arm.

“Is the merchandise inside?” [???]

The man in a black cloak spoke in the elven language with a strange accent. He was not used to it since it was not his native tongue.

“Yes, this is the half-breed I told you about.” [???]

“Let me confirm it.” [???]

The bag was opened and inside was an unconscious little girl that was about eight years old. Long black hair and long pointed ears showed that she was a half-elf. She wore a white dress with long sleeves and knee-length skirt. A piece of cloth covered her mouth to keep her silent. There were ropes around her hands and feet, restraining her movements.

“It doesn’t look like you hit her to knock her out.” [???]

The cloaked man said as he appraised the goods. If there were any visible bruises, her price would drop.

“She was deep asleep and didn’t wake up even as I tied her up and took her out in a bag. How idiotic.” [???]

“Hmmm, not a bad face. She’ll grow up to be a beauty. She’ll fetch a good price among those that have a thing for elves.” [???]

“This isn’t an elf! She’s a half-breed!” [???]

“Ok, ok! Relax, I was just saying. Anyway, here’s the promised money.” [???]

The cloaked man passed to the other a pouch that was filled with coins. In return, he received the half-breed that was tied up and unconscious.

“Nice doing business with you. Please contact me again if you want to do another trade.” [???]

“Hmph, this is the first and last time, slave trader. I just want to get rid of her.” [???]

Saying those final words, a figure with long pointed ears turned around and left, going back to his home. The other who carried his promised goods went in the opposite direction. He moved carefully and silently inside the forest. He couldn’t afford to get caught since the elves would surely execute him for this.

The city was in the middle of a vast sea of trees and although he was away from it, the forest was still the elves’ domain. He needed to be extra careful, but the risk was worth it since elves sold well, even if they were only half-breeds. They were a ridiculous race of good-looking men and women.

After an hour of treading through the dark forest that was barely illuminated by moonlight, the slave trader got tired and decided to rest for a bit. He found a suitable spot and sat down at the base of a tree. Resting his back on the trunk, he looked at his cargo that he put next to him.

The tied up elf was lying on her side and was still sleeping. He rubbed his stubbly chin and squinted his black eyes with delight.

“Elves are rare in the slave market. If I show up with you, I’m sure to get a good deal.” [Slave trader]

He closed his eyes for a moment and thought about the bags of coins he would soon be getting after selling her off. A soft wind ruffled his light brown hair and he enjoyed the gentle sensation. With the sum of money he was expecting to get, he could take it easy for a while and have fun drinking and partying.

While he was basking in the prospect of victory, the sounds of footsteps caused him to turn around. He had enough time to see the black-haired elf right in front of him before she stretched her arms out and ruthlessly stabbed both of her thumbs in his eyes.

“GYAAAAAHH!!!” [Slave trader]

His vision had fallen into darkness and a horrible pain stung his eyes as blood flowed down his face like tears. He sprang to his legs and covered his face with both hands as he staggered around.

“M-MY EYEEES! I’LL KILL YOOOUU!!! YOU LITTLE-!” [Slave trader]

He couldn’t believe that a little girl got the better of him and stole his sight. First, panic at becoming blind seeped in his heart, but then it was filled with wrath. Enraged and in pain, he pulled out his sword under his cloak and randomly swung it around, hoping to hit her. However, his blade hit nothing but air.

“WHERE ARE YOOOUUU!!!” [Slave trader]

His composed attitude as he sneaked into the elves’ territory was completely gone and he continued attacking like a savage beast.

“Hey, you’re wearing pants. I’m jealous.” [Ava]

He heard a small voice that was completely devoid of tension coming from right behind him. Immediately, he turned around and swung his sword horizontally, aiming for the brat’s neck. He then remembered that it would be bad if he killed the goods in a fit of rage, but it was too late to stop his sword. However, instead of feeling his blade cut through flesh, his sword hit something hard and was stopped.

Because he was blind, he couldn’t see that the small elf, Ava, had him attack her with her back to a tree. When he tried to cut her down, he was much too close, so his sword cut into the trunk and got stuck in it before it reached her slender neck.

“I want some pants too.” [Ava]

This time, the voice came from behind him. He hurriedly pulled his sword out and turned around.  In the middle of the motion, he noticed that his pants slid down. Ava had stolen his belt when his sword was stuck in the trunk.

“Wha-! Gah!” [Slave trader]

The slave trader tripped and fell with his pants around his ankles. The situation was becoming incredibly bad for him, but he couldn’t understand why. After all, right now, with his pants down, he was being toyed with by an eight year old girl that had just made him blind. How could things so suddenly get out of hand?

“You ok? That sounded like a pretty nasty fall.” [Ava]

He wildly swung his sword at the voice that was coming from in front of him. But, he didn’t hit anything.

“You should pull up your pants already.” [Ava]

The calm and somewhat bored voice sounded out to his left. He struggled on his feet, pulled up his pants and attacked there next. Although he managed to endure the terrible pain from his crushed eyeballs, he couldn’t track her at all. He couldn’t hear her footsteps and he couldn’t hit her. Her voice continued to appear in different directions, making it seem like she was teleporting from one place to another.

“You know, I once knew a guy that fought in the nude.” [Ava]

She kept talking like her life wasn’t in danger at all. It was like she was only taking a stroll with a friend and not a raging slave trader that wanted to kill her. Furthermore, she didn’t sound like some eight year old brat at all. This of course surprised and angered the man who was starting to get tired from his fruitless rampage.

“Haa… Y-you… Haa, haa… Are you really a kid…?!” [Slave trader]

The slave trader stopped and tried to get her to talk again so that he could locate her position. But, he was also curious about her identity since she managed to reduce a hardened man like him to such a state. Moreover, she was keeping a cool head and moved like a ghost, completely dominating the flow of the fight. Was she perhaps a warrior that had been trained since birth?

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

He had been in many dangerous situations before. He had fought strong opponents more than once and came out alive. He had confidence in his skills and that was why he had accepted this job alone. Yet-

“Who knows. I’ll tell you if you give me your pants. Ah, but wash them first, alright?” [Ava]

He was being treated like a child by a child. Even if he had become blind, she managed to evade his senses that he had honed in combat. Gritting his teeth, he took off his pants that were restraining his movements and he lashed out again. He pounced with all his might towards the voice. But, once again, there was no one there.

“Oh, thanks for the pants. Wait, now that I think about it, these are way too big for me. And you didn’t wash them.” [Ava]

“Wha-! You little whore!” [Slave trader]

He couldn’t believe it. From what he heard, she was where he had been just a few seconds ago. He instantly turned around and charged straight at where the half-breed supposedly was. But, he stepped on something and splendidly tripped. It was one of the legs of the pants that he had discarded. Ava had stealthily approached him and laid it in his way. She pulled it from under his feet right as he stepped on it.

His face was planted in the ground. His cloak fluttered in the air and gently fell over his head, exposing his underwear-clad lower body. His current appearance for a slave trader that bravely sneaked inside the elves’ forest was quite disgraceful. Luckily, he didn’t stab himself with his sword.

“Who are you calling a whore? I plan on keeping my virginity. Losing it would mean… Ugh, I don’t want to think about it.” [Ava]

The light brown-haired man lifted his upper body while groaning and angrily moved aside the cloak covering his head. Suddenly, he could feel that something was placed over his head right away: It was his pants.

“Y-YOOOUUU DAAAMMNN BRAAAAT!!!” [Slave trader]

If that black-haired elf pulled this tasteless prank on him, then it meant that she needed to get close to him. So, he swung his sword horizontally to try and cut her down. He had long since stopped caring about her life.

Even if she was precious merchandise, he was going to make her pay. If she was still alive, then he would sell her later. Unfortunately, his blade hit nothing. Getting back up, he readied himself for a drawn-out confrontation and tried to locate her. However, his enemy was outside of his league.

Something attacked his hand. It inflicted a stinging pain and the surprised attack caused him to let go of his sword. It was his belt that had been stolen right under his nose. Ava used it like a whip and struck his hand.

Realizing that he had just been disarmed, he instinctively reached out for his weapon that had fallen to the ground. But, before he could find it, a kick from behind squarely hit the vital part hanging between his legs.

“Oomph!” [Slave trader]

He let out a short grunt, covered his precious spot with both hands, crouched forward and fell to his knees.

“For your question from before, I’m not really a kid.” [Ava]

The voice came from right beside him. If he wasn’t blind, then he would see that Ava had picked up his sword with both hands and was looking down on him. The tip of the blade touched the ground and her sleepy eyes hadn’t changed since the start of the fight.

Although her body had no training, all she needed to do was sneak around which was something she was very good at. The moment she robbed him of his sight, her victory was assured. There was no way someone of his caliber that lost his eyes and couldn’t stay calm would defeat a monster that was raised on the battlefield.

“I’m eight hundred thousand years old, brat.” [Ava]

Using her whole body, she spun around to build up centrifugal force and swung his sword downwards. She let the weight and momentum guide her attack. The blade sliced into the man’s throat, causing fresh red blood to spurt out everywhere.

“Ark… Glurg…” [Slave trader]

The slave trader let out choking and gurgling noises as he held his throat with one hand and bled out. On his bloody face was an expression of disbelief which was quite normal. After all, an eight year old elf girl just managed to kill him without breaking a sweat. He fell on the ground and stopped moving, neither twitching nor breathing.   

Once the fight was over, Ava dropped the sword on the ground and scratched her head.

“Next time you deal with someone, tell him to tie better knots. Slipping out was too easy.” [Ava]

She said out loud to the dead man and thought about the elf that did a sloppy job of tying her up. In the middle of the night, while she was meditating, she sensed someone behind the door to her room. It was different from the lazy guards that guarded the entrance. In fact, the guards had left to change shifts and were idling somewhere.

Her instincts that had followed her to this life warned her of danger, so she hurriedly pretended to be sleeping. There was no time to hide. If it was an enemy, then she would wait until he was close enough and catch him by surprise. If not, then she would avoid a scolding for staying up late at night.

In the end, it really was an enemy. After confirming that she was asleep, the intruder began insulting her. He called her names and said that she didn’t have a place among elves. It would appear that he planned on selling her off to some human slave trader to get rid of her. Upon hearing him, Ava decided to deal with the problem right away. As such, she obediently let him tie her up.

After being handed over to the slave trader, she waited for her chance to come. Sure enough, when he stopped to rest, she stealthily undid her bindings and attacked him by surprise. Now, the man laid dead before her feet.

“With this, I can get him arrested and avoid future problems… Probably.” [Ava]

Ava grabbed one of the feet of the corpse and began dragging it towards the city with much difficulty. Having memorized the route they took, she slowly navigated through the forest with her proof behind her. The slave trader was dealt with, so now she had to take care of the elf that worked with him.

However, she was a half-breed, so she couldn’t accuse him of kidnapping her and selling her to a slave trader. No one would believe her and they would probably punish her for spouting such nonsense. They wouldn’t accept that one of their fellow elves tried to sell her off, even if she was a half-breed. After all, she was currently the possession of the Luceran clan, so selling her was tantamount to stealing from the clan.

But, if she came back with this dead trespasser, then they would have no choice but to look into the matter… That or she would be called a murderer and be confined in a prison cell.

It wasn’t until dawn that Ava finally reached the city hidden in the forest. Although her body was utterly worn out, she had forced her feet to move and didn’t stop walking. Sure enough, the appearance of a small half-breed dragging the corpse of an adult human caused a huge uproar.