“Wait! Don’t attack!”

While in the act of trying to stop her charge towards me, the white-haired girl fainted, most likely due to exhaustion. Curious, I slowly approached her to assess the situation. Looking at her up close, the armor was in shambles and she had scars and wounds all over her face and body. I decided to pick her up and bring her over to the campfire at the center of the clearing. Her face was quite beautiful, with clear complexion, snow white skin, glowing silver hair and. . . Pointed ears?! If I’m not mistaken, then this would be what they called an [Elf]. Apparently one with great “assets” as well.

At the center, I healed the “Elf” with what I could currently do with my magic, healing the injuries throughout her body. Prior to healing her, she seemed to be in great discomfort, but luckily, after the treatment, that turned into what looked like peaceful sleep.

“Can I eat it, Master?”

“I’d rather you not do that. . .”

Schleim looked at me with a slightly dissatisfied face, but I paid no attention to it. This was my first encounter with something humanoid since I first awoke on the mountain, so I wasn’t going to have my slime slurp her up.

Before she wakes up again, I decided to attend to my newly arisen problem. If I were to use only the [Terium Feathers], then that would weigh me down quite a bit. So instead, with fibrous-looking plants conveniently growing around the clearing, I used that as a base then coating the outside with a thin, yet durable, layer of the feathers. The result was shabby-looking light armor, but its practicality was something that I could rely on.

After I finished clothing myself, I ventured into the forest in search of some edibles, in the case that the [Elf] was hungry after she wakes. Not far from my base, there were several types of berries which were deemed edible, and blissfully tasteful compared to my last “meal”. There was an abundance of them around, so I allocated half for Schleim and myself and the other half for her. By the time that I return, she was already awake.

As soon as she noticed my presence, the [Elf] immediately turned hostile. Taking out a small dagger that was holstered around her waist, she pointed it at me with killing intent.

“お前は誰だ？！来るな！”

She spoke in a language that was incomprehensible, although it was different from the one that the [Orcs] were speaking. Perhaps it was Elvish. Not wanting to appear like an enemy, I halted my movements and raised my hands to show that I was void of any hostility. But I was still worried. Even though I healed most of her external injuries, there was still the chance that her internal injuries were still there.

While holding up the dagger, she started to pant and sweat. Seems like my inference was correct. Moments later, she, once again, fell to the ground. Yet, she was still gripping her weapon and glaring at me with cold eyes. Seeing that this was a good chance to learn more about where I was, I was determined to make this initial contact an effective one.  After telling Schleim to stay put, I began walking towards her.

“おい！来るな！殺してやる！”

Again, she yelled at me with what felt like threats in a language that I was unable to understand. At least, not yet anyways.

[Acquired Language Comprehension: Human Language]

Huh? Human Language? I would have expected it to be an Elven language, but I guess this makes it easier for me if I run into any Humans. I stopped right in front of her and crouched down. Before she could use her blade against me, I snatched it away and threw it towards Schleim, who then proceeded to dispose of it. Then, I began my “interrogation”.

“Now then, I’m not trying to hurt you. I just want to ask a few questions. First off, why does an Elf like you know Human speech?”

“Bullshit! All you humans are vile scum! I’d rather die than answer any of your stupid questions!”

Despite being in pain, she was still able to run her mouth to such extent. But since I needed information, I needed this Elf to speak. I took out my recently formed dagger and held it against her neck. The heat that radiated from the blade would work as a good interrogation tool. Smiling wryly, I began to speak again.

“I suppose that could be done. I can always find someone else to answer my questions. I’ll just kill you and then feed you to my slime over there.”

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Having said that, her prideful facade began to crumble. She looked as if she was on the verge of crying. I started to pity her even.

“F-Fine! I’ll answer. Human language is the common language that the kingdom had established for trade and communication purposes. Even a child would know that.”

Although I got my answer, I couldn’t help feeling slightly agitated. I then continued my questioning.

“My second question. We are in the [Forest of Eden], am I correct? Are there any civilizations around here?”

“That is correct. The closest Human civilization is fairly far from here. The closest thing to a civilization would be my village, which is roughly a day’s travel from here.”

Looks like the option of going to find other humans might be a bit difficult. I guess I’ll make to make do with going to an Elven village. It would be a valuable place to get information, as well as maybe a meal that doesn’t taste like garbage.

“Alright. Take me there.”

“W-What?! Why would I take you to our sacred village? My own life is insignificant compared to our sanctuary. Bringing a human there would defile and contaminate our lands!”

“What would cause the Elves to despise the Humans so?”

My own curiosity got the better of me. Seeing that she was willing to kill and die for her own village and the pride of her race, there must have been something most than just hatred or a simple grudge.

“Don’t act as if you don’t know. . . But since you don’t even know basic knowledge, I suppose reminding you of the sins of your kind might give you some clues.”

In conclusion, I was told that the Humans were “guilty” of two things. First off, in the conquest to expand their territory, they destroyed and desecrated Elven forests and villages. Along with that, there numerous cases of pillaging, mass murder and rape. Many Elven colonies were forced to leave their homes, moving into non-Elven territories. Secondly, was the act of slave trading. Prized for their beauty and longevity, female Elves were caught and sold to wealthy families and estates, mainly being used as maids, servants and sex slaves. Though in some cases, there was the occasional male slave, the majority of those caught were killed.

I can understand the reasoning behind their hatred, but even though, if I were to continue staying in the forest, my chances of survival must not be so high.

“I understand that what the Humans did to your race is something that is considered unforgivable, but I have no association whatsoever with the Humans that did that to the Elves.”

I continued to tell her what happened from the very beginning, starting from the Orcs, and how I am not from this world, which I had assumed from the [Otherworldly Being] trait, despite the description still being unable to be read by [Analyze]. Since the journey so far was quite short, it took me no more than a few minutes to explain everything. While she did somewhat calm down, her face had the expression that she still didn’t fully trust me. I mean, who would trust someone the just met in a forest.

“While I can’t guarantee your safety if you enter our village, if you really are keen on going, I suppose I can lead the way. But first, get that knife away from my neck! It’s burning my throat!”

After moving the blade away from her, she steadily got up, seeing that she had not regained much energy.

“Luciana.”

“Huh?”

“My name is Luciana! Are you deaf? Hurry up and tell me your name!”

Without a dagger on her throat, she seemed much livelier, and apparently a lot more bad-mouthed. Seeing that there was no way out of this, I uttered the first name that came into my mind.

“My name is Ignis.”

“What a weird name. Anyways, it’s getting dark. It would be better if we were to depart in the morning. The forest becomes much livelier during the night and I rather not have to venture through the forest with a certain burden I have to take care of.”

Says the person who could barely stand up. But she was right. I rather not travel through uncharted territory in the dark. Reigniting the embering campfire, the both of us, along with Schleim, ate a meal of various berries. During the meal, none of us talked. There was no form of communication whatsoever, apart from the askance stares I received from time to time. After finishing the meal, we slept on different slides of the campfire, me being with Schleim, who was surprisingly warm despite being a slime. Before I went to sleep, I decided to [Analyze] Luciana. Call it an invasion of privacy if you must, but I would rather know who I would be travelling with.

Luciana

Lv. 15

Race: Elf

HP

84/300

MP

32/400

STR

32

DEX

57

VIT

24

AGI

44

INT

64

WIS

39

Skills:

·         Wind Magic

·         Illusion Magic

·         Sword Arts

·         Archery Proficiency

Traits:

·         Grimm’s Blessing

 Seeing her stats surprised me quite a bit, being that some of her stats are significantly higher than mine, even if I were to be the same level as her, considering my growth rate. [Grimm’s Blessing] bothers me a bit, but other than that, the rest seems quite normal. I'll analyze it more in the morning.

Being tired as I was from the events that occurred today, I hastily went to sleep. Throughout the night, I could feel something warm and soft on my body. . .