He was a knight of formidable skill. Biting her lip hard, Illumina nocked another arrow
and drew the bowstring. The human knight had already closed to within a stone’s throw.
Shwaaaak.
The arrow flew toward the knight’s helmet, now right before her eyes. The distance was close,
and through the gap in his helm, bewilderment showed in the knight’s eyes.
Perhaps judging it difficult to block with his sword, the knight hurriedly turned his head.
Ping.
Once again, the arrow glanced off the knight’s helmet and ricocheted away. Whether by chance or design,
the surface of the helmet where the arrow struck had formed just the right angle, producing that result. It seemed
to be a helmet made of mithril, or perhaps of some metal even harder.
His startled expression lasted only a moment. As the knight launched himself forward again, Illumina once more
reached for her quiver. But she had no time to set an arrow to the string.
The approaching knight swung his scabbard as it was and struck Illumina’s hand, the one holding the bow.
“Ah!”
With a short cry, the strength left her hand, and the bow dropped limply to the ground. Biting her lip,
Illumina swung the arrow she had pulled from her quiver, trying to drive it into the knight’s side. But
before she could, the knight’s hand seized her forearm in an iron grip. Overwhelmed by the force of the charging knight,
Illumina fell backward. The knight’s heavy body had already pinned her down,
leaving her unable to move an inch.
“Hah, hah.”
As the human knight’s rough breathing spilled right beside her ear, Illumina felt her mind go faint.
As she had intended, she had been able to get the Sentinels under her command to safety, but she herself had been captured.
Squeezing her eyes shut, Illumina gave up on everything. Yet despite herself,
an ominous thought began to creep up within her.
‘Will I end up defiling my body like Iris, too?’
She desperately tried to lift the hand clutching the arrow, but the knight’s steel-like forearm did not budge.
“Hah, hah. That took ten years off my life.”
Mitchell panted, looking utterly dumbfounded. The arrow attack he had suffered after blindly charging in
had truly been powerful. To think that the elf woman warrior he had finally found would attack so coldly and
without hesitation… If one little thing had gone wrong, he might have gone to the afterlife without even knowing why.
Mitchell had to spend quite some time calming his trembling heart. After catching his breath, Mitchell gave a bitter smile
and looked down at his captive.
“Come to think of it, this position is rather strange.”
The moment his eyes met the captive’s, Mitchell felt his mind go blank.
It was because the captive’s appearance was breathtakingly beautiful.
“A-an elf is this beautiful…?”
As if his soul had left him, Mitchell stared dazedly over the captive’s face. Skin so white it seemed it would come off
if touched, eyelashes trembling as her eyes remained tightly shut. Her striking red lips
were making Mitchell’s heart flutter more and more. After gazing at the captive’s face for a long while,
Mitchell let out a long sigh.
‘I almost kissed her without realizing it.’
Shaking his head from side to side, Mitchell spoke in a low voice.
“I have no intention of harming you. I had no choice but to act this way
to stop your attack. If you won’t attack me, I’ll let you go.”
“……”
There was no reply. The captive merely kept her eyes tightly shut and remained silent. At that sight, Mitchell grew anxious.
“This is driving me mad. Don’t tell me she can’t understand me?”
Mitchell began persuading her once more.
“I would like to let you go as well, but I cannot.
If you promise not to attack me, I will release you.”
At those words, the captive slowly opened her eyes. In that instant, Mitchell felt his breath catch.
It was because the captive’s eyes were so very beautiful. The captive was staring intently
at Mitchell’s dazed face. Mitchell’s eyes gradually grew hazy.
“Look at me, losing my head.”
Mitchell shook his head frantically and looked at the captive as if he had no idea what to do.
After a moment, Mitchell made up his mind and rose.
“I should let her go for now.”
Before releasing her, Mitchell did not forget to take the arrow from the captive’s hand. Picking up the bow that had fallen
to the ground as well, Mitchell turned his head toward the captive, now completely disarmed. Even now, the captive’s
forearm was held firmly in Mitchell’s hand.
“Seeing as you seem not to understand the human language, I will have to take you to my companions.
Among them is someone who can speak with you. So please forgive my rudeness…”
At those words, surprisingly, the captive opened her mouth.
Though she was not especially fluent, Mitchell could clearly understand her meaning.
“I understand. I will go quietly, so would you let go of my arm?”
Startled, Mitchell released his grip. It seemed he had never dreamed
that the first elf woman warrior he met would know how to speak the human tongue. Mitchell stared at the elf woman warrior and fired off questions in a daze.
“Y-you can speak the human language.”
Illumina rubbed her forearm as if it hurt terribly and answered as if it were nothing.
“I learned a little. Fourth Class warriors are permitted to learn it, if only to a limited extent.”
When he noticed that clear handprints had been left on her forearm, an embarrassed expression appeared on Mitchell’s face.
“I-I’m sorry. I was out of my mind…”
“It’s all right. If anything, the fault is mine for attacking you so recklessly, isn’t it?”
At a loss, Mitchell hurriedly held out the bow and arrow he had been carrying to Illumina.
“I will return these to you. In any case, that was truly frightening. I nearly ended up skewered.”
With a look of surprise, Illumina accepted her weapons.
The enemy she had just encountered, unlike the orcs, was someone with whom reason worked.
“Please understand. We have been fighting orc hunters for so long…”
Just then, the surroundings grew busy, and someone appeared. It was Kasim.
It seemed he had come looking for Mitchell when he could not be seen.
“What happened? We were extremely worried.”
Kasim, who had brightened at the sight of Mitchell, suddenly opened his eyes wide as saucers.
He had seen Illumina standing in front of Mitchell.
After staring at her stupidly, Kasim shook his head from side to side.
“She’s unbelievably beautiful. I never dreamed elves would be this pretty.”
After staring at Illumina for a long while, Kasim looked at Mitchell with a pressing gaze.
“You should have signaled earlier. More importantly, you didn’t commit any rudeness against this elf lady, did you?”
Mitchell could only make an awkward expression.
“I did not commit any great rudeness. In any case, this elf lady can speak our language.”
It was something he blurted out to prevent any possible problems in advance, but Kasim felt a pang in his chest.
He could not help being bothered by his slip of the tongue just now. Hastily changing his expression, Kasim
addressed her politely.
“I am sorry, but would you accompany us? We came here
to meet your tribe.”
Illumina answered in a clumsy accent.
“May I ask what your business is?”
“The details will be explained by someone other than me.”
Illumina looked back and forth between Kasim and Mitchell’s faces, then readily nodded.
“Very well. You do not seem to be rude people, so I will follow you.”
Having finally made contact with an elf after untold hardship, Kasim and Mitchell hurriedly took her to the place
where their companions were waiting.
When the group saw the elf following behind Kasim and Mitchell, their eyes went round.
It was because the beauty of the elf woman they were encountering for the first time was beyond anything they had imagined. Everyone was stupidly
staring at Illumina.
But among them, two were exceptions. Katroi, who had widened his eyes and looked at Illumina
as if puzzled, spoke indifferently.
“It has been a very long time since I last saw an elf.”
Because he had polymorphed into a human, Illumina did not realize Katroi’s true identity.
The other person unaffected by Illumina’s beauty was none other than Shrekheimer.
Since he was a lich, and had already encountered elves before, there was no reason for him to be surprised.
After examining Illumina’s attire, Shrekheimer addressed her in fluent Elven.
“It is a pleasure to meet you.”
Illumina’s lovely brows furrowed. It was because she sensed the faint dark
mana flowing from his body. She realized at once that the other party was not human.
Startled, she took a hesitant step back.
“H-how is an undead here…”
A strange light rippled in Shrekheimer’s pupils. It was because the elf woman was visibly
on guard against him. It was a quite different reaction from when he had entered five hundred years ago.
“There is no need to be alarmed. I am not currently under the Demon King’s influence.”
“……”
“You may think of me as being on the humans’ side. I have merely come to meet your tribe’s Great Elder
and discuss something with him.”
After hesitating, Illumina finally spoke.
“How can I believe that?”
Shrekheimer was put in a difficult position. As she said, there was no way to prove the truth.
But Katroi stepped in and resolved his dilemma.
“What he says is true, elf woman.”
Illumina’s gaze turned to Katroi. In that instant, her beautiful eyes
filled with shock. Only after seeing Katroi’s gaze did she realize that he was
not human.
“Y-you are…”
Katroi silently nodded, as if confirming her guess.
“You should know well that dragons do not lie.
That lich is currently cooperating with humans.”
Illumina barely managed to calm her trembling heart. The senses she possessed as an elf
were enough to let her guess the other party’s identity. However, the look with which she regarded Katroi
was exceedingly cold.
“How surprising. To think a dragon would visit our Elven Forest…”
“Can you guide us to the Great Elder of your tribe?”
But Illumina shook her head as if that would be difficult.
“I cannot promise that on my own authority. I am merely a Fourth Class warrior
responsible for controlling the lower Sentinels.”
Katroi’s eyebrows bent downward in displeasure. He had not expected an elf to dare refuse a dragon’s request.
No matter how much of an elf she might be, from a dragon’s point of view, she was nothing more than a lowly creature no different from a human.
As if guessing Katroi’s anger, Illumina trembled faintly and continued speaking.
“However, you should be able to meet someone with the authority to do so before long. Since I have already
sent word about all of you, Commander Olivier should be waiting at the entrance to the forest
with the Sentinel battle group. I think it would be right in many ways for you to speak to him directly.”
“Is that so?”
Though his gaze remained displeased, Katroi had no choice but to nod. At the same time,
he felt that something was strange. He was a dragon, one of the great race. And he was a powerful existence
feared by all races. Though there was that damned fellow Damon as well, excluding him,
every race in Arcadia feared dragons. If he so much as revealed a hint of his presence, they would have no choice but to tremble
and prostrate themselves.
But the elf woman before him was not like that. Rather, she was sending him a distinctly challenging gaze.
As if unable to understand the situation, Katroi clicked his tongue.
“Damn it. What in the world is going on?”
When a curse burst from the dragon’s mouth, Illumina’s eyes went round.
At that moment, a bizarre voice rang out from right beside her.
“Then would you guide us to that person?”
Illumina looked at Shrekheimer with surprise in her eyes.
“I do not think there is any need for me to guide you in particular. If you go straight this way, a clearing will appear.
The Elven Forest is located at the far end of that clearing, and Commander Olivier should be
waiting there. If going only that far is acceptable, I will guide you.”
“Understood. Thank you for your kindness.”
Shrekheimer silently nodded. Even so, he had seen through the fact
that persuading the elves would not be easy. The reason the elves had grown so weak that they were being pushed back even by orcs
was precisely because of the undead.