"Huff, huuff. This is the ratatouille we made last night, but I think it tastes even better today."
"I still can't believe tomatoes could become this delicious..."
The two elves of the Sildiel family, who had been standing guard since dawn, ate breakfast at daybreak.
The menu was the leftover ratatouille from last night's dinner.
After warming it up with spirit arts, they piled it on bread and took great, full bites.
Crunch, crunch—
Hwaaah...
A salty tomato sauce drenched in umami, with only a pleasantly refreshing acidity remaining.
Having matured overnight, the seasoning had soaked all the way into the eggplant and zucchini.
The vegetables had been cooked evenly from the start—no grassy taste, yet retaining their texture perfectly.
Perhaps that was why, even reheated half a day later, the vegetables still had that satisfying crunch.
The coarse, dry wheat bread with nothing added to it was nothing more than a "ratatouille launchpad."
That said, the wheat bread did have a role to play.
After all, the launchpad had to be sturdy for the flavor to be delivered intact.
The hearty carbohydrates of the wheat bread mingled and softened with the tomato sauce, raising the overall satisfaction another level.
"Jinu is definitely a master. Even the Grand Elder couldn't make food like this."
"Right. Truly, he's someone we should tie down to the Sildiel family for life."
Elhaha—!
The elves chattered innocently about something that would have made Gang Jinu flee in horror had he heard it.
The Sildiel family had inherited the World Tree's blessing more deeply than most.
Just like the Liliendra family, who could use the World Tree's power more efficiently, the Sildiel family also possessed special abilities.
An innate affinity for spirits that allowed them to form contracts even with high-ranking spirits,
and delicate mana control that increased the efficiency of all magic, including spirit arts.
They were talents any elf was born with, but in the Sildiel family, those talents stood out all the more.
Thus, while they were not unique abilities like those of the Liliendra family, they were powerful enough.
For that reason, the Sildiel family was entrusted with Nuardel's national defense.
As the guard elves ate their ratatouille, they wondered what today's menu would be.
It was a common behavioral pattern among elves whose palates had been corrupted... no, enlightened by Gang Jinu.
Rustle—
Their heads were filled with the thought: We need to finish work quickly and get to the cafeteria.
The guard elves did not even sense the presence approaching them.
Kwaaaang—!
"Kyaaaak!!"
"W-what?!"
The elves reacted like cats to the sudden ambush.
They sprang up, dodging the unexpected spear thrust.
Since they had put down their swords to eat, the elves hurriedly grabbed their weapons.
"We've come to take back our quartermaster, Gang Jinu."
"No!! Didn't I tell you not to kill them? If that had hit just now, they would've been flattened like dried filefish."
"I know. It didn't hit."
"Haa..."
It was bewildering enough that they had been attacked out of nowhere, but humans, on top of that?
A middle-aged silver-haired man holding a spear, and beside him, a knight who looked green and youthful by comparison.
"How did humans get in here?!"
"Gang Jinu? Are you humans who know Jinu?"
"That's right. Return Gang Jinu quietly. Then you can avoid getting hurt."
The silver-haired man handled a spear as long as he was tall as if it were an extension of his own limbs.
With a menacing air, he demanded Gang Jinu's return.
But they had received no prior handover about humans entering, and they had been attacked first.
In this situation, there was no way they could simply let it slide.
"How are we supposed to believe that? Put your weapons on the ground and surrender! You barge into the sacred land of the elves as you please!"
"Huh. Your elves crossed into Silvaerin first and forcibly kidnapped Jinu. And now you want to argue who was in the wrong?"
"Ugh, that... may be true, but..."
"Well, fine. In any case, the two of you are too low-ranking to have this sort of conversation with."
The silver-haired man ended the conversation as if he had given up.
Then the knight standing beside him stepped forward and took a middle guard stance.
It was a sharply refined posture that looked as though it could cleave even a falling leaf in two.
"Hmph, you mere human! Do elves look like a joke to you?"
The elf also adjusted her grip on her sword and entered a combat stance.
If possible, the best course would have been for the two of them to work together and subdue the enemies one by one, but the silver-haired man with the spear was a problem.
He stood there with his arms crossed as if leaving everything to the knight, but there was no telling when he might suddenly turn and attack.
One of them had to hold the silver-haired man in check so he could not move.
And so the duel became a one-on-one confrontation.
The elf facing the knight.
A silence that only the two of them could feel flowed between them.
Just then, a gust of wind tore a leaf from a branch,
and the moment the softly drifting leaf touched the ground—
Taaat—!
The nimble leap of an elf, so light that even the sound of her footfall was barely audible.
The elf's downward slash came crashing toward the knight.
Kaaang—!
The knight gripped the blade of his own sword with one hand and swiftly parried using the flat of the blade.
'Ugh, what is he, a boulder...?!'
In the instant the elf was flustered by that unshakable solidity,
the knight took advantage of the opening and shoved the elf's blade aside with the flat of his sword.
"Uh?!"
The elf's center of gravity collapsed in an instant.
Staggering slightly in the direction she had been pushed, the elf immediately tried to regain her balance, but—
"You can sleep."
Thwack—!
"Urk."
The elf's nape had been left completely exposed as she was pushed to the side.
The knight struck that pale neck with the hilt of his sword.
Thud—
One guard elf was rendered incapable of fighting in a single exchange.
Fear welled up in the eyes of the other elf, who had been watching the silver-haired man.
"H-hieeek...!"
"Go."
"Y-yes?"
"Go and bring someone higher up."
She had thought that, now that her fellow elf had fallen, she would be helplessly attacked from both sides.
But the silver-haired man before her told her to run away and bring someone of higher rank.
To be born a noble and superior elf, only to suffer such humiliation at the hands of a human.
It was a situation that cracked her pride, but there was nothing else she could do.
"Eek... Don't think you'll get out safely!!"
Dadadak—!
The trembling elf hoisted her fallen comrade onto her back and quickly fled.
The silver-haired man and the knight.
The two of them carefully noted the direction in which the elf had fled, then began following her.
***
Arthur and Kailan had deliberately let one elf go.
Because that frightened long-ear would serve as a living navigation device.
'This is a method we use when exterminating goblins, and yet it works here too.'
Arthur thought to himself as he advanced in the direction the elf had fled.
Goblins and elves both had green as their personal color,
both had the same pointed ears,
and both ran their mouths without recognizing how strong their opponent was...
Somehow, the fantasy Arthur had built up about elves had shattered in no time.
Arthur spoke to the grinning Kailan.
"Judging by those elves' attitude... don't you think they would have guided us just fine if we hadn't ambushed them?"
"Hmm... Even in a desperate situation, they did use honorifics to a suspicious degree. That might have been the case."
"Then shouldn't you have tried talking first? Why did you jump out right away?"
"Because that way is more fun—hm! Had they not insulted Gang Jinu? Those elf bastards. It was a reflex, so it couldn't be helped."
"Ah... yes."
He wasn't originally this mad for amusement.
But recently, there had been no incidents aside from monster waves,
and during the waves, he never stepped in, always leaving it to the troops for the sake of real combat experience... so it seemed quite a lot had built up.
After walking endlessly along the narrow forest path, they came upon a relatively open plain.
Arthur got the impression that it was half like Silvaerin's agricultural district and half like its commercial district.
So he had expected to see at least a few passersby, but not a single nose showed itself.
"Looks like they all ran away."
"It seems so. Still... the security is far too lax."
The place they had first entered seemed to be Nuardel's border, but there had been only two guards, let alone a defensive wall.
And as if they did not even have an ordinary guard unit, not a single elf appeared to oppose them.
Was this confidence, or recklessness?
Arthur thought it was closer to the latter.
No matter how outstanding their individual abilities were, they could not protect everyone like this.
And... since those elves from earlier had been so pathetic, he was no longer sure their abilities were even outstanding.
'Something about this... is shattering my image of elves more and more.'
At this point, even the initial tension had vanished, and it felt as if they had come on a brief trip.
Arthur and Kailan slowly looked around the silent village.
In the midst of that, one building stood out particularly.
"Hm? Do elves make wine too?"
"Oh... Elven wine. That does seem like it would be worth something."
Behind an ordinary wooden house stretched a broad, fresh vineyard of green grapes.
Beside it stood a fairly large warehouse that appeared to be a winery.
It would have been nice to take even a brief look.
Kailan smacked his lips as he examined the winery from side to side.
Although they had launched the first attack on the guard elves, they had come to Nuardel with just cause.
But if they trespassed into this vineyard as they pleased, they would be no different from common hoodlums.
"The owner of this winery must have fled too, right?"
"Most likely, wouldn't you say?"
Regret dripped from Kailan's eyes.
Yes. They must not forget their true purpose.
And so they turned away, leaving the winery's front gate behind them.
Creeeak—
Suddenly, from behind Kailan's head—that is, from the winery's front gate—came the sound of movement.
Arthur and Kailan turned around in surprise.
The person who emerged through the winery's door was
a female elf with silky hair the color of green grapes and blue eyes like a lake.
That elf also met Arthur and Kailan's eyes, then spoke in great bewilderment.
"H-huh? Humans?!"
"Uh..."
Faced so suddenly with an elf of extraordinary appearance, Arthur momentarily forgot what to say.
In a voice only they could hear, Arthur sought an answer from Kailan.
'I don't know what kind of expression I'm supposed to make at a time like this...'
'I think you can just smile.'
To make matters worse, the two of them had become the reason every elf in the village had evacuated.
They did say one could not spit in a smiling face, so perhaps if he simply smiled brightly, the conversation might go somewhat favorably.
Arthur smiled brightly, just as the lord he served had told him to.
"Haha! Good day to you. The weather is truly fine!"
"......Uh."
'Kraaagh. Please don't look at me with those eyes...'
To the point where the gaze that had been filled with bewilderment felt kinder by comparison.
Under the elf's gaze, so cold it chilled him to the bone, Arthur suffered an internal injury as if mana had exploded inside his body...
Right, what smile? What was I thinking?
If some mad knight who had thrown your village into chaos said, "Ha ha! The weather is lovely, but everyone ran away!" would you like it?
After finishing his self-deprecating reflection, Arthur spoke again.
"We are looking for a human named Gang Jinu. Do you know where he is?"
"Uh, Jinu? Are you friends of Jinu?"
"Mm... well..."
Now that he thought about it, they were a little too distant to confidently call themselves friends.
Calling themselves coworkers felt odd as well, since Jinu had only worked with them temporarily before leaving.
And if he simply said they were regular customers at his cafeteria... that felt a bit cold.
While Arthur hesitated over how to answer, faced with his extremely ambiguous relationship with Gang Jinu, Kailan replied.
"We are knights of Silvaerin, and we have come to rescue Gang Jinu, who holds the position of quartermaster in the knight order. Do you know his whereabouts?"
"Aha. So that's your relationship."
The female elf was of a mysterious beauty and appeared, outwardly, to be around her twenties.
At Kailan's words, that elf nodded.
She really only nodded.
Contextually, it felt as if the next question should naturally come from her.
But the female elf merely looked at Kailan and Arthur, maintaining a steadfast silence.
Feeling puzzled, Kailan asked again.
"Mm, do you know where Gang Jinu is? We would like to take him with us."
"I know. I see."
Sir, do you know where the restaurant is? -> Yeah, I know.
It was a conversation so lacking in social sense that it made one's head spin.
What was wrong with this elf? She had looked like she was in her twenties, but was she actually old enough to have dementia?
The guard elves they had met at the border had first spoken disrespectfully about Gang Jinu.
And since they were armed elves, Kailan had attacked first for the purpose of seizing the initiative—but had deliberately missed.
If only it could be resolved by force like with those guard elves, it would be easier.
Right now, this female elf was dressed in ordinary clothes, without any weapons.
Nor was she hostile toward Kang Jinwoo or them, and she did not even show the slightest intent to attack.
In short, they had no justification. None at all.
Just as an oppressive irritation surged up in Kailan and he was about to say something, the female elf beat him to it.
“I understand what you’re saying. But I can’t tell you where Kang Jinwoo is.”
“Why not?”
“Because... there’s no way for you to prove that you really are Kang Jinwoo’s acquaintances.”
“Ah.”
Arthur and Kailan were rendered speechless by a reason far more persuasive than they had expected.
The female elf continued.
“Jinwoo’s cooking is... too delicious. That’s the problem. With skill like that, he must have become famous even in human civilization. And once rumors spread, vermin inevitably gather.”
“I appreciate you recognizing Kang Jinwoo’s talent, but we really are his acquaintances…”
“Well, judging by the fact that you entered Nuardel, I don’t think you’re corrupt humans... but I still can’t trust you. Jinwoo is a baby, so I have to protect him…”
“Wh-what?”
He had thought she was an elf calmly laying out her logic, but the atmosphere was growing stranger and stranger.
Sensing something ominous, Arthur and Kailan belatedly looked closely into the elf’s eyes.
“Jinwoo is a baby. I have to protect him. Always staying right by his side, so the gnats can’t bother Jinwoo. I’ll make the wine, and Jinwoo will make the food to go with it. We are mariage itself…”
“Now that I see it... she was thoroughly insane.”
The female elf’s pupils were slightly unfocused.
At first, her blue eyes had seemed as beautiful as a lake, but looking again now, they were unfathomable, like a gloomy abyss.
‘Patriarch. Let’s ignore her and be on our way, even now. She seems a little dangerous.’
‘Mm... I agree.’
Arthur and Kailan exchanged opinions in low voices.
Then, mindful of the female elf’s mood, they slowly and carefully began to move their feet.
Squeeeze—
But the road that had clearly been clean was, before they knew it, covered in enormous tree roots.
Those roots wrapped tightly around Arthur and Kailan’s ankles and would not let go.
“What is this all of a sudden…”
“Where are you going?”
Just as Arthur and Kailan were about to cut the roots with their respective weapons,
the female elf, who had been muttering to herself until moments ago, asked in a voice that had sunk into chilling clarity.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
“This is... kh!”
The tree roots moved wherever the female elf waved her hand.
The mana radiating from her fingertips seemed to make the tree roots even stronger.
No matter how many times the roots were cut away, they wriggled up to bind their limbs.
“I will protect Jinwoo.”
Rummmble—!
The female elf’s eerie declaration rang out, and an enormous plant stem surged up from beneath the ground.
She climbed onto that stem and looked down coldly at Arthur and Kailan.
Arthur thought,
‘Sir Jinwoo... just what on earth have you been doing out there...!’
That was what he thought.