Chapter 74 - Please, Made It Clear, Eclaite

I made a gulp when sweat poured down my cheeks.

"Ruciel," I called out the Fallen Elf's girl's name nervously and stiffly.

The girl's eyes were so serious! I could even truly feel that right now, my spine was growing cold.

Fear appeared deep inside my heart. 

"Please don't kill me, Ruciel!" I pleaded with my palms glued into one. "Don't be fooled by the illusion made by this forest! I might have a different form now. But, please, believe me, I am Eclaite."

Her long ears jolted then she narrowed her eyes. A moment later she pulled her bow's string.

"For a monster, you're quite chatty."

"That's because I'm not a monster!" I moved sideways, trying to get out of Ruciel's arrow path. Unfortunately, the tip of her arrow continued to follow my head.

"Are you sure? I can't believe your words. After all, what's in front of me is a... What's this? A monkey that had four hands with seriously an ugly face. Monsters like this deserve to die!"

"Wait a minute! I am Eclaite, please eat this fruit and you will know the truth! You will see who I really am." I took the Puppet Lemon from inside my bag and thrust it at Ruciel in a panic.

This fruit will make the girl get out of the illusions and will make her recognize me. 

However, the girl did not take or even touch the fruit.

"Even it's true, I don't want to eat the fruit given by a monster. And this, what you're trying to give me is an eyeball, not a fruit."

"It's a fruit truly! Not an eyeball," I said. 

I moved my finger to peel the Puppet Lemon as quickly as possible. After I finished, I showed the contents of the fruit to Ruciel.

"Look, this is fresh fruit."

"That's so disgu-"

"Big sis!"

Ruciel moved her arm to point her Long Bow in another direction as she heard my sister scream.

"Don't shoot!" I shouted and as quickly as possible stood in front of Ruciel to block her Long Bow. "She is Kimi, my sister and not a monster! So don't shoot her!"

Ruciel give me a sharp gaze before she sighed. Then, she lowered her weapon. "All right, enough with -"

"An opportunity!"

"Wa-"

I shouted and jumped straight at Ruciel! Not wasting time and not letting her put up a fight, as fast as possible, I captured her.

And finally, I sat on the girl's stomach. At the same time, I stepped on both of her arms.

"Sorry Ruciel, I don't want to do this. I'm sorry."

Done with that words, I forced her to eat the Puppet Lemon in my hand.

"What are you doing!" she shouted.

Taking advantage of the opportunity when her mouth was open, I put the fruit in her mouth as fast as I can.

"Stop!" She shouted after swallowing a bite of fruit. Then, when I was about to feed her again, she shouted again. "Eclaite! Stop it!"

"Huh." I made a strange noise when I stopped my body. "You recognize me?"

"Yes!" She said while giving me a sharp look.

"Then why did you pretend you didn't know me!"

"Because I'm angry at you!"

"Why you-"

Before I could done with my words, my body lost strength and I fell to the ground like an apple.

So unlucky! I should have fallen into Ruciel's arms! I want an accidental kiss with her!

"It's about the time."

Ruciel got rid of my body and stood up. Looking down, she saw me, who is lying on the ground.

"Why did I abruptly become so weak?"

"Because you got my poison." 

"Oh… poison! Isn't that bad? An please call the kids, Ruciel. Right now I'm not sure I can make a loud scream."

"All right," replied Ruciel who fed me a pill. "Kids! You can get out! Come here before anything strange happens!" 

The kids came out of their hiding place. And quickly, they ran up to us.

"Big sis!" Kimi shouted.

Alan and Chloe followed behind the little black fox.

The little girl approached me and examined my body. And yes, many times, she asked me if I was okay or not.

Kimi was horrified but we regrouped.

A few minutes later we sat in front of a campfire, far from the place where the monster's corpses were. 

"Ow ow ow, it hurts! Can you be more gentle, please?" I complained to Ruciel who was trying to pull out the arrow stuck in my shoulder.

"Don't complain! You didn't say anything when you received two arrows but you screamed when I touched your wound? You're weird."

"The pain I git in the middle of the fight and the pain I got in the middle of medical treatment is extremely different. The latter hurts more."

"Whatever," Ruciel said.

And as she pulled the arrow, once again, I shouted, "ow ow ow!"

Ruciel then cleaned the wound using alcohol before finally washing it with Potions. This wound in my shoulder will gone in minutes! And this is amazing!

Then, after the treatment was repeated to pull out the arrow in my thigh and after I drank a bottle of Potion, I can say that I was fully healed!

"From your actions and words, including the kids' complaints, it seems like you know a lot about this forest. So, tell me everything you know."

And I tell the tale about the Mist Forest Ebua again. I won't say no to Ruciel who makes a terrifying expression.

"From your story and the things I've experienced, I can tell that the illusions in this forest aren't dangerous." Ruciel nodded. "We can distinguish between illusions and not easily. The person we know and who attacks us without speaking is an illusion. While the figure of a terrifying monster who can talk is our friend."

"That sounds right," I commented and I got a sharp look from Ruciel.

Satisfied to intimidate me, the girl saw the children.

"You guys should keep that in mind if the Puppet Lemon effect disappears, understand?"

"Yes," the children replied.

"Now, what are we going to do in this forest, Eclaite? I'm sure, you do have a plan, right?" 

I made a strong nod. "We're going to search for treasure and hunt down a monster called Leaf Deer."

"Leaf Deer? It was a Mid Boss monster! I hope you know that monster are quite powerful. And given the ability of our party members, I can say that we have no chance of winning."

"Well… we can decide whether or not to hunt the Leaf Deer later after we explore the ruins!"

"Wait a minute, ruins?" Ruciel asked. She looks surprised. "There are ruins in this forest?"

"Yes, there are three ruins in this forest."

"If you know there are ruins in this place, why don't you tell me about it!" Ruciel shouted and she pulled my cheek strongly. "Didn't I say, you should tell me everything you know about this forest! And that includes the ruins you know!"

So, after I was scolded again, I told them about the three ruins I know.

The first ruin was the Cathedral of Lubiantera. The large white cathedral is in the western part of this forest. The place stored a wide variety of precious treasures. High-quality Magic Equipment, Magic Weapons, and Magic Armor were in that place. 

All those treasures are so tempting for greedy hearts! But, to obtain them, one had to be prepared to face hundreds of Decaying Illusion Peshrooms, dozens of Nightmare Illusion Peshrooms, and few True Illusion Peshrooms.

Next was the ruins of Rionta Prison. That place, or rather that prison does not hold any treasures. Instead, the place provided abundant Exp. Because, after all, that place was a lair of Grey Head Ape!

So I always remember not to set foot in the southern part of this forest.

The last one is Desmond Cemetery. A ruin in the northwest region of this forest is the ruin that I want to explore. 

And yes, these ruins are the friendliest ruins among the three even though this place has Grey Head Ape and Decaying Illusion Peshrooms.

The treasures of that place were nothing but extremely useful for hunting the Leaf Deer.

"All right," said Ruciel, who sighed. "We're going to explore this Desmond Cemetery."

"You heard it, people? We're going to explore the ruins!" I shouted excitedly.

And the children who heard me chanted, "oo...!" together.

Once we were ready, our adventure in the Mist Forest Ebua began once again!

We started a new adventure and it's shame, we got into trouble a few minutes after we start it.

This forest that was always shrouded by thick mist made it complicated for us to determine the direction. The compass I was carrying also malfunctioned and was wrecked.

Fortunately, this precarious situation can be resolved directly.

Ruciel, have a better compass! 

So, in the end, we went to Desmond Cemetery relying on the hints that Ruciel's compass gave us. 

We kept going and every now and then, we had to stop to face the monsters that came to ambush and kill us.

Inevitably, we have to kill pretty much Grey Head Ape, Grey Head Kong, Ash Hound, and Dry Leaf Wolf!

I wanted to eat their meat and Magic Stones but I didn't get a chance!

Time passes... and we reached a meadow shrouded in thick, white mist! We couldn't even see the sky clearly! And the sun, from here, we can see its shape.

"Are you sure the ruins are here?" Ruciel asked.

I nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. But, before we find the ruins, we have to look for a stone gazebo first."

"Stone gazebo?"

"Yes, that's right and let's move!"

I walked to invite them to explore this meadow shrouded by this thick, white mist.