CH 87.2

I left her behind and turned on my heel. There was a large forest right in front of the shore.

I strode into the woods, looking to pick firewood to make a bonfire, and made my way forward, slashing the trees at intervals to avoid losing my direction.

Even after walking for quite some time, the forest showed no signs of ending.

‘This looks like a much bigger forest than I thought.’

This will provide a hard time getting out of.

I was mulling on my choices. Whiing. When a small but definite cracking sound was heard. Instinctively, I turned and threw my dagger in the direction the sound came from.

An darting arrowhead grazed my cheek.

“Ugh!”

I heard a groan as if the dagger I threw flew true. Soon someone fell from a tree. A handsome man with a dagger sticking out of his collarbone, but with long ears. By long, I mean really long.

“Elf?”

Tilting my head I tried approaching the fallen elf, when dozens of arrows flew towards me.

What’s always with these long ear bastards?

* * *

Katarina regained consciousness at the sensation of someone slapping her on the cheek.

She opened her eyes and roused up, annoyed.

“Stop. Stop hitting me! Can’t you see a person is sleeping… Huh?”

Katarina, who had been spitting out her displeasure, stiffened as if statued.

Imagine beautiful men and women with long ears aiming their bows in your direction and your boyfriend holding onto someone who looked similar to your potential assailants, a knife placed on his throat, anyone in her place would react the same.

“Woke up?”

Cloud nodded and said.

His calm voice sounded like a normal morning greeting.

However, no matter how she looked about, this was not an ordinary situation, and Katarina was more confused because of the sense of alienation.

“Uh… what’s the situation?”

“You remember we were shipwrecked, right?”

“Shipwreck?”

Parrotting Cloud’s words, Katarina narrowed her eyes. Her memories before she had lost consciousness pieced together bit by bit.

Her ship had collided against a reef, and to make matters worse, a storm arrived as well.

Cloud said he would tell her how to get out on the condition that she would do a blowj*b for him, so she agreed, and then she lost her consciousness soon after…

…but no matter how much she processed, her last memory and the current situation could not be connected.

Katarina decided to listen to his explanation.

“Yes. Therefore?”

“This is the land the sea took us to. But the natives here don’t seem to be liking us. For now, they have been trying to kill me at all costs.”

“Is that why you’re holding a hostage?”

“Yeah. If he is gone, all those arrows will fly towards us.”

“I see. Are we in a more dangerous situation now than on the ship?”

“Ah, not so much. How can long ears compare to the power of Mother Nature?”

“Hmm… that’s true too.”

Katarina nodded her head.

Once again she glanced around and with a desperate expression she said.

“Please tell me it’s a dream.”

To that, Cloud smiled.

“Not a dream, my love. So jump up and get ready to walk. So be it, but we have a forest terrain to walk through.”

Reality, yeah, it was cruel.

* * *

We were traveling through the forest.

Although a dagger was placed upon the captive elf’s throat, and we were surrounded by countless elves, the interpretation of my words was not actually different.

It’s a law that you feel different depending on what you make up inside your mind.

In that respect, Katarina should learn from emulating Shedia.

One should just look at Shedia.

Rather than being nervous at the sharp arrowheads, isn’t she enjoying the forest and the elves aiming their murder weapons with eyes twinkling all the same?

“How is the elven forest? You are seeing one for the first time, yes?”

“Interesting. The energy of the forest is very fresh, totally different from ordinary forests.”

I was just asking for her impression of the scenery…

Maybe it’s because she’s half an animal, so she has a slightly different outlook.

But, well… It’s good, if all is good.

“Shall we go and see the World Tree?”

“World Tree?”

“It is a very large tree.”

“More than that?”

Shedia pointed to a tree that looked to be several tens of meters tall.

I smiled.

“There is no comparison. Compared to the World Tree, it cannot even compare to a branch.”

“Really?”

Shedia’s eyes grew brighter.

Now it’s unavoidable.

We must go to see the World Tree.

“Hey. Where is the World Tree?”

I asked, tapping my hostage’s nape with the side of his dagger.

The hostage crowed with a humiliated expression.

“Keugh..! The World Tree is not something that you and the likes of you can visit..!”

“Alright. So where is the World Tree? We just wanna go and say hello.”

“I will never speak. Rather kill me.”

The hostage spoke in a heartless tone, and the other elves around him looked as if they were enamored by his sacrificial spirit.

Why must things go on like this?

“Look, the reason I have held you hostage is because I want a guide. But if you don’t play the role of guide properly, you and the guys here are all useless. Do you want that?”

“Ha, you talk as if you could kill everyone here if you put it to your will.”

“You think I can’t?”

The hostage shut his mouth.

He was still shocked by how I had broken through the siege and even took him hostage, making him unable to pass my threat as bluffing.

But the silence didn’t last long.

“Even if you’re right, you won’t be able to pass the Rangers.”

“Rangers?”

“It is an elite group that only elves who have completed a long period of painstaking training can enter. We are nothing compared to them.”

The hostage, who was explaining about the Ranger, suddenly opened his eyes wide and then smiled.

“Arrived just in time.”

I followed his gaze and turned my head.

A trio of elves dressed in green, like some sort of elven version of Robin Hood, were approaching.

The atmosphere of the elves who saw them brightened.

It was as if they had no doubt that those three would solve the whole situation.

However, things went differently than they thought.

“Respected Hero, Mr. Cloud. The Elven King officially invites you.”

And different from what I thought.

Still, different was great.

“Shedia, we are going to see the World Tree.”

Possibly, we will now visit the World Tree legally, not illegally.

Shedia grinned brightly.