Chapter 170 Getting Through The Border

Another couple of hours passed, and the group easily made it to the border. Coming up to a castle gate completely made up of wood, they were stopped by some elves which wore silver and golden lined armour and carried spears decorated with golden leaves at the base of the blade. Long white hair came out from beneath their helmets and long ears peeked out the sides while their eyes were hidden behind a face shield.

"Hey, Rein!" Kiruya waved at the two elf guards and the one she was addressing lifted up his face shield.

"Long time no see Kiruya, it's been a while since you came to Elfhiem." Rein walked up to the side of the mount and Kiruya handed him a sheet of paper.

"It has and I'm joined this time with some friends."

"Oh? Well nice to meet you Kiruya's friends. Seeing as you're with her, we won't need to search you." Handing back the piece of paper he gestured at some guards that were inside the gate to let them through.

The tree roots that blocked the path sunk into the ground, allowing them entry to the elven territory.

"Stay safe and don't cause any trouble, otherwise I will throw you out myself." Rein smirked as it was a genuine warning, but because Kiruya's reputation was good, he doubted anything of the sort would happen.

"Thank you." Going through with ease, Shaman and her group officially entered Elfheim.

Looking at their new surroundings, they saw a forest of giant trees in the distance, which they assumed was their destination. To their left there was a mountain range that seemed to be on the border with the human territory of Elysium. On the right, it was a vast field with a few clumps of trees in the distance.

'I guess we are still following the Elf stereotype of living in a forest.' Shaman could tell the giant trees in the distance would be as tall as the skyscrapers from her world.

"Now that we are through the checkpoint, I'm sure you can already tell where we are going." Kiruya gestured towards the massive trees and everyone nodded.

"I wonder if we can climb on top of them?" Elysia thought about the view you would get and thought of it as a great date spot.

"The trees are sacred so I doubt you could go climbing them." Clara shook her head as what Elysia said was rather childish.

"Don't we have to go through a dungeon to get to the capital?" Shaman remembered that they needed to clear a dungeon in order to get an audience, which made it sound like it was in the dungeon or at least connected to one.

"No, no, just the palace is hidden away through the dungeon. No one actually knows where it is located, but it is somewhere in the Elfheim territory." Kiruya elaborated more on where they were going.

"So the dungeon brings you to a completely different location that no one knows where it is?" Shaman interpreted it. as a sort of wormhole which would 100% confirm that dungeons are a complete separate space.

"Yep, and it's what makes the palace one of the safest places. Many high tier humans have tried locating it, but failed every time."

"Wouldn't that mean the palace could actually be a dungeon inside a dungeon?" Silver figured that if it couldn't be found and the only entry was inside the dungeon, then what if the palace was in its entirety inside the dungeon instead of on the actual continent.

"Hmm I don't know the facts, I am just telling you what most people know." Kiruya really didn't know the truth, but still wanted to give some base knowledge about the territory.

"Oh well, let's just enjoy the trip and hopefully we can clear the dungeon while also getting a few levels." Elysia didn't really care as she just wanted to see if the tall trees could be a viable date spot.

"True, we do have at least a couple days worth of travelling, despite how close the trees may seem." Kiruya had done the trip many times and knew how long it took, so as long as they didn't have any hiccups, they would arrive rather quickly.

Hearing how much time was left, Shaman leaned back into Elysia's chest, using them as a pillow. Elysia hugged Shaman, however, what she thought was just Shaman being affectionate soon started to take a turn.

Shaman moved Elysia's hand down, but before Shaman could continue, someone yelled out.

"OI! if you're that desperate wait until after we stop and you go do what you want in the dark night!" Clara glared at the two as Shaman wasn't being very discrete.

"Tssk." Shaman stopped what she was doing, but she continued to stay in the same position. Elysia was blushing as she wasn't opposed to it, but certainly would need to wait.

Kiruya shook her head while lightly chuckling as she had never heard of someone doing it on a mount.

'I wonder if I should ask Freja.' Kiruya was in her own thoughts while Clara kept a close watch to make sure Elysia and Shaman didn't do anything. Silver sat in front of Clara bobbing back and forth trying to distract himself.

***

The sun was setting and it looked like the trees in front of them didn't move at all. Going slightly off trail, they found a small oasis of some kind that had a flowing river which went into a jungle like forest.

Setting up some shelter for themselves and a campfire, Elysia had started to cook for everyone.

"I better not hear you two while I try to sleep." Clara stared at Shaman as she wouldn't let up what she tried to do while they were travelling.

"Yes, don't worry we won't disturb you." Shaman blushed while looking away.

"I-I don't think we should, plus I prepared to not do anything for a couple days." Elysia spoke quietly, a little embarrassed since she would rather do it inside as there was no privacy where they were.

*Sigh* "I only wanted to tease you Eli, I didn't plan to really do anything." Shaman knew Elysia was restraining herself, so for a bit of entertainment, Shaman wanted to see how far she could go.

"Good thing Freja isn't here, she would have no shame." Kiruya, wanting to make light of the situation, said it could have been a lot worse. Both Elysia and Shaman got flashbacks to when they could hear Kiruya on their first night at the mansion.

"Oh yes, it could be."

"Mhm indeed."

​ Both Elysia and Shaman agreed, as they knew how loud they could get and being in such an open area, it would be hard not to hear them.

***

<Ren POV>

Ren was standing in front of a door and moved his blonde and black hair back before grabbing the handle. He wore rather casual clothes, only having a white t-shirt and black tracksuit pants.

"What is it father?" Ren entered a rather small office, its walls completely covered in old books.

"Good, you came, we will be having some adventurers sent from the Freya forest and I would like you to join them." Ren's father had not even looked at him and was reading a book while talking.

His father looked rather young and wore robes of white and green. His hair was long and was a very light blonde.

"Yes! Finally, who are these people exactly?" Ren, who wanted to leave the palace to explore the continent, was finally getting his chance.

"It is a group of 4, with 2 fox girls and a demon girl. The 2 fox girls have a son called Silver and is travelling alongside them. It is also noted from Freja that despite Silver's age, he is to not be underestimated." Reading from a piece of paper on the desk, Ren was surprised it was basically a group of girls.

"Umm, are you sure I should be going with a group full of girls, let alone ones that have a kid?" Ren wasn't sure if he would be comfortable in a group full of women.

"Ah you will be fine, one is a couple and you know demon and elf relationships are impossible, so don't go trying anything and just try to get along." Ren's father glared at Ren's emerald green eyes as it was clear what he was thinking.

Ren had felt a little relieved and only hoped he could get along as he hasn't had much contact outside of the palace.

"They should be here in a couple days, so make sure you are ready to leave by then and make sure to spend some time with your mother." Ren's father gestured for him to leave, which annoyed Ren as it seemed like his father didn't care.

'I swear, every time he wants me to do something, it's just for his own ego or benefit.' Ren walked out of the room and his first thoughts were of how his father might just be taking advantage of him.

'At least I get some freedom now, but I'm still not sure about joining a group full of girls.' Ren felt rather nervous about relying on his social skills and got worried whether they would really get along.

'I'll go see mother now.' Ren, knowing his mother was much more knowledgeable, decided to go consult her for some help.