Chapter 268: Volume 7 Chapter 3: Is This Really The Elven Empire?
Volume 7 Chapter 3: Is This Really The Elven Empire?
(Walson)
No wonder Chuck said that teleportation circle hadn’t been used for a long time.
Because everyone who used it, died.
Ahhhhhhh!!! Seriously! What kind of joke is this, teleporting people directly into the sky!?
An ordinary person would’ve died already, for sure!
Before setting off, they said there wouldn’t be any problems—there are so many problems!
Cursing Chuck in my head, I rode Rifle and followed the person in front of me.
Blue hair, with two long twin tails hanging behind her head, wearing an old, second-hand leather armor, with a huge hammer slung on her back—a little loli.
Oh, right, she also had the long ears characteristic of the elf race.
From behind or from the side, she really looked like she was cosplaying a certain futuristic elf character from "Hatsune Miku."
But... those two fangs that protruded from her chin ruined the resemblance completely.
"Alright, let’s take a break here!" she suddenly shouted.
"We haven’t reached the village yet, have we?"
"We haven’t, but you need to pay up first. Otherwise, I won’t go any further—two gold coins, no bargaining."
"Didn’t I just pay you earlier?!"
And this behavior!
I absolutely refuse to believe that Hatsune Miku would do something like this!
"Those five gold coins were for the previous part of the journey. Come on, pay up." She stretched out her small hand right in front of me.
She’s a total bandit!
Why does this elf loli have fangs like a Japanese red demon?! And this greedy personality...
"Fine, I’ll pay you! But you’re not allowed to wear twin tails anymore! I don’t care if you let your hair down or add another ponytail—just do it!"
"Eh? Why?"
"Because you insulted the goddess of the otakus! I’ll give you three gold coins, just do it already!"
"I have no idea what you’re talking about, but as long as there’s money involved, it’s all good!"
"Spending big money just to make a loli change her hairstyle... Goblin, I now have one more reason to kill you," Zakarina said coldly as she walked beside me.
"Shut up!"
...
Whew, deep breaths. Don’t get angry.
In the end, the blue-haired, fanged loli tied her bangs into a small ponytail and happily accepted the coins, continuing to lead the way.
She’s the one who appeared at the end of the last Chapter, killing that giant bamboo beetle with a single blow...
Such a small body, yet with immense destructive power, completely shattering my image of elves as bow users.
Even if you don’t use a bow, at least wield a staff like Mirabellal!
Wielding a massive iron hammer, rough and violent, is totally not how an elf should behave!
Anyway, it seems she’s the daughter of a hunter from a nearby village (yeah, if you’re a hunter, why aren’t you using a bow?), who came out to investigate after hearing strange noises.
After confirming with her, her village is indeed close to the Elven Empire’s capital, Carmel, about a half-day’s walk away.
So despite our unexpected skyfall, we hadn’t strayed too far in terms of location.
After some consideration, I agreed to meet up with the rest of the party in the village and hired the little loli as our guide...
Though, with my survival skills and Rifle’s keen sense of smell, I could have found the village on my own, but I hired her to gather more information.
Who knew she’d turn out to be such a little bandit!
Well, at least I’ve learned something unique about the Elven Empire from her—namely, their riding beasts.
The creature this loli was riding was neither a horse, nor a camel, nor a lizard; she was riding a giant beetle.
Yes, a beetle!
A two-meter-long beetle with colorful patterns all over its body, especially long front legs!
Riding insects—this reminded me of an old arcade card game forgotten by time.
"Since the boss has been so generous, I’ve decided to give you a free guided tour."
"Oh? Do you have some information about this area to share with us?"
"Look to your right. What you see is called the ’White Mushroom Forest.’ Now, look to your left... and you’ll see even more of the ’White Mushroom Forest!’"
"That’s it?"
"Hehe, if you want to know more, just give me another gold coin." The little bandit stretched her hand out again, asking for money.
"..."
The White Mushroom Forest is a forest made up of countless giant white mushrooms, providing thick cover all year round, shielding the land from direct sunlight.
It’s a comfortable place to live, warm in winter and cool in summer.
According to the little bandit, the White Mushroom Forest covers a vast area, forming a natural ring around Carmel (the capital) and acting as a natural barrier.
The village we’re headed to is in the northwest of Carmel.
Hm? You ask how I know all this?
Because I paid her again, damn it!
If I didn’t, she threatened to put her twin tails back up—She’s a devil! A vile little bandit!
"Hey—"
"Shut up!" I flipped Zakarina off before she could make another snarky remark.
Amidst this atmosphere (an atmosphere of repeatedly being extorted by a little bandit), we approached the village.
Rifle’s ears twitched, indicating that he could smell strangers nearby.
Eventually, what came into view was a cluster of short, stout red mushrooms, distinct from the tall white ones.
"Welcome to Red Mushroom Village, boss!" The little bandit hopped off her beetle and cheerfully ran over to Rifle, looking up at me with her hand outstretched.
"No way! I’ve given you enough already!" I swatted her hand away.
"Alright, alright, I’ll take the boss to the best inn in the village!" she said.
Maybe noticing my skeptical look, she quickly added, "It’s a free service!"
"Fine, lead the way."
I said, letting her take Rifle’s reins as she led us into the village, and I began to observe its unique features.
The red mushrooms here were hollowed out to serve as houses for the villagers.
Beetles crawled all over these red mushrooms, creating an incredibly unique scene.
I wondered whether this style was unique to this village, or if the entire Elven Empire, including the capital, followed this same aesthetic.
As we walked along the path, the sides were packed with noisy crowds.
Hmm... for a village, the number of people here seemed unusually high, and most of them were wearing adventurer gear.
The adventurers’ mood seemed tense and excited.
Using my Status Detection skill to scan the area, I noticed several of them were over level 60.
Besides elves, there were humans, tiger-headed people, wolf-eared mercenaries, and some fluffy species... Wait a second...
"Hey, little bandit."
"What is it, boss?"
"I mean, this is the Elven Empire, right? So why are there so many non-elf races here?"
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