Chapter 10

After introducing themselves and shaking hands, the group led by Helian followed the girl as she walked through the forest.

When asked, she explained that there was a village nearby where the girl and her people had been living for about three weeks after fleeing from the city.

"For about three weeks, they have been living there after escaping from the city."

"Then, the elf we encountered earlier—"

"Yes, he is an elf from the Noblewood."

During their journey, they talked about the elf and gathered information.

Although they immediately encountered trouble, it was fortunate to have met someone with such valuable information so early on. In the worst case, they might have walked until nightfall without encountering anyone.

"Um, the name of your country is—"

"Latestwood. It's a city-state with only one city and a few villages. To put it bluntly, it's more like a gathering place. It was founded about thirty years ago by a half-elf."

In this context, a city-state refers to a small country with only one city and its surrounding areas. The current Alkymaira is also in a de facto city-state situation, as only the castle and the town below it were forcibly transferred.

"Thirty years... That's a relatively recent event."

"Half-elves themselves are a recent race. The number of half-elves began to increase about a hundred years ago. Before that, they were quite rare."

According to the half-elf girl, Reifa, there was no environment for half-elves to be born in the first place.

There are various types of elves, but most live in the great forests in the western part of the continent. The elves who live in forests near human territories, such as the Noblewood, tend to look down on humans.

Due to their geographical proximity, the elves who have more contact with humans are from the Noblewood, but it is unthinkable for them to have children with humans.

Only a few elves who live deep in the forest and do not despise humans occasionally venture out and form families with humans, resulting in the birth of half-elves.

Until a hundred years ago.

"A hundred years ago, a war between races broke out."

A war between the group of elves centered around the Noblewood and the human alliance.

Although the elf army initially won with a surprise attack using magic, they suffered repeated defeats due to the overwhelming numbers of humans.

The battlefield was also disadvantageous. The main battlefield, which spread east from the great forest, was a wasteland. The elves, who spend their entire lives in the forest, were not well-suited to the terrain of the wasteland.

During the defeat, many elves, including the queen of the Noblewood, were captured. The elves were forced to retreat to the forest by the overwhelming numbers of the human alliance.

However, once in the forest, the elves were able to fully utilize their abilities, using natural traps and forest familiars to halt the advance of the alliance. The situation became a stalemate, and a ceasefire agreement was signed five years after the start of the war.

What happened to the elf women who were captured by humans for five years?

The answer is as expected. The elf women, who were uniformly beautiful by human aesthetic standards, were distributed to nobles and high-ranking military personnel as war trophies and treated as sex slaves. Although the war was initiated by the Noblewood, it is still a story that makes one feel sick to their stomach.

Most of the elves were returned to their country after the ceasefire, but many of them had been raped and had children with humans.

—At least enough to form a group of half-elves.

"These are our ancestors. Although it's only been four generations since my time."

"Only a hundred years have passed," Reifa added. Despite the harsh origins, there was no particular shadow in Reifa's expression. At least, Helian's insight could not detect any.

"However, half-elves were never accepted by the elves. In a sense, it was inevitable. They hated humans, so they naturally despised us, who had human blood. We are a symbol of their defeat. In fact, they now hate half-elves more than humans."

"What about the human reaction to half-elves?"

"It's similar, but better than the elves. There are no elves in this area who are friendly to half-elves, but among the humans who occasionally visit the forest, there are some who are friendly. Some humans even attack or try to kidnap us, but there are good people too."

"Indeed, I was helped," Reifa smiled.

All the caution from before was gone, and she seemed to have opened up considerably. It must be a harsh situation for half-elves, Helian thought, feeling heavy.

However, as he asked more questions, various discrepancies became apparent.

—First, in the game [Tactics Chronicle], there is no such history.

At least in the world Helian came from, such a history did not exist. There were groups of elf NPCs, but there was no war a hundred years ago in the game. It might have happened in an area he didn't know about, but there was no such record in the [Historical Information] of the countries he had conquered.

The country names are the same.

Neither the Noblewood nor the Latestwood were familiar to Helian.

Furthermore, it was strange that there was a human country capable of defeating the elves, as the humans in the game were only the king and had no combat ability.

In any case, this confirmed that they were not in the world they had been in before.

Moreover, the existence of a human country, which contradicted the game's premise, eliminated the possibility that they had been transferred to a different world. No, that's not it. This is a dream, it was my dream.

Helian shook his head to clear his thoughts. The priority was to gather information. He could think about everything else later.

"I understand the attitude of the elf we encountered earlier. The elves of the Noblewood see the half-elves of the Latestwood as enemies, right?"

"Yes. We just want to live quietly, but our capital is close to the human border, and it could serve as a shield in a war with humans. Also, being near the Abyssal Forest is a disadvantage. That's why we haven't been attacked until now..."

However, the situation changed three weeks ago when the Noblewood suddenly attacked the Latestwood.

"What was the reason for the attack?"

"I don't know. It was a surprise attack without a declaration of war. After the city was captured, they announced that they were 'rising to correctly govern the city with noble blood,' but I can't believe that."

The city of the Latestwood, which was attacked, seemed to be a hybrid of a great tree and stone, and it was hard to imagine the forest-loving elves wanting it. Most elves live in great trees and rarely use materials other than wood.

"I thought they might want to use our city as a frontline base for a war with humans, but—"

"Didn't they lose almost all the battles a hundred years ago? If they start a war with humans now, do they have a chance of winning?"

"It's not impossible, but it would be difficult."

It seems that while the number of humans has increased over the past hundred years, the population of the Noblewood has not. Given that they lost to the overwhelming numbers of humans a hundred years ago, it's easy to imagine that they would face even more difficulties if they fought now.

There are other elf countries besides the Noblewood, but they do not particularly despise humans and have no reason to join the war.

"That's why I don't think they really want the city. I can't see any reason for them to want it. If they just wanted the city, they wouldn't try to capture us who have fled."

Come to think of it, the elf earlier said their goal was to capture.

Indeed, if they just wanted the city, they could have driven out the half-elves. No matter how much they despise half-elves, there's no reason to chase and capture every single one who fled outside the city.

"What about the Latestwood's military strength? Did you resist?"

"Of course we did. But the initial surprise attack dealt a major blow to the city center. I've never seen a fire of that scale before..."

Fire?

"Wait. Do elves use fire in their first attack?"

"Yes, that's strange too. It was incredibly powerful, but it also damaged the forest. For elves who claim to be 'noble guardians of the forest,' it's clearly strange."

The more he heard, the stranger the story became.

"Since the city center was heavily damaged, what about the king... or the leader?"

"It's a matriarchal society, so the leader is the queen. The queen of the Latestwood and her consort are missing. Although she's not as skilled in magic as the elves, she's a capable leader who founded the country, so I hope she's not dead. But since she hasn't fled to the village, she's probably been captured by the elves."

Moreover, the Latestwood has lost its capital. It's already a losing battle.

If he were in their position, the best course of action would be to gather the survivors and ally with other forces to counterattack.

But they are half-elves, discriminated against by both humans and elves. That's why they formed a country in the first place, and it's unlikely they have any reliable allies outside.

Naturally, he felt heavy-hearted.

He felt sorry for them, but he couldn't act rashly.

He reprimanded himself for thinking too much and focused on gathering information.

"By the way, Reifa, what about Eltina?"

"Just call me Reifa."

She smiled warmly.

The contrast with her expression when he helped her made him feel a bit dizzy. Was she being too friendly too quickly?

"Ah... Reifa, about Eltina, she's not from the Noblewood. She doesn't discriminate against you. I don't discriminate against half-elves either, and neither does Reive. You can trust us on that point."

Reive and Eltina nodded in agreement.

Reifa nodded brightly.

"Yes, I trust you."

It sounded like a warning, but it didn't seem to have any hidden meaning.

He was relieved to have gained her trust.

After hearing the situation, it made sense that they were cautious about the group.

After all, a human man was leading an elf woman.

With another woman in the group, it wouldn't be strange for Reifa to think Helian was leading slaves.

Incidentally, the reason they didn't know the local situation was that they claimed to be travelers from a distant place.

Reifa scrutinized them from head to toe but didn't ask any questions, continuing her explanation.

He was afraid of being questioned later, but as long as Reifa didn't ask, there was nothing Helian could do. It was better not to offer unnecessary explanations and risk exposing himself. He prioritized listening to more of the story.

Incidentally, Eltina only nodded occasionally, and Reive remained completely silent. To avoid exposing their cover, they left all the talking to Helian.

"By the way—"

"Hmm?"

"You have unusual eye color. I've never seen black eyes before."

"Really?"

"Yes, and your hair is black too. I've seen black hair occasionally, but I've never seen a human with black hair. It's very rare."

"Is that so?"

—This is not good.

The conversation was not going well.

It seemed that there were few people with black hair and black eyes in this area. Reifa had blonde hair and green eyes, with a Western appearance. If this continued, the conversation would lead to "Where are you from?"

That would be bad. He didn't even know the name of the region. He could give a fake place of origin, but that would lead to questions about the direction they came from, why they were here, and the purpose of their journey. He couldn't think of a way to convincingly answer all of these questions. This would ruin the traveler cover.

He quickly changed the subject.

"Anyway, Reifa, you seem quite mature. Your way of speaking and mannerisms are refined... I sense a certain dignity."

"Really? I think I'm pretty ordinary... Oh, maybe you're mistaken about my age?"

"Hmm? Ah, right, as an elf, you look younger than you are... Ah, that is—"

"You don't have to be so awkward. I don't mind. As you might have guessed, I'm older than I look."

Indeed.

As a half-elf, she has the longevity characteristic of elves.

There could be a significant difference between her appearance and actual age.

While it might not be as pronounced as with full elves, it's possible she is older than Helian.

"My age is fifteen. Are you surprised?"

"Surprised."

He was surprised that she looked her age.

She's still a child.

Well, he's not much older at twenty, but in human terms, she's in middle school or high school. He didn't understand why she said it with a bit of pride. What age did she think she looked?

Looking at her again, she was somewhat short for an elf, who are generally tall. Female elves are often over 165 cm, and Eltina is 169 cm. Reifa, on the other hand, looked to be around 160 cm.

Perhaps, from an elf's perspective, they judge age by height. That would explain her odd reaction... but it's still hard to understand, yes.

"Um, can you wait a moment?"

"Hmm? Sure, go ahead."

"We'll be at the village in about ten minutes, but I think everyone will be surprised if I bring you all there. So, I want to send a messenger to prepare them."

"Ah, thank you. I appreciate it."

He was grateful for the offer to avoid causing a commotion.

He thought she might use a whistle or something, but Reifa took out a green stone from her pocket and placed it on the ground. Then, using a small branch, she drew a pattern on the ground around the stone.

The geometric pattern being drawn—

"...Your Majesty, it's a magic circle. Be on guard, just in case."

Eltina whispered this at a volume Reifa couldn't hear.

Indeed, it was a preparation for magic.

In the game [Tactics Chronicle], there were several ritual magics that required drawing a magic circle to activate. Reifa was likely preparing a similar magic.

Was she going to launch a signal to call her companion? It seemed a bit elaborate for that—

"I'm sorry for the wait. I'll call my companion now."

Call her companion?

The phrasing was odd.

"Could this be a summoning circle?"

"Yes. It's a magic to summon someone I recognize as a companion. I need the circle to amplify my magic. I'm sorry for the wait."

"Summoning a companion?"

What is that?

Such a magic did not exist in [Tactics Chronicle]. While summoning magic existed, it could only summon creatures created by magic, not existing characters.

Instantaneous teleportation of characters required a [Teleport Gate] in [Tactics Chronicle]. However, this girl claimed she could summon her companion with magic.

Come to think of it, the magic the elf man used earlier was also unfamiliar.

He used wind magic by throwing a pebble, but it was a new magic to Helian, who was well-versed in the game. What was going on? The more information he gathered, the more discrepancies he found with his existing knowledge.

While Helian was confused, Reifa closed her eyes and clasped her hands in a prayer-like gesture. Reive and Eltina braced themselves, ready to react to any unknown magic.

"I beseech thee. I call upon the silent voice. Friend, my friend. If you recognize me as your kin, come to me now—'I am the one who guides my kin.'"

The magic circle glowed emerald green and converged into a beam of light.

The light disappeared, leaving behind the figure of a young woman.

"Reifa! Oh, you're safe—Wait, an elf!?"

The woman, likely a half-elf, quickly drew her bow and nocked an arrow.

"Stop, Wenli! These are the travelers who helped me. Lower your bow immediately."

"B-but, regardless of the beastman, those are an elf and a human! They're dangerous, step back!"

"I said lower your bow. It's an order."

The woman reluctantly lowered her bow, still holding it and the arrow, but it was her compromise.

—However, Helian had a different problem to worry about.

The fact that the summoned woman obeyed Reifa's command suggested that Reifa was of higher status.

But Reifa looked younger. She was fifteen, while the summoned woman looked to be in her mid-twenties.

In a military setting, younger individuals can command older ones based on rank.

It was possible that Reifa was a higher-ranking official, but it seemed unlikely for a girl like her to be a military leader. Moreover, the summoned woman called her 'Reifa-sama.'

If so, the identity of this girl, who was younger but held a higher position and was respected, was—

"I apologize. Many in the village are on edge. I apologize for the rudeness."

"No, it's fine... but Reifa, I have a question."

"Yes, what is it?"

Reifa smiled warmly.

Despite the cold sweat running down his back, Helian asked:

"Can you tell me your full name?"

"Of course. My full name is 'Reifa Rim Latestwood.'"

Reifa Rim Latestwood.

The name of the half-elf country was also Latestwood.

There couldn't be many people who bear the name of their country as their surname.

In other words, the true identity of this girl, whom he had thought was just a half-elf, was—

"We'll be at my country soon. It's just a small village, but I would like to thank you for your help. As an individual and as a member of the royal family, I welcome you."

Her smile, which had seemed pure, now felt unsettling. Every word she had said earlier seemed to have some hidden meaning.

This is bad, Helian thought, clutching his head.