Chapter 80

As the sun approached its zenith.

In the only tent among the bandits' encampment, a large man with a shaved head emerged slowly.

This large man, who looked like a typical villain, was the leader of the bandits.

The bandit leader, after stretching once, ordered one of his subordinates to bring him some food. Soon, the subordinate brought a wooden bowl containing a coarse porridge made by boiling barley in goat's milk, with a bit of salt added.

Using the wooden spoon provided, the bandit leader ate the porridge. The subordinate, with a fawning smile, looked up and said,

"You seem to be in a good mood, Chief."

Despite the porridge not being particularly good, the bandit leader's face was indeed smiling throughout, as the subordinate had said.

"If I'm in a good mood, is that a problem for you?"

The bandit leader, who could see through the subordinate's intentions to curry favor and share in the spoils, put on a stern face and glared. The subordinate, turning pale, fled as if in fear.

The bandit leader, who had been sneering at the subordinate's lack of backbone, soon had a sly smile on his face again.

But it was not without reason.

The bandits, who had been petty thieves targeting travelers on the road, had long since moved to this area and started preying on runaway slaves. This was the first time they had captured elves.

Elves, already rare in the Western Regions, were valuable slaves. Whether they were returned to their owners or sold elsewhere, they would certainly bring in a good profit.

However, what made the bandit leader even more pleased was that he had thoroughly enjoyed the bodies of the elves over the past few days.

He had heard that the taste of an elf woman was supreme, and it lived up to the rumors. The bandit leader was thoroughly satisfied.

Since they had caught three, it wouldn't be bad to sell two and keep one for his own pleasure.

But the bandit leader quickly changed his mind.

If he kept one for himself, it would surely invite resentment from his subordinates. On the other hand, if he had to deal with all of his dozen or so subordinates, they would quickly wear her out. It would be a pity, but it would be better to sell them all.

While the bandit leader was thinking this, one of his subordinates ran up to him.

"Chief, just now, this was thrown in."

The subordinate held out a stone the size of a fist, with a piece of cloth tied to it. The bandit leader took the stone and untied the cloth. As expected, there were words written on it.

"Hey, Fox, read this!"

"Y-Yes, Chief!"

A man with a fox-like face, bowing deeply, took the piece of cloth.

This man, called Fox, was originally a merchant who had fallen into banditry due to his gambling and drinking. Though he was not good at rough work, he was useful for reading, writing, and calculations, which came in handy at times like this.

"Um... It says, 'Show me my companions. If I can confirm they are safe, I will come here tonight.'"

"Hmm... That's convenient."

The bandit leader grinned. The message to the elf he had failed to capture was left as a lure, hoping they would come out. Since there had been no response until today, he had given up, thinking they had abandoned their captured companions and fled. But it seemed they were more concerned about their friends than he had thought.

"Alright, men! Tonight, we'll give a warm welcome to those caring young ladies!"

◆◇◆◇◆

When Erika returned after throwing the letter into the bandits' encampment, Kisa and the girls were playing.

"Fo fo fo. We are aliens."

Kisa, surrounded by three girls, was speaking nonsense into a leather tube, making the girls laugh.

"What's that? It's weird~"

"Hey, hey. What's an alien?"

"Kisa says such strange things~"

Erika was surprised to see the girls, who had once been so afraid of humans, now playing and laughing with Kisa.

When did they become so close?

Kisa was indeed a good-natured and harmless person. Moreover, he was so unreliable that one couldn't help but worry about him. As a result, she had ended up taking care of him and helping him, and before she knew it, he had become a part of her life. Such a person.

And for some reason, she didn't mind it, which was a bit of a problem.

Thinking about how difficult it must be for those close to him, Erika heard what sounded like a loud sneeze from somewhere far away.

Erika, who had been watching Kisa and the girls with a smile, gradually became irritated. So, she approached them with heavy steps.

"Erika-nee is back, so we're going now!"

"Should we pull weeds?"

"Let's go together!"

The girls, sensing Erika's bad mood and feeling threatened, quickly left Kisa and ran away. Kisa, left alone, frowned and wiped cold sweat from his forehead.

"...So, how did it go?"

"I threw the letter in as planned. And I checked the riverbank where I found you, but there was nothing unusual."

"Is that so..."

Kisa sighed in disappointment.

He had hoped that people would come looking for him, but it seemed they didn't make it in time. The plan to drive away the bandits was in place, but it was still a dangerous situation. He had hoped to get help from those searching for him.

But if it couldn't be helped, he would have to do it alone. Kisa steeled himself.

"Alright. Let's proceed as planned. By the way, it's supposed to rain tonight, right?"

Erika ran her fingers through her hair, exposing her long elf ears.

"Yes. The air is humid. It will probably start to cloud over in the evening."

As Erika said, a warm wind was bringing dark clouds from the west.

◆◇◆◇◆

The bandit leader, sitting on a stake in the center of the encampment, cursed with a frown.

"Damn it! What are those elf brats dawdling about?"

The stake he was sitting on had a thick rope tied to it, and at the other end were three elf women, who had been toyed with and were now barely breathing.

"Maybe they got scared at the last minute?"

The sun had already set behind the western mountains, and the encampment, lit by bonfires, was surrounded by deep darkness. Moreover, the sky was overcast, and it looked like it would rain soon.

The bandit leader, who had been kept waiting, spat in frustration. He was considering which of the elf women to take his frustration out on when one of his subordinates, who had been on watch, called out.

"Chief! I see a light over there!"

Sure enough, a torchlight was coming up from the foot of the hill.

"Making us wait, huh? This one needs a bit of punishment."

The bandit leader, with a lecherous smile, said this, and the subordinates' faces also broke into similar grins.

The bandit leader, eager and excited about how to toy with the incoming elf, waited. But the elves took their time arriving.

Soon, a light rain began to fall. The bandit leader, tired of waiting, lost his patience.

"What are they taking so long for? Hey, someone go and meet them!"

A few men went to meet them. After a while, they returned, carrying three young elf girls like bundles.

"Thought they were taking their time, but it was just these brats."

The bandit leader, looking down at the girls thrown to the ground, frowned. He remembered that there had been one more when they surrounded the elves the other day.

"Hey, brats! There was one more, right? What happened to her?"

The bandit leader, with a stern face, demanded an answer.

One of the girls, the most timid, answered in a trembling voice.

"She... ran away..."

"What do you mean?"

The bandit leader, with a threatening tone, pressed further. One of the more assertive girls stepped forward to protect the others.

"She said she didn't want to be captured by humans again, so she ran away on her own!"

The bandit leader thought this was a lie. He suspected that the girls were trying to draw attention to themselves while the hidden one launched a surprise attack.

He wouldn't let that happen, and he grinned.

"Hey, hidden elf! These girls are tied to this thick rope and staked down! They can't escape! If you try to kill one of my men, you'll see their blood before yours!"

The bandit leader's threat echoed through the night.

But there was no response.

He had expected them to either charge in recklessly or give up and come out, but perhaps the girls were telling the truth and the other one had really run away.

The bandit leader, who had boasted about seeing through the elves' scheme, had embarrassed himself in front of his subordinates. He took out his frustration on the girls.

"Hmph! Poor brats, to be abandoned by their friends!"

The subordinates, following the leader's lead, laughed.

The assertive girl, with a flushed face, retorted.

"Scoundrels! The tree spirits will surely punish you!"

The bandit leader, after a moment of silence, burst out laughing.

"What a funny girl. Yes, we are a bunch of scoundrels. But, you see, we've never been punished. —Right, everyone?!"

The subordinates, in agreement, nodded.

"If that's the case, we'll ask the tree spirits to punish us now!"

With that, the elf girls began to chant in a language the bandits couldn't understand—probably Elvish.

"Come on, girls. If you don't hurry, the scary men will punish you!"

The bandit leader, in a playful tone, taunted them, and the subordinates joined in.

"The spirits' punishment will come before the girls get punished by us!"

"Ha! Your puny things will be just right for the girls!"

"True, that!"

The bandits' lecherous laughter echoed.

But no matter how much they taunted, the girls continued to pray desperately. Without a reaction, it wasn't fun. Moreover, the rain was getting stronger, so the bandit leader decided to end it.

Just then, a sudden sound like air being released from a leather bag was heard. It was followed by similar sounds.

"Hey! The smoke is strange!"

One of the bandits, pointing at a nearby bonfire, shouted. The bonfire, which had been burning despite the rain, was now emitting a thick red smoke.

"What? Who burned something strange?!"

No one had ever heard of something that burned to produce red smoke. The bandits, faced with a phenomenon they had never experienced, were thrown into confusion.

"Of course, there was one more!"

But the bandit leader was convinced that this was the work of the elf who had supposedly run away.

"Don't be scared, you lot! It's just smoke with a color. It's nothing! Someone must have hidden and thrown something strange into the fire!"

The bandit leader's stern command calmed the subordinates. He had them take up swords and bows to prepare for an attack and then shouted at the hidden elf.

"We see through your plan! Come out and give up!"

But there was no response.

Instead, the elf girls, who were supposed to have been exposed, began to cry out and prostrate themselves in the puddles formed by the rain.

"It's the spirits! The wrath of the tree spirits!"

The bandits were shocked by the elves' behavior.

"What's wrong with these brats...?"

Even the bandit leader, who would usually not hesitate to beat a child if they didn't do as he said, was taken aback. As he was wondering what to do, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Chief... Chief..."

It was a thin, emaciated man who usually flattered him. Though he lacked courage and backbone, he was clever and was kept close by the bandit leader.

"What? Why do you sound like your soul is leaving your body?"

The man, who would usually fawn and flatter, was different this time. His eyes were fixed on the tent, and his whole body was trembling.

"Chief, t-there...!"

He was trembling so much that he couldn't point clearly, but it seemed to be indicating behind the bandit leader. The bandit leader, irritated, turned around.

And he froze, his mouth agape.

The bandit leader couldn't understand what he was seeing.

On the fabric of the tent where he slept, a faint, bright ring of light had formed.

And within that light, a tree was floating.

With dense, dark green leaves reaching towards the sky, and roots spreading out below, sharp and needle-like.

But what caught the eye most were the two eyes, red like dripping blood, and the mouth, open as if to tear apart, floating on the thick, white trunk.

'I am the great tree spirit!'

The deep, resonant voice made the bandits, who had been in a daze,