Chapter 31

5th place in the overall daily ranking! 3rd place in the daily high fantasy ranking! Thank you very much!

It took more than half a day by cart to reach the elf village. Before she knew it, she was deep in a forest where she couldn't tell where she was. She learned that they had passed through several ancient teleportation magic points. The reason they could bring a human to the village so easily was that only elves could react to the locations where the teleportation magic was set up.

(Mina is completely at Keito's pace.)

The elf boy Keito, who had recovered from the poison and awakened, was talking a lot to the human girl out of curiosity. He was energetic, telling her about himself and asking about Mina. Mina, who was shy around strangers, was a bit intimidated, but it was clear that she didn't dislike him. Her tentative conversation with Keito was proof of that.

(Still... I didn't think I'd ever get to see a dragon.)

Because of Keito's voice, she inadvertently learned about his surroundings. For example, his father Claus was a rare sword user among elves who were skilled with bows, not because he couldn't use a bow, but because he was even better with a sword. His mother Edith was kind, a good cook, and skilled at mixing herbs, serving as an alchemist in the village.

From these individual circumstances, she learned that the village had been attacked by a black dragon. The elves, known as warriors and respected, had challenged the dragon in a group battle but were defeated. In particular, the defeat of a warrior named "Lady Hildegarde" was a significant blow to the elves. Despite suffering the worst injuries, she had prioritized the limited potions for others and was still suffering.

An image of the elf heroine appeared in Reta's mind.

"Here, we're about to complete the last teleportation."

Claus, who had been listening to the children's conversation, tightened his face. Reta, feeling a slight sweat from the excitement of visiting the elf village for the first time and the tension of being involved with a dragon, wiped it away with her sleeve. Then, as they were enveloped in the light of the teleportation magic, what spread before them was a pitifully half-destroyed elf village.

"This is terrible."

It must have been a beautiful village surrounded by greenery originally. Reta could see elf houses lined up on the branches of giant trees, which she had never seen before. The trees and branches extended like roads, making it more accurate to say they lived on the trees. The homes of the elves, who lived in such a natural environment, and the giant trees were scorched in many places.

"Perhaps we should be grateful that it was only this bad, considering it was a dragon attack. It's fortunate that the village looked the same when we left."

In other words, there had been no dragon attack while Claus and the others were in Amrus to buy potions.

"Reta, I'm sorry to ask, but can you take care of the injured who can't be healed by potions?"

"Of course. That's why I'm here."

"Reta! I want to go too!"

"Thank you. Then, this way—"

Just as Claus was about to guide Reta and the others who had jumped off the cart, an old elf came over with a roar of anger, his face contorted with rage. Behind the old elf were armed young elves, all of whom were looking at Reta and the others with wary eyes.

"Who gave you permission to bring a human to this village? I asked you to get potions, not to bring in a human! Have you forgotten our village's rules?"

"Chief! Please listen. This person saved my son's life. Moreover, he can use healing magic!"

"—Healing magic? So, a healer?"

"Yes. I've only heard bad things about human healers, but this Reta is a good man. My family and I will vouch for him."

"…Perhaps this is a sign of change, for a human, especially a healer, to visit our village at such a time."

The elf called the chief looked at Reta and Mina and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I apologize, human. Our village has a rule that we cannot bring humans in without permission. However, in such a situation, we cannot refuse a healer."

"My name is Reta. This is Mina. We just want to help the elves. I don't know how much we can do, but please let us treat the injured."

"…I am grateful. Please, heal our warriors."

The chief bowed deeply, and the young elves followed suit. Reta nodded firmly to them.