64

It was good that I detected the group of elves crossing the river, but how should I respond to this?

Due to the terrain and distance, I could not see them, but I sensed that several of them were armed.

The problem was whether their objective lay with me or not.

If they intended to subjugate me, their numbers were clearly too few.

From their footsteps, the number was probably around ten—elves were not foolish enough to think they could defeat me with that.

(Then this must be about something else… Even if it were about me, if this dragged on, it could interfere with my surveillance mission.)

I judged it fine to leave them alone and instead went hunting for breakfast.

I skinned the deer I caught, buried the unwanted parts, washed my hands, and grilled the meat on an iron plate.

The fact that all the remaining vegetables had rotted was truly painful.

I even thought about exchanging the animals I hunted for vegetables or fruit, but as an Imperial soldier, getting overly friendly with elves would be a problem.

More like, I would definitely get dragged into trouble.

From what I saw in the elf settlements, if I got involved carelessly, I would inevitably be drawn into factional disputes.

And with an organization like the Natural Harmony Committee in existence, deep entanglement was practically guaranteed.

It was important to maintain a position of keeping an appropriate distance while not turning hostile.

Going to war with elves alone was nothing short of madness.

While chewing on the grilled meat, I considered my next course of action.

(I don’t have enough electricity to run a refrigerator constantly. If vegetables had to be consumed quickly, then it would be best to grow them myself… I should have brought back some agricultural books at least.)

No matter what I did, there were always things I realized I needed afterward.

I would need to secure farmland, and also a means to protect it.

This was an expansive forest, after all.

Wild animals could be found with just a short walk.

(Maybe self-cultivation isn’t realistic after all…)

After finishing my meal and cleaning up, I took a stroll in the forest to rest.

I thought I might use goblins as target practice with stones if I found them, but I couldn’t.

It seemed the goblins in this area had been properly thinned out.

Satisfied with the results of my efforts, I nodded and returned to the observation post to prepare for duty.

After a while, Number 6 arrived with the children, but she had a secret weapon this time.

Having been relentlessly tormented by mischievous boys, she showed up wearing a one-piece undergarment.

It looked like a one-piece swimsuit, but it wasn’t made of elastic material, so it wasn’t tight.

But with the difference in height, taking it off would be extremely difficult for the children.

Perhaps realizing their disadvantage, the boys protested to Number 6, only to be scolded for their usual lack of seriousness and told to attend lessons properly.

It seemed the boys had gone a little too far this time.

But no need to worry.

Even if it was a one-piece, its color was white—when wet, it would become completely see-through.

And they would never give up.

They would surely seize the chance to pull down Number 6’s undergarment.

I watched them with anticipation for their tireless efforts and the results.

In the end, they were defeated—today was Number 6’s victory, but the boys were already holding a strategy meeting for tomorrow.

I was truly looking forward to the next time.

Thus, having once again enjoyed myself, I pressed my hands together and bowed to the departing Number 6.

I might have become a monster, but etiquette was important.

Now then, time to check the other points just in case.

Because I visited daily, my abilities would not miss even the smallest changes.

If someone was using a spot, I would immediately latch on and observe them!

But men were excluded.

So I checked the second and third checkpoints, but there were no signs of use.

However, there were traces of crossing the river, but none returning.

Meaning that group was still inside this forest.

(I should at least check them out. By seeing their formation and armament, I might predict their goal.)

I thought about practicing tracking at the same time, but this group was leaving far too many traces, almost as if they wanted to announce their presence.

In fact, it was unnaturally obvious.

For example, a stick with its tip painted red was stuck into overturned soil.

(Could this be elf-style marking!? Do they mean to start a territorial dispute with me!?)

Of course, that couldn’t be it—judging from the evenly spaced traces, it seemed more like they were surveying.

But even so, it was far too sloppy.

(It’s almost like they want to be found… Wait, could this be some sort of sign for me?)

I tried to recall if I had ever read about this, but I didn’t think I had seen any such description in the books I read.

It could be some sort of elf code, but what was the point of placing such conspicuous things everywhere?

Thinking that, I began to suspect this was a message intended for me.

Either way, I thought it would be faster to find the group leaving these traces, so I resumed tracking.

Although I was surprised how deep they had gone, I realized that monsters around here wouldn’t be able to stop elves.

Besides, the forest was practically their territory.

As a group, they could probably handle even something like the Red Ogre I encountered before.

I raised my caution and used my mimicry ability as I tracked.

After following their footprints for a while, I finally picked up voices.

“Are you sure we won’t be attacked?”

“Enough already! Whether we are attacked or not, we have no choice but to do this!”

“Damn it! That shut-in bastard!”

One man cursed, slamming his shovel into the ground.

Apparently, they had been ordered to drive these stake-like rods into the earth this deep in the forest.

There were nine in total—and when I got closer, I found that eight of them were armed.

The last one was someone I knew.

With her hands tied, a gag in her mouth, and dressed in shrine maiden-like clothing, Number 8 was being dragged along, her eyes full of despair.

A strange message popped into my head: “If the highlights in the eyes disappear, it’s after the fact.” For now, I just watched while closing in.

“Why the hell do I have to do this…?”

“Quit whining. That shut-in’s free reign won’t last much longer.”

“What? Did the Zesato lot screw something up!?”

“No matter if it’s a Gardel, handing over a person to a monster on their own judgment is a perfect weapon for the other clans. And Gardel’s chieftain hadn’t even given permission. Other clans had openly opposed it.”

A tall elf explained knowingly, saying it was impossible for this not to become a problem.

Hearing this, Number 8 began struggling, but a strongly built elf easily held her down.

A strangely thin elf muttered as he watched.

“Hey, don’t you think it’s a waste to give this one to a monster?”

The air froze, and as Number 8’s eyes widened, the gazes of all eight men fixed on her.

“Knowing that pockmarked guy, I’d say ‘this kind of situation’ is covered too, don’t you think?”

None of them denied it, and Number 8 desperately struggled to escape.

The skinny elf’s hand reached toward her.

(Ah, no. That’s not happening. If they’re using me as a cover, then I have my own way of dealing with this.)

From a spot where they couldn’t see me, I released my mimicry ability and deliberately made loud footsteps as I walked toward them.

At a distance where I was clearly visible, the tall elf straddling the restrained Number 8 looked startled and spotted me.

The other elves turned to look at me as well.

Her clothes, already difficult to strip because her arms were tied and pinned to the ground, had been torn apart, exposing two large mounds—but the men had no time to care about that.

“Argos!? At this timing!?”

One man, already with his pants down, panicked as he tried to pull them back up, tripped, and smashed his face into a tree—but I pretended not to see that and walked straight forward.

By the time I arrived, all except Number 8 had stood up and struck salute-like poses.

“From the Village of Jisuvāya, in gratitude to you who slew the ‘Forest’s Nightmare,’ our threat, we have been ordered by Lady Marianne, acting head of the Zesato clan, to give her—the shrine maiden Ashiru—to serve you!”

The elf who had tried to strip Number 8 delivered his speech, his face twisted in fear.

I was fairly sure I understood correctly: they were trying to push Number 8 onto me.

It was a rather… no, a very tempting offer.

But that was that, and this was this.

“Message understood. Woman—state her condition.”

I wrote on the ground with a stick I had pulled out.

The pantless elf remained silent, but the skinny one quickly cut in.

“If you are concerned about her condition, allow me to explain—Lady Marianne ordered us to ‘send her to you with nothing but her body.’ We simply checked to make sure she carried nothing. After thoroughly searching her clothing, she ended up like this. We deeply apologize for our failure to confirm the details of the order.”

The smoothness of his excuse almost impressed me.

(The image I had of elves just keeps crumbling… Seeing is really different from hearing.)

I figured pressing further would only get me more evasions, so I said nothing more.

As I stared at Number 8, the men quickly rattled off excuses one after another—“We still have another mission,” and so on—then showed astonishing coordination as they fled the scene at full speed.

Their blatant lack of concern for her left me speechless, and I could only watch their backs as they ran off.

When I snapped back to reality, I turned my gaze to Number 8 in her shameless state.

(She really is big…)

Likely bound by magically-made earth shackles, she shed tears and did not move, overwhelmed with despair.

I could definitely have stopped this beforehand, but she seemed more wounded in spirit than I had expected.

For now, I prioritized calming her down. I slid the gag down so she could speak, and waited silently for her to settle.

“…Not going to eat me?”

Since I had no interest in eating human-shaped beings, I carved into a nearby tree: “I won’t eat you.”

“Not going to kill me?”

I pretended to think, then carved again: “No reason.”

After some time, Number 8, still exposed, froze—but then suddenly her eyes regained their fire and she spoke.

“I’ll kill them all! That bitch too! First I’ll crush all their balls and make them a laughingstock! I’ll show them who they tried to violate!”

Even afterward, she kept screaming and thrashing.

(Wait… is this really her character?) I thought.

Well, I won’t say what part exactly, but the way she thrashed was very pleasing to the eye.

Still, what was I supposed to do with her?