(249) Encounter with Dark-Elf
Translator: Tseirp
The next morning, the proprietress of the inn strangely commented ‘I heard that you had fun last evening." so she was probably referring to the sound we made when Neete first crawled over during the night.
If I was going to have fun, I would have used Silent Room.
I picked up the desert runner from the stable and headed out of town.
I practiced riding the desert runner at the stable but perhaps because of my horse riding skill, I could easily ride it without any issues.
The greatest feature of the desert runner was that it could walk on its two hind legs just like humans. Similar to an ostrich.
It seemed that because of that, they could smoothly attack with their forefeet.
Horse riding: Auxiliary Skill 【Knight Level2】
Will demonstrate its effect on not only horses but also animals or monsters that are suitable for humans to ride on such as camels or donkeys.
The animal can be controlled well once the effect is active.
However, the effect will not show in animals that are normally not suitable for humans to ride on.
Or so it says. In contrast, the Monster-user"s Riding skill seemed to be a superior version of Horse riding and allows them to ride all monsters and animals apart from high-rank dragons.
I placed Neete behind me and urged the desert runner to leave the town.
Neete tried her best to press her chest against my back but she wasn"t very large so I couldn"t really feel any sensation but I still savored the situation.
Continuing all the way like that would not be good for my mental health so after leaving town for about an hour and when we could barely see the town walls, we rested for a while behind a rock before I sent Neete back to My World.
I picked out a middle-sized fish I caught the previous day from my item bag and tossed it over to the desert runner. It dextrously caught it with its mouth and swallowed it whole.
It seemed to be quite nimble.
Now then, the desert would be to the north.
“Hn?”
From the direction I came from ― there was a carriage approaching from the direction of the town.
A woman was riding on the carriage.
Hn? Is she perhaps ―
Silver hair and brown skin. And I could tell after she came closer that her ears were pointed.
So that is a Dark-Elf.
Amazing, it was the first time I"ve seen one.
… Her chest was pretty big. It was larger than Haru, Kanon, and Malina.
Job ― that was a first as well.
【Large Bowman: Lv39】
She seemed to have a regular bow within reach but a Large Bowman huh?
As a man, I wondered if those large b.r.e.a.s.t.s would obstruct her when she drew her bow but I won"t be able to complain if she sued me if I said something like that.
“Hey, are you a traveler?”
The Dark-Elf lady said.
“Yes ― ah, sorry. I have been staring.”
“I don"t mind. I know that Dark-Elves are rare. It"s probably unlikely to see us outside this country.”
I was fascinated by her bewitching smile.
She was overflowing with the air of an adult lady. I guess among my acquaintances Quince-san had an air around her that was closest to that Dark-Elf? She looked younger than Quince-san but I heard that the Dark-Elves have a long lifespan so they may not look their age.
I wondered what would happen if I traveled with her.
No way, a Temptress? ― No, I already checked that she was a Large Bowman.
I looked at her carriage to change the topic. It seemed to be empty.
“Er … you came to Hanmuno to sell fruits and vegetables?”
“Yes, that is right. The people in this country are fighting to not hand us over to the Church. I believe the least I can do is deliver some food.”
“I see ―”
Well, based on what I gathered, Famiris‧Raritei did not form a pact with the Dark-Elves.
As the brother of Famiris‧Raritei"s reincarnation, Miri, I felt that I had to take responsibility.
“Erm, my companion and I are insignificant peddlers but are there any items which the Dark-Elves want? I believe I can prepare a certain degree of items.”
“Is that so? I am grateful for the offer but what we really want is a valuable item. They are impossible to acquire.”
“Valuable such as Dragon"s liver or Orichalc.u.m?”
“Hahaha, not to that extent. We just want the metal called Mithril. It is an important metal for us Dark-Elves, as a fairy race like the Elves and Dwarves. The distribution of the metal is pretty much controlled by the church after all.”
“Mithril? In that case ―”
I took a box out of my item bag.
It was the box that the Florence bandit had. There was a bunch of mithril ores inside it.
There was the stamp of the Church on it so I couldn"t sell it or throw it away so it remained in my item bag since I was thinking of using it to create mithril equipment once I mastered Alchemist and Blacksmith.
Under normal circ.u.mstances, there was a possibility that I would be mistaken as having s.n.a.t.c.hed Church property and be reported to the authorities but this country and especially the Dark-Elves have a hostile relationship with the Church so there was probably no issues.
“What about this?”
“Those are ― just where did you?”
She grabbed a Mithril ore and her eyes widened in shock.
“The bandit I defeated inside the dungeon at a town called Florence in the western continent had it.”
“I see … but I"m at a loss.”
“Eh? Are they not good enough?”
“Their purity is too high. I do not have the money to purchase this nor anything I have to exchange for it. All I can offer is my body ― what do you think?”
“Th-that would be good, it is all right.”
“Hahaha, I"m kidding. I am just teasing you. Well, it would be a cheap deal if that was all it took.”
Please don"t joke about that.
… Seriously, Neete, the female pirates and now this, the temptations kept coming after Haru wasn"t with me.
At this rate, am I going to save a n.o.ble girl from bandits, rescue a princess from a dragon and be asked to marry them?
I don"t wish to borrow Neete"s line but those are protagonist-like occurrences and doesn"t suit an indecisive man like me.
“In that case, I don"t need any payment but if I visit the great forest next time, please guide me around.”
“Lead you into the great forest?”
Her eyes suddenly changed.
Eh, did I say something bad?
Perhaps it is a Dark-Elf holy land and humans are not allowed to enter?
“What do you want from the great forest?”
“Eh? It seems to be quite a famous place so I just wanted to take in the sights … erm, it"s all right if I can"t do so.”
“You"re not lying … huh? Sorry, the Dark-Elf men have gone deep into the forest to hunt so the village only has women. I treated you as an unscrupulous man wanting to visit the great forest. I didn"t think you would be that type of person but sightseeing huh?”
Heh, so the Dark-Elf village is usually only comprised of women.
“You are truly a strange Hume. You remind me of a girl I met in the past. She was an amusing person as well. All right. When you visit, I will welcome you to the great forest in the name of Rarael‧Mi‧Modan, daughter of the Dark-Elf chief. This is proof.”
She said as she gave me a rose pendant which had the same color as her eyes that was hanging over her neck.
That seemed to be quite a valuable item.
Wait, she"s the daughter of the village chief!?
I met an amazing person.
“Can I really accept this?”
“Yes. It is a proof of friendship.”
“Thank you. Well then, once I complete my journey, I will definitely stop by.”
I said and exchanged a handshake with the Dark -Elf ― Rarael.
I"ll visit once more after I save Miri.
At the same time, I"ll get Miri to apologize to them.
I decided in my heart.