13 – The Real Deal
Shiz, Pii, and I, who had left the meeting room, walked along the streets of Eldenore.
Eldenore, built along the surface of the World Tree, was a place where nothing was ordinary.
It was mysterious, clean, and majestic.
It was a neat city that showed the high level of civilization of the elves.
“Shiz-nim! How are you!”
“Dr, Druid!”
As we walked down the street to the ground, we encountered many elves.
High elves who greeted Siz cheerfully. Elves who were surprised or curious to see me.
Half of the elves in Eldenore were warriors, and almost half of the elves who greeted us had tattoos on their backs.
I realized that I didn’t know much about the high elves’ tattoos.
Modern gangsters show their status with tattoos, but are the high elves like gangsters also tattooing themselves in a similar way?
I pointed at Siz’s back as he walked ahead and asked Pii.
“What does the tattoo mean? Each high elf has a different one.”
Pii, who was sitting on my shoulder, tapped my back and answered with a smile.
[They draw tattoos with magic every time they kill a strong enemy. The color and shape of the tattoo are chosen by the goddess of nature herself. Siz has red camellias.]
“Oh. So Siz has six camellias, which means he killed six strong enemies?”
[Maybe. He’s the hunting leader, so he must have tattooed himself every time he killed a monster.]
He killed six monstrous monsters. No wonder he’s the leader.
I licked my tongue as I looked at Siz’s back, which contained a fierce story.
Then, Siz, who was walking quietly ahead, stopped and said in a low voice.
“……One per monster.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“…One petal per monster.”
“Ah.”
Oh, I see. It wasn’t six monsters, but dozens.
“Be careful about that. High elves value their honor. The hunting team tattoos one per monster. The search team tattoos one per human. Got it?”
“Ah, fine.”
He was furious that I had ruined his reputation.
As I pouted my lips and nodded, Siz clicked his tongue and started to tell me the real story.
He seemed to want to tell me everything now that he had opened his mouth.
“From now on, you belong to the hunting team that I manage. You have a special status as a druid candidate, so there is no hierarchy between us.”
“Uh. Okay, nice to meet you.”
“I heard you came from another world. Then you must not know much about this world. I’ll start by giving you some basic knowledge.”
“Basic knowledge?”
“Yeah. Common sense and stuff like that, Pii will tell you. I’m going to teach you the knowledge related to combat.”
Siz had decided to be my combat instructor.
According to Latra’s words, he had the intention of ‘raising me and eating me’, but I didn’t bother to ask what that meant.
It was scary, you know.
“First of all, change out of those ragged clothes. You’re not a beggar, what’s that?”
“Why do you have to be so mean? Give me some clothes then.”
“I will, just follow me.”
Siz finished his words with a click and walked ahead, his smooth blond hair fluttering.
He was taking care of this and that for me, but his attitude was like that, so I didn’t feel grateful at all.
As I dusted off my work clothes and followed Siz, Pii, who was sitting on my shoulder, whispered softly in my ear.
[That’s what they call a tsundere, right? Right?]
Well. I don’t think so.
As I tilted my head, Shizu shouted at me with a scowl.
“Stop being annoying and hurry up. How long are you going to walk around like a beggar?”
That doesn’t seem like a tsundere to me.
I quietly answered to Pi.
“That’s not a tsundere, that’s just unlucky.”
Then, Shizu, who was ahead of us, turned around with a whoosh and glared at me.
“I’ll kill you if you say that again.”
Wow. He heard that from this distance?
[Maybe it’s because he’s an elf and has good ears.]
“Right. Let’s save the gossip for later and do it secretly.”
[Yeah, yeah. That sounds good.]
We walked quietly, keeping a safe distance.
Soon, the atmosphere of the street changed quite a bit.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Somewhere, the sound of a blacksmith’s hammer could be heard.
* * *
“How is it? Does it suit you?”
[You finally look like a human being!]
“What? Then what was I before?”
[You were almost like a rag!]
I lowered my head and looked over my body.
I saw a black leather outfit and a cuirass made of monster scales.
I threw off the ragged work clothes and looked much better.
I was a bit bothered that it wasn’t everyday clothes, but it was comfortable to move and I liked the design, so it didn’t seem to matter much.
“Let’s go as soon as you’re ready. Eat this.”
As I changed my clothes and came out of the workshop, Shiz, who was waiting, handed me something and said.
It was a large skewer dish with dripping juice.
He got me clothes and food. Was Shiz actually a tsundere?
As I was thinking that and tearing the meat, Shiz, who was ahead, said indifferently.
“It’s better to experience it once than to be bothered by training.”
“Experience?”
“Yeah. There’s a goblin cave nearby that’s causing trouble. My subordinates will be in control, so let’s move right now.”
I looked up with the meat in my mouth.
The sky was hidden by the world tree, but looking at the light passing through the world tree, it seemed to be early afternoon.
I didn’t know why the long-lived ones were so busy, but there was a lot of time left in the day, so it wouldn’t hurt to use it wisely.
I nodded and swallowed the meat in my mouth.
“Hmm?”
But didn’t Shiz just say something weird?
I wondered if I heard it wrong and asked Shiz’s golden back of the head.
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“What did you say? Goblin?”
I thought I heard the word goblin.
Was it just my imagination?
Seize nodded his head and answered my question.
“Yeah, goblin. It’s a small cave, so don’t worry.”
“Goblin? You mean those little guys with green skin?”
“Are there any other goblins?”
Seize replied as if I was asking something obvious.
From his reaction, it seemed that this world had the same kind of monsters that I knew.
Goblin, that’s it. The typical fodder that appears in fantasy settings.
Am I going to face those monsters from now on?
It’s a strange feeling of being nervous and excited at the same time.
I asked Pii, without hiding my excitement.
“Pii, how are the goblins in this world?”
Pii, who was sitting on my shoulder, hesitated for a moment and opened his mouth.
[The goblins here are pretty strong. Don’t ever let your guard down.]
“What? How strong are they?”
[Hmm. Remember the huge monster you killed last time? The Amphitier.]
“Yeah. The giant snake with wings.”
[The goblins that survived among those monsters are the ones in the Great Forest.]
I was speechless for a moment and couldn’t show any reaction.
The goblins of the great forest were the ones who survived among the giant monsters.
It was obvious, but I never thought of it until I heard it directly.
“……I have to be very tense.”
I swallowed my saliva and followed Siz.
It seemed that this world had a cliché that ‘goblins are surprisingly strong’.
* * *
“Ah! Siz-nim! We’re here!”
We walked for a while after leaving the Elven language.
In front of the goblin cave we arrived at, Siz’s subordinates had formed a line.
There were corpses with green skin scattered everywhere.
The rough battle was already over, and there was a disgusting smell of blood around.
“Good. Anything happened?”
“Nothing! We took care of all the goblins around the entrance, and we also checked that there are no other entrances!”
“Perfect. Now it’s time for the druid candidate to step up, so you guys rest while keeping guard.”
“Yes!”
Siz finished talking with his subordinates and came to me with a satisfied smile.
Then he pointed to the dark cave entrance and said to me.
“Now, it’s your turn. Go and clear the inside of the cave and come back.”
It sounded like he wanted me to go in alone.
Into that dark and dangerous-looking cave by myself.
I looked at Seize with a stunned expression and asked him.
“By myself?”
“Who else is going to go with you? We elves hate fighting in narrow caves. It’s hard to use bows and spears there.”
“Then I’m fine?”
I didn’t have any weapons with me right now.
He couldn’t be telling me to fight with my bare hands.
He must be joking.
As I was thinking that and letting out an awkward laugh, one of Seize’s subordinates who I had seen earlier ran up to me and handed me something.
“Druid sir! Here’s a weapon for you! It’s a very unpleasant weapon, so I sweated a lot to bring it here!”
“Ah.”
“Cheer up! Then I’ll be going!”
The subordinate shoved a chainsaw into my hand and ran away again.
I let out a hollow laugh without realizing it, feeling the familiar grip in my hand.
Seize, who had been quietly watching me, nodded his head and said.
“Your weapon looks short. It’ll be suitable for using in the cave.”
“No….”
“If you’re a druid, you can do this easily. Right? Druid candidate?”
“……”
Heh. He’s even threatening me now.
He wants me to go into the cave with a chainsaw and slice up the goblins? By myself?
I let out a hollow laugh and shook my head.
Then I grabbed Pii, who was on my shoulder, and hugged him tightly.
“Pii, we’re always together, right? Let’s go in together?”
[Let me gooo!! I don’t want to!!]
Pii’s scream echoed through the jungle.