“You must be mistaken, I am but a lowly Elf who is happily living with 6 Kobolds in the forest… We shall get back to roasting the boar meat, so please leave.”

“Eh!?”

Stia said with a composed expression and turned on her heel. 

“W-wait a minute!”

But she did not wait and returned to the bonfire lit with my sister’s Foxfire… Which left me alone with the second mysterious Elf.

“Gau, guruuo, uruaauh!?” (Hey you, what is the meaning of this!?)

She could also speak the Kobo language? Stia said she could only speak a little, but I wonder if the other White Elves are the same.

She gives the impression of an intellectual and seems to be more educated than the average Elf… Well, this short-haired Elf girl also seems to be highly educated, as she wears fine knight armor, although it’s of the light armor type.

“Wau, oruu.” [Please calm down first.]

“T-telepathy!?”

I responded through telepathy, so she was somewhat confused at first, but I explained that it was because of the effects of the Mithril Mask I was wearing. I also told her that if she was not good at the Kobo language, then she can just communicate using the continent’s common language.

“If that’s the case, then this would greatly help…Actually, the Kobo language isn’t as widespread as other languages, so we can only communicate in a very basic way.” 

No, on the contrary, I’m surprised that she could even speak our language… These White Elves shouldn’t be underestimated. 

“…Guouru, aakuruua wofa?” [… By the way, who is this Aristia you speak of?]

After some hesitation, the female Elven Knight glanced at Stia who was snacking on boar meat and fruits, nodded, and said,

“Lady Aristia seems to be fond of you, so I’ll let it pass… She is the Elven Queen ruling the Grove of the Village Shrine.”

… Judging from her knowledge and behavior I thought Stia would be holding a certain position, but then I also had the feeling that it would be something troublesome. The fact that an Elf who held such a position would be easily held captive by the Slavers means that something serious must have happened.

Alright, I’ll just follow Stia’s lead earlier.

“Guao waaaan, guruu vaurukuaoou… kuoh!!” [Ah, then you definitely have the wrong person. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go back to roasting the boar meat too… kuoh!!]

Just as I turned on my heel, the Elf girl suddenly grabbed me by the tail. I had no choice but to turn around at this point, and I made eye contact with the tear-filled eyes of the Elf girl…

“Uu, we’re in really big trouble, so please…”

“Wafuu… guruuo wofuru?” [Haahh… What’s your name?]

“My name is Lenaide, Sir Kobold.”

“Waoa, waofuh vaaurukuooan.” [I see. Then let’s go ahead and enjoy some boar meat for now.]

It would be a pity to turn her away, so I returned to camp with the second mysterious Elf called Lenaide in tow.

“Kyuu, guuu, gairuou?” (Big brother, who’s that?)

“Kuruuau kuoua, hamuh.” (She’s from the same race as Miss Stia, right? Chomp)

Ax mumbled lazily as he bit into the rare wild boar meat, apparently prioritizing eating over her.

Buster, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes and looked at Lenaide’s armament: Rapier, Knight’s Light Armor, and muscle tone. He’s probably wondering what such a thin sword could do and how good its user is.

“…Guoruuan.” (…Pardon my intrusion.)

“Wau…” (Sure…)

The hulking, black-armed Kobold scooted over and made some room as I sat beside my sister while Lenaide sat directly opposite Stia and made eye contact with her.

“Lady Aristia, I do not know what is going on, but… Won’t you come back to Elfast? The situation back home is still very difficult.”

… Her story was as follows:

The Elves had a hierarchical society where the White Elves reigned supreme just as described in the Great Sage Morozof’s records. It seems that after Stia became queen, she made many reforms.

However, her radical reform proposals were all rejected by the Central Assembly, which was made up of White Elves, and the reformers who had been gaining momentum were thrown out in the cold. It is said that the turmoil started when some reform extremists attacked the Central Assembly with weapons in their hands.

(… It somehow reminds me of the civil war in my homeland, the desert Country of Athos. Their situation is quite similar where the situation turned bloody in the blink of an eye. I was one of the mercenaries who lost their lives during that time.)

Stia, who listened to the story… I guess I should call her Aristia now since that’s her real name… Anyway, Stia’s characteristically long ears flattened as she released a heavy sigh.

“… So Minister Marcus had been killed. That must have been rough. And that the Reformers are also suspected of killing Delphis as well.”

“We couldn’t find any definitive proof of that, but… was it the work of Goblins?”

After a moment of silent reflection, the Elven Queen asked,

“So, Lenaide, whose orders are you working under?  You cannot act on your own, even if you are my Chamberlain Knight… Is it Sir Theodore who had become the Prime Minister?”

“No, my orders are from a Noble Lady who has been leading and organizing the unification of the conservative and moderate factions after Lord Delphis’s death.”

It seems that Lenaide and a few other knights who had been placed under house arrest to take responsibility for the queen’s disappearance were sent by the Noble Lady in question and asked to join in the search for Aristia. To begin with, the purpose of the house arrest itself was to make it easier for the Chamberlain Knights to move behind the scenes. 

“… I understand. Then, let us return. Everyone, it was only for a brief moment, but thank you very much for taking care of me. I am in your debt.”

Aristia stood up quickly and politely bowed after giving her thanks.

… G’s tend to appear around here, and two Elves will not be enough to fight them off. In addition to that, it’s also hard to accept the fact that some of the people who are caught up in profit and extremist ideology, while claiming to be free and equal, incite the people who seek them to shed their blood.

“Ofuu, guuaouru… vuru, woruan.” [Wait, it’s already too late to go back… You can just leave first thing in the morning.]

“T-thank you, Archer.”

It all depends on the situation, but I’m willing to help them to the best of my ability…