Occasionally, a thin moan from the injured guards crawling on the ground could be heard in the highway that has become quiet once again. Their fatal wounds have already decided their fate, and they can no longer move around much.

Also, the guard that Ax struck down with his lethal weapon called the shield, the Swordsman equipped with an iron fragment armor who my sister stabbed in the chest and cannot move, and the adventurer who received arrow wounds in his leg and flank have already been restrained.

My gaze meets one of the guys who were gathered in one place alongside the fat merchant and the three guards who were limp and unconscious. 

“Hey, y-you, give me an antidote, m-my body feels numb… you understand what I’m saying, don’t you?”

Numb? Ah, Blazer must have used the numbing poison he received from Ernesta.

Some of the Kobold clans deal with a viscous poison extracted from a poisonous plant. If they dip their obsidian spears on it and wounded their prey, then they can just follow the scent of the poison once it weakens even if it escapes.

However, refining poison is not a widespread knowledge in the Kobold race, so there are very few even in my pack who could handle it. And that is also why I watched the tall, skinny Kobold who was checking out the man’s condition with interest…

“Guruu kuruaao garuvoruaaan.” (I’ll use whatever I can get my hands on.)

… was what he said.

Poison Arrows are difficult to handle because even the fast-acting types take a while before it takes effect whether you like it or not, but if it’s him… then I’m sure that he’ll be able to handle it just fine.

“… Worugaaruo, kuua garuoan.” [… It’s just a paralyzing poison, so just give up and stay numb.]

The truth is that Blazer should have received the antidote in case he poisons himself by mistake, but I’ve heard that the numbing effect is only for a few hours, so I’ll just leave it at that.

Now, we have just finished hunting, but there has been something bothering me ever since a while ago.

“… Wau, woaorun.” [… I guess that could wait.]

I needed to secure the Werecat mother and daughter just as Wallace requested first, so when I looked into the wagon which smelled faintly of Werecats, I saw two pairs of cat eyes glowing in the dark.

“Mmuh, uu, muu~”

“U mmuuh”

Of course, they could still hear the sounds of battle outside despite being confined in the covered carriage… so the mother tried to move and hide her young behind her despite being bound and gagged.

“Woafu garufuoann… Gauaruo kuukuu?” [Wallace sent us to help you… You’re Esther and Lilith, aren’t you?]

“Mmmh?”

When the older Werecat, whose eyes could still see well even in the dark, caught sight of the silver Kobold, the fear and tension that resided in her expression completely disappeared. 

It was a well-known fact that the Warriors of Lucua village and the Kobold pack that dwelled in the central part of Easteria forest by the Steele river are on friendly terms with each other. And that Kobold pack was led by the silver-haired Kobold archer, of course…

I climbed up and entered the carriage, and removed the restraints and gags of the mother-and-daughter pair who nodded in gratitude. 

“Ah, thank you so much!”

“Thank you, Mr. Doggy~”

“Woan, garuu kuruo.” [Don’t mind it, we are getting paid after all.]

While I returned the greeting, I brought my hand out to stop the cat-eared child from getting out of the carriage on her own.

“Hnn?”

“… Guo garuoua.” […We just finished a battle outside.]

“Ah… I see. Lilia, come over here.”

Because it was not appropriate to show to a growing child, the mother brought her child close to her and kept her from seeing the after-battle scene outside. 

“Mmm, m, mmmmh!?” (Th-the Kobold can talk!?)

In an unbelievable turn of events, the town girl who was captured along with the Werecat mother and child could not believe how casual they were talking to the silver Kobold that she could not help but make a scene.

Moreover, the Kobold with the massive, well-trained physique that was before her eyes was far too different from the weak, Threat Level E+ monster that she had often heard about.

“M, mmuu?” (Y-you are a Kobold, aren’t you?)

(… If I’m not mistaken, Wallace mentioned that a girl also went missing from the town of Wyald.)

I made eye contact with the town girl who was looking at me fearfully, so I reached out to her as well and released her from her gag and restraints.

“Hiuh… h-huh?”

“Woaruvo guou?” [Are you from the town of Wyald?]

“Ah, yes…”

Thus, after freeing the three people from their restraints in the covered carriage, I left and headed to the next one, but my sister was already there.

“Ku, kyuann, wafa kuruugaruouann.” (Ah, big brother, there’s a human that smells different here.)

Dagger called out as she alighted from the carriage to switch places with me. From where I was standing, I could see that the dark inside of the carriage contained three children who were not old enough to match the description of the ones taken from the Royal Capital. And although it was slightly hard to see, there was also a small girl with silver-blonde hair.

“… Gaou, garuankuruooon.” [… No, you can’t just rely on looks.]

The ears sticking out of the whitish-blonde hair were shaped like a bamboo shoot, and her eyes, which slightly glowed in the dark, had that characteristic jade green color.

In other words, this child was a White Elf.

It is said that the White Elves lead all three forest clans. Accompanying them are the pale-skinned Bronze Elves and the wheat-skinned Black Elves.

Additionally, their country is located in the area known as the Ancient Forest, which includes the southern part of the Easteria Forest and extends beyond the borders of the Riastize Kingdom to the neighboring countries.

As an exclusive race, their inner workings are unknown, but according to the accounts left by the Great Sage Morozof, their society was a dystopia of sorts…

This was also probably the cause of my discomfort, as the Earth-attribute magic in the “Seed of the World Tree” in my waist bag had also been giving off slight reactions since earlier.