Chapter 84: Pebbles and Leaves Part 4

"Hey!"

I shouted toward a small shadow beyond the bushes, but it vanished in an instant, almost as if it had teleported.

– Sniff! Sniff! Sniff!

Ayla rummaged through the bushes and started sniffing around. I wandered with her trying to locate the source of the strange sound, but we found nothing. It didn't seem to be a monster, but then who could it be?

I felt uneasy and couldn't bring myself to return to the village, so I searched the area for a while. As I did so, the sun began to set. The night in the dark forest was fast approaching. I managed to gather some wine and returned to the village before the sun completely set.

Who could it have been?

It was a very small shadow, like that of a child…

Could it be Pebble?

The dark elf child who had disappeared with Darion from the previous village. Could he have followed us here?

"..."

To clear my head, I took a bath in hot water with lots of fragrant herbs before going to bed. As I soaked with Beepy, my fatigue seemed to melt away.

Now that my body felt much lighter, my mind seemed to work better too. I leaned back in the wooden tub and stared at the ceiling while lost in thought.

"…I wonder if the village chief knows anything."

Even if he does, would he tell us willingly?

Though the relationship between elves and dark elves was strained, they were still kin and comrades under the name of Lysette. Therefore, it was not uncommon for the dark elves to step forward whenever something happened in Lysette…

So if I openly reveal that something has happened to the queen and ask for help…

Wouldn't the village chief cooperate?

Perhaps that would be the easiest and quickest way.

But somehow, I'm not inclined to do so.

I recalled the village chief's face that I had seen during the day. It had been cold as if he was devoid of any emotion.

And the fact that this village had thrived since the queen fell asleep a year ago, while other villages had mysteriously been wiped out, and this one remained unscathed…

The more I doubted, the more suspicious every detail seemed.

…Well, I might as well bring some wine tomorrow and talk it over drinks.

I muttered quietly to reassure myself.

– Beep?

Beepy tilted his head in puzzlement.

"I should take you with me."

– Beep?

"You've protected me every time something has happened."

I stroked his tiny head, and Beepy flapped his wings vigorously as if promising to protect me.

"Alright. I'm counting on you tomorrow too."

– Beep!!!

***

The next day.

Luisa came to visit us in the morning. I walked around the village with her and asked her when a good opportunity arose.

"Luisa, I was picking fruit around the village to try making some alcohol like you said."

"Oh! That's a good idea. Make sure to gift me a bottle too. You got into our village thanks to me, didn't you?"

"Right, right. We'll talk about that later, but listen. You don't let the children in your village outside the fence, do you?"

"Of course not. Only elves who have undergone the coming-of-age ceremony can go outside the fence."

"But someone was watching me. They had a very small shadow. It wasn't a monster. It didn't attack me but ran away. As you know, the monsters here never run away."

"..."

"If there are no children who can wander outside the village, then what did I see..."

"...Could it be a young deer?"

"If that were the case, Ayla would have recognized it by the scent immediately."

"Hmm..."

Luisa stroked her chin for a while then shrugged her shoulders.

"Anything can happen in the Dark Forest."

Is that all? I glanced sideways at Luisa, but she seemed to have nothing more to say.

Well, it can't be helped. Maybe it's time to bring up the village chief.

When I mentioned that I wanted to bring some wine to the village chief as a sign of gratitude, Luisa was overjoyed, almost as if she were the one receiving the gift. I wondered if she really liked the village chief that much.

Am I really suspecting a perfectly normal and peaceful village?

The thought suddenly crossed my mind, but…

Whatever it is, it's better to check.

I headed to the village chief's house with Luisa. Unlike the day before, there were two dark elves guarding the door. After passing through them, we saw the village chief meditating inside.

"Good morning."

The chief merely nodded his head. I placed the raspberry wine, cherry wine, and peach wine I had made in front of him.

"I wanted to show my gratitude for allowing me to stay here."

"Chief, you can look forward to it. This guy makes really delicious wine."

The chief slowly opened his eyes and his mysterious purple eyes briefly met mine. He then looked at the three bottles of wine laid before him and said to Luisa,

"Luisa, take this wine to the village inn."

"Got it!"

A delighted Luisa carried the wine out, leaving just the chief and me alone in the house.

-Gulp.

The atmosphere felt unexpectedly heavy, and I swallowed dryly without realizing it. The one before me was just a child, yet I couldn't shake off the chill as if facing a being thousands of years old.

It was clear he was not an ordinary fellow.

"Do you have something you want to say?"

The chief was the first to address me. It seemed he had noticed something. I took a moment to steady my breath, squared my shoulders, and then spoke to him with confidence.

"Do you know that all the other elf villages have been wiped out?"

"I know."

His response came too easily and devoid of emotion.

He knew?

His answer stunned me so much that my mind went blank, and I could only stare at him. Then, with his chilling purple eyes fixed on me, the chief gripped the cane beside him and slowly rose to his feet. He began to walk around the inside of the house while moving deliberately slowly.

"All six villages have disappeared."

"..."

"What about it?"

"All the Dark Elf villages have vanished without a trace. And you're saying it doesn't concern you?"

"..."

"I might be overstepping as a human, but… this doesn't seem like a normal situation."

The chief burst out laughing at my words. What started as a small chuckle soon grew into a laugh so hearty it almost brought him to a cough.

"So you want to know why…"

"..."

"Did the queen send you here?"

"...!"

As I flinched, the chief extended his cane towards my neck. It was just a blunt-ended stick, yet the killing intent it radiated was intense. I couldn't say anything and held my breath.

"Answer me, servant of the queen."

"…I am not a servant of the queen."

"But you carry her scent."

"..."

"Just answer me."

The end of the cane prodded my neck. I glared at him before finally speaking.

"I came here wanting to learn about 'Grizel'. My plan was to visit every Dark Elf village. But from the first to the sixth, every one of them had been wiped out."

"..."

"Except for this village."

"Aha."

The chief smiled broadly. Only then did he seem his age.

"Grizel means 'pebble'."

"I already know that…"

"And it's also my name."

His smile deepened.

"Dianta has made a mistake. Sending a mere human."

"....!"

Just as I was about to jump up from my spot,

-Thwack!

He struck my head with his cane. And he swung it with a force that would put a professional athlete to shame.

I collapsed right then and there.

***

-Tap, tap, tap!

"Ah, ouch…"

-Beep! Beep-beep!

The sharp feeling of a pointed beak pecking at my forehead and the familiar chirping piercing my ears allowed me to lift my heavy eyelids.

-Beep-ro-beep? Beep!!

As our eyes met, Beepy began to furiously peck at my face with his wings. Blah, ptui!

"What are you doing?"

I pushed Beepy away and touched the lump on my head before recalling the previous situation. It was quite big. Oh, I hope it won't cause a concussion!

Still feeling numb, I tried to use a healing skill, but nothing happened. Damn, what's going on? As I looked around, I noticed the bars in front of me.

The thick iron bars seemed to be engraved with dark magic typically used by dark elves, probably to prevent the prisoners here from freely using their magical powers.

Indeed, whenever I tried to use a skill, I could feel the magic that was circulating in my core just dissipate. Damn it, it has to be like this…. I guess I have no choice but to endure this with the lump.

-Beep!

At that moment, Beepy soared up to the top of my head and spread his wings to cover the lump. A warm energy spread from him, and the lump gradually subsided. I didn't know how he did it, but I felt much better. I stroked Beepy's head in gratitude.

"Thank you, Beepy. You've helped me again."

With my head no longer feeling numb and feeling more like its old self, I looked around with a clearer mind. Was this underground? The surroundings were dark, and I could hear the sound of water droplets falling in the distance. The echo was loud, which meant that the space was also quite large.

I had no idea such a place existed in the village.

What were they trying to contain by building such a massive prison? Even if they imprisoned every dark elf in the village, they wouldn't fill this jail.

-Sob, sob, sob…

-Mom, Dad…

-Honey, are you there? Honey…

-Cough! Cough! Cough!

At that moment, as if to answer my questions, various sounds began to be audible. Perhaps due to the healing effects of Beepy, my head felt clearer and I could hear better.

Most of the noises were sobs.

And the number of people sobbing seemed countless.

There was no way all these people could be from the seventh village.

That meant—

The dark elves from the previous villages must be trapped here.

If I considered that the dark elves from all the other villages, except for the first village where I saw the burned corpses and the third village with the zombified dark elves, were imprisoned here, it all made sense.

"...."

But why?

What on earth were they trying to do?

An inexplicable chill crept up my spine.

First and foremost… I need to get out of here.

I grabbed the bars and shouted.

"Lloyd! El! Ayla!"