Tresspassers

She did expect to encounter some rare plants, but the herbs found inside The Perennial Forest were way more diverse than she'd ever imagined. Eleen, who couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that they were so suddenly traversing into an almost forbidden region, instantly found herself in heaven. Despite not wanting to slow down the others, she couldn't resist the urge to pluck out all and any herb she found. These species were so rare that even her teacher couldn't get a hold of some of them, but here she was!

It was fortunate that the group decided to take a rest and have their lunch. She could now freely gather as many crops as she desired without hindering the others.

Deciding to hurriedly do her job and be done with her greedy desires, Eleen roamed around the camp in search of more and more herbs. It was only when a deep voice abruptly interrupted her that she realized how far away she'd strayed from the others. 

"What do you think you're doing, human? Put those petals down and move away."

She had to snap her neck way up to see the speaker's face. It was a tall figure, wearing strange clothes. What caught her eyes first was the man's dazzling blonde hair, as it was the only bright thing in the shadowy forest.

"....." Eleen squinted her eyes, "Who?"

The man lowered his head to face Eleen, revealing his grass-colored eyes. It was also when she noticed the person's strange ears. They were larger than the average, with their tips extending out, pointy. 

"Stop harassing those flowers and leave!"

The man pointed at the petals in Eleen's palm. They were newly plucked out from the blossoms of a rare herb. 

"Harassing? No. I'm collecting medicine."

Even after getting up to her feet, Eleen's height was nowhere close to the man's. He seemed to be as tall as Raven, if not taller. There was also a wooden bow dangling from his back. Seeing the weapon, Eleen took a few steps back in caution and hid the petals behind her back. She had to hurry back to safety.

But before she could turn around to run, the stranger suddenly acted up. Grabbing her arm and yanking the herbs out of her grasp, the man tsked upon seeing the crumbled state of the them. 

"To hurt nature like this; humans are truly despicable!"

"Oy! What do you think you're doing?? Move away!!" 

She didn't need to shout; the person had already moved far back away. His grass-colored pupils indifferently bore down on her, as if mocking the unworthy creature. 

"You are the one who shall leave right at this moment!"

Sure she wanted to leave until just a few seconds ago, but now she was pissed. It would be so refreshing to pull out those pointy ears of that man, wouldn't it? But Eleen was too weak to win against an armed muscular individual. Should she just run away? Her fear didn't allow her to act harshly based on her rage...

'It'd be good if Raven was here.'

If not anything else, he was useful in situations like this. What should she do? She really wanted those petals back!

"Um... Miss Eleen?"

The echo of a gentle voice shattered the tense atmosphere, attracting both individuals' attention. Slowly moving out from behind the trees, a hooded young man approached the two.

"...What is going on? Who is that sir?"

Seeing the person who called out, Eleen couldn't hold her sigh any longer. Not that she wasn't glad somebody located her, but she hoped that person would be someone else, one capable of beating the crap out of this stranger.

"Who is this again? Another human? A beggar?" Scanning Ian from head to toe, a disgruntled expression emerged on the man's face. The disdain in his eyes was so clear; he was looking at a far inferior being. Seeing this, Ian rushed to explain.

"No no, not a beggar. I'm a slave."

"...."

'That didn't improve your image at all!'

Eleen wanted to slap her face. No, maybe not her's, but someone else's. She couldn't blame this stranger, though. With how this man dressed, it wasn't surprising to mistake him with a beggar. Why was he like that? He even entered a male clothing shop with a variety of colors and designs only to purchase a few sets of clothes for Doris and not a single shirt for himself. That day was Eleen's closest experience to becoming a murderer. 

"Get out of this jungle right now, the two of you."

The stranger clicked his tongue while turning around to leave, not finding these two people worthy enough of his time. But before he could take one step away, Ian stopped him with a question. 

"Um, sir, are you perhaps an elf?"

Ian pointed at the blondie's sharp ears which didn't look similar to humans. The stranger stopped and turned around. He tilted his head as if asking 'So what?'. 

"Then, is that true that there is an elf village inside this forest? Can you please show us the way? We were actually heading to that place!"

Ian rushed to the man, excitedly circling around him, his eyes twinkling with joy. The elf's brows knitted further. Even Eleen was flabbergasted. 

'...We were going to where?'

This was the first time she had heard of it.

"Human how dare you-"

The elf couldn't finish his sentence.

"Good sir, esteemed elf, let me brief the situation. You see we're a mercenary group. We take various jobs as long as we're paid. A while ago in a secret mission from an unknown source, we encountered a strange phenomenon related to the sudden outburst of vicious flames that targeted innocent people. After investigating the case, to everyone's surprise, it seemed to be related to elementals; thus, we were entrusted by the client to further investigate the cause and that led us to enter this forest which is rumored to be the home of many elementals and is said to be where an elf village is located but I honestly didn't expect it to be true. Yet seeing you here, I guess the rumors were correct, after all. We need to head to that village to find a cure for the rampaging elementals and put an end to these brutal events. Good sir, could you please guide us to find the elementals we seek? I'm sure if those corrupted beings live in this jungle they can also harm the elves and should be taken care of. Fear not that our group consists of the best experts in this aspect who can help you out of this situation."

Huuu

Ian took a deep breath, almost a gasp.

"....."

"..."

Staring at Ian were two pairs of eyes, widened to match the size of walnuts. Both Eleen and the elf were speechless, probably doing their best to consume the information Ian just blabbered.

Using the situation, Ian wrapped his arm around the elf boy, almost tiptoeing to reach his height, and began dragging him towards the camp which wasn't too far away. The elf flinched and twitched several times, but he couldn't refuse Ian's warm invitation. After a little bit of struggle, his shoulders slumped down as if in defeat.

"Let me introduce our group to you. The one you were just talking to was Miss Eleen. She is the doctor of our group who knows any and all kinds of medicine and disease and can treat any sort of wound or sickness. She got separated from the group while she was searching for medical herbs if I'm not mistaken. Were the two of you arguing just now about the flower petals? I heard that elves are too sensitive about nature and try to prevent any harm to it. Is that why you were mad? If so, don't be so furious, please. Miss Eleen was only gathering medical plants to help the sick and poor. She's the kindest and best doctor out there who helps anyone in need. We also don't want to damage this benevolent jungle or the animals. We even find it cruel to ride on animals, so we don't have horses, as you can see."

They left their horses back in the mercenary contact point before entering the jungle. Those animals would only get on their way in this kind of environment.

At that moment, Ian heard a gasp coming from behind his back, but he paid it no mind. To his side, the elf also had a complicated expression on his face while staring at the crumbled flower petals in his palm. Ian ignored him as well. 

"Then there is me, who might look like a poor beggar. I actually am. Poor, I mean. As I said, I'm a slave. That's why I can do many chores. I'm the best at cleaning, washing, cooking, manual work, and taking a beating. If you ever need a slave, the first one that should cross your mind shall be me."

"....."

By the time Ian was done advertising himself, they arrived at the camp. The first person that came into view was Kieran, who was already glaring in their direction, sword in hand, in stance. Seems like he'd sensed the stranger's presence. Ian pointed at Kieran with a finger. 

"You see that black-haired youth over there? He's Raven. You won't believe me, but he's monstrously strong. Don't look at his young face, he's terrifyingly talented with the sword. You can spar with him if you want, but I don't guarantee your safety. He and our greatest doctor Miss Eleen are the core members of the team. Both of them are so good, especially Miss Eleen, that they don't even need us on their team! We're fortunate that we were allowed to join. Sigh!

"Ah, that young girl over there is also a talent. She's a promising mage who specializes in fire magic. She was the key aspect in our previous encounter with the vicious elemental and will also be of great help in our future investigation of the case. Great Doctor Eleen was the person who suggested her joining our team and knowing from how insightful she is, we're sure Doris will become a great asset to us in no time."

They reached the bonfire at the center of the camp. Everyone gathered around as Ian pushed the stranger forward and then glanced at the last person remaining. 

"He's Alaric."

Ian turned away from Alaric's wronged expression and met the elf. A smile bloomed on his lips; his face tender, eyes mild.

"Guys, guess what? We encountered a kindhearted elf who is willing to guide us to our destination, the elf village!"

"...."

"...."

"...."

Who? Where? What?