Mister guide

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

"...."

"...."

"...."

Who? Where?

...What was going on? 

"Ah, by the way, sir, can I know your name?"

"Um..."

The elf only then snapped out of his daze and took a clearer look around himself.

'This... Isn't right...'

Where was he? What was he doing? A human camp? Ridiculous! Did the human enchant him or something? His head was throbbing from all the listening, ears ringing the more this human talked. The people surrounding him didn't seem much different from him, though. Everyone had blank expressions, somewhat lost. Oh, but was the doctor as good as the man explained? He was now feeling a tad guilty over mistreating her.

"Mister elf? Don't you want to give us your name? But that'll be uncomfortable since we're going to travel together! By the way, my name is Ian!"

The human shot another smile at him. His young face... Looked naive and innocent. Did he say he was a slave? Ah, poor thing. Humans don't hold any sympathy even for their own kind, let alone the animals or nature! Sigh!

"...It's Claus."

He should've shut this man up the moment he started talking, and now it was too late. He couldn't blame it all on the human, as Clause was also curious about the topic of discussion.

"Then, we entrust ourselves to you, Mister Claus!"

The hooded slave clapped his hands once as if concluding the discussion.

"Wait wait, hold on!" Claus took a step back. "I can't let humans enter our village!"

That wasn't allowed. It was a crime, it was a sin! 

Never ever before were humans allowed entry to their village. Even if they somehow found the place, they would be kicked out by force. There was no way he would allow these undeserving creatures to enter his hometown!

"Plus, what's the point of me taking you to our village? What can some humans do?"

Did this human think he could scam an elf so easily? Of course he wouldn't fall for that! He... Did almost accepted it but no, he couldn't be fooled!

"Um..." Right at that moment, someone raised their hand. It was a golden-haired human. 

"I don't understand what's going on."

"....."

Instead of answering, Ian stared at Alaric in the eyes until the boy gradually shrank back and lowered his head. "B-but... I'll trust you since you're such a... uh... a..."

"Wise leader."

Alaric's gaze swerved to Raven who completed his sentence. The man's hand was on the hilt of his sword, fingers dancing around the handle, his piercing gaze leering at Alaric and the other two members of the group. Shivers run down the three's backs, forcing them to shut their lips closed. 

"Judging from how the Elementals have started harming the humans outside the jungle, we guessed that the elves couldn't be too safe either, am I wrong?"

"...."

"I've heard that elves seldom leave their village, yet as soon as we enter the forest, we encounter one with chance... Although it's a fortunate encounter, it's also strange. Now that I'm thinking about it, is there anything you need to do outside the forest? We could help you with anything you need."

"...."

There came to response.

"Of course, such an esteemed race can't benefit much from us humans, but if the elves were benevolent enough to lend us their knowledge, we might manage to find a solution for this matter. Don't you think so?"

"Mmm..."

That made sense... Of course, elves didn't need humans. But Claus couldn't shake off this ominous feeling he was getting. Something was wrong, but he couldn't tell what that thing exactly was. He wasn't getting scammed, was he?

"Is what you said earlier true? Are the Elementals causing damage to the outside? I find it hard to believe. They usually refrain from leaving the boundaries of their hometown."

Elementals were all gentle and tender creatures, rarely harming any living being. Anyone with a little bit of knowledge would doubt Ian's words.

There was no other choice. Ian took several deep breaths before opening his mouth to recite the grand tale of their adventures.

".....But in the end, everything was solved thanks to Miss Eleen. That woman was saved from certain death due to her intervention. I can still remember how the townsmen gathered to thank us when we were departing. Sigh, such a lovely scene it was."

Didn't they sneak out of the city late at night to avoid getting caught 'kidnapping' Doris? The group peeked at each other, bounteous, yet no one stated anything. Ian was that he was the sole speaker. Everyone else was deathly silent.

At some point in time, between his explanations, Ian invited, or rather forced Claus, to share a meal with them; and they were all sitting around the fire, eating their lunch. Meanwhile, no sound escaped anyone, not even the slight jingling of utensils hitting the plates. 

"I... I see."

Claus stared at his empty plate, numerous questions whirling in his mind. 

'Why am I having a meal with humans...'

His brain was frozen the whole time that the human was speaking. Did the human cast a spell on him? No. It was probably because he himself was unable to cut the man's words in the middle. 

'But I need to leave.'

Now, how was he going to get out of this situation?

'Wait, how dare these humans start a fire in the middle of the forest and camp out?'

And they were brutally burning branches and littering the ground! This behavior was unacceptable! That's it! He had enough. He'd use this as an excuse to run away.

Claus threw aside the plate and jolted up to his feet in rage.

"That's enough! Stop this right away!"

Clap! The hooded human also jumped up from his seat.

"Oh, Mister Claus is ready to guide us. Guys, hurry up and pack the stuff."

"....."

The elf's furious face instantly became ashen. 

"That's... Wait!"

Before he could say anything, he saw the hooded individual taking several deep breaths. Cold sweat drenched his back. Was he preparing to start another lengthy tale again??

"Hm? Mister Claus, isn't that the case?"

The pair of deep blue eyes stared at him as if piercing right through his soul, demanding an answer. 

'No. Say no. Refuse it! Refuse it!'

"Haha, such a joyous day! Never ever in my lengthy life of slavery would I imagine meeting or even having an elf as a guide. Life always has so many surprises for us, isn't that that?"

"...That..."

The human didn't look away from him, and neither did he stop taking deep breathes. That was... Truly frightening. Clause opened and closed his mouth a few times. His lips were parched and his voice was hoarse. 

"That's right..."

The human's sapphire-like eyes twinkled in excitement. Claus wanted to smash his head into a tree. 

"Alright, let's go."

Tap. The strange human, whom Claus wasn't sure to hate or pity, pushed him to the front of the group as he gathered everyone around. Claus held his sigh; his hands clenched to fists. 

'I should've just said No!'

That shouldn't be so hard to do, but it was. Why couldn't he just punch the human in the face and render him incapable of ever speaking again? No. That'd be too cruel. The situation made him be reminded of his friend, who always laughed at him when he was caught in situations like this. She was the first one to notice how he was unable to refuse people or cut their words, and also the first person who began using this weakness to her benefit. 

Who would think that he'd get scammed by the same method as her?

"....."

Being reminded of the past didn't help raise his spirits at all. Claus' shoulders slightly slumped, his head drooping. The elf peeked at his palm which still held the flower petals from before. Didn't the human say that the woman was a capable doctor? If so, then...

'I hope that woman won't hold any grudges from earlier...'

Even if she did, he had to solve them as soon as possible.

Walking behind the elf, everyone in the group had their eyes on Ian, each having their own bunch of questions, but Ian didn't seem to care. A smile was plastered to his face, his mood soaring high up to the sky.

-...Master, you seem like a really baddie right now.

The tiny wolf in his arms shook his head. He was giving Ian such a strange gaze. 

-What do you mean by baddie? He'll benefit from this more than us. I'm just helping him out!

Of course, he wasn't scamming Claus or anything like that. His actions might seem strange, but he was doing this all for the man's good! 

-Mmm... Okay, I'll believe in you.

'You'll believe in me? You shouldn't even doubt me one bit from the beginning!'

Unaware of Ian's thoughts, Lior rubbed his head against the man's chest, yawning and stretching its body.

-But I feel like I've seen this man somewhere, have we been here before? Master also seems to know that elf as you scammed I mean persuaded him so easily.

Scam? Who? Ian? 

Twich. His thin eyebrow raised a bit. Ian huffed and stumped the ground.

-Of course, I know how to talk him through. Do you know how many times I've seen him die? 

Ian knew this elf's character inside out!

-Uh...

Hearing the unexpected answer, Lior's ears slumped down. He blinked a few times, moved a bit, then patted his master's hand with a paw.

-...What's that for?

Before Ian could stop the child, though, he felt sudden a chill run down his spine. Once he turned around, he found a pair of amber eyes bearing down on him, round and wide from shock. 

"....."

"....."

-.....

What in the world?

-Lior... Alaric... can't hear our voices, can he?

-.....um

If he remembered correctly, something strange happened a while ago as well. 

-....

Seems like... he could.