A Cottage in the Forest

The moment we emerged from the dense forest, a pleasant, refreshing breeze blew.

It cooled our bodies, which had been sweltering, likely from the high humidity.

I called Finn back from scouting ahead so we could all cool off.

It was different from midsummer heat, but we'd sweated quite a bit, so I removed the layers I'd put on.

That alone made a huge difference.

"It's so cool…"

"Is this the lake near where the elf is staying?"

"According to the map we got, yes."

I had Alexia show me the map.

Though calling it a map was generous, it was just a rough sketch of landmarks.

It was apparently made based on testimonies from adventurers and residents who'd entered the forest in the past, so its reliability was questionable.

Still, there was supposedly only one large lake, so this had to be it.

After all, the trees on the far shore looked quite small.

It was enormous. I couldn't imagine there were multiple lakes like this.

I drank from my canteen to quench my thirst.

"So where is this elf?"

"If we head northeast from here, there's apparently a small cleared area. They've set up a base there."

"So they really do live in the forest…"

"Going to the trouble of setting up residence in a place like this, elves must really hate humans. I'd think it would be incredibly inconvenient."

"It's an old story, but humans and demi-humans… especially elves, had various conflicts. Humans become frightened just from having an elf nearby. For example, if that Fire Dragon approached wanting to be friends, do you think it would go well?"

The mention of the Fire Dragon reminded me of the Imperial city of Ateil.

The city's defenses had been completely useless.

An incarnation of violence that armies and adventurers combined couldn't touch.

Fortunately it hadn't come to a fight, but even if that Fire Dragon had been friendly, humans would have felt nothing but terror.

"I wouldn't feel that way…"

"Orleans-chan is a fire priestess, after all. You probably feel affection for the Fire Dragon."

"Are you saying elves are on par with that Fire Dragon?"

"In terms of magical power alone, yes. You can't help but be conscious of them just standing next to you. And humans aren't patient enough to endure that indefinitely. So it's not surprising they decided to live apart. But I don't think they're hostile."

What the elves had done was simply blockade the mine entrance.

While that was a matter of life and death for the mining town, no one had been injured.

If they held ill will toward humans, indeed something more would have happened.

"I hope they're people we can negotiate with."

"I believe they're rational, but we won't know until we meet them."

Having rested enough, I put my outer clothes back on.

We just had to endure this humidity a little longer.

At Finn's suggestion, we decided to have someone climb the tallest tree to locate the elves.

Finn, lightened by Alexia's wind magic, ran toward a tree.

Then she ran up it as if gravity didn't exist.

Impressive. She was as nimble as an acrobat.

Without losing momentum, she reached the top and clung to the trunk while surveying the surroundings.

Her eyesight was excellent, so she'd find them quickly.

After a while, Finn climbed down from the tree.

"How'd it go? Did you find a likely place?"

"Ah, yeah. I did find that."

Her words seemed hesitant.

Had she seen something at the top of the tree?

"What's wrong? Did you see something strange?"

"How should I put this… It was really far from here, but I saw black fog, or rather, a mass of something."

"Black fog? Rain clouds?"

If rain was coming, we'd need to prepare or we'd catch cold getting wet.

However, Finn shook her head in denial.

"It wasn't like that. It was lower, and I think it was writhing like a living thing."

"It might be a monster. I've heard there are unusual monsters deep in the forest."

"The moment I saw it, a chill ran down my spine. I think encountering that would be pretty dangerous."

"Got it, thanks. I'll keep that in mind. Alexia, did your magic pick up anything?"

With the limited visibility in the forest, it would be hard to spot and avoid things visually.

Finn, who was scouting ahead, would definitely encounter it.

Alexia should be able to sense it with magic before that happened.

"There's no monster presence nearby. There seem to be animals, but they don't seem inclined to move. It shouldn't be within my detection range."

"I see. Let me know if you sense anything. I wonder if elves aren't afraid of monsters either. I heard something about Mosquito Monsters though."

There was no point staying here.

We decided to move on.

We headed toward the location Finn had found.

As the sun began to set, we discovered a cottage.

The area around it was cleared of trees as if it had been developed.

"This is it, huh. We made it before nightfall. Let's at least ask if we can talk."

I moved to the cottage entrance and knocked on the door.

Light was visible inside, so someone should be there.

I waited for a while. The moment I was about to knock again, the door opened.

Standing there was… a wooden puppet.

The face portion of the puppet had no eyes, nose, or mouth.

"This is a puppet. It's being moved with magic."

"Oh, right. A puppet. That startled me."

The wooden puppet was taller than a grown man.

It had a strange, imposing presence.

Finn stared at the puppet.

"Hey, isn't this thing stronger than Alexia?"

"That can't be… is what I want to say, but the magic power imbued in it is incredible."

I couldn't tell, but apparently the wooden puppet before us was quite the piece of work.

It tilted its head and turned its face toward us.

It didn't seem inclined to let us through.

"What is it, Puppe? If we have guests, bring them in."

A voice came from deeper in the room.

Only then did the wooden puppet step back and turn, beginning to walk away.

It seemed we had permission to enter.