046 Exploring the Demon Woods 3 p.5

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The response that came back to the tool was a sense of friendliness one would get from their co-workers. The other party in the communication was the head of the village to which this elf, E-08, belonged. She was the elf that led the hunters before succeeding the chief when he passed away. She must be finding it difficult to shake off some old habits, E-08 thought.

Speaking of which, hm? What caused the death of the previous chief?

“So? Are you done with the job you were entrusted with?”

E-08 snapped back into reality.

Well, no point thinking about the dead, he thought. It's those who were alive now that should matter, he reminded himself.

“Yes, of course.... Did I make you wait?”

“Just a little. I felt a little uneasy about it? If you reported back a little later, I was going to send Chaga ― E-31 to have a look.”

“...Please don’t do that.”

He could not help but stiffen up. E-08 did not have a good impression of the man mentioned by the chief. He didn’t know if he was the son-in-law of the chief or what, but it was said that he was specially given powers by their great leader. It's not too hard to put up with that, but when it came to E-31's attitude towards his work, he hardly showed any enthusiasm. But hunting in the sacred forest was a noble duty for the Witte tribe - now known as the E series.

There was a momentary cut in their conversation and the atmosphere became really awkward. He tried to cover up the awkwardness by returning to the topic of work.

“I’ll be reporting the spoils of today's hunt. A swordsman, a mage, a priest, and a mixed-breed archer. Four in total.”

“Ohh, there's a priest? Mixed-breeds are a rare thing. That’s a good achievement.”

“I can understand priests, but being excited for mixed-breeds?”

Derision involuntarily slipped from his lips. It seemed that their great leader was obsessed with priests these days. So that was understandable, but he wasn’t convinced that a lowly half-breed would be considered excellent prey. It felt like mud was being smeared on the sacredness of the hunt.

The chief laughed embarrassedly.

“It was just good timing for the mixed-breed. I’ve heard that our leader wants elf virgins. But, well, us elves are a rare existence, so we can’t just hand them over like toys. So it would be much favourable for us to submit the mixed-breed instead.”

“What, really? But that girl was from a whore who opened her legs to hairless ones though? Surely, like his parents, she would be a vulgar brat. I'm not sure if she's even a virgin or not―”

“Well, it's certainly a rare prey to find anyway. In any case, you should be pleased at the catch.”

Indeed, the chief was right. As expected from a former ace hunter. Ah, she was still teaching young elves how to hunt. E-08 felt shame at his thoughtlessness.

“Well, then, time to take the spoils to the village―”

That was when a rumbling emerged.

“Sacrifice…”



The manticore peeked out from the trees. It was chasing after the adventurers that had escaped. The wind had brought it here.

“Hey, what's happening, E-08?”

“―No, it's just the manticore who has been fighting the adventurers. It's just that it got wounded and is hungry. He'll need to be fed.”

E-08's voice was easygoing, as though his dog had interrupted him while he was eating. Normally, no elf would be able to come across a monster as big as a manticore and show this level of composure.

However, the situation was a little different in this forest of Marlan. Most of the monsters in this forest were servants of the leader of the Witte tribe and his subordinate, the fearsome dark elf. Because of their limited magical supply, they needed to eat at the same intervals as they do in the wild, but they were sensible enough not to attack the elves, who were also guardians of the forest.

In fact, the manticore ignored E-08, who was the culprit that sent him flying with magic. The manticore focused its attention and appetite towards the adventurers.

“Hmm. Then give it the swordsman and the mage. I don't care as long as you bring back the priest and the mixed-breed.”

"Are you sure? I think the mage could be a good slave if we modified her and put a collar on her.”

“I've been told that altering people who are known publicly would be an inconvenience. Of course, if she was a rare and valuable existence, then it might be worth it. ...Is this mage worth it as a sample?”

She was likely a C-ranked mage. Judging from her youth and her skill at creating the magic sword. With that in consideration,

“No, not at all. Then I shall follow your instructions, E-01, and return with the requested prey. Over.”

“Okay, understood. Over.”

After finishing the conversation, he quickly put away the tool. Then, he gave instructions to the Treant.

“Transport the priest and the mixed-breed to the village. Let me know when they wake up from their slumber. I don't want the swordsman and the mage. Leave them.”

“……OOOOHHHHH……!”

The treants started to move, making loud thuds with each step. E-08, gently nodded his head as he passed the manticore.

“You know, I think that was too much difficulty you had against these C-rankers. Thanks to you, I had to put on a play for them.”

“Uuu...”

While being disciplined like a dog, the monster could only make whimpers of disapproval. It was a scene that would make anyone familiar with dungeons faint.

However, this was commonplace in the Trees of Darkness. The man-eating monsters were just pawns to be used as hounds by the elven hunters. But they were important pawns. If they died, then the dark elf would have to go out of her way to find more replacements.

So, the manticore had to be careful not to be defeated by adventurers.

“Well, your food will be left here and you can reflect on what you've done. Next time, don't expect me to be there to help you again, okay?”



“Yes...! Sacrifice...! Sacrifice…!!”

With the munching of a delighted manticore as background music, E-08 hurried back to the village. He wondered how much their leader would reward him in exchange for the adventurers he had captured alive.

Thus, one of the more promising parties of the adventurer's guild, the Guardian of Balance, met their ends in the land of darkness.

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