Theo hastened his pace as he felt the increasing intensity of the mana. The elves managed to stay close behind them. They were all in good condition after being released from their restraints. As a result, the group quickly reached the large barracks.
But when Theo stopped to search the area with magic and Mitra, he was caught by surprise.
“They didn’t leave any guards?”
It seemed like Vince had caught all their attention, but Theo still found it strange that all the guards were missing. It seemed like common sense to leave behind someone in case of more enemies. However, Theo had not seen the Janissary’s flare for immediate reinforcements,since he had been rescuing the four elves.
He quickly freed the other four elves in the barracks. As the eight elves watched him with the same innocently trusting expressions, Theo struggled to figure out his next move. Should he retreat with the elves or rejoin Vince?
They had originally made the plan with the assumption that there were only eight elves to rescue. They hadn’t expected a high elf. Vince was supposed to rescue these four elves, but he had been tied down somewhere else. Theo eventually decided that he had to be more flexible, rather than sticking blindly to the plan.
“Let’s go a little bit further.”
An eerie silence had descended over the camp, but he couldn’t sense anything. At the same time, that didn’t mean that he was safe. Theo started to make his way to where he had seen the pillar of fire as the elves followed him.
“This…!” Theo’s eyes widened as he turned a corner and witnessed the devastation first.
He felt nauseous, as the elves followed him around the corner and paled. They had discovered the missing guards.
The charred, smoking bodies of the guards were scattered across the ground. Their eyeballs had melted into piles of goo, and a bitter scent hung in the air.
“Urgh!” In the end, the elves couldn’t stand it and took a few steps back as they fought to keep from puking.
For a moment, they resented their sensitive sense of smell. As denizens of the forest, they weren’t particularly used to this terrible odor.
However, Theo was relatively less affected and jumped toward the source of the odor without hesitation when he saw a familiar figure.
“Master!”
“Geez, you came first.” Vince’s robes were tattered, but he smiled as he saw Theo and the rescued elves.
Vince quickly realized that Theo had also done his task and rescued the elves in the large barracks. He grimaced as his side throbbed. Veronica had been right; he alone couldn’t have handled this.
Theo hurried over. “Master, you’re injured?!”
Vince let his hand drop. “I took a blow. The wound’s inconsequential, so don’t worry.”
Vince was stretching the truth a little; while it wasn’t life-threatening, the wound wasn’t light. The Austen Janissary hadn’t missed the chance to wound Vince with his sword while the firestorm was burning half of his body. As soon as the almost dead Janissary realized there was no chance of winning, he tried to bring down Vince in a mutually destructive exchange.
Vince endured the pain and said, “Well, it looks like both of us encountered trouble.”
The two magicians recovered as they went over their respective battles. They also blew away the scent of the burnt bodies with a quick wind spell so that they could breathe better. As they recovered, the elves unconsciously turned to face the gray tent.
“A high elf… I’ve only come across them in a few books. I never thought I would see them in person.” Theo mused.
Vince snorted. “It is the same for me. Usually, they never leave Elvenheim. Our kingdom might only have four people who’ve met one.”
Theo looked at him quizzically. “Four people…?”
Vince grinned as he folded his fingers. “His Majesty, Tower Master Blundell… and now, us.”
Theo sighed. “They’re that rare, huh?”
Some self-proclaimed elf scholars doubted the existence of the high elves. They claimed that since Meltor, as the closest kingdom to Elvenheim, had only two people who had ever seen a high elf, their existence was simply a fantasy.
At this moment, the entrance of the gray tent fluttered like a wind was blowing past.
“Ah.” No one could be blamed for unconsciously gasping.
The figure which appeared from behind the tent cloth was so perfect that words themselves failed to describe them properly. Light green hair shone gently in the dim light as alabaster limbs pulled the tent flap aside. They looked just androgenous enough that it was hard to tell their gender from their appearance. Hazy eyes flicked from Theo, to Vince, and finally to the other elves.
A man… No, a woman?
The beautiful elf smiled at them. “Daughter of the Blue Evergreen Tribe, the tribe’s sixth dancer, Ellenoa, thanks my benefactors.”
The calm voice sounded like a bell through the darkness. Her voice sounded just as gender neutral as her figure, but she referred to herself with a definite gender. Theo and Vince accepted the greeting belatedly and introduced themselves.
“My name is Vince Haidel.”
“I‘m Theodore Miller.”
However, Theo saw a strange sight as he bowed in greeting. A small bud was growing visibly from the charred ground next to Ellenoa. The soil around Ellenoa’s bare feet was regaining its vitality at an incredible speed. A miraculous scene was unfolding right before his very eyes.
Theo realized why the existences of the high elves were concealed so thoroughly.
They have the power to revive nature itself. This is the power of a high elf!
Theo lifted his head with an admiring expression and met Ellenoa’s silver eyes.
[Hoing!]
At that moment, Mitra sprang out unexpectedly from right beside the bud. Ellenoa’s eyes widened with surprise as Mitra jumped into Theo’s arms.
Theo cradled Mitra’s small body in his hands. “Ah, what a surprise. Why did you jump out all of a sudden?”
[Horororong!]
Mitra started dancing joyfully on Theo’s palm. She looked rather comical as she waved her short legs and arms in strange motions. However, Theo could feel her pure joy and excitement through their bond. The elemental was ecstatic about the high elf’s presence.
“… You are accompanied by a precious person.”
Theo was surprised by Ellenoa’s response. She stared at Mitra dancing on Theo’s palm and smiled gently. If she was closer, she would’ve stretched out and stroked Mitra’s head. PerhapsEllenoa knew some secrets about Mitra that he didn’t know. But just as Theodore opened his mouth to respond, he was interrupted.
Ellenoa looked off into the distance. “I’m sorry but we’ll have to delay the story for a while, Theodore.”
Theo followed her gaze. “Huh?”
Ellenoa’s next words put them all on guard. “Guests are coming.”
The rest of them quickly heard rapid hoofbeats and the jangle of armor and weapons as the Bergen guards started to make their way to them. Lee Yoonsung’s five senses, rather than Alfred’s perception, were the first to pick up on their approach. Theo nodded to the high elf and backed off. They would be able to talk later.
“… Hoo, I can rest a little bit.” Theo finally felt his accumulated fatigue start to overpower his adrenaline filled body. 𝒆𝙣𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝙚𝙩
He could feel several places on his body clamoring for attention as the pain that had been suppressed by the excitement of battle began to make itself known. Thus, the disturbance in the night came to an end.
***
Veronica’s order had been extraordinarily effective. As one of the two best magicians in Meltor, her name was almost synonymous with the king’s. So, when Earl Bergen saw the order from the Red Tower Master, he immediately treated Theo and Vince with great care. He spared no expense, from the huge baths to the ingredients used in their dinners. In Theo’s case, he even had to struggle to chase away a maid who had been discreetly sent to his room.
The elves, including Ellenoa, were also treated with great care.
Vince stretched as he walked, testing his injuries. “They are being served separately in the annex and being given fruits from the city’s best vendors. Earl Bergen is truly a resourceful person.”
After a busy night and sleeping nearly all day, Vince and Theodore walked side by side along the corridor. They were dressed in luxurious robes, which was quite different from their infiltration outfits. The finest outfits in the mansion were wrapped naturally around both bodies.
Theo tried to ignore his burgeoning awkwardness as he replied, “Is the Earl of Bergen that resourceful?”
Vince smiled knowingly. “At least, I think so. He is good at keeping favor with other people without going out of line. Didn’t you suffer from this last night?”
Theo reddened as he remembered the naked maid. “Master!”
Vince chuckled. “That fox hasn’t changed. He did the same thing when I first arrived at the academy.”
Vince had experienced many things in life, so it wasn’t a big deal for him. A guide soon brought them to a large door before politely bidding them goodbye.
“So, shall we enter?” Vince glanced at Theodore before entering.
They had both received an invitation from Earl Bergen to dine with him. Despite meeting more senior magicians, this was Theo’s first experience having dinner with a nobleman. Vince was checking that Theo wasn’t nervous.
Theo glanced at him. “Master?”
Vince smiled at Theo’s calm expression. Indeed, Theodore had already met Kurt III twice. He had sparred with Veronica and conversed with Blundell. A noble wouldn’t be a big deal after meeting those people. If Vince had to use an analogy, those huge figures were like dragons, while Earl Bergen was an ogre.
“No, it is nothing. Let’s go in,” Vince replied as he knocked on the door.
The double doors opened easily, revealing a brightly lit room. As the two people walked through the doors, a loud shout rang out, “Honored guests, Vince Haidel and Theodore Miller, from the Magic Tower are entering!”