Chapter 99

Whoosh!

A torrential downpour pours fiercely.

Lightning strikes as if the sky is splitting, and thunder roars so loudly it feels like the earth is shaking.

Despite it being morning, the world is as dark as night. The fierce wind and rain make it hard to see ahead.

In the midst of this storm, Ariel walks silently.

She could have easily shielded herself from the rain using telekinesis or a shield, but Ariel deliberately let herself get soaked.

Because getting drenched felt good.

Enjoying the cool sensation of the cold rain soaking her skin, Ariel continued walking.

Her destination: the Elf’s Forest.

The Elf’s Forest was the next stop on her adventure.

The reason she chose the Elf’s Forest as her destination was simple.

Last night, in the Evergreen Forest, Gaizen, Elysion’s guardian, had asked her a question.

“By the way, how is the Elf’s Forest these days?”

Ariel couldn’t answer that question.

Because she had never been to the Elf’s Forest.

Gaizen had likely asked because Ariel was an elf, but Ariel had slightly forgotten that she was an elf herself.

She had been to the Dwarf Mountain Range and the Lizardman Kingdom, but she had never visited the Elf’s Forest.

Realizing this, Ariel decided to make the Elf’s Forest her next destination.

However, Ariel had to go alone.

Like the Lizardmen, the elves were a reclusive race, and only elves could enter the Elf’s Forest.

Roo, a fairy, and Ghost and Black, the wolves, wouldn’t be able to set foot in the Elf’s Forest.

Rakia could polymorph into an elf, but Elysion’s body hadn’t fully recovered yet, and with Lionel gone to the Dwarf Mountain Range, Rakia was the only one left to guard the Dragon’s Lair.

For these reasons, Ariel set out on another solo adventure.

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t lonely, but this adventure wouldn’t be long.

Her goal was simply to visit the Elf’s Forest and return.

Besides, she wasn’t entirely alone.

Ariel had brought the dragon doll, Sparki.

She had stored it in her inventory due to the heavy rain, but she planned to let it fly around once the rain stopped.

However, the rain showed no signs of stopping.

In fact, it grew even fiercer, making it impossible to see the path ahead.

Ariel paused for a moment and peered ahead.

She saw an overturned carriage in the distance.

Near the carriage, a man lay unconscious, and a woman was desperately shaking him.

“Honey! Wake up, honey!”

The nearby stream had flooded due to the heavy rain, creating a strong current.

The current was about to sweep over the carriage.

Realizing the danger, the woman got up and approached the carriage.

She tried to pull something out of the carriage, but the rain and mud made it difficult.

“Waaah!”

A child’s cry came from inside the carriage. It seemed there was a child inside.

Boom!

A loud sound echoed from afar, as if a landslide had occurred.

Soon, a torrent of water and mud rushed down from the mountain.

It was only a matter of time before the carriage was swept away.

“Oh no…!”

The woman cried out in despair, and Ariel stomped the ground.

Thud.

In the next moment, Ariel appeared beside the woman.

She lifted her heel to peek inside the carriage and saw a little girl crying.

“Waaah, waaah!”

Ariel used telekinesis to lift the carriage high into the air.

The fierce current passed by just in time, and the woman stepped back in shock.

As Ariel set the carriage down in a safe spot, the woman quickly ran to it.

“…Rina!”

Meanwhile, Ariel approached the man lying on the ground. He was bleeding from his head.

Ariel placed her hand on his head and cast a sacred magic spell.

“Healing.”

A pure white light emanated from Ariel’s hand and seeped into the man’s wound.

Immediately, the wound healed, and the bleeding stopped.

“Ugh, ugh…”

The man soon opened his eyes.

“Honey? Rina!”

He jumped up and looked around frantically.

His eyes were filled with desperation to find his wife and child.

“Over here, honey!”

The woman waved her hand tearfully from the carriage.

The man hurriedly ran toward her.

“Honey! Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine. Rina’s safe too.”

“Th-thank goodness. Really, thank goodness.”

The man let out a sigh of relief and tightly hugged his wife and child.

Then he turned to look at Ariel.

“Uh, um… Gasp!”

Suddenly, Ariel felt something rapidly approaching from behind.

Turning her head, she saw a massive tree swinging its branches like a whip.

Ariel raised a shield to block the branches.

Thwack!

The tree didn’t stop and continued to swing its branches, but Ariel just stood there, watching it with her shield up.

It was strange. The tree was alive and moving, but something felt off.

It seemed as if the tree had been corrupted by a powerful dark energy, with black smoke oozing from its body.

Moreover, Ariel could somehow sense the tree’s emotions, and it seemed to be sad.

Just in case, Ariel cast a sacred magic spell.

“Purification.”

A holy light of purification emanated from Ariel’s hand and enveloped the tree.

The black smoke dissipated, and the tree returned to its original color.

Finally, the tree seemed at peace.

It gently lowered its massive branch and stroked Ariel, conveying its gratitude.

Then, with heavy steps, it walked back into the forest.

Ariel watched the tree for a moment before turning her gaze back to the carriage.

*

“Thank you… If you hadn’t helped us, our family wouldn’t have made it.”

The man bowed repeatedly, expressing his gratitude to Ariel. The woman beside him also tearfully thanked her.

“Really, how can we ever repay you… Thank you so much…”

The heavy rain continued to pour from the sky, but thanks to the wide shield Ariel had cast, the area around the carriage was protected from the rain.

Only the sound of raindrops hitting the shield echoed around.

Ariel decided to wait for the rain to stop.

After all, the path ahead was still unclear, and she couldn’t bring herself to leave this family in the midst of such a fierce storm.

Since they were staying, they decided to have a meal.

The man gathered wet wood from nearby and managed to start a fire, while the woman took out ingredients from the carriage and began preparing food.

It turned out they were merchants, and their carriage was filled with various spices and ingredients.

While the couple prepared the meal, Ariel played with the child.

The child, around three or four years old, toddled after the dragon doll, Sparki, which Ariel was levitating with telekinesis.

Soon, a savory aroma filled the air.

The woman skillfully cooked a delicious stew, and they all gathered around the fire to eat.

“…That was amazing earlier. You used sacred magic, right? Are you a priestess?”

At the man’s question, Ariel nodded.

Technically, she was a mage, but now that she was the Saintess’s guardian knight, she could also be considered a priestess.

“Wow, I’ve never seen an elf priestess before… By the way, was that an Ent earlier?”

The man glanced at the woman as he asked, and she nodded.

“…Lately, there have been rumors of Ents appearing around here and attacking people.”

“But that’s strange. Ents are usually gentle. They’re not aggressive unless the forest is being destroyed.”

Ents were forest spirits.

They were friendly to all races, including humans, and especially to elves, they were like motherly figures.

If an elf climbed onto an Ent and played a prank, the Ent would slowly laugh and hug the elf tightly.

“For an Ent to attack an elf… Was that black smoke the problem?”

Earlier, black smoke had been oozing from the Ent’s body.

Seeing that, Ariel had tried using purification magic, and the Ent immediately became gentle.

The purification magic had worked.

That meant the Ent had been corrupted by something.

Moreover, with rumors of Ents appearing and attacking people around here, it seemed something was happening to the Ents in the forest.

Ariel turned her gaze to the direction where the Ent had disappeared.

That direction aligned with her path to the Elf’s Forest.

Perhaps on her way to the Elf’s Forest, she would find out what was happening to the Ents.

After a while, the rain began to let up, and the sun started to rise.

Ariel slowly got up to continue her journey.

“Thank you so much.”

The man bowed once again.

“We’ll wait here a bit longer and join the caravan when they arrive. Since we didn’t arrive on time, they’re probably looking for us.”

“Alright.”

Ariel patted the head of the child, who was tugging at Sparki’s tail.

“Rina, stop bothering the doll and come here.”

At the woman’s words, the child toddled over and hugged her, and Ariel gave a slight bow before turning away.

It was time to head to the Elf’s Forest.