Chapter 3

Roo flew up above Ariel’s head and spun around.

Then, sparkling powder fell from Roo’s body, covering Ariel, and soon Ariel’s body began to glow as well.

Sprinkling powder wasn’t an easy task for a fairy. It was similar to a mage casting magic. Doing it a few times would quickly tire them out.

“Huff, huff…”

Still, Roo felt a sense of accomplishment. Ariel’s body was floating up gently.

A faint smile spread across Ariel’s usually expressionless face. The ground grew distant, and the tall trees descended below her feet.

As Ariel continued to rise into the air, the entire forest landscape came into view.

A vast and dense forest.

Seeing such a sight from the sky was somewhat moving.

Warm sunlight bathed her face, and a refreshing breeze lightly tousled her hair.

As Ariel gazed at the forest scenery, her eyes fixed on one spot.

A village located in the heart of the forest.

Smoke rose from the chimneys of house-like buildings, and people bustled about energetically.

Ariel decided her destination would be that village.

Seeing the smoke from the chimneys made her hungry. To satisfy her hunger, she needed to buy food, and to buy food, she needed money.

Ariel had no money. But she did have a troll corpse.

Troll corpses were said to fetch a decent price, so she could take it to the village and sell it.

The fairy’s flying powder didn’t last long. The sparkling light on Ariel’s body faded, and she slowly began to descend to the ground.

Shortly after, Ariel landed on the ground and began walking toward the village.

“Let’s go together, sis!”

Roo followed closely behind Ariel, trailing after her.

*

Ariel and Roo arrived at a lakeside. It was good to head to the village, but they needed to wash up first.

Ariel was drenched in troll blood. If she went to the village like this, people would find it suspicious.

Thinking she should be more careful not to get blood on her when fighting monsters next time, Ariel splashed into the lake.

Unlike Ariel, who jumped in without hesitation, Roo carefully washed herself near the lakeside.

The lake was dangerous for fairies. If they weren’t careful, a fish might jump out and swallow them in one bite.

Countless fairies had been eaten that way. Well, birds often swooped down to snatch them too.

After washing up, Roo flew to a nearby rock and sat down. She dried herself in the warm sunlight while quietly watching Ariel.

Ariel stood where the water reached her thighs, scrubbing off the troll blood from her face. Her wet silver hair glistened in the sunlight.

A warm smile formed on Roo’s lips. Although she called Ariel “sis,” to Roo, Ariel was still a young elf. Despite her strength, she was a naive elf who didn’t understand the ways of the world. That’s why she almost left the valuable troll corpse behind.

Roo felt a protective instinct. No matter how strong Ariel was, her lack of worldly knowledge could put her in danger.

Roo thought it was her role to guide Ariel and keep her safe.

“Sis! Don’t go into the deep part! It’s dangerous!”

After shouting that, Roo cleared her throat. It felt a bit awkward. She already felt like Ariel’s protector.

Of course, Ariel didn’t even listen to Roo. She was too busy washing off the troll blood.

After a while, Ariel, now clean of troll blood, walked out of the lake, dripping water.

Roo quickly flew over and wiped the water off Ariel’s face with her sleeve.

“Sis, let’s dry off first. If we go like this, you might catch a cold.”

Ariel nodded. She doubted she’d catch a cold due to her defenses, but walking around soaking wet didn’t appeal to her.

Ariel sat on the rock where Roo had been sitting and dried herself. The sunlight was warm enough to dry her quickly.

“Hmm, once we get to the village, I need to drink some alcohol. I haven’t had any in days, and I feel dizzy.”

Ariel quietly watched Roo as she spoke. Roo’s appearance was no different from a boy’s. She didn’t look like someone who drank alcohol.

Of course, fairies stopped growing after reaching the appearance of a boy or girl, so Roo was a full-fledged adult.

By that logic, Ariel was also a full adult, despite her appearance. She was old enough to drink, though she didn’t particularly want to.

Ariel preferred sweet foods over alcohol. She thought she’d be happy enjoying cakes or bread with milk.

Rustle.

A sound like stepping on fallen leaves came from behind. Ariel and Roo turned around simultaneously.

“Ah…”

A girl stood there. She had brown hair braided on both sides and a face full of freckles.

“Uh, an elf…?”

The girl stared at Ariel’s pointed ears with wide eyes. Then she turned her gaze to Roo, who was sitting on Ariel’s shoulder.

“A fairy…?”

A look of disbelief spread across the girl’s face.

Elves and fairies weren’t races you could easily see. Both races rarely left their territories.

Leaving their territories only brought danger.

They could encounter monsters like trolls or be captured by greedy humans… There were countless dangers.

For that reason, elves and fairies rarely left their territories and seldom interacted with humans. It was no wonder the girl was surprised.

In fact, the girl was seeing an elf and a fairy for the first time. She had heard of their existence and seen them in picture books, but she never thought she’d see them in person.

Beautiful features and pointed ears. Elves were a race loved by the goddess of beauty.

They grew but didn’t age. They stopped aging at their most beautiful age and never changed.

Fairies were similar. Fairies stopped aging at a young boy or girl’s appearance, though they were slightly younger-looking.

To the girl, the fairy was hard to place, but the elf seemed young. She looked a few years younger than herself.

Yet, she was undoubtedly beautiful, like a doll.

Her eyes lacked vitality, but her sharp nose, small and plump lips, chubby cheeks, pale skin, and glistening silver hair…

The girl unconsciously approached Ariel.

With a trembling voice, she greeted her.

“Uh, hello…?”

*

The girl’s name was Kanna.

Thanks to her cheerful personality, Kanna quickly became friendly with Ariel.

Of course, that was only Kanna’s perspective. Ariel wasn’t particularly interested in Kanna. She just saw her as a freckle-faced girl.

“I see. You’re adventurers. That sounds fun. By the way, Ariel, can I touch your ears?”

Kanna asked while looking at Ariel’s pointed ears. In fact, she wanted to touch not just the ears but also Ariel’s glistening silver hair and chubby cheeks.

Though they hadn’t known each other long, Kanna was already smitten with Ariel.

At that moment, Roo flew over and glared at Kanna with a stern look.

“No! You can’t just touch our sis like that!”

She acted as if she were protecting Ariel.

Roo didn’t like Kanna much. Not just because she was human, but her sudden friendliness seemed suspicious.

“Oh, okay…?”

Kanna awkwardly scratched her cheek. Seeing Roo protect Ariel like that made her think they must be very close. They must have spent a long time together.

“Sorry.”

Kanna apologized. Ariel showed no reaction, while Roo looked slightly haughty and asked,

“You’re Kanna, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You came from that village ahead?”

“Right. It’s Harrington Village. I live there.”

Harrington Village was the village Ariel and Roo had seen from the sky earlier.

“Is there anyone in that village who would buy a troll corpse?”

“A troll corpse?”

“Yeah!”

“Hmm, maybe Mr. Lloyd…?”

“Who’s Mr. Lloyd?”

“He’s a merchant who travels to Harrington Village. He mainly deals in spices, but if there’s money to be made, he might handle a troll corpse too.”

The merchant named Lloyd happened to be in Harrington Village at the moment.

“Sis, that’s what she says. Should we have this girl guide us to Harrington Village?”

At Roo’s question, Ariel nodded and got up from the rock.

Roo climbed onto Ariel’s shoulder and shouted at Kanna.

“Hey, human! Guide us to Harrington Village!”

And so, Kanna became their guide to Harrington Village.

*

As they entered Harrington Village with Kanna, the villagers’ eyes turned to Ariel and Roo.

Like Kanna, the villagers were seeing an elf and a fairy for the first time.

Under the villagers’ gaze, Ariel and Roo followed Kanna to Lloyd.

Lloyd was in the village plaza, talking to people. Being a merchant, Lloyd had seen elves and fairies before.

But those were elves and fairies sold as slaves in the city. Seeing ones like Ariel and Roo, freely wandering around, was a first for him.

“You want to sell a troll corpse?”

Lloyd looked baffled at the sudden request to sell a troll corpse.

Troll corpses were extremely hard to obtain. You had to spend a fortune hiring professional hunters to get one.

So, the idea of a young elf and fairy selling one was absurd.

“That’s right! A troll corpse!”

Roo shouted with her arms crossed. This was Roo’s first time leaving the fairy village, so she was still awkward at talking to humans. She shouted to hide her awkwardness.

“Hmm…”

Lloyd stroked his chin and alternated his gaze between Ariel and Roo. He didn’t seem to trust them.

“So, where is the troll corpse?”

At Lloyd’s question, Kanna looked at Ariel. She was curious too.

They had guided Ariel and Roo to Lloyd because they said they wanted to sell a troll corpse, but from the lake onward, Ariel and Roo had been empty-handed. Where was this troll corpse?

Kanna’s curiosity was soon answered. Ariel reached out her hand, and a troll corpse appeared in mid-air.

“Eek!”

“Whoa!”

The surrounding people gasped and stepped back. Lloyd also stared at the troll corpse with wide eyes.

It was surprising to see a troll corpse appear out of thin air, but it wasn’t impossible. Using magical items, one could make a troll corpse appear like that.

Of course, that was Lloyd’s misconception. No magical item in the world could store something as large as a troll corpse.

“Hmm…”

Regardless, Lloyd examined the troll corpse seriously. He had never handled one before, but trading it could yield a good profit.

However, this troll corpse was missing its head. The eyes, teeth, and skull could fetch a high price, but those parts were missing.

Still, the rest of the body was in good condition.

Trolls were ferocious, so their hides often got damaged during hunts. But this troll corpse, aside from the missing head, was pristine. It looked like the head had been removed in one clean strike.

‘Even professional troll hunters would find that difficult…’

Lloyd looked up at Ariel and Roo.

Ariel’s face was expressionless, while Roo fidgeted and stared at Lloyd.

In the end, Lloyd decided to buy the troll corpse. It was a bit strange, but if there was profit to be made, there was no reason to hesitate.

He offered a fair price. Ariel and Roo, unaware of the market value, accepted it, but fortunately, Lloyd was a decent merchant.

After receiving gold coins from Lloyd, Ariel silently turned around, followed by Kanna and Roo.

It was a fair and clean transaction.