ch6

“Sister, don’t forget, eat well, don’t go to dangerous places, don’t get hurt, and come back quickly.”

“I know, I know, Anat.”

Seeing her being so fussy from all night until lunchtime, I was definitely getting a little tired of it now.

Except for Elmoni, who was blankly watching, there was no one around us.

…Aren’t you being a bit much when we might not see each other for a long time?

I didn’t expect a touching farewell or a promise to meet again, but I at least wanted to see her face before leaving.

“Araya. Take Rudolph.”

As soon as I had that thought, Demis, who had briefly left, returned with a large forest deer.

If there were animals that the Elves rode, it was these forest deer.

The only unique thing was that there was no saddle or reins?

Elves rarely need miscellaneous items to become friendly with animals, and no Elf would complain about not being able to ride a forest deer or feel uncomfortable without reins or a saddle.

Among them, Rudolph was the leader of the forest deer raised by the Elves, and he had such a bad temper that he wouldn’t even think of letting anyone ride him except for Demis, whom he instinctively regarded as the leader of the Elves.

“Him? Didn’t you say you wouldn’t let anyone but Demis ride him?”

“He’ll let you ride him.”

He explained, ‘Because he’s submissive to any kind of strong power.’

As if he understood Demis’s words, he snorted and expressed his dissatisfaction.

“Hmph…”

As I approached and examined him, he was definitely a magnificent forest deer.

His height at the withers was 30 pathe (30 cm) taller than other forest deer, and his towering antlers were beautiful.

However, his eyes were looking down at me with a tremendous amount of uneasy emotion.

‘What is it, kid? Do you have something to say to this body?’ he seemed to be threatening.

Judging by his attitude, he seemed to be saying that he was the boss here.

Awoo!

“Kyaa!”

As I approached Rudolph to touch him once, he raised his front hooves high and slammed them down to punish the uninvited guest who had entered his territory.

At first glance, he was a child who was less than half his height, but he was quite a ferocious deer.

Or did he think Demis would stop him?

Of course, he paid the price for his indulgence.

Anat was surprised, you know.

His two front hooves were gathered together and placed on my right hand, which was stretched upwards.

He whined in embarrassment, but there was no way a mere deer could withstand the attractive force of the Attraction Seal I was unleashing.

But he’s definitely big, and his weight must be twice that of the others.

He let out a flustered cry, not knowing that both of his front hooves would be caught in a dainty hand that was less than half the size of his hooves. Seeing him awkwardly waddling with only his hind legs on the ground and his two front hooves gathered together, it was like a circus act.

Leaving that unsightly figure behind, I looked at Demis.

“He’s definitely ill-mannered.”

“Take care of that part yourself. He suits you well.”

“I like that.”

I smiled, stretching the corners of my eyes and mouth wide, and looked up at Rudolph.

The guy who had been showing the dignity of a prince until just now was looking at me with truly deer-like eyes, flustered.

“You have to keep those who don’t listen by your side and mess with them.”

“Your words lack elegance. Be careful. You will be the first to meet others besides Elves, and if you talk like that, your image will be tarnished.”

“Yes, yes, I will take your words to heart, Captain.”

As I was making Rudolph obedient, Ati and Saraswati also approached.

“Here.”

Saras suddenly handed me something.

“What’s this?”

“A talisman made from my hair. Wear it on your ear.”

Looking closely, it was an earring-type talisman that looked like a small ornament made of gold thread.

Talisman containing wishes were first made for Elves who went on dangerous hunts, containing wishes for safety.

Even now that things have stabilized, it is also given to lovers.

Looking at it in detail, it was simple, but the finishing touch showed Saras’s unique meticulousness.

“Well, it won’t be as good as Mother’s branch, but it will be useful.”

“Thank you, Saras.”

“If you’re thankful, bring something new and useful when you come back.”

She was indirectly telling me to definitely come back.

I put the earring on the lobe of my right ear, opposite the one with my mother’s bracelet.

The slight tingling was only temporary, and each time I moved, the part that looked like a brush made of Saras’s hair fluttered and gently caressed my cheek.

“Araya, this.”

What Ati handed me was a grass-green outfit and a bamboo hat.

“…This is?”

“You’ve always strangely hated skirts, so I made it in the form you’ve been talking about since before.”

The clothes Ati made were in the style of the Central Plains.

It was also a long robe that martial artists had modified like martial arts uniforms.

Once, in my past life, I was just an assistant to those called martial artists, a bystander who watched from afar and admired them, and I had imagined it countless times.

How much adolescent longing had I had to wear such clothes and a bamboo hat, acting as a knight-errant and making a name for myself.

“Thank you, Ati!”

“Hey! Hey!”

She hurriedly stopped me as I was about to strip off the clothes I was wearing.

“Huh? Why?”

“Why is a girl trying to expose her bare body in such an open place!”

“…Well, there’s nothing to see anyway…”

“That’s right.”

“…Araya…no chest…small butt…little kid…newborn…babies…will…soon…be…as big…as Araya…”

Seras, who was pretending not to notice as Ati and I glared at her, and Elmoni, who was closing her eyes again as if she was sleepy.

Ati sighed and slowly gathered her energy, and Ati’s body glowed with golden light.

And when she pointed to the ground, the lights that surrounded Ati’s body seeped into the ground, and the ground quietly rose up, creating a small temporary shelter that could fit a few people.

It was an admirable use of energy, no matter how many times I saw it.

Saras’s magic wasn’t this smooth and quiet.

The magic that Ati used for things related to the earth or life was so elegant that it sometimes reminded me of my mother.

“Come on, let’s go in and change. I’ll help you.”

“Okay.”

Huh?

“I can feel elasticity in this outfit? What is it made of? It’s not cotton?”

“Telaya’s silk.”

“…Those spiders?”

They were spiders that were often seen in the forest.

When clumsy Elves ran through the forest, they would often trip over Telania’s spiderwebs, getting caught in their faces or legs.

Silk with the strength and elasticity to withstand the momentum of a sprinting Elf head-on without easily tearing and even knocking them over.

In the case of silk, a similar animal fiber, even arrowheads could not easily penetrate it, so it was commonly worn inside armor.

If it was an outfit made of Telaya’s silk, it couldn’t be compared to such silk outfits… If I had to compare it to my past life, wouldn’t it be like a Thousand Silkworm Armor made of Thousand Silkworm Silk, which was treated as a treasure beyond ordinary clothes?

The problem was that they were small spiders, so there wouldn’t be enough spiders that could produce enough silk to make an outfit.

“That’s an outfit woven with silk that Atina has been steadily collecting since before. That’s the amount she collected over four years.”

Saras, who was listening to our conversation from outside, added.

“…Is it okay to make my clothes out of something like this…? I might grow soon.”

Pfft.

“You haven’t grown even 1 pathe in 10 years, so you don’t have to worry about that, do you?”

“I’ll grow soon.”

“It seems like that growth spurt you said was coming hasn’t been heard from for 10 years.”

“Ati, Saras is saying mean things.”

“Saras.”

“Yes, yes. Mom.”

Ati tidied up my clothes and opened her mouth.

“Don’t worry. We can collect the silk again. We’re collecting it to use it anyway, right? It’s enough if Araya comes back even a little healthier.”

“…Okay.”

Then she stroked my head a few times and went outside.

“Pallas didn’t come until the end.”

“That heartless fellow.”

While grumbling a little like that, we shared some pointless small talk.

“Um… Shall I go?”

It was the first time we had a farewell where we wouldn’t see each other for so long, so I awkwardly brought up the topic.

“Sniff… sob.”

When Anat burst into tears, Ati patted her to calm her down.

I jumped up onto Rudolph’s back.

I could feel him twitching, but he didn’t struggle or try to throw me off.

I smiled awkwardly, waved my hand in greeting, and slowly steered Rudolph towards the forest.

“Araya! You have to come back healthy!”

After we had moved some distance away, I heard Anat’s voice from behind.

I could see her waving goodbye from afar.

In contrast, Demis and my other siblings were standing quietly.

As was the Elf village, which felt like a mystical fairyland.

And my mother, with her huge body, was seeing me off from afar.

I probably wouldn’t be able to see that sight for a while.

As I was watching that sight, I felt Rudolph’s gaze for a moment, and I could feel him slowing down a little.

“It’s okay.”

Unlike his arrogant personality, his considerate appearance made me laugh, so I stroked his neck.

Then he snorted once and started walking a little faster, returning to his original speed.

“I’ll be back.”

So for now.

It’s time to go on a journey.

◈ ◈ ◈

“Oh, you’re quite something.”

Awoo.

He let out a cry as if telling me not to be ridiculous.

Rudolph was not only a large creature for a forest deer, but he was also running through the forest with various obstacles without any problems, even with antlers that might hinder his movement.

In particular, the change in the field of vision on Rudolph’s back as he jumped up elastically and changed direction while sprinting through the forest, unlike a horse, was quite refreshing.

‘He has good eyes, and a good sense of direction and path? If I taught martial arts to a forest deer, could he learn it?’

If it was an animal with enough spirituality to be able to communicate to some extent, it would be a spiritual creature in the Central Plains, and since he seemed to have a good sense, it would be good to create martial arts for deer.

In legends, there were immortals who taught martial arts to monkeys, and in terms of status, wouldn’t I, a High Elf, be no less than an immortal?

Since he was an animal that was traveling with me, I wanted him to have something special.

I imagined him doing void stepping someday and pulling something like a chariot from the sky.

It felt like a divine soldier, which was good.

“Is it almost a village?”

No sooner had those words been spoken than Rudolph suddenly slowed down and stopped, straightening his body and tensing up as he began to be wary.

And in the direction of his gaze, a figure appeared from the forest.

“Hey.”

An Elf who suddenly appeared started picking a fight out of the blue.

“Let’s have one last fight before you leave.”