Chapter 40 (1/2)

Summary of the last chapter

On the way to the country of the elves, Souta meets a carriage that breaks down in front of him.

Three men with crude appearance show up and ask Souta to hand over his carriage.

Souta beats them up, and he finds an elven child inside the carriage when he tries to move it……

The bonfire crackles.

The kidnapped elven child is lying on the fur with a blanket over him.

The sounds from bonfire is quite loud, and the child reacts and wakes up with a start.

「Hahh! Ehh, w-what? I, aren't I supposed to be caught…?」

The elven child checks his body after waking up, and he's surprised that he isn’t restrained.

「Suddenly the carriage swayed and then it shook … …」

Because he fainted when the carriage broke down, he can’t remember what happened.

「Ohh, you have wake up, drink this for now.」

Souta fills the cup with milk he warmed in the pot before and gives it to the child.

「Er, you are …」

「Drink first, we'll talk after you calm down.」

He sniffs the cup to check its content. After a moment of hesitation, he decides to drink it.

「……Delicious.」

He feels shaken from not knowing what happened, but he’s calmed down from the warmth of the milk.

「Isn’t it? I put a little honey in. It’s a bit cool tonight, so I thought something that will makes body warm should be better.」

Souta pours the milk into his cup as well.

This area has a warm climate, but there's a difference in temperature between day and night. Hot milk has been prepared for the cool night.

「Ummm, so… what happen? I’m sure I was kidnapped by some guys and was detained…」

He asks the question while tracing his finger on the cup.

「So you really were kidnapped. Don’t worry, if it’s those guys, they’re sleeping in the collapsed carriage at the end of the road.」

The elven child's eyes widen from the shock, but, understanding the situation, he corrects his posture and lowers his head.

「You helped me, thank you!」

「It’s just coincidence. They picked a fight with me, so I beat them up. I only know they were kidnappers after I defeated them.」

Souta waves his hand in front of his face, denying him.

「But still, thank you very much! I would have been sold as a slave if you didn't save me. That guy was talking about that.」

He says that with a trembling voice and teary eyes.

「Oh, well, I'll accept your feelings.」

Souta scratches his head.

「Ohh right! I still don’t introduce myself yet, my name is Arezel! What’s your name?」

「My name is Souta, but Arezel…… Are you, by any chance, female?」

Arezel shows a bitter smile.

「Ah, people often get it wrong. Because my hair is short and I use ‘boku’ when referring to myself … … But I’m a genuine female.」

「Is that so? My bad.」

「It’s fine, please don’t worry. It’s always like that.」

Souta is staring at Arezel's face. who says that with carefree smile.

「Now that you mention it, you do look like a woman. I’m sorry, I decided it just by my first impression.」

Arezel blushes and looks down.