Chapter 3 : Adventure (3)
Lu flew above Ariel’s head and twirled in the air.
Sparkling dust fell from Lu’s body and covered Ariel, and soon, Ariel’s body began to shimmer as well.
Sprinkling fairy dust was not an easy task for a fairy. It was similar to a mage casting a spell. After a few uses, they would quickly become exhausted.
“Pant, pant…”
Still, Lu felt a sense of satisfaction. Ariel’s body was starting to float in the air.
A faint smile spread across Ariel’s face, which had previously shown no expression. The ground gradually grew distant, and the tall trees fell below her feet.
As Ariel continued to rise into the air, she could now see a full view of the forest.
A vast and lush forest.
Seeing such a scene from the sky filled her with a sense of awe.
Warm sunlight softly touched her face, and a refreshing breeze lightly tousled her hair.
Ariel, who had been gazing at the forest’s scenery, fixed her eyes on a particular spot.
It was a village located in the middle of the forest.
Smoke was rising from the chimneys of buildings that looked like houses, and people were bustling about energetically.
Ariel decided to make that village her destination.
The smoke rising from the chimneys made her feel hungry. To satisfy her hunger, she needed to buy food, and to buy food, she needed money.
Ariel didn’t have any money. But she did have a troll’s corpse.
Lu had said that a troll’s corpse could be sold for a decent amount, so she thought she could take it to the village and sell it.
The effect of the fairy’s flying dust didn’t last long. The glowing light on Ariel’s body gradually faded, and she slowly began to descend to the ground.
A short while later, Ariel landed on the ground and started walking toward the village.
“Let’s go together, ma’am!”
Lu followed closely behind Ariel.
Ariel and Lu arrived at a lakeside. Going to the village was a good idea, but first, they needed to wash up.
Ariel was covered in troll blood. If she went to the village in this state, people would find it suspicious.
Thinking that she should be more careful not to get blood on herself the next time she fought a monster, Ariel jumped into the lake with a splash.
Unlike Ariel, who dove in without hesitation, Lu washed her body cautiously near the edge of the lake.
For a fairy, the lake was dangerous. If she wasn’t careful, a fish could leap up and swallow her in one bite.
Many fairies had been eaten like that. Of course, birds often swooped down to eat them, too.
After washing, Lu flew to a nearby rock and sat down, drying herself in the warm sunlight while watching Ariel.
Ariel stood in a spot where the water reached her thighs and scrubbed the troll’s blood off her face. Her wet silver hair glistened in the sunlight.
A gentle smile formed at the corner of Lu’s mouth. Though she was calling Ariel “ma’am,” in Lu’s eyes, Ariel was still a young elf. Regardless of her strength, she was an innocent elf who knew little of the ways of the world. That must have been why she had considered leaving behind the valuable troll’s corpse.
Lu felt a protective instinct. No matter how strong Ariel was, she could still be in danger if she didn’t know the ways of the world. Lu believed it was her role to guide Ariel to prevent that.
“Ma’am! Don’t go too deep! It’s dangerous!”
Lu shouted, then cleared her throat with a little cough. It felt a bit awkward. For some reason, she already felt like she had become Ariel’s guardian.
Of course, Ariel didn’t listen to Lu. She was too busy washing off the troll’s blood.
A while later, Ariel finished washing off the troll’s blood and walked out of the lake, dripping water.
Lu quickly flew over and wiped the water off Ariel’s face with her sleeve.
“Ma’am, let’s dry off first. If you go like this, you might catch a cold.”
Ariel nodded. She wondered if she could even catch a cold with her defense, but she still didn’t like the idea of wandering around soaking wet.
Ariel sat on the rock where Lu had been sitting and dried herself. The sun was warm enough to dry her body quickly.
“Hmm, when we get to the village, I’m going to drink a lot. I haven’t had a drink in days, and I feel like I’m going to faint.”
Ariel quietly watched Rue as she spoke. Rue’s appearance was no different from that of a young boy. He didn’t seem like someone who would enjoy drinking.
Of course, fairies as a race never grew beyond the appearance of boys or girls, so Lu was a full adult.
By that logic, Ariel, too, was a full-grown adult, despite her appearance. She was certainly old enough to drink. Not that she particularly wanted to.
Ariel was more interested in eating something sweet than drinking alcohol. She thought she’d be happy to enjoy cakes or bread with milk.
Rustle.
A sound of leaves crunching came from behind. Ariel and Lu turned around simultaneously.
“Ah…”
There stood a girl. She had brown hair braided on both sides and a face full of freckles.
“An elf…?”
The girl, with her eyes wide open, stared at Ariel’s pointed ears. Then she looked at Lu, who was sitting on Ariel’s shoulder.
“A fairy…?”
A look of disbelief appeared on the girl’s face.
Elves and fairies were not common sights. Both races rarely left their territories.
Even if they did leave, they faced countless dangers, like encountering monsters such as trolls or being captured by greedy humans… There were endless risks.
For these reasons, elves and fairies rarely left their territories, and encounters with humans were infrequent. The girl’s surprise was understandable.
In fact, it was the first time the girl had seen an elf or a fairy. She had heard of the existence of elves and fairies and had seen them in picture books, but she had never thought she would see one in person.
Elves, with their beautiful appearance and pointed ears, were a race beloved by the goddess of beauty.
Because of this, they grow but do not age. They stop growing at their most beautiful age and do not change any further.
Fairies were similar. Though fairies stopped aging at the appearance of a young boy or girl, they did not grow old beyond a certain age.
To the girl, the fairy looked quite young, but she wasn’t sure about the elf. The elf seemed younger than her by a few years.
Despite that, the elf was certainly beautiful, just like the legends. In the girl’s eyes, Ariel looked like a doll.
Her eyes were somewhat lacking in vitality, but her high nose, small, plump lips, round cheeks, pale white skin, and shining silver hair…
Without realizing it, the girl moved closer to where Ariel stood.
And in a trembling voice, she greeted her.
“Hi…?”
The girl’s name was Kanna.
Thanks to her cheerful personality, Kanna quickly became friendly with Ariel.
Of course, that was just Kanna’s perception. Ariel wasn’t particularly interested in Kanna. She just saw her as a freckled girl.
“I see. So, you’re on an adventure. That sounds fun. By the way, Ariel, could I touch your ears just once?”
Kanna asked as she looked at Ariel’s pointed ears. In fact, she wanted to touch not only the ears but also Ariel’s shiny silver hair and chubby cheeks.
Even though they hadn’t known each other for long, Kanna had already become quite fascinated with Ariel.
At that moment, Rue flew over, glaring sternly at Kanna.
“No way! You can’t just touch our ma’am’s body as you please!”
It was as if she was protecting Ariel.
Lu didn’t like Kanna very much. Not just because she was human but also because she was suddenly acting so friendly, which seemed suspicious.
“Oh, okay…”
Kanna awkwardly scratched her cheek. Seeing Lu act so protectively, she thought Lu and Ariel must be very close, probably having spent a long time together.
“I’m sorry.”
Kanna apologized. Ariel showed no particular reaction, while Lu wore a slightly haughty expression and asked,
“You’re Kanna, right?”
“Yes.”
“You came from that village up ahead?”
“That’s right. It’s Herrington Village. I live there.”
Herrington Village was the village Ariel and Lu had seen from the sky earlier.
“Is there anyone in that village who would buy a troll’s corpse?”
“A troll’s corpse?”
“Yes!”
“Hmm, maybe Mr. Lloyd might…”
“Who is Mr. Lloyd?”
“He’s a merchant who trades in and out of Herrington Village. He mainly deals in spices, but if it’s profitable, he might also deal in a troll’s corpse.”
Apparently, a merchant named Lloyd was currently in Herrington Village.
“Ma’am, that’s what she says. Should we have this girl guide us to Herrington Village?”
At Lu’s question, Ariel nodded, got up from the rock, and stood up.
Lu climbed onto Ariel’s shoulder and shouted at Kanna.
“Hey, human! Lead us to Herrington Village!”
And so, Kanna became their guide to Herrington Village.
As they entered Herrington
Village, following Kanna, the villagers’ eyes turned toward Ariel and Lu.
Just like Kanna, the villagers were seeing an elf and a fairy for the first time.
Receiving the attention of the villagers, Ariel and Lu followed Kanna to Lloyd.
Lloyd was in the village square, talking with some people. As a merchant, Lloyd had at least seen elves and fairies before.
However, those had been elves and fairies sold as slaves in the city, and it was his first time seeing ones like Ariel and Lu freely wandering about.
“You want to sell a troll’s corpse?”
Lloyd looked bewildered at the abrupt mention of selling a troll’s corpse.
A troll’s corpse was extremely hard to come by. To get one, you would need to spend a fortune hiring professional hunters.
It was only natural for Lloyd to be surprised that a young elf and a fairy wanted to sell a troll’s corpse.
“Yes! A troll’s corpse!”
Lu shouted with her arms crossed. Lu was still inexperienced at talking to humans since it was her first time outside the fairy village. To hide her awkwardness, she kept raising her voice.
“Hm…”
Lloyd stroked his chin, looking back and forth between Ariel and Lu. His expression was one of skepticism.
“So, where is this troll’s corpse?”
At Lloyd’s question, Kanna glanced at Ariel. She was also curious.
When they talked about selling a troll’s corpse, she had brought them to Lloyd, but from the lake to here, Ariel and Lu had been empty-handed. Where exactly was the troll’s corpse?
Kanna’s curiosity was soon answered. When Ariel stretched her hand forward, a troll’s corpse appeared out of thin air.
“Eek!”
“Whoa!”
People around them exclaimed in shock and backed away. Lloyd, too, stared at the troll’s corpse with wide eyes.
Though the appearance of the troll’s corpse out of thin air was surprising, it wasn’t entirely impossible. With magical items, it would be possible to make a troll’s corpse appear in such a way.
Of course, that was Lloyd’s misunderstanding. No magical item existed in the world that could store something as large as a troll’s corpse.
“Hmm…”
Anyway, Lloyd carefully examined the troll’s corpse. He had never dealt with a troll’s corpse before, but if he did, he would likely make a profit.
However, this troll’s corpse had no head. The eyes, teeth, and skull could all fetch a high price, but those parts were missing.
Still, the other parts were in good condition.
Trolls were so ferocious that their hides often got damaged during hunts, but this troll’s body was intact except for the missing head. It seemed as if only the head had been removed with a single blow.
“Even professional troll hunters would find this difficult to achieve…”
Lloyd raised his eyes to look at Ariel and Lu.
Ariel had a blank expression, and Lu was staring at Lloyd, shaking her legs as if bored.
In the end, Lloyd decided to buy the troll’s corpse. It seemed a bit strange, but if he could make a profit, there was no reason to hesitate.
He offered a reasonable price. Ariel and Lu didn’t know the market value, so they would have accepted whatever he offered, but fortunately, Lloyd was an honest merchant.
After receiving the gold coins from Lloyd, Ariel turned around without a word, followed by Kanna and Lu.
It was a fair and straightforward transaction.