Tracking the Elf wasn't as difficult as I had expected.
Although I had only caught a glimpse of her, and I didn't know the exact terrain differences between her habitat and the mountain behind my farm, this mountain was littered with hiding spots. Whenever the Elf paused or tilted her head, I simply ducked behind a nearby rock or tree. Even for someone like me, a complete novice at tailing people, following her wasn't too much of a strain.
“But look at that.”
[She’s heading straight for where the goblins used to live, isn't she?]
I thought the path looked familiar, and sure enough, the Elf was moving toward the natural cave I had originally suspected to be Ddongchi’s den.
Since she was an Elf, I half-expected her to build a wooden hut in the trees and live up there, but it seems fantasy and reality were quite different.
[She probably doesn't feel the need to build a house since she doesn't know how long she'll be staying! She just needs a place to shelter from the wind and rain for now.]
“Is that so?”
If I had known things would turn out like this, I should have read survival manhwas instead of pranking the security guard with my friends in the school library back in the day.
Ignoring the SD Avatar’s look of disbelief, I continued to shadow the Elf. The further we went, the closer we got to the goblin cave.
“She must have been here for quite a while, though. She’s walking to her hideout without a shred of caution, meaning she’s already figured out exactly what beasts live on this mountain.”
I briefly wondered if there were bears in this world. Even if there weren't, walking through such a dense, forest-covered mountain usually warranted some caution due to the unfamiliar environment.
But she was strolling along loosely, swaying her body as if taking a leisurely walk in her neighborhood park. It seemed she had finished scouting the ecosystem around the goblin cave she’d chosen as her base.
Her posture was chipping away at the graceful image of Elves I had in my head, but I nodded, thinking that perhaps the fantasy setting of them being 'friends of nature' was true after all.
“Oh, she’s going in.”
[See? I told you. As long as she can avoid the rain and wind, that's all that matters.]
The goblin cave appeared before us. The Elf, maintaining that strange, loose movement with her hips swaying side to side, slowly disappeared into the darkness of the cave.
I immediately stopped, maintaining my distance from the entrance, and began to circle around to the side.
I followed an imaginary circle around the cave mouth. I couldn't rule out the possibility that she had set traps to prevent anyone from tracking her, just as I was doing now.
Moving cautiously and keeping my presence as concealed as possible, I circled to the right side of the cave. What I saw there were two Y-shaped wooden sticks driven into the ground with another stick laid across them.
“Well, would you look at that?”
And between the Y-shaped sticks were traces of a fire, and chunks of meat hanging from the crossbar like blocks of meju soybeans.
[Why? Are you disappointed that the nature-loving Elf is grilling meat?]
“No, why would I be? If she wants to eat, she eats. Who am I to be disappointed?”
The fire pit was one thing, but what caught my attention were the chunks of meat dangling from the strings on the stick—meat being processed into preserved food.
“Knowing how to make jerky like this means it’s not just 'eating meat to survive.' It means she comes from a culture where eating meat is established and normal.”
And finally, there was a pile of animal skins discarded nearby.
These things had been bothering me ever since I first saw this makeshift drying rack and cooking pit.
Even with my limited knowledge of wilderness survival, I knew that hides from hunted animals were useful for many things. Yet, she had tossed them aside carelessly, like trash. It clearly screamed, 'I don't need this.'
It wasn't that she didn't know how to use them, but rather... Why bother?
Anyway, having scoped out the entrance, I approached the drying rack to check the pile of skins and see exactly what this Elf had been eating.
I soon discovered a surprising fact.
“This... These are all rats.”
[Rats?]
“The size of the meat chunks hanging there is one thing, but none of these skins are bigger than my palm. And more importantly, this... is...?!”
Except for the puncture wounds, the fur color perfectly matched the beasts that had recently multiplied explosively on our farm—the very ones that had made Eleonora tremble in fear just moments ago.
[Wait a minute... If that Elf is eating rats, that means...?!]
“It means she knows the location of our farm. And look at that sack over there! That’s the feed bag I gave to Ddongchi! I didn't know where it went and assumed Ddongchi dragged it off somewhere, but...!”
You might think, well, the mountain behind the farm isn't that far, but this was a serious issue. It was proof that this Elf had no hesitation in approaching human civilization.
[Run! Run away right now! It’s dangerous!]
“I should. Judging by the pile here, it’s only rats, but...”
I was grateful she was eating the rats that were stealing the farm's feed, but the fact that she was carnivorous meant there was always a possibility she could lay her hands on my pigs, too.
Especially since the back mountain was so close to the Breeding Barn and the Nursery!
“Maybe she’s already touched the pigs on our farm...”
“...Didn't touch. Me, not a thief.”
“!!”
At that moment, a woman’s voice came from behind me.
Should I say it sounded like a singing oriole? Or like jade beads rolling on a silver tray?
Even though there was no inflection in her tone, the voice alone was enough to make one imagine the speaker's immense beauty. It definitely didn't belong to any of the sows on my farm, nor was it Sister Urga's.
[Run! Don’t look back, just run—Ah?! Watch out!]
“Ugh?!”
At the SD Avatar's warning, I tried to bolt, but a rope weighted with stones—a hunting tool known as a bola—wrapped tightly around my ankles. I fell helplessly to the ground. Thud!
“...As expected, the human from last time.”
“You remembered...?!”
I thought she would have forgotten since I only appeared briefly before vanishing, but the Elf had remembered me. Seeing my bound legs, she leaped into the air and landed silently right next to me.
“...My forest, invaded by human.”
“But I left right away!”
“...Not enough. You installed a strange passage in my forest. I entered it, came here.”
With a voice as flat and emotionless as her blank expression, the Elf began to hogtie my hands. Despite her slender frame, she hoisted me onto her shoulder as easily as if I were a sack of rice.
“W-What? What are you going to do to me?”
“...Price for intrusion?”
Was this one of those fantasy tropes where intruders in the forest are killed without mercy? Suddenly fearing for my life, I spoke to the Elf, trying to calm my frantically pounding heart.
“Just for your information, if I disappear, a very scary sow from my farm will come looking for me. If anything happens to me...”
“...Life, won't take. Calm down.”
“?”
What was she talking about? I tried to ask for details, but the Elf who had slung me over her shoulder was no longer moving loosely like before. Instead, she was hopping toward the cave—hop, hop—like a rabbit.
Her footwork seemed oddly excited.
[See? I told you to run! Master Breeder, you knew vaguely what Elves were like, yet you chased her! Or wait... did you chase her because of that?]
“?”
Before I could retort to the Elf or the SD Avatar, the Elf abducted me straight into the depths of the cave.
“So she was living here!”
Inside, the floor was lined with the furs of large beasts—perhaps boars or water deer she had hunted—and a bow and quiver hung on the wall.
Thud!
“Ugh...”
My observation was cut short. Perhaps annoyed by my wandering eyes, she threw me down onto the furs like a piece of luggage. Then, she abruptly drew a dagger from the sheath strapped to her thigh.
“What... Y-You said you’d spare my life...!”
“...Yes. No danger to life. But price must be paid.”
Suddenly, the Elf began to slash at my work clothes with her knife. As if tearing my outfit to shreds wasn't enough, the blade flashed dangerously close to my underwear.
“...Don't worry. Won't eat you. Just curious about something.”
For some reason, I recalled how I had commanded Eleonora during her initial training: 'Strip naked! I don't know what weapons you might be hiding!' I wondered if this Elf was also trying to confiscate any potential weapons.
[T-That... Because Elves live such closed-off lives that their existence is barely known, their population is small! And due to centuries of inbreeding, the species is precious! So Elves are...!]
As soon as the SD Avatar finished speaking, the Elf threw her knife aside. Contrary to her expressionless face, her hands moved with rough urgency as she yanked my panties down.
“...Knew it would be like this.”
Perhaps the threat to my life had triggered my survival instinct, or maybe my breeding instinct had exploded alongside it. The moment she stripped me, my cock sprang up like a coil. Boing!
“Hmph...”
The Elf let out a small, snorting sound through her nose. Then, she immediately began to unbuckle the belt of her leather hot pants.
“...Peeked at my bath. Not enough, you tailed me. Why?”
“That’s...”
“...Think I didn't know? Reek of estrused male smell everywhere. Any Elf would know. I knew, even shook my butt to warn you. Yet you followed. Why?”
Gulp!
“Huh?”
It wasn't me who swallowed.
And it certainly wasn't the SD Avatar.
The one who had audibly gulped down her saliva was the Elf. Her hands were now frantically pushing her pants down along with her panties.
The Elf was drooling while stripping?
She was in such a hurry that, unlike her pants, she practically ripped her top off, tearing half of it away with her rough hands.
“...Even appeared naked last time. Clear provocation.”
What the hell was going on?
I was too flustered to speak properly in this bewildering situation.
Seeing my reaction, the Elf seemed certain of her conclusion. She grabbed my throbbing cock firmly.
“...No answer. Confirmed. Provoked me. Intruded forest, spread smell of superior semen, provoked me. Clearly trying to seduce.”
Normally, I would have welcomed this situation with open arms. But the way she looked at my cock—like a beast about to devour its prey, especially for a first meeting—left me speechless. She was staring at it with the same predatory hunger as Sister Urga or Eleonora.
“...No answer. Very cheeky. Intruded my forest, tried to seduce me, and now even erecting cock to provoke. Will make you pay heavily.”
“You, don't tell me...?!”
“...Don't worry, not eating you. Just checking something.”
[A-As you can see right now... maybe that's why... when Elves see other races, especially human males similar to them...!!]
Schlick—
Splurt.
Thick, transparent fluid dripped onto my cock from the Elf's crotch as she straddled me, looking ready to grind down at any second. Her pussy was already soaking wet, dripping sticky, spiderweb-like strings of arousal just like a starving sow in heat.
“...Mother was curious too. How superior is the seed of a human male who penetrated the forest barrier? Said to catch and bring if possible. So...”
The Elf tilted her head slightly, her blank face contrasting with her dripping lust.
“Rape... okay?”
I was left completely speechless.