It's the second day of walking, and Lothar and his friends find themselves trekking uphill. Lothar, being a human not used to walking long distances, almost collapsed due to the sheer exhaustion he was currently facing.
"Can… Can we… Can we take five…?" Lothar huffed on the ground, his sweat pooling on his shirt and the grass. The taller of the two elves looked at the human with an annoyed expression.
"You tire so easily? Only three hours of slow walking and you are reduced to this state?" Elora sneered as she approached the downed figure of Lothar. "But it can't be helped. As Lady Millana wishes to teach you magic because of your potential, and as her subordinate, I am to serve her with every fiber of my being."
Elora knelt down, grabbed Lothar's sweaty and exhausted body, her nose scrunching at the stench he was emitting, and hefted him up her shoulders like a sack of potatoes.
"Dear Uuna, once we find a suitable camping spot, you are going to wash up! You reek!" Elora let out a shaky breath as Lothar's man-smell permeated her nose.
"Sorry… For being… Stinky… Not like… There's a… Nearby lake… Somewhere near here…" Lothar responded with gasping breaths, his lungs burning with every intake of air.
Elora could do nothing but scowl at his response. In fact, she was also irritated that she wasn't able to wash herself yesterday. Although, thanks to her elf heritage, she wasn't going to stink anytime soon.
"Elora, hurry up. There was a lake nearby when we passed this area earlier." Millana tugged on Elora's skirt while looking up at her eyes. "The sun's going down soon, and we need to set up camp."
"… As you wish…" Elora nodded and sucked up her pride, carrying the human stink sack known as Lothar for the time being. Lothar, being treated as something like an object, could do nothing but gasp for air, his lungs still burning and his legs numb from the trek.
'Once we arrive at the elf village, I'm fucking exercising. Who cares about plot armor? I don't want to feel this exhausted again!'
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Sinking into the cold lake, Lothar felt refreshed from the walk he had to endure once he was able to move his legs again after being carried like a sack of potatoes. Arriving at their camping spot for the day, Lothar then proceeded to help out with setting up camp with Elora and Millana.
And now, here he was, bathing in the cold water with his private parts covered with swimming trunks provided to him by the elves. A few meters in front of him, Elora and Millana bathed, the water dripping down their skin as their bikinis showed off their figures.
Well, more like Elora's figure. Millana looked nothing more than a child just starting her puberty, as suggested by the small bulge on her chest.
Plus, they're elves, so the FBI can't arrest Lothar if they exist here since they are probably older than 18 at this point. Lothar wouldn't be surprised if Millana was already centuries old, since the way she talks and acts is somewhat reminiscent of what a leader of a group of people would do, something a normal person wouldn't push a child to do.
As for Lothar, he was doing his best to not get a hard-on at seeing Elora's sexy figure. Submerging his head under the cold water, he held his breath for a few seconds before rising up to take in some air, water cascading down his head and back into the lake.
"Ahhh… This feels good…" Lothar sighed, content at finally having been able to wash his body with water. "Soap would've been nice, but hey, you can't have everything…"
Without much hassle, he got up from his sitting position and walked towards the shore. Walking up the shore, he dried himself with a towel that was hanging on a tree branch.
Once done with drying himself, he then wore some clothes provided for him, once again by the two elves, and hummed with satisfaction.
"Not too tight, not too loose. Perfect." Lothar then went to the shore of the lake and watched the area for any kind of threat that may come upon them as the two elves continued bathing, his hands on the club he had snatched from the goblin he killed.
"Lothar! You done already?" The human looked at Elora, who was indifferent to the fact of exposing at least 90% of her body to a stranger who was travelling with her. Millana was also unperturbed, but Lothar couldn't help but scratch his head at the fact that the small elf was wearing a Japanese school swimsuit.
"Yep. I'm just keeping watch." Lothar honestly replied as he turned his gaze back to the forest, his eyes scanning every nook and cranny to see if there were any suspicious movements.
"At least you're helpful." Lothar ignored her banter and focused on keeping watch, not wanting to think about r-18 thoughts about the elf who could kill him with just a casual swing of her sword.
An hour later, the two elves were done bathing and were now sitting around the campfire. The sun had already gone down, and darkness was spreading throughout the area. The only sources of light were the stars, the moon, and the campfire in front of them.
"So, what's your village like?" Lothar asked as he ate a spoonful of soup mixed with vegetables and meat from a rabbit that got stuck in their trap earlier.
"Eh, just an ordinary elf village." Elora sounded indifferent as she also took a spoonful of soup mixed with vegetables and meat and swallowed it. "I'm pretty sure you humans call it a "forest village," but that's how elf villages are constructed."
"You elves are pretty in tune with nature, after all." The two elves nodded, and I took another spoonful of stew. "This is pretty good, by the way."
"Thanks." Elora said, a tiny part of her lips curving upward. The camp descended into silence once our conversation was done, the only sound coming from the crackling of the fire and the insects within the trees.
At least until the insects abruptly stopped all sounds.
Noticing the unnatural phenomenon, the trio laid their bowls down and got ready for battle. Elora with her sword, Millana with her bare fists, and Lothar with his wooden club.
They felt the earth rumble as the bushes all around them shook.
And from the bushes, they came.
Goblins... Numerous goblins, all of them grinning at the trio.
'Great… I really shouldn't have tempted Murphy…'