We were continuing our journey on the backs of wolves, and I enjoyed the sensation of the wind hitting my face. While I rode one wolf alone, Malik and Aiden were on another. It had been a few hours since we set out, and everything was going smoothly.
Malik: "Can we stop somewhere, my friend?"
"It's only been a few hours since we started, and the wolves still have a few more hours of energy to go."
Malik: "I know, but we really need to stop."
"Why do you want to stop? Did you sense some danger?"
Aiden: "Malik needs to pee, but he's embarrassed to say it."
Malik: "Hey! I told you it's not true!"
Aiden: "I told you to go before we left."
Malik: "But I didn't have to go then!"
Aiden: "So, do you admit you have to go now?"
Malik: "Oh, screw it, let's just stop!"
"Alright, we can stop by that hill over there."
When we stopped, Malik jumped off the wolf and ran into the trees. Aiden and I waited by the wolves for Malik to return.
Aiden: "Quite a beautiful scenery, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is. Despite all the running and the fact that we could die at any moment in this world, these places are quite beautiful."
Aiden: "Hey Daichi..."
"I know, they've been following us for a while."
Aiden: "What do you think their purpose is?"
"I'm not sure, maybe they're just a bunch of thieves."
Aiden: "Do you think Malik wanted to stop because he sensed they were following us?"
After silently looking at each other for a while, we burst into laughter.
"HAHAHAHA!"
Aiden: "HAHAHA, I know, right? He really did need to pee."
"Still, it's good that we stopped. This way, we can understand their true intentions."
Aiden: "I spotted two of them, but there must be more."
"There are eight of them, two in those bushes, and the other six are lurking in the forest."
Aiden: "So, what are we going to do?"
"We'll wait; they're probably waiting for us to get tired. That's when they'll attack."
Aiden: "Alright."
Malik emerged from the trees with a relaxed expression on his face.
Malik: "Ah, I feel so much better now. We can continue our journey."
"Are you sure you've taken care of your business? We won't stop again until the sun sets."
Malik: "Hey, stop treating me like a child, okay?"
Aiden: "Yeah, yeah, hey look, a flying hamburger monster!"
Malik: "WHAT? WHERE? Haha, very funny, you asshole."
"Let's hit the road again."
We mounted the wolves again, and the journey continued. Our pursuers kept following us along the way. I could see them on the mini-map, but I couldn't identify their species; they must be a type of creature I hadn't encountered before.
After a few more hours, we decided to stop and set up camp.
"It's getting dark; we should set up camp in this clearing."
Malik: "Finally, I was starving."
Aiden: "Aren't you always hungry, my friend?"
We stopped in the middle of the clearing, and the wolves lay down on the side to rest. I guessed they were quite tired from running for hours, especially Malik's wolf, which seemed particularly exhausted.
Malik: "Hey! Why do I feel like you're thinking bad things about me?"
"You must be hallucinating from hunger, my friend. Let's eat something."
We lit a fire with twigs and pieces of wood I took out of my ring. Then we started cooking the stored meat on my ring. Afterward, we laid out sleeping mats and began to eat.
Malik finished his meal instantly, and I saw his hand reaching toward the wolves' food.
"Hey Malik! You're not eating the wolves' food, are you?"
Malik: "W-What? No, my friend, I just wanted to pet the wolf's head, see?"
Malik stroked the wolf's head with his hand.
"I think I'm starting to see things from lack of sleep."
Aiden: "How long has it been since we came to this world? A few months?"
"I think so. It feels like I've lost my sense of time."
Aiden: "Still, it's quite amazing, isn't it? Having these beautiful moments from time to time."
Malik: "Ying yang, my friend, there is always light even in the midst of immense darkness."
Aiden and I stared at Malik simultaneously.
Malik: "W-Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?"
Aiden: "I didn't know you could say such things, my friend. Impressive."
"Right? It's like an intelligent alien killed Malik and took his place."
Aiden: "Maybe we should open him up and check inside."
Malik: "O-Open me up?"
"Perhaps they swapped him with his counterpart from a parallel universe."
Aiden: "Or maybe his future self is sending signals for him to say cool things."
"Just like in that space movie, right?"
Aiden: "Damn it, I want to talk to my future self too!"
Malik: "STOP MAKING FUN OF ME, YOU DAMN BASTARDS."
"Hahahahahah!"
We laughed until we ran out of breath. Then we all lay on our backs near the fire and started watching the sky.
"You know, kids, I'm glad I met you."
Aiden: "You're right; we might have already died if we hadn't met each other."
Malik: "Or we could have been enslaved or something."
Aiden: "Oh, don't remind me. Imagine being sold to some old pervert."
"Maybe you would be sold to an incredibly beautiful woman."
Malik: "Yes! You would eat and sleep all day, and all you had to do was bark a few times for it."
Aiden: "Why are you describing it like it's your dream life?"
"Let's not imagine that. Anyway, let's continue our journey."
Once again, we mounted the wolves' backs and continued our journey. Our pursuers continued to follow us along the way. I could see them on the mini-map, but I couldn't see what species they were. I don't know what they are, but they must be a type of creature I haven't encountered before.
Malik: "I just gave an example."
"I wonder how much I would be sold for if I were a slave, I think at least a few million."
Malik: "As long as there's good food, I don't care. At least we don't have to pick cotton anymore."
Aiden: "Hey, buddy, that's not a cool joke. Even if you're black, you shouldn't make jokes like that."
There was silence for a while.
Malik, Aiden, and Daichi: "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"I thought you were serious for a moment, hahahaha!"
Aiden: "Right? Hahahah!"
Malik: "Did you see the seriousness on his face? You shouldn't make jokes like that! Hahahahah!"
"Hahahaha, thanks, guys, for everything."
Aiden: "I love you guys."
Malik: "Gay."
We continued laughing all night, and later, our enemies who had been following us moved.
Elf Soldier 1: "They seem to be asleep, what should we do?"
Elf Soldier 2: "Should we wait until they wake up?"
Elf Soldier 1: "What will we say then? Good morning? We should have asked directly instead of secretly following them."
Elf Soldier 2: "We needed to be sure! You know this is a serious matter!"
Elf Leader: "Quiet! You will wake them up."
"[Portal]"
After determining which one was their leader, I created a horizontal portal on the ground where I was lying and, suddenly, emerged from another portal behind their leader, capturing them.
"Drop your weapons! Take one more step, and your leader's head will fly!"
Elf Soldier 1: "Damn! I knew we couldn't trust humans!"
The Elf Soldier aimed his bow at me, but before he could shoot, Aiden cut off his arm.
Elf Soldier 1: "Ahhhh! M-My arm!"
Aiden: "I guess you didn't hear him. Drop your weapons."
Elf Leader: "Do as he says!"
"You shouldn't trust humans, but is it okay to follow them secretly all day? What's your purpose? Are you thieves or something?"
Elf Soldier 1: "HOW DARE YOU CALL US THIEVES, YOU FILTHY HUMANS!"
Aiden pointed his sword at the elf soldier's neck.
Aiden: "Didn't hear it, I suppose. Drop your weapons."
Elf Leader: "Please don't kill them, we apologize for following you. We just needed to be sure."
"Sure of what? What are you talking about?"
Elf Leader: "We heard there is a kingdom in the forest made up of monsters, different types of wild creatures coming together, and even their king is said to be a human. When we first heard it, we didn't want to believe it because humans destroy anyone of their kind."
"What does that have to do with our situation?"
Elf Leader: "We are reconnaissance soldiers sent by our queen. Humans had captured a few of our people some time ago, but according to what we heard, a group of monsters and humans, including a different kind of powerful monsters, rescued them. When we heard this, we realized they were from the Monster Kingdom."
"Elves? Aiden, didn't we take all the slaves to live in our village?"
Aiden: "After coming to the village, there were a few children who insisted they shouldn't stay, but we didn't want to leave them. However, we couldn't stop them because they insisted."
"You didn't check if they were elves or not?"
Aiden: "I don't know, my friend, I don't usually say, 'Hello, can I look at your ears, maybe you're an elf?' to anyone. Don't be offended, your ears are quite nice."
"I guess you're right, let them go."
We released the elves and started talking.
"Why are you here then? I don't think you traveled all this way just to thank us."
Elf Leader: "We are here to ask for help; humans are attacking our city."
"Humans?"
Elf Leader: "They had attempted a few attacks before, but we managed to defend. However, the situation is different now. They are different."
"What do you mean, different?"
Elf Leader: "It's as if they've turned into monsters."
Aiden: "What do you mean?"
Elf Leader: "At first, we thought they were ordinary monsters, but when we fought them, we realized they are much stronger than regular monsters. And they keep screaming for help continuously."
"Monsters screaming? And those humans are actually monsters?"
Elf Leader nodded approvingly.
Elf Leader: "Do you remember the elves you saved? They said they had seen one of the monsters we killed before, in the place where they were kept as slaves."
Aiden: "Wait a minute, so..."
"So the one turning them into monsters is the same person enslaving humans..."
Elf Leader: "Not just humans, semi-human species, elves, and even more powerful monsters were there."
I probably saved Aiden just in time; everything could have been worse than I thought. Maybe that night he wouldn't have been sold to anyone, and he would have been transformed into one of those monsters.
"Why are you telling us this? Why are you following us?"
Elf Leader: "Our queen told us to find you and ask for your help; she has the ability to see the future."
"See the future?"
Elf Leader: "She has been our queen for a thousand years, and with this ability, she has saved us from dangers many times. Yet, even with this ability, she cannot see everything precisely. She sees some things in her dreams, and about a few months ago, she saw a massive disaster that would happen to our village. According to what she said, our entire village will be destroyed."
"So why are you still seeking help? If you know your village will be destroyed, why not leave?"
Elf Leader: "We cannot do that; you will understand the reason when you meet our queen."
"We haven't accepted anything yet; get to the point now."
Elf Leader: "We followed you because we want your help. Our queen has been having dreams related to the person who is the king of the monsters for the past few months while feeling hopeless. According to what she said, this person has the ability to overcome any difficulty and is not like other humans."
"So she thinks this person can solve your 'Monster problem'?"
Elf Leader: "Yes, if you give us a chance to speak with your king, we would be really grateful."
"Ha? I am the king already."
Elf Leader: "What?"
"The King of the Monsters, that's me."
When the Elf Leader kneeled, the other elves kneeled too, even the elf with the severed arm, who hated humans, reluctantly kneeled. It seemed they really needed us.
Elf Leader: "P-Please, sir, help us."
When I looked at Aiden, I could see in his eyes that he wanted to help them because he had been one of those slaves before.
But for me, the situation was different; helping them would mean putting our lives in danger. If an entire kingdom couldn't deal with those monsters, probably either the monsters were too powerful or they wanted to unload all the burden on us and avoid military losses
. All of this could be a deception, and I didn't want to risk our lives for a few elves I had just met.
"Aiden, what do you want to do?"
Aiden: "Me? I... I want to help them..."
I guess I had to do this for Aiden.
"Alright, we will help you."
Malik yawned and woke up from where he was lying.
Malik: "Hey, what's going on? You're not eating without me, are you?"