After picking up everything, the party of about twenty elves, as well as Aurora and Rejoke, set out for the village of the elves.
The snowstorm didn't seem to be able to reach this place, so it was much more pleasant of a walk. Even then, the snowy wasteland was the same, so there was basically nothing to look at.
However, another change came soon enough, as the party entered a fog so dense that barely anything could be seen. Actually, when Aurora looked down, she was barely able to see her own paws.
On the other hand, the elves had seemingly no problem seeing in the fog, so their vision was as clear as ever.
Elijah, who was walking next to Aurora, looked down at the fox, only to see her looking around in the fog with curious eyes. Seeing her curiosity, the elf chuckled and spoke up.
"You seem interested, so let me tell you a bit about this fog. This fog cloud isn't too big, but it covers a circular area, completely sealing off its center due to its density." Hearing his words, Aurora looked up, and even though she couldn't see the elf at all, she still patiently waited for him to continue.
"This fog is our last line of defense, and in its center lies our village. You see, this place is a bit special. For instance, that snowstorm you two encountered is said to be blessed by a powerful spirit, and it wards off any monsters or magical beasts. That's why I was surprised when we found you two inside the storm." Elijah continued to explain, his tone calm and polite as ever.
"Actually, if we hadn't found you and captured you, you two would have probably gotten through the snow soon, and you would then also stumble upon this fog soon enough." Elijah turned his head back to the front, smiling.
"Alright, we're here." He said, and right after, the fog that blocked off Aurora's vision disappeared, revealing the mystical scene it was supposed to hide.
Unlike the snowy wasteland out there, this place was full of greenery. Lush trees unlike anything she had seen before and so large that whole houses fit on them. The sun shined brightly on the clear blue sky devoid of any clouds.
The elven village was truly like something out of a fantasy. Simple yet elegant houses built on trees, in the trees, or simply on the ground spread out as far as she could see. The streets on both the ground and in the treetops were bustling with countless elves who seemed to merely be enjoying their day.
This was the first civilization Aurora had ever encountered since she arrived in this world, and if she were completely honest, she was taken aback. The beauty and liveliness of this place were simply breathtaking.
To her, who in her past life grew up hearing stories of magical races like the elves, this kind of sight was something truly incredible.
"Amazing, isn't it?" Elijah's question brought her out of her reverie, causing her to look up at him and nod unconsciously.
Seeing her stunned expression, Elijah merely chuckled, turning his head back to the front. Right after, he crossed his arms and proclaimed proudly.
"Welcome to the hidden village of the snow elves, the only civilization of the Frostbite Plains." With those words hanging in the air, the snow elf walked to the back and began to give some orders to his party.
Aurora, on the other hand, just continued to stare at the scene in front of her with curious, amazed, and excited eyes. She just simply couldn't wait to explore this whole place.
Putting aside the absolutely magical village, the elves she had met so far were all quite nice. At the very least, they didn't seem like some bloodthirsty monsters that killed for fun. And even if she didn't trust them yet, she had a feeling that they wouldn't treat her and Rejoke badly.
And while it was still a bit early to judge, she couldn't help but have her impression of the elves improved. Hopefully, her early judgment wouldn't come to bite her in the back later on.
"Alright, let's head out. We should get to the chief as soon as possible. I'm sure she'll love to meet you two." After he finished giving orders to the other elves, Elijah returned back to the front.
His words brought Aurora out of her inner thoughts, and when she looked around, she realized that other than her and Rejoke, there was no one but Elijah around. All the other elves had already headed inside the village, so they were the last ones.
Already eager to see the village up close, Aurora nodded eagerly and prompted Elijah to move. The elf merely chuckled and led the two beasts to the center of the village.
On their way, the group of three had passed by many elves. Quite naturally, they stood out like a sore thumb considering that there were no magical beasts in this place. Surprisingly, however, none of the elves looked at them with any hatred or disgust. On the contrary, they looked at them, specifically Aurora with... reverence?
'Why are they staring at me like that? It's weird.' Auroea shuddered a bit and looked down, not able to make eye contact with the countless elves who looked at her like some kind of god.
"Hard to say... but maybe it's something from their culture. That elf named Elijah mentioned something about a spirit blessing these lands, and I have a feeling I know who he meant." Yuki chimed in, and unlike her sister, she didn't seem too uncomfortable.
'Mother, huh?' Aurora accurately guessed the person Yuki had on her mind. Actually, she came to that conclusion as well after she heard Elijah's words, but she decided to not dwell on it much.
The group of three soon arrived at the center of the village. Standing in front of the biggest and most majestic tree she had seen in her life, Aurora couldn't help but feel like the tree seemed a bit familiar to her. However, even after thinking about it as much as she could, she simply couldn't recall ever seeing this tree, so she just put her suspicion to the back of her mind.
"Let's head in. Although normally we shouldn't enter without prior notice, this matter is quite important, so we can ignore it." Elijah said as we walked towards a large gate in the tree trunk.
With a slight push, the gate gave way, opening on its own. Based on the glowing runes on the doors of the gate, it wasn't difficult to guess that it was some sort of magic that made the doors open like that.
Seeing Elijah move his hand, signaling the two to follow him, Aurora didn't stand on ceremony and followed closely behind the elf. All the while, she obviously didn't forget to admire the sight in front of her eyes.
Upon stepping inside the tree, what greeted her was a grand hall, hollowed out into the tree's trunk. The main material used for the hall was wood, probably the wood of this very tree it was in.
The hall was mostly styled into colors of lighter shades, with the dominant ones being white and blue. Multiple banners flowed down the walls of the grand room, making it look even more imposing.
Actually, the banners were quite simple, capturing a simple light blue snowflake on a pure white background. However, simplicity didn't mean it didn't look good. If anything, the banners did a great job of filling out the hall, giving it the last finishing touches it needed.
The three soon reached the end of the hall, which was occupied by yet another gate. But this one was different from the one that led into the hall. This one wasn't built into a wall, nor did it have doors. Maybe if it was before, Aurora would have had no idea what this gate was used for. However, after the incident with the dungeon, she knew perfectly well what this gate meant.
'A portal. But the question is, where does it lead?' She thought as she saw Elijah walk towards the portal.
The elf in question stood in front of the portal and turned around. His eyes well on Aurora, and seeing the expression on her face, he chuckled with a smile.
"From the look on your face, you probably know what this gate is, right?" He asked as he pressed a small button on the portal's frame.
Soon, a swirling blue vortex of mana manifested itself in the middle of the gate. The gate lit up with a faint blue light as well, just like the one that served as an entrance to that dungeon.
"This portal will take us to the top of the tree. There, our chief resides. By now, she definitely knows we're here since it is impossible to activate the portal without her permission, so she's basically expecting us." With a small smile on his face, Elijah motioned the two beasts to follow him as he took a step into the portal, disappearing from their sight.
Aurora merely sighed and followed behind him, soon disappearing in the swirl of mana. Even if she didn't have a good experience with portals, she didn't have much of an option here.
Quite obviously, Rejoke followed right behind her. It couldn't be said that he liked these strange swirls, but that was simply because of the incident on the dungeon's last floor.
The two soon emerged on the other side of the portal, standing in a very similar hall to the previous. Actually, they were almost identical; this one was just much smaller.
Aurora's eyes immediately fell on Elijah, who had already been waiting for them. The elf merely smiled like he always does and once again motioned the two to follow him.
As this hall was much smaller than the previous one, the three reached its end quickly. Much like with the previous one, this hall also had a gate at its far end; however, this time it was a normal gate.
While Aurora curiously observed the simple yet beautiful piece of craftsmanship, Elijah slowly pushed the door open.
The door slid open, revealing what was hidden behind it. But rather than curiously looking inside, Aurora immediately went on guard as she felt an extremely strong presence inside the now-opened room.
Noticing her reaction, Elijah chuckled and made his way into the room with calm steps.
"That's our chief; no need to worry. She may be really powerful, but she won't hurt you unless you do something really bad." Hearing his words, Aurora relaxed a bit but still kept a high guard.
The reason she wasn't too afraid of Elijah and his party was because she knew she could easily fight them all off. None of them were second ranks, so it wouldn't be a problem to take them all at once. Not to mention if she had Rejoke for help.
However, this aura was different. It was strong, and she was sure that whoever was releasing that aura was still holding it back.
'This is on Aurelius's level. No, actually, it's even stronger!' She exclaimed as she analyzed the strength of the individual.
"For now, let's trust that elf. Hopefully the village chief is really someone nice." Yuki said in a calm, but still tense, voice.
Aurora nodded in agreement and made her way inside the room, closely followed by Rejoke. The room was quite similar to the halls leading into it. Mostly carved into the tree and made out of wood, styled in light colors.
Probably the most eye-catching was the large throne-like seat at the end of the room. The throne was expertly made out of wood and was placed on a heightened platform with steps in front of it.
However, Aurora's eyes didn't stop at the chair; they moved upwards to look at the person sitting on it.
It was a beautiful woman with very long silver hair, similar to Elijah's. Actually, most of the elves in this village had either whitish or bluish hair, but she hadn't seen a single one except these two who had silver hair.
Furthermore, the woman had light blue eyes, very similar to Aurora's, with them being just a few shades off.
The woman was an absolute beauty. There was nothing about her that you could consider to not be attractive or ugly. Everything about her seemed to be perfect, yet Aurora wasn't too impressed.
'Mother was much more beautiful.' She thought. She had actually never seen her mother's face, as she was unconscious when her mask disappeared. Yet even despite only seeing her in her mask, she was sure that her mother was much more beautiful than this elven woman.
"Welcome, dear guests." The woman on the throne, presumably the village chief, said with a light smile, bringing Aurora out of her inner thoughts.
"Interesting... Little fox, how about you tell me your name?" The chief spoke again, causing Aurora to frown.
'Hello? I'm a fox, you know? How the hell do you expect me to tell you my name?' Aurora thought internally, her frown deepening.
"Based on your reaction, I can tell that you really have a name. How interesting." The woman said again, this time, her voice sounded quite amused. It was then that Aurora realized her mistake.
Normal monsters or beasts shouldn't have names, at least not unless they were someone's companions or pets. However, by showing such a prominent reaction, Aurora basically revealed that she really did have a name.
Only now did she realize that this woman was definitely not to be underestimated, by any means. She was not only powerful but also quite cunning.
'This might be interesting.'