The forest was burning.
"No way, I can't do that!" screamed a young woman as she held the hands of a mature woman who had similar facial features to hers.
"You have to. Only you can escape from this forest. Even if we perish, we want at least one of our kin to survive and continue our legacy." Despite the situation, her voice remained eerily calm.
"But—"
"That's enough." Another voice startled her.
The mature man looked at the young woman with a stern gaze.
"We've lost. We don't have a chance anymore. We lost the moment our forest was burned."
The Elvian forest was known to be unburnable. No matter how fierce the fire was, even lightning itself couldn't cause a spark.
Yet it was burning.
"Elves without their forest are like soldiers without swords. We can't fight back." The man looked at her with a loving gaze, but his cold demeanor showed the severity of the situation.
"But... why me?" The young woman's eyes teared up. "We all can run away." She proposed the idea.
"I am the king of elves," he calmly said. "An elf king dies with his forest. For us elves, the forest is something we protect. But for the elf king, it's his life. If I run away from my responsibility, not only will it shame our ancestors, but it will also curse not just me, but our entire kin. No other territories, no other elves, and no other forests will accept us."
"And I am the queen, sharing the same responsibility as your father. So, my little girl, please survive. We only hope you can survive this war and live a peaceful life."
"No... No way. That's cruel. Let me be with you... till the end." Tears flowed from her eyes as she didn't move.
"My dear daughter," the man said with a warm voice. "We want you to live. We can't see you die. Not as royalty, but as parents, we sincerely wish for you to survive. Please... run away."
"No!" The girl denied and clung to both of them.
The man and woman hugged her warmly and tightly for the final time.
"Eily and Livia, we entrust our daughter's safety to you. Take her to a safe place."
"No, I don't want to! No! No! Nooooo!" The girl's screams rang as she watched her parents walk further into the burning forest.
Enemies attacked, and her mother and father died defending their fallen land.
The trio ran, with Eily carrying the young woman on her shoulder.
But suddenly, they were chased by a group of demi-humans.
"Tch! Eily, take the princess and run. I'll hold them back."
"Okay." Eily continued running.
"Come, you demon bastard! You have to get through me first to reach the princess!"
The young woman watched her subordinates fight the enemies and get injured until the smoke covered her vision.
As they reached the edge of the territory, another horde of enemies caught up.
"No way." Eily cursed. "Princess, run away. I'll hold them back."
The young woman didn't reply.
"Princess!"
Slap!
Eily slapped the princess with enough force to leave a handprint on her cheek.
"Please, run away. Your life is protected by your parents, and by us... so for us, please run away and live on. Don't let our sacrifice be meaningless."
"Okay." That was the final thing she said before running away.
She ran further and further.
She never looked back.
For another ten years, she spent her time in another forest with other elves.
She fought, became a soldier instead of a princess, and miraculously became the sole survivor when that forest fell into flames.
Running from the enemies, she finally jumped off a cliff.
"I tried to live. But I guess this is how my life ends. Sorry, father, mother, Eily, and Livia. I am also going to die. The life you all protected with your sacrifice is going to be lost pitifully fast." Closing her eyes, she accepted her fate.
At least she could see her family and friends again in the afterlife, she thought.
[Do you wish to survive?]
Suddenly, a voice rang in her head.
"Survive?" she contemplated. "Yes. If possible, I want to live more, for the sake of the sacrifices of my family. I... want to live and see a peaceful era. I want to share my travels with my family. I... want to... live a better life." Not even caring if the voice was real or just an illusion, she spilled her real feelings.
Who doesn't fear death?
Who doesn't wish to live?
But she hoped to live in a place more peaceful, where she could see smiles on people's faces.
So one day, when she dies, she could recite those experiences, like a dream, to her parents.
Suddenly, she felt her world turning dark.
"This is it…" she thought as she fell into a deep sleep.
Until various voices rang in her ears, saying she could see the world again after a long time.
_____
"Elyris." A faint sound rang in her ears. "Elyris." The voice became louder and louder.
"Elyris!"
"Yes!" she shouted subconsciously.
"Huh?" She blinked in confusion as she saw the trees, which were slightly burned but looked far better than the ones in her dream.
"Where— Eh?" Suddenly, she realized she was in someone's arms.
Memories flooded in.
'Right,' she thought.
It wasn't her past.
It was a whole different era.
And...
"L-L-Lord, why... a-are you hu-hu-hugging me?" she stuttered, feeling far more embarrassed than she thought she should be.
'Play it cool! Play it cool!' she desperately screamed in her mind, but she found her body trembling, her cheeks wet.
'Was I crying?' she wondered.
"Oh, you've finally returned to your senses."
His calm voice disappointed Elyris, as she had hoped he would be more embarrassed.
Was she the only inexperienced one here?
As a princess, she had never even touched a man other than her father. There was no way she could maintain her cool in this situation.
"L-L-Let me go first!" She tried to shake him off, but she had lost her strength, and her body was relying on his support to stand firmly on the ground.
"Ah, right… She was so soft." The last part was just a whisper, but Elyris heard it.
"Ehhh!" she let out another cute sound, and her face turned beet red.
She coughed and tried to maintain her composure, then thought of asking what happened, but Lan Sol didn't even glance at her. Instead, he stated, "Let's go. The others are battling the bandits. We should help them."
"Right." She answered in a disappointed voice.
"Also, apologize to them. Today, your actions were reckless."
"Okay." Elyris just nodded, but she looked at Lan Sol's back and couldn't help but feel her heart pounding.
Ignoring the embarrassment, she followed Lan Sol.
[Due to your actions, Elyris's loyalty toward you has increased! Loyalty increased by 15!]
______________
The village was successfully saved, and all the house fires were extinguished by Lan Sol.
All the villagers were very grateful to him.
[Your relationship with 'Corner Village' has improved! Current Relationship: Friendly]
[You can now trade with this village, recruit villagers, and freely enter and exit the village.]
Dismissing any misunderstandings and presenting himself as friendly, he improved the relationship with the villagers.
Knowing he was a lord with strong followers, the villagers treated him with great respect.
An old man took him to his house. He was the village chief, and his house was the least affected by the bandit raid.
It was a grand house made of fine wood, neat and well-kept. It was also warmer compared to the outside, though not as warm as Lan Sol's territory.
There was a fireplace, a stove, and a cooking area—all of which provided warmth. Unlike the other villagers' houses, his stove was larger and looked more advanced.
No other villagers had a fireplace, as fireplaces were made of stone and required professional skills to integrate them into a wooden house.
"Lord Lan, we poor villagers are very grateful for your help. If it weren't for you... alas, I can't even imagine what would have happened to us."
The village chief's words were genuine, and his voice was filled with respect.
Lan Sol had not only extinguished the fire but had also healed most of the villagers. Some, however, were too unlucky to survive.
"It's my responsibility as a fellow human. Village chief, let's get to business." Lan Sol wasn't good with words, so he preferred to focus on the practical matters.
"Yes, yes. Lord Lan, you are a heroic individual. Your sense of justice is commendable." The village chief continued to praise him.
Lan Sol didn't feel anything, as he wouldn't be swayed by empty praise. In fact, he disliked receiving too much praise, as it irritated him.
"Ah, where are my manners? I am Kong Wun, the humble chief of this village." Standing and bowing slightly, the village chief introduced himself with a bright smile.
"Right." Lan Sol simply nodded. "I wish to buy vegetables, vegetable seeds, and recruit some villagers. Of course, I will trade fairly. I will provide meat in exchange for the goods I've requested."
"No, no. How can we let you pay after you've saved us? I'm sure many villagers will offer you vegetables and seeds free of charge. But as for recruiting villagers, you can only ask them. If they wish to leave with you, I'll approve it. But Lord Lan, I hope you don't recruit any men, as we already have a small population, and the men are essential for the fieldwork that keeps the village running."
"Sure. But I will trade. I don't want anything for free. As for your gratitude, just give me a discount in the future. I may continue to trade here."
"This... I will talk with the villagers." The village chief looked contemplative but nodded.
After a while, two fair young girls served him some hot water and vegetables.
The vegetables were mostly fried and curried.
"There's oil here." He was a bit surprised, and as he took a bite, he was greatly satisfied. "There are proper spices."
Soon after, the village chief returned.
"Lord Lan, the villagers will provide you with vegetables. They'll drop everything here. You can bring the meat whenever you want."
"I also want spices, oil, and salt. As for the meat, I'll give it to them individually, to keep things fair," Lan Sol said.
"As you say, Lord Lan."
As he was dining pleasantly, two young goblins came running with their arms full of various items. Soon, two girls followed with more items.
"Lord! Here are the items from the bandits. There's more! We'll get it!" Throwing everything before Lan Sol's feet, the two goblins dashed outside.
"These two," Lan Sol sighed, then asked the two girls to place the items on the ground.
They left them at an appropriate distance, bowed, and went to get more, as there was still loot to collect from the bandits.
"Swords, clothes, and other miscellaneous items. Not bad." Lan Sol examined the items and smiled.
"Oh." Suddenly, a pouch caught his attention, and his eyes widened.
"Really!" It was something he hadn't expected to find from a bandit.