“……”
_tap tap tap_ Ares walked along, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu.
He always had a crowd of students around him at the academy, so he thought he might feel a bit lonely during vacation. But now that he was alone, it didn’t feel much different than before.
He wasn’t sure whether to take this positively or negatively, but having returned to his hometown, Ares headed straight into the woods, gripping his sword without even stopping by home.
The training ground remained as it was.
It was the place where he, Daniel, and Rin had swung their crude wooden swords together.
‘I always beat him here.’
He had no choice but to admit that he was weak now. Not only did he suffer defeat at the hands of Daniel, but he also experienced a humiliating loss to Elise during the practical exam.
The strange emotions he saw on Elise’s face at that time were feelings he had never felt before.
“JENGZAAANG!”
Ares swung his sword roughly, and the old training fixture couldn’t handle his strength, breaking apart.
The power of Helios surged from his knuckles.
It was something he hadn’t been able to use during their duel, but if he used this, he could become stronger.
Confident in his thoughts, Ares tried to start his training again when—
“Ares?”
“You’re here! It’s really good to see you!”
“Wow, you look way more handsome now.”
In the academy, there were students, while in his hometown, there were girls from the village.
Most of the village girls were commoners, but they held crushes on Ares, who looked like anything but a commoner.
When he returned from the academy looking more dashing, the feelings that were slowly fading rekindled, full of passion.
Ares briefly glanced at the sword in his hand, smiled slyly, and naturally set the sword aside to approach them.
“Long time no see, everyone.”
This is life.
It felt like payback for all the humiliation he faced at the academy.
At 18, Ares, hiding his own mischievous intentions, nestled among the girls as he returned to the village.
Honestly, compared to the female students at the academy, they weren’t exactly his type, but more was always better.
One of Ares’ personal maxims was that the more flowers and women, the better.
While laughing and chatting, he suddenly spotted a woman entering the village with a large sword on her back.
She was wearing a school uniform, similar to theirs, but slightly different, and Ares recognized it as one he had never seen before.
Because all fifth-year students were currently out for field practice.
He thought they would return after the vacation was over, so why was she back in town right as the vacation started?
“Wow, long time no see, kiddos!”
“Uh, sis…?”
“Did you come back already?”
“Eh?”
The village girls, peeking nervously at the older girl, subtly retreated, leaving only Ares.
“Punk, how’ve you been?”
“……Yeah.”
Everyone has trauma, no matter who they are.
A memory that they wish they didn’t have.
For Ares, she represented that trauma in its entirety.
During a spar with Daniel when he was young, when he had become overly heated, or the time he hit Daniel when he had to kill his sick dog.
In the end, it was always her who came along to clean up the mess.
Diana McLean.
Daniel’s older sister and a fifth-year graduating student at Aios Academy.
“But where’s our Daniel?”
As he watched her dismount from her horse, Ares felt it wouldn’t be an easy vacation this time around.
*
“Yawn.”
_Slash_ I got off the carriage with a yawn.
It had already been a week since the vacation started, and all I had done was sleep or zone out in the carriage.
At least during the horse’s rest time, I practiced swordsmanship with Hayun to stay in shape, but that was far too little for someone like me, who was always exercising.
“It was fine until the first day.”
“Yeah…”
Rin and Hayun looked equally tired as they stretched their stiff bodies.
I expected some tedious procedures crossing the border, but it wasn’t as complicated as I thought when I showed our Aios Academy student ID.
I did throw in a bit of extra cash, but after thanking the coachman who brought us to the entrance of the Forest of the Demon Realm, we headed in after a quick meal.
‘Ugh, this cursed forest.’
Compared to the Forest of the Demon Realm, this was literally a clean zone.
The elves took such meticulous care of the forest that the word “nature” was firmly imprinted in my mind.
“Wow, amazing.”
“But… can we just waltz in here?”
Rin gazed around with her mouth agape, while Hayun looked a bit uneasy, but I felt bold.
“We have our recommendation, and I got invited by Eris. No need to be scared.”
In fact, it was Rin and my unusual reactions that were strange; it was more normal to react like Hayun.
The elves were highly hostile to other races, so ordinary humans thought that they would shoot arrows at you the moment you stepped into their forest.
_Whoosh!_
“What the—”
As I narrowly avoided an actual flying arrow, I glared at the distant male elf with a dumbfounded expression.
Rin and Hayun seemed not to notice, but I locked eyes with him perfectly.
“Wait, I found the guide.”
And you better be ready for a good beating.
Initially startled, the elf turned around and started to run, and I chased after him.
Chasing an elf in the forest is said to be like chasing a cloud.
It felt like I was running uphill while he was running downhill.
They said I could never catch up if they put their minds to it, but—
“There’s always something that flies higher than the one running.”
I was a Sherpa who had traversed the Demon Realm Forest like my backyard.
Utilizing the terrain, I pushed forward along the shortest route in my mind, and soon I could see the elf’s back.
He seemed startled, his landing shaky, and his body swayed.
Just one mistake like that would drastically close the distance between us, and just as I snatched the nape of his neck—
_killing intent surged around._
Numerous elves aiming their arrows at me.
I didn’t feel particularly intimidated; it was more of a ‘what a bunch of newbies’ vibe.
Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but smile as I pressed my blade against the elf’s neck.
“I knew you guys were conservative, but not to this extent.”
“Stranger, why have you invaded our forest?”
With a deep male voice, I pulled out the fragrant leaves from my robe, which had been magically treated, and waved them around.
“Guests, you idiots.”
The evidence from the Guardian of Yggdrasil, Eris.
I had been told this would allow me to enter Yggdrasil without any issues, so I thought surely they’d let me go.
“W-we’re sorry!”
Immediately, the elves dropped to one knee.
“……Huh?”
The excessive reaction caught me off guard, but it seemed like the tangled situation was resolving smoothly.
*
“So you almost got hit by an arrow?”
“Yep.”
Having entered Yggdrasil, we could act confidently due to Eris being with us, even in the elves’ glaring gazes.
She wore a look of disbelief while staring down the burly head of the self-defense force following behind us.
“Is that how you train the self-defense force these days? Just shoot arrows as soon as someone enters the forest?”
“Th-that’s not the case! The newbies must have gotten too excited and made a mistake…”
“Mistake? You shot with the intent to kill! If Daniel hadn’t reacted in time, and blood was spilled in the middle of the forest without treatment, would you call that a mistake?”
“……I have no excuse.”
“Of course you shouldn’t. Make sure of it, Head of the Self-Defense Force. Your members almost killed not just any human, but the guest of the Guardian of Yggdrasil.”
“……”
“Whether that member will continue as part of the self-defense force is a matter to discuss later, but for now, you all will kneel and apologize formally. Now scram.”
In response to Eris’s disdain, the head of the self-defense force, larger than her by double, shrank back and fled.
I had to wonder if she had always been so charismatic, but given her position, it made sense.
“I’m really sorry; it was my mistake.”
“Eris, you didn’t do anything wrong. It was that rookie’s fault.”
“I just have to make sure that apology is indeed given.”
Rin and Hayun stated firmly.
No matter how kind they were, they wouldn’t just let the idiot who shot arrows pass unchecked.
“Then I’d love to introduce you to Yggdrasil, but… shall we eat first?”
We’d walked through the forest for quite a while, and feeling peckish, everyone nodded in agreement, so we all headed to the cafeteria.
It was an outdoor dining area with benches outside, and the kitchen was constructed inside a massive tree, creating a unique structure where cooking took place.
While elves do eat meat, I knew that their cuisine was predominantly vegetarian and not very well seasoned.
‘Now it begins.’
I had only one reason for coming here, so I pulled out the ingredients from my bag.
“I want to treat you all, let me borrow the kitchen for a bit.”
“Eh?”
“D-Daniel?”
“Shameful.”
The women looked at me in surprise, but I had discarded any sense of shame the moment I stepped into the elves’ forest.
I pulled out my best moves to woo her!
The head cook scrutinized me with a skeptical gaze but motioned for me to go ahead.
It seemed I had nudged the pride of the elven chef.
“Can Daniel cook?”
“I usually manage just fine on my own, but I have never really cooked for someone else.”
“That’s unsettling.”
I could feel the three of them whispering and stealing glances at me, but I continued to cook carefully.
“Here, try this.”
What I offered was a meat dish.
On the surface, it didn’t look anything special, but—
The three took a bite, their expressions turning awkward at first.
“This is…”
“Kind of over-seasoned, huh?”
The two shot me glances, frowning slightly, but one elf was different.
“It’s delicious!”
Eris couldn’t help but smile, her face glowing.
“This is amazing! What is this? Are you a chef, Daniel? This is the best dish I’ve ever had!”
“Hehe.”
I slicked my finger under my nose, grinning.
‘I’ve never had such an interest in food before.’
‘Huh? You made this just for me? Hmm, let me try it first.’
‘Sherpa? What is this? It’s delicious! So delicious! I want this every day starting tomorrow!’
‘Hey Sherpa? I’ll go out and buy more meat, can you prepare this for me?’
Just like the very first time I ever made this in the Demon Realm Forest, her reaction was exactly the same.
After that, she shyly fidgeted, asking to have the dish every time during meal times.
‘Gotta win them over with my cooking.’
My plan had only just begun.
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