Evading the Hero’s Party with Full Effort

Chapter 28

Ch.28 It’s already completely resolved…  

While riding a horse, galloping across the sand.  

“Master? Look over there.”  

-Beep?!  

Green leaves appeared in the middle of the desert.  

Trees towering dozens of meters high stood densely packed, and beyond them, glimpses of a blue lake peeked through.  

But there was something slightly different about these trees compared to ordinary ones.  

Their leaves were long and slender, resembling palm trees seen in movies, yet the height of the trees was extraordinary.  

“Aren’t those the same trees we saw on that previous island?”  

I nodded in agreement with Leah’s question.  

This place usually has many such trees.  

“Yeah, probably similar?”  

“Huh… Amazing. Trees right in the middle of the desert? I can’t believe it.”  

“Aren’t Sand Elves still elves?”  

Whether elves or dark elves, they all love trees. Sand Elves wouldn’t be much different.  

As I said that and tried to steer the horse toward the lake, a loud voice stopped us.  

“Halt!”  

Men with chocolate-colored skin, black hair, and long ears emerged from the bushes.  

“Who are you?”  

When one elf pointed a spear threateningly at us, I raised both hands to show I had no intention to attack.  

“We are travelers. We stopped by because we needed some supplies before continuing our journey.”  

The elf looked puzzled at my words.  

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a human who isn’t a merchant come this far. Follow us.”  

Thus, we followed them to a checkpoint.  

After going through a simple procedure and entering the village,  

Leah’s mouth dropped open at the sight of hundreds… thousands of trees densely packed by species, with houses built atop them.  

“Wow? Is this really a village in the middle of the desert?”  

I had seen it in the game, but seeing it in person, it was an enormous village…  

And the Sand Elf women and children walking around the streets.  

Actually, calling it a ‘village’ felt inaccurate—it was more like a city.  

Now I understand why characters in the game were so amazed.  

Large fruits hanging from the trees, and wheat being cultivated in areas without trees.  

It didn’t differ much from the game.  

Except for the tropical trees, it looked quite similar to the Elf Kingdom.  

“Wow… Is this an elf village?”  

“Hem… First, stop staring around like you’re mesmerized and let’s quickly buy what we need.”  

I led her, whose attention was captivated by the surroundings, following the map in my head to purchase necessary items.  

After buying a tent and fruits, we went to buy a carriage.  

“There are no carriages available right now.”  

“What?”  

The merchant’s unexpected words left me bewildered.  

“In our village, carriages aren’t in high demand, so we make them only when orders come in.”  

We had come all this way hoping to buy a carriage for a comfortable journey.  

Seeing my troubled expression, the merchant shook his head reassuringly.  

“If you place an order now, it’ll be ready in about four days, so don’t worry too much.”  

Four days. Leah challenged the merchant’s confident claim that a carriage could be made in such a short time, incredulous.  

“What? How can you possibly make a carriage that quickly?”  

The Sand Elf merchant grinned and pointed toward the warehouse with his thumb.  

“Hehe, don’t you know the saying? ‘Metal to the dwarves, wood to the elves’. When we handle and craft it, it’s done in no time.”  

With no other choice, I paid the money and left, by which time the sun was already setting.  

We set out to find an inn to stay at.  

At that moment.  

On the opposite side of the road, a familiar-looking pair of black-haired Sand Elves caught my eye.  

The elf I noticed wasn’t the tall beauty beside him, but the slightly smaller male elf.  

“Huh?”  

The young man looked youthful. Apparently blind, he kept his eyes closed as a girl around his age held his hand and guided his steps.  

Nekhuf.  

Though blind, he was one of the overpowered characters in the Destiny game.  

His base stats were already high, being a Sand Elf, a subspecies of elves, and he came with quite a few innate skills.  

Of course, that alone wouldn’t qualify him as an overpowered character.  

Nekhuf’s overpowered nature lay in his traits.  

Beside me stood Leah, the firepower specialist of the Hero party.  

When she inflicted damage with fire magic, 30% of the total damage ignored magic defense—a hidden trait only discoverable by dissecting the Destiny game files, invisible to players but significantly impactful in-game.  

Anyway.  

Nekhuf possessed three traits:  

Absolute Senses, Archery Mastery, and Swiftness.  

In a game where many characters don’t even have one trait, characters possessing three or more are extremely rare.  

“Master, that elf seems to have trouble with his eyes, doesn’t he?”  

Leah whispered softly into my ear, but Nekhuf flinched slightly.  

Oh no…  

Nekhuf, unable to see, had his other senses extremely heightened.  

He must have clearly heard Leah’s whisper.  

“Don’t say things like that carelessly.”  

“Pfft, I spoke so quietly—who could possibly hear that?”  

The person himself heard it.  

I couldn’t bring myself to say that outright, so I just made a troubled face.  

“I can’t see, but my hearing is excellent.”  

Leah jumped in surprise at his melodious voice.  

“Ah… s-sorry. You heard that?”  

“Ah? What on earth were you saying in front of Nekhuf?!”  

The girl leading Nekhuf by the hand shouted at Leah, but Nekhuf gently reassured her.  

“Nephert, I’m fine. But you seem like outsiders—where are you from?”  

I answered him.  

“Ah… we came from the Old Continent.”  

Nekhuf reacted with a curious, delighted expression to my answer.  

“Ah, the Old Continent? I think this is my first time meeting someone from there. If it’s not too much trouble… could you tell me about the outside world?”  

Huh? Could this be a trigger?  

Hiding my ulterior motive, I spoke in an apologetic tone.  

“It’s not difficult, but we need to find a place to stay.”  

“Ah…”  

Nekhuf briefly looked disappointed, hesitated, then spoke.  

“How about staying at my house?”  

I had tentatively thrown out the lodging bait, and Nekhuf eagerly took it.  

“Nekhuf, how can you invite strangers into your home? No way!”  

Just as things seemed to be going my way, Nephert quickly intervened.  

“But I’m the only one at home.”  

Nekhuf said to Nephert.  

I knew that Nekhuf’s parents had passed away when he was very young.  

He turned his head toward us.  

“It might be a bit quiet, but there’s enough space for you to stay comfortably. In return, could you tell me stories about the Old Continent?”  

He seemed kind and pure in the game, but in reality, he was this genuinely kind.  

I felt a twinge of guilt for deceiving such an innocent child.  

Though blind, he was a Sand Elf boy who dreamed of adventure and worked harder than anyone else.  

Having lived confined within the Elf village, Nekhuf harbored a deep longing for the world beyond.  

Though currently unable to move without assistance, someday he would surely make a name for himself as an adventurer.  

“Shall we?”  

I readily accepted, and Leah shot me a look as if she wanted to say something, then sighed.  

“Haa…”  

***  

Nekhuf’s house was built around a central tree trunk in a circular shape.  

Leah, fascinated by the house, patted and caressed the wooden surfaces.  

“No matter how many times I look, it’s amazing! Won’t the house collapse if built like this around a tree trunk?”  

Nephert stepped forward to answer Leah’s question.  

“This is traditional Elf housing.”  

Elves generally had little interaction with humans.  

Though Sand Elves were more tolerant of humans, regular Elves and Dark Elves harbored strong disdain toward them.  

Wasn’t Mia in the original story an Elf Queen who collected human masks as a hobby?  

After settling our luggage and washing up at Nekhuf’s house, we found Nephert busily cooking in the kitchen.  

“Dinner will be ready soon, so please sit at the table.”  

Following her words, I sat at the table and looked around.  

The kitchen felt similar yet slightly different from the game’s visuals.  

Beside it hung Nekhuf’s trophies from archery competitions.  

“Haha… Master, you’re already out?”  

-Beep?  

Leah, her hair still damp, and Pipi, looking fluffy and dry.  

Wait, did Pipi not bathe? Not a drop of water on its feathers.  

Leah sat beside me.  

“Is everyone here?”  

Nekhuf, feeling his way along the wall, walked toward the kitchen.  

“Let me help.”  

“Ah, thank you.”  

Nekhuf bowed his head gratefully to me.  

I took his hand and guided him to a chair at the table.  

“Since this is Elf cuisine, I’m not sure how well it’ll suit humans.”  

Nephert brought out the dishes one by one.  

A stew based on tomatoes, bread, and foods somewhat similar to what we ate in the Elf Kingdom were placed before us.  

Leah and I served ourselves and began eating, while Nephert helped Nekhuf, and the meal gradually came to an end.  

Then, Nephert suddenly looked alarmed and asked us.  

“Has the Demon King in the Old Continent been defeated?”  

Leah flinched at Nephert’s question.  

“Huh? Come to think of it, didn’t they say that when the Demon King appeared in the Old Continent, giant monsters filled the seas, making travel difficult? Has the Demon King been killed?”  

Nephert, asking the very person who killed the Demon King whether the Demon King was dead.  

Leah looked mischievously eager to declare that she was the one who killed the Demon King.  

“It must be the Hero. The Hero must have defeated the Demon King.”  

Nekhuf nodded as if it were obvious.  

“Right? Everyone?”  

Leah trembled with suppressed laughter.  

“Pfft… hehehe…”  

Is she really that eager to boast?  

After barely composing herself, Leah proudly puffed out her chest.  

“I am Leah, the mage of the Hero party who defeated the Demon King in the Old Continent. And the person beside me is my master.”  

Nekhuf and Nephert stared blankly at Leah’s unbelievable introduction.  

“I… I see.”  

But they sounded unconvinced.  

As I thought that…  

-Bang!  

Nephert suddenly slammed the table forcefully.  

“Enough with the lies! How could a brat like you be a Hero?!”  

“It’s not a lie! It’s true, right, Master?”  

Leah hurriedly sought my agreement, looking flustered by Nephert’s sharp reaction.  

“Nekhuf went out of his way to offer kindness, and yet… I knew it! Humans always lie! Just get out of this house!”  

Nephert stood up and grabbed Leah’s sleeve, gesturing for her to leave.  

A massive aura of magic rose from Leah’s body, making her short hair flutter.  

“This… this is?”  

“You just laid hands on me? And told me to get out?!”  

The ferocity she had hidden before me burst out.  

Sensing trouble, I quickly patted Leah’s head.  

“Calm down, Leah. Calm… calm down.”  

As I gently patted her head, she soon calmed down, her hair drooping limply.  

Nekhuf and Nephert quietly swallowed hard at Leah’s sudden change.  

-Gulp.  

Unlike me, who couldn’t sense magic, Elves had exceptional magic affinity.  

They must have felt just how destructive her magic was.  

“Th… that’s an incredible amount of magic.”  

“I’ve never felt such ferocious magic in my life.”  

To the two who directly sensed her magic, Leah must have seemed like a monster.  

“Are… are you really the mage who defeated the Demon King?”  

Leah, seemingly unwilling to answer, turned her head away and replied curtly.  

“After feeling that magic just now, are you still unsure?”  

Her voice seemed slightly trembling?  

Anyway, since she seemed to have regained her composure, I tried to remove my hand from her head…  

But Leah, sensing it like a ghost, gently grabbed my wrist and placed it back on her head, her face turning red.  

“I’m still not over my anger, so pat me a little longer.”  

It’s already completely resolved…  

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