The World After Leaving the Hero’s Party

Chapter 37: The Forest of Elves (1)

I had wandered across the continent, gathering all the necessary materials. The only thing left was to head to the Forest of Elves, obtain the patients’ blood, and use it to make the medicine.

After pulling out the materials packed tightly in my bag and confirming that everything was in order, I returned to my room in the royal palace.

“You’re back?”

As soon as I teleported to the palace, Lucille entered the room. 

It seemed she had checked the alarm spell on the door before stepping in. 

I greeted her with a nod as she beamed at me, and then we went to see the queen together. 

There, we were told that an envoy was ready to be dispatched to the Forest of Elves.

“And Lucille will represent us as the envoy’s leader,” the queen added.

“I see.”

“The church has agreed to cooperate as well.”

“Are the other races not participating?”

“At the moment, humans will take the lead.”

It seemed the queen wasn’t pleased with the humans having to shoulder the responsibility. 

Perhaps the other races were pressuring them, or maybe they were just refusing to join in order to make a statement against the haughty elves.

Whatever their reasons, it wasn’t my concern.

“We also decided to seek assistance from the Hero. Sage, do you have any objections?” the queen asked.

“From Claire? Hmm…”

“Yes. But of course, you won’t be working directly with her. It’s just…”

“Support for personnel and material logistics?” I finished for her.

The queen nodded, and Raquel, who stood beside her, glanced at me, gauging my reaction. 

Knowing the history between me and the Hero’s Party, it seemed she was uneasy about involving Claire.

“It’s fine,” I said.

“Oh? Really?”

“Unless they interfere with me, they can do whatever they want.”

My nonchalant response seemed to reassure Raquel, who let out a heavy sigh of relief.

“What, did you think I’d drop everything just because the Hero’s Party is involved?”

“To be honest, yes. After all, you’re…”

“I know how to separate business from personal matters.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“Did you hear that, Lucille?” the queen said.

“…Yes,” Lucille replied, her lips slightly pursed in displeasure. 

She seemed irritated that Claire, Leventia, and Evangeline would be involved in this mission, but there was nothing to be done about it.

“The church’s support will likely join us as well, so we’ll need to wait a few days.”

“Understood. Let’s proceed as planned,” I replied.

“Hm? Aren’t you coming along with the envoy?” the queen asked, tilting her head.

“I’ll go ahead on my own.”

Support was support, and my work was my work. We could move separately as needed.

Lucille looked disappointed, the queen sighed, and Raquel gave me a wry smile.

“Very well. We’ll leave it at that,” the queen concluded.

After wrapping up discussions about a few other issues, the meeting ended. With no more business in the capital for now, I returned to my room to prepare for my journey to the Forest of Elves.

Just as I finished packing, Lucille entered.

“Master, um…”

“Taking the lead in this envoy means Her Highness is growing into her role,” I said, cutting her off gently.

Raising Lucille wasn’t just about making her a powerful mage. 

It was about grooming her to become the next queen. 

Leading the envoy would be an excellent experience for her, especially if this mission succeeded.

“Yes…”

“I wish you the best. After all, you’re my one and only disciple.”

“T-that’s a bit overwhelming…”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to pressure you. How about this?”

“How about what?”

“If you handle this mission well… let’s take a short break and go on a little trip. How does that sound?”

“A-a trip? J-just the two of us?” Lucille stammered, her face turning bright red.

“Well, it wouldn’t make sense to bring others along. There’s a nice resort near the capital—I’ll make a reservation there.”

“…Really?”

“Yes,” I said, patting her shoulder as her eyes sparkled with anticipation. “See you later.”

***

Although I’d visited the outskirts of the Forest of Elves a few times during the main storyline, I had never ventured deep inside. 

That was always left to Claire, Leventia, and Evangeline. While they took care of the main storyline quests, I had handled all the other tasks in the area on my own.

Honestly, if it weren’t for the current plague problem, I would have had no reason to come here at all.

“Who goes there?!”

“The Sage,” I replied, raising both hands as a loud voice called out from the forest. 

Lorellia should have informed them already, but the elves rangers guarding the forest clearly didn’t care, as they aimed their bows at me without hesitation.

“The Sage? You’re just a human!”

“How dare a mere human call himself the Sage? Such arrogance.”

Elves. Always so haughty and condescending. I’d encountered this reaction enough times that it didn’t bother me anymore. I had been through far worse.

“I’m here at the request of Lorellia, chieftain of the Wing of Light tribe, to investigate the plague,” I said calmly.

“Hah! The Wing of Light tribe must be desperate. They should’ve left such matters to the Healers of the Divine Tree.”

Typical elves—too proud to accept help even when they needed it. The Divine Tree tribe was a community of elves priests and healers. When people recruited an elves priest for their party, it was usually someone from that tribe.

But that wasn’t the point right now.

“Could you at least inform the Wing of Light tribe that the Sage has arrived?” I asked.

“Fine. Wait here,” one of the male elves muttered before disappearing into the forest. 

Meanwhile, the two female elves rangers continued to aim their arrows at me. Ignoring them, I sat down and began preparing something.

“What are you doing?” one of them asked sharply.

“Making food. I’m hungry.”

I hadn’t eaten because I had been rushing around. Pulling out the firestone I had acquired in Dwarven City, I lit a small fire and set up a frying pan.

As I started making pancakes, I noticed the elves watching me intently.

“What’s that?” one of them asked, pointing.

“Pancakes,” I replied.

“No, the thing you’re pouring over it.”

“Oh, this? Maple syrup.”

I realized that maple syrup would be hard to come by in the Forest of Elves due to the absence of sugar maples. 

I held out the syrup I had taken from my bag, and one of the elves, intrigued, approached me.

“This syrup is unfamiliar. It smells wonderful. May I try it?” she asked.

“Go ahead.”

With my permission, she poured a little syrup onto a spoon and took a small taste. Her eyes sparkled as she exclaimed in amazement.

“This… has incredible flavor. It’s not just a simple syrup… Is it made from tree sap?”

“Oh, you know your cooking, don’t you?”