Chapter 36
The merchant clung tightly to the carriage filled with mana crystals as his eyes darted around aimlessly.
First he looked up at the moonlit sky.
Glance.
Then toward the dense forest.
Glance.
Then back toward the sky again.
No matter how much he looked, he still couldn't understand what was happening.
The dark elves, infamous hunters of Vernas Forest, were treating one young boy as though he were their greatest threat.
Good grief. This makes no sense.
The merchant looked back toward the dark forest.
It was the exact place where the dark elves had disappeared the moment Sarvel gave his signal.
I really can't sense anything...
They weren't merely hidden from sight.
A dark elf's [Stealth] was a racial ability that concealed not only appearance, but also presence and mana.
Their presences were naturally faint to begin with.
Once hidden, even high-rank mana users would have difficulty identifying their locations.
If [Stealth] was all they had, the Silvaris Federation wouldn't have given up on exterminating them.
The real problem was their organization.
Dark elves weren't simply a combat race.
They divided themselves into specific roles.
Commanders.
Drivers.
Squads.
Underground units.
They captured their targets through organized hunts.
They were hunters in the truest sense.
Their coordination was so smooth that not only escorts, but even most high-rank magical beasts could be killed in moments.
That's why such a vast territory ended up becoming lawless.
The exchanges throughout the forest had eventually banded together for the same reason.
Countless exchanges stood at the four entrances to Vernas Forest, east, west, north, and south.
Originally, they had cared only about their own profits.
But if they wanted to survive dark elf hunts, cooperation was necessary.
And so the Vernas Exchange Union had been born.
Dominic is the leader of the eastern entrance, if I remember correctly.
With the leaders of each entrance at its center, the Vernas Exchange Union gradually built a proper organization.
They kept records of escorts entering and leaving the forest.
They established communication systems that could always be reached.
They secured relatively safe paths.
They cleared open spaces throughout the forest and built temporary shelters.
It was also the Union that established hunting seasons and adjusted escort prices accordingly.
They had done everything they could to keep escorts from dying while doing their jobs.
Yet despite all those efforts, Vernas Forest was still called a lawless region.
People disappear every month. What else could anyone call it?
They called them disappearances.
But everyone knew whose stomachs those missing people had probably ended up inside.
The merchant shuddered as he remembered the dark elf talking about tender young meat.
In any case...
That was everything he knew.
He had unwillingly become involved in something as horrifying as smuggling mana crystals.
Naturally, he had desperately gathered whatever information he could in hopes of surviving.
And yet...
Damn it! Who the hell is that boy?!
The strangest thing of all was that the dark elves, who were supposed to be the rulers of Vernas Forest, were nervous around him.
This situation hadn't been part of anyone's calculations.
Unfortunately, being outside the calculations didn't give the merchant many options.
All he could do was choose between two possibilities.
Should he throw himself at Kaian's feet and claim he'd been threatened into cooperating?
Or should he stay on the dark elves' side and cheer them on?
Common sense said begging the boy for his life was a ridiculous gamble.
He's young.
He's outnumbered.
And this forest is the dark elves' home territory.
So why couldn't the merchant make the obvious decision?
Because of instinct.
The same instinct that had kept him alive this long.
And the dark elves' reactions supported it.
It's strange! Why?! Why are those vicious monsters frightened?! Why are they nervous in front of a kid?!
Of course, Kaian was exceptionally talented with magic for his age.
But to the merchant, he still looked like a cheerful young boy.
So cheerful, in fact, that the merchant's trust in the dark elves dropped sharply the moment they called him a reaper.
I don't know.
I have no idea what I'm supposed to do.
The merchant sighed and looked at the sky.
Then he froze.
The cheerful boy they called the Reaper was humming in midair.
Am I hallucinating?
The merchant narrowed his eyes and looked again.
Kaian became clearer.
And then...
That crazy brat!
Kaian was dancing.
"Ji-hwa-ja! Wonderful! What a harvest! What a harvest!"
"Ha... hahaha. Maybe I really am dreaming..."
The merchant unconsciously muttered aloud.
Sarvel immediately glared at him.
The murderous look made every hair on the merchant's body stand up.
Eek!
Considering that reaction, this probably wasn't a dream.
And yet...
Everything in front of him still felt like some strange nightmare he desperately wished he could forget.
***
Meanwhile, Kaian also felt like he was dreaming.
He still needed eight gold for tuition.
That was eight gold short just for tuition, without even considering all the other expenses waiting for him.
And then a highest-rank request had suddenly appeared.
That alone was enough to make him bow toward mana in gratitude.
But then...
Suddenly!
A whole group of dark elves, each likely worth at least ten silver in bounty money, had practically rolled into his lap.
Ten silver per head, dead or alive!
His luck was unbelievable.
