I remained motionless, surprised to hear a familiar — or rather understandable — word.
(It doesn't seem like I ever learned a fantasy language at any point in my life, and yet I understand it. As if something inside me recognizes this language.)
I took another look at the girl.
"The first human I believe I'm capable of communicating with appears to be a young girl around eighteen years old."
But the main distinguishing feature is that she's not human, but rather an elf — or more precisely, a half-elf. Her ears are shorter than a full elf's.
She has fairly short blonde hair, orange eyes, fair skin, and she seems rather well-endowed, though more lightly equipped than the previous men. She looks like a younger version of—
But let's return to something more important than the face of our alleged voyeur: hearing what I suspect is English in a fantasy world (assuming I heard her correctly).
I decided to test the waters by asking another question to clarify the situation.
"Are you okay?" I asked, trying to appear as friendly as possible, which would also clarify one of my doubts.
But she seemed lost in her own thoughts, staring at me with wide eyes.
"Ahhhhh, uhhh, I think so," she replied, scratching her head.
"At least it seems I didn't hurt you too much. I thought a monster was hiding in the trees just now."
I held out my hand to help her up, waving at Ivy behind me. She scanned the area before nodding.
(So there's no one else around, huh? At least I can focus on the girl in front of me.)
I was thinking for a moment when I noticed her covering her face, blocking her vision, and pointing at me.
(Damn, I'm naked right now.)
"Could you put your clothes back on?" she asked in an embarrassed voice, which is rather bold of her considering she didn't hesitate to take advantage of the view earlier…
"Ivy, keep an eye on her until I get back."
I gave her one last look before going to retrieve my outfit from the shore. The two men were still unconscious. My clothes had dried enough, so I put them back on.
(Now that I'm sure the language used is practically English, we can put aside the topic of communication for the moment.)
On my way back, I noticed the girl kneeling with her arms resting on her thighs, staring in fascination at Ivy's feet. She was holding what appeared to be a notebook and pencil.
After successfully interacting with her, I learned some interesting information. First, her name is Sarah, and she lives in a nearby village.
She explained that earlier this morning, she and her scout team had spotted a large amount of blood in the area and initially saw me as a dangerous monster anomaly.
Now that the situation had been explained, she seemed much more at ease and quite friendly. I also introduced Ivy to her to prevent any future misunderstandings.
To summarize: I got lost in the forest, was attacked by a horde of monsters and encountered scouts. After half an hour of chatting, I managed to obtain important information, including confirmation that the language we speak is indeed Elvish.
We are currently walking toward the village, whose walls I can finally see. And I was truly happy — finally, civilization, even if it's just a village lost in the forest.
At the entrance, Sarah went ahead to inform them of the general situation. In less than a minute, two men came toward me and picked up the two unconscious men Ivy had thrown to the ground.
"I will take care of them. Can you make your way toward that post, Mister?"
Slightly surprised by the formal address, I simply nodded and headed in the indicated direction.
"Please stop there!" one guard said, looking at me.
I had already stopped and was about to speak.
"Hello there, let me introduce myself. Lucas Alton. I would like to know if I can stay in this village for a short time."
I made sure to give the most charming smile I could.
It wasn't in vain, as I heard some exclamations nearby.
"An Elf!" one of the guards exclaimed. He had apparently never seen one before.
The other guard appeared calmer and sighed.
"Fine, sir. Now, would you please write your name and pay the fee?" he asked.
"Ohhh, I don't really have any money right now—"
He looked like he was about to say something unpleasant, so I quickly placed some goblin magic stones on the counter.
"—but I do have some magic stones from the monsters in the area. Is there an exchange house in this village?"
He seemed surprised by my declaration but still took five magic stones before continuing his questions.
I nodded, and suddenly I noticed the other guard still staring at me. With an awkward cough, the second guard snapped him out of his trance.
"Jason! Why are you staring at him?! Don't you know it's rude? He's an Elf! Their kind are always peculiar. If you stare at them, he might punch you in the gut!" the second guard said. His name was Marthon.
"Marthon, can you blame me? Look at his brown hair and pink eyes! I've never seen someone as handsome as him in my entire life!" Jason replied.
My eyelids twitched at their conversation, and I coughed to interrupt them.
Meanwhile, Ivy didn't seem to care at all and simply looked around with a bored expression.
Inside the entrance, the guard sat behind a wooden table with a book and a quill.
"Sir, what is your name?" he asked.
"Luc," I replied shortly, and he quickly wrote it down.
"Race: Elf. Age— Never mind. Now, sir, the reason for your entry is to stay here, correct?"
I nodded.
"For how long?" Marthon asked.
"I don't know exactly, but it shouldn't be very long. I would like to rest here for two or three days," I replied.
He nodded casually, though the other guard still seemed surprised.
After writing everything down, he said, "Sir, head toward the center of the village. You will find an inn there."
I nodded and thanked them.
After briefly looking around the village, I made my way toward the inn and saw Sarah there. She had already managed to rent us a room.
Finally, after putting Ivy back into her Poké Ball, I stretched out comfortably on the bed.
— END —
This chapter isn't perfect, but I think it will do for now.
Now give me your STOOOOONE!!!!!!!