Elves. A race that lived deep in the Silevea forest. This forest was located in the northwest region as well as the border of the Vadian Empire and the Ruvalon Kingdom.
Physically, the elves were similar to humans. The only things different were their long pointed ears and their extremely beautiful faces.
The information about elves was really limited because they were rarely in contact with humans if it wasn't necessary. They lived quietly in their forest with other living beings.
"So why did an elf steal the food here?"
Zoella mumbled. The elf in front of them was still sleeping soundly. It looks like Hayes hit him harder than he thought.
"And what should we say to the villagers?"
Hayes was about to answer Zoella before a groan was heard.
"Ugh..."
The elf's eyelids fluttered trying to open themselves. A pair of bright yellow eyes were revealed. For a second, Zoella held her breath unconsciously.
When his eyes opened perfectly, he was startled to see two humans before his eyes. Moreover, he couldn't move at all because Hayes had tied him.
"Oh, he's up."
The elf glared at Zoella as he gritted his teeth. He wriggled his body and tried to escape the rope but it was useless.
"Release me!"
"Woah, why don't you calm down first? And then we'll talk."
"Talk? Do you think I will talk to a barbaric human like you?"
Zoella stared at him with her left eye twitching. This was the first time someone ever called her barbaric.
She stood up with her arms folded and said,
"Oh yeah? And what kind of idiot steal from the barbaric human, huh? Oh right, it's you."
"I'm not! I'm just taking from nature. It's not owned by anyone!"
DUAK!
A bump appeared on the elf's head and his eyes were teary. Hayes smacked him really hard that the elf felt like fainting again.
"We're done with your bullshit here. Just tell us why did you steal?"
"Hmph!"
The elf looked away from them not wanting to answer. Hayes and Zoella looked at each other before a devilish smile appeared on their faces.
"Oh well, it can't be helped. We'll just hand you over to the villagers."
The elf's ears perked at Hayes's voice.
"Our job to capture you is done. So from now on, it's up to the villagers what they will do to you."
"NO!"
The elf shouted. He looked at Hayes and Zoella with tearful eyes as if he was begging them not to hand him to the villagers.
He was aware that the problem would be bigger if these two people gave him to the village. His people would also be in danger if that were the case.
"Then answer my teacher's question."
The elf lowered his gaze. He looked hesitant to answer the question. Neither Hayes nor Zoella rushed him to speak. They waited patiently until the elf was ready.
"We need it. We have no choice but to steal."
Hayes frowned at his answer. For as long as he knew, the Silevea forest was a forest with abundant plants and animals. Thus, there would be no way the elves needed to go as far as to steal to survive.
Something told him that there was something wrong with this situation. At that moment, Hayes had decided.
"Explain the rest tomorrow on our way. We will spend the night here but we can't release you. Just play along until then."
"Teacher, what are you planning?"
"We'll go to his forest. There is something I need to check."
"Who said I agree to that?"
"Take it or we'll throw you to the villagers."
The elf shut his mouth after he heard Zoella's threat. And so, the three of them spent the rest of the day at the inn.
In the morning, Hayes and Zoella went to the village's chief with the elf as their hostage. However, it would cause trouble if the villagers found out that the thief was an elf. So Zoella covered him completely with a robe and hood with his body still tied up.
"We will hand him over to the guild. They will know what to do."
"Thank you so much for accepting our request. Ah, here's the payment."
The chief gave Hayes a bag of money.
Hayes and Zoella bowed as they took their leave. After the village was far enough from their eyesight, Zoella released the elf from the rope.
Now that she looked at him closely, their height wasn't that different so maybe she and the elf were close in age.
Compared to his shabby appearance yesterday, the elf now looked fresh because Hayes told him to take a bath. He was also kind enough to share his meal with the elf.
"Explain now. What happened to the Silevea forest?"
Hayes asked as he continued to walk. In all honesty, the elf didn't want to tell them about the situation in his forest. However, he was also in debt because they already helped him.
"As you might already know, the Silevea forest was known as an enchanted forest. There were a lot of plants, animals, and even wild beasts. But somehow when the winter was about to end, the plants dried out and the animals died suddenly. We don't know why this is happening. We lost our food source."
"That's really weird."
Hayes knew that there was something special within the Silevea forest that make the living things in it live longer than average. A sudden death like this wouldn't happen unless there was interference.
However, humans never went to the Silevea forest as it was a secluded place. It was also really far that Hayes thought they would at least arrive in four days.
Unlike Hayes who was deep in thought, Zoella didn't really understand what the elf was saying.
All she knew was the elves were a brilliant race and didn't like to be in contact with humans. This was also her first time hearing about the Silevea forest.
"Anyway, you... what's your name again?"
Zoella asked the elf. She didn't realize that the elf never gave them his name.
"It's Tyrael."
"I'm Zoella and he's my teacher, Hayes."
"Say, how did you come to that village when the distance is so far?"
Hayes let out his voice again after he fell silent for some time. Tyrael looked around to make sure there was no one around them.
"This way."
Tyrael led them to a cave. As they entered the cave, Zoella could see a familiar pattern on a flat stone.
She was certain after she looked at it closely. It was the same thing as the one beside the mercenary guild's building.
"Magic circle."
Zoella said in awe whilst she kneeled to observe the stone.
"Yes. The other pair is located near our forest. Strangely enough, we don't need mana to activate it."
Hayes also knelt beside Zoella and touched the stone. He closed his eyes for a moment. Hayes grinned after he felt mana beneath the stone. He was astonished by the person who had this idea.
The elves couldn't do magic at all. So it was impossible for them to perform the teleportation magic. But that person came up with the idea of channeling mana stone to the magic circle so the elves wouldn't need any mana to activate it.
"That old man. I should thank him after we get back."
Hayes mumbled. Within the stone, he could feel a little bit of Edwin's mana. There was no doubt that his teacher was the one who made this.
He also remembered that Edwin once mentioned that he had an elf as a friend. But Hayes didn't believe him back then.
"Alright then. Let's go."
The three stepped onto the stone and within a second their surroundings changed. The dark and humid cave scenery turned into a beautiful bluish forest.
"Welcome... to Silevea forest."