Volume 4 Chapter 4 Zain's Hometown
Cain looked in the direction the arrow had come from. Before he realized it, a group of more than ten armed elves had surrounded them. Right away, Cain raised both hands to show he meant no harm.
"Wait! I'm Zain da Fontana! Tell the chief, Dadana da Fontana, that Zain has come home!"
The elves looked shaken when they heard Zain's words. Two or three of them ran off into the woods. One elf, who looked like the leader, stepped forward and gave a sharp command.
"You over there! If you don't mean harm, then disarm slowly! If we see even a little sign of attack, we'll strike all at once! Hurry!"
The last part was shouted with a heavy tone, full of pressure.
"Everyone, let's do what they say for now. I'm sorry, but please lower your tone. We'll disarm right away. Ms. Merida looks like she's in pain."
Cain gave Barvish and Gardy a quick order and asked for mercy for Merida's sake.
"Shut up! Disarm first! Hurry!"
The elf yelled louder than before, though it was not clear what had him so worked up.
Barvish and Gardy slowly removed their weapons and placed them on the ground. Next to them, Zain did the same, placing his slender sword down gently.
Once the elf saw that everyone had disarmed, he eased up a bit. At the same time, Ms. Merida collapsed onto the ground.
"Merida! Are you all right?" Mr. Zain called out, clearly worried. But he couldn't go to her. If he moved now, they might think he was attacking and strike.
While they were nervously waiting, a group of elves on horseback appeared from deep in the forest. Leading them was a strikingly handsome elf with blond hair tied in a ponytail and an eyepatch covering one eye.
"I heard Zain was calling, so I came... Oh! It really is you, Zain! Welcome back! Has it been 200 years? You're safe now, everyone."
The good-looking elf with the eyepatch walked straight up to Mr. Zain, ignoring the others who tried to hold him back.
"Father, I've just returned. These people helped me get here. And this is my partner, Merida."
"Welcome back, my son. And welcome to the World Tree Forest, home of the High Elves."
"Father? Son? High Elf? World Tree Forest!?"
"Whaaat?!"
Cain and the others all shouted in shock at what they just heard.
* * *
"I'm sorry, everyone. I should've told you sooner. I'm really sorry."
Mr. Zain bowed his head and spoke with a sad, serious look.
Cain and the group were soon invited by Chief Dadana to sit down in a guest room inside his home. They sat on soft sofas and drank tea.
The High Elf village had homes made from living trees. Big trees stood tall, and their hollow trunks had been turned into rooms—like treehouses, but much larger.
Not all the homes were made from trees, though. Some were normal houses. Zain explained that fire couldn't be used inside the trees, so normal buildings were used for things like blacksmithing or cooking.
The tea was not the usual kind they drank. Based on Earth knowledge, it tasted like cool, minty tea. The sweets served with the tea were honey-filled cookies, kind of like sable cookies. They were very sweet but went well with the mint tea.
Chief Dadana had stepped out, saying there was work to take care of.
"Mr. Zain, I'd like to check our plans from here on. Also, could you tell us about any inns nearby?"
"Inns? There are a few, but stay here tonight. I want to introduce you to my family, and Dadana said he wants to hear about the outside world. He also wants to have dinner with you."
"That sounds great. I'd be happy to join, but please don't make it a big deal. Also, I should've asked this first—how far is this place from the Count Shield Territory?"
Cain looked outside the wooden window as he asked.
"Let's start with that. This World Tree Forest is at the edge of the Dana Continent. From Margrave Shield's land, it takes about three years by wagon."
""Dana Continent...?""
Barvish and Lala spoke at the same time. Cain didn't know the name either, so he asked.
"Yes. It's across two seas from the continent where Count Shield's land is. Like the name says, this forest has the World Tree inside. Because of that, we almost never have contact with the outside."
Mr. Zain said something amazing like it was nothing.
Cain just thought, "Wow, this world has a World Tree, huh," but Barvish and Lala were shocked.
"Lord Zain! Don't say such big things like they're small matters! We've only heard of the World Tree Forest through stories. What if we can't get back!?"
Barvish grabbed his head and groaned.
"It's fine, Barvish. We can go home fast with a teleport magic tool, right? And seeing the World Tree is a really rare thing. Let's just enjoy it, okay?"
Cain tried to cheer up Barvish, who was starting to panic.
While they were talking, someone knocked on the door. Zain gave permission to enter. A beautiful elf woman stood there.
"Zain, welcome back! How have you been?"
Before she even finished her words, she rushed up and hugged Mr. Zain.
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