It isn't that I can't fight four of the elves at once. Of course I can. I can probably take fifty elves. Eventually. But in a forest that's poised to attack as well, with a potentially actually dangerous trump card they can pull, and simply a sword of my own, there's no good way to ensure they're all focused on me and not on the others here. I don't need System Helper's unhelpful chirping to know how dangerous that situation would be for the people who aren't elves in this forest. I have no obligation to any of them, that's true. Especially not to protect them.
But I'd feel bad about doing something that directly led to their deaths recklessly. Demon King not included - they're the ones demanding that they come along on what for them will no doubt be a suicide mission eventually. But for this. This is...better not to kick the nest without any idea what happens once I do.
There's a brief, tense standoff between Kael and the others.
Finally the original elf speaks again. "...Our queen demanded your audience before I could send you away. She does not wish now to be kept waiting."
Did she demand it just now? In silence? I squint at the elf, as if that will grant me any answers to his weird, vague comments. He wouldn't be much elf-like if he were so easy to understand, I suppose. Regardless, it's obvious what's happening. And kind of an insult. I can tell a side-quest set up when I see one. And I don't particularly care for it. Enforced detours like this are rarely actually worth the time they take away from the main quest. And I probably can't just attack the elf queen and skip it.
Probably. This feels more like an antagonistic quest giver than an actual enemy situation. Which is the worst kind of side quest, in my opinion. You never really get a say when the NPC is pulling double duty as would-be antagonist and quest giver. At least it looks like the elves are going to let us keep the horses. I thought they would probably insist we leave them behind or return them to a town, but I guess they're worried that will take too long. Or maybe I'm just being a bit too pessimistic about this side quest. Perhaps it will actually be something good - like hunting down that dangerous monster of theirs.
Either way, they lead us through the woods, the path underfoot changing to a cobbled one. The forest opens up into a clearing where a large stone structure rests. It's an interesting mix of carved rock and natural tree trunks and branches. The effect makes it seem like it's a living thing rather than just a building.
Overall, it's just the kind of thing I'd expect from an elf house. But it looks more impressive in person than I've seen rendered in games and the like before. The inside of the house has a very open plan, with light streaming through windows and the gaps between the branches that make up the ceiling.
There's no real furniture or decoration, but I can see some elves here and there, and they all wear clothing that's obviously well-made and elaborate, but in a very natural looking way. It's sort of like they're wearing leaves and flowers as clothes - at least some of them definitely are - but they've been made in such a manner and wrapped around their bodies in a fashionable way. It's not like they just glued leaves and twigs around and left it at that.
Not that I'm any kind of fashion expert.
The elves lead us down the hall to a room with a large throne made from roots and branches, with a woman seated on the chair.
She's got long, dark green hair and eyes, and wears an elegant dress of dark green and gold. Her face is pretty, but cold. The moment we enter the room, she looks at us with a sharp gaze. "You have entered our forest uninvited. Explain yourselves."
"Your forest doesn't have any markers or signs in it." I sigh. "We didn't know it was yours. We just wandered in by accident. We were trying to leave, but you kept extending the forest and making it bigger. Why?"
She stares at us for a long moment, before her gaze moves to Kael and then finally settles on Arin. "...Kael. Why do you bring outsiders here? And why is Arin with you?"
"I thought we were done talking." He says, voice tight, and he crosses his arms over his chest. "You've got plenty of others here to talk to, don't you?"
Well, that's just incredibly unhelpful. But I suppose I can't really blame him for it. I'm not exactly thrilled with having to go through the introductory dialog before we get assigned whatever quest, either.
Her eyes narrow slightly and she purses her lips. She's staring at Kael hard enough that I can't help but feel she's about to leap up and start a boss encounter at any moment. "I suppose we are."
She doesn't jump up yet, though. Whatever it is that's being communicated between the two of them in silence - perhaps literally, if she somehow communicated with that random soldier of hers earlier telepathically - she's not yet elevated this into a physical fight. That's more of a good thing for the hapless people standing in my orbit than for me, but fighting my way out of this place with just a sword would probably take longer than just doing whatever the side quest is.
I hope.
She turns to me. "What business do you have in these woods?" She ignored my response a moment ago. Now she wants an answer from me?
"I just said. Nothing. We're just passing through it." I shrug. "Couldn't care less what is or isn't your territory, but you can't expect people to respect it if you don't even let anyone know it's there until it's too late."
Her eyes flash and the temperature of the air seems to drop several degrees. "It is not for humans to dictate to us how we must defend ourselves."
She's probably right. I'm just. Not sure how to express that I don't care. Perhaps I should just be blunt and straightforward. It's worked out well for me so far. In this life and my past one. "...I'm just trying to get to the Demon King's lands. I don't really care about yours, so if you can just let us pass-"
"You intend to face down the Demon King?"
"More or less. I'm told it should be a good fight."
The elves all stare at me. It's a very long, drawn out silence. Even System Helper doesn't say anything, although I'm sure that's a short lived reprieve. She's been quiet too long now. It's sure not to last much longer.
"Then you are mad. The Demon King is a monster beyond compare. The only hope to deal with his might is to hide from his sight."
Yeah. That's the whole reason I'm looking for him. That kind of talk. That kind of hype.
"I'm not going to hide. I'm going to kill him. It's a waste of time to run around and do side quests when the boss is already unlocked."
The queen shakes her head slowly. "You are a fool. You will not leave this forest."
"What?!" That's Elara. She's been quiet all this time. "But you can't do that! We didn't do anything wrong!"
The queen's eyes narrow once more. That knife-like gaze focuses on Elara now, instead of me. "You have trespassed on our sacred land without permission, and your leader has declared his intention to face the Demon King, which shall only provoke him and cause grief to our people."
...Okay then, it's an indirect quest. The most annoying kind of forced side quest - arrest and break out. Easy enough to deal with. I can always bust down the door and-
"Master, your companions will all die if you do that. They're really not as strong as you."
Well.
Shit.
"Ryo, please. Let me handle this." Arin steps forward, his expression grave. He bows deeply to the queen. "Queen Liyana, I beseech you to let us go free. Show us mercy, for we mean no harm to anyone here, and we have no wish to remain in this place."
Liyana scoffs. "To aggravate the Demon King is to bring his wrath upon the people. Whether you mean it to be harm or not, harm will come all the same."
"No it won't. We'll just kill him."
Liyana does not appear to appreciate my interjection. Her lips twist into a scowl and she leans back in her chair, waving a hand dismissively. "Enough. I tire of your foolishness."
Alright. So. Whatever that charm ability is, it doesn't let me sway annoying NPCs out of required quests. Of course it doesn't. This world is tooled to be as annoying as possible, clearly, and this is just one of those railroad quests where choices are illusion. I'm not a fan, but I'm not going to get myself trapped forever because of this.
I rub my forehead with my fingers. Killing them all will get everyone around me killed. Again, I am not exactly comfortable directly getting them killed knowing that is the consequence. So that ties my hands a bit.
"Alright. What can I do. To prove to you. I can kill the Demon King?"
Granted, the whole point is that he's supposed to be outmatching me so I can get an actual challenge. But I can't think of any better suggestion that doesn't result in my walking away from this place as the only living thing left. I'd really rather not just start wiping out whole villages. That's the kind of excess that you always regret later on.
The woman stares at me for a long moment.
More than a moment, actually. The silence stretches on so long that even I feel awkward.