I sighed and sat down on my wooden chair in the inn room that I rented.
Despite making an exception to trust my word on being quiet about the matter of slaves due to Inari's presence, he still didn't trust me enough for me to help his cause.
"Still, does he expect me to just stay out of the Elves' business just because he said to? I got the power to help innocent people, so I'm gonna do it anyway. Right, Inari?"
"Kyuun! Kyu-kyuuun!!" Inari yelped in excited agreement, her mouth stained red with strawberry juices.
"Fufufu~ I'm glad you're enjoying the berries~" I stroke Inari's ears as she continued stuffing her face. I glanced at the bright moon in the sky and smiled.
"Let's go on a little trip tomorrow, eh, Inari?"
I slept with a good conscious and a warm fluff ball on my chest, waking up early in the morning to do my business.
I left the city with a map in hand and headed right towards the elven forest, called the 'Great Canada Forest' officially.
Canada… like my home country's northern neighbor? I wouldn't know because it's spelled in this world's language. It may just be a phonetic coincidence.
"These woods are a lot thicker… probably because humans haven't thinned them out to make houses out of the trees…" I observed.
"Now… the easy part of getting in the forest is complete, but the hard part is actually finding some slavers in the act…"
Inari, seemingly wanting to help, was sniffing around for clues when she suddenly growled.
She was all puffed up, standing in front of a streak of spilt blood, but her attention was further inside the forest.
"Ahahah!! That's what you get for not listening!"
I barely heard them since they were so far ahead. That was a male's voice and it had a sadistic tone to it. Am I really that lucky to come across them so soon…?
"Come on, Inari. Let's go in quietly."
As quickly and as quietly as I could, I snooped through the forest, soon arriving at a more open spot.
"Aahh!!" The shrill shriek of a little girl echoed through the forest, creating a wave of fury within me.
"I said no running away, didn't I?! Hey, get a collar and a gag on her!"
"Yes, Sir!"
I peeked through the brush and saw a little elven girl being dragged across the forest ground by her hair as she kicked and screamed.
"Damn. Another brat! Here I went through all the effort to get to this stupid forest… How am I supposed to enjoy myself with these little snots?!"
The ugly man with an even uglier bowl cut threw the child inside the caged wagon, another elf girl inside giving him an angry look.
"Huh? What the hell kinda look do you think you're giving me? Don't you understand…" He pressed the tip of his rapier to her thigh.
"…What kind of position you're in here?!"
The sword stabbed into her thigh, causing the gagged girl to let out a silent scream, while the other Elbe children inside began crying.
I was in shock. Not from disbelief, as I had an inkling that slavery was an inevitable thing in a fantasy world…
I was in shock at how angry I felt. To the point of stillness, I was frozen in place by my own fury.
"Bwahahah!!!"
But, the Scum's ugly laugh pulled me out of my trance.
I stood up and silently drew my sword. "Hide, Inari."
The fox understood the need to be silent and simply hopped off my shoulder and waited behind a bush.
"Hey, the tarp fell off the cart! Get it back on, pronto!"
I took one step, but hesitated. Even with my speed, there is a small chance that one of them may take a child hostage. I can't be reckless here…
Before I could even make a plan of action, the brushes far to the right of me rustled and out came a female elven woman.
Her sword tip pointed at the slavers, "That is as far as you go! Release the children at once!"
Who the hell?!
No, I should have expected this! No way is there gonna be some blatant kidnapping in the Elve forest without an elf knowing, or even coming across it!
The slavers seemed to be ready for battle and immediately surrounded the elf woman. One of them was so confident as to approach her without his weapon drawn.
Idiot. Even I could tell this woman is fairly strong.
"That's pretty ballsy of you, Elf Girlie. But ya see… there's a whole twenty of us. We might~ forgive your little outburst if you're willing to make it up to us." The man stared directly at the woman's exposed cleavage as he came close to her, reached out a hand to grab her breast.
"Don't worry, we'll take good care of yo—?!"
Before he could touch her, she swung her sword up and sliced off his hand.
"Ahhh!! My arm!"
In an instant, before anyone else could react, she slashed and stabbed her way closer to the caged wagon, skillfully dealing with fifteen of the men with ease.
But the Ugly one with the bowl cut wised up and took one of the children hostage. Just like I knew would happen…
"D-don't move! Be a good girl and give up! Now!!" He held the child through the bars and pressed the edge of his blade against her neck.
"Otherwise, who knows what'll happen to her?!"
The child let out a muffled scream as the blade started digging into her skin.
"You'd use a child as a shield?! You're not just a savage, you're a coward!!" The woman shouted in anger.
"Shut the hell up! If you even think of fighting back, they'll all be full of holes before you could even reach me! Bwahahah!!"
The woman begrudgingly lowered her sword, not wanting any more harm to come to the elven children.
The Ugly bowl cut laughed with glee and commanded his underlings, "Someone get that Dark Elf tied up! It's not often something so rare falls right into my lap!! Bwahahah!"
They've lowered their guard, and the five guards that are left have bunched up nicely around the capable elven woman.
"Looks like you need a little helping hand! Allow me to render aid!" I shouted as I sprinted out of the brush, using Monsterous Strength to boost my high speed even further.
I don't want to spill any blood right next to the children, so I refrain from using my sword. Instead, I broke his sword and launched that Ugly bowl cut far into the sky.
"Homerun!"
The woman masterfully deals with the remaining slavers, so I quickly bend the bars of the cage open.
"Don't worry, girls! I'll get you outta there right away!"
"Don't move!"
The woman pointed her sword at me and I raised my hand, showing no indication of wanting to fight.
"I'm not a suspicious person! Just an Adventurer who happened to see some children in dire straits!" I pleaded my innocence.
"I appreciate the help, but you're still a human… how do I know you're not some rival looking to crush competition?"
"Hey, that's not an accusation I'll let slide, lady! I'll have you know that I detest—?!"
Before I could profess my righteousness, Inari ran out of the bushes and pounced on my face, muffling my voice and causing me to get a mouthful of fur.
"A Ventuvulpis?!"
With that cute little fox alone, I instantly gain some level of trust with the elven woman.
We continue to break open the cage and slowly and carefully let down the roughed-up children.
"Those cruel bastards… they even used these." The woman placed her fingertips against the collars on the children's necks.
"What? What are those?" I asked.
"Mana Eater collars. They prevent the wearer from using spirit magic— a specialty of the elves."
She sighed and looked sadly at the girls. "So that's why you couldn't run away, huh? What am I gonna do…? I don't know any magic that could free them…"
I look at the collar and sense some magic in it.
Astolfo isn't technically a magic user, but… I have something that could definitely counter any magic with me. I didn't think I'd use it for the first time for something like this.
"I have a solution, I think…" I take a knee in front of one of the girls and summon the magical book gifted to Astolfo by the Witch named Logistilla.
Casseur de Logistille. The Breaker of Logic. A magic book that contains the records of the means to shatter any magic spell. I wonder if it would work in this world?
"A book…? What are you—!!"
The book shone golden and a beam of light shot at the collar, destroying it completely.
"It worked! Let's free all of you and heal you up with some of my potions!" I happily cheered, bringing out several high potions from my bag and pouring them over the girls' wounds.
The wounds disappeared the same way they did for Inari and the children smiled and giggled in relief.
"I feel so much better!" One of them stated happily.
The elf woman looked at me incredulously at my actions.
"…Here I thought you were a warrior with that incredible strength and speed of yours, but to think you're also a sorcerer…"
I laughed at her misunderstanding and shook my head while pointing at my book.
"No, no… this book is simply an artifact gifted to me by a friend. It's able to dispel any magic it has a record of. I'm just a regular traveling Knight!"
And I'm lucky it seems to have records of this world's magic, too.
"Thank you, Miss Knight!" The children cheered as they crowded around me. So cute~.
"Aw~ It was nothing! If I were to see anything bad happen to children, it's only natural for me to strike the bad people down and save them!"
After making sure the children were 100% okay, the woman sent them back home on their own, as they could now use their spirit magic freely to hide themselves.
She turned to me and smiled. As she walked a bit closer to me, I noticed that she was taller than me.
I guess she would be… she's an Elf, after all. Luckily, she's only taller by about 4 or 5 inches, so I don't have to crane my neck up or anything.
"I honestly never imagined there were humans like you. I've always been told you were all dangerous savages, but the fact that a spirit beast bonded to you…"
I scratched the back of my head and smiled bashfully at her positive statement about me.
"Eh~ I don't know if you should use me as an example of the usual human. I feel like I'm an exception in this world."
In more ways than one, I am an exception to the world. Literally.
The woman put a hand to her large chest and bowed her head slightly, "Thank you again for your help. My bae is Ariane Glenys Maple, an Elven Warrior."
I hit my own chest with a closed fist and grinned, introducing myself and the fox, "I'm Astolfo, the Adventurous Knight and currently working as a Mercenary! And this little one is Inari!"
"Kyuu!"
After our introductions, I immediately got the money from the bodies as Ariane looked at me with a slightly confused expression.
"You need money to get by in the human world, and these guys don't need it anymore! What, do elves not use currency?" I explained my actions to the confused elf.
"Of course we do!" Ariane replied.
She walked up to the looted bodies and muttered a spell. After she placed her hand on the ground, the bodies were swallowed by the earth and became fertilizer for the forest.
"Cool~!" I awed.
Man, I wish I could use magic. I wonder if I could learn how to cast spells?
Ariane just smiles at my excitement but gets distracted by a falling feather. A hawk swooped down and landed on her outstretched arm and began talking.
"[We've received a report from Danka. He's found their base in Diento. I want you to meet up with him and save our brethren.]"
Ariane gave the bird a treat while she explained to me, "This is a Whispering Fowl. A spirit creature. We use these cute fellows to send messages across the forest."
The Whispering Fowl looked at Ariane, waiting for her reply to the message. "I've rescued all four children. I will be heading to Diento to meet up with Danka."
She swung her arm up and the bird immediately flew high into the sky and back towards whoever first sent the message.
"That should do it."
I nodded. "They seem incredibly useful. It's a blessing for you guys to have them."
Ariane agreed with a chuckle, looking at Inari, who was busy playing with my pink hair and rubbing her flank against my cheek.
"It's pretty much impossible for spirit beasts to get along with humans, so it's a form of high-speed communication only elves can use."
"I see."
Humans in this world are that shitty, huh? I guess it isn't very surprising. Though, Marca and her family are good people.
"Hey, Astolfo… You said you're working as a mercenary, right? What… what do you say to letting me hire you?"
"Deal!" I agreed to her terms without even waiting for her to finish her sentence.
Ariane flinched at my eagerness and shook her head, "Wait, I didn't even give you a price or even any information on what the job is?"
I took an eager step forward and smiled widely. There's no way I wouldn't take a job from such a beautiful woman.
"Doesn't matter! I can already guess what you want help with, and I gladly accept! Ah… wait…"
My enthusiasm settles down a bit as I realize that I may make her allies a bit uncomfortable since I'm a human.
"Would your friends mind having me help?"
Ariane shook her head at my question. "They won't trust just any human. But not only have you bonded closely with a spirit beast, you went out of your way to save those children without gaining anything in return. I know I can trust you, at least."
She looked at me right in the eyes as she said this, her gaze looking down at me as she took a step forward with a smile.
I feel my cheeks getting hotter as an obvious blush hits my face like a train.
I panic a bit and look away, holding my cheeks in both hands. "Aw~ St-stop~ your making me blush~"
Ariane held her hand out and giggled at my reaction. "Will you help me… Save my people, Astolfo?"
I recovered from my embarrassment and took hold of her soft hand. "Of course! As of this moment, Knight Astolfo is yours to command!"