Asilla Banell followed the dark night road toward the city gates.
It had already been fifty years since she had been recognized for her skills at a relatively young age and had become the leader of the Third Reconnaissance Squad belonging to the Capital Defense Forces.
The reconnaissance squad she belonged to was in charge of District 14, and their main mission was to monitor those passing through the district, investigate abnormal phenomena in the forest, and identify the number of magical beasts.
Asilla was busy with various preparations for the upcoming mission, but even so, she was troubled by a rumor she had heard during the day.
The rumor was that the humans outside the Great Forest thought of the rangers of the reconnaissance squad as murderous madmen who would kill any human they saw.
If one thought about it for a moment, one could see that it was a misunderstanding, but on the other hand, she could not deny that the situation was such that such rumors could circulate.
Currently, Pelledia was facing a great war.
It was only natural that the international situation, which had been transformed by the declaration of war by the Northern Empire, a powerful nation that dominated the continent, had a negative impact on the domestic situation, and that the public sentiment, which had not been good in the first place, had become ominous.
As a result, the directives within the Capital Defense Forces had no choice but to become harsher.
-Increase the level of surveillance of other races passing through the Great Forest to the highest level. If you suspect anything, you may arrest them immediately.
This was especially true for humans.
Originally, the Northern Empire was known for having little interaction with other races. Rather, among other races, the perception of the Northern Empire was close to the worst.
Therefore, even with a state of war approaching, the surveillance and response to other races was not much different from usual, but this was not the case with humans.
The vague idea that if there were ten humans passing through the Great Forest, all ten of them might be spies from the Northern Empire naturally led to harsh actions toward humans.
Therefore, Asilla sighed heavily at the current situation, in which anti-elf sentiment was smoldering on the human side and anti-human sentiment was smoldering on the elf side.
So much had changed in just 200 years.
Starting with the fall of the Goddess Church, which regarded the elves as one of the objects of faith, small and large events were darkening Pelledia's future.
And to make matters worse, now there was a war with the military powerhouse, the Northern Empire.
'…World Tree, please watch over the future of us elves.'
Asilla quietly prayed as she looked at the sacred tree of the World Tree, the largest in the Great Forest.
On a particularly bright night with a full moon rising, Asilla, as always, led her squad members to their assigned area for nighttime reconnaissance.
As she stepped on the branches and moved forward, her eyes did not miss even the slightest movement of a small animal.
Although she had not yet reached the level of an Aura Expert, her speed as an Aura User and a Lower-Grade Spiritist who could handle lower-grade wind spirits was precise and quick.
Unless she intentionally slowed down, it would be difficult for other squad members to keep up.
It was then that something strange caught her eye.
'…A tent?'
The closer she got, the clearer it became.
The more she thought about it, the stranger it was.
The 14th district, which she was in charge of, was a dangerous area where strong magical beasts often appeared, making it unsuitable as a campsite.
Even if other races lacked knowledge of the Great Forest, they would have brought a guide with them from the moment they decided to pass through this place.
But the guide didn't notice the traces of magical beasts' footprints, droppings, and territorial markings scattered around here?
That was impossible.
Asilla's eyes narrowed coldly.
In such cases, most of them were either strong people who could handle magical beasts were included in the group, or those who had to act secretly enough to spend the night in an area teeming with magical beasts.
Asilla immediately signaled her squad members.
'Pure and Brillit, flank to the left, the rest of you surround to the right.'
The most important front naturally became Asilla's responsibility. The Third Reconnaissance Squad, which quickly formed a formation, kept their tension while placing their hands on the hilts of their swords.
They even prepared emergency contact flares in case of an unforeseen situation.
"Those inside the tent, come out immediately with your weapons disarmed! You have currently trespassed into the controlled area of the Kingdom of Pelledia!"
Of course, the 14th district was not being controlled.
This was a kind of bluff. Entering an area controlled by the country was a serious matter, so if they were ordinary merchants or adventurers, they would claim their innocence and ask for forgiveness for their ignorance, rather than resist.
Asilla hoped that they would cooperate willingly. There was no need to shed blood. If they were taken to the city and proved innocent through interrogation, they would be quietly released.
But if they did not cooperate and tried to escape, then they would have no choice but to use force.
And Asilla knew better than anyone that things didn't always go the way she wanted.
Twenty seconds had passed since they surrounded the tent.
If they were really good people, they would have made a fuss in a panic, but the tent was so quiet, as if no one was there.
'…Sylphid, if someone attacks me and my friends, can you protect us?'
Sylphid, the lower-grade spirit of the wind, nodded at her question.
She had a bad feeling.
"…I'll count to three! If you don't come out by then, we'll use force…"
Swoosh-
Before Asilla's last warning could end, someone walked out of the tent.
Just in time, the clouds that had been covering the moon were blown away by the wind, and the gentle moonlight brightly illuminated the forest.
"A human…?"
The person who came out of the tent was a human male with a physique half a head taller than herself.
At that moment, Asilla's eyes narrowed.
Nine out of ten humans who entered the Great Forest at this time were commoners who didn't know anything about the international situation, but the remaining one was a spy sent by the Northern Empire.
Judging from his physique and the aura he exuded, the human in front of her was definitely not a commoner.
"…If you are surrendering, please put your hands out in front of you. If you don't resist in vain, I guarantee your safety."
This was closer to a request than a warning.
Already in Asilla's mind, Kang Hyunwoo was convinced that he was a spy from the Northern Empire or someone equivalent to it.
"Six people."
But from the fighting spirit in his eyes, it was clear that the man had no intention of surrendering.
A touch-and-go situation.
At the moment when the swords were half-drawn from the squad members' hilts, it was the human male who moved first.
A powerful wave of magical energy spread in all directions around him.
The pressure, enough to send shivers down their spines, weighed down on the Third Reconnaissance Squad, but Asilla and her squad members immediately drew their swords and ran.
They could already be praised for being excellent just for not collapsing awkwardly with their legs giving out.
However.
[Extreme Speed]
"…Huh?"
Only 0.8 seconds.
If they had been given that much time, Asilla would have blocked Kang Hyunwoo from the front, while the other four squad members would have attacked him from the side and rear, and the remaining one would have set off an emergency contact flare to prepare for any possible reinforcements from the enemy.
But Asilla couldn't even block him, let alone set off the emergency contact flare.
At the moment when a flash of light flashed under the full moon, only Asilla realized that she had been hit by something and collapsed.
That was the last moment she remembered.
***
"Is this how you tie them up roughly?"
As the night grew deeper, the elves who had surrounded the tent and threatened me and Iris, who were good citizens, became one with the trees.
At first, I had only tied the six unconscious people to tree trunks with rope a few times around, but that didn't seem enough, so I tied their wrists and ankles quite carefully.
It was my first time doing it, but I was even proud that it turned out quite well.
"By the way, they're all women."
It seemed that Pelledia was seriously lacking in men.
"Ranger talent is usually more inherent in women."
Iris, who had come out of the tent at some point, was rummaging through the pockets of the women tied to the trees.
"Did you find out anything?"
"Yes, I think these people are reconnaissance squads belonging to the Capital Defense Forces."
"Oh, did you find a unit mark or something?"
Iris shook her head at my question.
"Reconnaissance squads, in preparation for being captured by the enemy, are not allowed to carry items that could reveal their identities in principle. But the swords they carry on their waists are weapons only issued to the Capital Defense Forces."
Iris handed me a sword.
It was an ordinary iron sword with no particular features or patterns on the surface.
"It looks like an ordinary sword on the surface, but in fact, the entire sword is a cipher. It's supposedly a top secret, but they still haven't changed it."
"Isn't that because of the budget?"
"Well…"
Iris seemed to be pondering something for a while, as if something was bothering her.
To give her some time to think, I approached the elves tied to the trees.
I thought their voices and body lines seemed like women, but I didn't expect the entire unit to be made up of women.
'It's a good thing I hit them gently, just in case.'
If I had been sure that they were men, I would have killed all but one of them who would answer my questions.
That's how great the sin of interrupting my happy time with Iris was. In fact, I wanted to wake them up right now and ask them all sorts of questions, but I forced myself to hold back for Iris's sake.
She wouldn't like the sight of me treating her fellow tribesmen, who were also her former people, carelessly.
They were all wearing dark clothes and masks to hide their identities, befitting the title of Rangers, so much so that anyone would think they were assassins.
I took off the mask of the woman who had reacted even slightly to my attack among them. She must be the highest-ranking woman.
Behind the mask, as expected of an elf, was a beautiful woman that was hard to come by.
"…A dark elf?"
However, unlike Iris, her skin was dark.
"Hyunwoo, is something wrong…? A dark elf…?"
Iris's reaction to the masked woman was strange.
She was even more flustered than me, who was seeing a dark elf for the first time.
"Why? Is there something strange about her?"
"…Originally, dark elves are a minority tribe that lives in tribal life throughout the Great Forest. They would never join the kingdom's army because of the law."
Iris frowned, her head complicated by the ever-increasing questions.
"…Iris, I have something to tell you, do you have a moment?"
Seeing her like that, I had no choice but to explain the current situation in Pelledia and the various circumstances I had heard from the World Tree.
Now that I had escaped from the underground community, there was no reason to hide it anymore.
Of course, I didn't know much either, but Iris turned pale just hearing the declaration of war from the Northern Empire, but her expression brightened a little, as if she had regained some energy from hearing that I was going to the Santala Kingdom to release the seal.
Still, she seemed to have a lot to think about, and Iris left for a while.
Now that things had come to this, I decided to wake up this sleeping dark elf first.
Since I couldn't show them Iris's face anyway, it was right for me to do the interrogation alone.
I lightly tapped the cheek of the dark elf woman, who was fast asleep and knew nothing of the world.
"Ugh, ugh…"
But is she really a reconnaissance squad member?
She still won't wake up even after this?
But I couldn't hit her hard because I was aware of Iris, so I had no choice but to pour a cup of water over her head.
Splash-
"Hiyak?!"
Suddenly, cold water fell on her head, and only then did the dark elf wake up in terror.
"Did you sleep well?"
As soon as the dark elf woman met my eyes, she immediately looked around, then looked at herself and her companions tied up, and glared at me with fierce eyes.
That won't untie you.
"If you just answer my questions, I won't do anything harsh…"
"Kill him!"
"…?"
What?
"If you're hoping for something from a lowly imperial spy, it's obvious, but you've come to the wrong place if you're curious about the kingdom's secrets."
The dark elf woman raised one corner of her mouth and gave a smile that didn't suit her.
"…Then what, are you going to commit suicide or something?"
"I wouldn't mind."
At the sight of her suddenly opening her mouth and sticking out her tongue, I quickly put a piece of cloth in her mouth and tied it shut with the remaining rope.
This is a complete madwoman.
Of course, you can't die just by biting your tongue. It's just very painful, and it takes quite a long time to die from excessive bleeding.
But that's only true for ordinary people.
If you have magical power, you can easily commit suicide by biting and swallowing your tongue, reversing the flow of magical power and causing it to run wild.
It was an easy way to commit suicide in a state where the use of magical power was limited.
Judging from her expression, she was planning to commit suicide right away if I took out the piece of cloth.
She didn't seem to want to hear my explanation either.
Looking at the dark elf woman glaring at me with a high and mighty look, I felt my anger rising again.
Objectively looking at the situation, I was the victim.
I came to my apartment to have a happy time with my girlfriend, but suddenly the police barged in and treated me like a criminal and even tried to arrest me.
My head was pounding, and curses were rising to the tip of my tongue, but I let it go for now.
They must have their own reasons.
But I gave them a chance, and they kicked it away and glared at me?
I wanted to interrogate them in a gentlemanly manner, but this woman was the one who refused first.
There was only one place where my angry hands would go.
"…Ugh?! Ugh ugh!! Ugh ugh!!!"
At the sight of my hands grabbing her chest, the dark elf woman, who seemed like she wouldn't even blink an eye no matter what I did, started struggling violently.
"From now on, I'll treat you like a gentleman."