“No!”
Ian denied it on the spot. Then he drove his elbow into Keith’s side. What the hell was this guy doing, staying quiet instead of denying it too?
“...It’s not true,” Keith finally said, his ribs still tingling from the jab.
“Oh, really? Human relationships are so complicated. Anyway, I think I found sothing when I tripped earlier. Is that the sea path over there?”
The elf pointed out across the water.
In the middle of the sea, a small whirlpool was churning. Earlier, the massive rabbit-like mamool had been blocking it from view.
“A whirlpool...?”
“That’s the one,” Ian said, recognizing the effect from the ga. The water around the whirlpool was strangely calm, untouched by the spinning current.
It was not a natural phenonon. It was exactly the kind of bizarre sight one expected to find in a ga.
“It’s a rapid current that leads underwater, straight to the sunken city. We just have to ride it down.”
“Ride the current? That sounds dangerous...”
“What’s dangerous when you’re here to protect ?”
Ian brushed off the concern and gestured at the elf.
“Go on. Dip your foot in.”
“...?”
The elf hesitated, but in the end, he did as Ian suggested.
The instant his foot touched the current, his entire body was yanked into the sea.
“Help! Save this elf—!”
His panicked scream vanished into the frothing water.
“...”
Keith stared at Ian.
Ian nodded in satisfaction.
“It works fine. Let’s go.”
“Yes...”
Keith believed God was always right.
And since Ian was the agent of God, Ian’s actions were, by definition, correct.
Even so, Ian had a way of inspiring awe in him—an awe that occasionally made Keith wonder just how far that “correctness” was ant to go.
But the elf’s survival was not Keith’s concern.
Without hesitation, he wrapped his arms around Ian.
“...?”
“Well then, let’s head down.”
Keith felt no awkwardness whatsoever. Ian had ordered him to protect him. Shielding Ian with his own body was only natural.
He stepped into the rapid current.
The whirlpool swallowed him at once, dragging him under as his body spun through the water.
The descent was long.
Keith felt Ian squirming in his arms.
‘Is he uncomfortable?’
Keith looked down at him.
Keith could hold his breath underwater for ten minutes without any difficulty, but Ian might be struggling. For a mont, Keith even considered sharing his breath.
But Ian was breathing perfectly normally.
‘...?’
The only thing that seed uncomfortable was Ian’s expression.
His face was twisted with irritation as he wriggled, so Keith adjusted his grip and held him more securely.
“...”
Ian glared up at him, his eyes practically shouting sothing.
“...?”
Keith did not understand.
“...!”
Ian pounded on his chest in frustration.
“...?”
So Keith patted Ian’s chest in return.
“...!”
This ti, Ian panicked and struck Keith’s chest in protest.
“...?!”
At that mont, Keith’s feet touched solid ground.
“We’re here! Why didn’t you tell we could breathe down here? You scared half to death!”
The elf, who had been sitting nearby, scrambled to his feet.
Ian hit Keith’s chest /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ again.
“Let go! Everyone’s watching!”
“Oh.”
Only then did Keith take in their surroundings.
‘Elves.’
‘Oh, elves.’
‘Look, it’s an elf.’
A crowd of rfolk had gathered around the elf, apparently fascinated by him. But the mont Ian and Keith arrived, their attention shifted.
“Humans!”
“What? Humans?”
“It’s humans!”
The rfolk scread and scattered.
“...?”
Bang! Bang!
Doors slamd shut one after another, and the area fell into an eerie silence.
Keith looked around.
They had landed on the outskirts of the city. A vast bubble seed to enclose the entire place, allowing them to breathe freely inside it.
The rfolk Keith had glimpsed had human-like bodies and fish-like faces, like creatures from old legends. The fact that they could speak at all was astonishing, their fishy lips flapping as they talked.
And yet, to them, humans seed to be the truly shocking sight.
The elf blinked and spoke up.
“What’s going on? They were so kind to earlier.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. They asked if I was a real elf, how I got here, why I ca, and even whether they could touch my ears. I told them that was rude, of course.”
‘That sounds more like an interrogation than kindness.’
Still, an interrogation was better than nothing. The rfolk in this region usually avoided humans entirely.
‘Now this feels like a proper quest area. That Fairy Queen’s island was way too easy.’
Unlike the milk-and-honey paradise of the Fairy Queen’s domain, this was a real quest zone.
Without effort, even surviving here would be difficult—let alone completing a quest.
And sure enough—
Step, step, step, step!
A platoon of armored rfolk approached.
Keith instinctively moved in front of Ian.
One of the armored rfolk stepped forward and declared,
“By order of Her Highness the Princess: humans are not welco in this kingdom. You have twenty-four hours to leave the city. That is all!”
“...”
Ding!
[Danger!]
An expulsion order has been issued in the sunken city!
Ti remaining: [23:59:59]
And that was how things turned out.
“Does this not apply to elves? Can I stay?”
Ignoring the elf rchant’s question, the rfolk soldiers marched away in formation.
Ian answered in their place.
“You’re considered part of our group, so you’ll be kicked out with us.”
“Ah... I should have stayed away.”
‘Ungrateful bastard. I saved you from being flattened by a rabbit paw.’
Ian flashed him a sly smile.
The elf still had his uses.
“See? That’s how exclusive this place is. I’m sure you’ve noticed by now. When did you say you ca here? Anyway, it’s gotten even more closed off since then. Sothing is definitely going on.”
“Really? How do you know that?”
“That’s none of your business. Anyway, we have twenty-four hours to solve this issue or get kicked out.”
“I could just leave and co back later...”
The elf’s shalessness was impressive, but Ian kept his composure and continued.
“Wouldn’t it be better to solve it now and stay?”
“Wow. You’re a smart human, aren’t you? Can you really solve it?”
“Yeah. But I’ll need your help.”
“My help?”
Ian pointed toward a shadowy alley where a few rfolk lingered—types who clearly cared less about the city’s rules.
No matter where you went, shady people always had the sa air about them.
‘If Keith and I approach them, they’ll probably scatter too.’
As a human, Ian could not accept quests here.
He had wasted far too much ti discovering that during his newbie days. Since then, he had always made sure to travel with non-human companions.
This ti, the elf rchant was perfect.
Elves, revered as the “beautiful race of the forest,” naturally drew goodwill from almost anyone—even demons.
Ian placed a hand on the elf’s shoulder and spoke in a friendly tone.
“I need your rchant skills. There’s sothing I absolutely have to get. If you buy it for , I’ll pay you three tis what you paid.”
“Three tis the profit? I’ve never made a deal that good!”
The elf was ecstatic.
‘Have you ever made any profit at all?’
Ian wondered, but did not ask.
“Great. You’ll do it, right?”
“Anything you need. Tell what to buy.”
“Good. What I need is sothing called a [MISSING ITEM NA].”
“Oooh... That sounds rare.”
“Nope. You’ll probably find them lying around in the alley. It’s just a burnt rock.”
“...?”
The elf blinked in confusion.
“If it’s just a rock, selling it back to you for three tis the price won’t make much money, will it?”
‘This guy’s sharper than he looks.’
Ian was genuinely surprised.
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