Chapter 16: Elves Are Mysterious—At Least in Appearance

We continued climbing the mist-covered mountain without pause. At the base, the fog had been little more than a light haze, but the higher we went, the thicker it became.

It was called the "Forest of Magic Mist," but in reality, it was a mountain—and a very tall one at that. We had already been walking for over three hours, yet there was still no sign of the summit.

There wasn’t even a proper path. All we could do was follow desperately behind the knight commander leading the way. Honestly, just keeping up with him felt like training for our legs.

More than anything, the fog was so dense that we could barely see five meters ahead. Because of that, those unfamiliar with this kind of terrain had no choice but to hold hands and move forward together.

It was better than being suddenly grabbed when someone tripped.

"…Huff… huff…"

"Pant, pant… Commander… how about we take a break? Some of us are reaching our limit."

"Hm, I see. There’s a small clearing a little further ahead. Let’s rest there."

Through the hand I held, I could feel Alicia—the Saint traveling with us—reaching her limit, so I suggested a break. That was only natural. She had barely ever left the royal capital, so walking through a mountain like this must have been a first for her.

Even when she did travel, it was always to other cities with well-maintained roads. She had lived a life far removed from untamed forests or mountains.

Meanwhile, I had spent my childhood running wild in the forest near my hometown. I was a full-fledged nature brat—someone who had even run away from home and lived in the woods for a time. The villagers had nicknamed me "Monkey Boy."

For me, this level of hiking was manageable—I was only slightly short of breath, even while guiding Alicia along.

As for our other companion, my childhood friend Hikari—once dressed as a maid, now in military uniform—she looked completely unfazed.

I had more raw stamina, but she used her body so efficiently that she wasted no energy. She was incredibly reliable… which made it all the more frustrating. Someday, I wanted to wipe that calm expression off her face—but that was a secret.

"Alright, let’s take a break here. I’ll go gather some food. I’ll leave markers so you won’t get lost."

"Okay, thanks!"

As expected, the knight commander—who didn’t look tired in the slightest—disappeared into the mist.

He had mentioned a river nearby, so he was probably going to catch some fish. Since he hadn’t brought any fishing gear, I guessed he would simply wade in and grab them with his bare hands.

"You know… if you had to choose whether the commander is more human or bear… he’s definitely closer to a bear."

"Don’t say that where he can hear you, alright?"

"Pffft…"

Unable to hold it in, someone burst out laughing at the image of the commander catching fish like a bear. It was Alicia. Her face had been drawn with exhaustion just moments ago, but now she was smiling.

Embarrassed by her outburst, she quickly covered her flushed face with her hands. Every little gesture she made was adorable.

"I-I’m sorry… that was just such an unexpected way to describe him…"

"Hey, it’s only natural to laugh when someone compares a guy you know to a bear. Besides, it fits. He’s tall, muscular…"

"And he uses a greatsword, right? You’d need a certain build to handle something like that."

"The commander doesn’t have much magical power, so he can only use physical enhancement magic—and even that, only in emergencies. That strength and stamina are likely all his natural ability."

Most people in this world possessed magic power. Many magical tools relied on it as an energy source or as a simple on-off mechanism.

However, having magic power didn’t mean one could actually use magic. Most people simply didn’t have enough. That was why ordinary villagers or townsfolk rarely ever saw magic in action. It was mainly used by knights, mercenaries, or hunters—those who needed combat abilities. Even among them, true magic users were rare.

One reason was that women tended to have a higher capacity for generating magic power. This supported the theory that magic power was derived from life force.

Since women bore children, they were believed to possess greater life energy—and thus, more magic power. That was the prevailing belief.

As a result, men with large reserves of magic power were uncommon. Only a select few could truly wield magic. Alicia said the commander didn’t have much magic power, but that was coming from a Saint capable of freely using light magic. Compared to most men, he had more than enough.

As for me, apparently I was quite unusual—a man with both a large reserve of magic power and a high recovery rate. I had heard that from Clarisse. Honestly, I barely remembered the game settings from my previous life anymore. The only things that stuck clearly were the best character pairings.

That said, while it might sound like women were stronger overall, men compensated with superior physical abilities. And not just slightly—the difference was far greater than in my previous life.

There were guns in this world, but they weren’t widely used. Why? Because many knights could keep fighting even after being shot. The more a man trained, the stronger he became.

There was probably only one person in the world who used a gun as their main weapon.

In any case, having both high magic power and the physical growth potential of a man made me exceptionally suited to be a warrior. Not that I wanted that kind of talent—but it was too late to complain now.

"I mean, how much training does it take to swing a greatsword as tall as you are? Seems like it’d be useless in a place this cramped."

"No, the commander can cut down trees with ease. I doubt the environment would hinder him at all."

"And I’m supposed to be trained by someone like that? Am I going to survive???"

I had no idea what kind of training awaited me, but my current abilities were nothing special. I would give it my all—but that didn’t mean I wanted to suffer.

"He said you won’t have time to think about things like that while training. Your mind will be filled entirely with the urge to survive."

"And how exactly is that supposed to be reassuring?"

"I’ll stick with you from start to finish."

Hikari smiled—a strong, beautiful smile.

Man… I could fall for her all over again. Well, I already had.

Still, I didn’t like the idea of her going through harsh training. Hikari was Hikari—not Hikaru—but her potential hadn’t changed. If anything, her combat sense was probably better than mine.

Even so, I wasn’t so far gone that I’d be happy about the girl I liked training to fight. Luckily, I was the one destined to become the Sword King—not her. I just wanted her to live peacefully.

Peace… we hadn’t realized how precious it truly was.

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I SMELL A MAGIC ITEM!!! AND IT’S A RARE ONE!!! SHOW IT TO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

Out of nowhere, a figure appeared.

She swayed like a ghost as she slowly approached us.

She was beautiful—no, cute even. Slightly shorter than Alicia, with long jade-colored hair that gleamed like a gemstone even in the thick mist.

Most striking of all were her long ears peeking through her hair—the hallmark of an elf.

Normally, seeing an elf for the first time should have excited me.

But right now—

She was terrifying.

Her gray eyes were bloodshot, completely fixed on the holy sword at my waist.

Wearing a wide-brimmed, pointed black hat, she looked like she had stepped straight out of a fantasy story. Unsure how to respond, I drew my unfamiliar sword and stepped forward, shielding the two girls behind me.

Her target was obvious. If anything happened, I would have to fight.

Elves were masters of magic—who knew what kind of tricks she might have?

If that was the case, striking first might be—

"What are you doing, you idiot? Stop staring at my lord like that."

"Ow!? What was that for!? If you damage my brain, you won’t get what you came for either!"

The knight commander appeared silently from the mist behind her and brought his fist down on her head—THUD.

Ignoring her protests, he walked toward us, several large fish hanging from his right hand.

"Your Majesty, my apologies for the delay. I’ve brought food. I’ll prepare it immediately."

"Ah… yeah, that’s fine, but… who is she?"

Seriously, this guy might be a natural airhead. Shouldn’t he be addressing the elf first?

"Oh, her? She’s an illegal resident elf who’s been living in this forest without permission. I contacted her to assist with your training and told her to meet us here."

"Even for an elf with a warped sense of time, you could at least tell me the exact date you’re coming!"

So she wasn’t an enemy—just an overly excited magic-item fanatic… and apparently our training assistant.

That didn’t exactly inspire confidence.

"I’m seriously worried about having her help with our training."

"I understand your concern, but her skill is the real deal. Her personality, however, is… broken."

As expected of Hikari—saying what none of us could.

"Rude. I’ve shown far more restraint compared to how I used to be."

If this was her being restrained… what was she like before?

I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

"Anyway, nice to meet you. I’m Carol Maximilian. I’ll be in charge of your training for one month—real time. It’s going to be tough, and you won’t be able to run away, so prepare yourselves."

And just like that, our brutal training began—with the arrival of a very strange individual.