Chapter 63: Kuna and Punini
The Forest of Strides.
It is a large forest located in the southeast of the Principality of Galanus, a place that the people of their own country rarely set foot in.
The reason for this is that the scenery is so similar and the area is so large that once you enter, it is difficult to escape.
It is commonly known as the “Lost Forest” and the demons that live there are strong. In the depths of the forest, there is a village of elves, but it is currently in a state of emergency.
For some time now, the elves have been experiencing mysterious disappearance. The reason why they became convinced that it was the work of humans was that some of the elves had seen their friends being attacked.
When the humans surrounded, attacked, and killed him, they carried away his entire body. The elves have a treaty with the Principality not to set foot in their village without a reason, and not to touch the elves.
At first, the elves thought it had been broken, but then they realized that was not the case. They believed that people from other countries, not the Principality, were targeting the elves. The body of an elf is valuable on its own. For people like them, there’s nothing wrong.
They want to fight back and take revenge, but they can’t seem to catch the tail of my opponent. No matter how hard the elves searched the forest, they could not find them anywhere. So, they must have left the forest. Or so they thought, because one by one, the elves are disappearing.
Even if you avoid going alone, somehow, you’ll still get kidnapped.
Moreover, there are no girls or children who have been outside the village.
From this, the elves concluded that the enemy had infiltrated the village.
At the elder’s home, the adults of the village were having a meeting.
“The culprit is definitely human. And if my guess is correct, he’s disguised as one of the elves”
When the old man, who will be over 400 years old this year, said this with a sharp look in his eyes, the elves around him started to stir.
“Chief, if I may ask, do you have any idea who the culprit is?”
“Indeed. I think he’s disguising as Lunally. I happened to speak with her yesterday, but his breathing sounded different from that of our elves”
“You’re kidding… Lunally is…”
Lunally is a simple girl of only 16 years old. That’s why the elves were upset. However, the elders had never missed a point before.
The elder stood up and moved in front of the only teenage girl in the room. Her shimmering golden hair was tied up to one side, and the outline of her beautiful face was clearly visible.
She shared the white skin and beautiful eyes of the elves, calling her beautiful would be an understatement.
“Kuna. She’s your friend if I recall correctly”
“…Yes”
“I know it’s hard, but can you keep an eye on her?”
“I can do it. Or rather, I will. Because if the enemy is really a monster, we have to make him tell us where the real Lunally is”
“Fumu, I don’t doubt your skills, but don’t push yourself”
“I’m going to catch him, even if I have to vomit blood!”
“Err… I told you… don’t push yourself too far”
“Kuna, reporting to depart!”
The people around her try to warn her about the danger, but she doesn’t listen and runs away from the elder’s house.
Kuna jumped out and apologized, sticking her tongue out at the monster that was waiting for her outside.
“I’m sorry I kept you waiting, Punini”
‘I don’t mind waiting-puni’
Punini is a subspecies of slime that Kuna befriended in the forest when she was a child. While ordinary slime is irregularly shaped and vicious, this one is round, jelly-like, and resilient, about 30 centimeters wide.
They have lovely, round eyes and mouths, and are light purple in color. You can tell at a glance that it is a poisonous type.
Because of their high intelligence and tendency to be friendly to humans, they are called Punislime and are often distinguished from slime as a separate creature.
Most of the houses in the elven village are built on stilts because this is an area where it often rains. Kuna returned to her home to take a special weapon called .
Although she is still in his teens, she is one of the best archers in the village and is called a genius because she is superior to adults who have trained for decades.
The person herself didn’t even know this. She just liked shooting arrows.
“Now then, Punini. Let’s go to Lunally’s house”
‘Let’s go!’
She didn’t want to think that her loved Lunally is a fake, but the Elder’s intuition has never been wrong. I don’t like it, Kuna thought as she walked to her house. She smiled at the cute little Punini who was following her.
‘Hey Kuna, I think that’s Lunally’
“It’s true. I wonder what she’s doing”
Lunally hides behind a building as if she is trying to be seen. Kuna and Punini follow her to the back of the building.
However, she was not there.
As she looked around impatiently, she saw her back going out of the village, and Kuna and the others chased after her.
“Punini, please get on my head”
‘Alright-puni’
Pyonk. Punini jumped to Kuna’s head.
Now, this is where Kuna is quite surprised. It was because she was the fastest person in the village, and yet she was trying her best not to lose sight of Lunally. It was odd, though, because she was a slow learner.
Lunally suddenly stopped when Kuna suspected that the elder was right and that it was most likely a human being in disguise.
Kuna hurriedly hides behind a tree.
Five or six people emerge from behind a row of trees with a lowly smile on their faces. One of them puts a friendly hand on Lunally shoulder.
“What about the elf?”
“They’re following us. She’s hiding in the trees over there”
He speaks in a cold tone that doesn’t sound like Lunally. Now more than that, Kuna put her hand over her mouth, astonished that they knew that she had been tracking them.
“Come on out, Kuna”
“…you, you’re not Lunally, am I right?”
Contemplating, Kuna asked as he stepped in front of the girls.
Lunally signaled her friends with a quick movement of her head. Then the other person who had been hiding appeared with the real Lunally. A cloth was wrapped around her mouth and her hands were tied behind her body in a rope.
“Would you please release Lunally… heh, even if I ask you that you won’t do it”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. But if you’re going to listen to us, that’s a different story. First, throw that magic bow at me”
“Why were you targeting me?”
“Because you’re the most useful in the village”
“If you let Lunally go, she may become one of your subordinates”
Although she was not a good negotiator, Kuna tried her best. But the woman saw through the lie and laughed through her nose.
“You don’t have to do this. I’ve got a way to make you obey me. Now, throw me your bow. Or else…”
“Mmmf! MMMMMFFF!”
The woman’s companion had placed a blade around Lunally’s neck and was about to slice through her soft skin.
I can’t leave my friends behind! Kuna tried to throw her bow and was interrupted. She was interrupted by Punini, who jumped between them to interrupt her.
‘I would like to have a word with you-puni’