You're Not The Only One Who Have Secrets

"Are you done?" I asked Mia when she walked out to the entrance door. She was picking up her equipment in her room but that definitely took longer than expected.

She replied with a nod and we went out. From what Mia had told me we are going to save a group of elves who have been kidnapped by this group of bandits.

…At least that's the reason on the surface.

I have a totally different objective for this, and it's to find their boss. The information I've gathered so far indicates that he's a normal guy or girl. It's possible that he's also a reincarnate just like me, why do I say this.

Well, the wounds I saw on some elves were the evidence of this. Though there may be some other reason for that but for now I'm going with this possibility. And if he really does have guns then it'd be a major problem.

Not for me but for the people of this world, it will disrupt the power balance greatly. "Don't bring swords in a gunfight", that's the thing that'll apply here. The level of the magic majority of people can use here is relatively low and it won't be enough to counter guns.

It will be havoc if this goes out of control.

And so, I'm going with Mia to one of their hideouts to find out if all the bandits have access to guns or do the boss is the only one who has them. Mia also told me that there's a slight chance that I'll find the boss there.

After a walk of around ten to fifteen minutes, we reached our destination. I shifted my gaze at Mia, "Why are we here?" I asked.

We stood in front of a building combined with a huge tree, nestled between the large tree's thick roots was a mansion. It was the house of Ascal and other elders of this village.

"To discuss this mission, they have some information to give us," said Mia before entering the building.

I followed her and entered the mansion; passing through a hallway we reached a huge room with a round table in the center, the same room we went to the first time.

Upon entering the room I saw Ascal, Caeda, and, Lura sitting around the round table. But they weren't the only ones here, there was one other person; a girl.

She had emerald color eyes and beautiful long green-colored hair, she was dressed in a pure white dress and it was almost impossible to differentiate between her skin and the white cloth.

An unusual thing was that her body was glowing and she had small green light particles around her body.

"Oh Mia, we were waiting for you," said Ascal when he saw Mia entering the room.

"Given the situation, I suppose I didn't have much time, or was I wrong?"

"No, no, it was the right choice. We indeed don't have much time."

"Why do you mean don't have time," I questioned.

I mean no one told me about this. Were the kidnapped elves going to die or something?

"Those bandits are preparing to sell our people in the Einzbern kingdom. Once they crossed the border it would be impossible to locate them," said Caeda.

I looked at Mia and she replied with a nod.

So this is the situation huh.

Come to think of it, the new skill I got also had a teleportation effect in it right? I know I decided to not use that skill as it is connected with 'The Void' but…a little teleportation won't hurt I guess.

"Hey umm, miss assistant, can I teleport to that place?'

Well, this wasn't a satisfying answer.

For now, I dropped the idea.

Mia was discussing the details with the elders when I was busy in my own world, I thought of inserting myself into their conversation when I heard something that caught my interest.

They were discussing how the elves they sent for scouting died strangely.

"The elves who were bought here today morning, were they the scouts who died?" I asked.

"Yes they were, they died in an unusual way. The people who saw said that after a loud voice there were holes in their chest and they were dead. But the strange thing is that we didn't find any trace of external magic on them, which confirms that they were not attacked by magic," Luna explained.

After listening to her I can't be surer that they have guns.

"How did you confirm the location of their hideout?" I asked.

"Well, Miss Freya helped us in that matter," said Luna as she looked at the girl with green hair.

Following Luna's lead that girl stood up, until now she was quietly sitting there, and I also felt like she was staring at me.

"Hello, my name is Freya. And just as Miss Luna said, I was the one who confirmed the location of their hideout," she said.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Haruto. By the way can you please explain how you knew their location, I'm a little interested in that?"

I was genuinely interested in this topic. This forest was very big and finding the exact point where a group of few bandits is, was a thing that piqued my curiosity.

"Ahh, I don't exactly know how to answer this. You see, I'm a forest spirit and I can tell what is happening in this entire forest. It's like I can feel it," said Freya.

"A forest spirit huh, this is the first time I've met one," I said.

While this was my first encounter with a forest spirit, I had met a spirit before and it was the pink-haired girl I found in the mysterious library.

"So that explains how you find that out," I mumbled aloud.

There was not much for me to ask after that so I waited while Ascal gave Mia a map and told her about the location of their base. I took a moment but after that, we were set to go.

Mia left the room with the elders first but I stayed in there with Freya. When I made sure that they'd left I turned toward Freya.

"Why were you staring at me like this?" I asked, in a rather hard tone.

She was not only staring at me, when I entered this room Miss assistant told me that she tried to use appraisal on me; though it was not successful because I have resistance to that.

She stood up and closed the distance between us.

"It's not like that. I did that to gain your attention, I wanted to chat in private," she said.

"And why's that?"

"You…are a demon right? And a demon lord even," said Freya as she looked directly into my eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I replied.

That was unexpected! Though I calmed myself she almost caught me off guard.

"Don't try to play dumb, we spirits can tell the true nature of a person. It's the only skill we have," she said.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone if you're trying to keep it a secret. I just want to know your intentions, and if it's something that can harm this forest then."

"Then?" I question as I rose my brows.

"I'll do everything I can to stop you, don't think I'm weak! I have my control over this whole forest," she said, trying to threaten me.

'Yes'

I got a notification from Miss Assistance.

"Don't you think you should care about yourself first?" I said with a slight smirk on my face.

"Huh?"

She almost jumped with shock when she looked around herself. Large red-colored magic was below her; I had Miss Assistant cast it while I was talking with her.

"Don't even try anything. You spirits are just a form of mana right? This magic circle can purify you and turn you back into pure mana," I said stopping her when she tried to cast a spell.

If she was going to interfere in my life then I'll destroy her. There is no second thought for that.

"Tch!" She clicked her tongue and gave up.

"You don't have to worry about anything. For now, I just want to live my life peacefully and ulterior motive also, at least not something which can cause to your forest," I explained.

"How can I believe you?"

"Given your position, do you even have any other choice?" I asked though it was more like a statement.

"Don't interfere in my life and I won't in yours. It's as simple as that," I said and break the spell, causing the magic circle below her to disappear.

"Here you are! And I was finding you everywhere like an idiot," said Mia from behind as she arrived here. From her voice, I can tell that she came here running and was out of breath.

"Yes I'm coming, was just having a little chat with Miss Freya," I said and turned toward Mia.

"Sheesh! Hurry up we have to leave quickly," Mia said as she left first.

Shouldn't you wait for me so we can leave together? Well, whatever.

"You're not the only one who has secrets," said Freya just before I left the room.

I heard her but didn't give her a reply; there was no point in continuing this conversation any further.