Realizing the Mistake?

Glen had long anticipated the attack about to happen.

He knew the elven girl had held a grudge against him from the start—how could he not? But that didn't stop him from doing what he thought was right.

For such a young girl, she was terribly reckless, attacking without understanding the difference in strength between them. No wonder she got caught... For a moment, Glen thought to himself.

Just as he was about to raise his hand to defend himself and teach her a lesson, her long leg suddenly froze mid-air.

A gust of wind, carrying the unique scent of the forest, brushed against Glen's face.

Why did she stop? Glen wondered, something unexpected was happening.

He looked closely at the elven girl and saw that she seemed lost in thought.

This only puzzled him more. He was about to probe her when she seemed to snap back to reality and slowly lowered her foot.

"The forest here tells me you are innocent," the elven girl, Gotaya, said something that made no sense to Glen.

"The forest tells you? I've lived here for so long and I've never heard it say anything to me. Little girl, that's not funny," Glen thought she was just spouting nonsense.

I've chopped down plenty of trees around here; if the forest hated me, I'd be lucky to still be alive, he mused.

Gotaya seemed insulted, her anger flaring up. "I'm three hundred and forty-five years old! Don't call me little girl!"

"Ah, this..." Glen was speechless for a moment.

After a brief pause, he quickly changed the subject. "So, what do you plan to do now, Miss Elf?"

Gotaya didn't respond immediately. Instead, she turned her attention to the surrounding dark forest, reflecting on what she had just experienced.

It was just before her attack on Glen that she felt the will of the forest.

The sensation had been truly strange. She had only heard from some elders about beings communicating with nature, but she had never succeeded with her "mother," the forest of her homeland. To experience it here for the first time was beyond her expectations.

She wanted to try again to connect with this forest's will, so she closed her eyes.

However, there was only silence now. No wave of energy, no presence of the forest's will.

Furrowing her brow, Gotaya tried several times, but after no success, she gave up.

Glen had been watching quietly. When she opened her eyes, he teased, "So, did you hear the call of the forest?"

Gotaya ignored him and hopped down from the cart, heading in the direction she had come from.

"This is human territory. You stand out like a sore thumb. You'll be caught soon enough," Glen didn't stop her but instead casually spoke, predicting her fate.

Gotaya didn't slow down.

Glen continued, "You'll be taken by some greedy people and handed over to the nobles. You know what they'll do to you, right? You've lived this long, you must have heard about it."

"They'll put a collar on you, and when they host their parties, they'll bring you out to show you off. If you're lucky, one might be kind enough to add some clothes, but the rest... Heh."

At this point, Gotaya's steps faltered. She slowed down and continued at a much slower pace.

Glen had made all that up. Whether it was true or not, he wasn't sure. But reality was probably far worse, as he could tell from what he'd seen with the old cat.

Seeing Gotaya still intent on leaving, Glen spoke again, "Some of those nobles won't just take you for entertainment, you know. I've heard some use elves in their wine... Can you imagine, one day, you being poured into a wine barrel? How tragic would that be? And when your relatives finally find you—how devastated they would be. All of this, because of your actions now."

The last words made Gotaya stop dead in her tracks. She stood there for a long time.

After what seemed like an eternity to Glen, Gotaya slowly turned around, her voice trembling. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Glen smiled. "Don't misunderstand. I'm not doing this for nothing. Just offering a suggestion so you don't fall into the hands of others."

Her anger flared—she didn't like the implication that she was weak.

However, Glen wasn't concerned about that and continued, "The Punk family is openly capturing elves like this, and news is bound to reach the Kingdom of Saishi. Even if it doesn't, your kin will surely seek the help of Saishi. Soon, a delegation will be coming to Zain Kingdom. What you need to do is hide before that happens."

Gotaya thought it over carefully. She had to admit, Glen's analysis made sense.

"So, how should I hide? After all, this is human territory, and it's easy for me to be discovered, right?"

Glen wasn't surprised by the question. He already had a plan ready. "You think I brought you here for no reason?"

Gotaya was taken aback. Glen continued, "This place is... strange. There are many monsters and odd residents living here. From what I've heard, people who know about this place try to avoid it. If you hide here, you should be able to escape their pursuit."

Upon hearing this, Gotaya instinctively glanced around. As Glen said, the place felt very different.

As a forest elf, she had exceptional sensitivity to the forest. From the moment she entered, she hadn't sensed anything remotely like "mother," her homeland's forest. But now, she felt a strange presence, a will descending. It was clear to her now—this forest was "alive."

For an elf, this was good news, because her ancestors had always said that the forest's will would never harm them.

"I'll trust you for now," Gotaya nodded. "So, where should I stay?"

"I don't know," Glen shrugged.

"You don't know? You don't even know where to hide me after all this?" Gotaya questioned, wide-eyed.

Glen's expression turned cold. "Miss Elf, do you think I'm your father? I saved you and offered advice, and instead of being grateful, you're being rude? Is this how elves behave? Maybe I regret saving you. Perhaps I should have just let you be taken and used as a toy in someone's wine barrel."

Glen had helped her out of compassion, but her attitude was starting to irk him.

Gotaya opened her mouth to retort but stopped herself. She realized that perhaps she had been out of line.

She knew the importance of gratitude, but the experiences she had recently made it hard to trust any human.

Seeing her silent, Glen scoffed and turned to drive the cart, muttering loudly, "If I had known elves were like this, I'd never help one again. The next time I see an elf being bullied, I won't lift a finger."

It seemed his words had reminded Gotaya of something. Just as the cart was about to move, she hurriedly called out, "I... I know I was wrong!"

Glen paused, turning around. "What did you say? Speak up, I can't hear you."

Gotaya wrinkled her nose, her teeth gritted with frustration, but she couldn't ruin the reputation of her kind. She raised her voice, "I'm really sorry! Respectful human man! I shouldn't have been rude to you!"