"Be careful. The Demon King has bestowed power upon you. I will join you later."
Shami pinched the sides of Lureya’s delicate little face with both hands, then turned and entered the bushes.
The blonde girl froze for a moment, unable to resist throwing a tantrum.
"What the hell, pinching my face out of nowhere! It’s only at times like these you’re a bit gentle! But you still want me to go on my own, huh? If I really get hurt, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life, villager!"
The blonde girl touched her small face, her mind racing, as she ran out of the woods.
Shute was still thinking with his lower half, contemplating how to handle the white-haired girl at the end of the convoy as he usually does.
Lina pretended to need help organizing the cargo in the carriage, escaping from Shute’s side.
At this moment, he suddenly heard the mercenary group’s chatter, wanting to enter the forest.
"Someone’s coming out of the woods!"
"I know! It’s the little elf of the woods! I think there’s a legend somewhere that every patch of woods has a little elf, and if the woods get angry, the little elf will come out and beat people up!"
"What a cute little elf, and with golden hair, no less."
"Catch it and sell it for money!"
"It is indeed an elf, but it’s from the Elf Race, you idiots!"
At this time, the voices of mercenaries encountering the Rolling Stone Spirit on the other side also emerged.
Shute frowned and quickly ran over.
At the entrance of the forest, he saw the first beauty of the Elf Race, dressed in elf garb—Lureya Yuzer Aigal.
The blonde girl coldly looked at everyone, with beautiful, fair cheeks sporting small red spots on both sides, seemingly having been pinched by someone.
Golden hair, pointed ears, undoubtedly the most prominent features of the Elf Race.
Although Shute had seen many beautiful women and had seen the Elf Race from afar a few times, it was his first time seeing such a beautiful Elf Race girl up close.
In Eden City, having played around with many women with some fame, Shute immediately showed his gentlemanly side, making a swordsman’s salute to the blonde girl and boasting about his minor achievements in slaying small monsters during the Demon King campaign, trying to close the gap between them.
"I never thought I’d see an Elf Race lady in such a place. I am Shute, a swordsman from Eden City, and also the leader of this mercenary group. I once in the campaign..."
Lureya frowned slightly, gazing at Shute as she waited for his prattling to finish before opening her little mouth.
"It’s you, isn’t it? Sneaking around in the woods wanting to steal gold in broad daylight."
"Not at all. We are planning to harvest gold from here to develop the surrounding cities economically. Although this involves cutting down quite a few trees and damaging the ground, we are also creating jobs to restore the environment and plant new trees. We are benefiting this city."
Having mingled in various occasions frequently, Shute naturally spoke of the situation, quickly justifying his actions.
Lureya’s face darkened.
"By the way, Elf Race lady, what brings you here? I’ve previously had some exchanges with your companions."
Shute half-honestly boasted, continuing to build connections.
"Though the Elf Race lady does not know me, she surely knows someone from my family. My mother’s third..."
"Apologies, I have no interest in such matters."
Lureya coldly interrupted Shute.
"Anyway, isn’t it against the Adventurer Guild’s regulations to steal gold?"
Shute looked up to find the Elf Race girl’s gem-like eyes icy cold, seemingly able to see frost, devoid of any warmth toward him.
The flattering attitude quickly faded.
Shute understood this thoroughly.
Though he had some fame in Eden City and could loosely connect with that figure, he did not expect he could easily create ties with the Elf Race.
The Elf Race has always been self-righteous individuals. Shute’s approach to this Elf Race girl was merely to seek benefits.
But now, he knew the odds were slim.
Tsk, a waste of expressions earlier.
"Apologies. We are harvesting gold. But it isn’t stealing, and whether this concerns you or not, you hardly have any say."
Shute confessed outright.
The Elf Race enjoys a revered status among the Human Race, and in reality, due to different circumstances between the two races, many regulations have been revised to prevent unnecessary conflicts.
One of them is that Elf Race members touring the Human World should not interfere in human matters without cause.
"So this is your true face."
"The Elf Race lady is hardly the one with a reason to lecture us here. Whatever we wish is our mercenary group’s right. When have independent Elf Race members traveling the continent liked to meddle in human business?"
Lureya closed her lips without speaking.
Behind the serious expression, little Lureya inside was already shrugging.
Ah, like I said, it’s surely not going to work.
An Elf Race girl mysteriously appearing to stop human mercenary group activities, even if improper, is just too weird, Shami.
Shami, after disguising herself, summoned a Slime using the Teleportation Gate, arriving at the Rolling Stone Spirit’s location.
Here, the two-meter-tall Rolling Stone Spirit has crushed the mercenary group members to pieces; now, only four Rolling Stone Spirits remain alive, their surfaces stained with blood.
Shami and the Slimes surrounded the Rolling Stone Spirits who wanted to leave.