Chapter 50 Hero and Dragon

While cleaning up the battlefield, Mu An suddenly received a 'message' from Nina.

The two communicated via the [Employee Communication Function].

The first thing the girl said left Mu An completely bewildered.

"Boss, I think I accidentally lost sister Renée..."

Mu An: ？

What does it mean to lose Renée?

What's going on? Did that silly elf suddenly decide to 'run away from home'?

Although that's not entirely impossible...

After all, Renée has always longed for the human world and some Lord Hero.

But leaving without saying goodbye before he and Elena returned, isn't that a bit rude?

As Mu An listened to Nina recount the whole story, he browsed through the memories of the Undead Creatures on her side.

It turned out it wasn't what he had thought.

Renée had been forcibly taken away by a teleportation array that suddenly appeared beneath her feet; she had no time to resist at all.

Even she herself was in a state of confusion, not knowing what had happened.

But this obviously couldn't stump Mu An.

After all, Renée was an employee who had signed a contract with him.

Just like contacting Nina before, Mu An could naturally reach her through the [Employee Communication Function].

"Moshi moshi, silly elf-chan, are you there?"

"If you are being threatened, blink your eyes three times!"

Renée: ？

"Eh, wait, I forgot this function doesn't support video calls..."

"Never mind, I'll get straight to the point."

"Where are you now? Is there any danger there? Do you need paid rescue services?"

Mu An immediately hit her with a triple Soul interrogation.

Renée didn't answer right away, perhaps surprised by this function.

After a while, a message from her appeared in the chat box.

"I have already returned to the Forest of Elves."

"You and Nina don't need to worry too much, I... I just suddenly got homesick!"

"Alright, I can't talk much more, my mother is coming over..."

After saying this, Renée proactively disconnected the communication.

[Forest of Elves? Homesick?]

[So... that teleportation array was most likely set up on Renée by the Elven Race in advance?]

Mu An was deep in thought.

Come to think of it, that makes sense.

As a princess of the Elven Race, Renée was naturally the object of strict surveillance and protection by countless elves.

Yet she was able to 'smoothly' sneak out of the Forest of Elves and 'smoothly' obtain several precious Sacred Artifacts of the Elven Race.

Everything was just too smooth!

Perhaps only that tsundere elf Renée was silly enough to think she hadn't been discovered by anyone.

In fact.

Her departure might have been part of someone's plan all along.

"What's wrong?"

Elena noticed Mu An frowning and asked.

"Renée seems to have been teleported away; she was stammering when I contacted her."

"She only said she returned to the Forest of Elves and told us not to worry too much."

Mu An said bluntly.

Being of the same Elven Race, he felt Elena might know something.

Sure enough.

Upon hearing this, Elena fell silent.

After a long while, she deliberated carefully and said:

"This matter concerns the secrets of the Elven Race; every elf has signed a contract, so I cannot discuss it too much."

"In any case, thank you Lord Hero for taking care of Princess Renée during this time!"

Elena bowed deeply to Mu An.

After a pause, she added sincerely:

"If possible, I implore you to go to the Forest of Elves within three days to meet Princess Renée one last time!"

...

Forest of Elves.

Inside an exquisite little wooden cabin.

Renée was still digesting what the Elf Queen, her mother, had just said to her.

"The Lord Hero you have wanted to see most since you were little has arrived at our Forest of Elves."

"He is here to repair the heros sword, so that he can defeat the Devil King in the future."

"And you are the key to the repair."

"The sword spirit of the heros sword has long since faded, and its power is less than one-tenth of what it once was; it requires an elven maiden with the purest Bloodline and the purest body as a sacrifice."

"Sacrifice yourself to the sword and become its new Incarnation."

"All of this is the instruction of the Oracle."

"Although you are my daughter, I believe you should not refuse."

"Besides, after becoming the sword spirit, you will have fulfilled your dream and will be able to adventure by the Heros side forever..."

What is all this nonsense?

Sacrificing oneself to the sword, the Oracle, and all that...

This was clearly the Lord Hero she had wanted to see most since she was a child.

But the first person who appeared in Renée's mind was that stinky man who always liked to bully her.

The girl, feeling vexed, took out the two glove puppets she had always treasured by her side and, just like in the past, began playing a role-playing game by herself.

One was the Lord Hero, holding a sharp sword but lacking any facial features.

The other was the evil Dragon.

The Dragon puppet let out a cute roar.

"Roar, I will destroy everything, I will snatch away your dearest Elven Princess!"

"Oh Hero, you alone cannot stop me!"

The Hero puppet stepped forward.

Just like the sharp sword in his hand, he never took a step back.

"Shameless Dragon! I will defeat you!"

"Not just for the Elven Princess, but because I am a Hero!"

"A Hero should defeat the Devil King and save the world."

"If I can't even defeat you now, how can I talk about destroying the even more terrifying Devil King in the future?"

"So, you wicked Dragon! Accept my challenge! Feel my rage! I will eventually bring destruction upon you!"

Clang, clang, clang—

Thump, thump, thump—

The two glove puppets 'went back and forth' fighting each other.

Just like the thousands of times before, Renée recited the narration again.

"The Dragon and the Hero engaged in a great battle."

"That great battle caused the sky to darken, the rivers to stop flowing, and the earth to crack."

"And the Elven Princess, who possessed all the beauty in the world, watched the Hero who came to save her nervously, feeling extremely moved."

"She silently prayed that the Hero would be safe and sound."

"She firmly believed... that in this world, justice would surely triumph over evil!"

"At the end of the story, the Hero, who had fought covered in blood, successfully defeated the Dragon and saved the Elven Princess."

"From then on, the two lived a shameless and happy life..."

But unlike the excitement of the past.

After the story was finished this time, Renée still felt an indescribable sense of discomfort.

She couldn't understand it.

She stood up and looked around her room decorated in girly pink.

On the wooden table, on the big bed, on the walls... everything was filled with things related to the Hero.

It was as if from childhood to adulthood, as if in the past 98 years, she had lived in such an environment and it had never changed.

Day after day, she immersed herself in it, fantasizing about the day she would meet the Hero.

Looking forward to the romantic story that would surely be different from the past once they met.

But... when that day truly arrived, Renée was not as happy as she had imagined.

There was even a little bit of... resistance?

Knock, knock, knock—

At this moment, a knock on the door rang out.

"Noble Princess of the Elves, I am the Hero Kevin Albert..."