“And that is all from the report on Elura.” [???]

A man standing under a dim light spoke clearly for everyone to hear. The audience was hidden by shadows, keeping their identities a secret. The messenger, having accomplished his duty, bowed and retreated into the darkness, leaving the room so that his leaders could talk among themselves.

“I see. So, we lost both that hero and that noble.” [???]

“Cadiuz is expendable. The problem is Dan Vanbrocs. His ability to control anyone was priceless. He could control over three hundred horned wolves and ten dragoons for days. Our S ranks were vulnerable to his powers as well. If used correctly, we would have complete control over all.” [???]

“Yes, but it is now lost. His mind is gone. In that state, he can’t even eat by himself. Such a heavy loss after finding such a valuable tool.” [???]

“Is it possible to heal him?” [???]

“Healing magic does not affect the mind, only the flesh. I’m afraid we will have to give up on him.” [???]

Different opinions were exchanged after they heard about the recent events that transpired inside the capital of Elea kingdom.

“However, there is a silver lining. The king is pulling as much manpower as possible to reconstruct the destroyed parts of his city. He runs his affairs tightly, but this will give us a window of opportunity to sneak in more of our agents in Elura.” [???]

“That is true. It will make getting to the heroes easier too. Should we approach one of them again?” [???]

“No. If Cadiuz was killed right after our rogue hero betrayed the kingdom, then someone knew he was working with him. It might be King Charles sending us a warning. Chances are all the heroes are being watched. We should be careful and not make contact with them until things settle down.” [???]

“Hmmm, you have a point.” [???]

“I have no objections either.” [???]

They calmly discussed their next move, talking as if the lives they were involving were nothing more than chess pieces.

“What about that man, the one call Ryner? He is an unknown otherworlder that is said to be the protector of the Holy Wings.” [???]

“To think the Artifact we had been searching for was in some otherworlder’s possession.” [???]

“Is it true that he is the protector? The legends never told of someone like that.” [???]

“The tablets probably don’t tell us everything. We should focus on the retrieval of the Holy Wings.” [???]

“However, King Charles has kept its location hidden after announcing that his kingdom was now keeping it safe for that hero, Ryan Wayer.” [???]

“Then, we will simply gather more forces, search for information and plan out our next move. From the report, that Artifact can create a blade of light that cuts through steel and raise a barrier that blocks all attacks. Such a powerful weapon should not be misused. We must retrieve it.” [???]

The different voices coming from the darkness began to debate on how they should steal Ryner’s Heaven’s Blade, the White Wing. They unfortunately didn’t know that what they had their sights on was a fake and that the real one was still with Ryner.

Soon, after deciding that they should wait until they have sufficient forces before making a move, the talk moved to him.

“What should we do about Ryner? No known family name or residence. He doesn’t have friends or relatives in this world. We won’t be able to use any of them against him.” [???]

“He seems to be traveling with a beastman slave and a woman from a merchant family. We will use those two to get the upper hand.” [???]

“However, they have easily exterminated dragoons. Most likely, those two are S ranks, forces not to be trifled with.” [???]

“For now, we should keep Ryner under surveillance. His location is unknown. Send out our men to look for him. They say his ability allows him to store objects and that he has otherworldly weapons and more Artifacts. Furthermore, he was the one that destroyed Dan Vanbrocs’ mind using a second ability, one that allowed him to overpower an S rank hero. He must not get away from us.” [???]

“Yes, he could become our most useful soldier. If not, he could grow to be a significant threat. We must keep our eyes on him.” [???]

Without Ryner knowing it, he had attracted the attention of an unsavory group. They were all impressed by what they heard about him as well as cautious. More so than an immature and greedy hero that could be manipulated, this man seemed hard to deal with. They could not let their guard down. They had to deal with him right away if he proved to be an issue to their cause.

“Let us end the topic here. On another matter, Orga has repeatedly requested to let him try and take control of Sakael city.” [???]

“The city of the Garroth kingdom that we failed to take the last time even after throwing our parasite at it? Has he still not given up on that princess?” [???]

“That womanizer wouldn’t let a woman slip his grasp. His requests are getting bothersome. He is behaving right now, but I believe we should let him do what he wants.” [???]

“Are you serious?” [???]

“The plan he presented to me was doable. Also, we will not be sending any of our forces. The last time was a major loss to us. He had said that he will be using his own men and volunteers that he picks up, so our losses will be limited while our gains will be great.” [???]

“But, Orga is a capable agent. He is still of use to us. That man may die if he fails another time which is quite likely.” [???]

“No matter. We have no use for someone who can’t control his earthly desires.” [???]

“If he gets captured, he will reveal our secrets.” [???]

“What secrets? He doesn’t know anything critical about us. And if the world comes to know of our existence, then so be it. They still cannot stop us.” [???]

“We should not be so hasty with our decision. How will he invade Sakael?” [???]

“He will be asking for Prince Sirius’ help and support.” [???]

“What can that other womanizer possibly do? He’s been sent back to the Stornith Empire.” [???]

The ones gathered in the dark room continued to debate on the new subject. They talked about the pros and cons of letting one of their own try to take over a city that they failed to not long ago. They exchanged ideas and opinions before coming to a consensus.

“Hey there! You’ve got some fine ladies with you!” [Random bandit]

“Yeeeeaaahhh! Look at those bodies! Nice and tight!” [Random bandit]

“Don’t you mean nice and sexy? Those breasts and those asses! Nnn! I can’t wait!” [Random bandit]

After two days of travelling, Ryner’s group was sitting around a campfire next to a small river running through the forest. The clearing was verdant and gentle sunlight illuminated their surroundings. Just as they were about to prepare dinner, four men suddenly appeared from behind the trees, each with a sword in hand and a lewd smile on their face.

“(… What’s with those generic lines and appearances…? My luck is great as always.)” [Ryner]

The sleepy-looking man thought sarcastically in his head as the four approached him and pointed their swords at him, all while running their eyes over the women accompanying him. Their desires couldn’t be helped since they were living in the forest for quite some time, keeping a lookout to see if anyone passed by the road.

Then, as luck would have it, a big, black object appeared in the horizon, throwing up a cloud of dust in its wake. They couldn’t see it properly from afar and with the dust obstructing their view, but it was probably a carriage. However, what really caught their attention was that, when the cloud settled, the carriage had disappeared and what stood there were four beautiful women.

These four, along with the guy, left the road and went inside the forest next to it. Now, having caught them off guard, the travelers were completely at their mercy and they couldn’t help but laugh to themselves.

“Heeey kid, hurry up and give us everything you own!” [Random bandit]

“While you pack up, we’ll be helping ourselves to the women, alright?” [Random bandit]

“Feel free to watch, but you’d better keep working! Otherwise we’ll kill you right now! Gahahahaha!” [Random bandit]

In response to their mockery, Ryner, with his hands raised, slowly stood up, turned around and smiled.

“Why yes, yes! Of course, of course! I’ll get to it right away!” [Ryner]

He hunched his back a bit forward and rubbed his gloved hands together. His face had a cramped smile and his legs were shaking a bit. His appearance was like that of a scared henchman.

“What would you gentlemen want? I’ll prepare the valuables I have right away! Anything else?” [Ryner]

“Ahahahaha! Can you believe it?! He’s trying to suck up to us!” [Random bandit]

“Can’t be helped! If he doesn’t, we’ll just kill him!” [Random bandit]

The four bandits were surprised by his actions at first, but understanding that he was trying to save his life by being servile, they simply mocked him and lowered their swords. The women were still sitting down and watched the events play out. Two of them were calm while the other two were staring with their eyes wide opened.

“Food? Would the four of you want some food? I’ll have it ready immediately! What would you like to eat? A roasted chicken? A juicy steak?” [Ryner]

“Ahahaha! You’re hilarious, but get lost! Just go and pack your things! We’ll take them AFTER we’ve had our fun.” [Random bandit]

“The women will be our meal!” [Random bandit]

One of them walked closer towards Ryner and pushed his shoulder, telling him to hurry up and go do his bidding. Blinded by the prospect of touching a woman after so long, all of them forgot their goal. They didn’t notice that, besides the grilled fish skewered around the campfire, there wasn’t anything at all. There were no luggage, no valuables and no carriage.

“I see, I see! So, you don’t want these dishes! Then, how about a grilled fish? Or a nice salad? Or-“ [Ryner]

Despite their threats, the weak-looking man didn’t budge and kept offering them different meals with a smile while rubbing his hands together.

“Hey punk! We told you to get lost already! Hurry up and get moving!” [Random bandit]

The closest bandit got angry and was about to push his shoulder hard again.

“How about a knuckle sandwich!” [Ryner]

“Bugh!” [Random bandit]

Before his hand touched him, Ryner punched him without mercy. The left hook hit his temple and sent him flying as blood seeped from his wound. He fell on his back, twitched twice and stopped moving entirely. The poor middle-aged man also stopped breathing.

The attack caused the other three bandits to be dumbstruck since they didn’t expect it at all. The blonde-haired woman with red eyes sighed and shook her head. The one with the dark blue braid giggled and waved her slim tail that was light brown and black at the tip. The other two blonde-haired beastmen kept staring with wide eyes, the fox ears on their heads standing straight.

“I wonder why… They always fall for this.” [Ryner]

Exhaling once, Ryner brought his fist in front of his face and stared at it with his right eye as he tilted his head. Even though he was the one that lashed out, he seemed to be wondering how his acting worked.

“… Y-you bastard! What did you do to our bro?!” [Random bandit]

One of the bandits charged at him and brought his sword down with his right hand. Ryner sidestepped to the left as he hit the flat of the blade with the side of his right hand. Then, he pushed the man on his shoulder and tripped him with his left leg, causing him to fall forward.

“You’re dead!” [Random bandit]

“Get him!” [Random bandit]

The other two finally sprinted into action and charged at him with their swords drawn. Ryner effortlessly dodged the first one and ducked under the other’s swing. As he passed by him, he grabbed his leg and pulled it upwards, causing him to splendidly fall on the ground head first.

Right after the man impacted the soft, grassy earth, Ryner turned around, jumped, flipped in the air and landed on the back of his neck. The force from the speed, weight and kick broke the bones in the neck and he died.

“Arnold!” [Random bandit]

“Damn you!” [Random bandit]

The remaining two bandits lunged at him with bloodlust, but one of them died right away when Ryner kicked the sword of the fallen enemy in his chest, causing him to fly back. The other one stopped and turned to look at his friend, but that was a fatal mistake.

“Here’s your dessert.” [Ryner]

A calm, bored voice softly whispered those words to him from behind before a pair of hands grabbed his head and twisted it, snapping his neck. His swaying vision saw the black-haired man’s face that had an eyepatch on the left side as it slowly grew darker. His strange white eye was half-opened and it lazily stared at him, not missing a moment of his death.

“Alright, let’s eat.” [Ryner]

As if nothing happened at all, Ryner declared to the four women that didn’t move from their spots since the fight began. The bandits’ corpses were buried further away and the sleepy-looking monster washed his black gloves, his right hand and his prosthetic left hand in the river. Food was then prepared and cooked over the fire.

“It’s kind of hard to eat after that, though…” [???]

“Now, now, Snow, you should be grateful you have anything to eat.” [???]

“That’s right, Snow. It’s like your mom said, Snow. Don’t be so picky, Snow. Just eat before it melts *cough cough* gets cold, Snow.” [Ryner]

“Why do you keep making fun of my name?!” [Snow]

The young beastman angrily asked as her furry tail that was blonde and white at the tip stood up to show her indignation. She was a cute girl that had green eyes, blonde hair and fair skin just like her mother. Her hair reached below her shoulders and it was tied up behind her back. Her body was quite mature since she took after her mother that was well-endowed.

“It just doesn’t suit you. You should be called Active or Energy or something.” [Ryner]

“You have a horrible naming sense! My mom and dad gave me this name, so stop mocking it!” [Snow]

“Myra, now that Sunshine mentions it…” [Ryner]

“Sunshine?!” [Snow]

“Why is her name Snow? She’s too bright and sunny for that.” [Ryner]

Ryner turned his question to the mother that was tearing off pieces of grilled fish. Unlike her daughter, she had long, wavy blonde hair that reached her hips and her face had a gentle expression. Two big bulges pushed out her dress at her chest and the lines of her hip were clearly defined.

“There was a big storm when I was giving birth to her. When I looked out the window with her in my arms, the storm was over and snow gently fell from the sky. It was really beautiful, so I and my husband named her Snow.” [Myra]

“That sounds romantic~.” [Maya]

“Indeed. If I give birth during a beautiful full moon, I would perhaps name my daughter after it.” [Evelyn]

Maya and Evelyn, who were eating their meal while sitting on a log, gave their thoughts as women that had yet to bear a child. For some reason, they looked at Ryner at the same time which made him flinch.

“W-what? Maya, I told you that’s impossible. Evie, why are you looking at me like that?” [Ryner]

“As family, I simply wanted your opinion on the name of my future child. You shouldn’t read too much into my actions.” [Evelyn]

She coolly explained herself and gave a small smile. Ryner nodded, accepting her words as the logical answer, not knowing at all that she was doing various things whenever they slept together, like brainwashing.

“But, Evelyn, I can’t believe you two are related. Are you really cousins? You don’t look alike at all.” [Snow]

Snow asked innocently as she brought up this point. When the girls introduced themselves and told them their relationships with Ryner, Evelyn had opted to tell them that she was his cousin.

“What? We totally have the same eyes. See?” [Ryner]

“No way! Hers are sharp and pretty while yours is dull and sleepy-looking. In fact, you always look sleepy. You’re also plain and too normal and she’s really cool and beautiful.” [Snow]

Ryner crossed his arms and looked away with a smug look on his face.

“Hmph! You’re just jealous of my good looks.” [Ryner]

“Not true! I take after my mom, so I look way better than you! And a few guys in my school confessed to me too!” [Snow]

“Confessions only? Still just a kid.” [Ryner]

“Shut up! Shut up! Stop being so mean to me~!” [Snow]

Snow got up, ran to Ryner and latched onto him as she repeatedly called him stupid. The sleepy-looking idiot continued to chew on his fish all while ignoring her. At the start, Snow and her mother stayed away from him, but now she was noisily shaking him back and forth without fear.

Maya smiled at that scene, Myra watched over her energetic daughter with warm eyes and Evelyn took out the cellphone Ryner had given her to note something down. If one looked at the screen, she was typing in: “To do: Hug Ryner from behind. Press breasts against him. Hold for…”

She then waited until Snow let him go before inputting the final line and returned the phone to the pouch strapped to her thigh. So, with similar events, their dinner peacefully finished.

“Geez~, even though he can be so cool, why does he have such a childish side…” [Snow]

Snow complained out loud as she sat on the log next to her mother, swinging her legs back and forth. The one receiving her ire was gone. Ryner had left and said with a serious expression that he needed to take care of some secret business that was long overdue. But, just as he sounded mysterious, he declared he was going to the toilet which ruined everything. Maya and Evelyn didn’t go with him and stayed with the two new arrivals.

“Isn’t it fine? If he wasn’t like that, you wouldn’t be able to have so much fun with him.” [Myra]

Myra took out a comb from a small pouch on her waist and happily began to work on her daughter’s hair, passing the teeth through the blonde strands and getting rid of the knots. She never thought she would be able to see such a simple item like that again. Their current situation was a far cry from two days ago and it was thanks to Ryner.

“Now that you mention it, the two of you were quite wary of us, especially around Ryner. Maya had to do most of the talking.” [Evelyn]

“I am a fellow beastman, after all.” [Maya]

Evelyn brought up how they first acted around them and took out her phone. Maya was drinking alcohol from a bottle that she took out of nowhere. This had become a rather common sight.

“Well, it’s true I was really scared when we first met and I thought he was going to hurt us.” [Snow]

“I was scared too.” [Myra]

“But, then, after we escaped from there, when he took the hood off and every time he said something, he looked less and less menacing. It was like, ‘why am I scared of him?’ or something like that.” [Snow]

“Right, right.” [Myra]

“But, whenever we encounter some bandits, he always deals with it so easily and I remember that he’s really strong despite how he looks.” [Snow]

“Right, right.” [Myra]

Myra nodded to her daughter’s words with a small smile on her face. She was a talkative child, but she became terribly silent when they became slaves. That was why seeing her complain so lightheartedly made her heart feel warm.

“He should sharpened his eyes more and stop looking so sleepy! He’s not handsome, but he’s not bad-looking. So, if he looked more confident and cool, he might be more popular!” [Snow]

Snow was now happily talking, feeling comfortable from her mother combing her hair. She raised her arms in front of her face and looked at the sleeves while cheerfully smiling. Unlike the rags they wore before, both her and her mother were properly clothed. Myra had a light blue dress that completely covered her body while the daughter wore a white shirt and a red skirt.

The Avalon had equipment that could make clothes according to specifications. It was quite useful to have an automatic sewing machine that could fix, modify and make clothes for a large crew on a long journey. That was how they gratefully changed out of their rags.

“His looks don’t match his skills at all.” [Snow]

“But, that is why we feel relaxed around him. Isn’t that so?” [Myra]

“It’s true he’s not scary because of that lazy expression. He seems like a completely different person from the first time we met.” [Snow]

“Certainly, despite his mediocre appearance, Ryner exist on two extremes. When he is fighting, he is a force to be reckoned with. He can make his enemies tremble in fear and reap their lives like death itself. Yet, outside of the battlefield, he seems so harmless that it doesn’t look like he’s hiding his fangs. It is more like he doesn’t have any in the first place.” [Evelyn]

Evelyn spoke up, still playing with her phone. Maya wiped her mouth and added her thoughts with her right hand holding the bottle of alcohol.

“Master is really good at hiding his strength. It’s funny how everyone underestimates him while he could easily send them flying~.” [Maya]

“I was still really scared though. A lot of dead bodies appeared when that smoke finally dispersed.” [Snow]

“The world is a harsh place. You saw a little while ago how bad public security is on the roads.” [Evelyn]

“Yeah. That’s why I can’t wait to get back home! Dad and everyone else are probably worried sick.” [Snow]

Snow agreed to Evelyn’s words gloomily, but her face had a huge smile when she thought about going back to her country. Myra happily watched her cheerful daughter, making sure to cherish these moments more before turning to Maya.

“Miss Maya, will you be going back with us?” [Myra]

“Maya is fine~. I’ll be going back with you, but I intend to follow Master when he leaves.” [Maya]

“I see.” [Myra]

The fox-eared woman nodded to her words. Strangely, she kept staring at Maya’s ears and tail. The alcoholic beastman noticed it and hid her tail behind her back.

“Actually, you’re Ryner’s slave, right? He’s not doing anything bad to you, is he? Like forcing you to do p-pervy things with him.” [Snow]

Snow asked worriedly, but blushed out of embarrassment.

“Oh my~, I’ll say that it’s more of the other way around. It is mating season after all, so it can’t be helped.” [Maya]

Maya put a hand to her cheek and answered playfully, causing the girl to go through another shade of red. Her mother put a hand to her mouth and exclaimed “My!” while Evelyn stayed focused on her cellphone.

“You shouldn’t misjudge his character. He has offered to personally escort you back to your kingdom, has he not?” [Evelyn]

“Ah! You’re right, I’m sorry…” [Snow]

Realizing that she was being rude, Snow obediently lowered her head to Maya and Evelyn, but she looked up again with a puzzled expression the next second.

“It is fine. Simply know that Ryner is no pervert. He wouldn’t gleefully turn you into his personal plaything and mark every inch of your body over and over again until you cannot live without his touch anymore.” [Evelyn]

“Huh… Ok…” [Snow]

The tone of voice of the blonde-haired, red-eyed woman sounded strange, but Snow let it go. She seemed quite busy since she was staring at the small, rectangular object with a serious expression all the time.

If one looked over her shoulder, they would see that the screen showed pictures after pictures of Ryner caught in various moments. Most of them were of his sleeping expression from up close. The vampire woman had made good use of this technological marvel. She was astonished that it could even record images and sound. She planned on using it a lot when her great plan succeeded.

“Master will keep his word. You two don’t need to worry. Please trust me on that.” [Maya]

Maya gulped down the rest of the contents in the bottle and said so with an easygoing smile. Hearing her claim, Snow nodded while Myra laughed, prompting the other three to look at her quizzically.

“What is it, mom?” [Snow]

“Fufu, no, I just remembered our first meeting with him.” [Myra]

“But, why are you laughing? It was awful…” [Snow]

Snow said dejectedly and slumped her shoulders as her fox ears fell flat on her head.

“Yes, it was, but that’s not what I was thinking about.” [Myra]

The blonde-haired beastman raised her index finger and spoke the words that came back to her head with a smile. They were words uttered by a certain assassin that they had met two days ago. They were what the mother-daughter pair first heard when he opened the door of the waiting room they were hiding in.

“‘Well, I’ll properly take responsibility for this. So, do you two have a place to go back to?’ or so he said.” [Myra]

A short silence descended upon them. Snow perked her ears and clapped her hands together.

“Oh yeah, he did say something like that!” [Snow]

She remembered hearing that as well. She was too scared back then, but after thinking about it, those words sounded like-

“Why does it sound like he is proposing to you?” [Evelyn]

“Is Master in his mating season?” [Maya]

Two voices spoke up. One had a hidden intensity while the other was easygoing. The three women and one girl continued to talk about their various thoughts on Ryner, peacefully passing time until he returned.

For those wondering, I'll try to post a chapter like usual, but at least once every week is guaranteed unless something comes up. The other elf fiction will be updated every now and then as a change of pace. I want to update both at the same time, but sadly, I learned that I only have one body.