She was undoubtedly the most beautiful woman Satoshi had ever seen. She had light green hair that was sticking to her neck and back, still wet. With eyes of the same color, they rendered an amazing synchronization. Her skin was smooth enough to make the supermodels on Earth jealous. Her body looked weak but Satoshi knew it was anything but, from how she fended off the monkey beasts. Her naked breasts were smaller than average but fit her thin body. She didn’t have anything on, except for a few rings on her fingers. Her nails were trimmed, to not interfere with her bow when shooting arrows. The most distinctive feature of all was her pointed ears denoting her species as an elf.

“Stay back!”

But none of that mattered to Satoshi.

“How can you speak English?”

He asked again. The woman was clearly from the famous elven species but that also meant she couldn't possibly be from Earth. So how could she speak English?

The elf grit her teeth and didn't reply. Her face was a mix of fear and anger. If she hadn't been injured, she would have definitely started either running or attacking. Thankfully, her bow had fallen when the monkey beasts attacked and she was unarmed right now.

"I'm not going to hurt you.", he also spoke in English, "I just want to talk."

"I have nothing to talk with an elemental!", she looked at Satoshi as if he was the most abhorrent thing in the world.

Satoshi held his head. He was used to this reaction from back in the animal people's kingdom but didn't have a single strategy that he knew would work, but he hoped there was a way this time. It was like when he had met Feriana; the circumstances were different here. She clearly wasn't from Domania and hadn't had everyone around her repeating how evil an elemental is. There was a chance she could be persuaded. Also, in the kingdom people would run away or call for help and she was in a position to do neither.

"Why would I save your life if I was a bad person?", he tried, "Whatever you think you know about me is not true."

He sat down at a distance from her, to be as little intimidating as possible. He didn't use any of his abilities on her in case she could somehow detect it.

"I'm not from this world but I know how the legend goes and I think there's some truth to it. I have seen the fire elemental and he tried to destroy everything in his path. But he's the reason why we all have such a reputation. I don't go around killing people indiscriminately. I have tried to make friends and help people. Feriana, Smirnie, Meste, Rovango, all those people I helped and they were grateful to me. And I loved them because they were my friends."

It was sort of true, except for the last line.

"I swear I won't do you any harm. Will you let me help you?"

She didn't reply and just kept glaring back at him with hatred.

"I'm Satoshi. And you're injured. I'll sit here till you agree to take my help."

"Help from an elemental? Over my dead body.", her words came out like venom.

"There's not much I can help a dead body with.", he joked.

But she wasn't amused. She kept staring at him with vile hatred.

"What if I were any other person?"

"..."

Satoshi wasn't sure if the kind of sympathy he was going for would work but he knew absolutely nothing about elven culture to tailor his statements to something she could relate to.

“Other than being able to chantlessly make wind blow from here to there, I’m just like anyone else. I laugh when I’m happy and get depressed when I’m lonely. And having that ‘elemental’ status attached to me makes me very lonely. I try talking to people but they look at me like you’re doing now.”, Satoshi looked down, “Just because I can do something others cannot? I didn’t ask for this power! Why do I have to be treated this way?”

He looked back at her.

“Tell me.. Why do I have to be treated like this? I just want to help you. Please let me help you.”

"Stu me corpu schifosu hè degradante. Qualchissia, quì o beyong, pò fà qualcosa per quessa ti pagaraghju bellu per piacè, per piacè, per piacè, guarì mi."

That sounded like one of those mage chants.

(I hope she's not planning on attacking? I really don't want to kill her...)

As the chant finished, a small green glow appeared across her body. Her injuries slowly closed up, the only indication that they were ever there being the dried blood.

(Oh, so she didn't need my help. Well, okay.)

"Oh that's great. You can-"

"O signore di u ventu ti pregu di dà mi u putere di lampà i mo nemichi. Purtaraghju u vostru putere ancu se..."

(Ok, maybe it's to clean herself up this time.)

“..l'anima è vi permettenu di manifestà una frazione di voi in questu mondu..”

(How long is that chant?)

“Se mi truvate degnu, beneditemi cù a vostra putenza è scatenate una onnipotente lama di ventu annantu à stu stidu pezzu di merda!”

Suddenly some deformity appeared in the air around the elf and a blade of wind came at him.

"What the hell!?"

He wasn't surprised that she attacked him. Well, he was but there was something more to be surprised about.

"What's with that weak attack!?"

The wind blades were like toys to him. He didn't even want to call it an attack. In fact, he wanted to kill that elf for even daring to use it as an attack against him.

With absolute sheer willpower he didn't burst the elf's lungs and only dispersed the blades.

"Are you stupid? You attacked an air elemental with air?"

Now that she was healed, she stood on her feet, watching his enemy. With a dagger in hand, she took a battle stance.

"What? Where? You didn't have that before."

Satoshi didn't understand where she could have possibly hidden a dagger on her naked body.

"In there?"

Now that she wasn't covering herself, he let his eyes wander. There was no hair down there, he noted.

Then he suddenly remembered that she had also taken her bow out of nowhere when she was attacked by those monkey beasts.

"Oh, some kind of inventory magic! Silly me, obviously you won't hide a blade in your-"

Without letting him finish, she ran towards him with the dagger.

And without getting up, he blew her back.

*thwak*

Her body hit a tree trunk and fell to the ground.

"Is this how you repay your savior? By throwing magic at him and attacking him with a dagger.", Satoshi commented, annoyed.

She got up and spit some blood. She had hit the trunk hard.

"Stu me corpu schifosu hè degradante. Qualchissia, quì o beyong, pò fà qualcosa per quessa ti pagaraghju bellu per piacè, per piacè, per piacè, guarì mi."

Another greenish glow covered her body. Healing magic.

Then she attacked him again.

"I think I'm starting to understand the legend now."

*thwak*

"Stu me corpu schifosu hè degradante…."

She healed herself again.

"Some fools spread false rumors, jealous of our power. Then other fools like you, attack us, then we have to kill you in self-defense. And we end up being the bad guys.", Satoshi concluded from his position, where he had been sitting all this while.

She didn't attack this time, realizing just how outmatched she was. He had neither chanted nor used any hand signs. His attacks came without warning and he didn't look the least bit spent.

"You'll let me go?"

She on the other hand, was breathing hard; a result of the exertion, blood loss and probably also low on mana.

"Really? Weren't you listening to me all this while?"

(There's no way I'm letting you go! I'm fucking lost!)

She slowly stepped back from him, never taking her eyes off.

Satoshi finally got up.

"You're free to go. But you're not going to stop me going wherever I please either right?"

She shook her head lightly.

"Alright then. I'll follow you."

"What?"

"It's my goal in life to make people realize that not all elementals are bad. I've decided you're my next target.", he made some bullshit up to use as an excuse to follow her.

"No way… No! Stay away from me!"

She finally chose the right decision, even though it was too late now. She started running away.