Manor Lord of the Elf World

Chapter 12 The Dark Phantom

"Your Highness Raven, you cannot go out!"

When the old butler, Elif, heard that Raven was going to go out with the Knights to search for the missing Anna, he immediately tried to dissuade him.

"You are the last hope for this territory. If anything happens to you, the remaining people alone will not be able to survive this winter!"

The forest is very dangerous at night, as some dangerous monsters that are hard to see during the day often choose this time to come out and hunt.

“I know, Elif.” Raven put on his cashmere hood and said, “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. Ryan and the others have already investigated this area thoroughly. There’s no danger around here. Besides, if there is, Ryan and the others will protect me.”

"That's right!"

With a clang, Ryan drew his weapon.

The most important thing now is to confirm Anna's condition.

If she's just lost and can't find her way back, that's fine.

But if she encountered some dangerous Pokémon and couldn't return, that would be terrible. They've set up camp here, and sooner or later they'll run into each other.

Currently, no one in the entire camp knows Pokémon better than him.

Raven remained uneasy until he confirmed the Pokémon's identity.

As for the danger…

Running away when you can't win is nothing to be ashamed of.

Furthermore, humans in the Pokémon world have a very special constitution; if they are injured, they can recover quickly as long as medicine is applied.

Seeing that Raven had made up his mind, Elif sighed with a worried expression.

He opened his mouth and said, "Your Highness... please be careful on your journey!"

Ryan and the others took torches and followed Anna's footprints into the forest.

Just as Raven had predicted, they didn't encounter any danger along the way, not even a single Pokémon.

The footprints stretched deep into the forest. Looking at the still relatively clear footprints, Raven was extremely grateful that it hadn't snowed today, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to see them.

As they walked, the group suddenly came to a place with obvious signs of a fight.

The ground here is covered with messy footprints, some from humans and some from unknown Pokémon.

Upon seeing this, Ryan's expression turned serious: "Your Highness Raven, over here!"

Upon hearing this, Raven stepped forward, examined the footprints, and said, "It seems there was a fight here not long ago."

Is Anna, a little girl who has just turned ten, any chance of winning against Pokémon?
Even though humans in the Pokémon world have a special physique, they are not immortal.

Looking in the direction the footprints continued, Raven said, "It seems Anna went somewhere else."

The footprints were very messy, as if its owner had rushed over in a hurry.

Halfway there, the footprints suddenly disappeared, replaced by the traces of something rolling by.

Raven looked up ahead.

There, it was a dangerous cliff.

*
Am I dead?

Anna groggily woke up from her coma. She tried to sit up, but suddenly felt a sharp pain in her arm.

"Ouch...it hurts!"

"Why am I here?"

At first, Anna was a little confused.

But soon, she remembered everything.

She encountered a terrifying monster and accidentally fell off a cliff while fleeing!

Wait! Where's that little guy?
Anna quickly turned her head and looked around.

The cold moonlight shone down on the earth, reflecting off the snow and casting a chilly glow over the surroundings.

Just then, Anna saw a small figure walking towards her from a distance, carrying something in its mouth.

That's... a little monster!

Anna's eyes lit up. Great! It's alright too! Under Anna's watchful gaze, Zorua quickly appeared before her.

Anna then realized that what it was carrying in its mouth was actually a root of vital energy for healing injuries!

Anna was somewhat stunned.

The next second, she saw the "monster" come to her injured arm, and then with a slight force of its teeth, the vital energy root was squeezed, and drops of juice dripped down and landed on Anna's injured area.

A magical scene happened.

Those wounds began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Eh?!"

Anna's eyes widened.

Is this magical beast... saving her?

This was the first time Anna had ever encountered such a situation in her life, and she was so surprised that she didn't even know how to react for a moment.

From childhood, everyone around her, including her mother, told her that monsters were very dangerous creatures, and that if she encountered one, she should immediately turn around and run away, otherwise she would be attacked and lose her life.

But now...

It seems that not all magical beasts will harm humans... This thought suddenly popped into Anna's mind.

A lot happened today, and perhaps he was tired, Zorua yawned wearily.

It quietly walked to the side, lay down alone on the cold ground, closed its eyes, and began to rest.

"Hey! Aren't you cold?" Anna couldn't help but ask.

Soroya opened his eyes and looked over.

"Oh, right, I haven't asked your name yet..." Anna smiled and said, "Hello! My name is Anna!"

"Ugh..." Zoroa let out a low moan, as if responding to the girl's words.

Seeing the little monster sleeping on the snow, Anna thought it must be cold, so despite Zorua's struggles, she picked it up and hugged it.

"Hehe, now you won't be cold!" Anna said, hugging Zoroya. "Go to sleep!"

Zorua paused for a moment, then realized that it was indeed warmer here than on the ground, so it slowly closed its eyes and prepared to rest.

But the next second, it heard Anna's voice again.

"Hey! Aren't you going home? Aren't your parents worried about you?"

Zorua shook his head: "Ugh..."

Anna's eyes widened immediately: "You mean, you don't have a mom and dad?"

Soroya looked at her.

Although she didn't speak, Anna miraculously understood its meaning.

No way... This monster doesn't have a father or mother. No wonder it was all alone there waiting to die today.

Thinking of this, Anna's heart was immediately filled with heartache and pity.

She said with some sadness, "You don't have a mother, and I don't have a father. We've both lost very important family members."

"Woo..."

Soroya looked quietly at the girl in front of him.

It stretched out its paws and pressed them against Anna's hands, trying to comfort the girl in this way.

However, the next second, Zoroya heard the other person suddenly ask in an excited tone:

"By the way, little monster, would you like to live with me? I live with my mom now, and if you're willing to live with us, you'll have family too!"

Upon hearing this, Zoroya was slightly taken aback.

Anna was happily inviting Zoroya one second, but the next second she started talking to herself again.

She looked up at the sky with a worried expression, muttering to herself:

"But it seems we're stuck here now..."

(End of this chapter)