Starting with the defeated female knight

Arrows aimed at the eyes, longswords slashing at the necks, and strange spells.

The female knight sighed.

"Can't we just have a proper talk?"

The moment she finished speaking, the female knight vanished from her spot.

Or rather, it was so fast that they couldn't see it clearly.

Then, without even drawing her sword, she first snapped the archer's arm, then knocked the swordsman unconscious with a chop to the neck.

Considering that the monk's body was too weak to withstand her touch, she took out a small bag and sprinkled some powder on him.

Two seconds later, with a thud, three bodies fell to the ground.

Then, Cecilia turned her gaze to the campfire where the pointy-eared creatures had been.

But there was nothing left there.

Using the time the three bought, the others took their captain and fled into the darkness.

Cecilia did not give chase.

There's simply no need to chase after it.

She walked slowly forward, and sure enough, at the end of the darkness, in front of a mouth teeming with countless tentacles, she saw the remaining pointed ears.

Weapons fell off, limbs were bound, joints were locked, and some who struggled fiercely had their entire upper body swallowed into the sac of some kind of giant tentacle.

After struggling for a while, it stopped moving.

"...Sometimes I really think you're quite strange."

Cecilia's expression was somewhat subtle.

It also easily reminds her of some bad things—because she had 'died' in the same way in the cave.

What can I do? I only brought these with me in a hurry, so I'll just have to make do.

Spit out the unconscious pointed ear, throw it into a bundle and tie it up.

Both of their gazes were simultaneously fixed on the only remaining 'special case' in the room.

The captain of the pointy-eared creatures stood there quietly, motionless.

There was no resistance, no escape, no fear, and no reaction whatsoever, which is why the tentacles didn't slap her.

[Hello, are you there?]

The tentacle tapped her shoulder.

But there was still no response.

Not to mention Green, even Cecilia felt something was off at this point and tried to ask him questions, but there was no response.

Disorientation? Terrified? Or...?

My heart is racing; I seem a little scared.

But still alive

The tentacles curled slightly, engulfing the petite figure in the pile of tentacles.

There was still no reaction; there was neither resistance nor cooperation.

Only her slightly trembling body and increasingly rapid heartbeat proved that she was not some exquisite doll, but a living person.

[Never mind, let's take it back first.]

After several unsuccessful attempts, Grimm and Cecilia had no choice but to temporarily give up negotiating with the other party. They then used the underground tentacle tunnel to transport the pointed-eared creatures back and throw them into Grimm's specially designed tentacle prison.

Tentacle Prison, as the name suggests, is a living prison made up of tentacles.

It was initially established before the arrival of the Demon Tide Investigation Team, out of concern that the team's arrival might lead to conflict with him and the residents of Dawn City.

In case of any serious incident, they can be temporarily confined inside.

Fortunately, in the end, he got along quite well with the investigation team, and now, this prison is just right for the pointy-eared guys.

Even after locking them up, Green wrapped his tentacles around them several times, locking all their joints. He also removed all restrictions on their equipment and pocket items before taking them away, and even checked their bodies to see if they were hiding anything.

It wasn't that Green had any particular hobby; in fact, Cecilia was very supportive of what he was doing.

“These pointy-eared ones are stronger than the elite members of the original investigation team, and there’s also that captain who could see through your stalker tentacles.”

Cecilia shook her head.

"Given the content of their previous conversation, it's hard for me not to suspect what their true purpose is in approaching this place."

"You should also have your teeth checked. There are people in the capital who hide poison in their teeth so they can commit suicide when needed."

"...Internal organs? There's no need for that... No, I don't know anything about the elf's condition either. If you think it's necessary, you can have it checked."

After the inspection was completed and it was confirmed that there were no problems, the tentacles turned their attention back to the last one.

She sat quietly on the chair in the tentacle dungeon, still motionless.

Her eyes were slightly open, her hands were placed in front of her, and her long eyelashes blinked, but she did not respond otherwise.

【May I have your name?】

no respond.

for a long time.

After Cecilia left, her lips trembled slightly.

It made a barely audible sound.

“...Meria.”

"...Ku Melia."

【Um】

Goodnight, Miss Melia.

"......Um."

------

P.S.: I closed one chapter, and it took a lot of time to revise it and work on the images, so I'm a little late. Sorry.

Volume 1: Chapter 84: The Human-Machine Elf

Green caught a bunch of pointy-eared animals.

But it's no different from not catching them at all.

The reason is simple: after waking up the next day and confirming that everyone had been captured and had no chance to resist, the group of pointy-eared people adopted the same human-machine attitude as Melia.

They neither resisted nor cooperated; they showed no reaction whatsoever to attempts at normal communication or expressions of threat.

Furthermore, after interacting with them more, Green discovered that their mental responses were quite slow and they rarely showed any obvious emotional changes.

Her dull demeanor, combined with her beautiful appearance, made her seem like a few exquisite living dolls.

On the contrary, Melia, who had performed best among the human and machine users, interacted with Green more than anyone else in the later part of the game.

"...They are very obedient."

"...I will keep an eye on them."

"...Please don't hurt them."

But that was all there was to it.

But that's enough.

Green didn't know how Melia did it, but after taking her around, the other pointy-eared machines changed from being completely unresponsive to being able to move a little.

If you bring food in, it will eat by itself; if you throw in a couple of pieces of clothing, it will put them on on its own; the rest of the time it will just find a place to sit, or simply stand there and leave the game running.

It's very strange, extremely strange.

It was so eerie that even Green felt a chill run down his spine looking at their calm gazes.

【No, are elves like that?】

[It feels like we're living, breathing zombies.]

But the others couldn't answer either, since they weren't even born when the Empire last dealt with the elves.

Even if you ask the old folks in the capital, they basically can't answer your questions.

Although it was a civilization recognized by the Empire, the Empire and the elves actually did not have much in-depth interaction because their territories were too far apart.

Even the old pope, who had personally experienced the conflict more than a hundred years ago, had no idea why the other side had suddenly come and why they had suddenly left.

Nevertheless, the old pope still provided some additional information.

"Elves are actually a general term. There are two kinds, one of which is the kind you saw."

"And there is another kind, which is only the size of a palm and can fly with wings. We call them 'big elves' and 'little elves' respectively."

"Great elves do tend to be aloof, but never to the extent you described, while little elves tend to be more lively."

"Although they are a different race, the empire has actually tried to communicate with them. After all, even if they are a different race, as long as they live outside the border, even if they are nobles, they can be accepted."

"Moreover, although there are obvious differences, the great elves at least look very similar to humans, making them easier to accept."

"But the other party's attitude and response... were very strange."

“Very strange.”

Moreover, it was so strange that even the old Pope didn't know how to describe it.

In fact, before the conflict more than a hundred years ago, humans and elves maintained some contact.

Although they were only scattered and could only be seen in places far from the Empire, the Empire at least established some contact with the elves through the exchanges at that time. Various information and recognition of the elves were also collected and established during that period.

But after that conflict, even adventurers who deliberately sought them out never saw a single elf in the wild again.

As for those who went to the Elven Kingdom, not one of them returned.

No one knows what happened except the elf himself.

In addition, the old man also added some scattered pieces of information in a rambling manner.

For example, although there is little contact, elven handicrafts are very popular in the Empire. According to those who have been in contact with them, almost every elf is an art master. They even try to fill their armor with intricate and beautiful patterns, but these patterns have little practical value. Not to mention paintings, musical instruments, and the like. Once they appear, they are highly sought-after items in the capital.

In addition, it is said that humans and elves have discussed reproductive methods and learned that elves have an incredibly low natural fertility rate. Not only do very few people get together, but even if they do, given their long lifespans, they may not be able to have a child until they die.

The ones who truly control reproduction and the continuation of the race are actually the female elves, who are extremely unreliable in both speech and behavior.

Of course, it's not a normal union of offspring, but rather it's said that elves grow from a being called the Mother Tree, like fruit, by planting 'seeds'.

So, although it may seem a bit strange, the great elves actually call the little elves 'mother', and sometimes they even add 'men' after it.

—It is said that it is because those silly kids often forget which seed they planted, and occasionally multiple people will claim it.

Afterwards, after getting the information from Old Deng.

Green looked back at the elf equipment he had captured.

Simple, plain, without any unnecessary decorations.

Even those clothes, while pretty, can hardly be described as particularly exquisite.

As for the purpose of the elves' visit?

Without even listening to their conversation, or even thinking about it, Green was certain that this group of pointy-eared people were after the Empire.

First came the demonic tide, then the ancient gods, and now there's a whole host of tough things brewing in the capital.

In addition, there really are extraordinary powers in this world. Even in the capital, including himself, there are several people who can sense things just by intuition.