The elf led me deeper into the ancient forest, her golden hair swaying like sunlight trapped in woven strands. Every time I thought about turning around and making a break for it, she casually glanced back over her shoulder, her sharp gaze pinning me to the spot.
"So… uh, what exactly is this problem you need help with?" I asked, trying my best not to look suspicious.
"You will see soon enough," she replied curtly, her striking green eyes fixed straight ahead.
We finally reached a wide, hidden grove. Dozens of elves had gathered in a quiet circle around a massive tree—a specimen larger than any skyscraper I had ever seen back on Earth. Its bark shimmered faintly, pulsing with a strange, ethereal light, but the glow flickered irregularly like a dying lightbulb.
"This is the Heartwood," the elf explained, her voice softening with reverence. "Our sacred tree. It is the core source of our forest's life, and it is slowly dying."
I stared up at the giant, glowing plant, completely out of my depth. "…Okay, but how am I supposed to fix a tree? I already told you, I am not a magician."
She crossed her arms, unimpressed. "You are from Earth. That is all that matters for now. Use whatever miraculous power you have. You know how to restore it, right?"
My jaw dropped. "All I know about plants is that they're green, they have leaves, and some of them produce fruit," I whispered—but her sharp elven ears caught every word.
Her eyebrows knitted together in immediate irritation. "You mock us?"
"Not mocking! Just… heavily managing expectations!" I raised my hands defensively.
Before our argument could escalate any further, an elderly elf emerged from the hushed crowd. His long, silver-white hair brushed the grass as he walked, and the staff in his hand crackled faintly with residual magical energy.
"Alira," the old man addressed the archer. "You have brought a human here? You know that humans are strictly forbidden from coming near our sacred tree."
"Yes, Chief. But do not worry," Alira replied, inclining her head. "He is an Earthling. I believe he can help us by using his world's miraculous skills."
The village chief studied me for an uncomfortably long time, his piercing gaze weighing my soul before he finally let out a heavy sigh.
"…You do not look like a hero, and I cannot feel any magical aura coming from your body. But seeing your strange outfit, it is clear you are indeed from Earth. Perhaps with your unique perspective, we can at least slow down the corruption."
I wanted to correct him, but honestly, compared to Verixa throwing me in a dungeon and Valkira threatening to slice my head off, being considered a "wise one" was the nicest compliment I'd received since arriving in this world. At least this request didn't involve fighting a giant monster.
The chief gestured toward the fading, erratic glow of the Heartwood. "Long ago, due to the endless wars between humans and demons, the deep roots which maintain the flow of mana became corrupted. Because of that, the water table became poisoned. Our magic has slowed the decay, but the corruption spreads faster every year. We need something miraculous—something an Earthling can do to cleanse what magic cannot. Please, if you can help us somehow, do so."
To my shock, the ancient chief bowed deeply to me.
I swallowed hard, a cold sweat breaking out on my neck. My brain frantically scrambled through my old high school science classes like a thief rummaging through a trash bin. Poison… roots… cleansing… Oh crap, is this just basic water filtration?
"Uh…" I scratched the back of my head nervously. "Maybe if we, you know, rerouted the water source and filtered it through a mixture of charcoal, gravel, and sand, we could physically trap and remove the toxins?"
The elves blinked at me in total, dead silence. For a horrifying second, I thought I'd accidentally insulted a sacred deity.
"…What is charcoal?" Alira asked, her expression completely blank.
I froze. "Wait. Don't tell me… you guys have never made charcoal before?!"
The entire group tilted their heads in perfect unison, looking exactly like a flock of confused birds. Even the ancient chief looked baffled.
I slapped a hand over my forehead. "Unbelievable. Even a middle-schooler who plays Minecraft knows how important charcoal is. In my world, at least."
Alira narrowed her eyes at me, her grip on her bow tightening. "Minecra... well, whatever that is. If you are saying this 'charcoal' thing can truly save our sacred tree, then prove it, Earthling. Show us."
"Before that, I have a actual name, you know. It's Zacken," I said with a heavy sigh, rolling up the sleeves of my tracksuit jacket. "Fine. But if I end up teaching a colony of mystical elves how to host a backyard barbecue, I am seriously demanding hazard pay."
Down near the village fire pit, I demonstrated the carbonization process—burning logs inside a tightly covered pit with extremely low oxygen to create pure charcoal. The elves watched the smoke rise as if witnessing a divine ritual.
When I crushed the blackened chunks into powder and explained how to layer them sequentially with fine sand and coarse gravel to create a physical filter, a wave of astonished whispers rippled through the crowd.
"It is so remarkably simple…" one elf gasped.
"Such practical knowledge… to think humans from another world could manipulate nature without a single drop of mana," murmured another.
Alira leaned in closer to inspect the prototype filter, her emerald eyes sparkling with genuine curiosity for the very first time. "Maybe you actually are useful after all, Earthling."
"Geez, thanks for the ringing endorsement. I'm really not that great," I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck.
The chief approached, his staff glowing with a warm, approving light as he bowed his head. "If this method cleanses the roots, we will owe you a profound debt, Zacken. But be warned—if your creation harms the Heartwood in any way, the elven people will never forgive you."
"No pressure at all," I mumbled, wiping the nervous sweat from my forehead.
A few minutes later, the first drops of filtered water trickled out of the bottom of the crude reservoir, clear as crystal. The elves let out a collective gasp. Beneath the soil, as the purified moisture reached the roots, the fading glow of the Heartwood suddenly surged. The light steadied, its luminescence no longer flickering like a dying lantern.
For the first time since stepping into this crazy fantasy world, I actually felt… useful.
Alira lowered her bow entirely and gave me a small, respectful nod. "You did it, Zacken. I… thank you. Truly."
Hearing those words, a massive wave of relief washed over me. Awesome, I thought. A situation solved completely peacefully without me almost dying.
But of course, in an isekai story, nothing is ever that simple.
The chief stepped forward, his arms spread wide. "You have given our people hope. Now, we must ask—as the chief of this village, I can provide you with anything you desire. Women, riches, land?"
"Honestly, I don't need anything like that," I replied, waving my hands dismissively. "I just want one thing: official permission to cross through your forest safely. You see, I have two companions waiting at the border, and we need to reach the lands beyond. So, if possible, please grant us safe passage, and I'd like to keep in touch in case you need more maintenance."
The elven council exchanged surprised murmurs. Alira tilted her head at me, looking at me as if I were some kind of bizarre, selfless saint for making such a modest request.
"…So be it," the chief declared after a brief pause. "We grant you and your companions permanent safe passage through our lands. And if ever you find yourself in dire need, the elf village will answer."
Relief flooded my chest, and I exhaled a long, shaky breath. "Thank you. Really."
A short while later, I returned to the forest's edge to fetch Valkira and Verixa. But the moment the three of us stepped back into the center of the elven village, the atmosphere instantly turned ice-cold.
The elves gasped in horror, their hands flying straight to their weapons as they recognized the demonic features of the two figures walking beside me. Angry whispers spread through the crowd like wildfire.
"Demons!"
"Why did the Earthling bring those monsters here?!"
Valkira's hand immediately hovered over the pommel of her greatsword, her sharp crimson eyes scanning the crowd for immediate threats. Verixa, on the other hand, completely missed the tension; she puffed out her tiny chest, pointed a finger at the crowd, and declared proudly, "Bow before your future Demon Queen, you pointy-eared peasants!"
I immediately brought my hand down, smacking her right on the top of her head.
"Ow!"
"You are not helping our case at all, kid!" I snapped.
Before a full-blown race war could erupt in the grove, Alira quickly raised her hand high, her voice commanding authority. "Stay your weapons! Lower your anger. If these demons are the chosen companions of Zacken, then by our laws of hospitality, we must extend our respect to them as well."
Slowly, reluctantly, the elves lowered their bows.
Valkira leaned down close to my ear, her voice a low murmur. "Are you absolutely certain they won't shoot us in the back?"
"They won't," I whispered back. Then, glancing nervously at the lingering glares, I added, "I mean… guess we'll find out."
Verixa smirked, rubbing her head as she looked around the beautiful village. "Hmph. So this is what humans call 'having connections.' Not bad for a low-level minion, Zacken."
"Minion? Wait, did I seriously just get demoted to a kid's minion?"
But before we could make our exit, Alira stepped directly into our path. "Zacken. One last thing."
"What now?" I asked warily, stepping back.
"You showed us how to cleanse the primary water source," she said, her emerald eyes locking onto mine with an earnest, intense focus. "But the Heartwood has thousands of deep roots and distant veins. We cannot rely on a single filter alone to save our people. There may be other underlying complications."
She stepped closer, her voice leaving no room for argument. "So, I ask of you—join us. Give us your continuous aid."
"Join you?" I interrupted, my eyes widening. "You mean, like… stay here forever and become the local village handyman?"
"Not a handyman," Alira corrected, her cheeks flushing slightly with irritation. "An ally. A guide from another world."
I looked over at my current party members. Verixa had her arms crossed tightly, scowling fiercely at Alira as if I had already committed treason. Valkira's expression was perfectly calm but unreadable, quietly waiting to see what choice I would make.
I let out a loud, dramatic sigh toward the canopy. "Why does this keep happening to me? First it's demons, then humans trying to guillotine me, and now elves. What's next? Am I going to stumble into a cave of dwarves asking me to invent draft beer?"
Alira tilted her head, completely lost. "…Beer?"
"Never mind, forget it," I muttered, shaking my head. "Look, I get it. The Heartwood is extremely important, and I really do want to see it fully recovered. But… I can't stay here. This loud kid over here—she really doesn't look the part, but she's the one who originally summoned me to this world, so my responsibility is with them."
Alira's expression hardened, though a faint flicker of disappointment danced deep within her green eyes. "So that is your final answer."
"Yeah." I managed a small, apologetic smile. "But don't take it the wrong way. If I come across any more useful scientific tricks on my travels, I'll be sure to stop by and share them. Think of me as… your part-time consultant."
"Alira."
The voice of the ancient chief echoed slowly through the grove, carrying a heavy weight of absolute authority. The old elf stepped forward, looking between the archer and me.
"You have always been fiercely loyal to this forest. But the world beyond our borders remains entirely unknown to you—and to the rest of our kind. This Earthling carries the exact foundational knowledge that our magic lacks. If he will not stay here with us… then you shall go with him."
Alira blinked in utter shock, her composure cracking. "Chief… you mean—"
The old man nodded slowly. "Travel the outside world. See what dangers it holds. Gather the unique knowledge we do not possess. And return to us, when the time is right, with the means to permanently save our people."
The surrounding crowd rippled with collective surprise.
I just stood there, entirely dumbfounded. "Wait. Hold on a second. You're… sending her with us?"
"Yes," the chief said simply, a knowing smile playing on his wrinkled face. "You wished to keep contact with us, correct?"
Alira snapped her head back toward me, quickly crossing her arms defensively as her ears turned a light shade of pink. "Hmph. Do not misunderstand the situation, Earthling. I am absolutely not following you because I want to. This is strictly a royal mission for the sake of my people."
Yeah, sure, completely believable, I thought, rolling my eyes. So now I've added a third one to the tally—and to top it all off, she's a textbook tsundere, I muttered under my breath.
Verixa's face instantly shifted into a mischievous, gap-toothed grin. "Ohhh, a brand new minion for our vanguard? This is going to be incredibly fun. Valkira, I wonder how long it will take before she starts fighting you for Zacken's attention."
Valkira's crimson eyes flicked toward me—calm, perfectly sharp, and utterly terrifying. "This will undoubtedly complicate our logistics."
I groaned loudly, burying my face in my hands. "Great. Just what my life was missing. More high-maintenance party members. At this absolute rate, I'm going to end up leading a traveling circus across the continent."
The elven guards slowly parted, granting the four of us a clear, unhindered path through the glowing borders of the forest.
And so, with a golden-haired elf archer now unwillingly tacked onto my already completely insane group, we took our first steps out into the wider world.