Ren stopped in front of the fallen leader.
The camp was completely silent now. The only sounds were the wind moving through the trees and the quiet breathing of the sleeping men.
Ren looked around calmly.
The men lay scattered across the ground—some still holding their swords, others gripping their spears, all deeply asleep.
Then Ren started collecting the pouches from the sleeping men one by one. He checked each pouch quickly and placed them into his bag. Some had coins, while others had small items.
While he rummaged through the leader's belongings, a pouch caught his eye. When he picked it up, he realized it was a Magic Pouch.
"Ho… this is great," Ren muttered, holding the magic pouch in his hand.
"I think this can carry at least 100 kg."
A Magic Pouch was a rare item, one of the few he had ever seen. It could hold far more than its size suggested. To create one, both a skilled mage and a master smith were required—a perfect combination of magic and forge.
Inside the magic pouch were a few gold and silver coins. Ren carefully added the coins he had taken from the other men into it.
Then he turned his gaze toward the three carriages and began walking toward them.
When he reached the first carriage, he peeked inside. It was empty. The second carriage held only a few loaves of bread. He collected them and added them to his magic pouch as well.
Finally, he approached the last carriage—the one with the broken wheels, surrounded by the sleeping armed men. When he looked inside, instead a valuable things.
He saw… an iron cage made of thick metal bars. Inside, a female elf trembled violently, clearly terrified.
"Human?" Ren murmured, his eyes narrowing as he studied her pointed ears. "Hmm… an elf."
"They're planning to sell her at a slave market," Ren muttered to himself, his expression calm but sharp.
Ren observed the elf carefully. Her white hair was tangled, her clothes torn and dirty, and her arms hugged her knees tightly. Fear radiated from her, but a faint spark of spirit still shone in her green eyes.
Casually, Ren broke the lock of the cage with one hand, no effort at all.
"You're free," he said simply, then turned away.
Without looking back, Ren returned to Anna and Silya beneath the tree. Many things had happened, but Anna was still sleeping peacefully.
When Ren saw Anna, a small smile appeared on his face. He carefully lifted her onto his back, and Silya jumped onto his shoulder, wiggling happily.
They began walking again, passing by the sleeping armed men.
The female elf stepped slowly out of the iron cage. Her eyes widened as she took in the scene—so many armed men lying unconscious on the ground. She turned, searching for Ren, and saw him walking ahead Carrying anna, some distance away.
Quietly, she lowered herself and began to follow him, keeping her steps slow and careful so as not to make a sound.
Silya moved around on Ren's shoulder. She seemed alarmed that someone was following them.
"I know… let her be," Ren said softly. "She'll get tired eventually."
Then he looked at the sky. It had turned orange as the sun slowly sank toward the horizon, a sign that it would soon be dark.
"It's getting late," he said quietly.
Above Dartmoth Town, a crow with a violet right eye was flying in circles over the town.
Inside a dark room, there was only a table and a chair. The room was dim and quiet, with no windows, and the air felt cold and heavy. Two black-cloaked figures stood there in silence, their faces hidden in the shadows of their hoods.
One cloaked figure sat on the chair, his hand covering his right eye, while his left eye glowed violet in the darkness.
"Hehehe~ that man is interesting," he murmured softly. "I couldn't feel his mana at all."
The cloaked figure slowly lowered his hand from his eye, the faint violet glow still shining in the darkness.
The other cloaked figure stood quietly beside the table, his arms crossed, his face hidden under the hood.
"Forget him. What about the elf? Is she the one we are looking for?"
"I think she is the one we're looking for," the cloaked figure said, his voice low. "I sense something strange in her eyes… and she carries the energy of the Great Tree."
The other cloaked figure, arms still crossed, let a wide smile spread across his lips.
"Hehehe~ good," he replied. "…I give you permission to do whatever you want, until the mission is complete."
The cloaked figure sitting in the chair, his left violet eye glowing faintly in the dark, revealed a sinister, excited smile as he heard those words.
Suddenly, his voice turned cold and warning.
"If you fail… you know what happens," he said sharply. "I leave it to you."
The cloaked figure with the violet eye did not lose his sinister smile, even after hearing the warning.
Then, the other cloaked figure who had been standing suddenly vanished into the shadows.
The room fell completely silent, leaving only the cloaked figure sitting in the chair, his glowing violet eye cutting through the darkness.
The dry dirt road stretched forward. Beside the road was a forest with towering trees, and the sun was nearly down. The female elf continued to follow Ren from a safe distance.
Her footsteps were nearly silent so Ren would not notice that he was being followed. She blended perfectly with the natural sounds of rustling leaves and distant insects.
Even so, she was exhausted and her legs were tired. Her feet were bleeding, yet she paid it no mind. What drove her forward was not strength–but curiosity.
Because of the female elf's vision, Ren was someone who should not have a fate. When Ren nearly fell from the carriage, Lianna felt that he could explain it. Ren was also the man she saw in her dream.
Lianna also saw that at that time, the fate of the sleeping armed men had changed because of Ren's intervention.
Ren walked ahead with Anna resting on his back. He casually swept his gaze across the trees beside the road. His expression remained calm, but inside his mind, his thoughts were already forming.
"She has been following us for quite a while now... Is she tired?" Ren said to himself.
"Elves usually have weaker stamina than humans," Ren murmured. "Judging by her steps earlier, she is probably forcing herself just to keep up."
When night slowly descended upon the forest, Ren chose to set up camp inside. He walked through the trees and cleared a small space, then set a fire in the middle.