Absolutely Do Not Touch ELdmia Egga – Chapter 105

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuzio
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The night comes quickly in the forest… or so I had heard somewhere.

I didn’t particularly mind.

After reaching a certain age while living with Asirye, I often hunted at night.

It helped that I had pretty good night vision.

However, no matter how quickly night fell, it was a little concerning that I hadn’t been able to escape the forest since the afternoon.

Not only was the forest vast, but the problem was that my body was also in terrible shape.

Dragging my heavy limbs through the woods was more tiring than I had anticipated, and since the spirits’ concept of “paths” was rather vague, the help I could receive from them was limited.

That’s not to say their help was useless.

Even though I was bleeding and the surrounding temperature was steadily dropping, I could still feel their warmth.

If it weren’t for that, I would have stopped a while back and hidden myself in some unsuitable location.

I was grateful for their assistance, as it had allowed me to settle down and rest beneath this adequately carved cliff.

“It’d be nice if the demons had poor night vision…”

I didn’t have the energy to erase my tracks, nor could I create diversions.

I didn’t even have any basic tools, and physically, I was nearing my limit.

Even excluding my injuries, my body wasn’t recovering properly, as if I had overexerted my mana reserves.

In this situation, the option I had chosen was essentially leaving everything up to fate.

I could only hope their tracking skills weren’t that great, as I hunkered down here to regain my strength.

I knew.

I knew that believing this unplanned and unsafe choice would work out in my favor was nothing but a foolish delusion, especially when facing off against those who had infiltrated imperial territory, even going so far as to build a gate to hide themselves for the purpose of kidnapping or assassinating the princess.

But if I moved now, dragging my exhausted body through this forest, I would only be caught in an even worse state.

Frankly, I could confidently say that both my condition, and the situation were worse than when I had faced those bandits at eight years old.

Then, it would be better to hide somewhere less conspicuous, conserving whatever energy I had left while clinging to the slim hope that they wouldn’t find me.

“As if to make matters worse, it’s even starting to rain. This is just great.”

Although it had been clear all morning, it was as if the world was mocking my struggles as I tried to ignore the signs of an approaching downpour.

I decided to get some shut-eye.

The moment I closed my eyes, ready to fall asleep without a care in the world, a voice rang out.

“You’ve got it easy.”

The sudden voice startled me, jolting me awake.

I wondered if they had caught up to me faster than I had anticipated.

But as I took in my surroundings, which had grown significantly darker since I had closed my eyes, and the heavy rain that was now pounding down, I realized that I must have passed out the moment I decided to sleep.

A considerable amount of time had passed.

Suppressing the urge to groan as I willed my heavy limbs and sluggish mind to function, I gauged the distance between myself and the voice.

He was too far away for his muttering to reach me, even through the downpour.

Judging by the dark figure now emerging from the bushes, moving cautiously to mask his sound and presence even amidst the heavy rain, he wouldn’t have called out to me intentionally.

In other words, it was the spirits’ doing.

I wanted to prostrate myself in gratitude.

Rumble!

The sound that accompanied the flash of lightning wasn’t thunder, but a bolt striking nearby.

The world was momentarily bathed in an intense white light, illuminating the figures approaching me.

There were six of them, all male, each with horns – unmistakably demons.

They glared at me, their clothes soaked through, but they didn’t attack, despite all of them drawing their swords.

“You’re one to talk,” I said, clearing my throat so my voice wouldn’t sound shaky.

The six figures flinched, their movements clearly visible even in the darkness.

It was understandable for them to be surprised.

They had just found me, seemingly sound asleep, and yet I had responded to their muttered comment and even talked back.

And to top it off, during a flash of lightning, no less.

While five of them seemed to hesitate, as if unsure of how to react, the one in the middle, presumably their leader, stepped forward and spoke.

“Are you the hero?”

Huh.

It wasn’t an answer, but a question.

I felt no obligation to respond, so I countered with another question.

“If your captain is dead, why are you still here? Why not just go back?”

Although I tried to sound nonchalant, cold sweat trickled down my back.

What if he wasn’t actually their captain?

Or what if he was the weakest among them?

If I were to encounter a similar situation again, I would surely meet my second death.

Still, judging by their stiff expressions every time lightning flashed, I doubted that was the case.

If so, all that remained was a battle of wits and exploiting openings.

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When they had discovered the human, sound asleep beneath a cliff, seeking shelter from the rain…

The demon leading the pursuit squad wanted to praise his subordinate for managing to find a trace of the human who had killed their captain, despite the setting sun and the downpour.

He had quietly ordered his men to surround the human, prioritizing caution above all else.

After all, even an elf would have difficulty sensing their presence amidst this sudden downpour.

And their opponent was the one who had killed their captain.

However, seeing the human seemingly sleeping peacefully without even a bonfire, he couldn’t help but mutter a complaint.

And then, he had received a response.

A chill ran down his spine, even though his body was already numb from the cold.

He realized that the human, whose eyes had been closed just moments ago, was now staring directly at him.

The only reason a scream of terror hadn’t escaped his lips was that he was too shocked to even make a sound.

This was the human who had killed their captain, the one who was untouchable, the one whose neck they couldn’t even scratch.

He had intended to ambush the human, thinking it was their only chance.

But to receive such a calm and composed response, as if the human had been expecting them… it made him doubt everything.

The tracks that the human hadn’t been able to erase now seemed deliberately left behind, and the assumption that the human was too injured to move quickly after fighting their captain now seemed ridiculous… perhaps there was no need to rush in the first place.

Doubt gnawed at his mind.

“We must avenge our captain.”

Before he could stop himself, he had spoken, his words betraying the fear that had taken root in his heart.

He hadn’t intended to respond, but he had felt the need to refute the implication that they were incompetent.

Then, the human tilted their head slightly, as if confused by his response.

“The humans didn’t consider him their captain, did they? Unless my eyes are deceiving me, I only see demons here.”

“We couldn’t bring those lacking in skill to pursue the one who killed our captain.”

“Yet, here you are.”

The human pointed out the inconsistency in his words.

The demon felt a moment of confusion, as if unsure of how their conversation had gotten to this point.

Then, it hit him.

He was saying ‘you came here even though you lack skill?’

That’s what the human was implying.

He could sense the unease spreading through his subordinates, and he realized that he wasn’t much different.

Perhaps they had walked into the very scenario he had feared the most during their pursuit.

This human… he had simply killed their captain and moved on.

“When I first came through the gate, I acted based on what I had seen in the capital, and killed your comrades.”

As he contemplated attacking, the human continued.

“When I tried to leave this place, your captain chased after me and tried to kill me, so I killed him. There was no other reason. I didn’t kill him because he was a demon, nor because we are at war.”

None of them dared to move as the human slowly rose to their feet.

They should have stopped him, should have attacked before he could fully regain his strength.

But instead, they took a step back, sensing the danger in his movements.

“It’s a simple story. If you point a sword at me, I’ll point mine back. Conversely, if you sheath your sword, I have no reason to draw mine.”

“…Are you trying to negotiate with us?”

His instincts screamed at him to flee, but his rationality held him back.

The human couldn’t have defeated their captain that easily.

No one had been able to kill their captain for the past 80 years, and then this human just happened to appear right before their mission to kidnap the princess?

It didn’t make sense!

The human must be severely injured from the fight, that was why there are six of them there.

They were being deceived!

If the human could really kill them all instantly, there would have been no need for this pointless act of mercy.

“Negotiate?”

But the human seemed far too calm.

He could only make out the human’s silhouette in this darkness, his clothes seemingly torn and tattered.

He wanted to believe that the human’s limbs were in a similarly terrible state, but the human’s calm demeanor and fluid movements betrayed that hope.

And as if to completely crush that hope, the human smoothly drew his sword.

“This is just a piece of advice. The choice is yours. But you don’t have much time to decide.”

They were already terrified, knowing that this human had killed their invincible captain.

If it had been any other situation, he would have ordered his men to scatter and flee.

But this demon, having experienced the horrors of a war that had raged for over seven years, did not prioritize his own survival in the face of fear.

He thought of his people, of their fate.

“We will die here today.”

This human is dangerous.

If there was any doubt about his condition…

They would find out, even at the cost of their lives.

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[Demon fucking off contest, who’ll win?]