The elf sitting on a throne inside that building was so beautiful! Damian stared at her face for a few seconds, forgetting the dire situation he was in, finding a moment of peace.

"Hey!"

Frederic whispered in Damian's ears, and he was back to reality, staring at the elven queen, who, despite being gorgeous, was the person who had their fates on her hands.

"So what happened?" the queen said.

One guard who knew the entire story walked toward her throne, whispering to her everything that had happened to that point, including the fact Damian said he came through a teleport by accident.

The queen listened to everything carefully, and despite having a guard on her ear, telling her what happened, her eyes never left Damian or Frederic, watching their every move and expression.

"I see, thank you," the queen said as the guard bowed and went back to his position.

She did not say a word at first, only staring at Damian and thinking.

"There is a way for you to prove your innocence," the queen said.

What came to Damian's mind was something like 'show us where the portal you took is', but no way Damian would do something like that. The dragon city was something humanity or elves were prepared for.

"We have a treasure from the ancient elves. It can tell if the person asking a question is telling the truth or not. Are you willing to take it?" the queen said.

Damian saw no other option to prove his innocence, and honestly, that item looked to be a way better thing than showing them the portal, so he was glad there was another option — although he did not know if that idea would work or not.

"Of course, queen," Damian said, slightly bowing to not act rude.

The queen nodded with a smile of approval to Damian's actions, and said, "Bring the crystal."

One elf around the throne, one that dressed in a fancier way, moved forward and said, "My queen. We cannot use a secret treasure on two outsiders!"

"Are you questioning my leadership?" the queen said.

Damian watched, and could see a smirk on the elf's face, yet he still said, "Of course not, my queen. You know what you are doing."

The only elf who said something was that one. Yet others had a face of 'I have a few things to say', but none of them had enough courage to speak up. It was like a battle for the throne or something.

'That has nothing to do with me.' Damian thought as he waited for the item.

After a few moments, an elf came back carrying a green crystal that had the shape of a leaf. It differed from all the other crystals Damian had seen in his life, enticing his curiosity about its origins.

"Take it, and I will ask you the question," the queen said.

The guards inside the queen's throne room were ready to attack Damian if he tried to steal their treasure, closing all the way outs. Of course, Damian had no intentions in doing that, as that was stupid.

He accepted the crystal, carefully holding it, waiting for the queen to ask she wanted.

"Did you come to this forest by teleportation?" the queen asked.

"Yes, I did," Damian said.

Nothing happened at first, and that elf with fancy clothes who spoke previously said once again, "I told you this was not a good idea. Why is an outsider holding our treasure?"

Then, right after the elf said that, the crystal shone, meaning Damian had spoken the truth.

"Great. You were telling the truth," the queen said as she walked toward him, taking the crystal back.

Damian was glad she did not ask further questions, like what type of teleportation or similar things — as that could lead them to the dragon city portal.historical

"You two are welcome to stay here as long as you need," the queen said.

One guard walked Damian and Frederic to a tree house, one that would be their home for a few days. The guard or any other elf weren't looking happy to have humans inside their village, but if the queen said they could stay there, then they had to obey.

"That was close. We can finally rest for a while," Frederic said as he jumped on the leaf bed.

"But remember to behave here, and we cannot stay for longer. Let's get some information and then leave."

"Understood. But first, eat and sleep!"

Frederic was relaxed and thinking more about the food and the rest than anything else. Damian knew that any place was dangerous, especially an unknown place like the elven village.

Sure, the elven queen looked friendly, and Damian felt like he could trust her. But what about the rest? Especially that elf who went against the queen on her decision.

'Something is going on here,' Damian thought.

But even with all the concerns, Damian still had to eat and take care of himself, and seeing how no elves would give him food, he had to get it himself!

"Stay here while I'll go get us something to eat," Damian said.

Frederic nodded with his eyes closed, almost falling asleep on his new bed inside the tree house. Damian rolled his eyes at that. 'Lazy old dragon.'

~~~~

Damian was about to leave the elven village perimeter when that same elf wearing fancy clothes stopped him.

"Going where?" he said with an air of superiority.

The look on that elf's face made Damian disgusted, but he restrained himself from doing anything stupid.

"Get something to eat. Is there a problem?" Damian said.

"No, not at all. I just came to check if you are feeling alright here. You are, despite everything, one of our guests,"

"I am Ailred Sarxisys, at your disposal."

Ailred was one of the queen's counselors. Therefore, he had an influential position within the village. The village Damian was in was one of the many villages of the elves inside the forest, but it was the biggest, the place where the queen lived.

All the other villages followed whatever the queen commanded. So Ailred being one counselor, meant he was one of the most influential elves within the entire area.

Damian had been betrayed a few times already, so he knew when a person was faking it or not, and Ailred was just faking it. There was no kindness behind his words.

'He wants something from me or else he would not come here to talk to me.'

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Damian said.

Ailred stared at him, displeased by the fact Damian did not share his name with him.

"So you are heading out to the forest, right? I have a group of elves going on a mission for the village. Can you perhaps accompany them? It would improve how the elves see an outsider like you!" Ailred said.

The scheme was well-thought, and Damian couldn't refuse it. "Fine. Where are they?"

"Right there," Ailred said, pointing at the gate nearby where four elves were standing, "I will take my leave."

'Bastard. Will they try to kill me or do something else?' Damian thought as he moved toward the gate.

Four elves were there, all male, with spears and bows on their backs, except for one who wore a robe and had no weapons with him. They did not look friendly from afar, but the moment they saw Damian approaching, all of them changed.

"So you are the outsider? Just for you to know, I'm not like the other elves who dislike humans or outsiders. You are welcomed here," the elf said.

The others smiled and nodded, agreeing with the statement. Yet Damian knew it was all an act and that these elves had something else in mind, probably an evil plan made up with that Ailred.

But why care? Damian was not worried about such weaklings. Four elves? That was a low number to take down someone like Damian, even if it was inside their territory.

"So our task is to take down a beast who recently sheltered inside the forest, breaking the balance, preying on weaker creatures," one elf said.

Damian only nodded at that and followed them through a muddy path inside the forest.

The elven village was at the core of the forest, and the massive trees blocked the sunlight, so walking inside that place gave Damian a strange feeling as if he was suffocated.

It was common for the elves to live there, so the others who were with him looked fine, and in fact, were at home, but that was not the case for him.

"You see this fallen tree? The beast destroyed it with its horns. It is a massive Fire Bull, so we have to defeat it or else the forest might be in danger," the same elf spoke again.

That elf was like the leader of the group, so Damian said nothing and only nodded. The elves kept moving after explaining that, but Damian crouched, analyzing the fallen tree they spoke about up close.

'Something is amiss.'