Quests

More? Has it happened more than once?!

Issei was very worried about these disappearances. Asia covered her mouth with her hands, the little prince trembled with fear, and the coachman, as always, remained impassive.

The knight, however, momentarily ignored the problem. First, they needed money. Shirou and Issei headed for a guild. It was very small and not very crowded.

Two elves who looked like children were standing behind the counter.
The coachman looked at the various quests with wide eyes.

<Issei, they pay a lot here!>

Issei sighed.

<I thought I already told you the value is different here.>

Shirou scratched his head.

<Why did the currency lose value in these places?>

<It's because of the demons.>

Issei explained.

<Many are capable of using magic, and with it they created millions of coins out of thin air. The locals took them, and the economy collapsed. So everything went up in price.>

The demons were the cause of everything, as they were the cause of many of the problems in that place.

The two took a task from the quest wall and headed for the counter. Shirou cleared his throat.

<Can I speak to an adult—>

Issei kicked the coachman.

<Let's take this task.>

The two elves tilted their heads together, then took the quest and said goodbye.

<Hey, what are you doing? They were little girls, are you sure we can trust them?>

Shirou was worried and confused.

<Don't worry, Shirou, those two are probably older than you.>

The coachman, once outside the guild, looked around. He noticed that all the female elves looked like childs, while the males didn't.

<why are girls children?>

Issei sighed deeply, realizing that Shirou had never seen elves in his life.

<Elves live for thousands of years and age very slowly. Male elves, on the other hand, live much shorter lives and so they seem normal to you. That's all.>

The coachman didn't ask any further questions, and together the two went to complete the task. It was simple enough: defeat some goblins.

The two had to walk a few steps outside the village to find themselves in front of a goblin den. Issei and the coachman exchanged glances before entering.

<Did you get the short swords?>

Shirou asked, almost bored. The knight simply nodded and handed a small sword to Shirou.
The cave was low and narrow, and the two large warriors struggled to explore.

<I hate tight spaces.>

Shirou was quite annoyed by the mission. Even though he was smaller than Issei, he complained more.

Maybe he's afraid of tight spaces.

Trying to make as little noise as possible, the two entered the depths of the cave.

Argh!

A goblin spotted them, its red eyes glowing in the darkness. Issei slowly drew his sword, and the goblin, with a bizarre run, headed toward the knight. Issei wasn't intimidated, and he cut off the little monster's head before it could alert other goblins.

The darkness was growing darker, so the knight lit the torch he had brought with him. The two arrived in a large area full of paths.

Suddenly, dozens of goblins appeared from every street, even behind them. The coachman also drew his sword, and together the two of them waged a massacre.

It was easy for them to clear the place, so they continued down the cave without any problems.

<Just a few more goblins and then we can go back up.>

The coachman seemed very bored of being bent over.

At one point, they heard a scream, a female one. Issei looked at Shirou.

<No, we have to get to the bottom.>

The coachman sighed and nodded, heroic duty calling. They continued exploring the cave, descending ever deeper.

We only heard a scream; it could have just been a goblin making the same noise.

The thought crossed Issei's mind, but he decided to continue down.

Then they heard a female scream again; they were close to the screams.

They arrived at a corridor with prison cells on either side.
After defeating a few goblins guarding the cells, the two knights shone a light into the cells, searching for someone.

Then a sound of crying at the end of the corridor caught the two's attention. They ran as fast as they could, knocking over other goblins who were in the way.

When they arrived, they saw a young elf covered in dirt, her clothes torn, crying.

<We've come to save you!>

Issei looked around; he was searching for a key or something to open the bars. He found nothing, so he took all his strength and tried to bend the metal. It was quite thin, and after some effort, it opened.

Issei reached out to the elf.

<Take my hand, let's run away!>

The elf rubbed her eyes; they were aqua green, sweet, and full of tears. She calmly climbed over the bars and landed in Issei's arms. The elf's skin was smooth and very cold; the knight was a little embarrassed. He remembered when his wife was still alive; she, too, had had smooth skin.

The knights raced out of the cave; the coachman remained in front, clearing the area, while Issei carried the chilled elf in his arms.

She caressed the knight's face with one hand.

<Thank you...>

The knight was about to shed a tear, rubbed his face, and continued running.

As soon as they left, Issei immediately asked what had happened, but the girl didn't seem well.

The two returned to the elf village and asked for help. The elf was taken to a hut, where an old elf sorceress healed the girl.

<She needs to rest. Come back later.>

The sorceress pushed the two knights away, pushing them out of the hut. Issei, who wanted to solve the disappearance of the elves, was close to the truth.

Were simple goblins really the ones who made the elves disappear? And why?

Helpless, the two continued their quests, but without discovering anything else about the disappearances.

They defeated trolls, green boars, slimes of all kinds, and other monsters.

The quests weren't just about killing monsters, but the two knights were more inclined toward them.

At the guild, however, Issei noticed a particular quest: to act as bodyguard to the village chief.