I Found a Door to the Elven Realm-Chapter 9: She is too good to be true

Up to the point where the forest ended and the village began, Eren saw a few more Level 1 Slimes. But his desire to level up died with the pain.

When he was little, a truck almost hit him while he was riding his bike, and he’d carried that memory ever since.

It felt like shit to be this close to death. For the first time since becoming an adult, Eren felt the Grim Reaper’s breath on his neck.

"Everything seems so simple in movies."

Just as he was about to leave the woods, he suddenly had the urge to pee, so he pulled down his shorts and did it under a tree.

It felt really good to pee while a cool breeze blew through the leaves, and he was still happy to be alive.

If it weren’t for the scars on his chest, he’d be smiling.

When Eren stepped onto the village’s dirt road, he didn’t feel well. He hadn’t realized it during the fight with the Slimes, but now all he could feel was the pain in his chest.

Surprisingly, he caught sight of an elf in the field beyond the village.

The moment the older elf saw his condition, he dropped his bucket and rushed over, worry written all over his handsome face.

Eren wasn’t sure he’d ever met or seen this handsome elf before, but the genuine concern in the man’s expression hit him.

"How deep are your wounds? Did Slimes do this to you?"

Eren nodded.

"Follow me!"

The elf led him to a small garden beside a tiny hut. He hurried inside, grabbed a few herbs, then ran back out without wasting time.

"The leaves of Ezin Flowers reduce pain and help the wounds heal."

Without letting Eren speak, the man popped a flower into his mouth and started chewing.

Seriously?

The elf kept his eyes on Eren’s wounds with a calm look, like he’d done this a thousand times. Then he rubbed the chewed flower pulp between his hands.

A minute later, Eren’s left hand and chest were completely covered. The yellow-green remnants left a cold, soothing sensation on his skin.

Eren was surprised it worked this well.

"I’m starting to feel better already. Thank you, sir."

"It’s nothing. You are a human right. I never saw one before. Are you new in the village?"

"Yes. I just got here yesterday, and I already love it here."

"Oh, our village is very good. We only have one young hunter, but other than that, we have no problems."

Eren immediately latched onto that. "Isn’t the hunter doing her job properly?"

The middle-aged elf pointed beyond the village.

"Normally, there shouldn’t even be weak creatures near this village. We’re used to having a few miles completely clear.

The old hunters were always very strong, so clearing the area was easy for them."

He sighed, then lowered his voice.

"But Emily isn’t as strong as her mother yet."

"Her mother? Wasn’t the former hunter her father?"

Without realizing it, Eren had started gossiping with someone from the village. His voice was hoarse, and before he knew it, they were speaking in half-whispers.

"Her father tried to do the job temporarily until Emily grew up. But despite being very good at taking care of animals, he’s too low-level."

The elf’s mouth twisted into something like a grin.

"And Emily’s mother, and all the hunters before her... ohohoho! Words aren’t enough to describe them. It’ll still be years before Emily reaches their level and clears the entire forest around the village."

His eyes shone as if he were remembering a favorite story. "Emily would curse us when she was little, you know. She was such a menace to the village. Hahaha..."

Then his face changed.

"We are grateful she is acting like an adult now but if we had her mother, things wouldn’t have been like this."

Eren could’ve sworn the man’s eyes looked dreamy, like he was replaying an old crush. He couldn’t prove it, but the way he talked, he liked speaking about Emily’s mother more than any other topic.

"Emily’s mother is a woman who hunted even the strongest creatures of the forest to break the Level 150 limit. She’s the highest-level wood elf since the founding of this village."

He spoke like he was reciting a sweet memory filled with pride and praise. It was clear from his eyes how much he admired her.

Maybe they’d lived in the same generation, and maybe he’d been in love with her. Still, something about his words felt suspicious.

He was a simp. Maybe he was still one at heart.

As the pain in Eren’s chest faded, his frown didn’t. Because a very important detail surfaced in his mind.

So how did Emily’s mother die?

The better question was: "who, when or what" killed the village’s legendary ex-hunter?

Just before he could ask, a sweet voice cut through the air.

"Eren!"

A blurred figure came running through the forest toward them. Eren wouldn’t have believed anyone could run that fast if he hadn’t seen it out of the corner of his eye.

"Did you get hurt?"

When they explained what happened, Emily frowned and pulled a small herb from her bag. She was very worried.

"You don’t need anything else for the wounds since you’ve already applied Ezin Flower. Hold this in your mouth and suck it. It’ll ease the pain."

She lifted a finger, stern despite the tremble in her voice.

"Oh, and don’t bite it or swallow it. Just suck a little, then throw it away."

Eren nodded.

After saying goodbye to the elf, whose name he learned was Kelion, Eren and Emily returned home.

He’d wanted to go to the restaurant for breakfast, but he gave up. The pain still hadn’t faded.

Eren lay down on the bed and tried to close his eyes.

Lying there, he expected Emily to get angry or at least lecture him for being careless. Instead, Emily grabbed him and forced him up, then tucked him into her own larger bed.

The bed was permeated with flowers and the scent of a sweet woman. For a few seconds, Eren felt strange, and the pain even slipped out of his mind as he breathed in.

Still, Emily wasn’t angry like he expected, so he turned his head to look at her. He froze.

Emily’s eyes looked like she was about to cry.

"What’s the problem?"

"My fault..."

Ha!

"Outside the village, high-level creatures approach every night." Her hands clenched against the blanket. "Every morning I clear them first, then I deal with the low-level ones in the evening."

She swallowed hard.

"Since I’m not very fast and I don’t have strong spells, I can only do my hunting mission like that. If I was stronger, those Slimes wouldn’t be this close to the village."

Her voice cracked. "I’m sorry, Eren."

The young man lying in bed didn’t know what to think or say for a few seconds.

If the woman in front of him lived on Earth, maybe she’d be beautiful enough to win "Miss Universe" ten times in a row. She was kind, always smiling and clearly working herself to the bone.

She brought a stranger like Eren into her village and into her home without question. She even shared the same bedroom. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

She was too good to be true.

Eren felt a strange feeling in his heart. He’d been fascinated by her beauty before, but beauty alone hadn’t touched him like this.

Now, after what happened, his thoughts about Emily... and especially his feelings, started to shift.

"It’s not your fault. I got careless because of my personal opinion of Slimes."

He licked his lips because the voice was rough. "Actually, when I saw you for the first time yesterday, I felt something strange about the Slimes we ran into."

He exhaled.

"But I didn’t trust my feelings and I underestimated them. It was completely my fault. You’re doing your best, and this village is lucky to have you."

No matter how sweetly Eren spoke, Emily couldn’t believe him. She could see the scars on his naked chest.

In her mind, she was still a weak and inept hunter.

..

"I’m going to get you something to eat."

Emily leaned closer, serious again.

"If you’re going to sleep, throw the plant out of your mouth first. Don’t swallow it."

After making sure she’d warned him enough, Emily reached out and touched his forehead one last time.

"You’d have a fever if there was an infection. You’re lucky."

"Ha ha.. I’m lucky a lame Slime didn’t pierce my chest all the way to my heart."

Emily’s brows knit together. "Why do you despise Slimes so much? Slimes can be any level just like other creatures, and they’re capable of getting stronger. They also have abilities and special features."

She spoke like she couldn’t believe she had to say it.

"Some high-level Slimes even have godlike powers. They can change their body shape into other creatures. I don’t understand why you underestimate Slimes, but you need to change that mindset."

Eren wanted to tell her he could never take Slimes seriously because of the cartoons and games back in his world. But he couldn’t find the courage, because he didn’t want to look like an idiot.

So he just nodded and went back to sucking the herb. He liked the taste of flower petals in his mouth.

If this plant was the painkiller of this universe, he wanted to use it to the fullest.

Emily placed a glass of water nearby and gave him one last worried look before leaving the room. When he heard the front door close, he knew she’d left the house.

He turned slightly onto his side, and after a while, the pain began to fade.

Then he yawned.

His eyes started to close beyond his control. Somewhere in the haze, he swallowed the pulpy flower still in his mouth.

He fell asleep without knowing when.

..

"Eren, wake up!"

[Atrop Flower is attacking your system.]

The shout hit his ears with a trembling decibel and his eyes snapped open.

The first thing he saw was a worried but enchanting blonde leaning over him.

Before he could even process the message in his head, Emily rushed to his side and shook him by the shoulders. Then she tried to force the plant out of his mouth.

"Tell me you didn’t swallow the flower, please!"

"I think I ate it."

"Try to vomit, quickly. Open your mouth, I’ll stick my finger inside!"

As Eren tried to figure out what the hell was going on, he heard the familiar voice in his head again.

[You have fully absorbed Atropine Poison, which causes Pain Resistance, Freezing, and Sleeping Death.]

[Congratulations! You have acquired passive skill - Poison Resistance Level 1]