We are only a few days away from the Temple of the Mother of Earth when something strange happens.

　We've found a checkpoint at the end of the road.
　Lunamaria frowns and says, "That's strange.

This is strange. This road belongs to the Temple of the Mother Goddess. Even the king of Midnia isn't supposed to have a checkpoint.

Then the cult of the Mother Goddess might have installed it. It's too shabby for that.

　A checkpoint that looked as if it were made of scrap wood found here and there. It looked like it was built just now.

And the people questioning the travelers at the checkpoint were a little strange. They weren't humans.

It was dwarves and elves.

"Elves to dwarves?

　Lunamaria is surprised.

'Yeah, some people have pointy ears and a barrel of booze structure.

It's definitely elves and dwarves. But that's strange. They are supposed to be like dogs.

I hear you're the worst of the bunch.

It's unthinkable that these two tribes would be holding a checkpoint in such a place.

Is there a reason for this?

　Lunamaría nodding.

　I was coming to the same conclusion, so I headed to the checkpoint with her.

　At first, I was going to talk to her under false pretenses, but I doubt it will be necessary. Elves and dwarves were an odd pairing, but they did not smell dangerous. If it were only humans, I would have suspected the Zodiac cult's involvement, but the Zodiac cult is a bunch of racists. Non-human members are not allowed to join the order. The possibility that they were Zodiacs was slim to none.

　So I'll let Lunamaria do the talking.
　Lunamaria agrees and reveals her identity.

"What are you doing, elves and dwarves?　This is the road to the Temple of the Mother Goddess that is inviolate to all. By whose permission we are building such a place, such a checkpoint.

　It was the dwarves who were irritated by the words.

　It was not that they were accused of building a checkpoint, but that they named the elves before they did.

"Say 'Elves' to the dwarves.

　They will protest off the mark.

　Then.
"Dwarves and Elves
　And now the elves are chagrined.

　It seems it's true that they are close to each other. But if so, why are these two races building a checkpoint in a place like this?

　I ask bluntly.
　Then they answered almost simultaneously.


"Because our chief's daughter was kidnapped by their chief's son".

"Because our chief's firstborn son was abducted by their chief's daughter.


They finished saying it almost simultaneously and stared at each other.

"Pull it out, your late son is a shit.

"Shut up, it's your daughter's fault.

Whizzing and scattering sparks.

　Later, the two camps exchange verbal abuse, but to sum up their story, it seems that the children of their respective chiefs have eloped.

　So they want to set up a checkpoint here and capture them.

...... was a more outrageous reason than we thought.

　dumbfounded Lunamaría.

"I don't hear that very often. Elves and dwarves eloping.

"Yes. I've never heard of it. And I've never heard of an elf 'prince' and a dwarf 'princess' eloping: ......

"...... never heard of it

　Elves are a race of both men and women with fine eyebrows. They are very beautiful to humans and others, and are looked upon with envy. The dwarves, on the other hand, are a race of men awarded a barrel of bearded wine and women a barrel of "a little" bearded wine, and are not popular among humans or other races.

　How did they fall in love, the bearded woman and the beautiful man, instead of the beautiful woman and the beast? I was very curious, but before I could even think about it, the silhouette of the pair I had just met flashed through my mind.


　A tall man wearing a black hood and a petite woman.


　Maybe they are the elven prince and the dwarven princess.

　Lunamaria seems to be thinking the same thing and looks at me, "Master Will: ......" Perhaps, or perhaps it is, but the question is what to do about it. 　Should I tell the elves and dwarves who are arguing at the checkpoint?

　If they escaped, the Elf and the Dwarf would go straight to war. If you listen carefully, you'll notice a lot of disquieting remarks.

　Should I help them and provide them with information about the pair? If they are captured and returned to their homes, at least war can be avoided.

　You'd have to forcefully separate the two you love, but that was still better than a war.

............

　I worry.

　I've never been so distressed in my life, and I've made a decision.

Let's go talk to those two guys at ...... and see what they have to say. On the other hand, there's also the phrase "listen and don't talk".



"That's Mr. Will. You are in command.

"Say it after the success.

I'm sure Master Will will have it all snugly in place.

　Lunamaría's trust is strong, but I'm not so sure.

　I've killed a number of demons.
　I've beaten a bunch of mercenaries.
　I've beaten demons.
　But I've never made love between a man and a woman.

　And I've never acted as a go-between for two species that are at odds with each other.

　Landing this case well seemed to be as difficult as slaying three of the 24 Zodiac generals at the same time.