It was in a dense forest at the side of the road that the Elven Prince saw Mandogora. It was a gloomy forest that even the local hunters would not go near.

　The reason for passing through such a forest was, of course, to escape from his pursuers. Eloping is hard work.

　Such a trite thought occurred to me, but I never verbalized it. Instead, I'll do what I forgot to do.

　Along the way, I'm going to say my name.

My name is Will. Nice to meet you.

Will is the one who was raised by the gods of Table Mountain.

　The complementary is Luna Maria .

They are lightly surprised by the words, but soon say their names as well.

My name is Arwick. Son of Synturan, Chief of the Elves of the West.
I am the daughter of an earthly dwarf chieftain, Ravali.

　Finally, when Luna Maria says her name, they know each other's names.

"I'm sorry I didn't get to tell you the first time we met,

　Raverly says apologetically, but we don't care.

People are different in their circumstances.

　After hearing those words alone, I asked them how they got together.

"Is it okay for you to be here. What is this, out of the blue?

　Raverly's face turns bright red as if she had been drinking fire wine. Although she looks like a big sister, she is surprisingly innocent.

　It is Erwick who proudly tells me how they met.

　With a beautiful song, he tells the story of their meeting.


Our meeting was fate.

　One night when the moon is at its greatest, the prince of the forest people goes hunting.

　He finds the beautiful princess with a sprained foot.


　It's a beautiful poem that rhymes. Raverly is turning red. Irwick doesn't seem bothered and before I know it he's playing his harp.

"You shouldn't be the beauty, shame on you.

"It was a very beautiful woman who misspoke.

　They're both joking, but the gist of it is that they happened to meet by chance in the forest when Erwick was out hunting. It was there that they fell in love at first sight with each other.

That's a common story.

"Do you fall in love so quickly?

　Raverly answers my question.

There's no right time to fall in love. Sometimes you can meet and fall in love in a second. Didn't you get your heart racing when you first saw this young lady?

　Raverly's unexpected counterattack makes me blush lightly, too.

　I blush lightly because I remember how I felt the first time I saw Luna Maria.

　A beautiful maiden being chased by a villain. The first human woman I'd ever seen.

　The memory of that moment was so vividly imprinted in my mind that I could remember how the Lunamaria breathed.

　--For a moment, I stared at the present Lunamaria, but I was afraid I'd be redder than Raverly if I continued, so I returned to the topic at hand.

There's definitely more to this dense forest than a mandogora.

That's true. . because it seems to be a forest that the nearby villagers don't even go to.

"Because Mandogola hates the earth that man has trodden.

　While exchanging like that, Raverly asks.

　Arwick answers.

"Sorry to ask you a basic question, but what is a mandogora?

"You don't even know that?

I'm sorry.

"I'm not angry. It's knowledge that is not necessary to know what is valuable.

A mandogola is a root vegetable in the shape of a person.

"Yeah, like root vegetables. Like radishes and carrots?

"Yes. Its effects are so far-reaching. I use it to make all kinds of elixirs and potions.

However, it is very toxic, so the dosage and usage must be strictly adhered to.

"Wow, that's some material. Is it expensive, by the way?

　Raverly winces as Arwick growls at her.

"Why didn't you pull it out the last time you were walking by?

　You seem angry, but there's a reason for that, and when Arwick is about to tell him, Lunamaria shouts.

Silence, everyone!　There's something unusual about it.

　I immediately get into a combat stance, but they are both looking at each other in a daze. It's partly because they don't know how good Lunamaria's hearing is, but still, prince and princess, I think they are somewhat out of touch.

　I take a step forward as if to protect them.
　Then a black shadow leapt out of the darkness.
　I dodge the black shadow's attack with the sacred shield in my left hand.

　Guru...

　The black shadows stare at me vindictively.

　Arwick and Ravali widen their eyes. But soon I see that the black shadow is a demon.



"These are black dogs (hellhounds)?

Correct. It looks like we are in the Forest of Monsters.

　I take down an attacking hellhound with a shield bash.

　The black dog crawls over.

I didn't see him the first time I visited.

I guess I got lucky.

I can see why the local hunters don't stick around, either.

　Raverly said and took out a large mallet he was carrying. It looks like she will join the battle.

She raises the mallet wide and brings it down.


　Thud.


　and a loud bang. Minced meat is ready in an instant.

In your village, she is known as the princess of minced meat.

　The origin of the name is approximate, one can imagine. His prowess sounds very dependable.

　On the other hand, Irwick seems to be a supportive type of warrior.

　When he summons the Wind Spirit, he plays the harp and sings the Song of Battle. It lifts our spirits and increases our attack power.

　Leaving them in charge of the rear, I draw my Damascus steel sword and charge forward.

　The hellhounds were not powerful demons, but there were at least thirty of them around. Since they are demons that take cooperation, we were at a disadvantage if this became a long-term battle. So, we wanted to take care of them all at once without being too cautious with our forces.

　You swing the Damascus sword, the prize for winning the martial arts tournament. I hadn't put any magic into it, but the Damascus sword quickly sliced through the hellhound's flesh.

Its sharpness is no less than the Mithril dagger I used to carry. The length of the dagger makes it easy to put a lot of force into it, and it's very comfortable to use.

This one might just be as good.

　If you look at it, even Lunamaria has drawn her sword and is fighting back.
　It's an impromptu party of four, but it's well balanced.

　I am a magician, Ravali, a warrior type, Arwick, a support person, and Lunamaria, a monk type. This might be the best party to fight any strong enemy. Yes, I can. As evidence of this, the hellhounds are rapidly diminishing in number and quickly losing their will to fight. When one of them abandons the front, it seems to follow suit and begins to flee. Eventually, when the front can no longer be held, the last one is killed by Ravali.

　Looking down at the pathetic minced hellhound, I announce the end of the battle.

The battle is over. They're beasts and I don't think they'll attack us again.

　A beast does not attack what it once perceives to be a strong man.

　They don't seek revenge for their emotions like humans do.

　Lunamaria knew that very well and suggests a break.

"We haven't found the mandogora yet, but the battle has roused everyone. I'll make you some herbal tea and we'll look for it after we stay the night.

　There was no one to turn down the proposal, so we began to prepare for camp. Me and Luna Maria set up camp, while Arwick and Raverly wove the ivy. We carefully weave together the ivy of the largest plants, the hardest plants and the hardest plants. This ivy, by the way, is my secret.