Chapter 127 The Forest’s Natural Enemy and the Starlight Dew
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Elven Forest Sylvain.
The afternoon sun slanted west, and the trees began to cast long, cold shadows across the forest floor. As twilight crept closer, the forest’s breath deepened.
We resumed our search—myself and four elves: Lyphia, Sylphie, Flora, and our scout, Lunard.
The forest felt different after days away. The early-spring chill bit at my skin, and my nostrils filled with the scent of damp soil and deep-rotting leaves.
Through our exploration so far, we’d already collected the [Spirit Echo] from the spring-fed pool. Our destination was the ancient giant tree that had rooted itself in this land since time immemorial. There, we expected to find the finest magic materials available.
The forest gradually darkened around us as we pressed forward cautiously.
Suddenly, Lyphia, Sylphie, and Flora stopped dead in their tracks—all three at once. Their pointed ears twitched like wild animals catching the scent of prey.
”Xenos-sama. It appears an emergency has occurred ahead,” Lyphia said, her emerald-green eyes gleaming with sharp alertness as she lowered her voice.
Our scout Lunard had gone on ahead.
Something had happened to her. Lunard was supposed to signal the rest of us with a special whistle—one pitched at frequencies beyond human hearing. The elves’ superhuman auditory senses had caught what I never could.
And the signal they’d heard was the worst possible pattern: it meant Lunard’s life was in danger.
I drew my sword from my hip.
”Let’s go!”
I broke the silence with a sprint. The three elves followed soundlessly behind me.
When I burst onto the scene, I found Lunard suspended in midair, tangled in a giant web woven from transparent threads. She looked like a beautiful butterfly caught in a merciless trap.
And before her loomed a giant spider monster.
Its countless compound eyes glowed eerily. Its sharp mandibles were already poised to strike down at Lunard.
She must have blundered into the invisible webs the monster had cunningly woven. This spider was an ancient natural enemy of the elves that lived in Sylvain. Around the village, they were exterminated on sight, so encounters were rare—but deep in the forest, we’d been unlucky enough to stumble onto its nest.
The moment I saw Lunard about to be attacked, my mind went blank. My body moved before my thoughts could catch up.
I teleported between them in an instant.
My vision shifted in a flash. Before me—the hideous face of the giant spider.
And before I could even act—
Its razor-sharp fangs sank deep into my left side and right arm.
White-hot agony and shock coursed through my entire body. The sickening sensation of foreign objects piercing muscle and bone.
”—…Gh!”
My body convulsed from the searing pain and impact, chills racing down my spine. The sword in my right hand was useless now.
But my left hand was still free. I grasped the spider’s fang—still embedded in my own body—and gripped it with all my strength. Then I channeled mana directly into the creature through the wound, flooding its system with my Status Effect magic.
”Xenos-sama!” Lunard’s anguished scream echoed behind me.
As if responding to her voice, the three elves who’d rushed to the scene drew their bows in unison. Strings creaked. Arrow fletchings trembled.
In the next instant, silver arrows split the air with a sharp hiss.
My ‘Paralysis’ status effect must have taken hold immediately.
The spider—which ordinarily would have been terrifyingly swift—froze in place like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
The arrows howled toward the monster.
The air shuddered. Streaks of silver blurred across my vision.
The giant spider had no means of escape now. Arrow after arrow pierced its carapace without mercy. Each impact produced a dull thud as it tore through the hard shell, jolting the monster’s massive body.
The arrows kept coming, pinning it to the earth like silver stakes. Its movements were completely sealed.
The spider monster died under the elves’ onslaught.
When it was over, I ripped the fang still lodged in my body out in one swift motion.
Agony lanced through me again. Blood gushed from the wound.
I activated the Substitution Sorcery formula immediately. The fatal injury—and the potent spider venom that had been injected into me—I transferred wholesale to the pitiful goblins wearing the [Substitution Collar]s.
The goblin that took the physical wounds perished. The one that received the venom perished soon after.
…So it had been quite a formidable enemy, after all.
”Your movements were far too swift—even my arrows could not find their mark,” Lyphia said, her refined voice carrying a note of genuine surprise. “This monster is dangerous enough that even with full preparation, casualties are guaranteed. To encounter it mid-march and emerge without a single loss… that is nothing short of a miracle, would you not agree?”
She offered a prayer of thanks to the forest spirits.
Sylphie and Flora started a fire and carefully burned away the sticky spider silk tangled around Lunard’s elegant form. Fortunately, her short azure hair had escaped entanglement, so it remained undamaged.
Once we’d fully recovered our formation, we resumed our march toward the great tree.
Far above the forest canopy, one tree towered over all others—a colossus of wood and leaves. We were almost there.
Upon reaching its base, we searched for the final magic material.
Its name was Starlight Dew.1
Among the countless droplets that dripped from this ancient, sacred tree, one particular drop contained extraordinary mana. The elves called it that—with reverence.
Lyphia, the elf princess, looked up at the tree that pierced the sky. Her beautiful eyes traced the subtle flow of mana drifting through the air.
”…Here, if you would,” she said, indicating a specific spot with a graceful gesture. “Lunard, if you please.”
At Lyphia’s direction, Lunard raised her special crystalline collection vessel. She looked up.
And then—as if by divine revelation—a single, glistening droplet fell from the vast canopy of leaves.
Lunard caught it with perfect precision.
And so, we safely secured the final piece: the Starlight Dew.
With everything we needed in hand, our expedition concluded. We used Teleportation magic to return to the theater.
”Good work today. Thanks, everyone,” I said, offering my thanks before turning to head for the manor.
But Lunard called out to me.
”…Today—for saving me when I was in danger, at the risk of your own body… thank you truly,” she said, bowing her head deeply before looking back up. In her silver eyes, a heat I’d never seen before burned intensely.
”If you would allow me… I should like to offer my thanks. Tonight,” she said, her voice steady but carrying an unmistakable tremor of vulnerability.
I accepted her earnest offer quietly.
I brought Lunard back to the manor. We bathed together first, washing away the day’s grime and exhaustion. And then—we moved to the bedroom together.
Tonight, it was just the two of us.
I received Lunard’s passionate gratitude fully, without reservation.
Our sweet exchange of love slowly dissolved into the deep darkness of the night.
—
Summary:
After collecting the Spirit Echo from a spring-fed pool, Xenos and his elf companions venture deeper into Sylvain forest toward the ancient great tree, but their scout Lunard is caught in a giant spider’s web and nearly killed. Xenos teleports in to save her, taking fatal wounds himself before using his Status Effect magic to paralyze the creature, allowing the elves to finish it with arrows. After securing the Starlight Dew and returning to the theater, Lunard offers her gratitude—and herself—to Xenos in a private encounter that fades into the night.
—
Trivia:
The spider is specifically described as an “ancient natural enemy of the elves that lived in Sylvain”—this suggests a long-standing predator-prey relationship in the forest ecosystem.
The elves’ superhuman hearing allows them to detect whistles pitched beyond human hearing range, a detail that emphasizes their physiological differences from humans.
Xenos uses goblins wearing Substitution Collars as disposable damage-sponges—this reveals his pragmatic, morally flexible approach to survival.
The Starlight Dew is not just any droplet; it is one specific drop among countless others, containing extraordinary mana and requiring the elf princess’s sensory abilities to locate.
The phrase “theater” is used as the name for Xenos’s base—this implies a larger aesthetic or narrative theme tied to performance or games.
—
Translation Notes:
Notes:
• Sylphie – Elf with exceptional senses and archery skills. Carries a beautiful bow, has pale green hair worn in a ponytail, and possesses long pointed ears. Modest and humble, deflects praise while displaying underlying warmth.
• Lunard – Elf scout with short azure hair and silver eyes. Serves as the party’s forward lookout. Uses specialized whistles for communication. Initially professional and reserved, shows vulnerable gratitude after being rescued. Offers romantic thanks to Xenos.
• Lyphia – Elf princess working as a theater guard. Soft-spoken and polite. Radiates ethereal beauty and grace. Worries about Kyle causing trouble. Speaks with deferential, gentle politeness. Shows innocent happiness when held by Xenos.
• Flora – Apothecary of the elven village. Has calm, gentle brown eyes and long, carefully braided honey-colored hair. Walks with light footsteps. Breaks the elven non-interference principle only for Sylph birds. Possesses Healing Magic and cares for injured creatures. Shows shy affection toward Xenos after he kisses her hair.
• Sylph – A small bird with green-and-yellow plumage. Lives only in the sacred Sylvain Forest and shares a symbiotic relationship with the elves. Was attacked and sustained a deep wing wound. Communicates with Flora through soft calls. Guides Xenos and the elves to a spring containing the Spirit Echo.
• Xenos – Job: Heir to a high-ranking noble house; Relationship: Owner of Lilia; Has romantic connections with Elenor, Cecilia, and Lizel; Item/Magic: Summoning magic, [Substitution Collars]; Note: Was caught up in a Royal Palace explosion and missed three days of school. Pragmatic and calculating personality. Job: Noble of Grimlock family, protagonist; Relationship: Manipulator of Princess Liliana, pursuing Serena; Item/Magic: [Ring of Transformation]; Note: Reincarnated villain with game knowledge, calculating and arrogant. Job: Theater Owner and noble of Grimlock family; Relationship: Fiancé to Cecilia; Item/Magic: Game knowledge/metaknowledge; Note: Reincarnated villain protagonist who knows the original game script.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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