This Hero is Sleeping!

Elric and Erika were guided through the streets of the elf village. Many people gawked at the two and as soon as their eyes met with Elric's they would bow.

Huh.

Since he couldn't be a ninja, maybe he could be a god? That seemed to be working well for now. There were neither any objections nor any problems from the people.

Ok, maybe there were, but he had managed to sweep them through well.

"What are we going to do now?" Erika asked Elric, her eyes constantly shooting about in the village.

Elric crossed his arms.

That… was a good question.

Before he could return with an answer to his vassal, though, the elf that was guiding them pointed at the hut of the Elf chief and guided them inside.

"We're here, o' great one."

"Good, get out."

"Yes?"

"Out."

Elric passed the man by and stepped inside. Then stopped him again. "Do you have ice cream? Maybe something sweet? Oh, chocolates will do! And also bring me a fan!"

The elf was slightly stunned without a response at the sudden barrage of requests.

Though all of them were greatly suspicious of his identity, the chief had still accepted it. On the off chance that he truly was their god, they couldn't disrespect him.

It was a situation where Elric had done nothing to raise their faith in him but had turned their fear up to a ten. Though, of course, he himself had no idea how that had happened.

For all Elric knew, his godhood debut was on par with artists that hit the top ten billboard charts on their very first album release.

He was the star, he could already see the headlines three years from now when the news would announce of his passing from drugs.

"Eh?"

Elric surprised himself with his imagination. It was quite the experience to think bad of himself.

He slowly yawned and stretched and decided to leave the elf that was talking about each of his demands alone.

"As for chocolates we have never—"

The poor elf was ignored despite having been asked to speak. Erika slowly alternated her gaze between the elf and Elric stepping inside the dark hut before following behind her friend.

Was it the safest place right now? Technically.

Was she sticking with it for that reason? No fucking way. Safe or not, Elric was always a ticking time bomb. Sure, if you waved a bomb people won't flock around you, but the bomb could explode and fuck you over.

In that sense, she was the bomb control squad.

Erika stepped inside the dark hut and saw Elric yawning while looking down at a bed in the tree house. Many totems and statues of various kinds adorned with flower crowns and leaves were splayed over the room while sheets of pure white were made from all kinds of plant fabrics.

"Nice sheets!" Elric yelped and jumped on the bed.

"Elric? What are you doing now?"

"What? I am just going to sleep." Elric said as if his sleeping was as natural as the flowing wind.

"Why!?" and Erika, the blasphemer, dared to refute wind.

"What else can we do while waiting?"

"I don't know, look for clues for what they were planning with Tiana?"

Elric slapped his hands together.

"Ingenious!" He said. Then yawned. "You do that, I'll go nap."

"Elric! Elric!!"

Elric ignored the wizard's every word and closed his eyes, slowly drifting into dreamland.

Erika was left stunned.

She was well on the path of learning to scream without raising her voice. She was well on it.

***

The rain started hammering on the ground like nails on a plank, every droplet looked heavy and strong enough to make holes in the walls above, and Claude and Tiana were left with no choice other than to hide inside the cabin.

The young elf and the hero stepped inside, but the sounds of water hitting the roof of the house were not reassuring in the slightest.

It even seemed as if the last line of defense could be broken at any moment, and their gazes remained stuck upward, but thankfully no rain water crept inside.

"What in the world was that…" Claude muttered before looking down.

[H-hey! Claude! You stepped inside the scary cabin!]

The Lord of Shadows' voice snapped Claude back to his surroundings and his hair started standing on end.

He took in deep breaths and muttered.

"Ghosts don't exist. Elves don't exist. Santa doesn't exist."

"What!? Santa doesn't exist?" Tiana screamed and Claude jumped in surprise.

He glared at his elf companion after calming himself down.

"What do you even know about santa?"

"Ruler ruler told me."

He had had the same reaction too. Claude shook his head and decided to focus on the present.

If ghosts and elves didn't exist, he didn't have to worry about them. What was that? Tiana was an elf and the Lord of Shadows a ghost? That was nothing other than high talk, high talk.

"All this, is this similar to your place?"

Tiana looked around. Far too many things were spread all over the room, littered around like confetti, completely dampening the floor and the walls with their murky presence.

"I don't recognize it."

There wasn't even enough space to sit down, and the rain didn't seem like it would be letting out anytime soon.

If not for the few spirits that brightened the room with their glow, they would have already fainted in fear.

Claude kicked some of the stuff away and decided to sit down. There was not a care in his mind for the historical value of the place. All that could go down the drain for all he cared.

Near the walls, he placed one of the softer feather boards in the room and sat down.

Tiana noticed him doing so and took a seat as well.

As her hand pushed away large objects, a small hole in the ground fell in her sight.

"Huh? What's this?"

"What happened?"

Next to the wall, leading underground, was a very small yet large enough hole.

The same hole the Legendary Legend from the Legendary Legend of the Legendary Legend Leres or LLftLLotLLL had stepped out of.