Upon entering the village, several of the residents quickly noticed their presence and stared at them. Some had curious gazes while others...were suspicious and even scornful.

A few elves muttered to one another, likely commenting on Hazel and the other's sudden appearance. Along with the fact that humans were suddenly entering their village as well. Hazel already knew what the scornful gazes were directed at, which was why she did her best to ignore them.

"We need to talk to the chief of this village so they can give us a place to stay at least until the night," Tine said.

"Then we'll leave it to you and Runa," Astrid declared. "Considering how everyone is looking at us, or more accurately, them," she looked back at Hazel and Evelyn, the culprits of the suspicious and scornful gazes. "Having them enter the home of a chief could spark a bit of conflict."

Tine took a moment to consider her words before giving a brief nod. "You're not wrong. Alright, for now, you guys stay here while we head to the chief. We shouldn't take long anyway."

Astrid and Chegyaeyi nodded and watched the elves rush ahead, hastily getting to the chief as fast as possible. Meanwhile, the number of onlookers slowly increased, their gazes all on Hazel's group.

Hazel spared a couple of glances, making contact with a few. The elves responded by frantically looking away, almost fearfully. She expelled a sigh, growing tired of the whole thing. She understood that her presence was a bit of an issue, but there was no telling what kind of trouble could be brewing the longer they stayed in this village.

[Hazel Thatcher: Remind me again why we aren't just camping out in the forest?]

Astrid glanced at her before sending a response.

[Astrid Skogr: For one thing, Tine and Runa need to deliver a message to their tribe that they will be arriving soon. Another thing is that taking residence within a tribe village within Meir was safer. Before the merging of worlds, while our forest was grand, it was also filled with dangerous creatures. Now that the system was involved and from what we've seen in Portland, there were likely even worse monsters lurking in our homeland.]

Hazel nodded to herself, convinced by her partner's reasoning. This place wasn't like Portland. It was a place that was from another world. Astrid's world, to be exact.

Her dark elf partner was born and raised in Meir. She, along with Chegyaeyi and the Elves, knew this place much better than either she or Evelyn. Hazel had to remember that.

[Hazel Thatcher: What do you think our chances are of the residents trying to pick a fight with me or my mother?]

[Astrid Skogr: I would say fifty or even seventy percent.]

[Hazel Thatcher: That's pretty high, don't you think?]

[Astrid Skogr: It is, but you should also remember that you and your mother have us to back you up.]

[Hazel Thatcher: Well, that's reassuring.]

Although her last comment sounded sarcastic, she genuinely felt assured of her and her mother's safety.

Sticking with the others, Hazel glanced around the village, taking note of what she saw. From what her eyes spotted, this village had two types of homes. The ones on the ground and the ones on the trees.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

The ones on the ground were simple, modest, circular huts with a semi-cone rooftop that appeared to be made from some kind of fabric with multiple shades of green. These huts were also elevated, which was why there were wooden stairs that led to a circular porch that wrapped around the entire hut.

As for the homes on the trees, they appeared to be part of the trees themselves. There were bits of what appeared to be a circular hut merged into the very trees. Around the trees were multiple windows and entrances that led inside. Hazel couldn't help but marvel at the architecture.

"I didn't expect you guys to actually make your homes inside the trees..." Hazel noted, glancing at the literal tree-houses around her.

"Considering how massive the trees are, it would be a bit of a waste not to utilize them," Astrid explained in a prideful tone. "Not only does it allow us to blend in more with the forest, but it also gives off a rather aesthetic appearance."

"No kidding. Are the villages in the dark elves' territory the same as this?"

Astrid nodded. "Indeed. All three elven species are known for making their homes inside the trees of Meir. Of course, it's different for other tribe species."

"For instance?"

"The lizardfolk tribes have villages near swamps," Chegyaeyi chimed in.

Hazel looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Really?"

"That's correct. Certain species within Meir reside in very specific locations. For instance, the rabbit-folk have what are called Village Burrows. Their essentially underground villages."

Hazel's eyes widened slightly upon hearing this fact. Rabbits were known for burrowing underground and such, but she never expected Rabbit-folk, which she assumed were humanoid rabbits much similar to Lizardfolk like Chegyaeyi, would have underground villages. She didn't expect to learn about these kinds of things, and she was starting to get very invested in the topic.

She honestly wanted to know more, and since they were still waiting for Tine and Runa to return, they certainly had plenty of time to indulge in the topic for the moment. However, before they could talk about this further, they were soon rudely interrupted by a group of Elves approaching them.

"Hey!" One of them shouted, grabbing Hazel's and the others' attention.

Around five elves were walking toward them. All of them wore scornful expressions as if they were looking at something unpleasant. Unfortunately, Hazel could already guess what that something was. And she frowned upon this realization.

Astrid spoke up in response, giving the eye a slight glare. "May I help you?"

"You can help by explaining why you brought humans here." He pointed at Hazel and Evelyn with a sneer.

Hazel's brow twitched irritably, but she calmed down a bit by taking a few deep breaths. Getting involved with them would only cause problems. It would be best to let Astrid and Chegyaeyi deal with it instead.

"These humans are guests within Meir," Astrid spat, barely containing her anger in her voice. "We don't have to explain anything to you."

Instead of backing down from Astrid's gaze and attitude, it seemed that the elves only doubled down on their mission.

"You're seriously bringing in humans after these bastards polluted our forest with their ridiculous buildings? A good quarter of the Mistybark tribe was completely wiped out because of that...disgusting human city taking over it!"

Hazel's ears perked up after hearing this. A human city popping up in the middle of Mier? Could they be talking about one of the cities from her world?

Thinking about it, she suddenly remembered that the entire forest of Meir was right where Canada was. That meant that many of the human cities that were in Canada...were now in Meir as well. And it seemed that one of those cities now overshadowed this Mistybark tribe. A part of Hazel felt bad for the people who used to live there, but considering their current situation, she couldn't dwell on what had already happened and what she couldn't control in the first place.

"The humans weren't to blame for that," Astrid reasoned. "You need to remember that our world merged with theirs. And it was the system that did that."

"It doesn't change that the humans littered in our homeland!" One of the elves shouted.

"Yeah!" Another chimed in, raising their fist in the air.

"They don't belong here!"

Hazel expelled an annoyed sigh. While she understood their sentiment, their rude mob mentality was beginning to irk her. If it wasn't for the back that she was holding back from teaching them a lesson, these elves would've been ten to twenty feet in the air, praying to be put down safely without breaking any bones.

Astrid groaned before continuing. "Listen-!"

She was soon interrupted when a loud roar could be heard in the distance. It was so loud that it shook the very ground they were on. Everyone, including the elves, panicked while facing the source of the noise.

Hazel followed their gaze as a deep frown formed on her face.

"Oh, great," She grumbled. "What now?"

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.