After Ken was done with that, he knew that Luna would be on her way at any time, so he decided to clean up pretty fast. He headed to the stream and dived in, using the rushing water to wash his body clean.

He had only been inside for a few minutes when his ears picked up movement, it was Luna.

"Shit, she is here," he muttered but didn’t move from there.

She arrived at the stream with a smile plastered on her face, almost skipping as she came. She spotted him in the water and immediately came to the bank of the water.

"Good morning," she said with a smile.

"You could have waited for me to get out and get dressed," Ken said.

She let out a cheeky smile. "Are you embarrassed to come out in front of me?" It was a question meant to tease. Ken knew this, but right then he gave her a smile and started walking out.

"Me? Embarrassed? Haha."

When she saw he was really coming out, she shrieked and closed her eyes with both hands. Ken walked out of the water naked, her ears could pick up his every movement.

She was freaking out, red in the face, almost about to burst into flames right here. Finally, her curiosity and hunger got the better of her and she moved her fingers away to get a peek, only to see him looking right at her fully clothed.

"You wanted to look?" he asked in a teasing manner.

She looked away in a rush. "No, I just wanted to know if you were done," she eagerly tried to explain.

"It’s alright, good morning," he greeted her back finally.

"So, did you talk to your mother?" he asked.

"Oh, yes, that was what I was coming to tell you," she replied, her flustered face vanishing.

"What did she say?"

"Well, you can come, seems she actually knew about you before." She scratched her head as she spoke, like someone who had messed up.

"I knew that much," Ken replied.

"Wait, what? You knew? How did you know?" Luna asked.

"Think about it," Ken said as he started walking back to camp. "Your mother is the ruler of an elf tribe inside a forest and she has a tribe tree with a connection to the world tree. It’s safe to assume this entire forest is her domain, to say the least," he explained.

She paused for a moment and thought about it. "I guess that makes sense, so why did you never say anything?"

"Because if she was letting you see me, there had to be a reason and we will find out what it is fully today. Lead the way."

She took the lead, skipping through the forest and humming a tune, while Ken followed behind. He had not gotten this deep into the forest before. He noticed something different as he moved, the ground was healthier, and he could sense stronger mana around him as he walked. The air got richer, everything was simply better.

"We have arrived," Luna said suddenly, she turned her head to look at Ken.

"Huh? Where?"

"My mother’s magic hides the village, and only those from the tribe can see it. Hold my hand and I’ll take you in." She stretched out her hand, he took it, and immediately she pulled him forward. The next few steps were in the forest and the next moment he was inside the village.

Houses made of beautifully crafted wood stood on the ground and on large trees that could not be seen from outside. A beautiful village was very quickly opened to his eyes, with elves walking around and handling their basic duties.

There were two elf guards stationed at the entrance, decked in full silver armor. Their helmets covered their heads and left room for their ears to come outside. They wielded spears with blades so refined they looked like artworks.

"Greetings to the young mistress," both guards greeted with their heads bowed, but when they lifted their heads, they glared at Ken who was behind her, their eyes drifting to them holding hands. Ken noticed their grips on their spears get tighter in that moment.

’Seems like these fellows do not like me already,’ Ken thought.

They had all been informed of the coming of a human for the first time in their lives, but many of them had never interacted with any humans all their lives and had preconceived notions about humans, feeling like humans were impure and lesser in some way.

Luna also noticed the gazes, so she very quickly pulled Ken by the hand deeper into the village. The same thing happened as they moved through, the elves greeted her and then glared at the human. Some older elves went as far as to hide their children so they could not see the human.

’I see, the stigma is not just humans against elves, but elves have theirs against humans. I guess that’s only fair considering the separation that has existed.’

Finally, the house of the chief or head of the village came into view, much larger than the rest and it was at the base of a much more massive tree, which Ken could already tell was Mira.

The moment they stepped into range of the house, multiple guards were alert and immediately watching. From the trees as well, archers were mounted, their bows drawn and ready to fire at any moment to take down the human.

"My lady, the outsider must stop here first until the head of the guard has come and verified he is safe," one guard stepped forward and said to Luna. She responded with a glare, her face darkened.

The guard backed away instantly in fear, cold sweat running down his face, words stuck in his throat.

"It’s alright Luna, it’s procedure isn’t it?" Ken asked.

"But you are my—"

"No, I’m an outsider to everyone here, let’s not go the route of special treatment," Ken said.

"Fine," she agreed, giving one last look at the guard. "You’re lucky, your head would have left your body."

The guard flinched hard, got on his feet and immediately scurried away.

’She is genuinely scary,’ Ken thought, only for her to turn and flash him a smile, all the bloodlust vanished in seconds.