Manor Lord of the Elf World

Chapter 13 The Snow Hat Monster in the Snow

"Anna—!"

The mountain path was difficult to traverse at night, and it took Raven and his companions a great deal of effort to finally reach the bottom of the cliff.

Below the cliff lies a flat, open snowfield, with a few hardy trees growing in twos and threes not far away.

Several figures were sitting around a large tree, their backs against it, seemingly asleep.

But Ryan's shouts woke them up, and the torchlight was extremely conspicuous in the snowy night.

The Pokémon immediately looked in that direction.

"It's a magical beast! Prince Raven, please be careful!"

Ryan placed his right hand on the hilt of his sword, shielding Raven behind him, and warily watched the [monsters].

It was a small, unknown creature, resembling a short palm tree wearing a snow-white conical hat.

Its body is mainly snow-white and brownish-red, and it wears a snow-white conical hat on its head. At first glance, it looks like a short and fat fir tree.

That's... a snow hat monster?!

Raven recognized the names of those Pokémon at a glance.

The three snow-hatted monsters sat on the snow, blinking their eyes as they looked at Raven and the others, as well as the burning torches, their eyes filled with intense curiosity.

Raven was certain that they weren't curious about the torches in their hands, but rather about these strange humans who had suddenly appeared there!

"Hmm?"

Under the watchful eyes of Ryan and the others, the three snow-hatted monsters made a move.

They stood up from the snow and slowly circled around.

"Beware!"

As the monster approached, Ryan tensed up and instinctively reached for his sword.

However, the next second, a pair of hands pressed down on him.

"Don't attack!" Raven shouted.

"Your Highness Raven!" Ryan was somewhat puzzled; magical beasts were extremely dangerous beings!
Raven, however, stared directly at the snow-hatted monsters' movements and shook his head, saying, "They mean no harm."

Snowcap is a Pokémon that is very friendly to humans.

They live in deep mountains covered with thick snow. The Pokédex clearly states that because they rarely see humans, Snowcap is very interested in them.

Once they find footprints on the snow-capped mountains, they will gather around them, and if they see humans, they will curiously approach.

Just like this.

The three snow-hatted monsters stopped about three meters away from them. They stood still, their eyes wide open, curiously observing Raven and the others.

The expected attack did not come; instead, the magical beasts looked rather dazed... Ryan was quite surprised.

What... what exactly is going on?
“They’re curious,” Raven’s voice suddenly rang out.

Ryan and the others stared at them in disbelief.

Raven continued, "Because they have never seen a creature like us before."

So when they appear, the group of snow-hatted monsters will curiously gather around them.

Just like how humans can't help but take a few glances at things they've never seen before.

Upon hearing this, Ryan's face showed a surprised expression.

There are actually monsters like that!

"So, they won't attack us?" Ryan asked hesitantly.

“On the condition that we don’t attack them.” Raven pulled three dried almonds from his pocket.

—This was originally prepared for the Dratini, but now that he saw these Snowcap Monsters that were relatively friendly to humans, he couldn't help but find them very cute, so he handed the almonds to the three Snowcap Monsters.

After finishing this task, Raven turned around and said to everyone, "Let's go!"

"Yes, Your Highness Raven!" Ryan and the others withdrew their gazes from the Snow Hat Monster and turned to follow.

The group continued onward, while the snow-hatted monsters stood there, staring blankly at their retreating figures.

Only after they could no longer see them did they look down at the fruit in their hands.

One of the snow-hat monsters took a bite.

"Mm~!"

The other two snow-hat monsters followed suit and ate the dried almonds.

In the snowy night, the three snow-hatted monsters looked at the footprints left by the strange creatures on the snow, and then turned their gaze to the direction they had left in, their curiosity growing even stronger.

*
"Anna!"

The shouts carried very far through the snowy night.

Behind a sheltered hillside, Anna held Zoroya, shivering from the cold. "It's so cold... little monster, are we going to die here tonight?" Anna murmured.

After all, she was just a little girl who had just turned ten. The thought of never seeing her mother again brought tears to Anna's eyes.

If she's not around, Mom will worry, right?
"Woo..."

Solomon, who was in his arms, looked at the girl in front of him with some confusion.

Just then, its ears suddenly picked up a sound from the distant snowfield.

Soroya immediately perked up his ears and looked in that direction.

"What's wrong?" Anna panicked instantly upon seeing Zoroya's actions.

Could it be that terrifying monster has caught up with us?

She followed Soroya's gaze and saw several faint lights appearing in the distant snowfield.

The firelight approached from afar, and although Anna couldn't make out who those people were, she was overjoyed.

She quickly stood up and shouted:

Hey! I'm here!

Those people seemed to have heard her voice, and sure enough, they walked towards this direction.

In the hazy moonlight, Anna finally saw what those people looked like.

It's Prince Raven!
Prince Raven actually came to see her in person!
Anna's eyes welled up with tears instantly.

"We've found him, Your Highness Raven!" Ryan shouted, his voice filled with excitement.

Raven breathed a sigh of relief. He was about to say something when, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a Pokémon hiding behind the girl, only half its face showing, nervously observing everyone.

That is……

Zorua?!

Raven's pupils contracted.

"It's a monster!" Ryan and the others also spotted the Pokémon at that moment, and they immediately tensed up.

Seeing this, Anna quickly stopped her, saying, "It's not a bad monster, it saved me!"

Ryan and the others looked at each other in bewilderment.

Raven was somewhat surprised. He glanced at the Zoroa and asked, "What's going on?"

Anna recounted her experiences on this trip in detail.

From searching for herbs to encountering this magical beast, to being chased by another magical beast and accidentally falling off a cliff, and how this little magical beast found the Root of Vitality to help her heal.

"What, what's going on?!"

"real or fake?"

"Warcraft actually went out of their way to help humans?"

The knights around were surprised.

Anna quickly explained, "I'm telling the truth!"

She pulled Zoroya into a tight embrace, then looked at Raven and pleaded:

“Your Highness Raven, this magical beast isn’t a bad one. Like me, it has lost its family. Could I take it back to the camp? I’m worried it might be in danger if left here alone…”

Bringing an uncontrollable, unknown monster back to the camp?
For Ryan and others who have always been terrified of monsters and have even witnessed their friends die at their hands, this behavior is tantamount to inviting a wolf into the house!
“Please, Your Highness!” Anna pleaded.

"Ryan, do you remember what I told you before?" Ryan heard Prince Raven suddenly ask.

He was slightly startled.

The words that Prince Raven had spoken that night immediately came to mind.

[Warcraft is not an uncontrollable entity; it is intelligent, possesses wisdom, and can even understand human language.]

If the girl named Anna wasn't lying, then the beast's behavior completely confirmed what Prince Raven had said.

"Let's go back first, no matter what!" Raven said. "Anna, take this with you."

Anna's eyes instantly lit up, and she quickly replied, "Yes, Your Highness Raven!"

Now that we've found Anna, it's time to head back.

Because Anna's leg was injured, she could only be carried by a knight.

After determining their direction, the group left the area.

Shortly after everyone left.

Three round figures suddenly appeared on this desolate snowfield.

They stood in the snow, watching the footprints stretching into the distance, and then slowly followed them.

(End of this chapter)