Stuck As A Dungeon Mob

It was now morning in the deserted elven city and the sun was already hot and scalding. The arid elves were accustomed to this type of climate but the regular elves were having a bit more trouble coping. The wind occasionally slapped them with abrasive sand causing the more fragile water mages to bleed.

Fortunately, they were in the elven city now and that meant there was plenty of water. They could take a dip and chill off for a while and maybe take cover from the wind. The only problem was that no one was brave enough to actually do that.

Not even the strong-willed Riniya who had woken up by now was an exception. She could only complain in the face of these adversities.

"Uncle… Are we just going to starve?" Riniya asked languidly. It seemed that Ed had forgotten that all entities that weren't himself still required basic sustenance.

Alolvi only glared at this impertinent niece.. They weren't even blood related but he somehow came to take care of her. How that snowballed into this current situation was something he couldn't have ever predicted but Alolvi was still ticked off at his past self.

He picked her up when she had fainted out of pity and familiarity but that didn't mean everything was fine and dandy between them.

"Riniya! How can you still have the gall to ask me anything?! What was the point of asking him a question he couldn't know the answer to?! Was she not pleading for him to do something about the matter?!

It was very well possible that her uncle was reading too much into it but… he was also starving, right? Not just that but he did a lot of heavy lifting the day before and even had to play some politics with the elven people to appease them.

This was not just his job, it was the job of all the elders. But the problem was that lots of the elders had also fainted, he was one of the youngest and strongest so things fell onto him in the end.

Overall, Alolvi was in a bad state both mentally and physically. That said… if the strong Alolvi was in such a state the state of others could be inferred.

"We need to eat something... " "Anything will do…" "Argh! GOD!" These whispers and murmurs could be heard in different houses. There was a certain maniacal tone with which they said these words. Such were the mutterings of the starved…

The elves' mental states were at an all-time low, and that meant it was finally time for the hero to enter the stage.

"Ah!" "Demon!" Though that was up to perspective. As soon as the elves caught sight of Ed walking past their homes they were frightened out of their wits. The mutterings of the deprived came to an immediate halt and were replaced by fearful shouts and then deathly silence.

The elves cowered and hid to the best of their abilities but the door-less door frames and windowless window frames made it impossible for these individuals to hide. Ed would walk by and shoot them a glance.

Those that received these glances would feel their heart drop.

This was hell.

Some were now seriously considering taking their chances with entering the blood haven instead.

Riniya and Alolvi were not having such thoughts. But they did freeze after Ed shot them a glance just like all the rest. The frightening part was how casual these glances were yet how simultaneously intrusive. It was as if Ed could peer into their heart and soul.

[Riniya (Elven Mage)]

[Alolvi (Elven Warrior)]

Ed was currently assessing everyone. He told them to get homes last time and he figured he may as well find out where each one of them lived. After all, what did he lose?

Just as Ed walked past the home of Riniya and Alolvi he saw a figure come darting towards his person. Ed's eyes briefly gleamed hoping to make an example out of someone but he had to quell his enthusiasm.

This wasn't an attacker.

"Please! Please at least feed the children!" A desperate elven woman came running out of her abode and prostrated herself at Ed's feet.

Behind this woman Ed could see some children. They were all cowering in the backs of the cities' homes. They hid to the best of their abilities behind old and decayed furniture but that was pointless.

Ed averted his gaze from the children and looked at the elven woman anew.

[Imryll Aefiel (Elven Childcarer)]

[ An Arid Elf that loves and cares for all the children in her elven village. She is horribly malnourished at the moment ]

"You…" Ed didn't know what to say. Those weren't even her children! How could she care for them all?

Though thinking about it again it'd be a bit weird for so many elven children to be hers… Due to the elves' long lifespans they tended to have low fertility. With that being the case it was odd to see an elven mother even have two children of similar ages!

Most importantly however, Ed identified a problem.

"Why are you caring for those children?" Ed asked with a harsh tone.

The woman Imryll was taken aback by the odd inquiry but she quickly overcame that and broke down into tears.

"No! Please, don't let them die..." The woman spoke words that fell on deaf ears.

Ed was preoccupied with chastising the elven society. How could they just give all of their children to one person to raise? Clearly there was a severe lack of personal responsibility!

"They… They might not have parents but…!" The woman's words were cut off by Ed's hand.

It seemed he jumped the gun, these were orphaned children. He might have been too quick to judge the elves.

'I should get rid of my prejudice' It still seemed unfair to leave so many orphaned children to a singular person but the facts just proved he wasn't getting the whole picture.

"Never mind, eat" Ed said before materializing from his storeroom lots of orc blood fruits. They rained down next to the woman and started to form a pile.

"You can eat alongside the children…" Ed said before looking around.

"As for all of you… You'll have to work for it" Ed declared to the hungry onlookers. Their maddened gazes shrunk back hearing Ed addressing them out of nowhere.

While the elven caretaker fed the children with the weird fruits, Ed rounded up all the other elves and led them back to Azalia's chamber by following the canal. Upon entering, the elves momentarily forgot their hunger.

Instead, they were all mesmerized by the picturesque scene of a tree with beautiful green and maroon leaves. Its thick and worn trunk suggested old age but the vivacious green told a different story.

Revival.

The word popped up in the minds of the mesmerized elves.

The tree's trunk was full of cracks but past those cracks was a rich brown color. Yes, it was almost as if a brand-new tree was being born from within the old one. The tree was shedding its bark and being reborn.

"Hey" Ed then interrupted the elves thoughts forcing them out of their stupor.

"From now on, you must all come here every morning and care for the plants" Ed told them.

"We- We need to care for this large tree?" Someone exclaimed in surprise.

"What? No! Don't touch that tree. You guys will be helping those over there grow" Ed said before pointing at a corner of the room. There were a couple of orc fruit trees growing with the help of arrays there.

"For now just pick any mature fruits, there isn't much else that you can do" Ed informed them.

"Anyway, your pay is what you gather" Ed added. He planned to teach them how to plant and draw those arrays in the future but that was in the future. There was no need to mention that now.

'Let's hope they can adapt quickly' Ed thought to himself.

"Start. What are you waiting for? But remember, don't touch Azalia" Ed said noticing that the elves were still standing around frightened.

As soon as the elves received Ed's permission however they turned into a crowd of mad man. They immediately started pushing and shoving one another as they made their way towards the 5 or so trees in the corner of the room.

There wasn't enough food for all of them!

As a long living species elves were able to function for a good while without eating but… that was only while carrying out their usual lazy and carefree lifestyle. Only then would they expend little energy.

"Argh!" "Ah!" Screams soon rang out as the elves fought amongst themselves.

"Stop! Stop it!" Alolvi's shouting could be heard from within the fighting group. But his pleas failed to register in the minds of the elves.

'What a sad sight' Ed wanted to stop the elves but at the same time... They reaped what they sowed, this was the lesson he hoped to teach them. So even if someone were to perish from this conflict, it was sometime they sowed themselves.

As what was basically a third party in this conflict, Ed didn't have anything to gain or lose from this.

The only thing he felt he was losing was his morality.