As we were heading to the tree house that we would be staying in tonight, there were many elves that were still staring at us as we walked by.
It seemed that we were still considered a rare oddity in this village, but at the very least, the way that they stared at us wasn't as hostile as before.
Instead, these were gazes that were filled with curiosity and interest.
This meant that we had at least made a good impression and it would be easier to negotiate going forward.
This was also the reason why the elders had wanted our group to go to the feast.
Even if the elders did have sway in the village and seemed like they were in charge, it wasn't as if their position was rock solid. If the majority of the villagers disagreed with the policy that they wanted to put in place, it wasn't as if they could force it.
So unless we could ease the tension between humans and elves, it would be hard for us to convince them of anything.
With this, it seemed like the first day was quite the success.
However, this first day wasn't over yet.
Once we left the main part of the village and there weren't that many elves around, there was a group that suddenly appeared to stop us.
At the head of this group was a red haired elf.
Apollo.
It was the head warrior who had barged into the meeting with the elders earlier.
But that wasn't the worst part.
The worst part of all of this was that the elves that he came with…clearly weren't here just out of curiosity. That was because all of the elves that he had brought with him were armed and radiating hostility.
When we saw this, our own guards wanted to draw their weapons and form a defensive line, but I quickly stopped them from doing that.
They all had unwilling looks, but I shook my head as I gestured for them to lower their weapons.
After all, I had seen the look on the face of the blonde elf.
She was just as surprised by Apollo's appearance as we were and she had her brows deeply knit as if she disapproved of this.
It seemed that this wasn't an action that was sanctioned by the elven village and it was just Apollo taking action by himself. So if we were to actually engage them, then that would completely destroy the reputation that we had created for ourselves.
If we fought them now, it would just hurt us.
I just hoped that Apollo and his men didn't plan on going too far…
The blonde elf took a step forward and said, "Head warrior Apollo, do you need something? These are the guests of the elders, so…"
Before she could finish, Apollo cut her off with a sharp glare.
The moment that she felt this gaze fall onto her, her mouth closed and she swallowed the words that she had been about to say.
When that happened, Apollo turned his gaze back to our group. Or rather more specifically, he turned his gaze onto me.
With the way that he was looking at me, it was almost as if he held some kind of personal grudge against me. However, no matter how I thought about it, it didn't seem like I had done anything to offend him.
After a long period of confrontational silence, Apollo finally said, "Humans, you should watch your step. This is not a place that you belong in, so you should be careful that you don't overstep your bounds."
Though this seemed like it was advice, it also didn't seem that way.
It seemed like he wanted to give a specific warning to our group…
After he finished saying this, he moved forward towards me.
Seeing this, the guards of the group all moved forward as if they were going to stop him. But once again, I raised my hand to stop them.
It was definitely risky to do something like this, but I didn't believe that Apollo would actually do something right when the tribe was getting warmed up to us. If he did, he would surely be recognized as the one in the wrong and be punished. I didn't think that he was foolish enough to do something like this.
At the same time, I wanted some information about why he was doing this in the first place.
With the way that he was acting, I couldn't understand how he would benefit from this.
When he was right in front of me, he stopped and stared right into my eyes. Though there was a height difference, he was looking down at me.
Seeing the way that he looked at me, I couldn't help being even more confused.
That is until I heard what he said.
"You were quite close with Moon at the feast tonight." Though he said this in what seemed like a calm voice, I could hear the anger that was boiling underneath.
I narrowed my eyes to look at him as if I wanted to confirm something, but then I couldn't help giving a secret bitter smile.
Is this really the reason why he was doing this?
Was he really doing this because he was jealous?
After taking some time to gather my thoughts, I said, "Does it matter to you if we talked? She is her own person and she is free to do what she wants."
But Apollo then said, "She is my fiance."
I was taken aback when I heard this and I couldn't help looking at the blonde elf to the side.
After a bit of hesitation, she gave a nod in response.
Then I turned back to look at Apollo with a calm look before saying, "We were simply having a chat and nothing more. Since she is your fiance, don't you think that you should trust her more?"
When Apollo heard this, he deeply knitted his brows.
He took a step forward so that he was right up in front of me and he said, "I hope that it will remain that way, human." He accentuated the last word when he said this.
Then he leaned in closer and said in a low voice, "I know what you humans are like. The only thing that you know how to do is cheat other races. Don't think for a single second that I will let you get away with this."
The aggressive tone in his voice as he said this really made it clear that he wouldn't be giving up.
I felt a bit annoyed when I heard this, but I kept the same calm look on my face as I said, "I assure you that not all humans are like this. We sincerely just wish to help your village."
Apollo gave a snort when he heard this before saying, "Just know that I've got my eyes on you."
With that, he turned around and started moving back to his own men. He didn't even give me a chance to say anything.
As they left, I could see that the elves who had come with Apollo had disappointed looks.
It was as if they were prepared to start a fight tonight…
So I couldn't help letting out a sigh of relief.
At least we avoided the fight for now…but I also knew that it was impossible to avoid this fight forever.
He wasn't someone that would stop that easily.