I'm Actually Not Overpowered!

In a land surrounded by the forest and the warm allure of nature, a certain race thrived.

These pointy-eared beings lived their lives peacefully, enjoying the herbs and fruits that nature blessed them with—sticking to the healthiest lifestyle they could think of.

Every once in a while, once any of the beasts they coexisted with neared the end of their lifespan, they were allowed to painlessly end its life and share the flesh as a community. It was the only time they ate meat.

They lived this way, enjoying their primitive lifestyle of tending to the vast forest around them, associating with the beasts, brewing potions, developing runes, telling stories, and simply enjoying their mundane lives.

This was the Elven way of life.

The Elves never cared for the fact that they were sitting atop a pile of extremely valuable resources known as mineral ores—or the fact that the lush trees around them were useful as wood. No, their simple lives didn't need those extraneous things.

Their Sanctuary was protected by a Runic Barrier that prevented the interference of outsiders from encroaching on their civilization. This dome-like barrier gave off the illusion of a rough patch of land with oddly shaped mountains and a barren surface.

Anyone who saw it would not suspect anything in the slightest. If they tried navigating through the barrier, then the Elves would resort to their second means—brainwashing.

Using the potions they manufactured, they could cause memory loss in their victims. In extreme cases, the Elves interfered with the memories of the invaders so they would never ever find their way to the Sanctuary.

After centuries of living like this, there were hardly any people who came to disturb their lives. Every once in a while, someone would get lost and stumble on their land, but they easily solved those little incidents.

This was the way of the Elves.

This was their life. Their culture. Their belief. Their structure.

YET...!!!

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"HAA... HAA..."

Heavy breaths escaped the lips of laborers as they carried out their duties. The tired eyes of the hundreds of Elves gave nothing but blurry visions to them as they staggered with the load they carried on their heads.

In a roughly orderly line, they marched with the large bowls of ore that sat on their heads. Their dirty skin showed how messy their work was, and the sweat leaking from their bodies displayed the intensity.

The Elves felt their stomach growling, and their parched throats desired the soothing touch of water, yet they kept up their march.

Their clothes were ragged—the standard wears for miners like them. Even blond hairs were darkened by the soil, and a musty smell clung to their bodies.

"HAA... HAAA..."

From the narrow, barely lit interior of the huge mine, they transitioned to the wider and brighter compound where they had to dump the ores they just harvested. Afterward, it was 'rinse and repeat.'

Again and again.

"H-HAAA... AHHH..."

How long had it been now? How long had they been working? Since before the sun rose, they had been at the monotonous task of venturing into the large mine and extracting the required ores.

To ease the pain, it was best to simply focus on the job and forget everything else. It was how they lost track of time and were able to cling to their sanity—if it could be called that at this point.

The laborers had no free will of their own, so they had no choice but to act as cattle—no, even cattle were treated better than they currently were.

They knew it had been some time, though, so the Elf laborers expected to be relieved of their tasks soon.

Soon, they would be allowed to take a lunch break.

Very soon.

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'This view is... WOW!'

Asa felt on top of the world—and perhaps that was because she was literally thousands of feet above the ground.

This was her first time so high up in the air, so Asa initially felt frightened. However, that feeling didn't last very long. And that was because of the second reason she felt so 'on top of the world.'

'The Hero is sitting right in front of me!' Asa was almost mesmerized by this mere fact.

While she wasn't able to see his face for most of the journey, his broad back gave her courage. His lovely smell also made her feel floaty. She felt guilty for experiencing all these things despite how serious the situation was, but...

'Ever since I spoke to the Hero that day, it's like fear has left me.'

... The presence of the Hero gave her strength.

Asa no longer had those nightmares that plagued her sleep. Even now, when she was supposed to be frightened and uneasy, she was completely at ease.

'Thank you... Sam.' The young ranger closed her eyes and leaned on him in comforting silence.

If Asa was being honest with herself, she had initially wanted to take the forefront of the ride.

She was the one who knew the landscape best, so wasn't it better for her to stay at the front? Plus, as a ranger, her observational skills were great—at least they surpassed Lucy's. That was why she felt a little apprehensive when the redhead offered to take the frontal position.

Worse yet, the Hero agreed!

It almost made her utterly sad.

However, after experiencing this position, she felt it was perfect for her. It was simply the best.

'I bet Lucy can't rest on the Hero's body like this...'

Asa smiled warmly, happy to be even the slightest bit distracted from the heart-wrenching scene that would greet her. She was no careless fool. She was well aware of what was waiting for her.

'But... at least for now... can I just close my eyes and enjoy this moment?'

Things were going to get a lot more difficult from this point on, Asa was well aware. After so long, she would finally be seeing her uncle, her people, her mother... her nation.

A lot would have changed, just as she too changed.

However, Asa was aware of one thing, at the very least. Something she didn't have in the past, causing her to run rather than fight.

She was so certain of it that she could close her eyes and smile while resting her head on the man that inspired her.

'This time... I'm not alone.'