530 Frogfolks

Ren was finally enlightened. It seemed like she hurt the Princess's pride as a woman. He had to admit that he had that kind of reputation without even him knowing.

In this case, Ren treated Elena more like a regular human at this point than a princess and NPC. Too much actually that he forgot what she might feel.

Ren overlooked that she was royalty and wasn't used to rejection or anyone brushing her to the side. For the past few days that he was with the Princess, he got to know her as someone who thrived upon attention and apparently sulked when she didn't get it. One disadvantage amongst her many advantages.

Still . . . Ren had to wonder where this low self-esteem was coming from. She was confident with her physical prowess but regarding herself as a woman . . . The reason did intrigue him.

"Forget it." Elena took to her feet and showed her back at him. "It's my bad anyway. I always forgot that you're hard as a block of ice."

"I'm not my lovable sister," she suddenly muttered with sourness in her voice, enough to pass as a whisper. "If maybe Elaine was here instead of me . . . you would surely love her. Everyone loves her . . ."

Her words were low, but Ren heard them all nonetheless.

So that's the reason. Ren mused to himself.

Maybe Princess Elena's low self-esteem as a woman was because she had lived in the shadow of her sister all her life. They were both women, both Princess, and there was bound to be comparison and rivalry.

Ren jogged beside Elena. "If by chance I met your sister. I will still prefer your company."

". . ." Elena was surprised and made a face. "You're only saying that to make me feel better. But once you see Elaine, you'll definitely be charmed by her."

"I doubt it. I prefer someone who could hold a bow and knife than a charming face. And an elf who knew how to cook is an added bonus too."

Elena smiled a little. "It's because you met me first."

"Maybe," Ren agreed. "Still, I would prefer my companion to be dependable. Is your sister skilled as you in a fight?"

"Elaine?" there was a softness in her voice when she talked about her. "Ha. That girl has soft hands made for embroidery and craft. She couldn't hold a butter knife long without blistering her hands."

She laughed, remembering. "She's a good mage, though. In fact, the best healer in all of the Elven Realm."

She seemed to be fond of her sister. Ren took note. "You seemed close."

There was a tinge of sadness on her smile when she spoke next. "Yes . . . but I . . . jealousy got the best of me, and we kind of . . . drifted away."

"Is that so . . ."

"I miss her, though." Elena laughed, and it felt like she was weeping at the same time. "It took for her to disappear for me to realize that I love her more than anything in the world. And I . . . I want her back."

The rumors said that . . . Princes Elaine was held against her will by the Queen of Spiders, the dark elves' monarch.

While the Drows proclaimed that the Elves held their prince.

Ren was going to ask about Prince Zeroth when they spotted something on the coast.

The place was Hopten Beach, as the wooden sign said. It was a small floating village on the banks of a strange saltwater lake.

Ren then read the prompt when it appeared.

[The village was home to the Ribbetog Clan, a small community of frogfolk. These peaceful, utilitarian creatures live a content and simple life, hunting sharks in the salt lake and harvesting berries in the nearby forest.

The fortunes of the small clan have changed ever since a hunting party returned to the village with the carcass of an enormous shark-like creature. The shark served as food for weeks, and the proud frogfolk adorned the roof of their great house with its skeleton.

Not everyone was happy about the frogfolk's successful hunt, though.]

That was longer than Ren expected.

As soon as the party exited the tree line and saw the lake, they immediately noticed the sounds of a battle nearby. At the water's edge was a small floating village. In and around the village, frogfolk were in the middle of a battle with humanoid creatures made entirely out of vines.

Nearby, a group of vine men attempted to pull a child from the grasp of one of the frogfolk. Seeing the party, she begged for them to help.

"Should we help?" Ren asked.

"This is the place where Tiki pointed. The Warthog must be here."

"Alright, then." Ren equipped his scepter and proceeded to attack the vine creatures with thunder spells since they were immune to fire and resistant to wind and water.

Ren used [Probe] and got the Vine Men's Stat.

ǁ Vine Man ‖

Medium Construct, Unaligned

‖ A T T R I B U T E ‖

HP: 14 000

MP: 500

STRG: 400

DEF: 110

MDF: 130

INT: 50

AGL: 40

LCK: 10