I'm Actually Not Overpowered!

'WOHOOOOOO!!!' My eyes bulged as I ran through the Elf Forest.

I could feel my heart racing and every ounce of my body's muscles throbbing in excitement.

The nice breeze that tickled.ky nose, and the serene environment that surrounded me granted me a sense of peace and comfort—unlike anything I had ever experienced in this world before.

And that was what made me so excited!

'Trees! So many trees! Look at all this plant life!'

I couldn't stop staring at everything surrounding me. The shrubs and undergrowth, the large canopies of forest leaves, the compost that settled on the ground, the tall and thick barks, as well as the extended branches...

... Nature's wonder encompassed me.

'So many plants. So many trees!'

It was amazing, to say the least.

This world was meant to be a wasteland, after all. The only prosperous areas that should have been in existence was the Demon Realm, and I doubted even they had such a vast collection of completely natural trees.

'The Elves are so lucky! How could they hoard all this stuff to themselves?!'

If humans could get a small supply of these goods, it would be sufficient to make a small fortune.

'Why aren't they selling? Why did they decided to be secluded? Are they really such lovers of nature?!'

Questions swirled in my mind, but I had very little answers to give. There was no way I could understand creatures who were living in such a gold mine and refused to exploit it.

'I have to knock some sense to these people once the mission is done.'

There was no way I could turn a blind eye now.

'Not just one kind, but various types of trees! I've never seen these.kinds of fruits before. Such a place rich in... damn those Elves!'

Deciding to push those thoughts from my head, I began wondering what the rest of my subordinates were up to and what we would each encounter.

The sweet scent of the air nearly made me forget I had a partner, but after trying very hard to ignore him, his presence couldn't elude me forever.

'Is he still upset?'

I could sense Adu's animosity from behind me as we both raced through the forest.

His evil glare, his stifled bloodlust, and the incoherent murmurs he made as we swept through the thick forest. They were all pretty obvious, but I still tried my hardest to ignore them.

'I mean, who am I to complain about his opinions?'

As long as he could not defy me and he did what I wanted, I really had no qualms about his disposition.

'Ah, I'm getting tired...'

I slowly began to slow down my pace, considering the fact that my legs were feeling weaker than before and I was running out of breath.

Fortunately, Adu was too occupied with his frustration that he didn't seem to notice my shortcomings.

One of the advantages of having this demon as my partner was that he was not very fit, making it so that I didn't have to exert myself too much.

'Plus, he's too distracted with his frustration. He doesn't have my time.'

I began to hope we got to our destination soon. I knew the forest was huge, but I didn't expect the Elven Civilization to be so far away from the entrance.

*

*

*

My prayers weren't properly answered. Adu and I still spent some time running, but we finally navigated out way through a clearing.

The branches and leaves whipping at our faces were finally coming to a close, and I could see a bright exit at the end of the thick forest.

Finally... finally, we had arrived at our destination!

"U-uh...?!" Was what my lips blurted out the moment I could see past the forest and encountered what I had previously pictured to be some decent form of civilization.

However... what the heck was I looking at?

"This... this is practically the same as the settlement was!"

I currently stood at a cliff-like edge, where the cluster of trees ended, and beyond where I stood was what would be considered the Elven Community.

It was like a canyon surrounded by towering trees—about twice the size of the city of Dulum. The patch of land was excellently huge, and I could see lots of potential in it in terms of space for infrastructure.

Unfortunately, what occupied the land was a sight for sore eyes.

There were several compounds in the vast patch of land, respectively divided by pegs around them. Within those pegs were... buildings?

'Are those... houses?!'

It felt hard to imagine, and even harder to explain. And that would be accounting for the fact that I was literally seeing this stuff!

The thatched huts, made from branch clusters and dry leaves were even worse than I thought.

Even I could have done better!

And then, just like when I first arrived at the settlement, the poorly made houses lacked proper maintenance. Some houses seemed like they were on the verge of collapse—which wouldn't really surprise me considering the fact that they were basically made from twigs.

>BOOOOMMMM!<

'A-ah, I said it!'

A couple of houses just collapsed thanks to a violent wind blowing and causing their unstable walls to close in.

Normally, I would be worried for the residents, but that posed yet another problem for me. After looking at the pathetic structure for some time, I was yet to see up to a hundred Elves.

The only ones I did manage to see were pregnant folks and very small children. The rest were nowhere to be found.

'Where is everyone?'

I had to say, things were getting really disappointing really fast.

But why? You might ask.

Well, the cause for my disappointment was simple!

'I raised my expectations about the Elves after seeing Asa's beautiful form and cross referencing it with all the Elves in anime and fictional works. Yet... yet...!!!'

What the heck was I looking at?

First, the environment was unsanitary and totally unkempt.

Secondly, the housing and formation of houses was simply beyond primitive—not to talk of lacking maintenance.

Thirdly, the few Elves I had laid eyes, on other than Asa—like the guards Adu and I were successfully able to evade, and now these residents—were not only looking pathetic, but that otherworldly radiance I expected from them was basically nonexistent.

'Look at their clothes. And then look at their expressions. Are they... sick?' It was hard to get a complete picture considering my distance from the civilization itself.

I mean, I hadn't mentioned this before, but I had my binoculars which helped a great deal, but still...

"They look pale, emaciated, and completely lackluster."

The bags under their eyes and the heavy dark marks that displayed a total lack of motivation... they bothered me.

'The children and adults look the same—but it seems worse with the grownups.'

The worst part was that they were pregnant. After observing for a few moments, I had to draw a hypothesis.

'The men and fit women aren't present. They're probably working or tending to other duties and aren't in the residential area yet. As for the pregnant ones and kids, since they're incapable of functioning as workers, they're left here...'

I wondered why I couldn't see any nursing mothers—or newborn babies for that matter—but I had to put a pin on that while trying my best to gather more data.

Everything just seemed depressing—enough to make me glad that it wasn't Asa that was beside me at the moment.

"Hmph! Pathetic. This is why Demons are the superior race."

Hearing Adu say that strangely got me annoyed. I would have normally ignored his statement, but—

"And whose fault do you think it is that these people are miserable?"

"It's theirs. They have all of these resources, yet they choose to live mundane lives. Look how impoverished and pathetic their lives are." Adu's glare intensified.

His words a struck a chord within me, and I gave another look at the Elves. Despite their unnaturally terrible lives and sickly frames, they were smiling.

The pregnant Elves were laughing—though straining their faces while doing so—while the children played with one another while running around.

In their rags, in their filth, in their hopeless condition... they seemed content.

"This is what happens when an inferior species is blessed with resource. Like pearl thrown before swine. This is why the demons deserve dominance!"

I knew Adu's logic was flawed, but how could I debunk it? Yes, it was most likely a Demon who was behind all of this terrible stuff, but it was still an Elf who was left in charge of his people.

Asa's uncle was still an Elf!

Besides, even before the time of oppression, the Elves had so many reserves, yet they let them waste away while enjoying their mundane lives.

If demons—no, even just humans—got their hands on these kinds of resources, so much more would have been achieved.

It was trite that humans were primitive and less imaginative than the demons of this world. However, after this encounter, I came to another realization.

'The Elves are even worse.'