Episode 32
"Warlock Sevian."
Count Andriel, tilting his head stiffly, muttered. His face covered by shadows and his low voice showed that he was uncomfortable.
But it was not the name of the warlock that the count did not like.
"More than that, the butler. Since when have you been a member of the Dawn Army?"
“… I'm sorry."
"Well, that's it. I'll talk about that later. I don't think that's what we should prioritize now."
The count, leaning back in his back, pondered for a moment.
"I've heard of it. One of the twelve high-ranking warlocks. It is said that he destroyed the cult's research facilities and raided the top where it was secretly operating. It was a few years ago, but it was quite a noisy incident."
The butler leaned respectfully and waited for the count to finish speaking.
"What are you going to do if you find someone like that?"
"Rumors have spread in the kingdom lately... You've heard stories about new heroes."
"Alas..."
The Count nodded as if remembering something, and smiled in vain.
"You said that people called warriors are appearing all over the continent. Especially the one of the Beliv estate. Does the fact that he brought up that story now mean that he is the one who is called the hero of the Velib Estate?"
"Yes."
"There's no way a dirty warlock could really become a hero, so maybe it's a rumor inflated by those who do something about it."
The count, who slapped his chin with one hand, clicked his tongue in displeasure.
"Hmph. No matter how hostile he is to the cult, he is thinking of joining hands with the warlock. I don't really like the dawn list."
The count's voice was filled with deep disgust.
It was a matter of course. For him, who had lived as the owner of a territory for decades, warlocks were like wild beasts targeting the people.
How many territorial people were sacrificed at their hands? How many villages have been burned down? It is true that the Church's recent actions have been strange, but the Warlock could not compare to him.
In some ways, they are more than monsters. I couldn't help but hate it.
"We haven't joined hands yet."
"Didn't you hold your hand? I see. Are you keeping the warrior in check?"
The count, who raised his hand to stop the butler from starting to explain, muttered.
"I'm trying to tarnish the symbol of the warrior itself. The one they promoted as a warrior turned out to be a warlock. The warrior didn't do anything, but his honor will be tarnished."
"Yes."
"What do you think after you find him? Are you going to execute him and reveal his identity to the world?"
Despite the Count's voice, which seemed to be floating, the butler only replied without being shaken at all.
"I'm going to support him for now."
“… I don't know what the hell Prince Il is thinking."
The count nodded as if to keep talking.
"It is certain that he has a hostile relationship with the church, so I believe that his presence alone will be of sufficient help in the future. If only we could control that direction with the right support..."
"It won't be as easy as you think. What is his inclination? What is the record of massacring civilians?"
If you have a history of raiding villages belonging to the count's territory, you cannot forgive him. When the count thought so, he replied, rummaging through the paper that the butler was holding.
"There is no record of that."
At that moment, the glasses he was wearing sparkled.
"It's not that there are no civilian casualties, but most of them occurred during clashes with the denomination. Compared to the other high-ranking warlocks, he seems to have a fairly moderate personality."
"Maybe there is just no information left."
"Of course it can."
Seeing the butler bowing his head calmly despite his sarcastic voice, the count raised his head again. If he had spoken like this, he would have no choice but to follow the prince's words.
"Tsk. Any additional information about him? Things like main magic... We cannot blindly drive the people and soldiers to death."
"Sevian's main magic is six arms."
“… It's a name like black magic."
"He said that his specialty is to form a seal with multiple arms made of bones and continuously bombard magic."
After hearing the butler's explanation, Count Andrill thought.
It's really scary magic.
* * *
A black cover with no name written on it. When I flipped through the cover with trembling hands, I saw the master's handwriting.
[Studying magic is a difficult task.]
[In particular, black magic is more like witchcraft than a discipline. In order to prevent the magic you have created from becoming useless, I will write down its meaning in this book.]
[This magic is named the six arms.]
[A shield that will protect me, a family member who will hug me warmly.]
What followed was the master's research journal. Or it looked like a diary.
While inadvertently flipping through the pages, I hurriedly closed the book in embarrassment as if I was seeing something I shouldn't have seen.
"Is it 'six arms'?"
The magic of a master whose name I didn't even know.
After the death of his master, he thought that the way to receive the inheritance had completely disappeared, but thanks to the ice spirit, he was able to prevent the pulse from being cut off.
"Thank you."
-Kie?
After patting Bing Ling with a grin on his blank face for a while, he hurriedly escaped from his master's room.
I want to devour the legacy left by my master, like a chimney, but it wasn't like that now.
He had to punish the intruder who dared to defile the dungeon with memories of his master.
As he absorbed the mercenary's soul that he had stored in advance, the pain of the magic core diminished, and shard-like memories poured out.
Most of them were useless memories. However, there were a few scenes that left a particularly strong impression on me in a very short time.
Blonde hair that shines more than gold coins in your pocket. The ice white skin of the ice spirit. Finally, the sharp ears like knife blades. It's obvious to anyone...
“… Elf?"
It was an elf.
Why does the image of an elf who was trapped in the rainforest and did not intervene in humans remain in this man's memory now?
I couldn't understand it, but it was an undeniable fact that the elves had invaded the dungeon with them. Even at this moment, it was obvious that the elf was moving away from the dungeon.
Find the elves and punish them first. If you steal something from the dungeon, get it back. Devouring the master's grimoire was after that.
Judging from the appearance of a living mercenary, the elves left this dungeon only a few hours ago, just before I arrived at the dungeon.
However, he was so exhausted that he fell asleep and missed the golden opportunity to chase the elves.
Of course, if he had known that someone had invaded the dungeon, he wouldn't have fallen asleep, but he made a mistake because he was so relaxed. If they had remained in the dungeon unharmed, their lives might have been in danger.
It was fortunate that the Demon King's voice could not be heard at this time. If I hadn't done that, I would have laughed at him so much, and I could clearly remember his laughter.
"Whoa...."
I put the grimoire in my arms, closed my eyes, and started thinking.
'The death of mercenaries is strange. No matter how thorough the security of the master's room is, it is not to the point of dying so miserably. It looks like someone else has attacked you. Was there infighting?'
He analyzed the mercenary's memories that were shattered like fragments.
'The behavior of always being a few steps away from the rest of the group. Is it a rejection of humans? Or from the beginning...'
I have never learned the magic of tracking someone. However, if you put together the clues well, you will definitely find him.
For now, cities were excluded.
It was unlikely that an elf who was so misanthropic that he was reluctant to associate with other mercenaries would head to a crowded city.
I don't know if it's to outrun my pursuers, because this is a dungeon that has been neglected for months.
If so, why not head to the nearby forest?
It may be a prejudice that elves like forests, but the mercenary's memory often vividly retained the words and deeds of elves who remembered the forest.
No matter how much they raided, the elves would not have been unharmed against such a large number of mercenaries, so it seemed likely that they were resting in the forest.
There is only one place in the nearby forest.
The moment I heard that the demon king had been defeated, I thought about running away to the forest, so I couldn't know.
He urged his legs to regain strength after a short break. Thanks to this, it was not long before I was able to reach the forest.
The real problem was from here.
How to find elves in the vast forest?
They were elves called the Forest Race. Although this was not a rainforest, there was no way I could catch up with them in the forest.
'I'm going to make a fire.'
I shook my head and shook off the thoughts that came to my mind for a moment.
I wasn't a demon king, and I couldn't burn the forest just to catch an elf.
After thinking for a while, the moment I stepped into the forest, I felt like the air was changing.
It feels like you are dipping your feet in a river, and you can feel that it is a completely different space.
“….”
The mana hovering in the forest was different. I wonder if the forest is happy with the elf's visit.
Unlike normal mana, you can feel the vitality of life. Just breathing still seemed to relieve the fatigue of his body.
As I walked slowly, I noticed a small flower blooming on one side.
'The time for flowers to bloom must have already passed...?'
While I was looking at the flowers as if enchanted, I saw more flowers like that growing on one side of the road.
I walked slowly and moved along the path of flowers. As I went deeper into the forest, the vitality became more and more intense.
The flowers that had grown one or two along the road eventually wrapped around the tree and bloomed in dozens or hundreds. The leaves of the trees were shiny, and the chirping of birds pecking at the fruit echoed in my ears.
Finally at the end of the road.
I saw a woman lying surrounded by flowers. Blonde hair that sparkled more than gold coins. Skin as white as ice. Ears pointed like blades.
It was the elf I had seen in the mercenary's memory.
"Once you subdue it, investigate how you found the dungeon."
His pale complexion suggested that he was not in good physical condition. It seemed clear that he would not be able to resist too much, and the tension eased a little.
“…!”
The elf's hand moved quickly, and before I knew it, he was pointing his bow at me and protesting. The movement was so fast that I had no time to react.
The arrow flew through the wind. The blue energy hovering around the arrow felt like it was going to hit me at any moment. The speed and power of the arrows of the soldiers he had dealt with were incomparable.
But.
The thin ice barrier that appeared in front of me bounced the arrow lightly. The elf's eyes flickered mercilessly.
"Did you stop it? Is it human?"
A singing voice. I wasn't the one who responded to that.
-Kie?
“…!”
The ice spirit on his shoulder tilted his head and growled at the elf.
They prepared for the immediate attack, but the elf did not move, with its mouth open as if shocked.
Is it a trick to relax again? Just as I was about to put my hand in my arms and take out the scythe.
The elf spoke in a voice as if his soul had escaped.
"Spirit...?"
I don't.
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