Episode 33
On days when I couldn't sleep, my master would sometimes tell me old stories.
A long time ago, just listening to it makes you feel distracted. A time when dragons and various races existed that have now disappeared into history. This was before the first warrior subdued the Demon King.
There was a being that often appeared in stories that were like fairy tales.
Spirits.
The image of nature with a will.
Beings who are sometimes recorded as natural disasters with benevolence that brings rain to drought, and sometimes as natural disasters with anger.
I heard that there was also a faith that worshipped them because of the mystery and mighty power of the spirits.
A significant number of magical systems have developed by imitating spirits, and some have succeeded in reproducing their powers in the form of spiritism.
But a spirit.
As if he couldn't believe what he was saying, he saw the elf covering his mouth with trembling eyes.
It didn't seem like he would react like that simply by imitating the power of the spirits.
'He's an elf who lives for hundreds of years. I've seen spiritism quite commonly.'
Waiting for orders, he glanced at the ice spirit that roared at the elf as if it were about to pounce.
Could it be that the military spirit has turned into a real spirit because it absorbed the ice of eternity?
'It can't be.'
If spirits were so common, they would not have been passed down only as legends until now.
Even so, that's not what we should think about now.
"Attack."
The Bing Spirit rushed towards the elf.
"Ugh...!"
The elf let out a murmur and dodged the ice spirit's attack.
Although it is fast, it is somewhat unnatural movement. Considering that he had been lying in the forest a while ago, it seemed that he had suffered an injury that could not be ignored.
"Deception."
The appearance of the ice spirit disappeared. Although the magic core was not fully restored, the speed was a little slower than usual, but there was no major problem with the manifestation of magic.
However, I wonder if it was because of that slight delay.
The elf panicked but dodged the invisible ice spirit's attack.
It was a mysterious movement reminiscent of the Knight Commander of the Velib Estate, Narid.
Unlike the military spirits of the time, which could only simply punch and bite, the current ice spirits have added various means of attack, such as making ice pillars and blowing them, which I couldn't help but admire.
'How did you do it?'
Even though it has absorbed the knight's soul several times, it is a movement that cannot be caught up.
However, just as Lord Narid failed to defeat the military order, the elves could not escape the attack of the ice spirit forever.
An invisible ice awl is about to pierce the elf's limbs.
“… Dryad!"
A bird's chirping echoed, and thick roots sprouted from the bottom.
The ice awl that was trying to pierce the elf was stuck in the root. The ice that would have penetrated the elves at the root was blocked without a pulse.
Was it because the power of the ice spirit was weakened due to what happened in the royal capital?
'No.'
On the way to the Andril territory, he faced various dangers, and each time the Bing Spirit did his job well. It has been a long time since I confirmed that I can easily penetrate the roots of trees.
If so, that root must be special. I could get a hint from the elf's cry.
Dryad.
A spirit that existed in ancient times that I had heard in the old stories of my master. Among them, it was the name of a tree spirit.
There is no way that he really summoned a spirit. If each entity were a spirit that symbolized nature itself, it would have come out and defeated the ice spirit in one fell swoop, rather than just blocking the attack.
If so, you can win.
As soon as he finished his judgment, he disappeared by deception and rushed towards the elf.
I knew somehow that the roots of the tree sprouted up and tried to tie my feet, but it was just a little stiff. I couldn't tie my feet.
But.
It was enough time for the elves to run away, having sensed defeat.
He disappeared in an instant. I didn't dare to catch up with how fast it was.
“… The forest is the realm of the elves."
Indeed, it was.
If you run away at that speed and shoot arrows, there will be no way to beat the elves in the forest.
It might have been better to burn down the entire forest.
I failed to capture the elf like that.
Where the elves disappeared, only the strong scent of flowers lingered on the tip of their noses.
* * *
Why did the elves invade the Master's dungeon?
Even after thinking about it for a long time out of the forest, I couldn't find an answer. The master's vision, the six arms, is great magic, but how did the elves of the rainforest know about it and come to visit?
He even left without touching the magic book. There were too many doubts to simply say that I didn't find it.
“… Aren't you going to buy it?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm thinking about it."
"Even if you stare at me like that, I have no intention of cutting you down, so give up."
The bakery owner waved his hand sullenly.
The bakery I used to use a few months ago was not much different from what I remembered.
Most of the other shops in the vicinity had a few more stalls and seemed to have a few new employees. Probably thanks to the increase in the number of people in the estate.
I remember that it was a pretty delicious house, but why is it the same here?
"How much is this?"
"Huh? Outline of five fairy tales."
The question was quickly resolved. The price was a problem.
'I remember that this store was much cheaper before.'
Five fairy tales.
Even if it's not the bread you usually eat, it's more expensive than you think.
If it had been this price, he might have starved to death shortly after the master left. No matter how many people increase, if the price is high, it will not sell.
Of course, it doesn't matter to me, who still has the gold coin bag I received from Dahan.
"Here."
“… Gold coins? Wait a minute. I'll go back to you."
After receiving the change, he took a big bite of the bread with the meat on it.
The combination of sweet and sour seasoning, meat, and soft bread created a fantastic taste. I hadn't eaten properly for a few days, so when I came to my senses, all the bread had disappeared into my stomach.
“… Give me this, this, and this. Oh, is there any bread that I can eat for a long time?"
"If I find something like that, I'd rather buy beef jerky. Isn't that right?"
The bakery owner shook his head and grumbled, but he steadily served the bread I chose.
The amount was quite large, and I had to return the change I received to the bakery owner as it was.
"Now I have to go back to the dungeon and devour Master's grimoire for a while..."
I didn't know how long it would take to learn the new magic, so I needed a significant amount of food.
However, there was no way there would be food in the dungeon that had been empty for months.
It was the reason why I bought food, including bread, with my hands full.
Just as I was hurrying to clean up the messy dungeon and study the grimoire.
I almost bumped into someone who jumped out of the alley.
Fortunately, I didn't spill the food I was holding because I was well balanced, but it was quite a dangerous situation.
"I'm sorry!"
It was a child who ran quickly with his head down, without even thinking about wiping his face stained with dirt.
I think he was just about ten years old.
When the child arrived at the bakery, he looked at the shelves for a long time and asked the bakery owner.
"How much is this?"
"Huh? Let's see...."
His eyesight, which had been strengthened by passing through the hero's ordeal, did not miss how much money the kid had in his hand earlier.
At least one or two fairy tales.
It may be money earned by begging somewhere, but it is not enough to buy bread that has become so expensive for several months.
Just as I was about to let out a sigh and hurry up my steps.
"Do this and that, a fairy tale."
"Really? Wow, thank you."
"What?
I walked forward, thinking that maybe it was me, not the bakery owner, who had changed.
To exit to the west gate to the dungeon, I had to pass through the square.
The square I had just passed by was quite noisy for some reason.
The sound of hundreds of people gathering and chattering made me frown.
When I was careful to avoid people because I thought that if I made a mistake, the food I was holding might spill out.
An old man climbed onto a platform in the center of the square.
“….”
He felt bad at the memories that came to his mind, but the soldiers, not prisoners, followed him.
I frowned and asked the man standing next to me.
"Who is that?"
"Don't you know him?"
The man who looked at me suspiciously immediately replied with a relaxed expression, saying that it could be so.
"I'm the lord's butler. I'm a loyal of loyal servants who have been working for the county writer for several generations."
"Aha."
It seems that he is trying to make some major announcement, but it has nothing to do with me.
That's what I thought.
"To all the citizens of Andril."
An old man named the butler spoke up. People who become quiet at the same time.
No one opened their mouths. It was obvious that if I moved in the current situation, my eyes would be focused, so I had no choice but to wait until the old man's story was over.
"Count Andril, who was recognized by the royal family of Valaich for his legitimate authority, ordered a large-scale recruitment of troops for the citizens of the estate."
As if it was a lie that it had been quiet just a moment ago, the square suddenly became noisy.
"Are you telling me to go to war now?"
"I, I am not a citizen of the Balaich Kingdom! I will go back to my home country. Please open the door!"
The citizens guessed.
If we were to recruit troops now, the reason must be to prepare for the upcoming war with the denomination.
However, the uproar did not last long.
"Quiet!"
It was because of the roaring shouts that it was hard to believe that they came from the old man's mouth, and the soldiers who stomped their feet in unison afterwards.
When the citizens, who felt intimidated, shut their mouths, the butler calmly looked around and said.
"The purpose of this troop recruitment is to explore the dungeon of the warlock located near the estate."
People buzzing.
"Warlock?"
"Most of them died in the last war. Then it's not a big deal, is it?"
At the same time, my steps stopped again, as I was trying to get out of the chaos.
"Let's accept applicants. Applicants are provided with sufficient salaries and meals. If you want, you can remain a soldier in the territory of Wondri in the future. To thank the Lord for his mercy."
The people's hum grew louder.
My displeasure grew with it. A warlock's dungeon exploration. I haven't even dealt with the invaders' corpses yet, but it looks like I'm going to mess up again.
Looking at people's reactions now, it seems that there are more than one or two people who want to apply.
It was the moment when my plan to devour my master's grimoire was distorted.
"Whoa...."
I couldn't help it. Even if I didn't like it, I couldn't just watch my master's dungeon being trampled on by ignorant people.
I quickly walked towards the west gate.
Before they form an army and attack, we must be fully prepared...
"According to information, the location of the Warlock's Dungeon is located in the north of the estate. It's about two hours away from the north gate."
Hmm?
If it's two hours to the north gate...
"Yes. In the middle of the forest north of the estate, there is a warlock's dungeon. Are there any people who will join you?"
"Wow!"
Thinking of exploring the dungeon that had lost its owner, the citizens cheered.
But for me, I was just nervous.
'Our dungeon... It's in the west?'
It seems that these people will only search the wrong places.
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