Chapter 92. Continuing Bonds (1)
Forest Keeper.
An Elf who serves as the guardian of the forest, protecting both its borders and interior.
The Forest Keeper preserves the forest’s ecosystem and serves as a sentinel who defends it from invading enemies.
Since it was the most important role, tradition dictated that the most outstanding Elf become the Forest Keeper.
Rielin, the Forest Keeper, moved as though she were flying.
The sentinels followed closely behind her. The scenery of the forest flashed past them.
“Silmarien!”
There she was—the Elf who had truly disappeared, Silmarien. The sentinels who had followed Rielin surrounded Silmarien.
“Do you have any idea how worried we were when you suddenly disappeared?”
“Where have you been all this time?”
“What happened to you?”
As they questioned her about what had happened and examined her condition—
“Well, the truth is….”
Silmarien slowly opened her mouth, her expression alternating between joy and timidity.
“I was so curious about the outside world that I secretly went out there….”
It was something that happened occasionally.
Leaving the forest was strictly forbidden, but Elves overflowing with curiosity would sometimes break the rules.
“Then I was kidnapped by some wicked humans….”
“Whaaat?”
The sentinels cried out in shock.
By human standards of beauty, Elves were extraordinarily attractive.
Therefore, every Elf knew what it meant for one of them to be kidnapped by wicked humans.
That was precisely why the Elves currently lived apart from humanity.
“Then how did you manage to return safely?”
“Lumis here helped me.”
A golden fox-shaped figure peeked over Silmarien’s shoulder.
Slightly larger than a fist, it was Lumis, a Spirit of Light.
By borrowing Lumis’s power, one could use a concealment ability that blurred one’s appearance by adjusting the angle of light.
However, it was not a perfect concealment ability.
“I escaped while a human was causing a commotion.”
“A human caused a commotion?”
“Yeah! He went whoosh! Boom! And punished all the wicked humans and an enormous monster.”
“What kind of human was he?”
“Umm…. He was an incredibly terrifying human. He was so frightening that even Lumis trembled in fear!”
By communing with Spirits, Elves acquired eyes capable of perceiving souls.
This allowed them to discern the essence of their targets, but—
“But you know, he was also an incredibly warm human.”
As demonstrated by that explanation, it was not particularly useful when explaining something to another person.
Simply put, she was talking about something only she could understand.
“Do you know his name?”
“Yes. Lumis knows it.”
Silmarien whispered briefly to the fox-shaped Lumis on her shoulder before speaking.
“His name is Adrian White Wolf.”
“Adrian White Wolf?”
The sentinels sank into deep thought.
However, no matter how thoroughly they searched their memories, nothing came to mind.
Far too many years had passed since the Elves severed contact with human society.
It was only natural that hearing a human’s name would evoke no memories.
“Adrian White Wolf...?”
“Forest Keeper, do you know that human?”
At the sentinel’s question, Rielin continued thinking.
Ultimately, however, she shook her head. No matter how much she thought about it, nothing came to mind.
“In any case, I’m glad you returned safely, Silmarien. Never leave the forest alone again.”
“Okay. I’m sorry for worrying you, Forest Keeper.”
Silmarien safely returned to the village with the sentinels.
Thus, peace returned to Sylvandir Forest.
Rielin felt relieved.
At the same time, she could not shake off a strange sense of déjà vu.
She did not know why, but—
For some reason, the name felt familiar.
“Adrian White Wolf.”
For some inexplicable reason, the name engraved itself deeply into Rielin’s mind.
* * *
The White Wolf County stood in the middle of an endless snowfield.
Snow-covered hills and mountain ranges surrounded the rear of the County as though it were wearing a white hat.
Its walls were thick enough to withstand the bitterly cold weather.
Ice and snow filled the gaps in the walls, where soldiers of the Count’s castle stood guard in thick fur clothing.
“Lord Adrian has returned!!”
The soldiers atop the walls leaped in delight.
Rumble—!
Soon, the massive wooden gates opened with a thunderous roar.
Bernard was the first to come rushing out.
Judging by how quickly he ran over, he appeared to have been guarding the walls alongside the soldiers.
But why would Bernard have any reason to guard the walls?
When I saw Bernard up close, his face looked terribly haggard, as though he had stayed awake all night.
Apparently—
“Bernard, did something happen in the County?”
Something seemed to have happened in the County while I was away.
Sure enough, Bernard did not immediately answer.
“What happened?”
“Well….”
“What is it?”
“It is nothing else but—”
Bernard paused briefly before speaking.
“Some time ago, a royal investigation team visited the County regarding the incident in the territory of House of Viscount Venenon.”
I had been away from the County for approximately a month.
That had been more than enough time for news of the incident to reach the royal family.
“What happened?”
“Fortunately, the evidence was inconclusive, so it did not develop into a major problem. However….”
Bernard briefly stopped speaking before continuing.
“The royal investigation team clearly seemed suspicious of something. In particular, they appeared to be meticulously examining the records of exchanges between the territory of House of Viscount Venenon and our County.”
“Hmm.”
The investigators were probing more persistently than I had expected.
Then again, murdering a noble was undeniably a serious crime.
If only to preserve the royal family’s honor and authority, the investigators were obligated to uncover every detail of the incident.
That was why Isolde had attempted to kill me in Violess.
“You should keep in mind the possibility that the investigators may return to the County.”
For the moment, however, we had managed to get past it. After all, there was no evidence.
“What about Seraphia?”
“Lady Seraphia is….”
This time, Bernard hesitated for quite a while.
His expression rapidly grew somber.
“She is currently in critical condition.”
What?
“Was the medicine ineffective?”
“That is not the case.”
“Then what?”
“The medicine still hasn’t….”
“It hasn’t been completed?”
“That is correct.”
I had been away from the County for a month.
Naturally, I had assumed the medicine would be finished by now.
‘It must have taken quite some time to submit the commission to the Langrid Mage Tower.’
Even though I had offered one million gold as payment.
“Nevertheless, Sir Kai has sent word that it will be completed soon.”
The commission fee was an enormous one million gold.
Even the Langrid Mage Tower would find such a sum far too large to refuse.
“Where is Kai?”
“He is in Freche.”
No wonder it had seemed strange for Bernard to be guarding the walls.
‘Was he waiting for Kai?’
Apparently, he was.
“I’ll go to Freche as well.”
“Do you mean immediately?”
“Yes.”
“But you have only just returned.”
He had a point.
After suffering through all that hardship and finally returning to the County, leaving again immediately was rather absurd.
“Sir Kai is already in Freche, so he will return as soon as the medicine is completed.”
That was true, but the medicine was not my only reason for going.
‘I wonder if they managed to contact the Archmage.’
When I submitted the commission to the Langrid Mage Tower, I also ordered Edlen to contact the Archmage of the Coalition Forces.
I absolutely needed the Archmage’s assistance to improve my understanding of Infinite [M].
Therefore, I needed to check on the progress of that matter as well.
‘And I need various supplies to train the Visters.’
Food, clothes, training equipment, and so on for the Visters.
I needed to visit Freche anyway if I wanted to purchase everything.
Considering that there were thousands of them, the cost would be astronomical.
‘It’s a good thing the Black Market had so much money.’
My Inventory contained the astronomical sum of ninety million gold.
I pointed toward the Visters waiting in the distance.
“Bernard, do you see all those people gathered over there?”
“I was just about to ask about them. Who are they?”
“New recruits.”
“....Pardon?”
“It would take too long to explain, so just think of them that way for now.”
When would I ever find the time to explain everything that had happened in Violess?
“Anyway, I’m going to Freche now, Bernard.”
“....Yes, please continue.”
“Find a suitable place in the County for them to stay. Make sure they’re properly fed and given somewhere to sleep until I return.”
“....Understood.”
“And if they cause any trouble while I’m gone, just kill them.”
“....Pardon?”
I swiftly departed from the County.
Bernard stared blankly after me.
He did not appear to have properly understood what I meant.
Still, despite how he looked, he was an extremely capable butler whom even Father trusted.
“I’m leaving, then.”
◆Activating the Combination Skill ‘Metabolic Overdrive [U]’!
◆Calories consumed: 100,000 kcal
◆All the Player’s attributes will increase by [+100%] for [1,000 seconds]!
* * *
It had been almost a month since I last visited Freche.
As expected, little had changed since then.
‘They’re selling the monster meat just fine on their own.’
Even without me, members of the Predator Merchant Company continued traveling between the County and Freche, supplying and selling monster meat.
It was no wonder that rumors about the monster meat had even reached Isolde’s ears.
‘It’s about time I expanded the Predator Merchant Company.’
Along with establishing a Freche branch, I needed to search for new products.
Monster meat alone would only take us so far if we wanted to become the greatest Merchant Guild on the continent.
‘I’ve got a Craulgarr-sized mountain of work ahead of me.’
Even ten bodies would not be enough to handle everything.
For the moment, however, Seraphia’s medicine and the Archmage of the Coalition Forces took priority.
Just as I began walking toward Edlen’s shop—
“This can’t be a coincidence.”
Someone blocked my path.
And as he said, Freche was far too large a city for him to pretend our meeting was a coincidence.
“Did you detect my presence?”
Apparently, he had.
I wondered whether such a thing was even possible in a city this large, but—
“What is it?”
Kai might very well be capable of it.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m talking about Violess.”
Apparently, the rumors had already reached Freche.
Then again, there was no way merchants, who were more sensitive to information than anyone else, would not have heard the news.
“What about Violess?”
“Wasn’t it your doing, Lord Adrian?”
“Mine? What?”
“I’m talking about the destruction of Violess.”
“I heard that the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom did it.”
“That is what the rumors claim, but….”
Kai stared meaningfully at me.
“Do you really expect me to believe that?”
Then again, Kai knew that I had gone to Violess. And, coincidentally, Violess disappeared at precisely the time I visited it.
It was too coincidental to dismiss as mere chance. Frankly, anyone who was not a fool would realize the truth. There was no particular reason to hide it from Kai anyway.
“Yes, I did it.”
I openly admitted it, but—
“Do you really expect me to believe that?”
Apparently, he could not believe that either.
“Then what the hell do you want me to say?”
“It makes no sense that you erased Violess by yourself, Lord Adrian.”
“I didn’t do it alone. I worked with the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom—”
“Do you really expect me to believe that?”
“What answer do you want?”
“What happened there?”
“Exactly what the rumors say.”
“Do you really expect me to believe that?”
“Then don’t believe me.”
I quickened my pace and walked past Kai. Kai immediately followed beside me.
“Are you truly not going to tell me?”
….He was like a damned leech.
“I already told you.”
“Are you telling me to believe those rumors?”
“Don’t believe them. Don’t believe anything at all.”
I quickened my pace even further.
“How do you know the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom?”
Kai once again matched my speed.
“I happened to meet her there.”
“Do you really expect me to believe that?”
“Don’t, then.”
I activated Metabolic Overdrive [U] and rapidly increased my speed. At this point, I was practically running rather than walking.
“My common sense cannot accept this.”
Kai continued matching even that speed.
It immediately became clear that he had truly reached the complete realm of a Master.
That made his statement even more absurd.
What right did someone who had reached the realm of a Master through Aura have to talk about common sense?
Your Immortal Link [E] alone defies all common sense, you bastard.
“Then abandon common sense and use your imagination.”
I gritted my teeth and accelerated even further.
Kai desperately continued following me.
Tap-tap! Tap-tap-tap!
The result was a bizarre race in which we repeatedly overtook each other.
It seemed I would need to use Accelerated Heartbeat [E] to shake him off.
However, Accelerated Heartbeat [E] could only be used after activating Berserk [?].
At present, I did not have enough Sanity to activate Berserk [?].
“Are you telling me to imagine the relationship between you and the Saintess by myself?”
….I could not shake off this damned golden leech.
* * *
A laboratory was filled with all manner of medicinal ingredients.
A woman sat before an Alchemy workbench, deeply engrossed in something. Her hands moved alternately between a silver beaker and a small glass vial.
Her movements appeared somewhat frantic. Nevertheless, her hands remained gentle, delicate, and precise.
She skillfully handled each medicinal ingredient, carefully maintaining the delicate balance required for Alchemy.
“Now, the final step...!”
Her blue eyes shone with determination. Her unwavering will would permit not even a single mistake.
She carefully raised a dropper and was about to add the solution one drop at a time when—
“Iliana!! Is the medicine still not finished?!”
The laboratory door flew open as someone shouted.
“Eeeek?!?!!”
Iliana, who had been completely absorbed in her Alchemy, sprang into the air in shock.
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