Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: The Forest Guardian
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That spatial movement relic—how did you obtain it? And what is your relationship with the one who made it?
A sudden question.
Eloise unconsciously looked up at Arsen. She couldn’t decide whether to answer or not.
[What should I do?]
[Answer her.]
Arsen pondered for a moment as well but concluded that responding was the better option.
They were already in a situation where their lives were at stake, so claiming hostility with Luden wouldn’t make things any worse.
“The one who made it is Mage Luden, my teacher!”
A voice responded to Eloise’s shout.
-Is there proof?
Eloise fell into thought. A way to prove she was Luden’s disciple. Magic alone wouldn’t suffice—there were too many similar spells. Then what about a relic, like before?
Suddenly, one item came to mind. A memento from her childhood, kept as a souvenir.
Conveniently tucked in her pocket, she could pull it out right there.
“Here—this is the relic Luden received from his own teacher. I inherited it.”
What Eloise pulled out was a wooden carving etched with wave patterns. The guardian fragment that had once saved Arsen’s life by blocking a deadly attack.
Shortly after she produced it, the enveloping darkness began to fade.
Light filtering in from somewhere illuminated the surroundings dimly.
It wasn’t hard to interpret this as a sign of goodwill.
As if to confirm, the voice that spoke next was filled with kindness.
-Young mage, would you come here for a moment? It seems we have matters to discuss alone. If you truly are Luden’s disciple, then you and I are hardly strangers.
“Why should I trust you? You’ve already killed several of our people so shamelessly...!”
Having nearly died at the opponent’s hands moments ago, and witnessing the soldiers and mages she’d lived with perish before her eyes, Eloise’s retort was sharp.
The voice replied in a calm tone.
-They aren’t dead. Check for yourself.
“Check them.”
At Arsen’s command, a few soldiers rushed to their fallen comrades to assess their conditions.
“They’re all alive, Captain!”
“There was one with a broken back?”
“He’s fine!”
Hearing their response, the voice spoke again.
-See? Please, give me a chance to explain.
Surprisingly, the voice now carried a note of desperation.
Assuming Eloise wouldn’t agree, the voice added a proposal.
-If you insist, then come with the knight holding you now. I’ve seen many knights in my time, but never one as strong as him. With him by your side, your safety is assured, isn’t it?
Eloise hardened her expression in contemplation, but she was already consulting Arsen via the earring.
[What do you think?]
[Agree. I’ll protect you if anything happens.]
Arsen replied through the earring as well.
The halt in attacks was only because of her connection to Luden; the opponent still held the advantage.
Arsen’s group hadn’t identified the foe’s identity, methods, or limits—they were just getting battered.
Circumstantially, this ceasefire existed solely because the enemy was allowing it.
“Fine. Where do I go?”
-Come forward about twenty steps from where you are.
“One moment—everyone, gather and stand by. Knight Ramun, I leave it to you.”
After issuing orders, Arsen advanced with Eloise in his arms.
After about twenty steps in Jin’s stride, the surroundings shifted dramatically.
Now they stood in a sunlit, warm forest.
Arsen quickly turned his head to survey the area.
“What is this...?”
“It’s because you accepted my invitation.”
At some point, a figure in a light brown robe stood before them.
It was easy to recognize from the speech pattern that this was the owner of the voice they’d been conversing with.
Arsen mentally gauged the distance to the opponent.
Around 10 meters. At this range, he could leap from Jin and sever their neck in an instant.
The moment he resolved to attack at any trickery, the opponent placed a hand on their hood.
“Ah, I still have this on.”
Removing the hood revealed a white-haired old woman, seemingly in her early sixties. Despite her age, her features were distinct, suggesting she must have been quite beautiful in her youth.
“My name is Irene. May I ask yours?”
“Eloise...”
“I’m Arsen.”
At Arsen’s words, the old woman, Irene, smiled faintly.
“I acknowledge you as her escort, but not as a conversation partner. What is your relation to Luden?”
In short, it meant unrelated parties should shut up and stick to guarding.
As Arsen pondered his response, Eloise spoke first.
“Sen is my fiancé. And a close friend of Luden’s.”
“...I see. My apologies.”
Irene bowed her head politely in apology.
“First, let me ask one thing: why did you enter the forest? Are you followers of the lord of the east as well?”
“Who is this ‘lord of the east’ you mean? We follow no one.”
To Arsen’s question, Irene answered straightforwardly, unlike before. She seemed to find him easier to deal with than Eloise.
Likely due to his gentle, non-aggressive tone.
Unintentionally, Eloise had played the role of the “bad cop.”
“The eastern part of the forest... well, Bazra, was it? The lord’s son from there recently got trapped here. The lord has sent rescue parties multiple times to retrieve him. I thought you were one of them. They’ve challenged from the east repeatedly and failed, so I figured this time they were coming up from the south.”
But upon learning a disciple of Luden was among them, she realized something was off and sought dialogue, she explained.
“We have no connection whatsoever. We simply...”
Arsen briefly explained the situation.
That they needed to head far west, Bern and Manar were blocked, so they took a precarious route but ran into Manar’s knights and fled into the forest.
Irene nodded as if believing him.
“My mistake. I sincerely apologize.”
“But what’s this about the lord’s son?”
Irene smiled at Arsen’s question.
“Do you remember what you fought in the forest just now?”
“If you mean the fight...”
Suddenly animated walking trees and a massive legion of owls had been the enemies.
But Irene wasn’t asking about something so straightforward.
“You were fighting in the world of Illusion Dream until moments ago. A world that reflects the fears of one among you.”
“The whole thing was an illusion?”
“An illusion, yet also substantial. The wounds on your bodies and your damaged armor aren’t fake, are they? Even the relic this young mage lady used hasn’t returned—it was truly expended.”
As Arsen wore a puzzled expression, Irene chuckled as if delighted to teach, and explained.
“The master of Illusion Dream can adjust how much the illusions affect reality, based on their wishes. I hoped you’d be sufficiently injured to turn back, but not lose your lives. That’s why those who suffered lethal blows didn’t actually die. It must have hurt terribly, though.”
Arsen nodded, roughly grasping Irene’s words, and she continued.
“But recently, a headache arose. The lord’s son from the east ventured in claiming he’d adventure, and such was the fearlessness of his soul that Illusion Dream didn’t activate at all. I happened to be away at the time, so the boy delved deep into the forest and saw things he shouldn’t have.”
“Did you kill him?”
“Just from the fact that I included no such function in Illusion Dream, you should know I despise killing. Otherwise, perhaps when I myself face death. I merely prevented him from leaving.”
Irene stated firmly, then let out a deep sigh.
“So the lord of the east keeps sending soldiers. To rescue his son. I’ve been holding them off, but he won’t give up until he gets his boy back.”
Watching her sigh, Arsen asked.
“By the way, what is your relationship with Knight Luden?”
“Knight? Has Luden become a knight?”
“The lord where we lived granted him a position equal to a knight’s. So everyone called him Knight Luden.”
“Wherever it is, I’m glad he’s doing well.”
Overcome with emotion, Irene pulled a handkerchief from her bosom and dabbed her eye corner.
“I learned magic under the same teacher as Luden. Not for long. And... we were lovers.”
Neither Eloise nor Arsen could hide their surprise at the revelation.
Luden loved boasting about his past, but he’d never mentioned a lover.
“It must be nearly thirty years ago now.”
With that, Irene extended her hand.
“May I see the guardian talisman for a moment?”
As Eloise handed over the carving, Irene took it and examined both sides intently.
“You haven’t fully repaired it.”
“Yes. The affinity isn’t quite right.”
She was better than Luden at it, but Eloise’s aptitude still didn’t match the magic on the talisman.
Her attempts at repair had barely restored its shape; its true functions remained sealed.
Irene concentrated with the talisman in hand, and light emanated from her palm, seeping into it.
After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, she handed it back.
“It’s fully repaired. Here.”
“Already?”
“It’s the same lineage as our teacher’s, for me. Not difficult at all. Conversely, what’s easy for you might be hard for me.”
Eloise nodded and took the talisman.
“Then, I’d love to hear more about Luden... I’d like to invite you to my village. I must compensate for attacking innocents, after all.”
“A village?”
“There’s a village inside?”
As Arsen and Eloise asked in surprise, Irene smiled gently.
“Yes. The secret that reckless young man glimpsed, the one that mustn’t be revealed to outsiders. This place must remain a dangerous, mysterious space of unknown nature. If it’s known to be inhabited, it’ll become a target for conflict.”
“Is it all right to tell us?”
“You’re heading far west anyway, aren’t you? As long as it doesn’t spread nearby. The forest has many rumors as it is—a tale from the distant west about people living in the Dull Forest would just be dismissed as nonsense.”
She added that the current issue arose because the intruder was the lord’s son, someone with strong influence.
“Understood. May I bring my subordinates?”
“As long as they’re not the type to cause trouble in the village.”
“That won’t happen.”
At Arsen’s assurance, Irene nodded.
“I hope so.”
“May I ask one more thing?”
“What?”
“How can you wield such powerful magic?”
The strongest mage Arsen knew was Luden, who couldn’t even handle a single knight.
Magic was inherently disadvantaged against knights due to anti-magic resistance—it was unavoidable.
Even Luden, a natural illusionist, could only briefly deceive one or two knights at most.
In comparison, Irene’s magic was on another level.
She had four knights, dozens of soldiers, and mages all in her grasp.
“If you mean Illusion Dream, that’s the forest’s own magic. As its guardian, I merely control it. My mana... is probably less than this little miss here. I’ll explain the details once you meet them yourselves.”
Irene smiled, her wrinkled face lighting up.
* * *
When they closed and opened their eyes, Arsen and Eloise were back at the spot where they’d fought moments ago.
From the surroundings, it seemed the others had stayed put, waiting for their return.
“Knight Arsen!”
“Captain!”
“Brother!”
After calming the rushing group, Arsen checked once more on those who had “died” in the Illusion Dream.
There were some serious wounds, but none causing permanent disability—they’d merely lost consciousness.
After receiving healing spells, they all regained awareness quickly.
Arsen gathered everyone and explained the situation.
The recent events were the doing of a powerful mage, all stemming from a misunderstanding, so the opponent wished to apologize—and thus they would enter deeper into the forest to receive compensation.
Once persuaded, a bright yellow light appeared somewhere in the forest, guiding Arsen’s group.
It seemed Irene had been eavesdropping using the forest’s power.
Following the light, they ventured deep into the forest.