Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Wicked Tyrant Lord - 2
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"Hold on, first this boy—."
The moment I approached the fainted boy, two people firmly intervened from the side. Both were burly men and women.
"You can't."
"No."
"Aslan? Lucia?"
As I paused,
the half-elf holy knight Aslan shook his head and said,
"My lord, I fully understand your concern. But please refrain from approaching this boy yourself."
"For what reason?"
He explained carefully.
"This boy just said the people around him were afflicted by a curse. But he hasn't said whether he escaped the curse himself or if he's still under its influence."
"!"
"He might not even realize it, but this boy could be the very source putting those around him in danger."
"…."
'That possibility….'
When I glanced at Sister Lucia, she nodded while cradling the statue of the Morning Star Goddess in her arms.
"That's right. Though it's unlikely a frail boy like this could carry such a powerful curse for long. It's best if those with anti-magic abilities watch him over time and then hear his story."
"Hm."
'He could be manipulated by someone or turned into a suicide bomber.'
I said to Lucia and Aslan,
"Hearing you two, it seems my thinking was hasty. Thank you."
Aslan gave a wry smile in response.
"No, it's just... I learned that lesson myself at a heavy cost."
"…."
A shadow fell over his face.
The usually cheerful and positive man had a story grave enough to wear such an expression. For some reason, that shadow brought past incidents flashing back to mind.
I nodded.
'I thought the goblin assassin had made me cautious enough. I need to be even more careful.'
As I stepped back, Niva suddenly grabbed my shoulder from behind. Soldiers began stepping forward one by one. In that situation, Aslan scooped up the boy and said,
"For now, I'll take this boy somewhere isolated. He needs someone to keep him from wandering off recklessly."
Lucia slightly raised the Morning Star Goddess statue and added,
"Then I'll watch over him too. With this holy relic, I can detect and analyze any curse."
After hearing them,
I made the final decision.
"Then we'll build a temporary sanctuary to isolate the boy, have those with curse-countering abilities take turns watching him, and construct the base camp at the planned location."
"Yes, my lord!"
With that, we leveled the ground at a spot appropriately distant from the lake and quickly erected a small village. As soon as my construction magic finished, the group entered the base camp with timber and equipment to set up house.
Climbers' Chatter -The biggest building is headquarters, right? -Climbers' quarters over here…. -Mark the doors by purpose! -Where to set up the stationary ballistae? -All four on the HQ roof. There was some commotion, but the group—already toughened by the eel incident—handled their tasks. The base camp quickly took on its planned shape.
"…."
'The most time-consuming work done in a snap. Looking at it now, learning advanced earth magic first was the right call.'
I went with Niva, Aslan, Lucia, and a few priests to a spot well away from the base camp—one on the outskirts with a clear view of it.
I extended my hand there.
"Earth Fortress!"
Rumble rumble rumble…!
Temporary sanctuary.
Since it was just for isolating the boy, I didn't put as much care into it as the base camp or housing. It ended up somewhat rough-hewn.
'A stone bed for surveillance in the center and space for people to rotate rests should suffice. It'll only be used a few days before dismantling anyway.'
By the time those thoughts crossed my mind,
the temporary sanctuary's construction was complete.
Aslan, impressed, laid a blanket on the stone bed and placed the boy there.
"It's amazing every time, but your magic is always so mystical, my lord."
"Is it?"
"Yes. I've seen a few advanced earth mages, but no one's ever made an 'Earth Fortress' this quickly in exactly the desired shape. Usually it's just a square rock box with chairs."
"Ah."
'So it's not perfectly recreating the mental image of a building. Abilities are scary.'
But I couldn't just admit, "It's all thanks to abilities."
I awkwardly clasped my hands behind my back and said,
"Haha, I had a great teacher."
"Being able to absorb good teachings from a great master is a talent in itself. I still haven't mastered all my father's wise words."
"Hahaha, true. But I think meeting that great teacher was the biggest stroke of luck for me."
"Ooh, I see. I'd only heard rumors, but the 'Dimensional Rabbit' must be an incredible magic tutor."
Aslan looked at Niva with warm eyes. Lucia and the priests did the same, gazing at her with the fond looks of guests at a teacher appreciation event.
Whispers Among the Priests -My goodness. -Such a young lady…. -How admirable. That sort of atmosphere.
'Well, Niva was a good teacher. I never had trouble understanding. Maybe her teaching skills are top-notch too.'
I said with sincere gratitude,
"Yes, my proud magic teacher who's always devoted to me…."
"Oh my."
At those words, Lucia covered her mouth with a smile in her eyes, and someone snapped my hand behind my back.
Snap!
"!"
'Only Niva's behind me anyway.'
I turned around.
Niva had her arms crossed, glancing sideways over her sunglasses. She turned her head away, pretending innocence, but a blush tinged her cheeks.
Niva mouthed silently,
-Stop hyping me up.
"Ahaha…."
'She's embarrassed by the attention.'
I nodded.
Looking forward again, I saw Lucia and the priests busily setting up the sanctuary. Soon, gray cloth and the goddess statue were placed inside, and a subtle clear energy began to flow.
'The power of a real god. Things like this make atheism hard to swallow.'
Lucia clasped her hands tightly and said,
"For the next three days, I'll care for this child and check for any curse within him. Please visit once safety is confirmed, my lord."
"Is three days enough?"
"Yes, more than enough."
She stroked the fallen boy's forehead, beaded with cold sweat.
"From my earlier checks, there's no immediate threat to his life. A few days of rest and good food should improve his condition."
"…."
Where he came from, what he was doing—everything about the boy was unclear. But under the watch of holy knights and priests here, he'd naturally share his story once recovered.
Besides, with Aslan there—who was on par with the Sword Empress—
even if a major curse erupted from the boy, it wouldn't be a big threat. If Aslan couldn't handle it alone, the base camp folks would manage.
I felt relieved.
'I'll handle work for three days and come back.'
My role ended here.
Leaving the base camp and temporary sanctuary behind, I warped back to the lord's manor with Niva and tackled the backlog of paperwork.
Quest deliveries to the Climbers' Hall,
approvals for facility operation plans,
schedules for regular ship routes to the lake base camp….
By the time I finished all that,
the hectic day had flown by.
"Good night. See you tomorrow."
"Yes, Lady Niva. Sweet dreams."
Dark night.
After goodnight greetings with Niva in the guest room of the lord's manor, it was bedtime.
I headed to my bedroom.
Deep down, I hoped the gallery would appear. It was fun browsing the crap posts, but mainly for info on advanced magic tomes.
'Hasn't shown since planning the Climbers' Hall.'
But no luck.
After a disappointing sleep, the next morning I read letters from boatmen returning from the lake. Reports from the base camp, of course.
The contents were brief.
① Base camp completed safely.
② Installing mana receiver at HQ.
③ Kept watch, no other outsiders entered.
④ Boy woke but still confused.
"…."
'Mana receiver. Like a mana-engineered wireless phone. Hope climbers' overtech works well on this floor.'
Easier to talk voice-to-voice than crystal switches, right?
And the last was Lucia's report.
The boy had opened his eyes.
But he was in extreme confusion, still crying. Harmless-looking priests took turns feeding him and giving candy to calm him, but it wasn't easy.
'With Lucia's warning, better watch two more days.'
As I resolved that, notifications of quest pickups from the Climbers' Hall rolled in.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ A Climber has accepted the designated quest. Quest Objective: Carry Bricks to the Wall Top A Climber Party has accepted the designated quest. Quest Objective: Lake Cave Dungeon (7) Clear A Climber Party has accepted the designated quest. Quest Objective: Recover 2 Boxes of Riverside Mana Stones A Climber has accepted the designated quest. Quest Objective: Escort Search Party Patrol … 'Dawn labor market opened, so the lord better get to work too.'
I folded the letter and met Niva again. She was elegantly sipping tea in the drawing room—a sight growing familiar.
"Good morning."
"Yeah, good morning."
Taking Niva's hand started another day. Routine admin work, lunch with Niva, lazy afternoon facility checks.
By handling all that, the promised three days passed. The base camp had become a proper village bustling with climbers, and a letter arrived from the temporary sanctuary.
-You can come now.
"!"
I warped there immediately.
Lucia pointed to the boy inside the temporary sanctuary.
"This child's name is 'Emil.' After three days of thorough checks, no curse detected. You can speak with him safely."
"Got it, good work."
I entered with Niva. There, our eyes met a boy chewing candy crunchily, a blanket over his shoulders. Sitting on a wooden chair, his eyes widened.
"!"
"…."
'Looks about 13.'
I sat nearby and spoke.
"Feeling better?"
"Y-yes. Greetings, my lord."
Emil scrambled up and bowed, and Aslan with the priests nearby nodded approvingly. I asked him,
"So what happened? What's this snake curse?"
"…."
Emil's lips trembled as he spoke.
"I come from the waterwheel village beyond that forest."
"Waterwheel?"
"Yes, you have to cross the misty forest for days to get there."
"…."
Emil was from the 'Waterwheel Village' beyond the forest—a small settlement by a stream. It had rapidly decayed in recent months.
"Suddenly all crops withered, so we barely survived on dried monster meat. When even monsters stopped appearing, my parents and I went digging for tree roots."
"…."
Apparently,
the famine curse had struck the entire 50th floor section too.
'Everywhere except walled-city floor 51?'
Emil's story continued.
"But… but."
The boy's eyes shook. Recalling his worst nightmare.
"The moment we entered the forest, I felt snakes watching us."
"Snakes?"
"Yes, those sharp yellow eyes."
Yellow snake eyes.
He said everyone in the nearby village and his parents saw the hallucination too. Then tragedy struck. Suddenly, their heads turned into snakes.
"E-everyone suddenly turned into snakes. They tore into each other, and… even me…."
"…."
"So I ran frantically. For days. And when I arrived, it was the lake."
"I see."
I pointed out one nagging detail.
"But Emil."
"Yes, my lord."
"One thing bothers me."
"…."
"How did you run for days?"
A hungry, weak boy.
Escaping curse and snake-humans for days couldn't be chalked up to mere 'hysterical strength.'
'That's just bursting physical limits in crisis—won't last this long.'
When I pointed it out,
Emil hesitated and reached into his pocket.
He pulled out a small pink flower.
"Probably… this."
"What's that flower?"
"A flower from the Saintess."
"Saintess?"
"Yes."
Emil gazed blankly into the past.
"The Saintess who lives in the holy land sent blessings… including to my home 'Waterwheel Village' and people in the misty forest."
"What kind of blessings?"
He said,
"They say the Saintess has a legendary ability to make flowers bloom on barren land. Holding that flower wards off hunger and curses…."
"…."
"That's what they said, and a priest from the holy land secretly gave it to me as a gift. I treasured it, kept it secret from my parents… only I had one."
"…."
A pink flower from the Saintess?
Bloomed from nothing?
I was a bit surprised.
'Sounds like an upgrade over Blessing of the Earth.'
Someone like that could easily gather people amid the famine curse. Being treated as a saintess would be natural.
'Is floor 52's task helping that saintess save people?'
Even as speculations swirled,
I asked the dejected Emil,
"What's this holy land where the Saintess lives?"
"…."
Emil answered,
"The holy land, 'Gades Vanea'."
The center of the seven forests.
The last paradise amid the flower plains.
"I heard chosen people gather there for final prayers."
"Holy land Gades Vanea…."
As I murmured,
Emil handed over the pink flower.
"They say in that beautiful glass garden-like place, the Saintess—as lovely as this flower—is preparing a miracle of salvation. Against the terrifying Storm King and death…."
"Who said?"
"The priests from the holy land."
"…."
The cursed forest.
The last paradise.
Storm King.
Holy land.
Saintess.
And priests….
For some reason,
I sensed floor 52 wouldn't be easy either.
I thought that while gazing at the pink flower.
"This is something."
Saving Midgard sure looks tough.