Chapter 807
Chapter 807
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 807
Chapter Title: Overseas Trip (3)
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Siu's group made a brief stop in Ulaanbaatar before taking off straight for Khovd Airport.
The private jet they were using had the range to fly directly to Khovd Airport in one go, but they had to pick up the jeep that had been waiting in advance and load it as air cargo.
It was that badass jeep with wheels as tall as his waist, the one they'd ridden across the desert before getting captured by Hexennacht last time.
Mongolia was such a vast country, and even from Khovd, it took two full days by car to reach Tavan Bogd National Park, so it was a necessary step.
After clearing immigration at Khovd Airport, they transferred straight to the Master's beloved jeep and headed even further west.
Mongolia's western inland highlands were incredibly dry, and even in November, the cold was incomparable to Korea's.
The in-car thermometer showed an outside temperature of minus 11 degrees.
It was still daylight, but once sunset hit, it would drop even further.
The paved roads quickly gave way to bumpy unpaved tracks that jostled their hips with every bump.
Along both sides of the road stretched endless grasslands dotted with nameless withered yellow weeds and low-altitude rounded hills.
This primordial steppe was so majestic it made one question if this was really the real world.
The wind blowing from the jagged horizon where steppe met mountains sounded like the breath of giants.
Thanks to the weather, white clouds floated fluffily across the eye-searingly blue sky like breaths of mist.
If he closed his eyes for a moment, he could almost hear the thunderous hoofbeats shaking the earth.
As he stared blankly out the window at the endless scenery that blurred his sense of time, Eloa peeled a tangerine and popped it into Siu's mouth while he gripped the steering wheel.
"What are you thinking about?"
"I was thinking about cyber burgers."
"...?"
In truth, he wasn't thinking about anything at all.
The environment must influence a person's thoughts, too.
Crossing the grandeur of nature even on this slightly overcast day cleared away all stray thoughts.
Since everyone was quiet, he glanced in the rearview mirror.
In the back seat, Amelia, Sharon, Lurye, Dorothy, and Linne lay side by side, heads resting on each other's shoulders, deep in sleep.
Even as spirits, it seemed the fatigue of travel was unavoidable.
They'd chatted sporadically midway, but now they were all out cold.
2.
Sleep wasn't strictly necessary for spirits.
But wasn't this a rare trip?
For a good journey, good company was essential, but so was proper rest.
Instead of rushing to their destination, they parked by a river and opted to camp overnight.
They pitched tents on the soft, cushiony ground woven with grass roots and gathered around a campfire wrapped in blankets.
Sipping hot coffee Amelia had brewed herself, they roasted marshmallows Dorothy had thoughtfully packed, skewering them on chopsticks over the flames.
"You must be tired from driving all day."
"It's nothing. I have to do what I can."
"A bit of a shame. If we'd come in summer, we could've seen wildflowers blanketing the fields."
According to the Master, they bloomed from your feet to the horizon across these vast plains, as if the goddess of flowers had breathed life into them.
"Siu, do you want to see the flowers?"
Amelia chimed in out of nowhere, glancing around.
"You're not thinking of using magic, are you?"
"It's not that hard."
"...I'll just appreciate the thought."
Amelia, who'd suffered the most from motion sickness today, should rest easy.
She'd been sneaking glances at the tent lately; she clearly wanted more downtime.
"Hmm, this is a treat you can only savor on the ground. Dorothy, one more!"
"Yes~ Coming right up~"
Lurye was eagerly devouring the marshmallows Dorothy roasted for her.
Even her cocoa had slightly charred marshmallows bobbing on top.
Siu had developed a sweet tooth since his slave days, but eating like that seemed like it would upset his stomach.
"......"
Linne sat wrapping her hands around a metal mug of coffee, gazing endlessly at the sky.
They'd picked a random riverside spot for camp, but the steppe sky was stunningly beautiful regardless.
Stars flowed like mother-of-pearl fragments sprinkled over an abalone inlay crushed from a silver coin.
Linne's black eyes gazing at them shone like the night sky.
"Looking at constellations?"
"I don't know much about them."
Linne, who looked like she could turn to stone if left alone, met his gaze the moment he spoke.
"But it's beautiful. It's been centuries since I last felt beauty looking at the night sky."
The Curse of Deprivation didn't just steal pleasure.
It meant even gazing at the night sky in a pastoral setting brought perfect indifference.
"If I hadn't met you, Husband, I never would've felt this感動."
"Mm... What did I even do."
"Thank you again."
Siu always squirmed at praise or honest gratitude.
He nearly blurted, 'If it weren't for you, Linne, I wouldn't have tasted Master rice bowl delight, so it's an even trade, right?'
"Huh? Shooting star?"
Just then.
Sharon bolted up beside him, pointing at the night sky.
"Hold on a moment."
Eloa suddenly realized something and snuffed out the campfire completely with a simple spell, not even leaving embers.
"Gahhh! What are you doing?! My marshmallow hearth, so cruelly...!"
"Lurye, look at the sky."
There was a reason.
Western Mongolia in November was the prime spot for the Leonid meteor shower.
No wildflowers, sadly, but the capricious Leonids were decorating the sky spectacularly tonight.
Traces of stars streaked endlessly across the vast heavens like nonstop fireworks.
"So pretty..."
Everyone looked up, mesmerized by the beautiful sight.
"Make a wish, make a wish!"
Super excited, Sharon jumped in place, squeezing her eyes shut in prayer hands.
Even witches touched by worldly mysteries believed in superstitions?
The others closed their eyes briefly too.
Siu scanned his lovers as they prayed, then shut his eyes.
Not everyone was here, but each was a precious bond.
Even if ages passed and the world changed.
This warm peace he wanted to protect even at the cost of his life.
He always thought it, but this time, may this peace last forever unbroken.
That was his wish.
3.
They rose from their tents, fueled up the jeep with the oil they'd brought, and set off.
After 12 straight hours of driving with no oncoming cars or people, five towering peaks blanketed in eternal snow came into view.
'Tavan Bogd' in Tavan Bogd National Park meant five peaks, so they'd nearly reached their destination.
"We'll have to go on foot from here."
Eloa said from the passenger seat, checking the map intermittently.
Straight-line distance to the workshop: 200 km.
For ordinary people in this jeep, it'd be quite the trek.
But even Sharon, the lowest in rank, was a grand witch.
Even considering mana efficiency, they could sprint there in two hours.
As they dashed west, the dry grass vanished, replaced by barren tundra and gravel paths like skeletal remains.
At this point, even exiles might wonder, 'Can anyone really live here?'
The group, feeling the crisp wind brush their ears as they ran, came to an abrupt halt.
"That must be it."
On the permafrost where not a tree or blade of grass could be seen.
A dense larch forest had appeared out of nowhere.
GPS coords and circumstances confirmed: the Soul Witch's workshop was inside.
"Think she'll run? I'm a little worried."
They'd mobilized maximum manpower due to her prior kidnapping from the present world to Hexennacht.
But this lineup looked ready for war.
Plus, the Master—a terror to exiles—and Linne, feared by all witches.
Worst case, the Soul Witch might flee in panic.
But leaving some behind would undermine their hard-won safety measures.
"How about spreading Yebin Smirna's letter openly? If she's watching, she'll know."
"Good idea."
Following the Master's suggestion, they stowed weapons to avoid seeming threatening and minimized mana use.
They entered the forest holding Yebin's introduction letter wide open.
The biting cold that had felt arctic moments ago turned comfortably warm the instant they stepped onto the forest path.
The dense primeval woods dimmed the surroundings, untouched trails twisting like a maze.
"We've come at Yebin Smirna's introduction! No intent to fight! Here for treatment! We'll pay!"
Siu lit ornamental flames for light, waving the letter like a tofu vendor hawking wares as he advanced.
How long had they walked?
No response echoed back.
The huddled underbrush swallowed all sounds silently.
"Anyone there!!!"
-Rustle
His throat was starting to hurt.
At the timely rustle, the group—alert as ever—snapped their gazes toward it.
"Hm?"
But it wasn't a wild beast or witch.
"Kkul?"
A pig.
Not just any pig.
Winged like Pegasus, horned like a unicorn in the forehead.
A pig cute enough for a pork product mascot.
Obviously not a natural creature.
"Homunculus...?"
The homunculi they'd met before were all monsters, but this one was kinda cute.
Its eyes were so gentle, it could pass as a pet.
"Kkul?"
The pig tilted its head again, then flashed a friendly smile like a sacrificial pig head on an altar.
A smiling pig—homunculus or not, hard to believe even seeing it.
"Kkuuuul!!!"
As if begging for a hug, the leaping pig enveloped itself in pure white light.
Only Eloa—who memorized the database of named homunculi—recalled its identity late.
"Everyone, minds—!"
Before she could finish.
White radiance burst from the pig, flashbang-like, engulfing the group.