Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Nardan Jungle (3)
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'G-good. I'm talking properly with Your Highness now. It's okay now!'
While moving through the Nardan Jungle, Amelin was secretly relieved.
The reason was that she could finally have a proper conversation with Aren Eldiad.
Even at the entrance to the Nardan Jungle, Amelin had been too embarrassed to properly face Aren.
The reason for that was a minor incident that had happened two days ago.
During the journey, they took a break as well, so Amelin stopped flying and landed.
Even for Mikel the griffon, prolonged flight was taxing, so rest was necessary, and Amelin wanted to wash up too.
"Mikel, stay here and rest."
-Kurrr!
"Your Highness, if you'll excuse me for a moment."
"Where are you going?"
"To, to wash my hair......"
"I see. Alright, go ahead."
"Yes!"
Leaving the rest of the group behind, Amelin headed to a stream she had spotted while flying.
She undressed and washed her body.
The cool water felt refreshing each time it touched her skin, putting Amelin in a good mood.
It was while she was thoroughly enjoying washing up like this.
-Kurrr!
She heard Mikel's cry.
'Mikel? I told him to rest. Is he thirsty?'
With that thought, Amelin continued washing without much caution.
However, there was something she hadn't considered: she wasn't traveling alone with Mikel; there was a whole group.
"Ah."
It wasn't just Mikel coming to the stream.
When Mikel suddenly moved, Aren followed just in case, and since Mikel was heading to where Amelin was to drink water anyway...
Aren, who arrived at the stream following Mikel, ended up seeing Amelin in the midst of washing her body.
"Huh?"
And Amelin turned her head at the sound of Aren Eldiad's voice, realizing that Mikel wasn't alone at the stream.
"Y-Your, Your Highness!?"
Amelin, who had one hand running through her hair, hurriedly covered her chest with her other hand in panic.
Of course, Aren immediately apologized, turned his head, and left, but the fact that she had let him see her washing up left Amelin unable to look him straight in the eye for a while.
-Kurrr!
That day, Mikel, who had gone to the stream, quenched his thirst without caring about Amelin and Aren's reactions.
Given Amelin's personality, she might not have been able to properly look at Aren's face for over a week.
But entering the jungle and engaging in battles forced her to pull herself together, and the embarrassment faded as she became awestruck by Aren's ridiculous talent.
'It's a good thing Your Highness has such incredible talent......'
Aren's talent, revealed upon entering the Nardan Jungle, was astonishing.
Even if it was basic magic that couldn't quite be called proper spellcasting, the output of mana he used all at once was unbelievable.
On top of that, he immediately gauged the right amount for each spell he cast and even sensed how to boost firepower with wind.
Mages usually don't cast spells cooperatively alone because matching someone else's magic is extremely difficult.
Simply casting high-power spells simultaneously is easy, but casting spells that appropriately support the other's magic requires tremendous concentration and practice.
Yet Aren succeeded on the first try.
Amelin thought that at this rate, she really wouldn't have anything left to teach him.
Of course, Aren's astonishing qualities weren't limited to magic.
Even when they reached an area thick with poison mist, unlike the others, Aren showed no signs of poisoning and didn't need any antidote.
This was despite not having innate resistance to poison like the griffon Mikel.
But that doubt soon turned to understanding.
"It seems like after my body got healthier, I gained some resistance to poison too."
The day Aren gained his unbelievable talent.
Though she hadn't seen it herself, according to those around him, his slender body had transformed into an angular physique that drew gazes in just a few days.
His swordsmanship, which had been at a beginner level, now required Knight Captain Gillek to spar with him seriously.
The day he gained that ridiculous talent that Amelin had witnessed firsthand while teaching him.
With that explanation, Amelin had no choice but to accept it.
After all, everything Aren had shown was utterly absurd.
And he was demonstrating that absurdity right now too.
"A-are you really okay, Your Highness?"
"Yeah. I'm not even dizzy yet, so don't worry."
In areas thick with poison mist, they had to take antidotes regularly.
But antidotes were limited in quantity, so they needed to minimize exposure to the poison mist as much as possible.
One method Amelin had in mind was using her magic to burn away the surrounding poison mist.
Of course, she couldn't keep spewing flames indefinitely, so it was meant to be used in appropriate sections to reduce the number of antidotes needed.
But before entering the poison mist area, Aren spoke up.
"For now, let's use my magic to blow away the poison mist as we go."
Aren's method was similar to when he had supported and enhanced Amelin's magic.
He created wind with mana to disperse the surrounding poison mist.
Since poison mist was still just mist, even a light breeze could easily blow it away.
Aren continuously cleared the poison mist ahead as they moved.
Blowing away the mist once didn't consume much mana.
But that was only for a single use.
Using it continuously while traveling naturally consumed mana proportional to the time spent.
Yet Aren had been doing it for over 30 minutes now.
Worried, Amelin asked, but Aren just said he was fine.
His complexion looked normal, so it didn't seem like he was overexerting himself.
That made it even harder to understand.
'Even for Your Highness, mana should be getting tight by now, right?'
In the end, curiosity got the better of Amelin, and she asked Aren.
"Your Highness, won't your mana run out if you keep using magic? Are you really okay?"
"Yeah. At this level, my recovery speed is faster than the consumption anyway."
"......Pardon?"
Amelin nearly stopped in her tracks at the utterly nonsensical response.
"Your recovery speed is faster? Than the magic usage?"
"Yeah. Probably because I'm using it in such a simple way, the mana consumption isn't that high. And as I use magic more, my mana increases day by day, and so does the recovery speed, so it's fine."
Of course, it was natural that repeated magic use helped the body adapt, speeding up mana recovery and increasing the amount.
But that was only after getting proper rest.
'Why is your mana recovering while you're actively using it?'
In Amelin's common sense, the idea of mana recovering mid-use didn't exist.
But Amelin didn't argue.
Having experienced something similar already, she just...
"H-ha... As expected of you, Your Highness. You're amazing~."
Clapped and expressed admiration.
"Mana recovering simultaneously while using mana?"
Kirigumo, who was still completely unaccustomed to it, voiced his doubt from the front, but Gillek placed a hand on his shoulder and advised him.
"Don't try to understand it with your head. Just feel the fact that it is."
"Feel the... fact?"
Kirigumo still didn't know how to adapt to Aren Eldiad.
And thanks to Aren's magic, with far fewer antidotes needed, the group spotted a magic beast.
It was a magic beast with a massive body.
Venom Anaconda.
Smaller than a griffon in overall size, but with a length that could wrap around one multiple times.
A magic beast nicknamed the master of the Nardan Jungle.
"I've never seen a snake-type magic beast that big before."
"Your Highness, do you know anything about that beast?"
"That's a Venom Anaconda. They call it the master of the Nardan Jungle."
"Venom Anaconda... It looks really strong."
"We should avoid fighting that beast if possible."
A magic beast with the nickname of a region's master.
Gillek had no intention of engaging in a contest of strength with such a beast, especially while protecting his lord.
So he planned to avoid combat and continue searching for Manlenesia, but his lord thought differently.
"Let's follow that guy."
"Pardon?"
"What do you mean by that, Your Highness?"
"If my guess is right, there's a high chance Manlenesia is where the Venom Anaconda is heading."
"R-really?"
"Yeah. Amelin, tell Mikel to stay airborne and keep watch for a while so we can follow quietly."
"Understood. Mikel, watch the situation from the sky."
-Kurr!
Hearing Amelin, Mikel distanced himself from the group and flapped his wings, flying above the jungle canopy.
"Sorry, but I have to dispel the magic so it doesn't notice us."
"It's fine, Your Highness."
"Thanks to you, we have plenty of antidotes left."
The group cautiously followed the Venom Anaconda.
And after pursuing the Venom Anaconda...
"Found it."
The group discovered their purpose for entering the Nardan Jungle.
Manlenesia.