Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Echo Flower
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Elforest was divided into seven major regions, and this was one of them: the Ebony Forest zone.
There was no visible line marking the forest's boundary, so Jade hadn't even realized he'd left the Dark Forest and entered the Ebony Forest zone. He simply thought the types of trees had changed a bit.
The ebony trees here were smaller than the massive ones surrounding Taymon, but their metallic black leaves and bark made them look even more imposing.
The earth elves known as the Buren had appeared right there at the boundary of the Ebony Forest zone. They had mistaken Jade's group for intruders.
Fortunately, the misunderstanding was cleared up without incident. Of course, Jade knew that in this case, the ones who got lucky were the Buren.
'Ruby's calmer than I expected. Calm to the point where it's starting to worry me.'
Meruld had said it was about a day's journey from the border to the swamp ruins. It matched what Ruby had gauged by scent. But Jade doubted whether either of them had given an accurate estimate of the time.
The problem with measuring distance in days was that everyone walked at different speeds. What might be a leisurely day's walk for Meruld could take Jade three days.
So in this context, a "day's journey" meant the distance Jade could cover following the safest and quickest path through the forest under Meruld's guidance.
Meruld led them smoothly without pushing them into a forced march. Even so, traveling through the forest was exhausting in itself, and sleeping in the woods was hardly restorative.
Finally, as they reached the swamp, the surrounding trees vanished, giving way to open space.
Jade had hoped leaving the forest would mean easier going. But soon enough, he realized the forest path had actually been the easiest leg of their journey so far.
Every step in the swamp sank ankle-deep into the muck, and his pants soaked up water until they felt like lead weights strapped to his legs. He even wondered if Meruld was deliberately leading them this way to mess with him.
Jade was the only one getting worn out. He was the only one covered in mud and drenched in sweat.
Meruld traversed the swamp with the same light step he'd used in the forest, despite his massive frame, and Saf stayed clean above the knees.
Ruby went without saying.
"Isn't this still part of the Ebony Forest zone? If so, shouldn't it just be forest and trees? So why is there a swamp like this?"
When they paused on a rare patch of firm ground, Jade asked the question as if it were somehow Meruld's fault.
Meruld replied impassively.
"It feels like you're asking why there's a river here, or why there's a cliff, or why clouds float in the sky. What explanation can I give beyond saying it used to be a lake and turned into a swamp? 'Why' isn't the right question."
Even so, Meruld shared an amusing tale.
"There's a legend passed down only among the earth elves of this place. In ancient times, it was said to be a land where elves and dragons lived together, the most beautiful spot in all of Elforest. The elves wanted it for themselves, so they demanded the dragons leave. Enraged, the dragons departed—and turned it into a swamp."
Ruby, listening from afar, burst out laughing.
Jade wondered what was so funny about it, but Meruld continued his story before he could ask.
"That's why it's called the Ancient something-or-other. Also, scattered throughout the heart of the swamp are the ruins of long-destroyed buildings from ages past. The city they belonged to was called Torogar. Strictly speaking, this should be the Torogar Ruins, but place names are like that—once they're set, they stick even if the original meaning fades."
Meruld pointed in one direction with his finger.
"There's a city about a day's journey from here, roughly the size of Taymon. It's called Toroshimo. Probably not many of the Toroshimo elves know their city's name derives from Torogar."
The deeper they ventured into the swamp, the more desolate the atmosphere grew.
Compared to this, the swamp's entrance—where Jade had struggled—seemed like a picturesque blend of brush and trees.
The only movement was faded reeds swaying lazily along the slow-flowing water channels.
Stray even a little from the spots Meruld designated as safe, and you'd sink into the swamp with disastrous results. Every time it happened, Ruby pulled him out—and every time, she had a quip.
"Are you doing this on purpose?"
On the third time he got stuck, unable to move, Jade didn't even try to escape. Instead, he wagged his finger at Meruld up ahead.
Meruld approached wordlessly and extended a hand.
Jade didn't take it. Instead, he spoke.
"Slow down."
Meruld kept his hand outstretched and stared steadily at Jade's face. It was hard to guess an orc's age from their features, but Jade sensed he was quite old.
"Am I going too fast?"
Meruld asked in his gruff voice.
"It might sound selfish, but I have no other way to put it—forgive me in advance. This is my journey at the center of it all. If I exhaust myself trying to match your pace, what good is rushing if I can't play my part when it matters?"
"You heard my talk with the Buren yesterday, right? The damage is growing."
"I know. The longer we're delayed, the worse off Elforest will be. But without me, you wouldn't have had a way to fight Komora in the first place. Don't wear me out."
Meruld glanced over at Saf and Ruby, standing still about twenty paces ahead.
"There's a gap between us—cultural, linguistic—that we can't fully bridge. So ignore that gap and say it your way. What you're saying sounds like nothing but selfish whining from exhaustion."
"No one wants to kill demons more than I do. Probably far more seriously than you imagine."
As he said it, Jade recalled his conversation with Ruby the night before.
'I misspoke about the madness inside me. Maybe I take pleasure in this, just like Ruby does in battle.'
Meruld's expression was as stiff as ever, showing no hint of friendliness. Still, Jade pressed on stubbornly.
"But if I arrive at our destination utterly spent, what then? Think about my stamina. Rushing isn't always the answer."
"I misjudged."
Jade thought it meant Meruld was disappointed.
"I got caught up pushing you without realizing it, because of Saf. You're injured to begin with, and...
Meruld pointed at Jade's arm and continued.
"...a human who's never set foot in Elforest before. Of course we shouldn't rush."
"So?"
"I matched our pace to Saf, not you. She looked the weakest at a glance, especially after getting wounded by the Buffalord. I figured if I kept to her stride, you'd keep up on your own. Sorry about that."
Jade's elf tongue had grown much more familiar, but Meruld still spoke slowly and precisely, as if teaching a beginner. It was a big help.
"Saf's tougher than she looks," Jade muttered, gazing at Saf ahead just like Meruld had.
Her face still held a childish innocence, and her slender frame looked like it would collapse from a single day outdoors.
It wasn't wrong for Meruld to have matched her steps.
Meruld extended his hand again, and this time Jade took it.
"Let's go."
Meruld yanked him free from the mud like pulling a radish from a field.
As they started walking again, a child's laughter suddenly echoed from somewhere. Jade whipped around, scanning the surroundings.
Meruld walked on, his expression unchanged and impassive.
"Uh, is this sound just in my head?"
Jade asked.
"No, I hear it too."
"What is it? ...A ghost?"
Meruld swept his hand broadly through the air.
"I can't explain every place name we pass, but this is one of the spots in the Ancient Swamp Ruins known as the Whispering Marshes."
As they walked, the child's laughter morphed into an old man's cough. Whispers followed, but the words were indistinct and hard to make out.
"Is it some kind of acoustic phenomenon?"
Jade asked.
"Ghosts first, then straight to rational questions. Isn't it your job to start with divine providence?"
Meruld asked, amused.
"Father Danel, who taught me, always insisted every natural phenomenon in the world could be explained within the bounds of human reason."
Catching up to the waiting pair, Jade naturally fell in step with the group of four.
He continued.
"For instance, sailors say a flame—neither hot nor burning—appears at the tip of a ship's mast at sea, and they call it a sign from the gods in answer to prayer. But Father Danel argued it was probably some substance we're unfamiliar with causing the effect, not a divine response."
"Are you talking about spirit song-lights? That happens sometimes in the northern forests too."
"Song-lights... That's a beautiful name."
Saf said admiringly.
"Father Danel suggested whatever substance causes lightning and thunder in the sky might have come down to earth for some reason."
Jade said.
"A substance that causes lightning? Never heard of such a thing."
Meruld said, as if it were absurd.
"Father Danel doesn't claim to know everything either. That's why he often argues with alchemists and theologians. About why rain and snow form, why the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, why seawater is salty, things like that."
Saf nodded in agreement.
"Father Danel was curious about every single thing in the world."
Meruld disagreed with Danel's questions.
"Rain and snow are water evaporated from the earth falling back as droplets. The sun is ordained to rise in the east, so it does; its only place to go is west, so that's where it sets. Why is seawater salty? Because it has salt in it!"
"That's why he's strange—he wonders about what we take for granted. Sometimes he'd say interpreting everything we can't explain as God's will or the devil's work is what truly profanes the divine name. He nearly faced trial for it once."
Every time Jade spoke Danel's name, his heart felt like it was being pricked by needles.
"So if it's not a ghost making these noises, what is it?"
Jade circled back to his original question.
"Those guys' doing."
As they walked, Meruld pointed to a water puddle choked with submerged plants.
A cluster of large, trumpet-shaped flowers bloomed there. Growing in the swamp, their petals and stems were an earthy hue.
Just then, the petals quivered, and an old man's cough echoed out.
"They're called echo flowers. They mimic human voices to make sounds. And amazingly, when they scatter seeds that grow into new flowers, those seeds remember and reproduce the same sounds. Sometimes you even hear them speaking in ancient tongues."
"Ancient how ancient?"
Jade asked, astonished.
"Who knows, a thousand years? No one really knows. That cough we just heard could be from an ancient high elf who lived here—or maybe just a earth elf who passed by coughing a few days ago."
Somewhere, a woman's lullaby-worthy song drifted in, then cut off abruptly. It felt both enchanting and eerie.
The four walked in silence through the marshlands, where echo flowers mimicked elven voices in song.