Chapter 118: Everything the Elder Elf Says Is Correct
I followed Elvira up the stairs.
“You worked very hard in the guild war.”
When we had climbed about halfway, Elvira—who had been silently leading the way—spoke quietly.
“Thanks to you, Sir Kar, our guild has once again obtained the administrative authority of District 3.”
“That is correct. It was all thanks to me.”
“I didn’t expect you to say that yourself.”
“Isn’t it far too magnificent an achievement to pretend modesty?”
“That’s true….”
Elvira smiled faintly and looked back at me.
After hesitating slightly, she continued.
“Laenis, the one the spy impersonated, was my friend. We had a bit of an age difference, but since we were both Jewel Elves, we became close quickly.”
“I’m sorry. There was no way for me to prevent it in advance.”
“I know. I’m not blaming you, Sir Kar.”
Her sapphire-like eyes stared directly at me.
“Laenis has surely gone safely to the fields of the One who leads the Great Nature, so I am not sad. However… I cannot help feeling a little bitter.”
Elvira turned back around and resumed walking.
“You are a young half-elf who has not yet lived even a hundred years, so allow this old elf to offer a piece of advice.”
Advice from an elder elf who had lived more than eight hundred years.
It could only be golden words worth listening to carefully, so I quietly listened.
“Sir Kar. One day, during an expedition, there may be an unfortunate incident where one of your members loses their life. More than a few promising explorers have collapsed after experiencing such accidents.”
“……”
Explorers were a profession that inevitably became accustomed to the deaths of friends and comrades.
That was why Elvira could maintain a calm exterior even after sending off someone she knew.
She had probably experienced losing close people countless times over the centuries.
“Our Ashen Wolf Guild wishes to maintain a long relationship with you, Sir Kar. So please continue your expeditions without losing a single companion until the end.”
The death of a member could hardly be separated from the responsibility of the expedition leader.
Seen from that perspective, it was truly advice that became both bone and flesh.
“I understand. I will keep it in mind.”
“And there is one more thing I must say….”
Elvira turned toward me again.
Her expression was deeply displeased.
“Your unique fighting style, Sir Kar. It is far too improper.”
“Pardon?”
“Your clothes keep tearing and exposing bare skin! Why does a young man fight in such an immodest manner!”
I stared blankly at Elvira’s disapproving gaze before answering as carefully as possible.
“Perhaps you say that because you have not seen how refreshing I look when completely naked?”
“…Be quiet and focus. An elder is speaking.”
The elder elf grabbed my shoulders and continued.
“In my time, people who exposed their bare skin in front of others were objects of criticism. Yet these days, young people—men and women alike—wear clothing that exposes far too much. The world truly is in decline.”
Tsk.
After clicking her tongue, Elvira quietly patted my shoulder.
“Don’t you think so too, my young friend?”
“That is correct.”
I nodded immediately.
After all, the words of an elf who had lived nearly a thousand years could hardly be wrong.
“Then from now on, fight in a way that minimizes exposing your body.”
“I will accept Lady Elvira’s wise counsel.”
“Good. As expected, you are a young man with proper sense.”
Crackle!
Sues-je sent me several counterarguments.
However, the claim “I’m actually more attractive when I’m naked” carried the risk of reigniting the elder elf’s anger, which had only just settled.
So I kept it to myself.
I would use that argument on someone else later.
“We’ve arrived.”
We passed the floor with the reception room and arrived at the Guild Master’s office on the top floor.
It was clearly a sign that they now regarded me not as a guest but as one of their own.
“Guild Master, I have brought him.”
Following Elvira through the opened door, a strange sweaty smell hit my nose.
The shock to my sense of smell was immediately followed by visual shock.
《:O What kind of mad orc nonsense is this!》
The Guild Master’s office was filled with gray wolves.
The ceiling, the wallpaper, the floor.
Even the decorations and furniture were all wolves.
“Come in.”
Targon, seated on a large chair carved with a wolf’s face, pointed to a sofa placed on one side of the room.
Odilon was sprawled there, buried in fluffy fur shaped like a wolf’s back.
“You’re here.”
“I am. So you were here….”
“Indeed….”
We achieved miraculous communication with nothing but our eyes.
I wanted to leave this place immediately.
“Berserker Targon.”
Odilon spoke at once.
“Enough idle talk. I would like to receive the reward quickly.”
“Is that so? Very well.”
Fortunately, the supreme warrior Targon did not suspect our intentions and rose immediately.
“I shall guide you right away.”
A faint smile appeared on the gray orc’s sturdy face.
“To our guild’s treasured vault. Elvira, open it.”
“Yes.”
Elvira answered politely and pulled a book from a wolf-headed bookshelf.
Click.
The shelf slid aside, revealing a round metal door behind it.
A safe.
As expected of the Ashen Wolf Guild—one of the Milky Way Guilds—it was no ordinary object.
《Artifact — Firmly Closed Mouth》
《Possesses a faint ego. If an unauthorized person approaches, it hides itself in a subspace. If someone forcibly drags it out using spatial Mysteries, the safe and everything inside will be annihilated together.》
A perfect anti-theft safe that made it impossible to even touch the valuables.
Of course, there was the risk that everything stored inside might vanish entirely, but if a thief powerful enough to breach subspace stole it anyway, recovery would be impossible.
Destroying it might actually be the better outcome.
“I will open the door.”
When Elvira placed her palm on the center of the round door, the safe opened automatically.
Fortunately, the wolf enthusiast’s influence had not reached the interior.
The inside looked like a normal warehouse.
Yet the large space was filled with artifacts, mystery manuals, jewels, and more.
《A place worthy of intellectual investigation. The Wise One is smiling with satisfaction!》
“The promised reward was three items of your choosing. If you complain later, it will be considered a breach of contract.”
Even though Targon would have honored the agreement anyway, Odilon spoke harshly.
He really was an exhausting young master.
Sometimes people had to be betrayed by friends or deceived by disguised malice to become mentally stronger.
“I have no complaints.”
Targon spoke calmly.
“To say in advance, I wish to establish a long-term cooperative relationship not only with Kar but with your entire expedition.”
A cooperation proposal granted when a guild wins the guild war by clearing the hidden piece.
If accepted, one must occasionally assist the guild but receives benefits normally reserved only for guild members.
“…That sounds good.”
Even Odilon, who despised the word cooperation, seemed intrigued.
“Then go inside with Elvira and look around. If I watch you, it may be burdensome, so I will remain here.”
“Thank you for the consideration.”
As I headed toward the vault, I spoke to Odilon behind me as if something had just occurred to me.
“Would it not be better for you, Young Master, to remain here and discuss future cooperation?”
“That is a reasonable suggestion.”
The young master nodded easily and looked down at his shadow.
Gulp!
Rosalia immediately emerged from it and stood beside me.
“Rosalia, go inside instead of me and restrain the cultist Kar.”
“Why do you assume I will do something that requires restraint?”
“Silence, you exploration maniac.”
Odilon waved his hand dismissively and sat down at the desk in the Guild Master’s office.
“Sir Kar, this way please.”
At Elvira’s call, I stepped quickly into the vast vault.
Seeing it in person, the scene before me truly resembled a treasure chamber.
It was impossible even to estimate the value of everything combined.
The wealth of a Milky Way Guild truly exceeded imagination.
“You may choose now.”
Holding the inventory list, Elvira narrowed her eyes.
“However, only three items. I will not negotiate the number. Combining low-value items does not count as one. Even slightly defective items count as one. One-time artifacts are the same. Exchanges afterward are not allowed. With these conditions in mind, please choose freely.”
《Odilon and this long-eared elf both live such exhausting lives! :<》
It could not be helped.
Jewel Elves were meticulous about profit and loss.
Still, since she did not impose unfair clauses like counting valuable items as two, it was a fair deal.
“Sister.”
After quietly observing the interior, I approached Rosalia and whispered into her long ear.
“I left the young master outside for your sake.”
“…!”
The assassin—whose dietary habits would surely anger the young master or the butler if discovered—widened her eyes.
I pointed toward the area where the poisons were stored.
“Choose the rarest poison you like the most. Just one.”
“Brother… best.”
Rosalia, using words she would normally never say, patted my shoulder before walking toward the shelves filled with vials.
Tremble.
The tips of her ears quivered slightly.
“It seems she enjoys collecting poisons.”
Elvira murmured while observing Rosalia’s back.
“For a Wood Elf, interest in natural toxins is hardly strange.”
“She doesn’t collect them. She enjoys eating them.”
“……”
“I’m serious.”
“…Why?”
“Because they taste good. I know because she sometimes shares them with me. The addictive flavor is stronger than you might expect. Once you get used to it, it’s difficult to stop.”
Of course, respecting her tastes was not the only reason I chose poison.
With Sin: Gluttony, I could also use them in battle.
Leaving the extreme toxins to the enthusiast, I searched for the rewards I had already planned.
‘First, this.’
On the lowest shelf of the artifact rack lay a pair of handcuffs made of cold metal.
I picked them up without hesitation.
A precious item obtainable only here.
《Masterpiece — Demon Suppressor》
《When worn, it absorbs a certain amount of Demonic Energy each time such energy accumulates within the body. Originally created to capture rampaging demon outlaws in the past, but never widely distributed due to cost and material issues.》
“Will that be your first choice?”
Elvira frowned slightly.
“It is valuable, but old and lacking clear applications. You must know some remarkable usage I am unaware of. Very well. Two items remain.”
Tap.
Rosalia, who had been selecting poison, quietly touched my shoulder.
In her hand was a vial containing a white toxin.
《Poison — Gourmet’s Thread》
《Causes no pain when consumed but gradually paralyzes the nerves.》
A rare poison obtainable only from a certain A-rank labyrinth in District 3.
Though the paralysis was somewhat slow, it was extremely difficult to detect poisoning.
Even inhaling a trace of the vapor caused the body to stiffen.
Of course, Rosalia was an expert in poisons.
“An excellent choice. Very good.”
“……”
When I raised my thumb, Rosalia returned the gesture.
Finally, I chose the third reward.
This time, a Mystery Manual.
《Rank-5 Mystery Manual — Evil Freezing Wind》
《Allows Demonic Energy to be converted into cold wind and released.》
A Mystery once used by demons in the past, opposite in nature to the Demon Suppressor.
Since Demonic Energy was difficult to obtain, its versatility was limited.
But for an Immortality Cultist build, it was practically essential.
“So your third choice is Evil Freezing Wind.”
After thinking briefly, Elvira looked at me intently.
“You must possess a method to freely accumulate Demonic Energy in your body.”
“Sharp as expected.”
I stroked the snake tattoo on my left hand.
There was exactly one such Mystery.
One that allowed me to charge Demonic Energy at will.
‘Life · Reversal · Action.’
The Mystery of Solitary Silence obtained during the offering ritual performed with the Saintess.
Using it greatly increased the Stamina stat but accumulated Demonic Energy called Dark Solitude.
If it stacked ten times, I would die and become undead, which was why I had avoided using it.
But with Demon Suppressor and Evil Freezing Wind?
《Now I finally understand why you deliberately became a cultist of gloomy Leria. Even the Wise One slapped their forehead in realization!》
From now on, no one would be able to ignore the Watcher of Solitary Silence.
As a cultist of the Silent One, I would personally spread the majesty contained within that name.
Twitch…!
The snake tattoo lifted its head with shining eyes.
Its tail swayed gently.
It seemed Leria was imagining herself returning to the status of Leria, Chief Deity of Evil Gods.
“All three selections are complete.”
Perhaps because I had ignored the objectively most valuable items, Elvira spoke with visible relief.
“Are you satisfied?”
“Of course.”
“To be honest, my heart aches slightly. But I am curious to see what you will do with today’s reward.”
“Then please watch with interest.”
As I stored the handcuffs and the Mystery Manual in subspace, I said,
“From now on, no matter what enemies I face, I will become a stubborn cultist who survives even more tenaciously than a vampire.”