The Legacy Left by Adela's Mother

As expected from the legacy Adela’s mother had left behind, the lake was in complete ruins. The once-pristine water had long since turned murky with stirred-up sediment from the battle, and in several places schools of fish—crisp-fried by Rata’s lightning and the Lesser Dragon’s flames—floated belly-up. No matter how much we purified the water source with magic before drinking it, when the place had been turned into this much of a disaster zone it was only natural to feel a little guilty from the perspective of the ones who had rampaged so enthusiastically. Still, there was no need to worry. I had only done it after confirming everything could be restored to its original state.

“Let’s see… at this level of mess, dropping Elride’s core into the lake for a week should be enough.”

“Is the core’s purification effect really that strong?”

“If the conditions are right, it could sink an entire island in the middle of the ocean.”

Purifying a lake of this size would be quick work for the core’s power. As for retrieving it after a week, I could simply hire a collection team from the front lines and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ask them to bring it back. All I had to do was set up measures so monsters wouldn’t touch the core during that time and clean up the crisp-fried fish floating on the surface.

“Off you go, big guy.”

“Gwoooong!”

The fish problem was solved in one go. The Irregular Laserdon, whose compatibility had been too poor to participate in the fight, drooled heavily as it charged into the shallows. Since the fish were conveniently baked to perfection, the bear must have felt like dinner had been delivered ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠while it slept. Given its appetite, the floating school of grilled fish would disappear in no time.

That left only the task of hiding the core so the lake could be purified.

“Leave this part to me.”

“I’ll help too.”

Adela and Neon took care of it. Neon layered multiple barriers over the core while Adela carried it to the lakebed and concealed it. Once everything was neatly finished, we gathered the Elride byproducts with satisfied expressions and returned to Starus.

After filing our successful request at the guild, we approached a mild-mannered man who had been waiting nearby.

“Would you be able to head to the lake marked on this map in one week and retrieve Elride’s core?”

“Oh my, you actually took care of that headache? Of course we can!”

The man seemed to have deduced the entire situation from the map alone; he laughed with complete confidence.

“Let’s see… after the big fight in the lake you hid it on the bottom for water purification, right? A regular collection team should be more than enough for that.”

“Oh, as expected of a professional.”

“Hahaha! Professional? Compared to you folks who actually fight monsters, we’re basically playing house!”

After a bit of casual conversation we signed the collection contract and parted ways. Neon watched the man disappear into the distance and muttered,

“A collection team, huh. This is the first time I’ve actually met one and talked to them.”

“We have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an inventory, remember?”

Besides, the higher your rank, the less you need collection teams. Once you start earning serious money you can afford subspace pouches. Since we already had an inventory, we had even less reason to use them—which was exactly why this was our first time.

“They look surprisingly competent.”

“They really do. Just showing them the map and they immediately inferred the whole situation.”

“They make their living recovering byproducts, after all.”

Being stationed at the front lines meant they were among the best in their field. They might not have an adventurer badge, but if it came to actual combat they would probably outperform most adventurers. In rank terms, they were probably upper Bronze at least.

With the Elride core safely entrusted to them, we no longer had to worry. To celebrate completing our first request, we decided to have lunch at the restaurant inside the adventurer branch.

While we were enjoying delicious food and pleasant conversation, Neon stared at the Elride droplet resting on his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠palm with curious eyes.

“It really is fascinating. I saw it on your armor before, but it really does flow like it’s alive, doesn’t it?”

I smiled as he kept poking the droplet that continuously traced circles within a fixed radius of his hand.

“Interesting, right? Because of that flowing property, mages use it heavily both for drawing magic circles and as research material.”

“I can see why. Even if you just leave it alone, that flowing characteristic would be incredibly useful when activating magic circles.”

Neon’s smile refused to fade; he already seemed to have come up with dozens of research projects using the Elride materials. It looked like he planned to keep everything we obtained this time for research instead of selling it.

I scratched my head, careful not to disturb him while he was lost in his own world.

“By the way, we’ve got a problem. I’m starting to run low on mana.”

“Why?”

“There’s the mana consumed when I summon, plus the huge amounts needed to maintain the thrusters or draw out strong aura.”

It was probably because I was still young for my level; I simply hadn’t accumulated enough mana yet. I had consumed one elixir back at the Edenberg ruins, but that alone wasn’t nearly enough. Thanks to diligently building up my mana since childhood I was still managing, but the higher my skills climbed the more serious the shortage would become.

“Then why not just take another elixir?”

“Because the North has run out of them.”

If we were in the Central or Southern regions it might be different, but in the North every elixir had been steadily consumed for a thousand years. They were so rare that the saying went: if you’re going to sell elixirs anywhere, sell them in the North.

“Really? That’s rough.”

“Rough or not, there’s nothing we can do about it. It’s not like elixirs fall from the sky.”

“Actually, I might have a way to obtain some. Want to hear it?”

“Huh?”

I had only meant to grumble a little, but Adela’s sudden suggestion caught me off guard. I looked at her with puzzled eyes. If she suggested robbing the adventurer branch bank I would have no choice but to restrain her, Adela. That would be even crazier than firing bombardment magic at the Demon King’s castle from a fairy tale.

Fortunately, her idea was perfectly reasonable.

“While I was looking for ways to earn money to create a mobile nest, I discovered information that had been sealed inside my head.”

“Sealed information?”

“Yes. It’s knowledge my mother left me before she died.”

Come to think of it, Adela’s mother had died beyond the front lines. The memory stuck with me because Zeno—a high-ranking War Ant who had escaped when the colony fell—had orchestrated a massive mock war to smuggle Adela into human society.

“Mr. Owen really went overboard, wiping out an entire colony.”

“That’s not it. Mom did tell me never to trust people with squinted eyes, but Owen wasn’t the one who destroyed our colony.”

He wasn’t? Now that I thought about it carefully, while Adela had certainly been wary of Owen she had never treated him as an enemy. My memories must have gotten distorted while I was busy handling major events.

The first question that rose once I realized the truth was:

“Then why did your colony get destroyed?”

“I don’t remember.”

“What?”

“Mom sealed my memories. It happened when I was very young.”

Adela looked at me with her usual blank, slightly vacant expression, as if she genuinely had no recollection. Perhaps her mother had locked the memories away to protect a child’s heart from trauma. I was curious about the reason behind the seal, but asking would have been rude, so I kept quiet.

“The knowledge my mother left me only resurfaced recently when the conditions were unlocked.”

“And that condition was strength, I assume.”

“Both martial power and the fact that I’ve begun preparing to build a nest.”

To be able to manipulate memories so freely… it seemed Adela’s mother had been an even greater figure than I imagined.

“So what exactly did the unlocked memories contain?”

“My mother’s legacy.”

“Then we have to go get it.”

The word “legacy” immediately made up my mind. When it came to helping a comrade retrieve what her mother had left behind, there was no question—I had to help.

“The legacy is beyond the front lines, right?”

“Yes. Quite deep inside.”

“Sounds like it won’t be an easy trip.”

Beyond the front lines was literally untamed wilderness. The monsters’ strength and the complexity of the terrain were on a completely different level. Breaking through to wherever the legacy was hidden would be no small feat.

“We might even fail several times and have to turn back.”

I was making a worried face, unsure whether we could even reach the place safely on our own, when Adela gave me a puzzled look.

“Why would we go by ourselves?”

“Huh? Because we’re going to retrieve the legacy?”

“Mother’s legacy contains a huge amount of gold and treasure.”

“……?”

“It was given to me to build a nest, but we should use it efficiently. I’m going to hire lots of adventurers and form a proper expedition.”

The completely unexpected approach left my mouth hanging open. It was so shocking that even Neon—who had been lost in his own world—thought he had misheard and instinctively cast a cleaning spell on his ears.

But Adela was completely serious. She looked at the two of us and recited something that sounded like an advertisement.

“What the heck is that?”

“The advertisement I’m going to post for the expedition request.”

This girl… she had adapted to human society frighteningly well.

Neon and I clapped with genuine admiration for Adela’s recruitment skills. She had perfectly learned how to stimulate an adventurer’s sense of romance.

The princess of a fallen great colony organizing an expedition to reclaim her mother’s legacy? And the destination was deep beyond the front lines—a place so dangerous that survival was uncertain?

With that kind of notice, adventurers would be the ones throwing money at her, begging to be allowed to join. I could say that with absolute confidence as a Northerner, former guild employee, and Silver-rank adventurer. No one was as obsessed with honor and glory as Northerners. Even I felt my blood heating up; I could only imagine how the others would react.

“I’m going to the reception desk to register the request.”

“Take your time.”

As I watched Adela trot cheerfully toward the counter, I became certain.

Soon, something very interesting was going to happen in Starus.