Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Elf Nation Arborness
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After receiving Elfin's letter, we exchanged bewildered glances.
Elfin, who had declared she wouldn't be returning.
"Wh-why would Elfin...?"
"Is she quitting? Just like that, out of nowhere?"
There were several reasons I could guess at. One realistic possibility was...
"She got some top-notch shoes and now she's planning to ghost us!"
At that, Ravi and Lenis both punched me in the gut simultaneously.
"Oof!!!"
"Elfin would never do that."
"Exactly. Maybe if it were you, Alvis, but Elfin pulling a scam? That's ridiculous..."
"Hey, I was just kidding..."
I rolled on the floor before finally standing up and voicing the second possibility.
"Then maybe she just doesn't want to travel with me anymore and decided to bail?"
"Hmm, that's more plausible than her scamming us, for sure..."
"It's pretty reasonable, but you three traveled together for months before I joined, right? Why bail now?"
"......Shouldn't you be denying it instead of agreeing?"
Lenis's reaction was expected, but Ravi had been screaming her love for me and moaning just yesterday. For her to half-agree that Elfin ditched us because she couldn't stand me anymore? That was betrayal.
Of course, it wasn't weird for them to react that way.
Elfin hated me the most out of the three traveling with me, and she'd made no secret of it from the start when the team first formed.
But as Lenis said, we'd been traveling together for months now, and after the last fight with Vector, I thought her attitude toward me had softened a lot. For her to bail now?
No matter how I thought about it, it didn't make sense that she'd just run off because she couldn't stand the sight of me.
"What if something happened in Arborness?"
Ravi and Lenis snapped their heads up to look at me.
"Arborness?"
"No way. What could possibly happen in that impenetrable elf nation?"
"Doesn't matter how impenetrable it is. The empire's goblin camp dungeon ended up like that, and there was an anomaly in the central continent mountains. Plus, the head of one of this kingdom's oldest noble houses was an Underground Vermin—and none of us, including us, had a clue."
"Th-that's true, but..."
"Think about it. Given Elfin's personality, if she just got sick of me and didn't want to travel together anymore, she'd say it to my face: 'I can't work with you anymore,' curse me out, and quit. She wouldn't agree to return and then suddenly flake out like this. She said there were circumstances preventing her return, but this doesn't feel like some ordinary personal issue. Even if something huge happened, Elfin wouldn't easily share it with others—she'd act like it was no big deal."
They nodded in agreement. They knew Elfin's personality well.
"Those Underground Vermin were bold enough to masquerade as nobles in the heart of the kingdom, hiding their true nature. It wouldn't be strange if something popped up anywhere. Sure, it might be nothing serious, but we should at least check if something's going on in Arborness."
"True, but Arborness is so isolationist—internal info doesn't leak out easily."
"We don't need the exact details. If it's bad enough that Elfin can't return, it'd be obvious even from outside."
"But who do we even ask? I can't make an official inquiry in the kingdom right now. You're a fallen noble even in the empire, so that's out too. And Carrot Duchy is too far physically."
"Sometimes backchannel intel from the underworld is faster than official routes."
"...?"
I grinned at Lenis's words and jerked my chin for them to follow.
"When else am I gonna cash in on my current rep? Come on—the perks of being the 'Mercenary King' are for times like this."
"Ah."
I led the two to the Steel Wolf Mercenaries' rest spot, where the mercs who recognized me whistled and cheered, welcoming me lavishly.
"Whoa, isn't this our Mercenary King!? Here for work again today?"
"Thanks to you, our group's got a killer rep around here—jobs keep pouring in! Have a drink on us!"
"Your party's grown by one? No biggie! Order whatever you want to eat or drink!"
I shook my head at their hospitality.
"Nah, not here to eat. And sorry to say, my 'Mercenary King' days are over. Gotta head elsewhere. From now on, you're on your own like before. Don't wanna see all that hard-earned rep go to waste, so keep hustling."
They let out sighs at the news of my departure.
Watching me get treated like actual royalty by the mercs lit hearts in Ravi's eyes.
Damn, this feels kinda good.
With tons of mercs lounging around, I scanned the crowd and asked,
"Before I go, got a question for you all. Anyone been to Arborness in the last two weeks? One of my comrades went there, and no word in two weeks. If you know anything about what's going on, it'd help."
"Arborness?"
"That's totally sealed off—we can't get deep inside."
"Hey, didn't Richard come from that direction a week ago? Yo, Richard! Spill if you saw anything!"
A merc called Richard raised his hand.
"Yeah, I was near their Divine Tree Yggdrasil until a week ago, but couldn't go inside."
"Any anomalies there?"
Richard answered promptly.
"Oh, yeah. Now that you mention it, something was off. It's always clear skies with killer visibility, but about ten days before I left, it got all foggy and overcast like a mist rolled in. Figured even Arborness gets misty days sometimes."
"That all?"
"Had a priest and mage with me—they sensed bad vibes in the fog and said not to get close in case something happened. Couldn't check properly. That's all I know."
"Thanks, that helps a lot."
Knowing something was wrong in Arborness was enough.
I shook off the mercs trying to grab me and left the rest spot, turning to Ravi and Lenis with their hoods pulled low.
"Looks like we've got a destination. What do you say?"
"Obviously we go. Can't just sit if Elfin's in trouble."
"Quit stalling with dumb talk and let's move. If Vector types are involved there too, we smash 'em."
We set off for Arborness, an unplanned detour.
By carriage, it'd take about five or six days from here.
I boarded, praying nothing had happened to Elfin.
We finally reached Arborness on the night of the fifth day.
Just as the merc Richard described, a pale mist shrouded the Divine Tree Yggdrasil at its center.
"That fog... Arborness is famous for clear weather year-round, day and night—even in the rain. Never seen anything like this."
"I visited once as a kid when Dad had business there. He said it was always sunny, and it was."
"Fog's too thick—can't see past the Divine Tree. Hope we don't get mistaken for intruders and peppered with arrows on the way in."
We drew weapons for any contingencies and crept toward Arborness's heart.
As we got closer, a groan came from the grass.
"Ugh... urk..."
"Who's there!"
"Alvis, over there!"
Ravi's sharp ears pinpointed the sound instantly, pointing it out.
We hurried to the spot and found a male elf collapsed in the grass, gasping for breath.
The problem was his condition.
His whole body was blackened and rotting, pus, discharge, and blood oozing from his skin.
The nauseating sight hit me hard; I fought back vomit and yelled at the others,
"Stay back!"
"Alvis? What's wrong?"
"Wasn't that a person!? Who's there!?"
I ignored their questions and stared at the fallen elf.
One eye had rotted away entirely; the remaining one wept blood tears as he strained to look at me.
"H-help... h-help... me..."
"What the hell happened to you! What went down here?! Is the inside okay? Did enemies invade?!"
"Our... clan... guh... people... inside... elder... his granddaughter too... c-curse..."
"Speak clearly! You saying a curse hit Arborness?!"
"Help... help... ......"
With that, the male elf stopped moving or speaking.
I immediately activated Eye that Pierces Truth and examined him.
"!!!"
My worst suspicions confirmed—a disaster had struck Arborness.
Stepping closer triggered another message before my eyes.
This field dungeon is afflicted by a powerful curse draining all life within. The elves here will die soon without liberation from it.
The Resister of Fate may dispel this curse through their actions. Saving more elves yields better rewards.
Failure: Fail to rescue sufficient elves → Instant Stage 5 backlash.