The Coastal City of Mineva

Nine days. That was how long it took us to reach the city of Mineva by carriage.

The past nine days had been exhausting in every way imaginable.

In those nine days we ran into bandits of a similar or even larger scale than the ones we met on the first day three more times. Nearly ten times we encountered monsters that, while easy enough to handle, blocked the road and cost us precious hours. Twice we even met thieves who posed as victims lying in the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠road before trying to kill us.

Spending entire days in a carriage and camping rough by the roadside never bothered me in the slightest. What truly grated were those constant, time-wasting interruptions.

Still, after weathering every hardship one way or another, we finally arrived at the coastal city of Mineva.

Creak───

“Distinguished guests, this should be a good place for you to get off. I’ll be heading back first.”

“The road here was quite rough. Will you be all right on your own?”

“Haha, I can just put in a request for an escort at the mercenary guild, so don’t worry about me. I’ll be off now……”

I bid farewell to the coachman who had dropped us off on Mineva’s central street. Given how treacherous the journey had been, I was concerned for him, but he and his carriage soon disappeared into the distance after assuring us he would hire protection from the mercenary guild.

Watching them go, I turned my gaze toward the cityscape where the scent of the sea tickled my nose.

“Hah… Haah…… We’ve finally made it to Mineva.”

“Even taking the direct route, it was quite a tiring journey. So what now? Planning to find lodgings first?”

“Yes, we should. Let’s secure a place to stay, unpack, and then start moving around.”

I nodded at Sigrun’s words and set off first.

Kee── Kee──

The salty tang of the ocean and the cries of seagulls made it abundantly clear that I had truly arrived in Mineva. Walking toward a street where I could already see inn buildings amid that scenery, I packed a Water Mana Herb into my pipe.

“Sss…….”

I dripped a thread of water mana into it and began to smoke. The Water Mana Herb currently between my lips was the sixtieth one—counting every day of the past nine. In other words, until this moment I had smoked nothing but Water Mana Herbs.

If you asked why, it was because until nine days ago my water-element comprehension had risen only a single percentage point from the day I first set out, stuck at a mere 72%.

When I obtained the Fire Elemental Stone and met Adria, she clearly said the magic she left on the staff to meet her would only activate if I socketed the Elemental Stone while possessing sufficient elemental comprehension.

Those were the exact words Adria had spoken when we first met. She had told me outright that the spell she placed on the staff would trigger only when the corresponding Elemental Stone was fitted while the user held sufficient elemental comprehension.

And I was taking that “sufficient comprehension” to mean the 99% displayed on the status window.

The reason my fire-element comprehension refused to climb past 99% back then was probably because of that.

I had no absolute proof, but the circumstances made the guess feel solid. Ninety-nine percent was the highest stage I could reach through items and my own effort. Socket an Elemental Stone at that threshold and Adria would offer a hint about the true meaning of the element she held; grasp that meaning and comprehension would hit 100%, granting complete mastery.

That was my working theory of what had happened during the Fire Elemental Stone incident. Because of it, before leaving Himrave I had bought every ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠last Water Mana Herb the city could supply and smoked them all the way to Mineva. On the carriage ride I had also poured out water magic until only the barest scrap of mana remained—just enough to keep Seolho’s transformation stable and to handle any sudden fight.

As a result, my status window upon arriving in Mineva looked like this.

Status window.

“So after smoking and casting nonstop for all that time, only six percent……”

“Hm? Elia, what was that just now?”

“Nothing. Just talking to myself.”

I answered Sigrun’s curious glance and let out a quiet sigh. Gaining a level was nice, but the water element that actually mattered had risen a mere six percent. Six percent in only nine days wasn’t a bad rate of growth by any means, yet it still left me feeling unsatisfied. And if my theory was correct, the day I finally obtained Light and Darkness Elemental Stones I would be staring at those miserable twenty-percent comprehensions with no idea how long it would take to raise them. Just thinking about it made another sigh slip free.

“Well…… even if I get the Elemental Stone first and raise the comprehension later, the magic should still activate.”

Adria had said the spell would trigger once both conditions were met. With this growth rate there was no realistic chance of hitting ninety-nine percent before finding the stone anyway, so I decided to secure the Elemental Stone first and then grind comprehension every single day.

With that resolve settled, I continued walking and smoking Water Mana Herb for several more minutes.

“Uryaaah!!”

“Guh…!”

A sudden roar from farther down the street made me lift my head in curiosity.

“Sounds like a fight?”

“That’s what it sounds like to me too, Master!”

“Hmm. Something interesting might be happening. How about we take a look, Elia?”

Sigrun pointed toward the source of the noise. Following her finger, I saw a crowd gathered in a rough circle. An ordinary street brawl wouldn’t have held my interest, but what caught my eye were the holy knights standing around the spectators.

“Holy knights? Why are holy knights here?”

Their pure-white armor was a different style from Sigrun’s. The golden crest engraved across the breastplate left no doubt they belonged to the Holy Kingdom. The Holy Kingdom lay extremely far from here—near Nemesdelin, the elven nation and the place I had marked as my fourth destination for the Earth Elemental Stone. Holy knights were a precious fighting force even within their own homeland. So why were they standing guard around a crowd all the way out in Mineva?

I didn’t know the reason, but Sigrun was right: something interesting was clearly going on. A smile tugged at my lips as I changed direction.

“It does look entertaining. We still have time, so why don’t we go see ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what’s happening?”

“Excellent idea. I’ve been wondering what kind of fight it is.”

Apparently the fight itself interested her more than the holy knights. I chuckled softly and walked toward the gathering with Sigrun and Seolho. Pushing through the loosely packed onlookers, I finally got a clear view of the center—and my eyes widened slightly.

“Damn it!”

“Ahaha! Too slow, you slug!!”

“Guhh?!”

What unfolded before me was a girl who looked about my age thoroughly thrashing a man a full three heads taller than her. She blocked or slipped every punch he threw, then drove her own fists into his body with ruthless precision. The man desperately tried to land even one clean hit, but the girl dodged his final, frantic blow, leapt high, and slammed a kick straight into his solar plexus.

Thud───!!!

An ugly sound rang out. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The man’s body lifted clean off the ground and sailed into the crowd. Holy knights waiting behind the girl casually dragged the unconscious challenger out of the circle as though they had done it a hundred times before. The girl casually rubbed her nose with the back of her hand and shouted,

“Boring! Completely boring! Isn’t there anyone decent around here?! Beat me and I’ll give you a free bottle of Holy Water!!”

The unexpected word that left her mouth made me murmur without thinking.

“…Holy Water?”

Holy Water. The divine liquid produced in the tiniest of quantities at the Fountain of God, deep within the central cathedral of the Holy Kingdom. Any wound it touched healed as though it had never existed. Any disease it touched vanished in an instant. Even high-ranking undead that came into contact with it were erased without a trace. It was an object of immense value.

For a moment I assumed the girl was just talking nonsense—until I saw the holy knight standing behind her, openly displaying a finger-length vial in one hand. The soft, non-blinding radiance of the liquid inside proclaimed that it was genuine Holy Water.

“…That’s real Holy Water.”

A bottle no larger than a grown man’s index finger, yet the liquid within left no room for doubt. As far as I knew, only the Pope of the Holy Kingdom—or at most the Saint—possessed the authority to handle Holy Water. How, then, did a girl who looked no older than me have any? The holy knights around her showed no sign of protest, so it couldn’t have been an unauthorized abuse of power.

“Not that it really matters……”

Honestly, the source of her authority was the least of my concerns. What mattered right now was the simple fact that defeating her would earn me a bottle of Holy Water.

“I really want that……”

The desire slipped out before I could stop it. I hastily covered my mouth, but by then Sigrun had already heard my heart’s desire and taken a full step forward.

“Is that so? Then leave it to me. I’ll win it for you.”

“Uh…… Sigrun?”

“I was never going to walk past a perfectly legal fight anyway. While I’m at it, I’ll use the Holy Water prize to start repaying the debt I owe you, Elia.”

With those words she strode not one step but all the way into the open circle until she stood directly before the girl. I lowered the hand I had half-raised to stop her, and the girl’s delighted voice rang out.

“Oh! A new challenger!!”

“I am Sigrun of Bilua Village. I request a challenge.”

And just like that, the match between Sigrun and the golden-haired girl began.