Chapter 187
Chapter 187
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 187
Chapter Title: Norr's Respite (2)
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“Is this Norr's Respite?”
“Yes. It's a place where the spirit of light is particularly strong. We can move hundreds of Norr people here. I heard it was once the site of an Altar of Light, and its effects still linger.”
“It's more peaceful than I expected. Is it safe from the attacks of outsiders or heretic hunts?”
“It's not that far away. We've just concealed it with a curtain of light. From outside Norr's Respite, this place looks like nothing but a field.”
The principle was similar to invisibility magic.
Invisibility uses the power of electricity to refract light, making one transparent. But this place makes the reflectivity of light 100%, blending in with the scenery as if a mirror were set up.
Someone with a keen eye might be able to find a repeating pattern, but it seemed unlikely anyone would undertake such a task in this vast land.
“Of course, the high ones in Heaven could find it if they tried. But no one cares about life in Purgatory. The only ones who get worked up are the Kergo and the starving outsiders.”
A village of makeshift tents had formed near the forest. Merchants with stalls were also visible. There were no customers, but they seemed to have no intention of selling anything anyway, leisurely chatting among themselves.
Gardock explained they were merchants on their way to the mainland shops. It was literally a respite, and to find proper goods, one had to go to a Norr shop.
Nevertheless, he said subjects of Heaven sometimes came to acquire Norr goods, and Kanya and Lena were among them.
Kanya had been tense since arriving. If Purgatory was neutral territory, this was the domain of heretics.
Perhaps for that reason, she didn't even make eye contact with Shirone's group and asked Gardock.
“Where do they sell Norr medicine?”
“Hmm, I wonder if the apothecary is here. Try looking over there.”
As Kanya walked away, Gardock shouted at her back.
“Remember one thing. There's absolutely no fighting in Norr's Respite. Got it?”
No answer came back. Instead, Lena turned to Shirone and smiled sweetly. It was a kind gesture meant to smooth over her sister's rudeness, but the girl's smile also held a hint of personal affection.
“See you later.”
“Yeah. I hope you find what you're looking for.”
Norr's Respite was only so big, but once they left the radius of Arin's Spirit Zone, conversation would be impossible, so it might as well have been a farewell.
Shirone watched Kanya's retreating figure.
She looked anxious.
What had she left Heaven to find?
While Shirone was lost in thought, Gardock examined the wound on his abdomen. The bleeding had stopped, but the injury was a mess. It could be dangerous if not treated properly.
“I'm going to rest for a bit. I'm tired from the blood loss. Ask Clove how to buy things. You all will need to know if you're going to live in Purgatory.”
Seeing how pale his master's face was, Clove couldn't refuse. He led Shirone's group to the stalls, his eyes lighting up when he realized there were more merchants than usual.
“Hey, about that White Elixir, are you going to use it now?”
“I don't know. I was going to look at the goods first and buy something if I need it. Why?”
“If you're willing to pay a commission, I can haggle for you. Since this is your first time here, you wouldn't know which items are good, right?”
There weren't many things one could get with a White Elixir in Norr's Respite. It was like paying with a gold coin to buy an apple.
However, since Shirone didn't know what was valuable, there was a good chance Clove could skim something off the top if he negotiated well with the merchants.
Shirone checked on his friends. They were scattered about, browsing the goods. Since they were connected by the mental channel, there was no need to call them over.
-Clove is asking for a commission. What should we do?
-I don't know. We probably do need a broker. Honestly, aside from clothes and food, I have no idea what any of this stuff is. But can we trust him?
Arin replied to Amy's words.
-I can find that out.
Shirone made a decision.
Through Precognition, they could tell if Clove was trying to scam them. He just hoped it wouldn't come to that. They could afford the commission, but wasting time on a pointless emotional dispute would be a loss for everyone.
“Alright, let's look around together. Show us what kind of things they have.”
As Clove led the way, his friends gathered around Shirone.
Perhaps because many of the merchants were from the mainland, the variety of items was diverse.
First were the daily necessities. Things like food, clothing, pillows, and blankets seemed common, but they were important items for the heretics living in Purgatory.
Clove pointed to some white, pebble-like bread and said.
“This is Calla, an essential travel item for heretics. It's food made from Elixir, so just one will keep you full for the whole day.”
Amy crouched down to take a closer look.
They came in various colors, but beyond that, there were no distinguishing features, making it impossible to guess the taste.
If one Calla could cover a day's worth of meals, it was a decent item, but whether it was a top priority for purchase was another matter.
“Hmm, they’re round and cute. Should I try one?”
Amy threw out the bait, and Clove bit immediately. His words would reveal just how honestly he was planning to broker for them.
“This is amazing stuff. Even if you're stranded in the wilderness, you can survive for a month with just this. You should buy as many as you can while you have the chance.”
As he spoke, Clove winked at the merchant.
Arin scratched her head, looking troubled. It was so blatant she didn't even need to analyze it with Precognition.
Assuming her friends also knew, she skipped the miscellaneous details and stated only the conclusion.
-Should we just do this ourselves? I don't think this kid has any intention of doing his job properly.
Amy, too, was stunned by his shamelessness.
-Looks that way. But let's keep him around for now. Who would have guessed these pebbles were food? We still need someone to introduce the items, anyway. He's not lying, is he?
-No. He's just thinking about earning some Elixir. He must really want it. Seeing him like this, I almost feel a little sorry for him.
Canis sneered.
-Of course. His magic aside, his situational judgment and reaction time are terrible. Can a guy like that even hunt properly? That's probably why he's so greedy.
The power of magic varies greatly depending on its level, but it can't be the sole criterion for determining superiority. Different spells are effective in different environments and situations, and there are also elemental advantages.
It was the same principle by which the Vortex Serpent, despite its overwhelming magical power, was defeated by Shirone.
To gauge a mage's level, one must observe how quickly and accurately they make magical judgments.
Of course, that was something that took even longer to develop than magic itself. It was also why stories were often told of mercenaries who hired mages based solely on their visible magical skills, only to be wiped out by the mage's blunders.
Canis, who had traveled the continent in search of Arcane's will, had more experience with that than anyone.
Considering how effective Shirone and Amy's judgments had been in the three battles since arriving in Heaven, Clove was at a level that was embarrassing to even call a mage.
The next place Clove introduced was a stall selling medicines.
Shirone had heard Kanya arguing with this apothecary a little while ago, but the mental channel had been cut, so he couldn't understand them.
Clove introduced various medicines to the group.
Small gourds contained colorful potions, which he said were made using Elixir.
The red potion healed wounds, and the blue potion cleared the mind. Those two types were the most common.
The other colored potions also had unique effects.
The pink potion amplified feelings of love, and the brown potion allowed one to permanently remember a specific period of time.
Shirone pointed to a white potion he had noticed when Kanya was arguing with the apothecary.
“What's this potion?”
Clove narrowed his eyes in surprise and picked up the vial.
“Oh? They have this? This one's pretty hard to make.”
“What's it for?”
“It's a stimulant. Epinesse, the stimulant. Anyone who drinks this can go a week without sleep and be perfectly fine. It has an excellent effect on mages, too. For example, if your mind is shaken by a Howling, you can endure it if you drink this.”
Shirone organized Clove's explanation in his mind. If the blue potion increased magical power, the white potion seemed to enhance endurance.
“This is the perfect thing for you guys. It's expensive, but I'll talk to him and get you a discount. How about buying this?”
Shirone had no intention of buying the Epinesse. A mental fortitude that could endure a week without sleep was certainly a remarkable effect, but it would be a waste to take a consumable item back to their original world.
If it were a one-of-a-kind item, it would be difficult to find the right time to use it. In Purgatory, one might chug it down in every emergency, but for a mage in their world, it would more likely become a mental block.
The thought suddenly occurred to him that it would be amazing to drink this the night before a practical exam, but he gave up on the idea, thinking he could be expelled for using a banned substance.
After that trivial analysis, his thoughts returned to Kanya.
A stimulant.
What on earth did she plan to do with this potion?
When Shirone came to his senses, the group had already moved on to the next stall.
There were tree vines that grew dozens of meters in ten minutes after planting a seed, said to be essential for traveling through rocky cliffs, and other curious things like a flame powder that made water boil when sprinkled in.
Listening to Clove's explanations, Shirone turned to look at Amy, who had separated from the group at some point and was looking at something.
Curious about what she was staring at without even blinking, Shirone walked over.
Something was moving around inside a cage-like basket. It was a ball of fire.
A living, moving fire?
As Clove approached, Shirone pointed at the cage and asked.
“What's this?”
Peering into the cage, Clove's eyes widened in surprise, as if the object were unfamiliar to him as well.
“Whoa! It's a spirit! Mister, where did you catch this? What a windfall.”
“Haha! It's a long story. I had a good dream for the first time in a while, so I went hunting outside the community. Sulfur Worms have a low chance of dropping Green Elixirs, you see. So I caught a few, but they were all red. Damn it, I thought it was just a stupid dream and was about to head back when I ran right into a 'Fire Rake.' I thought of my wife and ran for my life. Then I tumbled down a cliff, and what do you know, it was a fire spot. Thanks to the sulfur gas leaking from the ground, a fire had been burning there for ages. So I was about to drink a brown potion to remember the place, but then this fire comes bouncing over to me. I just sprayed it. I frantically took out a spirit prison and caught it. Anyway, that's what happened, hahaha!”
Clove was in no mood to laugh along. He could only lament why such fortunate encounters never happened to him.
The Sulfur Worm was an outsider commonly found not only in Muspel, the land of fire, but in any lava region.
It was a one-meter-long worm that sprayed lava, but its movements were sluggish, so even Clove could catch one easily.
The Fire Rake, however, was a problem. To not only survive an encounter with such a powerful outsider but also obtain a fire spirit, it seemed the man must have been born under the law of heavenly fortune.
Shirone looked back at Amy. She was staring at him with a helpless expression.
Shirone fully understood her desire to have it.
If a spirit of light had been trapped in that cage, he didn't know how he would have reacted either.
For the first time, Shirone seriously asked about the price.
“Mister, how much is this?”
Communicating via telepathy was an unfamiliar experience for the merchant. But he merely blinked and responded calmly.
One could think that was just how merchants were, but Shirone inferred a possibility from his reaction.
The fact that they might not be the only ones in this world who didn't use the language of Heaven's subjects.