Chapter 222
Chapter 222
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Out-of-Spec Existence (3)
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The night of the forest.
Their first encounter with her had ingrained a profound sense of awe in Rishir's group.
The kind of awe that made one's head bow involuntarily in her presence.
And yet, right now.
They had forgotten even that awe, staring blankly at the Night of the Forest's face.
"..."
The night of the forest was suffering from extreme cognitive dissonance.
It was a sight so rare that they wondered where else they could witness it.
The White Iron Guild.
The Yellow Mages.
Before they knew it, they wore subtle expressions.
A sense of superiority as the forerunners, perhaps.
Having met a certain man before the Night of the Forest,
and having gone through the same situation ahead of her, the thought came naturally.
Ah.
I get it.
That feeling.
Among the group, the Golden Star—Karojen, who could stand on somewhat equal footing with the Night of the Forest—was the first to speak, having regained some of her usual demeanor.
"Night of the Forest. Even someone of your stature feels human emotions like bewilderment, it seems."
Labela turned her head to look at the pigeon.
The signature air of transcendent ennui that had defined her was now clearly shaken.
"You all... already knew about Rishir's power, didn't you."
"Well, something like that."
"...In that case, let me ask one thing. How did you all accept... and come to terms with this child's... ability?"
"...!"
Karojen felt a spark of amusement.
And the members of the Yellow Tower and White Iron Guild, excluding her, felt an indescribable surge of elation.
All because the Night of the Forest was seeking their advice before she could fully compose herself amid her confusion.
"His ability, huh."
In truth,
they didn't know exactly what Labela and Rishir were discussing.
But
they could vaguely guess.
It was almost certainly about the mysterious spirits he commanded.
"She's probably talking about that demon that became a spirit."
As Karojen spoke in a casual tone, ripples formed in Labela's silver eyes.
"So you really did know. About this child's ability..."
Seeing Karojen accept Rishir's power so naturally widened the crack in Labela's transcendent aura even further.
It was the face of someone whose entire world was being denied.
"How long have you known?"
"In terms of timing, not much different from you."
"Someone of your caliber wouldn't simply dismiss such an ability—or phenomenon—as an unsolvable mystery and turn away. And yet you seem remarkably composed now, as if you've reached some answer. In that short time, no less. Would you share that secret with me?"
Karojen's amusement swelled into outright glee.
She opened her beak—or mouth—with a cheerful voice.
"How could I ignore a polite request from the Night of the Forest? Very well. I'll gladly share the secret. Now, where to begin? First, we must address that demon's existence."
As Labela had said,
the Yellow Tower had already consulted with greater demon experts and reached their own conclusions about 'that demon' and its connection to Rishir.
Karojen's confidence stemmed from that.
The Golden Star had regained her signature boastful air.
"Demon..."
"From your reaction, you've already encountered that demon. Do you know anything about it?"
Labela gave a wry smile at the pigeon’s smug tone.
"You're asking me, a dark elf, that? Do I know anything about Verbandes?"
"Verbandes? Why bring up that name all of a sudden—"
A high-ranking demon comparable to the lesser seats of the archdemons, and the sworn enemy of all dark elves—its name dropped unexpectedly, prompting Karojen's puzzled response.
And then,
that puzzlement turned to bewilderment.
She realized the conversation was veering far from what she had anticipated.
"Big sis!!!"
Just then,
a babyish spirit burst in, interrupting the flow.
"!!!"
Its spirited eyebrows seemed to bristle with protest.
"You forgot my name again!!! My name is Verbandes...! I told you!!!"
The babyish spirit raised both arms imperiously, proclaiming its name.
At the sight, the expressions of the Yellow Tower and White Iron Guild members changed dramatically.
What the hell is this?
"She sealed another spirit besides Dungalow...?"
Yellow Master Yerika muttered.
It was the sound of their hypothesis crumbling.
"Sealed?!!! What utter humiliation!!!"
Another spirit(?) appeared.
A dull gray fireball hovered unusually high, looking down on them.
"I became the servant of my master out of pure loyalty!!! To lump me in with you worms who bow at a mere stomp—what insolence!!! Master!!! Grant me permission to incinerate these worms!!!"
"I'm sure they didn't mean it badly."
"Ah! That's exactly what I thought too!!!"
The atmosphere grew lively in an instant.
Perhaps feeling left out watching from afar,
"Huh?"
Rishir felt pressure on his leg and looked down.
"..."
A blank-faced purple girl spirit clung silently there.
Her efforts to get even closer were expressed through her squished cheeks.
"Mungyi! Come here!!!"
"..."
The sand spirit pried the purple one off forcibly.
"I found a great spot to play yesterday!"
"..."
The purple spirit was dragged away helplessly, gazing longingly at Rishir's receding leg.
"Ah!!! Lady Verbandes...! Take me with you too!!!"
The spirits(?) marched off en masse.
Rishir's group followed as if entranced.
The spirits headed to the garden in front of the cabin.
"Catch, Mungyi!!!"
The spirits were playing with a ball there.
Something tumbled across the ground from the sand spirit's kick.
"..."
The purple spirit bent down as directed and caught the ball(?).
It was a human head.
More precisely, a spirit(?) formed from tangled human heads.
"Hey!!! Mute!!! Throw it to me too!!!"
"..."
The purple spirit silently stared at the fireball in the sky.
But you don't even have hands or feet to catch it with.
Her eyes seemed to say.
"Foolish!!! Even without such trifles, I have fire!"
"Whoosh!!!"
"That's not how you play ball!!!"
"Such...! Then how am I supposed to join this game!?"
"Don't!!!"
"Gaaahhh!!! What lamentable humiliation!!!"
The sight of the cute(?) spirits(?) frolicking in the flowerbed was enough to bring a warm smile to any onlooker.
Of course,
only Rishir wore such an expression.
"Young master?"
"Hm? Oh! Yes! Lady Bella."
"What... are those children?"
"Ah! Well, these kids are—"
Rishir introduced his spirits(?) one by one.
"..."
Since when had it happened?
The Yellow Mages and adventurers, who had clung close to Rishir as if fleeing the Night of the Forest—
were now fleeing Rishir, huddling as close as possible to the Night of the Forest.
It was the moment when the awe they felt facing her was overlaid with something even greater.
"Young master, if that's the case—"
By now,
Labela's bored expression creased with faint wrinkles, like a mild headache.
"Every time you purify those children..."
The Night of the Forest trailed off, at a loss for words.
It was truly a spectacle, but they no longer looked at her.
They watched Rishir's reaction with similar expressions.
He nodded.
"Yes. As I mentioned, each purification caused an inexplicable rise in my rank."
"..."
After a brief contemplation, the Night of the Forest spoke with difficulty.
"Why?"
They all thought it.
No better question for this situation.
Forcibly purifying profane beings of transcendent rank.
It was undoubtedly a display of miraculous power.
In fact, the great hero who wielded similar power—
the first saint—had met her end by bearing that cost, her existence erased.
And yet,
how could the price be a 'rise in rank'?
After a moment's thought, Rishir spoke with difficulty.
"Now that I think about it, yeah, it is pretty weird."
"..."
Thud.
His genuinely puzzled demeanor—
widened the gap between him and them even further.
Amid that,
they sensed something off.
The atmosphere was tilting toward Rishir, not them—from two people.
Master Didoa and Master Meltas.
"Ahem."
Meltas cleared his throat as if he'd been waiting for their gaze.
"A few months ago, when I brought Rishir to the tower, he was still at the 3rd circle."
A smug smile lit up the old man's braided-bearded face, the most self-satisfied in the world.
Those watching thought,
'Uh, so what...'
Was that the right reaction here?
Did staring at Rishir too long twist your thinking like that?
Thud.
The gap between them and Rishir widened further.
It was then.
"Pfft."
They all turned in shock toward the source of the vibrant laugh.
Astonishingly, it came from the Night of the Forest.
"Of course. Why overthink and fret?"
The Night of the Forest
gently stroked the sand spirit's head.
"!!!"
The babyish spirit accepted the touch spiritedly.
"As our young master says. Good is good, right?"
Dark elf.
Verbandes.
It was the moment their long-standing enmity reached closure.
The dark elf flashed a purely radiant smile.
Perhaps because they now shared common ground,
or because her aura had softened markedly.
Afterward,
Rishir's group could converse with the Night of the Forest relatively naturally.
Over another meal, they picked up where they left off.
"Using Shallado's pure silver brought you here."
"Lady Bella. Any idea why?"
"Likely, my reagent was used in refining the pure silver."
"Reagent?"
"Too much of my essence got infused into it, affecting the silver. Naturally, I have no memory of crafting anything that lets outsiders enter my domain."
Labela nodded thoughtfully, then addressed Rishir's group.
"Must have been a disaster for you all."
Karojen shook her head.
"Just a mutual misunderstanding. No need to dwell."
"Not that."
"...Then what?"
"You expected great spoils from exploring. Instead, you ran into a cranky dark elf."
"..."
It was true.
They were content with surviving an encounter with the Night of the Forest by sheer luck—
but what they had hoped for was massive loot, not mere preservation of life.
For groups like the Yellow Tower and White Iron Guild—
they had recognized the dungeon's extraordinariness early and sent their leaders.
Seeing them, Labela smiled meaningfully.
"In that sense, you could thank our young master."
"What do you—"
Labela snapped her fingers, and the garden grass wove into a gateway.
Beyond it lay one of the Night of the Forest's warehouses—
ranked around number 2 in importance among her many stores.
"White Iron Guild. Yellow Tower. Gray Tower. I grant you access to my—private collection. Take one item each that catches your eye."
"...!"
A warehouse of the Night of the Forest.
Countless tales and legends about her flooded their minds.
"What in the world is—"
Regaining their senses, they looked at Rishir with shining eyes.
Rishir could only smile wryly at the burdensome gazes.
"And for our young master—"
Labela took Rishir's hand.
"Come with me for a bit?"
"Lady Bella, this place is..."
The spot Labela led Rishir to by the hand was a clearing deep in her forest.
A cave of grass.
The phrase came to Rishir's mind.
Plants unlike any he'd seen.
A verdant glow like fresh greenery.
And thick life energy.
All harmonized into one space.
"In many ways, my most cherished place. There's something I want to do with our young master here."
"Something you want to do?"
"Nature magic."
The words slipped casually from Labela's lips.
A branch of ancient magic,
tabooed and severed due to one mage—
becoming that mage's exclusive secret art.
"I'd like to give our young master a little lesson. That alright?"
"...!"
Rishir's heart pounded fiercely.
The mystical power forming this wondrous forest.
The overwhelming force that had effortlessly subdued his group, including the Golden Star.
Above all,
the power his mentor Pamon wielded.
The fact that he could learn it filled Rishir with unprecedented elation.
"P-Please, teach me...!!!"
Labela beamed happily at Rishir stuttering from excitement.
"Good. But first—how far along are you?"
"Pardon?"
"Nature magic. With that child—Pamon. How much did she teach you? Let's start from there."
"..."
Rishir scratched his head cautiously.
"Well, I haven't learned anything yet."
"...What do you mean?"
Rishir cautiously confessed to his mentor's mentor.
About Pamon.
How he'd been abandoned by her barely a week after becoming her disciple.
"!!!"
Demons turned spirits.
The power of purification.
The Night of the Forest, who had maintained her detachment through paradoxes defying reason.
Even that transcendent being finally lost her composure.
Her mouth gaped open.
The genuine reaction of one facing a truly out-of-spec existence.