Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Stolen Rewards
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"Oh, that? I was wandering around and caught a familiar scent."
“A familiar scent?”
"The smell of those damn knife-ears—ahem. High elves. So I went to check it out, and there was a barrier!"
Can a sword smell?
Allen buried the question that surfaced deep in his mind and asked about the barrier.
“A barrier?”
"Yep! It seemed to block all living things except spirits. But!"
-Swoosh-
"Ta-da! There's no way it could stop a super-duper genius beautiful girl like me!"
Allen stopped in his tracks as Vestla suddenly vanished before his eyes.
‘…This is a barrier?’
He expanded his perception, meticulously scanning the space in front of him, but found nothing.
No prana, no trace of a barrier. It looked like an ordinary forest, with nothing out of the ordinary.
‘If it weren't for Vestla, I would never have even found it.’
Seeing that Allen wasn't following, she must have thought he was hesitating, because she shouted loudly.
"You should come in too! With a body like yours, you should be able to force your way in just like I did."
Allen memorized the surrounding terrain and slowly walked forward.
How long did he walk, pushing against something that gently repelled his body?
"What took you so long!"
Turning his head at the familiar voice, he saw Vestla in the distance, her sword form quivering as she yelled.
Allen walked toward her, looking around at his surroundings.
Unlike the chilly air outside, the wind here was warm and gentle.
Green sprouts, brimming with fresh life, pushed through the earth, and in the distance, a small waterfall flowed, creating a refreshing scene.
“Is this the Spring of Spirits?”
"Yep! To be precise, this is just inside the barrier's entrance! The Spring of Spirits is at the center of the barrier!"
With that, Vestla zipped away.
As Allen followed her toward the center of the forest, he felt something was strange. It was as if something important was missing...
‘Have I seen any living creatures on my way here?’
The thought occurred to him suddenly, and he extended his perception to check, but bizarrely, not a single creature could be found.
Not only the gnolls and bears common to forests, but even the squirrels that darted through the trees and the birds that flew through the sky.
The creatures that should have been fundamental to a forest were completely absent.
‘So a barrier is a barrier, after all.’
Allen pushed the thought aside and headed for the center of the barrier.
A mage who studied barriers might have been intrigued, but it wasn't his specialty, so he paid it no mind.
Walking a little further toward the sound of water, he quickly found the Spring of Spirits.
“…So this is the legendary Spring of Spirits.”
The surface shimmered with dozens of colors in a single moment, and the water was so clear you could see the bottom, a sight that alone made one thirsty.
Allen carefully knelt and brought his face close to the spring water.
"Be careful! Once you drink from it, the effect is gone."
He froze.
“What did you say?”
Allen, who had been about to drink the water as if mesmerized, stopped.
"Why do you think the high elves—those knife-ears—put up this barrier?"
She said this and, before Allen could stop her, dove into the spring water.
Splash-
"Ahh, that's refreshing. The spring gets contaminated if any living creature that isn't a spiritual or mental entity like a spirit touches it. So decide carefully!"
“Then, Vestla, you're…”
"A sword isn't a living creature, is it?"
Allen reprimanded himself for his recklessness and stepped back.
Having half-given up, he opened the book to re-examine the contents he had only skimmed before.
『──After completing the quest to restore his reputation as a scoundrel, Julius received a spatial transfer scroll to the Spring of Spirits as a reward...』
‘A quest reward, a barrier that living creatures can't enter, a spatial transfer scroll, a spring that can only be drunk from once.’ Even with his own perception, Allen couldn't detect a hint of the barrier, and without the black book, he would never have even known this place existed.
‘It was the same with the other things, but this one in particular...’
When Allen combined the contents of the book with what Vestla had said, it all led to one conclusion.
‘A reward prepared just for Julius.’
He was certain.
The Spring of Spirits, whose origins were unknown, had been designated as a reward solely for Julius.
Otherwise, finding it would have been next to impossible.
The reason he had been able to find it was thanks to a combination of factors: the black book, Vestla's guidance, and his changed body.
That bastard's abnormal strength was understandable if he had been receiving this kind of help.
‘To be constantly provided with things like this.’
He shook his head.
He was the one who had claimed this place, not that bastard.
There would be many opportunities ahead. He just needed to prepare steadily like this.
Without hesitation, Allen drank from the spring.
The moment he did.
『The book connected to ■■■■ detects ■■! ■■■■ reacts to ■■! 』
『The book connected to ■■■■ detects ■■! ■■■■ reacts to ■■!! 』
『The book connected to ■■■■ detects ■■! ■■■■ reacts to ■■!!! 』
…
The pages of the white book, which had shown no special abilities since his regression, began to flip rapidly, fluttering wildly.
Before he could even taste the spring water, Allen shot to his feet.
“…What is this?”
But just as Allen was processing what was happening, the white book calmed down as if nothing had occurred.
-Flip-
『The book connected to ■■■■ detects ■■! ■■■■ reacts...』
As Allen hurriedly opened the white book, the words that had momentarily appeared began to vanish.
『The book connected to...』
"What are you doing over there?"
By the time Vestla spoke.
『Allen Reinhardt,
Drank from the Spring of Spirits and abruptly began to analyze the current situation.』
It had long since returned to its usual self.
Allen stared at the white book with a profound gaze.
‘Did the white book have abilities other than just recording my usual self?’
What did that sudden appearance mean?
Allen watched the white book for a while. But it simply recorded his actions as usual.
* * *
The spring water was surprisingly tasteless.
It was like drinking plain water.
But the effect was undeniable.
-Whisp?-
Translucent spirits drifted before Allen's eyes.
Allen, who had never had much of a connection with spirits in either his past or present life, could now clearly feel the presence of several spirits staring at him with curiosity from around the spring.
It was proof that his affinity had risen to a point where he could make a contract with a spirit without any issue.
Normally, he would have contemplated his newly heightened spirit affinity, but he was too preoccupied with what had just happened to spare it any thought.
“Ah. The Spring of Spirits is…”
Hoping against hope, he looked at the Spring of Spirits, but the surface that had shimmered with myriad colors had turned into an ordinary spring you could find anywhere.
“…Ah.”
"I told you, didn't I? Once you drink it, it's gone. Are you disappointed?"
“No, that's not it.”
Right now, the Spring of Spirits didn't matter.
What was more important to Allen was the book's reaction, which was likely connected to the one who had sent him back in time.
“Let's get going. Is leaving the same as coming in?”
"That's right!"
After leaving the Spring of Spirits, Allen quickly collected the remaining elixirs.
The spirit jade inside the broken eagle statue.
The Moon-Gaze Flower blooming in the pit below the cliff.
And the secret medicine hidden in the sixth cave he discovered.
Besides those, he gathered every elixir whose location he could surmise and returned to where the carriage was.
Linbelle and Inellia had already returned.
The moment Allen joined them, Vestla went silent.
“Young Master!”
“We've collected all the items marked on the map.”
Allen took the items Inellia handed him and asked about his main concern.
“And our tracks?”
“We left as few traces as possible, so even if someone finds this place later, they won't be able to tell we were here.”
Allen was relieved by her response, which showed she knew exactly what he was worried about.
“You've done well.”
“It was nothing…”
“No, I'll make time for this later.”
Allen felt a great deal of gratitude toward her.
She carried out his secret orders without question or complaint. As her superior, he couldn't ask for a more dependable subordinate.
‘So I must reward her properly.’
He needed to speak with her anyway, so he could give her the spirit jade he'd just acquired at the same time.
“I'll call for you when I have time, so look forward to it.”
“Ah…”
At his words, she made a solemn expression as if the inevitable had come and nodded her head.
“Yes, I understand.”
Thinking she might be nervous about meeting with him alone, he asked.
“If you're too nervous, you can come with Linbelle…”
“I-I'll go alone!”
Seeing her blush and quickly shake her head as if to say it was fine, Allen conceded.
‘She says it's fine, so it must be fine.’
The group loaded all the items they'd gathered from the mountain into the carriage and headed for the estate.
A few hours later, they successfully returned to the estate's annex in secret, and Allen could finally relax.
‘This alone won't be enough to stop that bastard's growth, but it should slow him down for a while.’
Allen was satisfied with that.
Time passed, and when his probation ended.
“Yes, Julius. Have a safe trip.”
“Shouldn't you come with us, brother…?”
“I'll be fine. Enjoy the sights of the capital. There are many curious goods there, so it would be good to look around.”
Julius and his party set off for the capital.
* * *
Julius's party was heading to the capital to sell the ancient artifacts they hadn't been able to deal with in the count's domain at an auction held around this time.
“Young Master, is it really all right for me to ride in the same carriage?”
“Yes. I don't discriminate.”
Julius gave a slight nod to Anya, who was fidgeting nervously and watching his expression.
“…B-But if other people see.”
“That doesn't matter either.”
In fact, it would be more advantageous if she were seen as completely loyal to him.
“Reina.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“I told them we'd be staying at Mount Nikea for a day, right?”
“Yes, we should be entering the foothills of the mountain shortly…”
Knock, knock-
The sound of knocking on the carriage door cut Reina off.
“Young Master, we've arrived at the mountain.”
“Understood. I'm coming out.”
When he opened the door, Byron, the knight from Gabia who had sworn to follow him, greeted him with impeccable posture.
“We've arrived at the back mountain as you instructed.”
“Sir Julius. If there's something you need to take care of on the back mountain, I can…”
“No, it's fine.”
This was something he couldn't entrust to anyone, something he couldn't speak of.
“I'm just going for a short walk by myself.”
“I will escort you…”
“I said it's fine.”
Julius stopped even Reina, who had been quietly trying to follow, and headed off alone in a secluded direction.
His reason for moving alone was simple.
‘It's about time I collected the quest rewards that have been piling up.’
Between the tour of the ruins, the harvest festival, and the sparring match, he'd been too busy to go collect his rewards.
So, it seemed like a good idea to pick them up on the way to the capital.
‘First…’
Beneath the paulownia tree where an elixir called [Blue Meteor Shower (A)] was supposedly buried.
With the map, finding it was easy.
Julius followed the map's directions and dug at the base of the paulownia tree.
But…
“Huh?”
The reward was gone.
“W-Wait a minute, that can't be right. Is this not the place?”
Julius checked the map. But the map was pointing to this exact spot.
Julius dug up all the surrounding ground, but he couldn't find anything, as if the item had never been there in the first place.
“No, this can't be happening.”
It must be just this one. Surely the others are still there, right?
Hiding his anxiety, he headed to the location of the next reward, but…
“Haha… This is a joke, right?”
The spirit jade that was supposed to be inside the broken eagle statue.
“This one's gone too?”
The Moon-Gaze Flower that was supposed to be blooming alone in the pit below the cliff.
“Damn it, this can't be happening. It's gone? It's really gone?”
The secret medicines that a fugitive mage had supposedly perfected.
“…No way, surely this one can't be gone too.”
There was nothing.
With bloodshot eyes, Julius frantically searched the back mountain, following the map, but…
“Don't fuck with me, don't fucking fuck with me! Damn it all!”
He still couldn't find anything.
These were the rewards he was supposed to receive for completing quests in his spare time. Since most of the maps pointing to the rewards were located on Mount Nikea, he had planned to collect them all at once…
“Fuck.”
Julius hastily pulled a spatial transfer scroll from his coat.
“No way, no way, no way, no way.”
The map he had obtained after finishing 'Father's Trial'.
It was a reward he had been saving, thinking it was something special.
-Rip-
As he tore the scroll, Julius's body floated up and was instantly transported inside the barrier where the Spring of Spirits was located.
“It can't be, right? This is a place you can only reach with a spatial transfer scroll. Please, please.”
He hadn't come for it until now, thinking it would be suspicious for someone at the estate to suddenly return from the mountain.
“I shouldn't have waited, fuck, fuck.”
He couldn't see anything else. Julius's heart pounded wildly, and a cold sweat broke out on his skin.
The moment he arrived at the Spring of Spirits.
“…Phew. Thank goodness.”
The Spring of Spirits was calm, as if nothing had happened.
But only for a moment. Fearing this too would suddenly disappear, he immediately drank the water.
-Gulp, gulp-
“…Refreshing.”
Julius relaxed and waited for something to happen. Since it was a special reward, he expected some kind of effect.
But.
“This elixir's effect is a bit slow.”
Even after ten minutes.
“Is this one different? A special reward, after all.”
Even after thirty minutes.
“Wait, s-something's strange…”
Even after an hour.
When nothing happened, Julius forced himself to calm his ragged breathing and approached the spring.
“Haha, I must not have drunk enough.”
Otherwise, it made no sense for nothing to happen.
Julius drank from the spring.
-Gulp, gulp-
“Still not enough? More?”
One gulp, two gulps, three gulps…
“Still… *hic*, not enough. I need to drink… more.”
He drank ten gulps, then twenty.
“No, no. This can't be happening. It can't be like this. It can't!”
He shoved his head into the spring and inhaled the water.
But even after drinking enough water to burst his stomach, nothing happened.
“Urp…”
Was it because he drank too much?
Barely suppressing the urge to vomit, Julius's dazed eyes fell upon his own reflection in the water's surface.
Torn clothes and disheveled hair.
Bloodshot eyes and ragged breaths.
His heart was pounding like a drum, and his pupils trembled like leaves in the wind.
“…Not a single one left?”
It was only then that Julius realized the reward from the Spring of Spirits was gone too.
“Not one?”
The realization was too much to bear.
This couldn't be happening. This wasn't the result he had hoped for.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!
“Aaaaaaaargh!!”
Deep in the forest, Julius's scream echoed for a long time.