Chapter 346: Seclusion (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 346: Seclusion (1)
Objectively speaking, her specs were slightly superior to mine, and her equipment was overwhelmingly superior. Besides that, since she'd apparently spent over a year cutting off the heads of Noark's adventurers in the war, she'd have more battle experience than me now. But there was no need to be scared because Erwen had made one mistake.
Slide.
That was distance. Contract with the Elemental Ruler or not, as long as she was an archer whose life depended on maintaining a proper distance, I had the advantage at close-range. The fact that this was a hidden room where all four windows were blocked off was also a point in my favor, not to mention that my opponent wasn't in her right mind right now.
"F-Fight you? How can I, with you—th-that's not possible..."
Jeez, and you were saying all kinds of things about me being an evil spirit earlier.
I didn't intend to give her long to think. If we both started exerting our full power, it'd be tough to end this quickly.
Squeeze.
After making a fist with my watermelon-sized hand, I kicked off the floor and dashed forward.
Whoom!
My punch, which was supposed to be a surprise, crossed empty air. I guessed she was an agility character after all.
"...D-Don't."
Well, I expected things to go sort of like this.
Boom.
The moment I skidded to a stop with a stomp on the ground, a vortex swirled to life around me and began throwing things all over the place.
[You have cast Eye of the Storm.]
Since it wasn't being used with Transcendence, the radius was only five yards, but it was enough to cover the room we were currently in.
Whiiiiiip!
Bed, blanket, pillow, bookcase, table, carpet—anything weighing less than a thousand pounds was blown around by the strong wind. Of course, Erwen was included in that.
"...This is—!"
Erwen, who had once fought a Storm Gush on Farune Island, was staring at me with obvious shock in her eyes. She must be wondering why this skill was suddenly popping up here. I deliberately didn't show it to her when I was verifying my identity since it wasn't a skill I originally had.
Whooom!
But Erwen hadn't been sitting around twiddling her thumbs all these years, either. She immediately started to adapt. She called forth a wind spirit and began resisting the pull of the vortex.
"S-Stop...!"
Stop what?
"I told you. There's something wrong with your head."
Maintaining Eye of the Storm, I jogged forward and threw my fist at her.
Whooom!
Of course, even as I did that, I didn't think the fist would reach Erwen. She would definitely step back to avoid it, then I could use Giantization to instantly lengthen my arm. Well, that should have been the case, anyway.
Plop.
Once Eye of the Storm ended, the various pieces of furniture and fixtures fluttering in the air fell to the floor all at once. Erwen was standing in front of my outstretched fist with her eyes screwed shut.
"Why...?" At this point, I had no choice but to ask. If I hadn't managed to stop it midway, my fist would definitely have hit Erwen. But why? "Why didn't you avoid it?"
Erwen slowly opened her eyes and said, tearfully, "Because... then you'd get hurt..."
Huh?
I was busy feeling lightheaded at the sudden turn of events when Erwen continued woefully, "You're right, Mister... To be honest, I've noticed as well... that there's something wrong with me... But, still. Yes, still... How can I hurt you?"
Uh... I see?
Plop.
As I watched her tears flow down her cheeks and to the floor, I was rendered speechless. This made me look like the bad guy.
After that, I had an honest conversation with Erwen. At times the conversation got too wordy, and at times we got off track and spent a long while talking about something off-topic, but to sum it up briefly, it went like this:
She hadn't been in her right mind since I 'died.' She had been able to endure a long, painful period fueled by a single-minded drive for revenge, and she took up the mantle of pureblood of her tribe. As soon as she got stronger, the war broke out, and considering it an opportunity to get revenge, she sought dangerous battlefields without sparing a thought to her own safety. That was around the time she made a contract with the Elemental Ruler.
"I admit it was excessive, but I never meant to keep you prisoner, Mister."
The reason why she boarded up the windows and only let me take walks at night was because she was so worried. A rumor that I was an evil spirit had already spread through the city, after all. It was a kind of obsession. Apparently, she couldn't shake the thought that she might lose me again.
"Then Amelia?"
"...Same for her. I can't trust her. I'm confident that I would really never betray you under any circumstances... but I don't know about that woman, so, I was anxious... But I-I won't do anything like that from now on. I won't stop you from making her your comrade. Though it still makes me anxious, to be honest..."
"But...?"
"...Since you don't want me to interfere..."
Hmm, is she being sincere? It doesn't seem like she's lying or anything...
I was worried she might suddenly blow a fuse again and lose her mind, but she seemed like she was being genuine right now, especially given what she said next. "The essences. I don't care if you tell me to erase them at the temple tomorrow. But... that will mean I can't protect you anymore..."
Most of Erwen's essences had been acquired through her war achievements. Did it really not matter to her if I told her she had to erase them all?
"...Why would you do all that?"
"Because... I don't want you to hate me."
I still couldn't accept that explanation. Was our connection so deep? Honestly, there was only one possibility that came to mind, but I couldn't really say something like that in this situation, so I didn't bother to voice it aloud.
"...It would be best not to erase those essences."
"...I'll do as you say."
"Instead, consider erasing some if something like this happens again."
"Yes, if you want—"
"I'm not saying this for me, I'm saying it for you."
That statement was me being 100 percent sincere. Erwen was not normal right now. If I whispered her sweet nothings every day and cleverly played on her desire not to be hated, it wouldn't be difficult for me to use her to my liking. But, again, that was not right. That was not how a relationship between comrades was supposed to work. I'd learned that from a wizard in the Labyrinth of Larcaz.
"Why...?" At this point, I had no choice but to ask. If I hadn't managed to stop it midway, my fist would definitely have hit Erwen. But why? "Why didn't you avoid it?"
Erwen slowly opened her eyes and said, tearfully, "Because... then you'd get hurt..."
Huh?
I was busy feeling lightheaded at the sudden turn of events when Erwen continued woefully, "You're right, Mister... To be honest, I've noticed as well... that there's something wrong with me... But, still. Yes, still... How can I hurt you?"
Uh... I see?
Plop.
As I watched her tears flow down her cheeks and to the floor, I was rendered speechless. This made me look like the bad guy.
After that, I had an honest conversation with Erwen. At times the conversation got too wordy, and at times we got off track and spent a long while talking about something off-topic, but to sum it up briefly, it went like this:
She hadn't been in her right mind since I 'died.' She had been able to endure a long, painful period fueled by a single-minded drive for revenge, and she took up the mantle of pureblood of her tribe. As soon as she got stronger, the war broke out, and considering it an opportunity to get revenge, she sought dangerous battlefields without sparing a thought to her own safety. That was around the time she made a contract with the Elemental Ruler.
"I admit it was excessive, but I never meant to keep you prisoner, Mister."
The reason why she boarded up the windows and only let me take walks at night was because she was so worried. A rumor that I was an evil spirit had already spread through the city, after all. It was a kind of obsession. Apparently, she couldn't shake the thought that she might lose me again.
"Then Amelia?"
"...Same for her. I can't trust her. I'm confident that I would really never betray you under any circumstances... but I don't know about that woman, so, I was anxious... But I-I won't do anything like that from now on. I won't stop you from making her your comrade. Though it still makes me anxious, to be honest..."
"But...?"
"...Since you don't want me to interfere..."
Hmm, is she being sincere? It doesn't seem like she's lying or anything...
I was worried she might suddenly blow a fuse again and lose her mind, but she seemed like she was being genuine right now, especially given what she said next. "The essences. I don't care if you tell me to erase them at the temple tomorrow. But... that will mean I can't protect you anymore..."
Most of Erwen's essences had been acquired through her war achievements. Did it really not matter to her if I told her she had to erase them all?
"...Why would you do all that?"
"Because... I don't want you to hate me."
I still couldn't accept that explanation. Was our connection so deep? Honestly, there was only one possibility that came to mind, but I couldn't really say something like that in this situation, so I didn't bother to voice it aloud.
"...It would be best not to erase those essences."
"...I'll do as you say."
"Instead, consider erasing some if something like this happens again."
"Yes, if you want—"
"I'm not saying this for me, I'm saying it for you."
That statement was me being 100 percent sincere. Erwen was not normal right now. If I whispered her sweet nothings every day and cleverly played on her desire not to be hated, it wouldn't be difficult for me to use her to my liking. But, again, that was not right. That was not how a relationship between comrades was supposed to work. I'd learned that from a wizard in the Labyrinth of Larcaz.
"For... me?"
I spoke firmly. "Yes, for you... no, to be more specific, for the sake of our relationship."
"O-Our relationship..."
"...Got it?"
When I noticed she looked somewhat dazed, I grabbed Erwen's shoulder to confirm she was paying attention, and she answered, "Y-Yes... hehe."
...She properly understood me, right?
***
After that conversation, my day-to-day didn't change drastically. I continued to live a secluded life. I only went out to the yard at night to get some air and did not remove the boards on the windows. The only thing that changed was Erwen's attitude.
"Mister, this is the equipment you used."
Before, she alluded that hiding out at home was not a problem, but Erwen now began to help me out more actively. That started with equipment.
"This is..." Though No. 2988: Mark of the Guard Corps had no special stats or effects, when worn, it provided a whopping 50 percent boost to a shield's Shock Absorption, making it a core item for a Shield Barbarian. "...You had this?"
"Yes, there was no way I could sell it." Apparently, Raven took charge of distributing my estate, but after receiving the earrings in the mail, Erwen held onto them instead of selling them.
"But, why are you giving this to me now? I'm sure I asked you about my equipment before."
"Sorry... I hid it because I didn't want you to go into the labyrinth."
So, I wasn't just imagining things. If I hadn't hashed things out properly with her, I might have really been trapped in this house...
The thought gave me chills, but would she really have done that? I threw away my discomfort and looked into something else. I figured all of my equipment had been sold on the market a long time ago, but now I was starting to change my mind. The other guys might have kept things too.
"...I'll have to look into that in detail. But what I know for sure is that Abman Urikfried would have sold everything."
"Abman?"
"Yes. I heard he took relatively meaningless items instead of the equipment you wore. Like the sub-space ring."
Hmm, I see.
Since he was hesitant to sell the things I wore, it seemed he made a point to take only the equipment he could sell without guilt. That was a little disappointing, but not critical.
If these earrings and that item are in good condition, that means I can just acquire the rest again, anyway.
Only the shield and armor would need to be remade. The other Numbered Items I used to have weren't that expensive, either.
"Do you know who took my necklace?"
"Ah, the thing that transforms mana stones into strange things?"
"Yeah." The official name was No. 7777: Garphas' Necklace. This necklace could convert a mana stone inserted into the necklace into something random. You could call it a gacha version of alchemy, which turned mana stones into bread, water, metal, etcetera. It wasn't a particularly valuable item—at least, not until you had enough money to hold a hidden special event.
"To be honest... I wanted that as well. So I sent that wizard—Arua Raven—a letter about it."
"And? Who took it?"
"Missha Karlstein."
"Ah..." As soon as I heard the name, air whooshed out of my mouth. She was the only one of my old clanmates whose whereabouts were unknown. Well, I did hear she was with Baekho from the Round Table, but that really only made me more confused. It all felt like a puzzle.
Still, I decided to look on the bright side as much as possible. Missha and I had quite a fond relationship, after all. There was a good chance she hadn't sold it.
Hmm... or, maybe that's not the case, either?
I couldn't be sure as it had been two and a half years. I decided to think about it later.
Anyway, I think Ainar would have taken the armor and weapons... Then I guess the rest went to Raven?
As I was contemplating the whereabouts of my scattered equipment, one item soon came to mind.
Ah, the Orb of Fire... I wonder what happened to that?
That was the sole binding-type item in my possession. If the orb had recognized my disappearance from this time period as a death, it would have been possible for them to sell it, but if that wasn't the case, there was a high possibility they just kept it.
If it's the latter, Raven is also the one who's most likely to have it...
"Whew..." The more I thought about it, the more I sighed. Though I'd gotten some things out of my trip to the past, I'd gotten a lot of present issues I had to sort through in return.
"Mister, aren't you eating?"
"Ah... I was just thinking about something." I stopped my train of thought there and had a spoonful of the takeaway Erwen brought back. Finishing my meal quickly, I took time to discuss some things with Erwen.
"What are you planning to do next?"
"I have to quash the false accusations of me being an evil spirit first."
"Should I... pull some strings to prepare a meeting...?"
Erwen suggested I prove myself in front of all the royals, but I refused. I reasoned that it was too early. I'd have to do it one day, but I still couldn't shake the feeling that something political was at play in my case.
"I think I have to approach that part more carefully. Plus, if anything goes wrong, it could end up implicating the entire elf tribe."
"...Y-You're so kind."
"Ahem. Anyway, that is why I want to ask. Instead of worrying about Raven and Abman, can you dig up some information about that?"
"Yes! I will."
After the discussion was over, Erwen left for her people's holy land and I lay on the sofa to take a nap. Which was when it happened.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the front door. Erwen had no reason to knock.
"For... me?"
I spoke firmly. "Yes, for you... no, to be more specific, for the sake of our relationship."
"O-Our relationship..."
"...Got it?"
When I noticed she looked somewhat dazed, I grabbed Erwen's shoulder to confirm she was paying attention, and she answered, "Y-Yes... hehe."
...She properly understood me, right?
***
After that conversation, my day-to-day didn't change drastically. I continued to live a secluded life. I only went out to the yard at night to get some air and did not remove the boards on the windows. The only thing that changed was Erwen's attitude.
"Mister, this is the equipment you used."
Before, she alluded that hiding out at home was not a problem, but Erwen now began to help me out more actively. That started with equipment.
"This is..." Though No. 2988: Mark of the Guard Corps had no special stats or effects, when worn, it provided a whopping 50 percent boost to a shield's Shock Absorption, making it a core item for a Shield Barbarian. "...You had this?"
"Yes, there was no way I could sell it." Apparently, Raven took charge of distributing my estate, but after receiving the earrings in the mail, Erwen held onto them instead of selling them.
"But, why are you giving this to me now? I'm sure I asked you about my equipment before."
"Sorry... I hid it because I didn't want you to go into the labyrinth."
So, I wasn't just imagining things. If I hadn't hashed things out properly with her, I might have really been trapped in this house...
The thought gave me chills, but would she really have done that? I threw away my discomfort and looked into something else. I figured all of my equipment had been sold on the market a long time ago, but now I was starting to change my mind. The other guys might have kept things too.
"...I'll have to look into that in detail. But what I know for sure is that Abman Urikfried would have sold everything."
"Abman?"
"Yes. I heard he took relatively meaningless items instead of the equipment you wore. Like the sub-space ring."
Hmm, I see.
Since he was hesitant to sell the things I wore, it seemed he made a point to take only the equipment he could sell without guilt. That was a little disappointing, but not critical.
If these earrings and that item are in good condition, that means I can just acquire the rest again, anyway.
Only the shield and armor would need to be remade. The other Numbered Items I used to have weren't that expensive, either.
"Do you know who took my necklace?"
"Ah, the thing that transforms mana stones into strange things?"
"Yeah." The official name was No. 7777: Garphas' Necklace. This necklace could convert a mana stone inserted into the necklace into something random. You could call it a gacha version of alchemy, which turned mana stones into bread, water, metal, etcetera. It wasn't a particularly valuable item—at least, not until you had enough money to hold a hidden special event.
"To be honest... I wanted that as well. So I sent that wizard—Arua Raven—a letter about it."
"And? Who took it?"
"Missha Karlstein."
"Ah..." As soon as I heard the name, air whooshed out of my mouth. She was the only one of my old clanmates whose whereabouts were unknown. Well, I did hear she was with Baekho from the Round Table, but that really only made me more confused. It all felt like a puzzle.
Still, I decided to look on the bright side as much as possible. Missha and I had quite a fond relationship, after all. There was a good chance she hadn't sold it.
Hmm... or, maybe that's not the case, either?
I couldn't be sure as it had been two and a half years. I decided to think about it later.
Anyway, I think Ainar would have taken the armor and weapons... Then I guess the rest went to Raven?
As I was contemplating the whereabouts of my scattered equipment, one item soon came to mind.
Ah, the Orb of Fire... I wonder what happened to that?
That was the sole binding-type item in my possession. If the orb had recognized my disappearance from this time period as a death, it would have been possible for them to sell it, but if that wasn't the case, there was a high possibility they just kept it.
If it's the latter, Raven is also the one who's most likely to have it...
"Whew..." The more I thought about it, the more I sighed. Though I'd gotten some things out of my trip to the past, I'd gotten a lot of present issues I had to sort through in return.
"Mister, aren't you eating?"
"Ah... I was just thinking about something." I stopped my train of thought there and had a spoonful of the takeaway Erwen brought back. Finishing my meal quickly, I took time to discuss some things with Erwen.
"What are you planning to do next?"
"I have to quash the false accusations of me being an evil spirit first."
"Should I... pull some strings to prepare a meeting...?"
Erwen suggested I prove myself in front of all the royals, but I refused. I reasoned that it was too early. I'd have to do it one day, but I still couldn't shake the feeling that something political was at play in my case.
"I think I have to approach that part more carefully. Plus, if anything goes wrong, it could end up implicating the entire elf tribe."
"...Y-You're so kind."
"Ahem. Anyway, that is why I want to ask. Instead of worrying about Raven and Abman, can you dig up some information about that?"
"Yes! I will."
After the discussion was over, Erwen left for her people's holy land and I lay on the sofa to take a nap. Which was when it happened.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the front door. Erwen had no reason to knock.