Chapter 178
Chapter 178
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 178
>Chapter Title: Still... You Love Them Dearly, Don't You?
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Let me calmly sort out the situation.
First off.
‘I have to rescue the spirits trapped in the barrier alongside Senior Mysern.’
Sure, it’s the wyvern’s scheme, but it’s also a path I chose myself.
Senior Mysern’s sincerity moved my heart, and the plight of the spirits locked in the barrier stirred my good nature.
Of course, nothing was set in stone.
‘I don’t even know where the spirits are trapped, what exactly I need to do there, or what I can even accomplish.’
Senior Mysern asked for my help not because he knew my abilities, but simply because of the spirits’ will.
In the end, we’d have to clash with it directly to find out—and that wasn’t much to agonize over.
The real issue was the ‘location.’
‘But that’s been resolved just now.’
So, what lay ahead was clear.
Rescue the spirits trapped in the barrier with Senior Mysern and secure loyal slaves for building the tower later on.
That was it.
That should’ve been it...
Now, the second issue.
‘Damian... has caught on.’
Caught on to what?
That Senior Mysern and I were plotting something together.
Of course, I’d tried to improvise and smooth it over.
- Cut!
- ...?
- Senior, your diction isn’t great. How could you perform on any stage like that? You know theater isn’t a walk in the park.
- Hm, hmm. R-Right? Sorry about that.
- Try going in and out once more. Maybe add a touch of mysterious allure.
- Ahem. A-All right.
The gist was something like this.
Senior Mysern, who’d lived as the ‘Spirit Mage of the Withering Gale.’ But his true dream was to be an actor, not a spirit mage...
The bumbling actor challenge of the Withering Gale Spirit Mage on the twilight of his career!
...Something along those lines?
If I do say so myself, the storyline was perfect.
The script was moving, too.
The famed hero of old wars, Mysern. Yet despite mountains of wealth and fame that shook the continent, his heart remained empty.
The second act of life for the Withering Gale Spirit Mage!
Was there a more groundbreaking, touching human story on the continent? Not in my book.
But it fell completely flat.
And what did he say?
- Friend, I don’t know a lot of things.
- Everyone knows that...
- And when I don’t know, I ask Ransi.
- ....
- If Ransi doesn’t know, he asks his mom. And if Mom doesn’t know, he asks Dad. But I don’t have a mom or a dad. So what should I do?
- You’ve got both of them perfectly fi—
- Is that important right now?
- ....
...If you’re gonna speak, just spit it out already.
Poor Senior Mysern ended up dunking in and out of the water four or five times.
Anyway, this was Damian’s ace in the hole, threatening to tattle to the family if I didn’t come clean.
But what’s the problem with that?
‘...Not really a problem.’
It was just a huge hassle.
I’m a kind, frail orphan from the Black-White Slums.
And now, the Withering Gale Spirit Mage shows up to one such slum orphan and asks him to rescue spirits together?
Oh, even Senior Mysern himself couldn’t explain that one.
Anyway, that was the issue.
If I said, ‘It’s because of the spirits,’ he’d ask, ‘Why would the spirits do that?’ And the moment I replied, ‘Yeah, right?’ annoying stares would follow.
‘...Too many parts I can’t explain.’
It was a true dilemma.
Nothing shady to hide, but spilling it all felt iffy too, you know?
And how should I put it.
Damian was shrewd.
- Friend, I’ll give you time to think.
- ....
- Any adventure comes with waiting. I’ll look forward to good news.
That generous breather.
His retreating back, the glance thrown my way brimming with confidence.
And was this the leisure of a victor? He even summoned Chenbi on the way back to go festival-gazing!
That was the full rundown of what happened earlier.
“So...”
I side-eyed Senior Mysern, who sat there looking like a drowned rat.
“You were looking for me?”
“...Sorry about that.”
“No, it’s fine. It couldn’t be helped. That kid’s gotten sly lately—he’s good at hiding his presence. You wouldn’t notice if you weren’t paying attention.”
“Still, I feel uneasy knowing I’ve complicated things for you.”
Well, he had complicated things, sure.
What should’ve been a quiet slip-out, quiet resolution, and quiet return had hit an unexpected obstacle named Damian.
But I didn’t mind.
‘Not really...’
No need to hide if I didn’t want to, and no real risk if it came out.
If I were on the Blandoga payroll, I’d have to worry about my position a lot, but I wasn’t.
If I wanted to go, I’d just go. That was it.
Anyway.
“What matters now isn’t that. Let’s talk about the location you found first.”
“Ahem, well. I only seem to lose face around you. All right, let’s get into it.”
Senior Mysern cleared his throat awkwardly a few times and continued.
I stared at the fishing line bobbing on the water’s surface the whole time, his steady voice layering over the lapping waves.
To sum it up:
‘As expected, huh?’
“Skipping the details, the waterway intersection led to a massive cavern. And that cavern had channels branching off to each lake.”
So, he’d properly explored the giant cavern.
And the result?
“We found an underwater cave.”
“What was inside?”
“I approached, and there was a massive iron door. Looked like an ancient ruin...”
“Did you go in?”
“No, it wouldn’t open. Felt like a barrier... I don’t know much about magic, but it wasn’t a normal one.”
“Hmm.”
Up to there, I calmly organized my thoughts.
‘A barrier even Senior Mysern couldn’t open.’
Definitely not your average barrier.
‘Guess we’ll have to see it ourselves.’
But something felt off.
“But is that ruin really the place we’re looking for?”
“Why do you think that?”
“You said the fairy dance came with massive mana and delivered a powerful thought to you. You haven’t mentioned sensing anything like that.”
Meaning, if it was the center, there should be mana and thoughts you could feel, right?
But the answer to that doubt was separate.
“Hm, that’s not so strange. Take a look.”
With that, he manifested the water spirit Eiki.
Eiki looked like a haughty cat, staring at the lake in a loaf position.
“Eiki.”
Eiki didn’t react. It only did when Senior pulled out a moonstone from his pocket.
“Eiki, let’s ask a favor. Focus your senses on the center of the lake.”
I did as told, concentrating my senses on the lake’s center.
Soon after, mana rippled toward the center.
“How about it? Feel any link between Eiki and that mana flow?”
“...No, nothing at all.”
“Spirit arts and magic are different. Spirits are part of nature itself. Even at a distance, they’re not truly apart. You could say this whole lake is part of Eiki right now.”
Oh, so that’s how it was.
‘Makes sense. If there was a flow connecting the ruin and the fairy dance detectable by magic, mages would’ve found it ages ago.’
Mages had dragged their feet for years because they were fixated on the fairy dance as a ‘magical phenomenon.’
“And the thoughts are the same. Not like a human voice carried by air vibrations.”
Anyway, curiosity satisfied.
Now, all that was left was heading to the ancient ruin and rescuing the spirits.
As I thought that far.
“What do you think we should do?”
“About what?”
“The Young Patriarch of Blandoga caught on. Nothing to feel guilty about, but... truthfully, I’d prefer noble houses stay in the dark about the spirits.”
“Worried they’d exploit them?”
“...Yes.”
Probably why he told me so readily—because ‘the spirits wished it.’
‘Hmm, what to do.’
Damian was the issue again.
I’d planned to sneak out at night and sneak back, but now that he knew, that was off the table.
So, what did Damian want?
- Is this what they call the scent of adventure?
Yeah, he wanted adventure.
And one more thing.
‘Damian doesn’t want the family knowing.’
The more I thought, the clearer it became.
If Damian had no qualms telling the family, he’d be badgering me to gear up right then, adventure or no.
So why didn’t he want to tell them?
Here’s where my bachelor’s in Damian Studies came in...
‘The Blandogas won’t allow it.’
In other words.
His talk of telling Ransi and then his mom was all bluff.
But could I just ignore Damian? No, not quite.
As I pondered on.
I realized the solution was surprisingly simple.
But before voicing it, I needed to hear Senior Mysern’s resolve first.
“Senior, still... you love those spirits dearly, don’t you?”
“Why ask? Of course.”
“Then how much are you willing to give up for them?”
That’s when.
Kieeeeeek!
Eiki suddenly hissed at me.
Of course, being a spirit, no sound came, but if it were a real cat, a high-pitched screech would’ve followed.
Did that unease infect Senior Mysern too?
“...What is it?”
He asked with clear anxiety.
I was genuinely puzzled.
Why did everyone get so nervous whenever I was about to speak? I’m a humanitarian. And just.
So why...?
‘Tch.’
I stopped my thoughts there.
This wasn’t the point right now.
“What if, for the spirits, you had to spend your life on the run from the Blandogas? That’s what I’m asking.”
“...Tell me your conclusion.”
Here was mine.
It wasn’t much.
“In the worst case, are you prepared to bear the infamy of ‘Young Patriarch abductor’?”
My thinking was simple.
‘Damian wants adventure?’
Then give him one.
...Though Senior Mysern would have to shoulder the responsibility.
With that, I brushed off and stood.
“Senior, I’ll give you time to think.”
“...”
“Everything comes with a price. I expect a wise choice.”
Two days left until the fairy dance at Gigsen Lake.
Senior Mysern stood at a fateful crossroads.