Chapter 239
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 239
Chapter Title: Part 2 Chapter 16: Meeting (2)
Following the plains, they soon arrived near the village that had been visible in the distance.
Judging by the fields surrounding the area, the residents seemed to grow their own food.
Was it surprising?
It was amusing to discover such fertile soil in a place like this, suitable for farming.
The buildings were neat and tidy as well.
He had expected an ancient temple site to be rundown or crumbling.
"They've anchored a restoration spell over the entire village using the ley lines."
"Can you tell even without looking once you reach 9th Class?"
Jin asked in surprise, but Jamie answered nonchalantly.
"Even without being 9th Class, any mage who's reached a high realm can sense it roughly."
There weren't many mages capable of casting such a large-scale restoration spell over an entire village.
To turn what should have been a decayed, crumbling village into buildings that looked brand new.
He recalled what Beryl had said five years ago when inviting him to the Frontier.
-There exists a 9th Class Master in the Frontier.
Beryl had said the person wasn't human.
Probably an elf.
A high elf, most likely.
That individual was surely the one who had cast the massive restoration spell here.
He had thought about meeting Isis—and this mage—at least once.
"It was cast by an elf mage named Nel-Sharan."
Jin confirmed it directly.
"An elf? Not a high elf?"
"Heh. Most people assume high elf, but she's definitely just an elf. A spry young elf of a mere 130 years."
Regular elves had an average lifespan of 500 years.
At 130, she had just entered early adulthood.
Yet she had pulled off magic on this scale.
Truly remarkable talent.
"But she's quite the eccentric. Very different from ordinary elves."
"I see."
Jamie gave a vague reply as he looked around.
There weren't many people in the village.
It wasn't a large village, so naturally, the population was small.
What was intriguing was that every visible person was a non-human race.
It made sense for a village built by non-humans, but after reincarnation, Jamie had lived exclusively in the human world, so the sight of various races gathered together felt fresh and nostalgic.
Various races, including humans, living in harmony.
It was a scene he used to see all the time in the past.
"It's fascinating to see so many different races living together."
"That's usually the case. I was pretty shocked at first myself. Especially since there are no non-humans in Ryo, it felt like getting smashed in the head with a hammer the moment I saw them. Long ears, fur like beasts, short and stocky builds. Honestly, it was hard to adjust."
"That makes sense for you."
In truth, non-humans weren't something you saw easily.
Even in the current world, humans and non-humans had almost no interactions.
Only countries bordering specific regions traded out of necessity; people living in central continent nations like Seldam mostly knew of them from books.
Yet here, non-humans outnumbered humans.
And they paid little attention even to unfamiliar human visitors.
Considering most non-humans were hostile toward humans, this showed just how harmonious the Frontier was.
'I can somewhat understand Isis's goal now.'
He felt like he had glimpsed the 'freedom' the Frontier preached.
"Hm. This is as far as I go."
Then, Jin suddenly stopped and said so.
It was odd to halt the guidance before even reaching Isis, but Jamie nodded understandingly.
"Go rest."
"See you later."
Jin turned and vanished down a side path.
Jamie watched him go before turning his gaze forward.
Not far away, a man stood leaning against a building.
Arms crossed, head slightly turned to look at Jamie.
A familiar and welcome face.
Jamie raised the corner of his mouth and lifted a hand in greeting.
"It's been a while, Sir Onyx."
Beryl grinned back.
"Long time no see, Jamie."
Jamie and Beryl walked together, catching up on five years' worth of stories.
"Last I heard, you were near the border of . When did you arrive?"
"News travels slow. I was there until last year, then returned here this year. For some personal business."
"Related to Isis?"
"I won't deny it."
Beryl let out a hearty laugh, and Jamie chuckled along.
"But... you've grown so much it's serious?"
He eyed Jamie, who was just slightly shorter than him, with a stunned expression.
"Thirteen is still too young for such a growth spurt."
"Seems I've inherited the Welton blood particularly strongly. My parents were surprised by my growth rate too."
"Even so, growing this much?"
"The world has all sorts of cases."
"Fair enough."
With Jamie right there, denying it would be silly.
The conversation paused briefly.
They walked in silence until Beryl tossed out casually,
"You've gotten a lot stronger."
"You too, Sir Onyx."
"Heh. You were just a little kid back then, and now you're shoulder-to-shoulder with me."
He had caught up to Beryl's realm in a mere five years.
Beryl thought he had grown considerably himself, but before a true genius, he felt like a slowpoke.
Anyone else might feel jealousy, but oddly, he felt none this time.
If anything, he felt excited.
Why? He didn't need to think; it was obvious.
Because he was Sears's son.
"You've grown well."
"Thank you."
"No need to thank me. Thank your parents."
"Haha. Got it. Mind if I ask one thing?"
"What?"
"How are Behemoth and Vena doing?"
He was especially curious about Vena.
He had kept in touch with Behemoth, mostly trivial matters, so he wasn't too worried.
But he hadn't heard anything about Vena since parting in Saint-Deruman.
He knew she wasn't here.
She had left aiming for the Valkyries' home, so she was probably there.
Still, there should have been occasional news.
"Come to think of it, I heard you met in Saint-Deruman. Vena was your subordinate, right?"
"Yes."
"Kekeke. A kid your age having an older subordinate. Cocky little punk."
"So, do you have news on Vena?"
"I've never met her personally, but I've heard the name plenty."
"How's she doing?"
"Hm..."
Beryl seemed to ponder, then flashed a mischievous grin.
Seeing that expression on someone always so serious felt eerie.
As Jamie frowned, Beryl grumbled,
"What's with that 'I saw something I shouldn't have' face?"
"Just tell me already."
"You'll meet them both soon enough."
"Huh?"
"That's all I'll say."
"Sir Onyx?"
Jamie tilted his head at Beryl dodging such a simple question.
As he pressed for more, Beryl stopped in front of a massive building.
"We're here."
"This place..."
It was enormous.
Big enough to seat at least a thousand.
Avalon's buildings were uniformly sized, ample for one household per space.
But this one stood out prominently among the rest.
Oddly, no one was around.
There had been plenty of non-humans on the way, yet it felt like they had deliberately cleared the area.
Beryl said,
"They're all gathered here."
"All of them?"
"We knew when you arrived at Abraxas. They're waiting, timed to your arrival."
"Detection magic, I presume."
"Essential. You never know when an attack might come."
Who would attack a place full of Frontier monsters? But if the attackers weren't human, that changed things.
Beryl entered first, and Jamie followed.
After a short corridor, a vast hall appeared.
Seating for over a thousand, just as it looked from outside.
But Jamie had no time to look around.
Immense, varied auras poured toward him with crushing force.
Jamie glared, eyes wide, at those emanating the pressure.
At the hall's center.
Ten figures sat around a massive round table.
All staring at Jamie; most were non-humans.
But that wasn't important.
What mattered was that most of them were...
'Master Class!'
Excluding three, all at the table were Master Class monsters.
And he recognized one.
Han waved lightly with a smile.
Seeing that, Jamie realized they were the Frontier's core executives.
Beryl descended to an empty seat below.
As Jamie endured the onslaught of auras,
"Wow. This kid's no joke, just like you all said?"
It was a sweet soprano voice.
Following it, at the far end sat a woman with sky-blue hair.
A slender beauty with a round gem matching her hair embedded in her forehead.
Jamie instinctively knew.
Isis gazed at him delightedly and offered a welcome.
"Welcome, Jamie Welton. We are the Frontier."
"Do we really have to do this-nyang...?"
"It's our first meeting in five years! This much is a given!"
"Such a hassle-nyang."
A small cow-like creature sighed deeply.
Beside it, the girl—no, now a matured woman—curved her lips into a smile.
"The Master will be shocked when he sees us, right?"
"No way that human would be shocked by us-nyang."
"Behi, that's your problem. Why've you turned so pessimistic in five years?"
"And why've you turned so optimistic-nyang...?"
"Because."
The woman grabbed her pink twintails and yanked them as she shouted.
"I've grown a lot in five years too!"
"...It's meaningless in front of that human."
"So, you gonna help or not?"
"Sigh. What then-nyang?"
"It's not hard."
At her confident attitude, the little cow called Behi didn't know how to respond.
Her brain reset after five years?
Their time together wasn't long, but she should know his personality.
Yet refusing might make her sulk...
'Hate that-nyang...'
Knowing him better than anyone, Behi sighed briefly.
The woman spoke cheerfully.
"We just attack with everything we've got."
"...For real-nyang?"
"I didn't just play around these five years. I'll make the Master feel my growth firsthand."
"The Master won't hold back."
"It's fine, it's fine. Don't worry, Behi."
The pink-haired woman Vena smiled brightly.
Behemoth sighed at her, then chuckled.
The changes in five years weren't just her matured appearance.
That was a relief.
"The Master will feel all sorts of weird things seeing you."
"What do you mean?"
"You'll see-nyang."
"Tell me, Behi!"
"It's Behemoth-nyang!"