Chapter 103
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Are You Crazy? (3)
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The zealots of the Holy Kingdom departed from Karron's party without a word.
They all wore expressions of fury, but they began to unleash that anger not on Karron's group, but on others.
Crack!
The remaining monsters bore the brunt of the zealots' seething rage.
Only after the standoff ended could Karron's party finally begin to properly regroup.
Swoosh!
Water conjured by Orion through his spirits washed away the blood staining Karron and his companions.
It was a spirit art imbued with a subtle healing effect.
Pluck.
"Urgh."
Earth spirits pulled the Spear of Slaughter from Karron's shoulder and immediately covered the wound with soil.
Thanks to them, there was no significant bleeding despite the size of the injury.
The only problem was that it hurt like hell.
"Drink this."
Orion took a small water bottle from his pouch and handed it to Karron.
"It is water diluted with Mother's Dew. Far better than any human potion. There is enough, so you may each have a bottle."
"Elves are loyal folk. I'll drink it well."
Karron immediately uncorked the bottle and downed the diluted liquid.
The water had a refreshing feel.
As he drank it, the pain seemed to subside a little.
Orion handed a bottle to each of his other companions before sitting down next to Karron.
"Don't you need to drink any?"
Karron asked, looking at Orion's pale face.
He didn't know much about spirit arts, but he knew exactly how damaging a reverse summon could be to a spiritmancer.
Seeing him break out in a cold sweat, it was clear he must have suffered internal injuries from the reverse summon.
"I will be fine once I return to the forest."
"As expected of the people of the forest."
"Then, rest. The battlefield has not yet been cleared."
The bodies of elves were still scattered across the battlefield.
It seemed Orion intended to collect them.
Karron gave a slight nod, and Orion moved quickly with his spirits.
An unspoken agreement had already been reached with the zealots, so there would be no further conflict.
After Orion left, Karron went and sat beside his party.
"You've all worked hard."
"Karron Leston! That was a truly tremendous struggle! I have another tale to tell the warriors of my tribe. Deciding to follow you was undoubtedly the best choice Urrgh."
Utulla pounded his chest as he spoke, but immediately let out a groan.
He had touched the part of his chest that had been mauled by the monsters.
"It hurts."
Utulla muttered with a slightly downcast expression.
"Pfft."
"Heh."
Leo and Rion burst into the laughter they had been holding back.
"Is this giant-style humor?"
Rion said with a laugh, and Utulla scratched his head.
"Thank you for the compliment, Rion Leston. You are a fine warrior yourself."
Who would have thought that a mission to investigate the monsters appearing in the southern kingdoms would turn into a mission to fight a fragment of the Demon King?
Countless variables had arisen, but in the end, they had succeeded.
"Hah I need to rest for a month when we get back."
"Me too, Sis. Should we stop by Tebe on the way back and have some fun?"
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea. As for the money Karron. Could you lend us some?"
Leo and Rion began to talk about their post-mission plans.
Their conversation revealed a deep desire for rest.
Karron smiled awkwardly at Rion's request and nodded.
"I can lend you as much money as you need."
"It's great having a rich younger brother. Then we'll go to Tebe and borrow"
The two were looking forward to a sweet break, but unfortunately, their mission was not yet over.
A separate mission given by Halo.
The task of tracking Kerua Akte still remained.
"But we can't go back right away."
"...Why?"
"We still have one more mission left, you see? We can only go back after we've taken care of it."
At the mention of an additional mission, Rion's eyes widened.
"This is the first I'm hearing of it"
"It's a classified mission."
Leo then shot Karron a suspicious look.
"You're not just making this up, are you?"
"Hey, what do you take me for?"
"Well, it just seems like you're the type to use a 'classified mission' as an excuse to wander around."
A deduction worthy of a Karron expert like Leo.
Karron beamed as he glared at Leo.
"I don't lie about missions."
Honestly, he takes after his mother with all that suspicion.
As Karron let out a heavy sigh at Leo, Rion turned to him with a question.
"Can you tell me the mission details, Karron?"
Normally, she never showed any signs of hardship, but this mission seemed to have left her quite exhausted.
He felt sorry, but it couldn't be helped.
This mission was important to Karron, too.
"The details of the classified mission are simple. Find Kerua Akte."
At those words, Rion's brow furrowed slightly. She asked again in a low voice.
"...Kerua Akte, as in the Imperial Guard from fifty years ago? You're talking about him?"
"Yes."
"He was said to have died in the final battle Ah."
Rion was sharp.
Thus, she quickly grasped the situation.
"So that's why it's a classified mission."
"Grandfather restricted the personnel for this assignment to direct blood relatives only."
"Right, I understand."
Rion had understood so quickly, and yet.
"Kerua Akte? Who's that?"
Leo asked Karron, his eyes darting around.
At that, Karron let out a loud sigh and shook his head.
"I told you to please study, didn't I? I mean, how can a guy with the name Leston, huh? Not know the achievements of his own family."
"...I think I might have heard it once?"
Just then, even Utulla spoke up in a small voice.
"Kerua Akte. I know of him. The warrior of the Evil Emperor. He is still alive! Has he surpassed his limits?"
"Wow, brother. You're dumber than a giant Wait a minute. Now that I think about it, isn't this a classified mission?"
Karron glanced at Utulla and licked his lips.
"It would have been better if you didn't know. I'm sorry, Utulla"
Utulla's body trembled, and he shook his head desperately.
"I heard nothing. I will not speak carelessly of this anywhere. I swear it upon the Tuhoan!"
"...I was just messing with you. Why are you so scared?"
"I thought you might actually kill me."
"I'm not going to kill you."
"A giant does not open his mouth carelessly. You can trust me."
He had planned to take Utulla with him anyway.
Having proven himself a worthy companion in this battle, there was no reason not to bring him along.
"Anyway, the next mission is to find Kerua Akte, so everyone, be aware of that."
The monster subjugation mission at least had the decisive evidence of monsters, but searching for Kerua might be like finding a needle in a haystack.
The only thing he could hope for was
'Information from Kalligo's side.'
The information Poina was supposed to provide.
"Right."
He lay down on the ground and rummaged through his pocket.
He needed to check the condition of his communication sphere.
"Hmm."
Crumble.
The top of the crystal sphere disintegrated into powder as soon as he took it out of his pocket, and even the bottom half was riddled with cracks.
"Not bad."
Considering the intensity of the battle, it was a relief that it was still in one piece.
'Of course, there's no way it'll work properly.'
Karron infused the crystal sphere with mana, just in case.
Pssssssht.
But just as he expected, the crystal sphere crumbled into dust the moment the mana touched it.
"Sigh, of course."
Now that it had come to this, finding a way to contact Poina was the top priority.
The area was far too vast to search blindly.
"Sister Rion. Do you happen to have a communication sphere"
"It broke two weeks ago."
"Tsk."
He had held out a sliver of hope, but her situation was apparently the same.
If he couldn't get information through the communication sphere, it seemed wisest to head to a major city nearby for now.
But then, Karron's gaze fell on Orion, who was bustling about the battlefield.
'Wait a minute.'
He carefully considered the reason he had requested information from Poina.
It was because Kerua Akte was hiding somewhere in the Southern Great Forest, so he had intended to get information from the elves through her.
Although his means of contacting her were gone
'There they are.'
The elves of the Southern Great Forest were right in front of him.
It was a chance to get information directly, without having to go through Poina.
"Good."
Karron smiled with satisfaction as he looked at Orion.
As they say, even if the sky falls, there's always a way out.
"In the last year, the only humans who have entered the Great Forest have been either refugees or slave hunters. A knight who has surpassed the 8th-Star I have no memory of such a person."
Orion readily shared what he knew.
In response, Karron could only click his tongue and nod.
"That's a shame."
"I am sorry I could not be of more help."
"No need to be sorry. It can't be helped."
Seeing as Kerua had escaped the watch of the Sea Wolf Knights, it was highly likely he had hidden himself in the Great Forest.
But the Great Forest was the elves' forest.
If Kerua had truly hidden there, it was unlikely the elves would be unaware.
'This is a bit daunting.'
This meant he was back to square one.
Just as Karron wore a look of dismay, Orion spoke in a low voice.
"There are very rare occasions when we cannot detect an intruder, Karron. Those are cases where Mother herself has given permission."
To the elves, "Mother" naturally meant the World Tree.
"That can't be a common occurrence."
"If Mother gave her permission the Regent might know."
Orion continued speaking suggestively to Karron.
"If you wish, I can take you to the Regent."
"...You mean you'll take me into the Great Forest?"
"That is correct. From the moment you shed blood with us, you were already our friends. You are more than qualified to visit Gallad."
Gallad was the city of the elves. He remembered Poina mentioning it once.
At Orion's proposal, Karron fell into thought for a moment.
The chances of finding Kerua outside the Great Forest versus the chances of finding him inside.
Which of the two was higher?
'There's no need to think long about it.'
The latter, of course.
And with the help of the elves, he might at least be able to find a trace of him.
"Come to think of it, it has been thirty years."
"Hm? What has?"
"Since we have received a human as a guest."
"Looks like someone visited thirty years ago."
"Indeed."
Orion glanced at Karron and smiled gently.
"Your grandfather, Halo Leston. He was our guest thirty years ago. Thinking about it, this too must be fate."
"Why was my grandfather"
"That, we do not know. Only the Regent would know."
It seemed the Leston Ducal Family had many ties to this forest, one way or another.
Karron shrugged his shoulders and glanced at his companions.
"I think our next destination is pretty much decided Does anyone have any objections?"
"I'm all for it, of course."
"We have to go. We absolutely have to go."
"I will follow you this time as well, Karron!"
Gallad was an unknown territory that even Karron, in his past life, had never visited.
How many humans in their lifetime would ever get to set foot there?
Naturally, no one raised any objections.
"I'll be in your care, then."
At those words, Orion slowly nodded.
"The collection of the bodies is nearly complete, so let us depart in thirty minutes. Oh, and you should probably prepare yourselves."
"...All of a sudden?"
"The Great Forest is not as simply beautiful as you might think."
They did not know then.
What they would encounter in that forest.
And so, Karron's party's next destination was decided.