Chapter 88
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 88
Following Visen's execution, Turan and his party decided to stay in the slash-and-burn village for the night to assist with its reconstruction.
Nearly half the villagers had been killed, leaving the survivors short-handed as they struggled to repair collapsed storehouses and charred homes. The residents shed tears of gratitude once more for the unexpected help.
"Meisa, you’re putting the roof on wrong."
"Is this not how it goes?"
"If you leave it like that, it won't seat properly, and the rain will leak through. You need to rotate it about forty-five degrees."
Turan adjusted the roof section Meisa had hoisted with telekinesis, explaining the fundamentals of construction in detail.
Exposed to this new architectural knowledge, Meisa looked at him with wonder. "Where on earth did you learn all this?"
"I just picked it up over the years."
"Wow..."
He didn't possess a master's knowledge of architecture, but he had plenty of experience repairing the cabin he’d lived in since childhood and had personally built several structures in Kalamaf. Besides, the storehouse they were currently erecting wasn't a complex design.
"So, like this?"
"Yeah, exactly like that."
As Meisa lifted the roof again and rotated it, a flicker of genuine interest crossed her face. Turan had wondered if she might find such manual labor tedious, but she seemed to find the act of helping people quite fulfilling.
After confirming Meisa was on the right track, Turan approached Solif, who was struggling with a chicken coop nearby.
"If the bottom of the fence is full of gaps like that, lynxes or foxes will make off with every chicken you have."
"What? How could they squeeze through such small holes?"
"Predators like cats are practically liquid. As long as their head fits, the rest of the body follows."
"That’s fascinating... Now that sounds like real magic."
Meisa was one thing, but to think that even Solif—who was forty years older and a seasoned traveler—was this clueless about basic survival. Since the villagers didn't have the courage to tell the noble lords they were doing something wrong, Turan had to guide them through every step.
While they toiled, Bije flew over and scribbled on the ground.
[I finished cleaning!]
"Already?"
[Yup!]
Turan had tasked Bije with clearing the square, which had been left a bloody mess following the execution and the subsequent chaos. Looking at it now, the area was pristine, as if the top layer of soil had been completely overturned. Since it would have taken forever to dig through the earth with such a small body, it seemed Bije had simply scoured everything away with wind magic.
"I can always count on you."
When Turan patted Bije’s head, the spirit puffed out its chest with pride.
Finally, after using Earth Manipulation Magic to create graves for the deceased, the villagers gathered in the relatively intact village hall for dinner to mourn their dead. Naturally, Turan’s party was given the seats of honor.
"We are poor and have nothing, so we could only offer such meager food. Please, have mercy..."
In truth, the meal was humble. From a stew made with smoked wild game to coarse black bread, it was barely better than the meals Turan used to eat on Hisaril Hill.
Of course, for the villagers themselves, there was nothing but thin grain porridge and wild greens. This was likely the absolute best hospitality they could offer their saviors.
Turan immediately picked up a spoon, took a hearty bite of the stew, and then tried some seasoned vegetables flavored with an unidentified spice.
"This is fine. This is a feast."
"Hey, honestly, calling this a feast is a bit—urk!"
After kicking the bluntly complaining Solif under the table, Turan looked at the villagers. They seemed visibly relieved to see him eating without hesitation. As Solif also began his meal while grumbling under his breath, all eyes turned to the final person: Meisa.
"Hmm."
Meisa was someone who could coldly ignore the stares at a Baltas family banquet, even when people whispered about why she wouldn't touch the food. However, she seemed to feel the weight of the villagers' earnest, hopeful gazes. Turan stopped her as she cautiously reached for her spoon.
"You don't have to force yourself. The two of us are eating, anyway. It’s fine if one of us plays the part of the picky noble."
"If you eat it and then throw up, they'll just feel worse," Solif added.
At Solif's words, Meisa glared at him sharply for a moment, then shook her head and took a large scoop of stew.
"I think I can manage a bite."
Staring at the piece of meat and broth in her spoon, Meisa squeezed her eyes shut and shoved it into her mouth. After chewing for a few seconds, she swallowed.
Turan expected a disaster and considered asking Solif to cast an illusion to hide it, but contrary to his expectations, Meisa didn't immediately retch. After taking a few deep breaths, she slowly opened her eyes.
"Oh?"
"What, did it stay down?"
Not only the men but even Meisa herself seemed unable to believe she had successfully eaten. She wore a dazed expression for a moment before breaking into a bright smile, taking another spoonful of stew, and even biting into the coarse bread.
Only then did the villagers breathe a sigh of relief.
"Oh, she's eating..."
"It seems to be to her liking!"
"What a relief, truly a relief."
'To her liking' was a massive understatement; Meisa was devouring the food ravenously, like someone who had been starving for a long time. Considering she had essentially been starving herself for over ten years, it was hard to blame her.
"Is it good?"
"The taste... I'm not sure, it's been so long. But just being able to chew and swallow makes me feel—urp!"
Her excitement was short-lived as a wave of nausea hit her. Seeing her cheeks bulge, Turan quickly pulled her away from the table and led her out of the hall.
"Blegh—"
While Meisa threw up everything she had just eaten, Turan patted her back.
"Are you okay?"
Meisa, too breathless to answer, simply nodded and looked up. Surprisingly, she was smiling through the tears in her eyes.
"I ate... even if it was just a little."
"It’s been ten years, hasn't it?"
"Yes."
After creating water on the spot to rinse her mouth, Meisa took a deep breath.
"I felt like... my mother and sister were saying it. 'You've helped people this much, so it's okay to eat this much.'"
Of course, it wasn't her family, but Meisa's own heart that had finally given her permission. Perhaps the self-loathing she felt for abandoning her family had been offset by the self-esteem gained from realizing she was someone who could help others.
Turan realized then how to help her overcome her eating disorder. If she continued to help people and came to view herself as a valuable person, she would eventually be able to eat normally again.
A short while later, when they returned to the hall after cleaning up, Solif was waiting for them with a long face.
"Hey..."
"What?"
"Those people... they're wondering which of us is the father. Hurry up and do something about it."
When Turan looked over, the villagers, who had been watching with intrigued expressions, hurriedly lowered their heads. He supposed he should be glad they didn't think she threw up because the food was bad.
*
The next morning, Turan’s party left the village. Giving up on finding magical beasts in the immediate vicinity, they flew straight toward the east. Solif, sitting in the swing and taking in the scenery, spoke to Turan.
"By the way, I wonder if this is okay."
"What is?"
"Regardless of the reason, we killed a noble of the Carmine family. I was wondering if it would have been better to officially bring the body and explain exactly why we killed him. It’ll be troublesome if distorted rumors spread through those villagers later."
Meisa, sitting opposite him, didn't say anything but seemed to agree. Turan organized his thoughts for a moment before answering.
"If we brought the body, we'd have to officially settle the matter of responsibility with a Great Family. The Carmines would hate to admit that one of their nobles was committing a massacre. Since we're wanderers, it would be easy to pin the blame on us. If we showed our true strength, it might be different, but then we'd attract attention in another way."
"Hmm..."
"Besides, there's little chance of rumors spreading from that village. It's not even a proper village, just a slash-and-burn settlement. I told them it wouldn't be good for them if rumors got out."
"Isn't that a threat?"
"It's advice. If the Carmines wanted to suppress the testimony that Visen was trying to become the second Fire-Burner, they might try to massacre the villagers."
At Turan's words, Meisa nodded in understanding.
"Just because those people aren't educated doesn't mean they're fools. They're capable of making judgments when their lives are on the line. Plus, we helped rebuild the village."
"So they won't spread rumors out of gratitude?"
Turan felt a hint of condescension in Solif's words, as if he still considered Turan a naive kid. Of course, Turan hadn't mentioned it for such a sentimental reason.
"No. If the village collapses, they'll scatter to other villages to survive, and that's when rumors spread. If the isolated slash-and-burn village is maintained, the chance of stories spreading is minimized. They're generally self-sufficient people who don't interact with outsiders."
"...You helped them with all that in mind?"
"It wasn't just for that, but it is one of the benefits."
After explaining that much, Turan added his final thought.
"Above all, if the Carmines somehow find out the truth, they'll probably want to bury the matter. It doesn't make financial sense to antagonize three wandering nobles because of a member who died while committing atrocities. If it became public, they'd have to frame us for the sake of their pride, but if not, there's no need for them to push it."
After discussing the handling of Visen, the conversation shifted to the God's fragments—specifically, how they could collect more of them.
"Maybe we'll find clues if we look for monster hunters?"
"I check whenever I run into them, but there hasn't been much success. There are quite a lot of people like that, after all."
While there were some monster hunters like Midan’s gang who were driven by a pure desire to become mages, most used monster hunting as a means of livelihood. To be precise, they combined monster hunting with regular hunting.
The lowest-rank magical beasts they hunted served as nourishment for young mages to grow their power. Since it was easier for mage families to pay rewards for hunted beasts than to find them all themselves, they offered bounties. Most of the monster hunters Turan had seen were of that sort; none of them possessed a God's fragment like Midan.
"Hmm, looking for mages who act strangely... is that inefficient?"
"Yeah. It's not exactly a common occurrence."
Considering that the only practical way to distinguish them was for Turan to see them with his own eyes, it seemed there was no choice but to hope for a chance encounter.
After chatting in the swing for a while, Solif, who had the best eyes of the three, pointed ahead.
"We're here."
"Already?"
"Flying really is fast."
A short while later, the horizon began to appear before Turan and Meisa’s eyes. Because Bije was flying so high, it took another hour and a half to actually reach the shore.
After landing on the beach, Solif spoke in a voice tinged with nostalgia as he looked out at the sea.
"It's been a while since I've been to the North Sea."
"You've been here before?"
"I crossed over to the North Sea from Baraha in the first place."
"Ah, that's right. This is my first time at the sea."
Meisa dipped her hand into the water with wonder, splashing around, but then frowned and made a face after tasting the saltiness. Seeing her act like an innocent girl made Turan smile.
After spending some time on the beach, they headed straight to a nearby fishing village to confirm their exact location. After some brief inquiries, they learned they were on the coast north of Abacha.
Hearing this, Solif clicked his tongue in disappointment.
"Tsk, Abacha was a place I wanted to visit at least once."
"From what I've seen, there's not much to it. Wouldn't it be more interesting to visit the place where the remains of the Drowned God are?"
"Well... I suppose so."
According to Ymir, a member of the Frea Divine Clan nicknamed the 'Lawyer' was staying in Abacha, the capital of Carmine. Turan had wandered in and out before when he didn't know the truth, but now, he felt burdened by the thought of walking back in. Knowing this, Solif only grumbled lightly and didn't push the matter.
After visiting a few more fishing villages, they were able to acquire a reasonably large fishing boat. It had a single sail, a large cabin below deck, and a small room that served as a toilet—a size perfectly suited for sailing near the coast.
"I'm saying this just in case, but don't take it too far out. It'll capsize if the waves get even a little strong."
The old fisherman who received the payment for the boat gave them that advice. Turan looked like a young lord, Meisa like a cold lady, and even Solif, though a bit more rugged, had an air of wealth about him. Since none of them looked like experienced sailors, the fisherman couldn't help but worry. He had his money, but he still had a heart.
"Thank you for the advice."
Turan accepted the fisherman's concern with a gentle smile and immediately prepared for departure. As Solif was readying the boat according to his instructions, he asked, "Are you sure a boat like this is okay? I was lucky and didn't run into any last time, but I heard the North Sea storms are a real bitch."
"We have two Arabion nobles with us, what's there to worry about? Besides, if things really go south, we can just ditch the boat and fly away. It's much better to use a cheap boat."
"I guess so."
A short while later, after finishing all preparations, they raised the anchor and unfurled the sail. As Turan and Meisa took turns blowing wind and Solif cut through the water at the bow, the boat practically flew forward.
"This is refreshing!"
The one who shouted that was, surprisingly, Meisa rather than Solif. It seemed the sense of speed on her first voyage was quite impressive to her. He wondered if she would writhe in boredom later when they moved slowly on an ordinary sailing ship.
Fortunately, none of the three suffered from seasickness, so there were no major obstacles to their voyage. Food and water were as plentiful as the sea itself. Aiming for Miguel Island, which he had visited in the past, Turan set their destination to the southeast using the compass he had received as a gift.
And after about a day and a half had passed—
"This is boring..."
Meisa didn't even need an ordinary sailing ship to start feeling bored. Humans are naturally prone to becoming desensitized to stimuli, and sailing was a repetition of the same stimuli over and over.
"Turan, did you find anything?"
"No, not yet."
"Turan, how about now?"
"Haven't found anything."
"Tu—"
"Nothing."
Of the three, Turan was the only one who could use the Mimic Relic to sense mana. Consequently, it wasn't long before their conversation consisted only of the two asking if he’d found anything and Turan answering that he hadn't.
Of course, Turan could sense the presence of quite a few magical beasts through the relic. Unlike the land, the sea was a battlefield where magical beasts that weren't easily hunted by humans preyed on one another. However, even the exceptionally strong ones among them were only at the level of mid or mid-high rank nobles; there were no presences of magical beasts powerful enough to be of practical help to the three of them.
The only one who was happy was Bije, who got to feast on the horse mackerel Turan caught.
Solif looked out at the sea and lamented, "I mean, just staring blankly is the same as when we were flying... but sailing is strangely boring."
"That's because when we fly on Bije, we usually stop to rest, and when we don't, it's because we're in such a hurry that we don't have time to think about being bored."
"I guess."
"Maybe it's because the boat is small. It might have been better if we’d bought something to read," Meisa added.
While Turan was considering whether they should stop at another Carmine port city instead of Abacha, his eyes widened at a presence he felt ahead.
"Oh."
"What is it?"
"What you were waiting for has finally arrived."
"A magical beast? How strong is it? Top-tier?"
Calming down Solif, who was making a fuss out of boredom, Turan lightly raised his hand to feel the flow of the wind. Meisa, who had also felt the wind, was already frowning.
"No," Turan said. "A storm."
At Turan's words, Solif's face crumpled.