Chapter 132
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 132
Chapter Title: A Small Banquet in the Forest (3)
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"Hunter, listen! Do you have any idea how much we've suffered because of that ruin? Forget the magical beasts—even these blue-green plants keep spreading everywhere."
"I see."
"And the crops growing in the fields around here won't settle down either. Magical beasts keep lurking around the northern spring..."
"You've been through a lot."
The Silver Guard Knight responded calmly to Machina's torrent of words.
He'd only had a single glass of fruit wine, so he was keeping a relatively clear head.
Machina, by contrast, had scooted right up next to him and was chattering nonstop.
"Right?! We've had it so rough! Magical beasts everywhere, tough ones to boot, and those vibrant green plants keep growing—and do you know what's the real problem? They're spreading!"
I decided not to butt into that conversation at all costs.
No one else found it easy to join in either.
Hugo was buzzing from the fruit wine, belting out some thick, unintelligible song, while Max banged away relentlessly on empty plates and bowls beside him.
Shuren, his face flushed red, cackled and clapped along.
He'd downed at least three glasses, as far as I knew.
Where'd Wedin go?
He'd helped a weary Gordon inside the cabin and gone to check on Fran, it seemed.
Ilenia was nowhere in sight either—she'd slipped away at some point.
I let out a sigh and slipped away from the table, sitting down on the cabin steps.
Ash lay sprawled lazily on the steps above me. I stroked his fluffy forehead, and his long tail swished gently back and forth.
He used to hate even being touched.
He still disliked hugs, but he'd gotten used to a hand on him. Or maybe he'd just given up?
"Ah, it's Ash!"
Ilenia emerged from the cabin, her eyes lighting up as she took a step closer.
Her hand shot toward him without hesitation, but even with his back turned, Ash sensed the eerie vibe and dodged nimbly.
He spun around behind me and growled at Ilenia. His long tail, not fully tucked away, tickled my arm.
"I wanna pet him too!"
"Uh, that might be tricky..."
Especially the latter—it felt like it could cost her life.
But Ilenia—or rather, the Ilenia who'd downed more than two glasses of fruit wine—had clearly lost all sense of fear as a side effect.
"Challenge accepted!"
With a bold shout, her hand darted toward Ash's tail. Ash leaped away in startled alarm.
"Please, just a little pet."
Ilenia lunged again, and Ash hopped back in shock at her recklessness.
He bared his teeth and growled at her, but the thoroughly drunk Ilenia showed no fear whatsoever.
"Ash, no biting."
Ash shot me a wronged glance. He toned down the growling a bit and unsheathed his short black claws.
"No claws either. You'll hurt her."
'What am I supposed to do then?!'
Ilenia kicked off the ground and charged at Ash, who swiftly dodged again.
"Just let her pet you once?"
'I refuse!'
I'd suggested the most peaceful option, but Ash responded with something close to a scream.
He eyed the dark forest beyond the front yard, clearly thinking of fleeing far away.
"It's dangerous, so no going far."
Ash growled again. This time at me.
Then he darted into the front yard, and Ilenia chased after him like it was a game of tag.
Hmm, Ash, really. It'd be easier if he just gave up.
"Everything okay? Ash didn't bite, did he?"
Wedin had just come out of the cabin and eyed the tag game starting in the yard with worry.
I shrugged.
"He'll stop eventually, probably. How are Sir Gordon and Fran?"
"Both out cold. Even with all this noise..."
Wedin glanced toward the table, then decided like me not to get any closer.
Hugo's long, bizarre song still echoed through the forest, and now Shuren had joined in, banging pots for accompaniment.
Would they be okay tomorrow? Hard to say.
"You holding up alright?"
I looked up at Wedin. He was perched on the railing above me.
"I haven't even had any booze, so..."
That's when I noticed what he was pointing at—my left arm injury.
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. It's all healed."
"That's what doesn't make sense. What if the opposite happened?"
"Hahaha."
I laughed it off as a funny joke, but Wedin wasn't smiling.
Of course—he had no intention of letting it slide.
I swallowed a sigh and turned the question back on him.
"Fine, spill it. What's the holy mage's expert opinion? Why'd my wound heal on its own?"
"Maybe it's tied to the holy magic not activating there? What if it was working, but the hallucination hid it—and once the hallucination cleared, you could see it properly?"
"Oh..."
Creative. He'd clearly mulled it over for a while.
Wedin was always dead serious about holy magic—it still surprised me sometimes. Then again, that's why he'd become Grain's disciple.
"That could be ri—"
"No."
I was about to agree, but Wedin propped his chin on his hand, pondering, and continued.
"Your body doesn't respond well to holy magic. Last time you were hurt, you needed way more healing than others. One treatment wouldn't heal it that cleanly."
"Then?"
"That tree's still suspicious. You've felt different since we went in there. Your holy power's back, the black mist is gone, and so's the blood pooled on the floor."
Wedin swung his legs from the railing, mumbling. I let him think it through.
"That tree. You said it absorbs mages' mana, right?"
"Ah, yeah. Less a device, more a spell."
"Whatever. Absorbing mana means sucking life force, yeah?"
I frowned a little.
"Not quite. A mage's body is maintained. If anything, it reinforces life force. That's how Fran survived so long without eating or drinking."
"Right, that's it. That's the cause—that spell healed the wound."
Wedin jumped down from the railing in excitement.
"It boosted life force to amp up healing. So Fran had no minor scratches despite being drained."
I didn't bother mentioning that I'd only been inside the tree for a brief moment, or that its magic only provided bare-minimum life force to sustain life.
I looked up at Wedin, satisfied with his own conclusion.
"That tree was converting gathered mana into holy power—life force. It looked creepy on the outside, but..."
"Nah, not that."
I waved it off with a smile.
"Mage hunts are ultimately about gathering mana. Any life force is just a byproduct."
"What're you talking about?"
Wedin stared down at me with a sullen, uncomprehending expression.
"Life force is mana crystallized, right? It's not some side effect. Mana flows out from life."
"Seriously? You wanna debate the origins of magic and holy power with me?"
I let out an incredulous chuckle.
Whether mana or holy power came first had been a famous, endless debate between mages and holy mages since forever.
Mages, who could vividly sense natural mana with their whole bodies, insisted mana first. Holy mages, who wielded life-derived holy power, claimed life first.
The arguments always ran parallel, never tilting one way.
"I could talk about this all day."
Having lived as a mage for so long, I could ramble on for days about mana and holy power origins.
Wedin scoffed at my warning-laced words, as if it were laughable.
"That's my line."
"Really? Wanna go?"
A surge of inexplicable competitive fire rose in me. As if I couldn't convince Wedin.
"What is this, some debate old fogeys would have?"
Shuren's sudden voice doused my excitement.
Too wrapped up in the talk, I hadn't noticed him approach.
His cheeks flushed from drink, Shuren snickered, glancing between me and Wedin.
"Ditch that pointless topic and talk something productive. Or come beat on some pots—the rhythm's off. Just smack a few lids."
Shuren jerked his head toward the table.
The inexplicable music still thumped along from there. No way anyone in their right mind could join.
"Nah, I'll go check on the patients..."
Wedin recoiled, stepping back with a horrified look. He'd lost all enthusiasm for the ancient debate too.
Same here.
"I'm heading to bed too. Got tired for no reason."
I sighed and stood.
That's when I remembered Ash and Ilenia playing tag.
Chatting with Wedin had made me nearly forget, but now—in the yard's left corner—the fierce game was wrapping up.
Ilenia had finally caught Ash and was rolling in the dirt-covered yard.
Ash bared his teeth, but thankfully hadn't bitten her yet.
"Got...!"
The moment Ilenia reached triumphantly for Ash's forehead...
Ash's front paw morphed into a human hand and shoved her face away.
In an instant, he'd shifted to an adult man's form, grabbed her arm, flipped her, and pinned her down.
Their positions swapped in a flash—Ilenia, who'd grabbed him from behind, now crushed beneath.
"Don't touch me."
Ash's low voice rumbled in her ear against the ground.
It took Ilenia a moment to process. Soon, her face paled, horror spreading.
"Kyaaaaah!"
Her scream split the forest.
By the time everyone whipped around toward the cry, Ash had reverted to wolf form.
He stood calmly atop the shrieking Ilenia.
"What happened? Did Ash bite?"
Shuren tilted his head curiously, while pale-faced Ilenia scrambled away from Ash.
Ash shook himself off and trotted over to me.
"H-H-H-Human...!"
Her pointing finger trembled wildly at Ash.
"He turned into a human!"
"Haha, Ilenia, you must've had too much to drink."
Machina laughed it off, waving her hand. Ilenia's scream seemed to have sobered her a bit.
"Whoa, it's this late already! Time to wrap up. We're leaving tomorrow, right?"
The beleaguered Silver Guard Knight beside her finally muttered in relief with a small sigh.