Chapter 58: Elixir(3)
Chapter 58: Elixir(3)
Lina's party followed Kerry through the forest. The reason was that Kerry's tracking magic had supposedly detected a suspicious magical presence.
Suspicious magic, my ass... I'm just heading for the White Witch's villa.
A waterfall in the southwest part of the forest. She had said her villa was hidden inside it.
With the key the White Witch gave me, even the barrier would be no problem. I can't wait to get my hands on that elixir.
Kerry put on a serious act, pretending to search for clues as he led the way.
After walking for some time, Lina spoke to him.
"Kerry."
"Yes, Lina."
"I think we should stop the pursuit."
"..."
Why all of a sudden? Surely she hadn't realized I was leading them down the wrong path.
Having something to hide, Kerry broke into a cold sweat.
But seeing Lina draw her sword and scan her surroundings, he knew it wasn't what he'd been worried about.
"Kerry, get over here! It's dangerous."
Victoria called out to him.
It seemed everyone except for Kerry and the grandmother, who had low combat abilities, had sensed the presence.
Kerry ran to Victoria's side. She drew her sword and shield, her eyes darting around warily.
It wasn't long after that.
"Kirikikik-"
"Krurkeuk-"
Strange cries that sounded like laughter echoed around them.
Kerry knew these things well. He'd run into them a fair few times during his days as an adventurer.
Monstrosities that looked like a cross between a dog and a human.
They were Kobolds.
Ah, for fuck's sake. Of all the annoying bastards to run into.
Kobolds were, in fact, total pushovers. It was laughable to even compare them to Lina's party.
But that didn't mean they could be ignored.
Because these things moved in packs.
A single Kobold was a weakling, but ten, or a hundred of them, was a different story.
The Kobolds near villages were periodically culled for this very reason, so their numbers never grew too large.
But the forest was different.
There was no one here to manage the Kobold population.
Looking around, Kerry could see them swarming all over the place.
"Kirikirikik-"
"Krurrkeuk-"
The mocking cries of the Kobolds were as shitty to hear as ever. More importantly, how many were there? Shit, there had to be well over a hundred.
"Be careful, Kerry. There are quite a lot of them. You could get hurt if you let your guard down."
"Lina and Natasha will be fine up front, right?"
"Those two would be fine even if a thousand Kobolds swarmed them."
So I guess the only ones to worry about here are me and the old woman.
"Grandmother, stay right next to me."
"Are you worried about me, son-in-law? Hehe. Don't you worry about me."
As expected, the grandmother mumbled an incantation and created some sort of dolls from the earth.
"Oh."
"I have enough power to protect myself."
Then I'm the only one who needs to be careful. As expected, keeping up with the specs of a hero party is no easy task.
"They're coming!" Lina shouted from the front.
At her words, the Kobolds began to pour out from the undergrowth. There were so damn many of them!
""Kieeeek!""
Rumble-
The sheer number of them made his heart drop for a second, but only for a second.
Lina shot forward and swung her sword with a sharp cry.
"Haaap!"
A tempest erupted from the blade, sending all the Kobolds in front of her flying.
Nice one! That's our Lina!
Natasha, too, wielded her twin curved swords, spectacularly slaughtering the Kobolds.
With every movement of her blades, Kobold bodies were torn to pieces.
"You won't lay a single finger on my husband!"
The way she kept glancing back even while fighting, she must have been really worried about me.
Lina and Natasha were holding the front and sides, but even as strong as they were, the Kobolds were too numerous for them to cover the rear as well.
But it was fine.
Victoria was here.
"To think such wretched creatures would throw their lives away so recklessly!"
Victoria swung her shield and sword, butchering the Kobolds.
Of course, Kerry wasn't just standing around watching.
"Fireball."
As Kerry muttered the word, he thrust the Magic Storage Orb forward. A ball of fire shot out in front of him.
Fwoosh-BOOM!
The moment the fireball hit the Kobolds, it exploded, spreading flames everywhere.
"Kieeeek!"
The Kobolds whose bodies had caught fire shrieked and thrashed about. Serves you right, you bastards.
"Hee hee. You look like you're enjoying yourself, Kerry."
Victoria said, casually sweeping Kobolds aside with her shield.
"It's surprisingly satisfying. Want to try, Victoria?"
"I'm fine."
Just then, Kerry spotted another group of Kobolds.
They were still hiding in the bushes.
I knew it.
As pack creatures, Kobolds had a certain level of intelligence. Despite being weak, they were arguably the most annoying things to deal with.
Looking closely, he could see the hidden Kobolds drawing their bowstrings in the undergrowth.
Their bows were crude, but their power was real.
Shall I try that one this time?
The third spell the White Witch had inscribed on the Rare-grade magic orb.
Kerry switched the orb in his hand.
At the same time, Kobold arrows flew from all directions.
"Husband!"
Natasha turned and cried out in alarm.
In that instant, Kerry whispered softly.
"Shield."
A translucent sphere formed around Kerry. The transparent barrier was large enough to envelop both Victoria and the grandmother.
A mage's defensive art. A shield. This was the dream of another world! The true taste of magic, you sons of bitches!
The arrows fired by the Kobolds bounced off the shield. It didn't even get a scratch.
"Oho. So you had a shield spell as well? Though I could have blocked them for you."
"I want to be useful sometimes too, Victoria."
"I suppose that's not a bad thing."
Seeing Kerry's shield, Natasha jumped up and down, shouting.
"Husband! That was so cool! Squee!"
Natasha was acting so giddy it was making me feel embarrassed.
Lina also glanced back, a pleased smile on her face.
After blocking the Kobold arrows, Kerry's shield dissipated.
"Ugh... it's still hard to maintain it for long."
"That's because casting it over such a wide area consumes a lot of mana."
This is why I need the elixir!
If the elixir increased his body's mana capacity, he could maintain the shield for much longer.
"But there's nothing to worry about now. They're starting to run away."
In that short time, well over a hundred Kobolds had already been killed.
The sight of their corpses strewn about was gruesome. They should've picked their opponents more carefully.
"Let's resume the search, then."
Kerry quickened his pace. The recent encounter had made him realize the necessity of the elixir even more keenly.
After following him for a while longer, the waterfall the White Witch had mentioned came into view. She'd said there was a cave behind it, and the villa was inside.
"The suspicious magic I felt with my tracking spell was coming from behind that waterfall."
At Kerry's words, Lina stared intently at the cascade.
She gripped the hilt of her sword.
The air around her grew heavy.
For a moment, Lina's hand seemed to vanish, and then the waterfall split apart. She had drawn her sword with a speed that was impossible to follow.
What the hell was that? She's a total monster.
A cave was visible in the space between the two halves of the waterfall. The empty air at the cave's entrance began to crackle and split.
Then, with the loud crack of shattering glass, it collapsed.
Lina had shattered the White Witch's barrier with her sword.
The key... I brought it for nothing.
"There was a barrier here. Not anymore, though. But your talent for magic is incredible, Kerry. That seemed like a fairly high-level barrier, yet you were able to detect it."
Well, that's because I didn't detect it so much as follow the White Witch's directions.
Isn't Lina the real monster here?
She destroyed a high-level barrier in a single strike. And she even parted a waterfall like that.
This time, even Victoria and Natasha were wide-eyed with surprise.
As expected of the Regressor! She's in a league of her own!
As if it were nothing, Lina spoke to the party.
"Come on. Let's go inside before the waterfall closes again."
The party members leaped over the pool of water at the foot of the waterfall in a single bound.
Victoria and Natasha carried Kerry and the old woman across.
The party landed lightly inside the cave.
The interior was free of moisture, and there were no insects or bats to be seen.
"It's surprisingly pleasant in here."
"It seems to be maintained by magic. I'm no mage, so it's hard to say for sure."
A short walk into the cave revealed a pure white villa.
Whoever lived here certainly had a distinct taste.
Seeing it, Lina also seemed to realize whose villa it was.
But she didn't seem particularly tense, likely because she knew the White Witch was sealed away.
"Wow, a pretty villa! It's like a castle from a storybook. It would be nice to live here with you, Husband."
"Hmm. I don't know who built and hid such a villa, but it is indeed beautiful."
Kerry clenched his fists. The elixir is in there! My precious tonic!
"Let's hurry inside. It doesn't look like anyone's here."
"You never know... it's better to be careful, Kerry."
Lina came up beside me as I walked ahead. Was she worried about me? How cute.
It would be strange to go in too relaxed, so Kerry put on a moderately tense act to match the others as he entered the villa.
The villa was magnificent. Inside the walls, there was even a garden full of green plants.
Bright lights were always on, perhaps to illuminate the dark cave.
A white villa inside a cave. It was actually quite a charming sight.
"Thankfully, it seems to be empty. It looks like it's been abandoned for a long time, but it's not too dilapidated thanks to the magic. I think it's safe to relax for now."
Of course it is. If there was anything dangerous, the White Witch would have told me beforehand.
Where could my elixir be? I have to find it quickly.
"I'm going to look around the house. Just in case there are any traps."
"Let's look around the villa together, Husband!"
"I said I'm investigating, Natasha, not sightseeing."
"Be careful, just in case, Kerry. I'll look around separately."
The party split up to investigate the house, just in case.
Of course, Natasha stayed by my side. It didn't really matter.
It's not like she was the type to snatch my elixir and eat it herself.
Kerry searched every nook and cranny of the white villa. He didn't know the specific location of the elixir.
[I can't quite recall where I put the elixir... It was a hundred years ago, you know. It can't be helped.]
That made sense. At the very least, she said it was definitely in the villa, so all I had to do was find it. Right. It's an elixir. This much trouble is worth it.
I should be able to find it by the end of the day, at least.
But Kerry's prediction was wrong. By the time evening came, he still hadn't found the elixir.
"Husband, aren't you searching a little too hard? Anyone would think you were looking for treasure."
Natasha's intuition was sometimes so sharp it was scary.
If I couldn't find it after searching this much, it must be hidden somewhere with a secret mechanism. In that case, it would be difficult to find right away.
I'm hungry. I should eat something before I continue the search.
"It's getting late, so I think it would be best to rest here for the night. Shall I make dinner, everyone?"
"Wow! Food! I'll help you prepare it, Husband."
"There are kitchen utensils here, so I can make a proper meal this time."
"Hee hee. I'm looking forward to it, Kerry."
Everyone was getting excited at the prospect of a delicious dinner.
That's when Lina appeared. But something about her was a little strange.
Her face was as red as a tomato, and she looked incredibly flustered. It was the first time he'd seen her like that.
"Lina? Are you okay? What's wrong?"
"I... well... uh... this... how should I... explain this..."
What on earth happened to make Lina so flustered?
Just then, Kerry saw an open bookshelf behind her. A suspicious-looking room was visible inside. I've got a bad feeling about this!
Kerry immediately entered the room hidden behind the bookshelf. The probability of the elixir being in there was extremely high.
As soon as he stepped inside, he saw why Lina's face was so red.
It was filled with tools that revealed the White Witch's... harder tastes.
From whips to various obscene and unidentifiable implements, and even candles!
Our pure Regressor had seen such lewd things; of course her face would turn red.
But that wasn't what was important right now.
My elixir! Where is my elixir?
Then, he heard Lina's voice. Her face was still bright red.
"Um... Kerry. I found this inside..."
In Lina's hand was a small box.
And inside the box was a single white pill.
It was undoubtedly the elixir the White Witch had mentioned. This feels all kinds of wrong.