Chapter 24
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: The Last Village
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The Clorensis Mountains. To list the countless histories woven into this majestic, snow-covered range, one could talk from dawn until the tavern lights went out and still not cover it all. But to put it as concisely as possible, it was this:
A feast of endless white ridges that divided the north and south.
Somewhere within this long and magnificent mountain range was a small village, barely touched by human feet.
People called this quiet village, nestled at the foot of the proudly unconquered snowy mountains, ‘The Last Village.’
The reason for its grand name was actually quite simple: there were no other villages beyond it.
Of course, one could cross the mountains into the northern territories, but since no one was mad enough to attempt such a thing, no one disputed the village’s name.
But aside from its symbolic name, ‘The Last Village’ was nothing more than a tiny country town. Given its location, the footsteps of outsiders had long since faded from scarce to nonexistent.
Kyle, amazed that they had entered such a place, muttered to himself.
“...So people live in places like this.”
Luon, who had been thinking the same thing, watched Amella’s back as she led the way.
Without her as their guide, they would never have even known a village like this existed.
The journey had been so arduous that they’d even unbridled and unsaddled the horses they’d traveled with for so long and released them into the wild.
“This is it.”
Amella stopped in front of an inn in the center of the quiet village. Luon silently scanned its exterior.
Compared to the minuscule village, the log-cabin inn was large enough to rival any in a city.
“It’s pretty big.”
“Right?”
Amella smiled faintly and pushed the inn door open.
Inside, the party was greeted by a large, burly man dozing off.
“Rick, wake up.”
“...Huh? Wha? A customer? Ah, Amella?”
The man, still groggy, shot up from his seat, his eyes widening as he recognized Amella’s face.
“Amella!”
The man who threw his arms wide to embrace Amella was, surprisingly, far larger than Luon.
Swallowed in the arms of a man who looked to be well over two meters tall, Amella, feeling suffocated, repeatedly slapped his broad shoulders.
“Rick!”
“Ah, sorry.”
Releasing Amella with an awkward expression, the man, Rick, spoke.
“Has it been half a year… no, almost ten months?”
“Yeah, it’s been that long already.”
“What about Salvator?”
“He’s dead. At this man’s hand.”
Luon, who had been watching them silently, simply shrugged as Rick’s gaze fell upon him.
“That fellow killed Salvator? Come to think of it, there are two faces I don’t recognize. You must have met them on your travels?”
“Rick, I know you have a lot of questions, but we don’t have much time left.”
At Amella’s words, Rick scratched his head with a palm the size of a cauldron lid.
“Right, can’t be helped then. Should we leave right away?”
“Get ready as fast as you can.”
“Alright. Just wait here.”
As Kyle watched Rick walk toward a side door of the inn, he muttered.
“This is the first time I’ve seen Luon outmatched in size.”
“It’s to be expected. Rick’s great-grandmother was a giant.”
“A giant? Is… is that even possible with a giant?”
Amella chuckled.
“Well, Rick’s here, isn’t he? So it must be.”
“My word…”
Just then, Luon asked.
“Is he a mage, too?”
“No, Rick’s not a mage.”
“Then?”
“Hmm, it would be more accurate to call him a beast tamer.”
A beast tamer?
Just then, a loud voice echoed from a distance.
“Amella! I’m ready.”
At the voice, Amella nodded.
“Let’s go.”
Stepping out the back door, Luon’s eyes widened in astonishment at the sight before him.
In the middle of a wide yard stood a massive beast.
Its overall form was that of a horse, but it had the beak and talons of a bird of prey, along with enormous wings. The creature seemed to be enjoying Rick’s touch as he stroked its head, letting out a cooing shriek and acting playful.
Amella spoke to the two men standing there dumbfounded.
“A hippogriff. A crossbreed between a griffin and a horse. Considering that a griffin’s main diet is horses… its very existence is a miracle.”
*Now this is starting to feel like something related to the Magic Tower.*
First a descendant of a genuine giant, and now a crossbreed between a horse and a griffin. Luon let out a dry laugh.
Meanwhile, Kyle spotted the saddle on the hippogriff’s massive back and stammered.
“N-No way. You can’t be serious?”
“I’m afraid so, Kyle. We’re going to fly on its back.”
“...Shit.”
Amella walked toward the hippogriff as if to prove her point.
“It’s been a while. Mind if I borrow your back?”
As if understanding her gentle voice, the hippogriff bent its legs, lowering its body, and spread its massive wings toward the ground.
“Thank you.”
Using a wing as a foothold, Amella climbed up and called out.
“He’s a gentle one, so don’t worry and come on up.”
Thanks to the hippogriff’s consideration, Luon and Kyle mounted its back without difficulty. Rick then spoke to the three of them.
“The ropes next to the saddle are your lifelines, so tie them tight.”
At those words, Kyle’s face went pale, and he quickly began to wind a rope around his waist.
“If you’re ready, here we go!”
With a short shout, Rick lightly patted the hippogriff’s rump. As if understanding, the creature shot to its feet and began to gallop on all fours like a horse.
*Screeeech!*
With a sharp cry, the hippogriff spread its massive wings, and its huge body began to slowly rise into the air.
As the scenery on the ground rapidly shrank, Kyle let out a scream.
“Aargh!”
A sharp wind struck their faces and rushed past.
The cold air that filled his nose and mouth made his lungs sting, but Luon consciously took a deep breath.
Experiencing a view and a sense of speed he’d never felt before in his life, he spread his arms with a pleasant smile.
“Luon! Your arms! Arms! Arms!”
Kyle, now with little room to hold on because of Luon’s arms, began to panic, but Luon let his screams go in one ear and out the other.
*Screeeech!*
Just then, the hippogriff, which had been picking up speed along the wind currents, suddenly folded its wings and began to dive.
Like a roller coaster, the creature plummeted, its beak aimed surprisingly at a steep cliff.
“Amella! This beast… hasn’t… suddenly… gone… crazy… has it?”
Amella shouted back at Luon, who was struggling to get his words out against the rushing wind.
“No!”
In that instant, the hippogriff’s body passed through the cliff.
A startled Luon looked back to see the air shimmering like water.
*An illusion?*
As he was thinking this, the hippogriff circled, gradually slowing down, and landed on the ground.
As if telling them to get off, the creature spread its wings toward the ground.
After Kyle tumbled off, the entire party was on the ground. The hippogriff let out a sharp cry, soared into the sky, and soon vanished from sight.
“Blech!”
While Luon casually patted the back of Kyle, who was vomiting his guts out, he gazed at the giant tower before him and muttered under his breath.
“We’ve arrived.”
***
The sanctuary of eccentric mages, the repository of knowledge, the ivory tower of truth, and what else…
Luon decided that all the rumors and images he had heard about the Magic Tower were utterly pointless.
“Rumors certainly aren’t to be trusted.”
Amella smiled at Luon’s words.
“Why? Too simple for you?”
Luon didn’t bother to deny it. He didn’t have any preconceptions like, *This is how a Magic Tower should be!* but even so, the interior was excessively plain.
The inside of the Magic Tower was a hollow structure. A spiral staircase clung to the dull gray walls, stretching endlessly up to a glass ceiling where sunlight streamed in. Wooden doors were visible at regular intervals.
That was it.
“Wait just a moment.”
Amella held up her index finger and whispered softly. A blue light shot from her fingertip into the air and entered one of the doors.
A moment later, the door burst open, and a man with an impressive shaggy beard stuck his head out over the stairs.
“Amella? Is that you, Amella?”
“It’s been a while, Edi.”
“By the gods!”
The man shrieked, suddenly stepped onto the railing, and threw himself off.
“Is he insane?”
Luon had never seen someone choose to jump to their death as a greeting before, and he couldn’t help but curse.
Contrary to Luon’s fear that the man would be instantly flattened, he slowed in mid-air and landed softly on the ground.
“Amella! You’re back!”
“You haven’t washed either, I see?”
“Of course not! The moment water touches my body, my mind goes blank.”
Edi, cackling like a madman, suddenly rolled his large eyes and strode toward Kyle.
“Where did you get this!”
His grimy finger, with dirt packed under the nail, pointed at Kyle’s shield.
“Ugh, you stink. Get your finger away from me.”
As Kyle recoiled in disgust, Edi followed, stretching out his arm like an undead.
“Let me see it. Just one look. Just one.”
Amella yelled at the ridiculous scene.
“Edi!”
“Ah, yes? Amella? You’re back!”
*He really is insane.*
Watching Edi repeat the same words, Luon spoke to Amella.
“Why did you call for this crazy bastard?”
“Because this crazy bastard is the one who ordered me to retrieve the fragment.”
Just then, Edi’s body shuddered as if struck by an invisible bolt of lightning. He suddenly adopted a serious expression and asked in an uncharacteristically low voice.
“Amella, where is the fragment?”
Despite the drastic change, Amella replied nonchalantly.
“This man has it. His name is Luon, a warrior who killed Salvator and wields a sword blessed by Tivela’s grace.”
With such a neat explanation, Luon saw no need to add anything and pulled the stone tablet from his tunic, tossing it to Edi.
Catching it, Edi’s face contorted into a deep frown.
“Belducias, Salvator, Amella… Quentinuus? Just how many powers have touched this stone?”
“...There were circumstances.”
“Salvator, that blood clot of a brat with rock-bottom self-esteem really made a mess of things.”
Edi sighed heavily and gestured for the party to come closer.
“Come here.”
At Edi’s sudden transformation into a completely different person, Luon and Kyle hesitated, staying where they were.
But Amella stepped forward first and nodded as if to say it was okay, so they had no choice but to approach Edi.
Edi said.
“You guys rode a hippogriff, so I doubt you’ll be surprised by a little levitation, right?”
No sooner had he finished speaking than all four of their bodies began to float gently upwards.