Babel (1)
With the conflict between the dwarves and elves resolved, the Hero and I—along with the speechless Beast God—set out to wander the world. It was vast, and the number of those suffering was beyond counting.
Traveling the world in human form wasn't easy... but the Beast God's presence made it possible somehow. When we needed to cross plains, it became a four-legged beast and raced across them. Facing a mountain, it transformed into a massive eagle, the first of its kind to soar through the skies. Without this guy... the Hero would've wasted ages trudging on just two legs.
Hmm. Saving this one was definitely the right call. Who knew it'd turn into such a handy mount?
Of course, if I really wanted to, I could circle the globe in less than a day. But the adventure had to center on the Hero. His feats needed to be etched into the world's history.
As we journeyed, we passed through the Lizardmen's territory and arrived at a city at the edge of the scorching desert. The magicians' city. Babel.
It had started as a tiny village, but now it was big enough to deserve the name "city." And they'd even built a massive tower inside it. Must've raked in a fortune.
But the name Babel and that huge tower... hmm. Why did it give me such a bad vibe?
No, no. That's that, this is this. Just because the names match and there's a tower doesn't mean history's gonna repeat itself.
Shaking off the unease bubbling up inside me, I surveyed the bustling streets teeming with people. No surprise—a magician who could mass-produce magic-infused scrolls was perfect for hoarding wealth. Plus, scroll-making mages were irreplaceable. Other nations and cities persecuted mages, so no one else could pull this off.
Anyway, we were just passing through, but since we were here, I figured I'd check how many mana stones infused with fragments of darkness had been collected. How many had piled up? Felt like checking auto-farm results!
After settling the Hero at an inn in the city, I headed to Babel's Life Temple. It had been a few years since my last visit, so I was hoping for a hefty stockpile.
But...
"That's all?"
A few years since my last trip, and they couldn't even fill a hand-sized box? Something was off.
"I don't know why, but the shipments from the magicians have sharply decreased."
The Life Temple manager in Babel was one of the dragons. A child of a red dragon who favored scorching heat. And this city housed the eternal flame of Ifrit, like a parent to them. No wonder a red dragon would stick around. That's why I'd trusted them with this...
"The shipments have decreased..."
"We asked the village chief, but they said the discovery rate has dropped. Not sure if that's true..."
"If it were true, great. But it's probably not."
Unless the spawn rate of exceptionally strong monsters had plummeted—which it hadn't. Monster appearances hadn't changed either.
So, the mana stones with darkness fragments were...
"The magicians must be skimming them, right?"
"Yeah. Contract breach."
They could distinguish those stones with the tool I gave them and process them accordingly. Completely ignoring that deal...
What were those magician bastards up to? Maybe... they'd invented a way to use the darkness fragments inside?
I couldn't know for sure, but one thing was clear. The village chief—no, not a village anymore. Mayor fit better for a city.
"I need to meet the mayor."
"Understood. I'll send word right away."
"Thanks."
I gave a small nod to the red dragon's child. Hmm. Having someone who knows my true identity sure speeds things up.
"By the way... when do you plan to end this travel game with that Hero kid?"
"Travel game?"
The red dragon's child nodded slightly at my words.
"If you willed it, you could wipe out every monster in the world in the blink of an eye. Yet you're inefficiently wandering with that frail human... I can't understand it."
Hmm. Not efficient, true. If I wanted, I could halt time and burn all life to ash. Or churn out endless autonomous golems—robot monster-slayers.
"But that'd be no fun."
"Fun...?"
"Yeah. Romantic, too."
The reason for this inconvenient, tedious, time-consuming ordeal? I wanted to leave the Hero's adventure as a new tale in this world. Myths, legends, heroics, epics. If I etched my desired story into the world, let it spread by word of mouth, and eventually compile into books... far in the future, reading those would make me smile. "Oh, so that's how the story evolved."
That anticipation was why I bothered with the hassle myself. Hmm, maybe next time I skip the hands-on. Pretending to be the Dragon Priestess and tagging along with the Hero... too annoying. Better to make a clone that passively boosts him. Or link a clone's mind to mine, let it live as a human and develop its own personality... a bit inhuman, but whatever. I'm not human anyway.
"Is that fun?"
"Tons. Try blending into the world as a human yourself sometime—you'll get it."
The dragons' pastime from old fantasies. Long-lived dragons living countless lives to stave off boredom. Honestly, touring as a Life Temple pilgrim wasn't pure entertainment. Good for scouting the world, but just pilgrimaging? Not fun.
"Sometimes, you all should try living as ordinary beings, not temple pilgrims."
Experience diverse lives, and even dragons could enjoy existence.
"I'll keep that in mind. Though I doubt it's that enjoyable."
I nodded slightly at the red dragon's words. Choices are personal, after all.
With that, the Hero and I headed to the Babel Tower to meet the mayor. When I said I had business with the city leader, he insisted on coming along—couldn't send me alone.
I told him I'd be fine solo, so he should sightsee and relax... but what was he so worried about? He nagged until I caved.
Really. Unnecessarily fretful. As if anything in this world could harm me.
"It's worry, sure. Theirs, though."
"Hm? Theirs?"
"Nothing."
Sheesh. Such a buzzkill. Did he think I'd smash the tower or something? Ridiculous. Where else would you find someone as cool-headed and kind as me? This lifeless world overflowing with life—all my doing.
Chatting idly with the Hero like that, we entered the tower's entrance.
"Ho. Pretty lively."
The tower's interior buzzed with busy people. Young folks hauling boxes stuffed with scrolls, middle-aged mages barking at others. Quite the sight.
As we gawked deeper in...
"Excuse me. You're from the Life Temple, right?"
A young female mage approached us.
"Yeah. Word must've gotten ahead. Here to talk with your city leader."
"The meeting's scheduled long, so you might wait a while. That's okay?"
"Sure."
How long could it be? The crowded tower made sense for a busy mayor. No way they'd snub a group the Life Temple personally contacted.
She led us up the stairs to a nicely appointed waiting room.
Let's see. How long? A bigwig like the mayor must have a packed schedule... an hour, maybe?
For now, relax till he shows. Hmm.
