Chapter 92

Continuing Bonds (1)

Forest Keeper.

An elven guardian charged with protecting a forest, both its borders and its interior.

Forest Keepers preserved the forest's ecosystem and served as sentinels, defending it against would-be invaders. As theirs was the most important role, custom dictated that the most outstanding elf take on the position.

Rielin, the Forest Keeper, moved as though she were flying, with the sentries following close behind. Beyond the forest scenery rushing past—

"Silmarien!"

There she was: Silmarien, the elf who had disappeared. The sentries caught up and crowded around her.

"Do you know how worried we were when you suddenly disappeared?"

"Where have you been all this time?"

"What happened to you?"

They checked her over as they asked what had happened.

"Well, actually..."

Silmarien began speaking slowly, her expression alternating between delight at seeing them and sheepishness.

"I was so curious about the outside world that I sneaked out..."

It happened from time to time. Leaving the forest was strictly forbidden, but curious elves sometimes broke the rules.

"Then some wicked humans kidnapped me..."

"What?"

The sentries cried out in shock.

By human standards, elves were extraordinarily beautiful. Not a single elf was ignorant of what being kidnapped by wicked humans meant. That was the very reason they lived apart from humans now.

"Then how did you make it back safely?"

"Lumis here helped me."

A golden fox poked its head out from behind Silmarien's shoulder. A little larger than a fist, it was Lumis, a light spirit.

By borrowing Lumis's power, she could bend light to blur her appearance and conceal herself. But it did not provide perfect concealment.

"I escaped while a human was causing a commotion."

"A human was causing a commotion?"

"Yes! Whoosh! Bang! He gave those wicked humans and an enormous monster a beating."

"What was he like?"

"Um... he was terribly frightening. So frightening that even Lumis trembled!"

Through communion with spirits, elves gained the ability to see souls. This allowed them to perceive someone's true nature, but—

"But you know, he was also incredibly warm."

As this demonstrated, it was not particularly useful for describing someone to others. Put simply, only she understood what she was talking about.

"Do you know his name?"

"Yes. Lumis knows."

Silmarien briefly whispered to the fox-shaped Lumis on her shoulder, then spoke.

"Lumis says it's Adrian Whitewolf."

"Adrian Whitewolf?"

"Yes."

The sentries pondered the name. But however much they thought it over, nothing came to mind.

Far too many years had passed since the elves had cut themselves off from human society. It was only natural that a human's name should mean nothing to them, and yet—

"Adrian Whitewolf...?"

"Forest Keeper, do you know him?"

Rielin continued thinking after the sentry's question, but in the end, she shook her head. No matter how hard she thought, nothing came to mind.

"In any case, I'm glad you made it back safely, Silmarien. And never leave the forest on your own again."

"I won't. I'm sorry I worried you, Forest Keeper."

Silmarien returned safely to the village with the sentries, and peace returned to Sylvandir Forest.

Rielin was relieved, but she could not shake a strange sense of familiarity. She did not know why, but somehow, the name felt familiar.

"Adrian Whitewolf."

For some reason, that name etched itself deep into Rielin's mind.

* * *

Whitewolf county stood amid seemingly endless snowfields. Snow-covered hills and mountain ranges surrounded it from behind, as though they wore white caps.

The castle walls were thick enough to withstand the bitter weather. Ice and snow filled their crevices, while soldiers of Whitewolf Castle stood watch atop them in thick furs.

"Lord Adrian has returned!!"

The soldiers atop the walls jumped in excitement.

RUMBLE!

The thick wooden gates opened with a deafening rumble, and Bernard was the first to come running out, breathless.

Judging by how quickly he had come running, he must have been keeping watch on the walls with the soldiers. But why would Bernard be doing that?

Up close, his face looked utterly haggard, as though he had stayed awake all night. It seemed...

"Bernard, did something happen in the county?"

Something must have happened while I was away. Sure enough, he failed to give me a proper answer.

"Did something happen?"

"Well..."

"What is it?"

"It's just that—"

Bernard hesitated briefly before speaking.

"A royal investigation team visited the county recently regarding the incident in Veneron viscounty."

I had been away for roughly a month. That was more than enough time for word of the incident to reach the royal court.

"How did it go?"

"Fortunately, the evidence was inconclusive, so it did not develop into a serious problem, but..."

Bernard paused before continuing.

"The royal investigators were clearly not satisfied. In particular, they seemed to scrutinize the records of exchanges between Veneron viscounty and our county."

"Hmm."

The investigators were more tenacious than I had expected. Then again, murdering a noble was a serious crime. If only for the royal court's honor and authority, the investigators had a duty to uncover every last detail of the truth.

In other words, Isolde hadn't tried to kill me in Violess for no reason.

"I believe we should keep in mind the possibility that the investigators may descend on the county again."

Still, we had gotten past it for now. There was no evidence, after all.

"What about Seraphia?"

"Lady Seraphia is..."

This time, Bernard hesitated for quite a while. His expression grew abruptly grave.

"Her condition is currently very critical."

... What?

"Did the medicine not work?"

"That is not the issue."

"Then?"

"The medicine still..."

"It isn't finished?"

"That is correct."

I had been away from the county for a month. I had naturally assumed the medicine would be finished by now.

'It must have taken quite a while to commission Langrid Mage Tower.'

Even with a fee of one million gold on offer.

"Still, Sir Kai has sent word that it will be completed soon."

After all, the fee alone was a full million gold. Even Langrid Mage Tower could hardly turn down that much money.

"Where's Kai?"

"In Frecce."

No wonder I had thought it strange that Bernard was keeping watch on the walls.

'Was he waiting for Kai?'

That seemed to be the case.

"I'll go to Frecce too."

"You mean right now?"

"Yes."

"But you've only just returned."

He had a point. After all that goddamn suffering, I had finally made it back to the county, only to leave again the moment I arrived. Really.

"Sir Kai is in Frecce. He will return as soon as the medicine is finished."

That was true, but the medicine wasn't my only reason for going.

'I wonder if they've made contact with the Archmage.'

When commissioning Langrid Mage Tower, I had instructed Adlan to contact the allied army's Archmage. I absolutely needed the Archmage's help to improve my understanding of Infinity[M]. So I needed to check on his progress, and—

'I also need various supplies to train the Visters.'

Food, clothes, training supplies, and so on and so forth. I had to go to Frecce to buy all those things anyway. With thousands of men to provide for, the cost would be staggering, but—

'The black market's funds certainly come in handy.'

My Inventory held the astronomical sum of ninety million gold.

I pointed toward the Visters waiting in the distance.

"Bernard, do you see those people gathered over there?"

"I was just about to ask. Who are they?"

"New recruits."

"... Pardon?"

"It's complicated to explain, so just think of them that way for now."

When would I find the time to explain everything that had happened in Violess?

"Anyway, I'm going to Frecce now, so, Bernard."

"... Yes, please go ahead."

"Find somewhere suitable in the county for them to stay. Keep them well fed and give them proper beds until I return."

"... Understood."

"And if any of them cause trouble while I'm gone, just kill them."

"... Pardon?"

Bernard looked dumbfounded. He didn't seem to have grasped what I meant. But despite appearances, he was a highly capable steward whom my father trusted, so—

"I'm off."

◆Activating combination skill 'Metabolic Overdrive[U]'!

◆Calories Consumed - 100,000Kcal

◆All of the player's stats increase by [+100%] for [1,000 seconds]!

I sped out of the county.

* * *

It had been nearly a month since I last visited Frecce. As expected, little had changed.

'They're doing a good job selling the monster meat on their own.'

Even in my absence, the staff members had kept the business running, traveling between the county and Frecce to maintain the supply of monster meat. No wonder the rumors about it had even reached Isolde's ears.

'It's about time I expanded Predator Merchant Company too.'

Along with establishing a Frecce branch, I needed to look for new products. Monster meat alone would only take us so far if we wanted to become the continent's greatest trading company.

'I've got a Kraulgar-sized pile of work.'

Even ten of me wouldn't be enough. For now, though, Seraphia's medicine and the allied army's Archmage came first.

I was heading toward Adlan's shop when—

"This can't be a coincidence."

Someone blocked my path. As I'd said, Frecce was far too large a city to pass this off as a chance encounter.

"Did you sense my presence?"

That seemed to be the case. I wondered whether that was possible in such a vast city, but—

"What happened?"

Kai. For him, it might well be possible.

"What are you talking about?"

"Violess."

Apparently, the rumors had reached Frecce too. Then again, merchants were more sensitive to news than anyone. There was no way they wouldn't have heard.

"What about Violess?"

"Wasn't it your doing, Lord Adrian?"

"Mine? What was?"

"Wiping Violess out."

"I heard the Holy Kingdom's Saintess did it."

"That is what the rumors say, but..."

Kai gave me a pointed look.

"Do you expect me to believe that?"

Granted, Kai knew I was going to Violess. And as luck would have it, Violess had disappeared just when I went there.

Could he dismiss it as a coincidence? It was, as I'd said, awfully convenient. Frankly, anyone who wasn't an idiot would have figured it out. There was no reason to go out of my way to hide it from him anyway.

"Fine, I did it."

I told him outright, but—

"Do you expect me to believe that?"

For some reason, he didn't seem to believe that either.

"Then what the hell do you want?"

"It makes no sense for you to have erased Violess single-handedly, Lord Adrian."

"I didn't do it alone. The Holy Kingdom's Saintess and—"

"Do you expect me to believe that?"

"What answer are you looking for?"

"What happened to you there?"

"Exactly what the rumors say."

"Do you expect me to believe that?"

"Then don't."

I quickened my pace and walked past him. Kai immediately fell into step beside me.

"Are you really not going to tell me?"

... He was a damned leech.

"I already told you."

"Are you telling me to believe those rumors?"

"Don't. Just don't believe anything."

I picked up my pace even further.

"How do you know the Holy Kingdom's Saintess?"

Kai matched my speed yet again.

"I happened to meet her there."

"Do you expect me to believe that?"

"Don't."

I activated Metabolic Overdrive[U] and quickened my steps. It was practically a run rather than a walk, but—

"It defies my common sense."

Kai kept up even at that speed. That alone made it clear he had truly advanced to become a full-fledged Master.

Which made this all the more absurd. What was a guy who had reached the Master rank through aura doing talking about common sense?

Your Immortal Link[E] defies common sense to begin with, you bastard.

"Then forget common sense and use your imagination."

I gritted my teeth and accelerated. Kai desperately kept pace.

PAT-PAT! PAT-PAT-PAT!

The result was a bizarre footrace, with the two of us repeatedly pulling ahead of each other.

It seemed I would have to use Accelerated Heartbeat[E] to shake him off. But Accelerated Heartbeat[E] required Berserk[?], and I didn't currently have enough Sanity to use Berserk[?].

"Are you telling me to imagine your relationship with the Saintess for myself, Lord Adrian?"

... There was simply no shaking off this damned golden leech.

* * *

In a laboratory filled with medicinal ingredients of every kind, a woman sat at an alchemy workbench, deeply engrossed in her work.

Her hands moved between a silver beaker and a small glass vial. Her movements seemed somewhat hurried, yet they were smooth, delicate, and precise. She handled each ingredient with practiced skill, maintaining the delicate balance of the alchemical process.

"Now for the final step...!"

Her blue eyes shone with determination, reflecting her absolute resolve not to allow even a single mistake.

Just as she was about to carefully dispense the solution one drop at a time with a dropper—

"Iliana!! Is the medicine still not finished?!"

The laboratory door burst open and someone shouted.

"Eek?!"

Iliana, who had been absorbed in her alchemy, jumped in fright.