Ch.171Chapter 171 – Rich Quest (1)

Everyone froze at the appearance of the Lich.

‘The Great One…?’

For a moment, I wondered if it might just be someone disguised as a Lich.

But judging by Pine’s calm expression, the “Great One” she had been referring to earlier must indeed be this Lich.

Soon, the Lich, seeming a bit embarrassed, pulled his hood back over and said:

[Well, that reaction was rather cold. Perhaps I shouldn’t have bothered preparing.]

“How did you get here?”

When I cautiously asked the Lich this question, he shrugged and replied:

[I’d like to say it was simply my whim, but… let’s just say I have some business with you all.]

“Business?”

Not just one thing, but multiple matters.

I wondered what he was plotting.

[I have some requests for you, and there are things I need to do for you as well. It’s been a while, so I thought we should talk and take care of what needs to be done.]

I remained wary of the Lich, who was acting surprisingly casual and friendly.

Though my expression was hidden by my helmet, the Lich seemed to sense my caution and spoke with an amused voice:

[Let’s move somewhere else to talk. It’s almost mealtime, and there’s no need to stand here making our legs sore.]

The Lich looked at Pine as he spoke.

Pine bowed respectfully to him before turning to us.

“We have a place prepared, so let’s head there first.”

“……”

“Don’t worry about the carriage. We’ll send it ahead to the inn.”

So they’ve already arranged an inn for us too.

The next moment, elven maids suddenly appeared from somewhere and approached our carriage.

At this, Moo, who was hitched to our carriage, raised his horns and began to ward off the elves.

-Moooo!!

“Oh my?”

Usually a docile creature, Moo started resisting when they tried to take him away without his owner’s permission.

Immediately, Eve approached Moo and began to soothe him.

As she did so, she looked at me and asked:

“Do you think it’ll be alright, Kay?”

I could see the worry on Eve’s face.

A face concerned about what the Lich might be planning.

After thinking briefly, I nodded quietly to Eve.

“It should be fine. That Lich, for some reason, seems friendly toward me.”

In fact, I had met him once more after the ossuary incident, and he had been friendly then too.

Though I was uneasy because he was a Lich, I also felt it would probably be okay.

Besides, we had our own matters to discuss with the Lich.

“I actually had something I wanted to ask him anyway.”

“Something to ask?”

Instead of answering, I glanced slightly at Christina.

Soon, the others seemed to understand what I meant.

Christina moved closer and asked quietly:

“The sealed sanctuary, right?”

“That’s right.”

When we went to the sealed sanctuary in Metis County, I had questions about who they were guarding against with such strict seals.

He had been one of the suspects back then, but I never expected to meet him like this.

Soon Eve nodded and spoke to Moo:

“Moo, it’s okay, you can go ahead.”

-Moo…

Finally calming down, Moo began to comply with the elves’ guidance.

As the carriage departed, the Lich watched and remarked as if remembering something:

[…Truly an intelligent creature. Reminds me of that woman’s pet lamb. The owner resembles her quite a bit too.]

“What woman? And what lamb?”

To Eve’s question, the Lich simply nodded quietly.

Then he looked at us and said:

[Let’s move on now. Please wait a moment.]

The Lich spoke and clasped his hands together.

Blue magical energy began to spread from his hands throughout his body.

A moment later, the Lich transformed into a handsome elf with platinum blonde hair, similar to Pine.

“Polymorph…”

Magic that uses mana to completely reconstruct one’s body.

It was a spell that Beatrice had explained to me when we were hunting the dragon.

“Oh, I’m glad you know about it. But of course, you would.”

The Lich said with a smile.

“I usually avoid using it because it consumes too much mana… but I figured I’d be immediately thrown out if I walked into a restaurant looking like a Lich.”

The Lich spoke rather casually.

Then he promptly turned to Pine.

“Well then, Pine, please lead the way.”

“This way.”

We followed Pine out of the training grounds.

We exited through the same gate the carriage had used and descended to the ground, walking along the massive tree branches we had passed earlier.

As she took in the scenery, Sera commented:

“There are a lot of places that feel like ancient trees instead of buildings.”

“Indeed.”

Windows of some sort were carved into the massive trees.

While there were some normal buildings like those in human cities, most structures were integrated with the natural trees.

Pine smiled and explained:

“These days, we build structures like humans do, but we traditionally make our homes inside old, hollow trees.”

Pine said this as she climbed onto a massive tree trunk.

Looking around, I could see people and elves walking on giant tree trunks everywhere.

‘This would be a perfect place to get lost.’

I silently followed Pine through the complex, intertwining tree trunks.

Finally, Pine stopped in front of a building, apparently having reached our destination.

“This is ‘Dew’s Haven,’ the finest restaurant in Alfheim.”

‘Sounds like a tavern name.’

I was pretty sure there was a drink back home with “dew” in its name.

As Pine led the way, an elf who appeared to be a server came out.

Just as the server was about to say something with a customer-service smile:

“I’m Pine of the Blue Pine clan. I have a reservation.”

“Ah! This way!”

The server immediately led us into the wooden building.

We passed between wealthy-looking merchants and elves, climbing up stairs that seemed to be made from the tree trunk itself.

At the end of the trunk, we came to a wooden door, which the server opened.

“Here we are. If you need any assistance, please don’t hesitate to call!”

“Yes. Thank you for guiding us.”

As the server left, the Lich brushed past him and entered the room.

“Please, have a seat.”

We exchanged glances with each other as the Lich casually invited us to sit down.

Soon we all sat across from him, while Pine took a seat beside the Lich.

“Pine has already ordered all the food, so I thought we might get straight to the point…”

The Lich clasped his hands together.

Then he began to look at me somewhat hesitantly.

“What is it?”

“…Before we begin, there’s one thing I’d like to ask.”

After this hesitant behavior, the Lich quietly opened his mouth and said:

“…What happened to that wooden skeleton I gave you?”

‘Oh right, that thing.’

It was something this Lich had given me as a means of communication when we were going to hunt the Bycon.

Of course, I hadn’t paid any attention to it after receiving it, not wanting to get involved with the Lich.

Looking at the Lich who was quietly staring at me, I carefully nodded and said:

“I lost it.”

That wasn’t a lie.

I remember putting that skeleton in a box and shoving it in some corner right after receiving it, but with everything that’s happened since, I’ve forgotten where I put it.

If Eve had gathered all my belongings from the inn where I was staying before leaving the Kingdom of Mikea and put them in the carriage, it might be somewhere in there.

‘But I have no desire to find it.’

I briefly thought about looking for it because of the sanctuary incident, but I was too busy and forgot.

The Lich began to sigh.

“So the material was the problem after all…”

‘You don’t think the design might be the issue?’

This skeleton seems to have a screw loose somewhere.

But the next moment, the Lich quietly said:

“Well, don’t worry even if you lost it. I put a curse on it, so it should be properly placed somewhere in your room.”

“Wait, what did you say?”

I had mentally labeled it as a cursed object, but was it actually cursed?

The Lich quietly nodded and said:

“It’s not a terrible curse. It just makes the item return to its owner if they think they’ve lost it.”

The Lich calmly stated that it wouldn’t cause any harm to the owner other than that.

‘I definitely need to find it.’

I silently resolved to search for it as soon as we returned to the carriage and hand it over to Beatrice and Christina for complete sealing.

The Lich cleared his throat and continued:

“Let’s get to the point. I’d like you to help me with my work here.”

“Your work being?”

“You probably already know.”

The Lich said with a smile.

“It’s related to the demon folk.”

“Demon folk…?”

Pine looked at the Lich as if hearing this for the first time.

Ignoring her reaction, the Lich continued speaking to us:

“You’re aware that many unsettling incidents have been happening in Alfheim, correct?”

“I heard about it before coming here, so yes.”

The Lich nodded at my answer.

“Then this will be easier to explain. Who do you think is behind these incidents?”

“How would I know that?”

I only learned about this after arriving here.

Given that he specifically mentioned the demon folk and these incidents, I could guess what he was going to say next.

“You say that, but I think you have an idea. That’s right. The demon folk are behind it.”

“Do you have evidence that the demon folk are behind it?”

I wasn’t trying to defend the demon folk specifically.

But it would be dangerous to conclude it was their doing without evidence.

Someone else could have orchestrated the incidents and made it look like the demon folk were responsible.

Though I couldn’t see what benefit anyone would gain from doing that.

Fortunately, from the Lich’s attitude, it seemed he did have evidence.

“I do. Traces of magic used by demon folk were found in each village where incidents occurred.”

“Traces of magic?”

“Yes. It would take too long to explain, but let’s just say that the magic used by demon folk has its own unique pattern.”

The Lich spoke confidently.

“Of course, they tried to disguise and obscure it to avoid detection by the magic-sensitive elves. But they couldn’t fool me.”

“Could someone be trying to frame the demon folk?”

“News of the demon folk’s appearance hasn’t spread throughout the continent yet. It wouldn’t have reached the ears of anyone in Alfheim who might orchestrate such a plot.”

The Lich eliminated that possibility.

And Pine, with wide eyes, asked:

“What do you mean by demon folk…?”

The Lich’s words seemed to be true, as Pine was looking at us as if asking what on earth we were talking about.

“Pine doesn’t know yet. Recently, demon folk were spotted in Metis County. These people here are the ones who encountered and repelled them.”

“But our intelligence network hasn’t reported anything…”

“I learned about it through special means, and I even encountered them directly. At this point, it’s more unusual to know about it than not.”

The Lich spoke as if soothing Pine.

Looking at the Lich, I quietly asked:

“You seem to know all about our affairs.”

“I have many ways to gather information. I can’t monitor it all day, but I try to keep track of your general movements.”

I wondered how he was tracking our movements.

Though I had my suspicions.

‘Is it because of that cursed skeleton?’

I quietly resolved to search for it as soon as we returned to the carriage.

Meanwhile, the Lich raised his hand and drank some water.

“Refreshing. Being able to drink water—polymorph is truly a wonderful spell.”

“So the demon folk are behind the unsettling incidents in Alfheim, and you want us to resolve them?”

When I asked the Lich this, he shook his head.

“No. That’s the job of Pine and the other elves here. There’s no need to trouble you with that.”

The Lich said this and took another drink of water.

Since his entire body, including his face, was normally just bones, he shouldn’t be able to drink, but the polymorphed body seemed to have no issues with it.

“But it’s not unrelated to you. They have an ultimate goal in orchestrating these incidents. I want to ask for your help in preventing that.”

“Goal?”

“Yes. There’s something in Alfheim that they’re targeting.”

The Lich started drinking water again.

“What is it?”

Instead of answering, the Lich quietly raised his finger and pointed out the window.

I followed his finger and looked outside.

‘That’s definitely…’

What caught my eye was an enormous tree.

The very tree that first comes to mind when thinking of the elven nation.

“The World Tree?”

The Lich nodded.