Ch.183183. Cleanup (2)

When the Grand Elder, Edelin, first spoke, the head of House Arielt couldn’t believe his ears.

‘Even for us, contracting with a supreme-grade spirit is not easy.’

Most elves who aren’t members of the three most brilliant houses of the Great Forest stop at contracting with intermediate and high-grade spirits.

While there’s a significant barrier between low and intermediate grades, an even greater wall exists between intermediate and high grades. Average talents typically reach intermediate level, while those with some expertise contract with high-grade spirits.

The wall between high and supreme grades is even thicker than those between the lower grades. The ability to handle supreme-grade spirits is a skill possessed by only a select few from the Arielt, Chelnis, and Ianet families.

‘For humans, it’s out of the question.’

Even elves struggle to form complete contracts with supreme-grade spirits without superior bloodlines and the World Tree’s blessing.

Short-lived races. Those with little time to steadily accumulate power.

How could a human—not even a dwarf or beastkin with spirit affinity—possibly contract with a supreme-grade spirit?

‘Moreover, he’s male.’

The racial limitations are stark.

Men, innately lacking in mana, shouldn’t have the capacity to summon, contract, or maintain a supreme-grade spirit.

“That spirit…?”

What was this scene unfolding before his eyes?

Pleta couldn’t help but doubt what he was seeing.

‘But that girl.’

The young girl sitting on the man’s shoulders, resting her hands gently on his head as if accustomed to it. He could sense the familiar spirit essence from her. And from the breeze flowing through the open door, he could also detect that familiar spirit scent.

‘…A supreme-grade spirit.’

The fragrant burning scent of dry wood that reached his nostrils carried warmth and elegance.

Unlike other intermediate and high-grade spirits, it wasn’t rough, yet the hot ember quietly curled within was fiercer than any other spirit.

As a mature elf, Pleta instinctively recognized the spirit’s grade through its refined, controlled, yet powerful fire energy.

Pleta recalled what his daughter, Friel Arielt, who had just returned to the family, had told him.

—The young lady might have as much talent with the bow as we do. And… that power passed down through her bloodline adds to her uniqueness.

Friel had a higher opinion of the young lady than expected.

Who are elves if not beings born to shoot bows?

There’s no skill elves pride themselves on more than archery. To say someone might have comparable talent to elves was one of the highest compliments an elf could give.

—But there’s someone even more important than her.

Yet his daughter valued someone else more than the young lady.

—Her personal attendant who came with her… ah, or did she call him her slave before being her attendant?

Friel had said with a small laugh.

—Rather than the young lady, you should pay attention to Ray. His unexpectedly excellent spirit arts, swordsmanship, and dense mana. The more you observe him, the more he proves to have a knack for surprising others.

While the young lady was an excellent archer,

Ray, her personal attendant, was a man who created even greater surprises than she did.

He could handle mana and was also versed in spirit arts, but he was still human after all. How proficient could he really be with spirit arts?

‘There was a reason Friel acted that way.’

Before leaving the Great Forest, there was a reason why Friel showed bits of greed while investigating Ray’s information.

Just as humans desire beautiful elves as slaves, elves also have a desire to possess things that are unique, special, or beautiful.

In that sense.

“…I see your conversation with the Grand Elder went well.”

Ray was a human who belonged to the category of special.

Someone worth watching personally, beyond the task assigned by the Grand Elder.

“Well, it seems we’ve all completed our business. Let’s head back now.”

From now on, House Arielt would observe Sione and Ray more seriously.

* * *

There was a knight.

A knight covered in blood from battle. The knight tried to wipe the blood from her armor and remove the scent of blood from her clothes and body. Unfortunately, the smell of rusty iron couldn’t be completely eliminated and lingered faintly around her.

However, the knight didn’t particularly mind the scent of death that clung to her.

“Lord Abel, after searching the western mountains, we encountered madmen who had fallen into heresy.”

She felt no guilt because the blood belonged to lunatics who deserved death.

She was simply reporting what had happened.

“…I wondered why so many mana-intoxicated monsters appeared in the western territory. It seems they’re finally trying to make serious moves in our kingdom, not just in the Empire.”

Abel Kallia, the third son of Marquis Kallia, listened to her report with a furrowed expression.

As a member of House Kallia, positioned closest to the Empire within the kingdom, he had heard many rumors about terrorist acts committed by cultists in the Empire.

That’s why the current situation displeased him greatly. Places where cultists appeared like this typically suffered considerable damage even if the situation was quickly contained.

Whether his purpose was simply for the safety of the marquisate, or to further establish the west as his own to build his political foundation.

The cultists were beings troublesome enough to annoy him.

“Please continue, Lady Irina.”

Irina, the vice-commander of the First Army who had chosen to stand by Abel Kallia, the third son, rather than Allen Kallia, the second son.

At Abel’s request, she carefully began speaking again.

“They were wearing rags and secretly crossing the forest, but our knights could sense the dark mana swirling around them. So we immediately eliminated four of the six on the spot.”

“Hmm…”

Abel let out a small sigh.

It wasn’t that his gentle male heart was shaken by the brutal word “elimination.”

He was displeased that six believers of the cult were discovered at once. Finding so many people at once was concerning in many ways.

Irina paused briefly at Abel’s sigh before continuing.

“…We captured their leaders alive instead of killing them and brought them back.”

“Captured alive. Where are they now?”

“They’re currently imprisoned in the small security building in the village. Knights and security forces should be watching them to prevent any trouble.”

Abel nodded slightly.

Then Irina carefully asked.

“What about calling a torturer to extract information from them? If we’re lucky, we might obtain important information about them.”

“Those showing fanaticism tend to have quite tight lips…. Lady Irina, can we make them talk?”

“We have skilled torturers. Besides, what they believe in isn’t a pure and good being, but demons who enjoy deception and violence and have loose tongues. The madmen will eventually talk.”

“That would be fortunate, but…”

Abel Kallia let out a small sigh.

His heavy breath pulled the already gloomy atmosphere even lower.

“As you say, we might obtain important information… Have them interrogated through the torturers.”

“I will follow your orders.”

“If they talk, come to me quickly. This matter… might be bigger than we thought. Understood?”

“Yes, of course.”

Irina nodded solemnly with a stern face and stepped back with controlled movements.

“Then I’ll be going now.”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”

Irina carefully left Abel’s small office.

The clanking sound of her armor gradually faded as she walked away. As the sound grew fainter, Abel slumped into his chair with a disheveled posture. When only silence remained, he sank into the leather chair and stared weakly at the ceiling.

“Haa… with the situation being such a mess. He must have known.”

The situation in the west was more serious than expected.

The number of monsters corrupted by dark mana was significant, and quite a few people reported seeing crazed monsters after entering the forest.

Especially the hunters who went from the village to the mountains every day had been warning others. Today’s mountains were more dangerous than usual, so those who didn’t know how to use a sword shouldn’t even think about entering the forest.

Even the villagers realized something was wrong with the mountains and were cautious among themselves. How could Allen Kallia, who had planted his hands, feet, and eyes in the west, not have known?

“Brother… no—”

Abel’s eyes narrowed.

His eyes began to gleam sharply.

“Allen, what have you been doing?”

Abel thought.

That there was something about Allen.

At least to him, Allen seemed very suspicious.

* * *

We returned to the mansion of House Arielt.

On the way back, I gathered information while talking with Pleta alongside Sione. After entering the building with our lodgings inside the estate, we briefly exchanged farewells with Pleta.

She hurried away, apparently having her own matters to attend to. Sione and I watched her retreating figure before saying goodbye to each other as well.

“Then I’ll see you later.”

“Ray, you pushed yourself quite hard just now… rest well and I’ll see you later.”

Judging by the way she yawned while saying this,

Sione seemed to be planning to go to her room for a nap.

Well, this was usually the time we’d be napping if we were traveling by carriage.

After separating from Sione and entering my lodging.

Finally, as if she’d been waiting for this moment.

“So… Park Shinwoo.”

Tania, who had somehow transformed from supreme-grade to high-grade as we moved away from the World Tree, flew to the center of the room.

Thump!

She sat down cross-legged, folded her arms, and looked up at me.

Then, patting the spot in front of her with her palm, she said:

“Now, shall we have a little talk?”