Ch.201Chapter 201 – A Way to Survive

Somewhere in the forest, where the World Tree could be seen.

Somnus was watching a battle unfolding in the distance.

“Hmm, indeed. People need to make connections here and there, don’t they?”

After muttering those words, he smiled as he looked at Phobia.

“Don’t you think so, Phobia?”

“Hmm, are you talking about those demon worshippers?”

Somnus nodded at Phobia’s question.

“The jewels that attract monsters, gate scrolls… I ‘sponsored’ them in advance, you see.”

“Anyone listening would think this was a one-time thing.”

Phobia snickered as she spoke.

“When you’ve been doing this all along.”

“Well, good things are good things, aren’t they? Thanks to those worshippers, I was able to meet you.”

At the very least, she was an extremely useful card, Somnus thought.

“Thanks to those worshippers, I was able to encourage someone quite useful.”

“You mean the Demon Lord.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Somnus said with a smile.

“No matter how strong the Demon King is, that level of injury is significant. If the Demon Lord, who had been conserving his strength, betrayed him, there’s no way he could have survived.”

“If things went well, that is~.”

Phobia said with slight relief.

“Honestly, I didn’t want to fight that Demon King.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, I had this strange feeling that he wouldn’t die no matter how many times I killed him. Not my style.”

“I agree.”

Somnus thought for a moment before adding.

“It would have been nice if we could confirm whether he’s really dead.”

However, since he couldn’t walk into the demon territory himself, Somnus decided to be reasonably satisfied.

“By the way, the monsters aren’t able to use their power.”

“Well, since this is the capital of Alfheim, the rangers would have reduced the number of dangerous monsters as much as possible.”

Somnus concluded that there was a limit to how many monsters could be drawn to this area.

“They’re dying off, but with Subject 13 who can use dragon power and his companions, plus members of the Hero’s party, they can easily handle this much.”

Of course, it would take quite some time.

With the elven forces suffering heavy losses now, they have no choice but to fight hard.

“Hmm… I see.”

When Subject 13 was mentioned, Phobia could be heard swallowing.

‘Seems she’s taken a liking to him.’

Though whether her liking him was a good thing or not, he wasn’t sure.

Sure enough, Phobia narrowed her eyes and said:

“Hey, Somnus. I have a question.”

“If you’re asking me to let you know where they’re going when I find out, I might as well tell you now.”

Somnus said with a smile.

“You have a guess?”

“Of course.”

Seeing Phobia’s interest, Somnus smiled.

“You might not know this, but your collection candidate’s weapon broke. Surely, they’ll try to repair it.”

“What about just buying a new weapon or asking the elves to repair it?”

“Getting a new weapon is one thing, but… repairs are impossible here. It’s none other than a holy relic of the Zeolei Order.”

A weapon that could change its form at will.

It was a weapon that had particularly good compatibility with Subject 13, as the test subjects had mastered most of the Emiris Order’s weapon techniques.

“Most likely, they’ll first attempt to repair that weapon.”

“You’re quite perceptive to know it broke.”

“After the Demon King appeared, I was watching that side closely.”

Somnus had observed the entire battle even while fighting the lich at the front.

Soon, Phobia shook her head and said:

“Enough of the trivial details, where is it? Where will they go to fix it?”

“The land of the dwarves.”

Somnus said, watching a sudden storm arise in the distance.

“If they’re members of the Hero’s party, they’ll know how the holy relic was created, so they’ll definitely go there.”

“And can it be fixed?”

“Ah, that. We’ll have to see when we get there.”

Somnus said with a smile.

“If there’s still a craftsman I didn’t manage to deal with while working there in the past, that is.”

“Hmm….”

A smile appeared on Phobia’s face as if that was all she needed to know.

“…By the way, are you alright? You lost three dolls.”

“I recovered Arachno, and I’m tired of those three elf sisters now. I’ll have to fill in with something else later.”

Phobia said this while looking down at the red-haired elf woman she was riding on.

“I’ll make you some friends later, okay?”

“Mmph…! Mmph…!”

The elf doll had a bit in her mouth, preventing her from speaking.

“Well, I’m off.”

“Where are you going?”

“The place you mentioned.”

Phobia said, drooling from her mouth.

“I’m going ahead to make preparations.”

“…Fine by me. Let’s go. Remember that I’ll send reinforcements.”

“Sure.”

With those final words, Phobia tore a gate scroll and disappeared into the rift.

Watching the sun slowly rise, Somnus quietly said:

“…This might be for the best.”

Seeing a white dragon warrior beginning to fly in the distance, Somnus grinned.

“Perhaps I should send a tracker to search for the Philosopher’s Stone as well.”

The person to send was already decided.

Somnus slowly turned his back and began to leave the place.

The sun was brightening, and the dragon warrior flying in the sky began to land on the ground.

+

Several hours after the battle that took place during the dawn following the full moon night.

It was now noon.

“…Damn.”

When I opened my eyes, I found myself leaning against a tree.

After exhausting myself fighting off the rushing monsters at the end, I had fallen asleep leaning against some random tree.

Looking to the side, I could see Ive, Sera, and Chris all sleeping near me.

And smelling cigarette smoke, I looked up to see Beatrice watching me.

“So you’re awake.”

“…Yeah. Good morning.”

“Sorry to say, but it’s noon now.”

As I tried to get up after hearing Beatrice’s words, for some reason my body felt heavy, and I almost fell over.

Beatrice immediately said:

“Just stay leaning there. At least until he comes back.”

“He?”

“The lich. He put a spell on your body and went to clean up the aftermath.”

The mention of a spell made me a bit uneasy, but it seemed fine.

If it had been a strange spell, Beatrice would have removed it.

“You pushed yourself too hard this time, so he went to make stabilizing magic and medicine for you. Just wait a bit.”

“…Will that restore my lifespan?”

“That’s….”

[Of course not.]

Speak of the devil.

It seemed Lumen had arrived, noticing that I had woken up.

[What I did was more like a one-time temporary measure. I can’t solve the lifespan problem. It just reduces the burden from overexerting yourself this time.]

“By how much?”

[Let’s say it reduced what would have been a 3-year loss of lifespan to about 3 months.]

That was an incredible effect.

I could see Beatrice’s expression darkening slightly at Lumen’s words.

“But it’s a one-time thing…”

[It’s made with magical poison that’s now hard to obtain. Once you take it, your body develops antibodies, so taking it again won’t have any effect.]

“I see.”

I had a vague hope that Sera might be able to make a better medicine, but it was a meaningless expectation since he had already mentioned it was a one-time thing.

I should just be grateful for the significant reduction.

“Thank you.”

[…I’m sorry I couldn’t take measures to help you live longer.]

I raised my hand to stop Lumen’s apology.

“This is enough.”

As we were speaking, Fain and Abies appeared behind Lumen.

“You’re awake, Kei.”

[You’ve awakened.]

“Good… afternoon.”

Since it was noon now, saying good morning wouldn’t be right.

Fain laughed at my words.

“Good afternoon indeed. Shall we eat?”

“Everyone’s sleeping deeply.”

“Then let’s wake them up to eat, and they can go back to sleep afterward.”

Fain said with a smile.

Shortly after, neatly cut sandwiches were presented to the party members who had gotten up with tired faces.

“Did you make these yourself?”

“Yes. They’re special sandwiches filled with Fain’s dedication and love.”

Fain answered Sera’s question with a smile.

Taking a bite, a slight bitter taste spread in my mouth.

‘…Too many vegetables.’

There was sauce and meat too, but still too many vegetables.

Anyway, I should be grateful just for being given food, so I decided to bear with it and eat.

“Kei, you have sauce on your face.”

“Ah.”

As I was about to look for something to wipe it with, Ive took out a handkerchief and wiped my face.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

As I carefully took another bite of the sandwich, Fain spoke:

“Now, let me tell you about the damage that occurred while you were sleeping.”

“Go ahead.”

Fain’s face looked somewhat grim.

Soon, she began talking about the number of casualties and damaged facilities.

And then what came next was…

“…We were able to put the elves who had been turned into dolls to rest.”

Fain had fought against Phobia during that time.

It seemed she had dealt with those elf dolls in the meantime.

“What are you planning to do with those elves?”

“They will be buried as heroes who died in battle, alongside the elves who lost their lives fighting the demons.”

Those who had been exploited in doll bodies would at least be able to be buried in their homeland.

While it was fortunate, it was also a sad affair.

“…There were enough casualties that adding those three wouldn’t be noticeable.”

“I see.”

I closed my eyes and slightly bowed my head in mourning.

While many demons had died too, the elves had also suffered an enormous number of casualties in exchange.

[The Einherjar too. None have vanished yet, but many seals have been broken, causing mana to leak out.]

Abies, who had been standing quietly beside Lumen, spoke.

Looking at Abies, Fain made a sad face and said:

“Mother…”

[Don’t look at me like that. Since the moment I decided to become like this, I haven’t had any regrets.]

Abies said while gently stroking Fain’s head.

And then Abies added as if it were a bonus:

[Besides, we have a great magician with us too. Right?]

[Of course I’ll help. I’ll assist with the recovery of this place as well.]

Lumen said quietly.

And then, looking at me, he said:

[Because of that… I’m afraid my ability to help you all will be quite limited.]

“I understand.”

Repairing the Einherjar seals and the restoration work here.

Both were no ordinary tasks.

To put it bluntly, he was saying he didn’t have enough hands to help us as well.

[Anyway, with me stepping in, there shouldn’t be any major problems here. So, if you have a next destination in mind, it would be good for you to prepare to move there.]

“Before that, about this.”

I showed him the sword that had broken during the fight with the Demon King.

“Can you repair this?”

[The holy relic of the Zeolei Order, right?]

Lumen looked at my weapon for a moment.

Then he shook his head.

[I’m afraid I can’t. I’m a magician, not a blacksmith.]

Lumen said quietly.

“So repairing it is impossible.”

[It’s impossible here. But I know a place where it might be possible.]

Lumen conjured a map in the air and pointed to a location.

Sera nodded and said:

“It’s the land of the dwarves.”

[That’s right. The holy relics were originally made by the dwarves.]

“By the dwarves?”

Lumen nodded at Chris’s question.

[Abies and I were there to witness the moment the holy relics were created, so I’m certain.]

[The holy relics are replicas of the hero’s weapons and armor.]

Abies said this and then added as if remembering:

[More precisely, they’re downgraded versions.]

“Downgraded versions…”

[When the replicas of the hero’s equipment made by the dwarves lacked power compared to the originals, the gods adjusted them to allow their divine power to dwell within, creating weapons that were somewhat different yet special.]

[That’s why they’re called ‘holy relics.’ Because they’re imitations of the hero’s equipment blessed by the gods.]

Lumen nodded and said.

[So if you want to fix that sword, you’ll need to visit the dwarves. At the very least, you’ll need to go to them to obtain the metal used in it.]

[I remember it was made with a rare metal that can’t be found in this forest but in volcanic regions.]

I nodded at their explanation and added:

“But I’ve heard that dwarves don’t keep good records.”

[…I’m afraid I can only say you’ll have to go there and find a craftsman yourself.]

[Those dirt-dwellers don’t keep records because they’re afraid their techniques might leak. But someone who’s lived a long time or their apprentice might know something. They’re a long-lived race like us.]

Abies said.

[…If you’re lucky, there might be records left. The dwarf in our party understood the importance of records deeply, so he might have done something.]

“Sounds like there’s quite a story there.”

[Don’t worry. Metis and Lumen did all the suffering, so I didn’t have a hard time.]

Abies said.

Then Lumen added as if remembering something:

[Come to think of it, after everything was over, they took the hero’s equipment and sealed it somewhere. The equipment might still remain.]

“That would be incredibly valuable!”

“It truly would be precious.”

Chris and Ive’s eyes lit up at the mention of the hero’s equipment possibly still existing.

It was obvious they were excited for completely different reasons.

“Anyway, we were planning to go near the land of the dwarves since one of Evgenia’s seals is there.”

“Now we have an additional reason.”

Ive said with a smile.

“We should start preparations right away.”

“Need any help?”

“It’s fine, Kei should rest. You must be very tired.”

Ive smiled as she said this.

However, there wasn’t a single human in this place who wasn’t exhausted.

“This is something we should all help with.”

“That’s right.”

“If there’s anything I can help with, please let me know, Guild Master.”

When I, Sera, and Chris smiled and spoke, Ive also smiled slightly.

Incidentally, Beatrice had turned her head slightly and was smoking a cigarette.

“Then I’ll be counting on you.”

By the time we had decided on our next destination, everyone had finished eating.

And Ive quietly turned her head to look at Lumen.

[Why are you looking at me?]

“I thought I’d collect my payment now.”

Ive said quietly.

“A way to solve Kei’s lifespan problem. Please tell me.”

[…Ah, that.]

Lumen looked at us.

[I was planning to tell you anyway, so it’s no problem.]

Lumen nodded as he spoke.

Soon, Lumen pointed his finger at me.

[The only way to restore your collapsed body and lifespan is…]

Lumen pointed at me and said:

[For you to become the hero.]

He quietly added:

[Awakening as the hero is your only hope for survival, Kei.]