Ch.245245. Dongrae (2)

Going back briefly to the past, when we were deeply interested in equipment crafting.

“Sophie, what should we do about our stealth equipment?”

“Stealth… Good question.”

Sophia and I were sharing ideas for crafting stealth equipment.

Some might wonder why we’d be looking into stealth equipment as high-rankers, but the truth is that even with high rank and powerful combat abilities, having stealth equipment is practically essential.

In high-rank battles, the accumulated fatigue from dealing with lower-ranked opponents often affects performance, so avoiding unnecessary combat is, at minimum, a way to prevent losses.

Especially for a druid like me, who can choose stealth by harmonizing with nature.

Typically, when one reaches high rank, even the dullest beings possess detection abilities beyond what ordinary people can imagine, and some mid and high-rankers specialized in these abilities have truly innate sensory talents.

A trained mid-rank scout (ranger) can detect humans under silencing and invisibility spells through subtle shifts in air pressure or spatial changes.

Furthermore, some warriors can detect the undetectable through overwhelming senses developed from their rigorously trained bodies.

However, none of these methods can penetrate a druid’s nature harmonization.

A druid’s stealth isn’t so much about hiding one’s existence as it is about revealing oneself while deceiving the senses by harmonizing with the natural environment.

Considering that most detection methods sense something amiss—the absence of what should be present—this form of stealth that reveals rather than conceals makes it difficult even for them to detect.

But the problem is that this type of stealth fundamentally cannot be used without nature.

The unique mechanism of harmonizing with the natural environment has both advantages—requiring nothing special—and disadvantages—being unusable without a natural environment possessing sufficient mystical power to harmonize with.

While the capability itself might be sufficient, it becomes quite ambiguous when you can’t use it as intended.

Yet, the tactical utility of this ability was too excellent to simply abandon, so we both wanted to somehow recreate it with the help of equipment…

“Gregory, what about this?”

“Let me see… Oh! This is it!”

During our discussions, Sophia came up with an excellent idea.

Her intention—that if there’s no natural environment, we should artificially create one—eventually led to spatial compression. We built a small but complete ecosystem inside a hollow crystal orb, containing everything necessary for a barrier.

By attaching this to a specially crafted living wood staff with a few additional elements, we completed what we now use—the mini natural environment formation staff.

Of course, such workarounds have fundamental limitations.

Not using it in a proper natural environment is a more significant flaw than I initially thought. This artificial nature harmonization doesn’t make one’s appearance unrecognizable.

Rather, it’s an ability that prevents specific identification when hiding among crowds.

Though one’s presence can be sensed, it can’t be precisely pinpointed—it twists human perception to treat me as just another appropriate member of the crowd.

Nevertheless, the undeniable fact remains that this ability is extremely useful and convenient…

‘…She saw through this?’

The fact that this small girl detected something that becomes harder to notice the more sensitive and detailed one’s perception is sent chills down my spine as I observed her carefully…

‘She doesn’t seem particularly special…’

[…Actually, I’m the same.]

Since we couldn’t detect any “specialness” or unusual aspects about this child despite our attempts, Sophia and I formed two hypotheses.

First, this child might be an incredibly skilled assassin or scout deliberately approaching us with some intent.

At face value, this sounds like the deranged delusion of a conspiracy theorist, but the more you think about it or the more you know, the more plausible such possibilities become in reality.

With sufficient capability, magic exists in this world as a means to manifest imagination into reality, meaning almost any method we can conceive could be used for trickery.

But… if the trembling, frightened truth that both Sophia and I accepted is actually false… honestly, whoever deceived us to this extent deserves to die.

To be blunt, being fooled to this degree would mean we could die at any moment without knowing.

Well, we can’t rule out the possibility that she naturally possesses some mutation-like detection ability.

In this world, there are occasionally humans who awaken special abilities due to non-human blood in their lineage manifesting through atavism.

The second possibility, which I found most credible, was this:

If this girl has a high aptitude for druid magic, most of the questions are answered.

Just as I could see through my mother’s nature stealth, the technique can be instantly perceived by someone with sufficient druid magic aptitude.

If she was born with a body and soul naturally attuned to the mysteries of nature—what should be called druid magic aptitude—she could distinguish between harmonized souls and nature.

Regardless of which was true, it would be a shame to let this child slip away…

“Do you accept Western Continent copper coins?”

“Y-yes! I do!”

The girl, who had been trembling fearfully under our intense gaze, immediately changed her demeanor when I pulled out jingling copper coins, responding warmly.

Well, I’ve earned so much money that I can spend several silver coins on a single meal without concern, but for someone from a less affluent household, even a few copper coins represent a significant sum.

If I remember correctly, gathering a dozen or so could buy a hen—a common investment for commoners in this era.

Even if not for such purposes, it’s undeniable that the amount would cover several days’ living expenses for a family of four.

※ ※ ※

Having skillfully enticed this child with money, I briefly stopped at a nearby Arabian-style teahouse.

“Owner, two of your best. And… would a fruit drink be suitable?”

“Y-yes, it would.”

“Good. Please bring something appropriate for a child.”

The man who looked like a turban-wearing Arab seemed displeased when the shabby girl entered his establishment, but his expression melted the moment I handed him several silver coins.

If copper coins are the low-denomination currency used in everyday life, silver coins are high-denomination currency commonly used for luxury items like houses or armor… and even in trade.

Even though prices in this area, including this teahouse, are quite high, paying with silver coins for non-alcoholic beverages is no small matter.

Anyway, sitting in the teahouse, we asked this child various questions to extract information. The child, who introduced herself as Cheong, answered my questions in a clear voice, providing local information such as authentic local restaurants.

Additionally, we learned that she was a child from the city slums with no special background.

And while listening to Cheong’s chattering…

“Actually, my father can’t see well. When I told a renowned sage about it, he recommended medicine.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Since you also seem to be a sage from a foreign land, I wanted to ask if there might be medicine… that could help my father.”

“He can’t see… Well. Has your father been blind since bir—”

The moment I realized that Cheong’s father was blind, I felt something welling up inside me…

“By any chance, is your family name Shim?”

“Y-yes, it is! As expected of a renowned sage…”

‘Now it’s the Tale of Shim Cheong…?’

Recognizing her name as that of a character from a famous classical novel, I could only grab my head and silently swallow concerns I couldn’t possibly share with others.