Ch.298298. Forbidden Mountain (1)

Thus, after completing the healing, we stayed in this mountain village for several days.

“It will take some time until you’re fully recovered. Until then, please stay here.”

[Thank you, truly thank you….]

Since the condition of the contract I made with Mountain Lord—using my soul as collateral—was his complete recovery, I couldn’t leave carelessly until his Time Sickness was fully cured. And Time Sickness isn’t the type of illness that heals quickly.

Although we had significantly improved his condition by prescribing Time Herb to accelerate his physical growth, traces of the Time Sickness still remained in Mountain Lord’s body.

Even though we had somewhat restored the balance between body and soul, delicate adjustments were still needed for proper harmonization, meaning the healing process required a certain amount of time.

Particularly, the Time Herb used to treat Time Sickness is, strictly speaking, a poisonous plant used for assassinations. Beyond its unique effect of forcing rapid aging, the plant itself contains toxins that affect living beings.

Therefore, administering it recklessly could cause troublesome poisoning symptoms and the side effect of excessive physical growth acceleration. This process needed to be carried out with utmost caution and composure, which is why it took time.

Ah, of course, this doesn’t mean I suffered any loss by staying here longer than necessary.

Since I came here on a journey without any particular time constraints, I had plenty of time and no need to rush. Besides, I needed time to gather information about growing and cultivating meat fruits, so I simply accepted the situation.

Especially since information about meat fruit cultivation methods and ecology might be difficult to obtain after leaving this place, this patient information-gathering process was absolutely necessary….

During this process, I came across a very interesting story.

For instance, about the origin of the trees that produce these meat fruits.

“Wonsim, I have something to ask.”

[Yes, Sir Gregory.]

“These meat fruits… where exactly did this plant come from?”

I asked about the origin of the meat fruits while conversing with ‘Wonsim,’ a beast that resembled Aul Bear, who according to himself was the person in charge of the meat fruit orchard.

This peculiar characteristic—animal substances produced from plant material—was difficult to find even in the New Continent, which is why Wonsim’s answer to my question was quite unexpected.

[To be honest, we don’t know the details either.]

“…Is that so?”

[Yes. They existed even before I was born…. I’ve heard they were brought by the previous owner, before Mountain Lord became the master.]

“I see. Then that owner was….”

[A bull-type beast… from what I understand. I’ve heard he passed away from old age before I was born.]

“…I see.”

Someone from outside deliberately brought in an unidentified crop. This alone sounded extremely suspicious, but could I really ignore something that had been proven completely harmless?

Therefore, I realized that the backstory of these meat fruits was not something to be taken lightly, which made me feel the need to be more cautious in handling them.

Both my animal instinct and Sophia’s ability to read fate were telling me the same thing:

It was undoubtedly true that some ominous external entity had taken interest in this place, suggesting that abusing the meat fruits would not be a good choice.

But regardless of that, at this point, we were preparing to leave this village.

Mountain Lord’s Time Sickness had been cured, and we now had complete knowledge of the meat fruit seeds and cultivation methods.

“Thank you for everything.”

[No, not at all! We are the ones who should thank you, Sir Gregory, for showing mercy and treating our lord!]

Thus, we were able to… simply finish our business and depart from this village to continue our journey toward the Forbidden Mountain.

※ ※ ※

After leaving Mountain Lord’s realm, our journey continued peacefully for a while.

What should have been a short journey had already involved me in more than two incidents during that short distance, so I couldn’t possibly just travel normally….

Therefore, after getting off the carriage for this trip, I decided to ride Tarask in stealth mode to cross the Forbidden Mountain.

Exhausted by the incidents of the past few days, Sophia and I were in agreement that we wanted to head straight to the Forbidden Mountain regardless of what might happen.

Even though getting involved in all sorts of incidents during our travels had become routine for us, it was impossible to stay positive after encountering major incidents one after another on what was supposed to be a sightseeing trip.

Anyway, how much time had passed since we set out on this journey?

“Whew, how long has it been since we had such a peaceful journey?”

“I know….”

As we chatted leisurely on the terrace section of Tarask’s back—a space where we could look outside from within—we suddenly realized that these words might become seeds of misfortune, and our faces turned pale.

“Nah… that won’t happen, right?”

“…Gregory. Saying things like that makes me more anxious.”

This couldn’t go on. This was too much. No matter how unstable and crazy this world might be, if something else were to happen in this already chaotic situation, I would just get irritated.

So, with our nerves on high alert, we tried our best to avoid any incidents….

Perhaps thanks to that, we were finally able to set foot at the entrance of the Forbidden Mountain without any major problems.

The Forbidden Mountain. Famous in the Kingdom of Kore for its exceptionally beautiful scenery, this mountain was, like other mountains, a small realm-like area belonging to the massive realm known as a mountain range.

But its landscape was incomparable to other realms.

The scenery here vividly demonstrated what it meant for the Kingdom of Kore’s distinct four seasons to coexist simultaneously. To put it simply, it felt as though all four seasons coexisted within a single mountain (realm).

On one side of the mountain, thick snow had fallen and accumulated with frozen streams visible, while right next to it, colorful autumn leaves could be seen, and beside that, beautiful apple blossoms or peach blossoms bloomed, creating a spring atmosphere.

Particularly, if left alone, these seasons might have appeared patchy and worse than uniformity, but somehow they maintained a good balance, highlighting their aesthetic beauty.

Considering that color combinations can easily look tacky rather than beautiful if not done right….

“Gregory… this place….”

“…Yeah. It was… truly worth all the trouble we went through to get here.”

As our exchange suggested, the Forbidden Mountain was definitely worth visiting at least once to enjoy its scenery.

And… since we had come all this way, it would be a shame to just look at it from a distance and move on.

So the two of us, holding hands, got down to the ground and happily started walking into the forest of the Forbidden Mountain to experience it firsthand.

The scenery of the Forbidden Mountain that Sophia and I saw while walking through it with Natural Concealment activated was beautiful even up close.

We observed the native beasts that only inhabit the Forbidden Mountain and marveled at how its mysterious structure had formed naturally.

As we appreciated the mysterious flows and unique natural landscapes formed within the Forbidden Mountain, we were smiling at each other, enjoying the rare uninterrupted moment when…

This pleasant atmosphere was suddenly shattered by some inconsiderate beings.

—BANG!!

A sudden explosion echoed through the previously peaceful forest. This sound, unmistakably that of gunpowder exploding, became a factor that we simply couldn’t ignore.

“…Sophia.”

“Yes, I understand. We have no choice.”

Even if it’s outside our usual area of activity, we should protect nature… at least prevent poachers from running wild, shouldn’t we?

Especially since the Forbidden Mountain, from what I had learned beforehand, was under the direct control of the monarch by royal decree, with hunting, poaching, and gathering all prohibited—making this clearly an illegal activity.

Therefore, though it was a bit sudden, the two of us decided to do a good deed and quickly crossed through the forest toward the source of the explosion.