Ch.30Chapter 30. Harry (2)

# Chapter 30. Harry (2)

As the door of the magic tower opened, a skinny old man appeared.

Long beard, shabby brown robe, and piercing eyes.

That was my first impression of Harry whatever-his-name-was.

– How did you know we were barbarians?

I asked what I was most curious about first.

“The weapons you and that woman are carrying. Those are only used by barbarians. You can disguise your appearance however you want, but not the weapons you’ve used your entire life.”

Ah, so it was because of Lakye’s curved sword and the hand axe I was carrying for emergencies.

The hand axe I’m carrying was made by the Blue Moss tribe’s blacksmith. That’s probably why it looks a bit unusual.

Well, that answered my question.

– Are there any other survivors in the magic tower?

“There were only corpses when I arrived. Now it’s just me and my granddaughter. …Luna, come out now.”

“Is… is it safe?” someone answered in a small voice from behind Harry.

“The god has pledged his honor, so it’s fine,” the wizened wizard assured her.

“…Okay.”

A young woman slowly emerged from behind the wall, steadying herself against it.

“My granddaughter, Luna Winston. A magic apprentice.”

“Hello…”

She looks haggard, as if she hasn’t been eating properly.

Harry’s wearing a loose robe that covers his body too, but I bet his stomach is stuck to his back.

These two were probably trembling inside the tower, just waiting for death.

They refused our offer because they couldn’t trust barbarians, but they decided to join us because they could trust the pledge of me, their god.

It seems that even a god worshipped by hostile forces commands a certain level of respect.

– What’s the condition of the magic tower?

It looks intact from the outside, so there might be something useful for me and the tribal federation.

If we’re lucky, we might even find some magic scrolls.

“The shell is intact, but the inside is empty,” Harry said, coughing.

“Do you know what the demons who took over the capital did first?

They attacked the cathedral, magic tower, and knight headquarters. Flying, fire-breathing lizards attacked the tower. The building remained intact because of the basic protection spells, but everything inside was heated to extreme temperatures.

My granddaughter and I survived because we were hiding in my personal shelter.”

Flying, fire-breathing lizards? Aren’t those basically dragons?

There was no mention of dragons in the community… they might have been demons that existed in the past.

– Do you know what happened before the surface world was destroyed?

“I was a Golem Studies professor at the Serun Academy. I fought against those creatures until all communication between magic towers was cut off. I pride myself on knowing more than that barbarian woman who’s been living holed up in the mountains.”

“Pathetic old man, I’ll let it slide once since we’re in Malak’s presence. If you want to live as ordered, watch your mouth.”

“Hmph.”

Harry lowered his eyes at Lakye’s warning.

It seems he’s lost the courage to argue now that we’re face to face. Our Lakye can be quite intimidating.

More importantly, didn’t this old man claim earlier that he was an archmage?

He was just an academy professor. What a fraudulent old geezer.

Anyway, now I can get information about the time before the destruction through Harry. This is a significant gain.

“Is there anything you need to take before we leave?”

“All I brought was two weeks’ worth of preserved food. We fled to the magic tower in a hurry when our personal shelter was attacked by demons… I have my scout glasses and golem controller with me now.”

That’s a bit disappointing.

So those spinning glasses used to confirm my identity in the magic tower are called scout glasses? It’s fortunate we at least have those.

– Can we take that golem?

I looked at the golem standing motionless beside Harry.

A giant made of stone. It could probably withstand attacks from lower-level demons, if not mid-level ones.

Since it’s not a living being, it wouldn’t suffer from status effects or injuries that would reduce its combat effectiveness.

The tribal federation might get a front-line tank.

“That operates on magic stones, and it doesn’t have much operating time left. It would be difficult to take it with us.”

– How did you bring the golem here?

“It’s not mine, it belongs to this magic tower. I found it lying outside and fixed it up a bit to get it working.”

I guess as a Golem Studies professor, he could do that much.

Well, fine.

– So if we had enough manpower, we could take the golem?

“…That’s true. But as you can see, the golem is quite heavy. The four of us wouldn’t be enough.”

– We’ve cleared all the demons in the area. We have plenty of manpower.

We can bring people from the village where the warriors are waiting.

…There’s also a possibility that Harry is lying, so I should have someone investigate the magic tower later.

We need to be thorough about these things.

***

We loaded the golem onto a large cart brought from the village and headed up to the mountain where the tribal federation was located.

“Damn it!”

“By Roa’s mercy!”

They say it’s heavier than expected. Without Lakye and Kanto’s help, several people might have fainted during transport.

Well, it’s a 3-meter giant made entirely of stone, so it must weigh at least a few tons.

Still, I hope everyone considers this necessary hardship to gain a reliable front-line tank.

“What? Civilized people? Lord Malak brought them?”

“He must have his reasons.”

I thought there would be opposition to bringing civilized people into the tribe, but surprisingly, they accepted it quickly.

Maybe it’s because there are only two of them, an old man and a young girl.

If I had brought ten strong young men, there might have been resistance.

After bathing and eating, Harry and Luna had time for self-introductions.

Having survived on what seemed like powdered grain until now, they ate the barbarians’ strange foods well—roasted lizard, scorpion stew, and unidentifiable mushroom salad.

If I were a living being, I would have had to eat such things too. I’m fortunate to be a totem.

“Ahem. Barbar—I mean, members of the tribal federation. I am Harry Francis Winston, a wizard who has joined the tribal federation according to Lord Malak’s will.”

“I’m Luna Winston. Please take care of me.”

And so, a wizard and his granddaughter joined the tribal federation.

Both being from the intellectual class of wizards, they spoke the barbarian language well.

There were no dramatic events or conflicts, but isn’t that how life usually is?

The unprecedented situation of a demon apocalypse and my existence as Malak have brought about cooperation between civilized people and barbarians.

First, I asked what Harry and Luna could do.

– I’d like to see what magic you can use.

Wizard. I’ve never seen this class in the game “Surviving as Paladin.” Would it be like wizards in other media who cast fireballs or wind cutters?

“I specialize in Golem Studies. I’ve researched only that for 60 years. I pride myself on being at the highest level in Golem Studies, but I’ve never used other magic.”

When I asked him to demonstrate Golem Studies, Harry just showed himself fiddling with the stone golem we had brought earlier.

Wait, how is this different from Earth’s engineers?

You don’t cast fireballs or wind cutters?

“…Still, with time and budget—I mean materials—I can create various types of golems.”

Harry quickly explained, perhaps knowing that golem control alone wouldn’t be much help in combat.

– How long would it take to make a golem if you had all the materials?

“Usually one month. No, without specialized facilities, about three months.”

Old man, what do you mean three months? We’d die of impatience waiting for that.

Still, I suppose we should be grateful to have at least the stone golem.

Next, I asked Luna what she could do. I didn’t expect much.

“I specialize in electrical magic. I gather mana like this…”

Small sparks appear at Luna’s fingertips.

Oh?

“After gathering enough, I release it… Yah!”

Zap!

The electricity shot from Luna’s fingertips instantly destroys the wooden block we had prepared as a target.

This should be enough to deal significant damage even to lower-level demons.

– Good.

Harry the one-trick golem master and zappy Luna. That’s how their positions were determined.

Now all that’s left is some socializing time. Time for “making friends with barbarians.”

This is a process that requires time and shouldn’t be rushed.

“Um, I’d like to see this ‘shamanism’ as you call it, if that’s alright?” Harry glanced at Paya (Muri was passed out from overwork) and asked for my permission.

As expected of a wizard, he has academic curiosity.

That’s a good sign. This is how people become friends, by showing each other their specialties.

– Very well.

I was curious about Paya’s shamanism too.

I’d heard she specializes in birds, but I hadn’t seen exactly how it’s applied.

“Just a moment. I’ll go to the feather house and be right back.”

Paya returned cradling a chick in her hands.

She gently held the chick with both hands and closed her eyes.

A mysterious energy swirled around the chick’s body, then suddenly entered it.

Cock-a-doodle-doo~!

Perhaps due to the energy’s influence, the suddenly plump chick flapped its wings.

Then it broke free from Paya’s hands and flew around in a circle.

That’s fascinating. Did she rapidly age it? Or evolve it?

“Interesting. It seems to work on different principles than magic.”

I was watching the exchange between Harry and Paya.

‘Can you hear me, Lord Malak? The Sky Tree tribe needs you.’

Nix’s voice came from somewhere.

Using the Binding Totem blessing, I transferred my consciousness to Totem #2 in the Sky Tree tribe.

A slightly tired-looking Nix greeted me. It’s good to see him after so long.

– What’s happening?

“…At the foot of the mountain, zombies are waging war against demons.”