Ch.4343. The Glory of Sianella (1)

My consciousness began to rise to the surface.

The senses that had been lost in a deep swamp awakened once more to stimulate my five senses.

And my memories, which had remained as faint as if covered in fog, began to emerge vividly.

‘Sione and the Arachne.’

I saved Sione when she nearly had her head taken off by the Arachne, and eventually managed to capture that spider.

Thanks to that, I got a big hole in my left arm, but somehow avoided the deadly poison.

And I protected Sione without her getting any major injuries.

So now what?

Seeing as I’m breathing just fine, I seem to be alive.

But what happened to Sione and that old tree that smelled of blood?

As I sank into these questions with no easy answers, my head began to throb.

Well, I suppose I’ve worked hard enough to deserve some rest.

I don’t know why I’m taking on all these worries.

I smiled wryly as I pushed away the chain of questions.

‘…Looking at how my mind is working, I guess I’m doing alright.’

I should have lost a decent amount of blood from my left arm that was wrecked by the Arachne.

Blood pouring out from torn flesh like a bucketful, crushed bones, and on top of that.

In the end, this body of mine couldn’t even handle all the magic and collapsed from exhaustion.

I thought that place would become my grave when I lost consciousness.

But seeing how I’m lying on something soft and comfortable like a bed, it seems my lifeline is much longer than I thought.

By the way.

‘What happened to my shattered left arm?’

Before opening my eyes to check my left arm, I tried wiggling my left hand.

Twitch, twitch.

Along with the feeling of fabric on my fingertips, I could feel sensations well.

Did they give me some strong painkiller?

It moved just fine without any pain.

‘It feels no different than usual.’

That arm had been completely destroyed, and I couldn’t even move it before losing consciousness.

But now as I focused on my left arm after waking up, strangely enough, there was no pain—just a ticklish feeling.

So I lifted my arm to look at it.

Drooop…

“…It’s my fault for expecting too much.”

Indeed, regardless of not feeling any pain.

My left arm wouldn’t respond properly to my strength.

Well, it did move a little when I applied force.

But it hung limply and wouldn’t obey properly, which made me think the muscles must be damaged.

“Haah…”

The only asset I have is this body of mine.

Having my arm completely ruined made my mood equally gloomy.

After roughly assessing the condition of my arm, I finally opened my tightly closed eyes.

I saw a ceiling.

It wasn’t the tent ceiling from the base camp in the Beltrin Mountains.

But if you asked if it was an unfamiliar ceiling, that wasn’t quite right either.

The familiar atmosphere suggested it was a place I knew somewhat well.

I raised my upper body and looked around.

A large, soft bed that could easily fit two or three people.

Plus, it had the design I often saw, along with familiar bedding.

No matter how I looked at it, this was the same bed Sione used to lie in every day.

Moreover, looking at the room’s scenery that I had cleaned to the point of boredom and frequented so often.

“Sione?”

This was none other than Sione’s room.

However, the room’s owner was nowhere to be seen, not even a strand of hair.

Well… putting aside Sione’s whereabouts.

The fact that I’m here probably means we’ve returned to the estate from the Beltrin Mountains.

If so, it seems at least a day has passed since I lost consciousness.

Realizing I’d been lying down for quite some time made my whole body feel stiff somehow.

I stretched my body a bit and examined my left arm.

“It’s fine.”

The condition of my left arm looked quite good.

Though strength wouldn’t enter it properly, the exterior appeared perfectly healed.

Seeing how the crushed bones had mended and new flesh had grown, it seems a priest must have poured Divine Power into my arm.

Thanks to the efforts of a priest whose face I don’t even know, my sunken mood improved considerably.

At least the external appearance was the same as before being bitten by the Arachne.

I wouldn’t have to frown at the sight of my left arm’s hideous appearance every time I looked at it.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

After roughly understanding the situation.

Only then did I finally notice the Status Window that had been floating in the corner of my vision.

“I wonder what happened.”

With a small mutter, I quickly rolled my eyes.

[3 quests have been completed.]

[Would you like to receive the quest rewards?]

Since I wasn’t in the mood to read each status window entry.

I skipped all the unnecessary details and checked only the rewards.

The reward for the first quest, ‘Monster Subjugation,’ was as follows:

[Your bond with Sione Sianella increases.]

[Siabel Sianella takes a deeper interest in you.]

[Through resonance with Sione Sianella, a small portion of your original power is unlocked.]

[Due to Siabel Sianella’s interest, your mana efficiency has slightly improved.]

Perhaps because I saved her from the Orc and Arachne.

Although the Status Window clearly stated that only a small amount of power was unlocked, I sensed that more mana and abilities had been opened than before.

Elemental magic.

And increased affinity with the wind attribute.

Not only would the efficiency and power of whirlwinds and breezes increase.

Now I could easily detect people’s presence or sounds within a certain distance.

I could find them through information carried on the wind.

It’s a good ability.

But that’s why the timing was all the more regrettable.

‘If only I’d gotten this a little sooner.’

If I’d had this ability before getting a hole punched in my arm.

I might have detected the Arachne’s presence even before approaching the old tree where it was hiding.

While I’m happy to regain a skill I used effectively as a Hunter before.

I couldn’t help feeling bitter that the wind affinity came only after I was already injured.

I shook off my lingering regrets and moved on to the second quest, ‘Reconciliation with Siabel.’

[The relationship between Sione and Siabel has improved.]

[Having gone beyond mere improvement, the reward is enhanced.]

[Siabel Sianella’s talent development accelerates.]

[Sione Sianella’s talent development slightly accelerates.]

The reward wasn’t bad.

Though there was nothing directly beneficial to me, a servant’s pride comes from their master’s radiance.

It couldn’t be bad that Sione, who somehow needed to survive and change the fate of this world, was getting stronger.

Moreover, Siabel, who already showed talent with the sword, would bloom even faster.

If I consider that all these quests pushing the Sianella family forward have their reasons, I can’t be too disappointed.

Well, being human, I was a bit annoyed that there was nothing beneficial for me.

But it was tolerable enough that I could close my eyes and accept it.

And what most caught my interest in this quest was not.

The talent development of Sione or Siabel.

“When did they become close?”

How did Sione, who had been so awkward with her sister, become friendly with her again?

Until we caught the Arachne, I thought this quest wouldn’t be completed during this monster subjugation.

Something must have happened when I collapsed from exhaustion.

…I’ll ask Sione about this when she returns.

With that thought, I finally checked the last reward.

The first emergency quest I’d received since falling into this world.

Emergency quests are invariably difficult, but they give valuable rewards in return.

Without hesitation, I immediately checked the final rewards.

[Your bond with Sione Sianella greatly increases.]

[Siabel Sianella finds you even more interesting.]

[Through resonance with Sione Sianella, one of your original powers is unlocked.]

[Due to Siabel Sianella’s interest, your mana efficiency has considerably improved.]

“Oh.”

I inwardly rejoiced.

Despite all the twists and turns, I ended up getting a great reward for killing just one Arachne.

It was natural to feel good about such gains.

I was pleased that my mana efficiency had improved not just slightly but considerably.

But what really caught my attention was that one of my original powers had been unlocked.

Though it wasn’t specified what it was.

The Status Window didn’t need to explain it, which was fine.

I could already sense with my five senses what ability had been unlocked.

“This is beyond my expectations.”

I could feel the abundant elemental energy taking root in my body.

A cool, swift energy circulated throughout my body with each heartbeat as I slowly exhaled.

The heated air inside my body escaped.

And as fresh air entered my body again.

I calmly and surely regulated the increased elemental energy.

“This should be enough.”

Once the energy had properly settled in my body.

I raised the corner of my mouth.

Not just energy to enhance elemental magic.

Nor some crude ability, but a byproduct gained simultaneously with elemental summoning.

How could I not be happy?

Though it consumes a lot of mana per summon, elementals are worth more than their cost.

Real elemental magic, unlike the shabby replicas I used while painfully gathering mana, is uniformly powerful.

Moreover, since the summonable elemental is none other than a wind elemental.

With the elemental’s power, I should have no trouble grabbing Sione and fleeing from most dangerous situations.

Since I’ve gained this power, I might as well try it once.

I called for an elemental.

There was no need to call it verbally.

Summoning an elemental only requires earnest thought.

That’s when it happened.

Whoooosh!!

A strong wind blew in and hit the window.

Clack!

“Finally here.”

The tightly closed window opened, and a fresh wind entered the room.

The wind gathered in front of the bed, creating a small vortex.

Paaaat…

“Huh?”

Then it dispersed and disappeared.

I was bewildered.

No, according to the standard procedure, an elemental should appear inside the vortex…

What on earth was happening?

The answer came from a Status Window that popped up out of nowhere.

[The connection between this world and the elemental plane is uncertain.]

[Elemental summoning has failed.]

“…You’ve got to be kidding?”

…Surely this must be a joke.

With an awkward smile, I called for an elemental again.

Whoooosh—

Paaaat…

“Huu…”

No, this just isn’t right.

I tried once more.

But the answer was the same.

The vortex that appeared through the window repeatedly scattered into a light breeze before dissipating.

At the same time, my elevated mood plummeted into the depths of hell.

Is this how a balding person feels?

The feeling of being unfairly robbed of something given to you for no reason was not a pleasant one.

“Haah…”

I lay back down on the bed with a deep sigh.

I needed time to cool my head, as thinking about it further would only make me sick with anger.

As I closed my eyes and quietly organized my thoughts.

Creeeeak.

The door opened and a visitor arrived.

Since the only person who would come here was Sione, the owner of those footsteps must be my master, Sione.

Perhaps because I was thinking of Sione, I remembered her shedding tears just before I lost consciousness.

With a heart somewhat more welcoming than usual, I raised my body to greet Sione.

“Sio…”

But I couldn’t finish saying Sione’s name.

The person who came to Sione’s room was none other than her sister, Siabel.

She was wearing an elegant dress embroidered with beautiful patterns, not a knight’s armor.

The cold knight’s appearance was nowhere to be seen.

With her hair down instead of tightly tied up as usual, the beautiful young lady showed no trace of the stiffness she had as a knight.

As I stared blankly at Siabel, whom I encountered again in an unexpected appearance.

She tilted her head with a faint smile.

“When did you wake up?”