Ch.6622. Opening the Doors One by One.

Forests and mountains, places where human presence is scarce, naturally develop their own ecosystems.

Occasionally, magical beasts stir like unwelcome guests, but even they have become part of the natural ecology in recent times.

Also, since magical beasts don’t always occupy the predator position in the food chain, situations often resolve themselves naturally.

However, the most problematic cases are when magical beasts integrate with native life forms by transferring to existing organisms or through proliferation and infection.

These can double or multiply their numbers and expand their territory in an instant.

This applies indiscriminately to plants, insects, and animals alike.

And since the disasters and calamities that occur vary by region, each country has long made it a quarterly routine and major affair to scout and eliminate these threats.

“The smell is strong, but bear meat is excellent as a health food! There’s not a single part of the innards you need to throw away!”

Luirin, having knocked down a bear without hesitation, begins smoking the meat under the pretext that it can’t be wasted.

“This hide would fetch a good price, but it’s also great for making temporary sleeping bags, cloaks, or making a base, cave, or campsite much cozier.”

“……”

To be honest.

I’m more afraid of the bear than Luirin standing before me.

Even more than the barbarian warrior capable of facing such a bear head-on.

…The bear is scarier.

Why?

It’s not simply because of its size and ferocity.

These creatures have their own natural temperament, which means our methods might not work on them.

Perhaps it would be… easier to deal with them if they were corrupted by magical energy and transformed into magical beasts… I’m not sure whether to laugh this off or swallow nervously.

As soon as the bear appeared, Luirin roared back and charged straight at it.

Then she drove her fist right into its face.

Seeing the bear’s snout crumple like crushed fruit… how should I put it?

It sent chills down my spine.

The entire skull must have been smashed, brain and all.

Yet the brown bear somehow endured and fiercely battled with Luirin for several minutes afterward.

The magical equipment she wore must be extraordinary, as it didn’t tear or rip despite being clawed at.

“That hurts!”

Though the equipment didn’t tear, it seems the impact and pain were fully transmitted, causing her to complain irritably.

Thwack!

Have you ever seen the spectacle of a bear being hit so hard it flies into a tree, only to bounce back off?

…It’s my first time too.

Actually, from the moment the bear was sent flying by that little girl’s punch, I felt something was seriously wrong.

After dispatching the bear, Luirin sniffs the air, flaring her nostrils.

“Draining blood and such would be messy here, but I smell a stream nearby. Let’s go there.”

Afterward, we set up camp in the vicinity.

Skinning the hide took considerable time, but cutting and dividing the meat and bones took twice as long, and even with my help, it was nearly sunset before we could take a breather, as she insisted on smoking the meat.

“We could eat it all, but that would just weigh us down unnecessarily. Since we don’t know how long our journey will be, we should stock up when hunting goes well.”

This is possible because of the magical equipment she possesses.

A coat that can hold contents regardless of volume.

She says it has a name, but she doesn’t know what it is.

Apparently, it was originally something like a tacky cloak, but a craftsman she knows well reprocessed it, repairing it with convenience and practical design in mind.

The way she spoke made it clear she was simply repeating what she’d been told, so I just accepted it.

She was definitely capable.

Despite being only 4 years apart in age, she’s this skilled… an extraordinary prodigy.

In this case, should I call her a survival prodigy, or a genius of adaptation?

…I’m not sure.

While roasting bear meat thoroughly over the fire…

…though a bit large.

Water was boiling in a small cast iron pot placed near the fire.

After dissolving some grain powder and adding dried vegetables, it became an ambiguous soup.

Literally a desperate effort to increase the volume.

With the stream nearby, her intention to properly fill her stomach with water was quite evident.

“Seeing how you move so much but eat so little, I’m sure your master is an elf, right?”

“……”

Master, she says.

At first, I told her to call me whatever she wanted, but when she asked why “master”…

“Let’s say I enter a remote village. Wouldn’t a child born in that village know the paths better than I do?”

“That’s right.”

“Then there would be things to learn from that child too, right? As you can see, it’s best to ask when you don’t know something, isn’t it?”

“That’s right.”

“Skills are the product of someone’s time and effort. Sometimes they even contain a person’s misfortunes, luck, aspirations, and beliefs—how could I disregard that? Even those dismissed as serfs, after digging the earth for decades, become better at it than most knights or warriors. Those with power might be good at breaking things and demolishing buildings, but they can’t achieve the same results as those who make and build them. That’s why powerful people know this well and use their power to control those people.”

“……”

“When I call you master, it’s out of proper respect. Am I wrong?”

“…Do as you please.”

After that, she kept asking and probing about all sorts of things.

However, even when I explained things as the Demon King had to me, she couldn’t understand.

Application was even more impossible.

Even when I revealed the heart technique to her.

“Why call such obvious things a ‘heart technique’? Don’t you have something more impressive? Besides, what is a heart technique? Is it like those mental incantations warriors have? The knightly principles of imperial knights?”

I considered teaching her the basics I learned at the academy, but decided against it.

…The formalized knowledge wouldn’t suit her, and while I don’t particularly have patriotism or loyalty to the Empire… I feel some reluctance to easily disclose arcane secrets or special techniques.

‘If it were necessary, I would have told her.’

Also, I didn’t want to instill unnecessary prejudices or half-baked expectations.

So.

I changed direction, deciding to let her experience things firsthand rather than explaining.

Teaching her this way, I realized it was beneficial both for Luirin and for myself.

-Learning is truly completed and matures when you teach others.

The Demon King said this was a natural phenomenon.

…Even my recent tendency to space out and forget to play the lute was because my intuition was focused in that direction.

But the fact that I gained and realized more in the few hours I spent thinking about what to teach Luirin than in the weeks I spent contemplating and pondering—I’m not sure if this is right.

-That’s what the process is. What good does it do to lock yourself away and just think? Will answers fall from the sky? That’s only possible after you’ve been granted qualification.

The Demon King started saying strange things.

-Of course, if you keep pondering alone, there might come a day when it suddenly clicks, like water overflowing from a vessel… But as I told you, your vessel has been overflowing for a long time. Conversely, the key for you is to make good use of that overflow. Even when religious people bestow grace and favor, even when they practice without understanding, their level rises and enlightenment follows—it’s all about the virtue of filling and emptying.

“……”

Has the Demon King started mimicking Luirin’s chattiness?

“So the point is that giving is meaningful for enlightenment and elevation of one’s state?”

-Yes. Because of cause and effect.

Cause and effect?

“……”

I feel like my head will start hurting if I keep listening.

-It’s like opening a closed door. And those who don’t need to do this are the kind who were born with all doors already open. Those whose doors aren’t open? They need to open them.

“Is that also a kind of talent?”

-Strictly speaking, even talent falls into this category. If you have talent but the door is closed? It festers or rots instead. Want an example? Light a fire under a pot. Then close the lid tight and keep the fire blazing. The contents, whether water or something else, will burst through the lid, right? It’s like that.

This is also, if you think about it.

-Just like your situation was before.

“……?”

Anyway.

It was a journey where I gained a lot.

But then.

Screech—

“?!”

I would wake up from seizures while sleeping, and spend several nights with my eyes wide open.

Whatever that resentment or whatever it was, it continued to stir within me without warning.

“Are you under some curse? It’s hard to see you sleeping properly.”

“……”

For a casual remark, Luirin’s question was quite perceptive.

But I brushed it off, saying it was like a personal illness.

After that, our journey proceeded smoothly.

We passed by a bandit camp at one point, and encountered dwarves and other races, but it didn’t lead to combat.

Still, there were some close calls.

When we reached what appeared to be the border on the map, we almost ran into the 6th Mountain Scout Unit, known as the Beast Logging Unit, one of Dabas’s elite forces, which made me so tense my throat felt sore.

We had to dig a tunnel and wait there for two whole days.

“…Are you used to this kind of experience?”

“What kind?”

“Most people go crazy after not even a few hours, let alone a day, but you’re holding up well.”

“…I’m used to being cooped up in a room and spacing out.”

At least they didn’t make me kneel and pray.

Being able to sleep when I want and not having to worry about someone barging in—at this point, it’s more like rest and relaxation.

Being confined in a narrow space without a speck of light was a bit difficult, but once I got used to it, I just felt sleepy.

The problem was when sleep wouldn’t come, and when I needed to relieve myself…

“Wow, you’re tough. You’re so quiet all day. You’d do well locked up in a monastery. You seem docile and unlikely to cause trouble, and you’d probably work well too. Most importantly, you don’t eat much!”

“……”

Well, I have a lot to think about.

But are those all insults? Or compliments?

Not only that, but with the Demon King also lurking around, the burden of claustrophobia was somewhat lessened.

And Luirin kept whispering, which helped too.

Anyway.

By following Luirin’s instructions well, we managed to cross the border marked on the map without encountering the Beast Logging Unit.

And from now on…

“We need to be careful of Metran Kingdom’s reconnaissance units.”

The reason Dabas’s unit is called the Beast Logging Unit:

Metran Kingdom’s border patrol, specifically the 11th Border Reconnaissance Unit that mainly covers this mountain forest area, is known as the “Beast Companion.”

And here.

This area where the so-called magical trees grow… was also famous as a place where one shouldn’t tread carelessly.

The purple-tinged leaves and branches that seem to sway as if alive… it’s quite terrifying when you first see it.

“The older trees actually eat living creatures. Some of them are said to have consciousness and can communicate, so they’re treated as half-spiritual beings and deities around here.”

Unlike Dabas, the Metran Kingdom is closer to the edge of the continent, so they put more effort into exchange and harmony with other races.

Among these efforts, their inclusion policy of bringing other races into Metran to foster harmony, or embracing interracial mixing, has laid the groundwork for various non-human races to establish themselves there.

…She kept explaining this, but these were things I already knew roughly from the academy.

“……”

I believe this was the third place I visited when I was traveling as a hostage.

I don’t remember it—I know this as information because I heard about it separately.

“The rough journey will be brief. Once we cross the border, we can travel more comfortably.”

“……”

Why not pass through the border or checkpoints properly when we have prepared identities?

To this question, Luirin answered:

“If we don’t cross the border officially, it becomes twice as hard to track our whereabouts. You said someone is following you, right? Since you clearly don’t welcome that, and it could lead to unnecessary trouble later, we’re taking a slight risk to cover our tracks. You might not know this, but information is exchanged at all borders, trading posts, checkpoints, and even some neutral trading zones. Like, ‘Hey, your citizen came this way,’ or ‘Hey, your noble so-and-so passed through here,’ or ‘Has so-and-so been here?’ ‘Let me check… yes, they have.’ That sort of thing.”

“……”

She talks a lot.

But for such a cute explanation, the content is rather grim, isn’t it?

“And this information flows not only to countries but also to all kinds of underground organizations. Even if the countries themselves leave us alone, if we look like we have something valuable, those organizations might attack with their members or send assassins.”

“…That bad?”

“They might kill us for bounties, kidnap us first and ask questions later. If what we’re carrying is impressive, that’s profit in itself, right? Both you and I have magical equipment, which would make us immediate targets. And if they kill us in a remote place like this and bury us, or if we die tragically as food for beasts or magical creatures? How would anyone find us? It would be much faster to give up on finding the bodies and look for belongings instead.”

“Hmm….”

Her explanation made me realize how brutal this world is.

“But if you turn the tables, you can rob them instead, which can be quite profitable at times. It might be annoying if you get caught later, but if you’re determined to avoid that area for a few years, it’s a venture worth considering.”

“……”

Despite her cute appearance, she was incredibly ruthless.