Ch.90The Road to the Crusis Mountains (6)

After raiding the ancient tomb, we began to thoroughly search through the ruins stained with ashes.

Since the place was filled with artifacts from hundreds of thousands of years ago, finding even one proper item would be a jackpot.

However, since the military had already swept through the place twice several years ago, there wasn’t much left, and the only spoils we could find were scraps that might fetch some money as scrap metal.

“So you’re going to haul that stuff away?”

“Of course. Do you know how expensive scrap metal is? From what I can see, there don’t seem to be any iron mines around here, and since these are ancient artifacts, melting them down will yield not just iron but also metals like copper and chromium.”

“…You know your stuff.”

“I may not know much else, but I’m quite savvy when it comes to making money.”

In truth, anyone with basic knowledge would know this.

We wandered around the brightly lit tomb, collecting all sorts of machine parts in good condition and fallen metal plates, and packed them tightly into bags we had stored in our spatial storage.

“Simon, take the Bruiser and go down to the village below the mountain range to borrow a cart. We can’t carry all this ourselves.”

I tossed Simon a small pouch containing money, and he nodded while jingling the coin purse.

Soon after, he was the first to leave the tomb, and the rest of us struggled to move more than ten bags to the entrance.

They were not only bulky but also extremely heavy since they contained solid chunks of metal. However, for someone like me who had experience carrying those damned water containers in Parcival, this was an easy task.

I went back and forth, moving half of the ten bags, and while I was at the tomb entrance lighting a bonfire and boiling water in a kettle for tea, the three women used all their strength to bring the remaining five bags to the entrance.

“Damn it…! How can you have such monstrous strength?!”

“Haha. If you’re jealous, you should try moving water containers too.”

“What are you talking about…”

Lucia grumbled as she sat down next to the bubbling teapot, and Cassia also sat beside her sister.

Raisha naturally nestled in my arms, pressing her lips against my neck and breathing seductively into my ear.

“By the way, half of the 1200 years has already passed.”

“Sigh… I hate getting older…”

The conversation between the two elves, who were massaging their arms and legs, was enough to pique my interest.

Do even elves, who live forever, dislike aging?

They were casually saying things that would make humans, who grow weaker with age, want to pick up a mace and call them deceivers.

“By the way, you two are High Elves, right?”

“Yes, we are.”

“Then why did you become adventurers? High Elves don’t usually venture out…”

High Elves are commonly called the elves of elves.

Not because they’re superior, but because among the various elves with different skin colors and characteristics—Wood Elves, Dark Elves, and so on—they are the original subspecies that serves as the standard.

Starting with High Elves… it’s like a tech tree that branches out, I suppose?

Anyway, High Elves mostly live in large cities and, using their long lifespans, tend to work in fields that require experience, like politics or finance.

“Our father said he’d throw us out if we didn’t work.”

“I see.”

It was a different reason than I had expected, but it didn’t matter.

For some, adventure is merely a form of entertainment.

Especially if they’re immortal elves.

As I poured the tea from the kettle into cups, Lucia, who was holding her younger sister, asked me:

“So why did you become an adventurer?”

“Because I wanted to go on adventures.”

“But why did you want to go on adventures?”

“Why did I want to go on adventures…?”

I took a sip of the hot tea to moisten my mouth.

It was to prevent my mouth from going dry.

*

“Sob, sob, what a sad story…”

Lucia said with reddened eyes after hearing about my past.

For those who had no rough edges in their upbringing, just hearing about the hardships of bottom-dwellers like me would be enough to bring tears to their eyes.

Sadly, this is the world humans live in.

Some have even what little they possess taken away… while others can create something from nothing…

Though they too have lived in the human world, they have lived strictly as members of the upper class.

They could eat when hungry, dress warmly when cold, and rest when tired. They lived as nobles and wealthy people who wanted for nothing.

Isn’t it human nature to consume even another’s tragedy as entertainment?

“It’s not particularly sad. In the end, it gave my life purpose.”

“Then what will you do after achieving your purpose?”

“Find another purpose. Becoming rich, reaching gem rank. The 13 continents are vast, and I’m grateful that I was born a human with a short life.”

“Other humans envy us for our long lives…”

“Only cowards who fear the burning flames refuse to light a fire and long for immortality. To live is to walk toward death. I’ve seen countless deaths in my life, and they were certainly tragic. But I don’t think there’s such a thing as a tragic death.”

Hearing this, Lucia tilted her head and asked me again.

“Why? Don’t you humans despair when you hear news of death?”

“Perhaps. Of course, those who die from illness or injury without living out their natural lifespan might feel wronged. But that’s not my tragedy, is it?”

“Uh…”

“I feel proud that I was born on this earth as a mortal and will die as one. Isn’t it a tremendous blessing that even if I run without rest until I die, I can only taste a fragment of this vast world? I will wander this world until I die, and when I breathe my last breath, I will sink into the land I’ve traversed and yield my place to newly born life.”

I said this while looking at the elves.

We call those immortal races who, unable to overcome the vastness of the world, fled to cities, forests, and underground, elves.

We call those who, unable to endure the heights of the sky, fled to mountains and caves, blinded by the brilliance of gold, dwarves.

I love this world.

That’s why I wander this world, engraving in my soul the beauty illuminated by the sun’s radiance and the majesty draped in moonlight.

I wanted to go on adventures.

I already know that everything in this world has been pioneered and discovered by my ancestors.

To someone, my hardships might be consumed as entertainment, and the stars floating in the sky might compile my story into a book to be taken out when they’re bored.

“I was born in this world.”

In this world with the sun, moon, and stars.

“And I will die in this world.”

In this world with blood, happiness, wisdom, and abundance.

“I will continue until my feet break, my lungs collapse, and my heart is crushed.”

I set out on adventures to the colony of pale trees.

I set out on adventures to the homeland of sand where even clouds cannot reach.

I set out on adventures to the shore where, in countless time, dust has become sand in shells.

“And I will remember the grasses and flowers growing at my feet, the pebbles and rocks being carved away with me, all the lives born and dying on this earth with me, as I leave, pass by, and capture them on my adventurous journey.”

I spoke while looking at the moon and stars shining in the darkened sky.

“This is my aspiration, my longing, my hope. To complete myself as myself, I set out on an adventure from the western port where the sea breeze blows.”

I looked at the elf sisters and put firewood under the gradually cooling teapot.

Once again the fire blazed, and steam began to rise from the teapot lid.

“Do you need more explanation?”

Lucia and Cassia shook their heads.

I sat down again, and Raisha nestled back into my arms.

Clatter… clatter…

And from far away, we heard Simon approaching with the borrowed cart, and we began setting up tents near the bonfire to spend the night.

As the last tent was fluttering into place, Simon returned to us, cutting through the grass, and we began loading the bags of scrap metal onto the cart connected to the Bruiser with much effort.

Soon, all ten bags of scrap were loaded onto the cart, and we put fresh firewood on the bonfire, placed a frying pan on top, and prepared dinner.

The aroma of savory bread, the rich scent of butter, the meaty fragrance, and the fresh smell of vegetables began to waft from outside the entrance of the great cavern, and we started our warm meal while talking about today’s adventures.

Yes.

I set out on adventures.

Even if I fall asleep today and never wake up, I will never stop.