episode_0081

Kriton Region Conquest Complete

“Why are you so surprised, Hyung-nim?”

“Indeed. I understood that it was surprising for a human to come here when Zeke-nim learned that a human priest had arrived earlier… but when you heard that Iruvan saw a red-haired human, you seemed even more surprised than I was.”

Iruvan and Nerha tilted their heads and asked, unaware of the reason for my strong reaction. And rightly so, a red-haired human… Revo, if you’re referring to him, is the human who once destroyed the World Tree and saved the world… Moreover, Village Chief Akada-nim is currently hoping to reunite with him… Knowing that, I couldn’t help but be so surprised.

“Did that man wear a cloak or something, Iruvan?”

“Huh? No… he wasn’t wearing anything like a cloak, Hyung-nim. But I think he was wearing strange black metal armor… I saw him from afar, so I don’t know for sure.”

“…Then it’s possible that he’s not Revo, Zeke-nim.”

“Right. If it were him, there were many things I wanted to ask…”

“Just what kind of human is this Revo that you’re so surprised, Zeke-nim?”

As I expressed my desire to meet Revo, Nerha tilted her head again and asked me. I looked at Nerha and replied.

“Revo is the human who previously mashed the World Tree and saved the world. So I thought it would have been good if I could meet him.”

“The World Tree…! Ah! I know about it from history class! It’s a giant Alraune, right?!”

“What?! But a giant Alraune suddenly appeared the other day, Nuna! Was that the World Tree, then?!”

“Yes… But then a strange light suddenly appeared, and that light destroyed the World Tree. I wonder what that was…”

“Oh, that. Kid. I unleashed my power to protect me.”

“…?”

As Nerha wondered about the identity of the light that defeated the World Tree, I pointed my finger at Aria, who was sipping tea beside me. Iruvan and Nerha were dumbfounded to learn the unexpected identity of the light, and Aria, oblivious to their surprised stares, continued sipping her tea while looking at me.

“Hmm… Was the tea a bit too strong?”

“It’s not too strong…”

“Wai… wait, wait, wait… wait a minute!!! That… that yellow light… it was… it was… Saint-nim?!”

“Yep.”

“…!!!!”

At that moment, while Aria and I were discussing whether the tea she brewed was too strong, Nerha, having regained her composure, questioned me again. When I answered yes, Nerha’s expression stiffened, and Iruvan’s head gradually tilted back, his eyes rolled back, and he was about to faint on the spot.

“Hey… hey, hey, hey! Your brother is spacing out!”

“The… the light that defeated the World Tree… it was… Saint-nim…”

‘Me… I could have… died earlier…?’

Only after Iruvan realized that Aria was the one who defeated the World Tree did he recall his actions toward Aria just moments ago and began to fully feel that he could have died. Yes… I was worried you might die too, Iruvan…

“Ugh… Ughhhhh…”

“…It looks like it’ll take a while for them to come to their senses…”

“Hmm… Zeke-nim. Should I really lower the concentration?”

“No. That’s just right. It’ll wake them up too.”

Aria and I looked at the unconscious Iruvan and Nerha again and resumed discussing the concentration of the lemon tea. An hour passed, and while Aria prepared several cups of lemon tea to get the concentration just right, I checked my exploration logbook for any missing entries.

“Hmm… There’s almost nothing missing yet. Well… I’ll skip Probelithu and Karthun since I have to visit them again… Let’s see…”

“Zeke-nim. How is it this time?”

“Hmm… This is the tenth attempt, right?”

“Yes… I’m sorry. I’m so inadequate…”

“Why are you worrying about being inadequate for something like this? You’ve brewed it for me every time, but not for a whole year, have you? And even after a week, after a month, people always just try to adapt, so there’s no need to be so disappointed in yourself. The important thing is that you’re trying to adapt… Oh! This feels just right!”

“Really?! Half a dried lemon and this much water… I’ll remember that!”

When I said it was just right this time, Aria pulled out a notepad and began writing down the entire process of brewing the lemon tea she had just served… Wait. A notepad? When Aria suddenly took out a notepad, I subtly glanced at it. My eyes caught sight of countless overwritten marks from a pen on the notepad, so I asked Aria.

“…What on earth is this notepad?”

“It’s where I’ve been noting how much tea you’d be satisfied with each time I brewed lemon tea for you, Zeke-nim. I’m so happy this notepad is finally complete!”

…So she’d been taking notes like that every time she brewed lemon tea…? To find the right concentration? I let out a wry chuckle at the notepad, a testament to Aria’s efforts, and Aria, mistaking it for a joyful laugh, grinned widely. Just then, Iruvan and Nerha, who had been unconscious on the sofa, began to stir, groaning faintly.

“Ugh… I guess I passed out again…”

“Haaah… Why are there so many shocking things today…? Iruvan is coming to… and then… the identity of that light…”

“Are you all awake? Shall we stop here for today and continue tomorrow?”

“Ugh… No… Zeke-nim must be eager to go elsewhere too… I’ll continue explaining.”

When Nerha stretched and said she would continue explaining, I opened my logbook again, ready to record Nerha’s explanation. Then, Nerha began to explain.

“We spirits… Have you ever met elves?”

“Yes. I have.”

“Then have you ever seen elves borrow spirits’ powers?”

“Yes. I’ve seen a wind spirit imbue a weapon.”

“Yes. We spirits can form symbiotic relationships with other races. We give our elemental power to those who desire our strength, and we can live by their energy. Hmm… Actually, the races outside say they make us imbue weapons, but that’s not really true; we project our elemental power. And through that process, we receive energy from the one who used our power to borrow it.”

“Hmm… In short, you give power, and in the process, you receive the energy used by the user, right?”

“That’s right.”

Hmm… So this is how everyone can use a spirit’s power. As I continued to scribble Nerha’s explanation into my logbook, intrigued by spirits, Iruvan suddenly reached out his hand to me and said,

“Hyung-nim. You can also use our power. Of course, it’s a system where spirits respond to the call of those who need them and form a contract… but we can do it on the spot here, can’t we?”

“…? You want to do it with me?”

“…?! Didn’t you say you wouldn’t contract with anyone but women, Iruvan?!”

“Quiet!!!”

Nerha was genuinely surprised when Iruvan, a man, seriously offered to make a contract with me. Iruvan, blushing in embarrassment, shouted at Nerha. Then he coughed and said to me,

“Ahem… Hyung-nim, didn’t you overpower me? I thought I could win if I just fought everyone with strength, but Hyung-nim completely shattered that thought. Hyung-nim doesn’t have to do anything. As a repayment for making me come to my senses, I want to give my energy to Hyung-nim…”

“Good. I like that sentiment very much, Iruvan.”

Before Iruvan finished explaining, I firmly grabbed the hand he offered. Then, Iruvan’s red energy gushed out from his hand and began to flow up my arm. Iruvan smiled and said,

“It’s done, Hyung-nim. Call on me whenever you’re in danger… But… it doesn’t seem like you’ll be in much danger, Hyung-nim…”

“Hmm… I agree with that too, Iruvan…”

When Iruvan said that I wouldn’t likely be involved in dangerous situations, we all looked at Aria. Aria then wrapped her arms around my arm and looked at me, saying,

“Of course! I’ll definitely protect you!”

“…Well… given that she’s someone who even defeated the World Tree, it seems unlikely that Zeke-nim will need to borrow Iruvan’s power… Anyway, originally, contracts are made through mysterious stones called spirit stones that appear near springs where spirits live… but you can also do it on the spot like Iruvan just did.”

“I see… So how do you exchange energy?”

“If you have a spirit stone, you can exchange energy with each other at any time. However, in cases like Iruvan lending his energy to Zeke-nim, that’s not necessary. Zeke-nim can use Iruvan’s abilities proportional to the energy Iruvan gave him.”

“Hmm… I see. Do all spirits live like this?”

“Yes. If there are those who need their elemental power, they consider what kind of beings they are. So there’s no need to go outside. Well… some spirits who want to do something do go outside. Finally, most have a lifespan of about 150 years, and like other races, there are two genders. Hmm… Is that enough?”

I didn’t answer Nerha’s question immediately; instead, I began to review everything I had written down so far. When I found a few missing parts, I marked them, and after checking all the contents, I asked Nerha.

“Not yet. Aren’t you uncomfortable when you transform like that? And why are your house structures identical to human houses?”

“Ah~ That. Since we can transform into human forms, we wanted to try imitating human house structures. We decorated our houses like this with the help of spirits who had contracted with elves. And there’s no discomfort in transforming.”

“I see… Indeed… since elf house structures are almost similar to human house structures, that must have helped. So, are there no spirits contracted with humans in this spring?”

“No. Most are elves or fairies.”

I nodded at Nerha’s answer and continued writing in my logbook. When I finished writing, I closed the logbook and let out a deep breath, saying,

“Haaah… Well, I’ve recorded everything… Now, let’s go out and enjoy the culture…”

“Huh? There’s not much to enjoy. It’s a boring village to live in, so there’s only one thing to see. And our race deliberately lives in places like this to avoid being noticed by other races, so the secret of this place must not be leaked outside.”

When Nerha warned that the information about this place should not be leaked, I started racking my brain. But no matter how hard I thought, I knew that those consumed by greed would search this place and kidnap all the spirits, so I decided to give up. However…

“Then it’s okay if only we see it, even if I don’t write it in the logbook, right?”

“Hmm… That’s possible.”

“Good! Aria! Let’s go out!”

“Yes!”

When Nerha said that only Aria and I could enjoy the culture here, my determination burned, and I stood up, and Aria also stood up with me. Iruvan and Nerha were flustered when Aria and I suddenly became so determined, but they composed themselves and said to me,

“Zeke Hyung-nim. Don’t you still need a spirit to guide you?”

“We will guide you.”

“Great! That would be really helpful!”

Seeing Aria and me, who looked ready to dash out immediately, Iruvan and Nerha were flustered, then looked at each other and chuckled. So, guided by Iruvan and Nerha, we visited various places in Croa. We saw that the spirits’ houses were not very large or grand, matching their simple appearance, and we also saw spirits carving stones to build houses. Then, upon seeing a gigantic blue spirit stone, I asked Nerha,

“Is this a spirit stone too?”

“Yes. Anything with a pattern inside a crystal is a spirit stone. This spirit stone is the driving force that maintains Croa, so you shouldn’t take it.”

“I don’t really need to take it… By the way, why is this droplet so delicious? It’s a droplet, but it’s somehow soft and sweet.”

I said, taking a bite of the transparent droplet Iruvan had brought. Iruvan then ate the droplet in his hand in one gulp and said to me,

“This is jelly, Hyung-nim. Water droplet jelly. Spirits primarily consume water droplets made from natural energy. I’m glad it suits human taste too.”

“Right. I was also worried it wouldn’t suit Zeke-nim’s and Saint-nim’s tastes…”

“It’s fine. It’s delicious. By the way, spirits even set up shops… What do you use for goods… I mean, currency?”

“Nothing special. Spirit stones can be considered sculptures that each spirit creates. Of course, there are also those naturally formed by condensed natural energy, like that giant spirit stone.”

“Hmm… Spirit stones as currency… You should have told me something like this existed…”

I began recording that spirits use spirit stones, which they either create or occur naturally, as currency. Then Nerha scratched her head and said to me,

“I apologize… The truth is, this is my first time explaining about my own kind.”

“Understood. Anyway, we need to go somewhere else now…”

“Where do you need to go? If you tell us where Zeke-nim and Saint-nim have visited, we can tell you.”

“We’ve visited Ogfoslavia, Probelithu, and Karijan.”

“…Huh?”

When Aria explained all the places we had visited so far, Iruvan and Nerha tilted their heads, asking back as if something was strange. We, too, tilted our heads, not knowing why they reacted that way. Then, I guessed why they reacted like that.

“Ah! You don’t know what Ogfoslavia is like…”

“Ah… No… We do know where places are through contractors… But…”

“Hyung-nim… This is the final destination…”

“What?”

Aria and I were dumbfounded by Iruvan’s words that this was the final destination. Then Nerha ran off somewhere, and Iruvan began to explain to us again.

“Hyung-nim… There are no more places for you to visit in the Kriton Region. Because you’ve already visited them all. If you go east from here, Probelithu will appear again. The only thing left for Hyung-nim and Aria Nuna-nim is to go west to the next region.”

“…So… from the moment we visited this place… does that mean Zeke-nim and I have visited all of the Kriton Region?”

“Yes…”

“…!!! What?! Th-this is the end?! The Magrion Region took about three months, but the Kriton Region… it hasn’t even been a month yet!!!”

I couldn’t hide my shock, completely unable to believe that Aria and I had already visited every place in the Kriton Region. At that moment, Nerha came running back with something and showed it to me, explaining,

“This… this is a map, you see? Look at this, Zeke-nim. The Kriton Region is smaller compared to other regions. So… pant… pant… Zeke-nim, you’ve visited all of the Kriton Region…”

“It really is… Huh? Is the area to the west our next destination?”

Looking at the map, I was surprised to see the Kriton Region small between the Magrion Region and the next region, and I pointed to the brown-marked area west of the Kriton Region, asking Nerha. Nerha smiled faintly and said to me,

“Yes. Congratulations, Zeke-nim. For exploring all of the Kriton Region. Now, all that’s left is to go to the next region… the Herlos Region!”

“…Haha… Hahaha… Wow… I finally did it. Hahahahaha!!!”

At first, I couldn’t believe it at all, but as I looked at the map, it finally started to sink in that Aria and I had conquered all of the Kriton Region. I began to laugh loudly, and Aria also smiled beside me, looking at me laughing so joyfully. Finally… finally…!! I’ve conquered two regions!!!