Book 18 Chapter 16
Appearance,
Mucheon Luminous (1)
“Rista~ Just give me a little money. Huh? You get regular performance bonuses from the Papal State, don't you?”
Friede said.
“Yes, I can give it to you… but why? Friede, you also get regular payments from the Witches' Association, don't you?”
“Once we cross the Lanoa Grand Bridge, it's pretty much like entering a battlefield, right?”
“Yes, that's right.”
“So, I'm planning to have one last wild night with a bunch of handsome guys. But if I want to line up only the aces in a single file, the money the association provides isn't enough.”
Nils and Lin's eyes simultaneously narrowed.
“This isn't a shrine maiden; it's a complete bedbug.”
“No, that's an insult to bedbugs. That's just trash.”
“Shut up! If you guys weren't shorties but handsome men who met my aesthetic standards, this wouldn't have happened! So, if you think about it, it's all your fault. Got it?”
“This fellow is making racist remarks again! I swear on the honor of my great kin, I won't let this slide this time! Hyaaah!”
A broom and a spanner wildly crossed, forming a wind pressure!
What masters! What a crazy showdown between human and demi-human!
Beyond that commotion, Rista said.
“Friede is probably just expressing it euphemistically, but isn't she really saying she's hungry? And that she wants to eat a delicious meal one last time.”
At those words, Lin slammed her grimoire shut and then, lo and behold, started rummaging for a pot.
“Hmm, if that's the case, perhaps I should try my hand.”
Rista's face instantly darkened. Her pupils trembled, and all ten fingers shook uncontrollably.
The terror of eyeballs flashing through her mind… could this be real ommatophobia?
The next moment, Rista frantically raised her hand and shouted.
“But we are the hero party! We're in a hurry! Let's quickly cross the Lanoa Grand Bridge and go where our strength is needed!”
The Lanoa Grand Bridge.
Said to have been erected by the Dragon Race, this was closer to the realm of mystery than civilization.
Boasting an unreally vast scale, the Lanoa Grand Bridge, with a whopping two lanes in each direction, connected Tashin Island, where <Orbenheim> is located, and the continent of Adrion.
Four carriages could pass simultaneously, and people could also traverse it via the sidewalks on both sides, making it truly a strategic point for transportation.
However, only a very few people were descending the bridge, while those coming up formed a long line.
“There are so many people who seem to be hungry.”
Lin said.
Friede put a pipe in her mouth.
“That's right. I heard from the association that most of the granary regions have fallen due to the Blood Kin.”
At the entrance of the Lanoa Grand Bridge, a majestic stone statue soared.
The long years of wear and tear made it impossible to discern its features, but…
The sight of it with both hands resting on the hilt of a greatsword was as vivid as if it were alive, looking majestic and imposing.
On either side of it stood an elven archer with impossibly long ears, a lavishly adorned priest, and a mage whose entire body, except for his eyes and head, was wrapped in bandages.
“It's the statue of the First Hero Party, Lin.”
Rista murmured the name with a voice full of awe.
First (初代).
The resonance of that word itself truly pleased Lin.
‘It's a shame I couldn't become the [First Strongest Mage].’
If only I had been born a little earlier.
“Sarandis Alter Niceimon. It's said that even demons trembled at their heroic deeds. If they had lived just three more years, demons might not have existed on this land.”
“Why couldn't they live three more years?”
At Lin's innocent yet piercing question, Rista was momentarily choked, but quickly skillfully evaded the answer.
“It wasn't because they were lonely due to their comrades' deaths, was it?”
“Comrades died?”
“Look, that's 'Delinquent Priest Reynolds.' They say he was called that because he liked luxury goods so much, but actually, there's a reason, isn't there? It's said that he did so because he needed to carry many things on him to secretly give to charity. He just gave those luxury items to any child, widow, or elder he encountered passing by. Isn't he a really cool person?”
As one who pursued the [Strongest Mage], one couldn't help but spontaneously applaud a person who maintained such a unique personality to the very end.
“I respect you, Reynolds. I will soon follow in your footsteps!”
“What's that~ It sounds like you're going to commit suicide.”
As Rista laughed, Kies's gaze was directed towards the elven archer.
The elven archer, Sildriel.
User of the Primordial Killing Bow (初殺弓), Pail-Nurea.
- Kies, they say that bow is still preserved in the land of the Dark Elves in the northern Idea Peninsula! A bow that can kill (殺) even heaven and earth at once (初) with a single draw and shot, I want to try shooting it once! Just one shot means childcare expenses are copied. As someone who will soon be a mother, I'm envious.
Aena used to make such puns… thinking about what she would say if she saw Kies's White Spear Bow now made him feel unnecessarily bitter.
“By the way, is this… that Zhurak Kepel?”
Suddenly, all traces of playfulness vanished from Lin's expression.
‘Fourth Archmage Zhurak Kepel.’
The man who was the direct disciple of Third Archmage Orbos.
Thus, he was a master of fire magic and also the founder of Crystallization (結晶化), the secret magic of the Kepel family.
‘According to literature, it is also said that he could use 5-star magic in mere seconds…’
That speed, it would be equal to or even surpass Osaarius-style hand signs.
I want to meet him once.
I want to fight him once.
That's why he wanted to talk about magic, through magic, with a being who had dedicated their entire life to it.
“Zhurak Kepel was the only member of the First Hero Party who lived a full natural life. Since the First Hero Party is the prototype for all hero parties, don't you think Lin will also become like that?”
Lin shrugged her shoulders.
“I have no desire to live long enough to become an old hermit in a back room.”
People were kneeling before the hero party statue, crying and praying, "Hero, oh Hero."
The hero party is already dead, so do these people merely need an object to address as "Hero"?
No help will come from that alone, and the world isn't that easy.
Lin seemed quite displeased by it, but she also wanted to see Zhurak up close, so she left her companions behind and approached the statue.
“If they had entrusted that carving to us demi-humans, its face would still be gleaming, but the stone carving techniques of those human 'Manukis' truly lack eternity (永遠性).”
At Nils's remark, Rista chuckled.
“Then, will Nils make our statue later?”
Nils laughed heartily.
“If you pay enough and hire me, there's nothing I, Nils Blantz, the master tinker, can't make under my command. It'll last a thousand years without a problem.”
Rista quietly looked up at the weathered and faded statue of the hero party once more, then said with a faint smile.
“A thousand years isn't necessary. About a hundred years… enough for Lin to fully remember us while she's alive, that's enough.”
Nils scratched his head with a spanner.
“Are you already thinking about farewells?”
It was around that time that Friede, who seemed to have disappeared somewhere, returned.
“Tsk, I was going to eat some special dishes from the Lanoa Grand Bridge stalls before leaving. But during the war, they're all empty.”
Lin, who had returned after observing Zhurak, asked.
“Special dishes?”
“Don't you know? This area is a sanctuary for sea turtles. You don't know how delicious sea turtle meat is, do you? Of course you don't, you country bumpkin from the Empire. Hehe. Only Pipi and I, the two top people of the Republic, know.”
Sea turtle?
It wasn't that there were no turtles on the continent of Arkrad, but the turtles on the continent of Adrion were truly enormously large.
Unlike the continent of Arkrad with its distinct four seasons, perhaps due to the temperate climate continuing all year round, most creatures on the continent of Adrion were large.
“According to what the Blue Witches say, there's a legendary sea turtle. Originally, that fellow only ate other sea turtles, but 'Light' became angry about it and punished him. A punishment of never dying for his entire life…”
“Do even the gods envy the [Strongest]?”
“Anyway, that fellow's meat is very tender and even mystical, so just by eating it, brain cells are activated, vitality is enhanced, skin becomes several years younger… well, it comes with a bunch of good options, but in the end, it's a legend, just a legend. No one has ever seen it until now.”
The strongest one who became a legend, then.
‘He's a fellow who fits my ideal.’
Just as Lin was thinking that, Kies pointed with his hand to the other side of the bridge railing. Friede, gazing in that direction, narrowed her eyes.
“What is it? Why do I see something that seems to ignore perspective all by itself?”
It was indeed a turtle.
It was a turtle of such enormous size that it obscured half the horizon!
Countless battles were etched onto its body like the wear of ages, its left eye was missing, and a vivid light of slaughter emanated from its aura.
“No way, isn't that the legendary sea turtle?”