Chapter 190 – Learning (2)
Verden had a request for Perne.
But it wasn't so urgent that they couldn't even exchange a few words. Besides, Geltone wasn't just a guest, but also a client.
So Verden changed his priorities and sat down across from Geltone.
"I heard you received a support request from the Adventurer's Guild, did you handle it well?"
"Ah, I apologize for leaving without explaining at the time. I heard that the situation with the Undead was extremely urgent, so I went straight to the south. Then I joined my companions at the assembly point."
The adventurer party, Manha.
Individually, they were Platinum Rank, but as a party they were Mithril Rank. Strong enough to become the backbone of a large-scale subjugation.
Verden looked at Geltone.
His equipment, once clean, was now worn here and there.
"It must have been quite serious."
"Yes, this was the first time even for us to face a subjugation of such scale… the surrounding situation was especially disastrous."
Chaotic escape routes, a lord who fled, crimes breaking out.
Thousands of Undead armies producing corpses, and the bodies affected by the energy of death rose again as Undead.
At its worst, the expected number of Undead had reached nearly seven thousand.
"Fortunately, they didn't all gather together, so we were able to attempt defeating them separately. High-ranking adventurers, including us, took the role of leaders of each unit and moved accordingly… and there was one peculiar adventurer."
"A peculiar adventurer?"
"His alias was the Butcher, I think? A man who had been disciplined and temporarily stripped of his adventurer qualifications, but since the situation was so dire, the guild decided to include him in the subjugation. But then, he insisted on moving alone, without forming a group."
Naturally, the guild refused.
They couldn't afford to let a Platinum Rank-level force be recklessly endangered.
"But then he shouted, 'Isn't it fine as long as I don't die?' and dashed out before anyone could stop him. I thought he was utterly ridiculous… but the real shock came next."
"Did he perhaps charge straight through a horde of Undead alone?"
"Eh? How did you…"
The Butcher, Galliark.
That battle maniac, it was obvious what he would do. Wielding the weapon he had bought at the auction, Hwihwol, to his heart's content while laughing boisterously.
And of course, collecting the subjugation reward too.
"Do you know him?"
Verden shrugged.
"Just by name."
"Ah, I see. Ahem, anyway, thanks to the efforts of people like him, the subjugation ended successfully. Now, only the scattered remnants of the Undead remain to be dealt with, so most of the Gold-rank and higher adventurers have already withdrawn."
The damage was great, but the worst was over.
The rest would be handled by lower-ranked adventurers. It might not profit high-rankers much, but for them it would mean great achievements and money.
It was the natural concession as professionals of the trade.
"Oh, right, and something else happened as well…"
Geltone continued his story.
He tried his best to make it entertaining, and Verden responded appropriately each time.
But this wasn't a drinking party.
It wasn't a place to relieve old feelings and build friendship.
This was merely a process.
By pouring out the events he had experienced, Geltone was once more bracing his heart. Verden, already aware, didn't rush him.
And when Geltone's throat was growing hoarse.
"Are you ready now."
Geltone suddenly froze.
As the murmur of voices in the tavern seemed to fade, silence fell.
His gaze slowly lowered.
With his fingers interlocked and resting atop the table, Geltone spoke quietly.
"All this time… I've thought a lot. About who I am, and what dream it is that I truly desire."
The moment may be painful, but there was no great difficulty. That was Geltone's life.
Wherever he settled down, he believed there would be no hardship. That confidence always came from the fact that he had the background of being from Gentir Magic Tower.
He had never doubted that one day he would become one of the tower's mainstays.
But for the first time, he encountered a wall.
And he was flustered.
He feared failing and collapsing like others.
After much deliberation, he left the magic tower and took the path of an adventurer.
He met companions, went on subjugations together, and before he knew it, he rose to a high rank. It was hard, but fun. He became stronger through all kinds of trials and hardships.
Yet in the end, it was the same place.
His growth was painfully slow, and the light of the Fifth Tier was still nowhere in sight. By luck he had met a Genius Mage and could receive guidance, but it was a thorny road he had never known.
To break the mold…
The tower he had built as a Mage collapsing, that he could not endure. He dulled his mind with drunkenness, and scattered his thoughts with physical pain.
Running away was easy.
And then he met his companions.
"Skald, Vermin, Rubina, Kedian… they were just the same as when I last saw them. Just as they had hired Asher to fill my place, they always hired another mage and carried on with requests."
It was as usual.
Even without Geltone, they were adventurers.
"Suddenly, I thought of this. That even if I vanished without a trace, this world would remain unchanged. If so, then what was the value of my existence… or rather, did such a value ever exist? Was my life meaningless? Will it always be?"
Geltone let out a dry laugh.
"With my head so tangled, I couldn't speak properly. I couldn't even greet my companions when I saw them again after so long. At that moment, as I stood there blankly, Skald came to me. I thought I would hear words of being expelled from the party. After all, I hadn't done anything properly."
But then.
"He suddenly put his arm around my shoulders and said, 'Of course, it's only when the five of us are together that the adventurer party Manha is complete!'."
The reliable leader, Skald.
The mischievous warrior, Vermin.
The sharp-tongued but warm-hearted archer, Rubina.
The ever-gentle mediator priest, Kedian.
And the mage who did his part when it counted, Geltone.
Despite all the trouble he had caused, they had always regarded him as a companion.
Only then did Geltone realize.
That this was his place. And that his dream was to adventure together with his companions, as a single Mage.
"So I made my decision."
Geltone clenched his hands tight.
"I will… abandon the Magic Tower."
The common sense, knowledge, pride, stubbornness, and faint superiority he had built up at the Magic Tower, he would throw them all away.
Whether he overcame the wall or not, he would never return to Gentir Magic Tower.
He would live solely as an adventurer.
As a Mage who pursued magic purely, and protected his companions.
This was Geltone's resolve.
"Asher, I would like to receive your guidance once more."
Geltone bowed his head politely.
A mage declaring he would abandon the grand background of the tower in order to move forward. In his attitude toward a younger mage, there was no shame at all.
Verden gazed at him quietly, then spoke.
"It will be painful."
"I already told you before, I'll do anything."
"You might fail."
"I will not collapse."
Geltone's voice did not waver.
Yes, he had already broken the mold.
So now it was time to create a new one. That role belonged entirely to Verden, the one who had received the request.
"Tomorrow morning, I will wait at the entrance of Sloan Forest."
Not the guild's training ground, nor Perne's tavern.
A new place.
It signified a different kind of teaching from before.
Geltone, who had been wearing a serious expression, soon wore a smile.
"I will see you tomorrow."
Geltone left the tavern.
The shoulders that had always slumped now carried strength.
'A mage who abandoned the magic tower.'
He hadn't expected such resolve.
It left quite an impression, since this was the first time he had seen such a case. Of course, it was still far less than his own title of being the Mage who had broken the tower.
Creak.
At that moment, the inner door of the tavern opened.
Perne peeked out together with the spirit.
"Have you finished your talk?"
It was over.
Now it was time for a different conversation.
***
"Since you returned safely, it seems the infiltration request was a success."
"Of course."
He had prepared, but luck had also played its part.
Had he not found traces in the underground prison, things would not have gone so smoothly.
"How about your side?"
"Same here. Mercenary captain Geul, the mad drug dealer Tolav, the magnate Dario, even Madam Nelita and the other missing ones… they were all big-shot villains, so I was nervous, but my informants worked well in step with the Marquisate. Except for Vintert, the tracking and surveillance were perfect. Almost."
"Almost?"
"There's one we missed. Jarolf, an officer of Geul's mercenary band, disappeared with about twenty mercenaries… we couldn't figure out where they went. It was like they vanished into the sky, or sank into the earth…"
"The latter, more likely."
"Huh? How do you know that?"
"Because I did it."
"..."
Perne was at a loss for words.
For a moment, a chill ran down her back, but she was used to this. No, compared to usual, this was mild. Normally, it wouldn't have been strange if he had killed Geul himself, not just Jarolf.
"Well, that's a relief. Not missed, but dead. Thanks to that, this request can be considered perfect. Then, should we report to the Marquisate…"
"No need. Cland was watching directly, so it will be delivered."
"Then I just need to sit here and drink my coffee, right?"
Perne took a sip of the coffee in her cup.
The ice inside moistened her lips with a cold sensation. It was the perfect drink for weather that had now entered summer.
It wasn't Verden's taste, though.
"Sorry to disturb your rest, but I have a request."
"What kind of information do you want?"
"I need you to find me a skilled magic stone craftsman."
The recovery magic circle Verden had designed for the Elves had a very complex structure.
Simply implementing it with mana as usual was not enough.
The precision had to be mechanical, and the system must be structured enough to respond immediately if an error occurred. What was needed there was magic stone.
Magic stone was no different from an ore formed of mana.
Its usage extended throughout society, and once crafted, its applications expanded even further. For example, like the engines of airships, which linked multiple magic circles together.
Perne tapped her coffee cup, deep in thought.
"Hm, a few candidates come to mind, but I'm not certain. I'll check, and once I'm sure, I'll tell you."
"There's no need to rush. It will take some time to draw the blueprint anyway."
It wasn't just designing. He had to verify it thoroughly, catching even the smallest errors. Most of that process would take place inside his mind.
'Fortunately, no special performance is required.'
Still, it would take several days.
A week at most.
"Will you meet the craftsman yourself?"
"No, an intermediary will be enough."
"Understood. I'll make sure things are arranged so you can start work immediately. When you're ready, hand me the blueprint."
"Alright, I'll send the crafting fee along with it."
With this, the matter of the magic stone craftsman was settled.
Since Perne was in charge, she would properly select one.
Now, onto the next.
"Blue, I have something to say to you."
Spark?
The spirit flickered faintly.
Its emotions contained fear, curiosity, and doubt. This was the first time Verden had addressed the spirit directly.
Perne, too, showed interest in the unusual matter and listened closely.
Verden hesitated for a moment.
Should he let Perne hear this?
'It should be fine.'
There was no reason for the information to leak.
They had already taken part together in the Marquisate's request. There was nothing to hide, they had long since boarded the same boat.
Verden fixed his gaze on Blue.
What he had learned from Drevus's experimental notes, the identity of the "Guardian Elf."
It was the title given to an Elf who protected the World Tree. And another name for it was this.
Spirit's contractor, Spiritist.
"I found your contractor."
...?
Blue didn't respond at first, as if not understanding the words.
But soon, it seemed to grasp the meaning of 'contractor.'
Vwoom! Vwoom! Vwoooom!
Blue flared brightly, whirling madly around the tavern.
Perne blinked at the sight, shocked.
"Huh? Why is Blue acting like that? Just what is that contractor supposed to be…"
"An Elf."
"Ah, an Elf…"
Perne sipped her coffee casually, as if it weren't much.
Elf, Elf… the sound was strange, but she had heard it somewhere before.
'Wait, hold on.'
Then Perne's eyes widened.
'Elf?!'
Pffft!
Coffee spurted from her mouth.
A violet-hued barrier wrapped around Verden.
He would not allow his precious equipment to reek of coffee.