Volume 6 Chapter 76, Shock ~ 16
The three of them cooled their post-event pleasures, put on their clothes, and left the dwelling of the Ingolshenes. This was the hall where the battle had just taken place. The hole in the ceiling is still peristaltic as usual, but it is still large enough for Satoru to pass through.
「Now then, let's go back ...... even I said that, I don't what we should do.」
「Hmmm... ...... 【Flight】 is dangerous when you consider my Lord's control of magic.」
「Leia-sama. I think 【Levitate】 is the way to go here.」
Leia nodded in agreement with Solor's advice. However, it is dangerous to let Satoru use that art by imagination. 【Flight】 and 【Levitate】 are difficult to control anyway. Considering Satoru's soul and the accuracy of his magical power, even 【Levitation】, which should not be very fast, could be too fast and break through.
「It can't be helped. My Lord, for the time being, let us go back into the shadows. After that, I will let Solor use the 【Levitate】.」
「Oh, ohhh. I don't know what it is, but I'm counting on you.」
It takes twice as much magic to use magic in the shadows. The same is true even for Solor. Normally, they would not want to make Solor use a large amount of magic power. Of course, Leia could do it, but the reason for leaving it to Solor is quite simple. Leia's magic power does not recover while she is in the shadows. It may not be for a very long time, but it consumes a certain amount of magic power. If that is the case, then she should let Solor use it──Leia calmly made a decision.
Leia immediately pulled Solor's hand and dive into Satoru's shadow.
「Both of you, I'm going to cause you a little more trouble in the shadows, but bear with me.」
「Understood」
「Okay.」
Once again, Leia pulls Sorol's hand and dives into the shadows. Satoru's voice echoed in her mind.
『Here we come...... 『Levitate』』
「Oh, ohhhh ......」
Softly, Satoru's body floats. The feeling of being off the ground is unsettling. Satoru was trying to balance himself by moving his body this way and that way, but eventually he realized that relaxing was the best thing to do. 【Levitate】 is basically a art to make an object float. The direction of the art is different from that of 【Flight】, which allows one to fly freely.
Satoru arrived at the vertical hole by floating, and pushed the wall around the hole with his hand to change the direction of the object. The tree in front of him was still flickering and making small peristalsis. Eventually, this vertical hole would be swallowed up and disappear. Honestly, watching the peristalsis of a tree is not pleasant. The closest he can get is the impression that he is watching the life of trees with a high-speed camera.
『The labyrinth must have taken some of its strength. It must have returned.』
「Still, it's a strange sight.」
Satoru pats on the wriggling bark. As a sacred and inviolable spiritual tree that has attracted the faith of the elves, its ecology is clearly different from that of other trees.
『It is, after all, the object of the elves' faith. We have not been able to do much research on the World Tree. It is a rare sight, even for me.』
There is a hint of excitement at seeing something unusual in Leia's voice.
Satoru was happy to hear Leia's voice as a byproduct of the extermination of the demons that he had undertaken for the sake of Reine and Liz. He thought about asking Solor as well, but she must be concentrating on controlling the 【Levitate】 art. he would not want to fall again by doing something unnecessary.
When he descended, he felts it was about 300 meters. It took about five minutes of slow and steady climbing. Satoru breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the hole where he had probably entered. If this hole had been blocked, he would have had to smash through it. The trouble with the elves in that case would have been troublesome, and it would have been better if there had been no such thing.
There were signs of people at the exit of the hole. More than one. They must be welcoming Satoru.
Satoru, with his hands and feet on the edge of the hole, ordered Solor in the shadows to stop the art in his mind. Immediately, gravity returned to his limbs. The sensation of floating is amusing, but it is not a very pleasant art when you think about the last one.
「I'm back」
The first to approach Satoru, who was the first to speak, was Liz. She hugged Satoru, almost jumping on his neck. Her expression was full of joy and relief.
「Onii-san! Welcome home!」
「Ohh. Look, I promised you, didn't I? I'm back properly」
He gives Liz a hug. Next, Satoru walked up to Rico, and Minerva with a smile on his face―but Satoru noticed that her expression was subtle and unflattering. Behind Rico and Minerva were Elder and several other old elves. All of them looked uncomfortable and restless.
「......What it is? The atmosphere is pretty bad.」
With Rico, then Minerva, in his arms and a kiss on their cheek, Satoru turned his attention to the old elves in the rear. I wonder if there was some new problem - even if so, it was none of Satoru's business.
The Elder stepped forward and bowed.
「For exterminating Ingolshenes, Thank you very much」
「Don't be. I guess he wasn't much of an opponent.」
A few old elves behind the elder rustled, but he ignored them.
In fact, Satoru was not much of an opponent. If it were agility, robustness, and strength, the Mithril Golem I fought in the 『Labyrinth of No Return』 would have been a better opponent, he thought. However, Leia would say that the Mithril Golem is a monster that is said to be the strongest physical monster and that the comparison is wrong. In fact, Ingolshenes, a demon race, has exercised a level of magic that Leia could not eliminate. Originally, Satoru's use of sorcery should have been impossible to erase Ingolshenes's magic, but it was Satoru's extraordinarily huge soul that made it possible.
Rico's smile disappeared and she put a serious face on Satoru, who had put Liz down.
「Satoru. First of all, the Academy of the Wise is behind this.」
「Huuh?」
「This Elder received a letter directly from the High Mentor of the Academy of the Wise. Here the letter.」
Satoru took the parchment indicated by Rico and looked it over.
『To Bauers de Ruijs, in the Dark Green Forest.
It is expected that a large human man will arrive shortly after this letter is delivered. This man is presumably a foreigner from another world, possesses a tremendous soul, and is thought to be quite dangerous, so please do not antagonize him. I urge you to keep this in mind. What I desire is your sympathy to prolong the time.
By Graham Coogan, High Mentor of the Academy of the Wise』
(Hey, hey, hey, ......)
Satoru groaned.
He knows he's being watched. In this world, Satoru qualifies as a large man, and that's fine. The problem is the next sentence, 『Probably a foreigner from another world』.
The High Mentor of the Academy of the Wise had an idea of Satoru's origins――a fact that horrified Satoru.
"He has a tremendous soul and is quite dangerous", and this is the part of the covert 【Soul Search】 that Sheryl would have used on him, and he know they are afraid of it because of the series of responses, so let's not even get into that.
What could be behind this, that the highest learned school of this world has thus warned the elven village of his horror―And Rico gently put her mouth to Satoru's ear as he was sinking into a sea of thoughts.
「......Can I ask you to check with sorcery to see if the letter is really just that?」
Rico tells Satoru in a whisper. Rico's demeanor is that of a cautious one. Satoru guessed that the letter was not presented by the Elder. Otherwise, the restlessness of the old elves behind him could not be explained.
Hmm, Satoru, with a hand on his chin, called out to Leia with only his thoughts.
(...... Leia)
『【Truth Judgement】』
The voice of Leia chanting her art echoes in his brain.
With Liz, Rico, and Minerva at his side, Satoru takes a step forward against the Elder Bauers, who is still bowing his head.
「So you only received this letter?」
「Indeed」
『He's not lying』
Leia's voice echoes following Bauers' reply.
I see, you only received this one sentence - Satoru continues to think.
「The reason why the elves around the forest were temporarily sheltered here was because disaster was truly foreseen. Is that also true?」
「That is all I have been told.」
『This is no lie either.』
「......You're pretending to be a bona fide third party. I don't like that.
To this cunning Elder, it appears that Satoru is using his art. Still, the fact that he accepts it without showing any pretense of resistance is probably his own way of making an offer.
Satoru has confidence in the power of Leia's arts. There is no sign of resistance, and he wonderer if this Elder is only a well-meaning third party who is obeying the warnings of the High Mentor of the Academy of the Wise. That is why he came out immediately when there was a dispute at the entrance of the village, and he also acted in a manner that seemed to favor Dietta and the others. In Bauers, there must be trust in the High Mentor.
『I honestly can't read the behavior of this Academy of the Wise. I don't know what they are up to.』
Yes, that's the problem. Satoru groaned. On the other hand, he probably wouldn't be able to get an answer if he asked Bauers any more questions.
But whatever the case, it was clear that the strange feeling Satoru had before coming here had been set up by the Academy of the Wise. Satoru is prepared.
They will be pay it accordingly.
However ― Satoru looked down at the half-elf girl who was clinging to his side. This is his problem. It's a different story to involve Reine and Liz. Liz looks up, noticing Satoru's gaze, and smiles back at Satoru.
Have I not done my best to keep this smile unclouded? I wonder how my sister Alice, who resembles Liz, is doing now―Satoru thought about that and shook his head.
「Oi, Elder」
「Ha.」
Bauers did not lose his condescending attitude. The old elves who follow behind him are shaking with fear. His sword-point, which claims that they had suffered so much from the demon Ingolshenes, must be fearing that it would be directed at them next time.
「I wonder if you will be able to accept Reine-san and Liz properly as you promised.」
「Of course. I will keep the promises that have been made in my name. You have indeed exterminated Ingolshenes. Now it is our turn.」
『The Elder is sincere in his words, although he is apprehensive』
I didn't want to use 【Truth Judgment】 that much, but―Struggling not to be seen his smiling bitterly, Satoru turned back to Liz with his whole body. Placing his hands on both shoulders, and look at the girl with a sincere look.
「...... Liz」
「Yes」
「Make sure you protect your mother, okay?」
「...... Yes」
At first, Liz's looked Satoru in the eye and nodded, but at Satoru's next words, she turned her head down and replied.
I wonder if she is anxious―Satoru thinks. As Liz had said, she had no good feelings about this village. There will be less visible discrimination because of what the Elder have promised to do, even risking his name, but there will still be many elves who don't feel good about her. What more can I do for her?
「I'll give you a good luck charm later.」
「A good luck charm?」
「Oh. It's okay. Liz is a strong girl. I believe that.」
「...... Really?」
「Really. Liz, can't you believe what your brother says?」
With a huff, Liz looked up and saw Satoru's eyes.
Hadn't this strong Onii-chan promised to come back safely, and didn't he fulfill it? This big brother had kept his promise to Liz's. Now it was her turn to do the same.
「Yes. I can believe you.」
「Then it's settled.」
Satoru chuckled. It may not be very effective because of his strong face, but he still smiles as much as he can at the girl.
And Bauers raised his head.
「I'd like to hold a festival, at least to celebrate the fact that the labyrinth of the World Tree has been liberated. ......」
Satoru shrugged. They were freed from what had tormented them for hundreds of years. No wonder there is so much of it. But Satoru has no intention of participating.
「Suit yourself. All we need is a place to stay tonight and some food. We're not participating. Just make sure my reward ready, okay?」
「If you're not participate, ......」
Bauers replied in a perplexed voice, to which Satoru replied somewhat brusquely.
「I'm not interested in heroes. Just keep quiet about it and pretend that those young guys took it down. As long as the reward is right, I have no complaints. I don't want any honor, position, or prestige.」
Bauers sighed. The depth of this human man's capacity to be a man is a devil's conception.
I am pleased that he has exterminated the Ingolshenes that have tormented us for so many years. We will no longer be bothered by the demons that occasionally crawl out of the labyrinth. Naturally, Satoru will be a hero to this village.
But this man, who had accomplished a long-cherished dream of several hundred years, refused to be regarded as a hero. It may not sound like modesty, but only a man of great character could say such a thing.
Since he had exterminated Ingolshenes, there is no doubt that he possesses a tremendous soul, as the High Mentor had warned me. But, as the High Mentor said, he is a dangerous man―Isn't that a mistake? Feeling this too, Bauers gave a small shake of his head.
「You would stay here at the World Tree. Of course, please let us prepare food for you. Can't you at least let us do that?」
「No problem. Anything else is completely unnecessary.」
Rico and Minerva laughed at Satoru, who replied in a matter-of-fact manner. It was too much like Satoru.
The crisis was over for the time being. The problem lies ahead.
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