Chapter 100 - The Mysterious Jungle of Ronovelli (2)

["I'm sorry...!"]

Alon could only stare speechlessly at Tovet, who stood before him with his head hanging and a face on the verge of tears. Honestly, he had never expected anything like this.

'This... actually works?'

Alon stared blankly at Seollang. Nothing like the girl whose eerie golden eyes had blazed moments earlier, she met his gaze with a sweet smile, her expression practically saying, Look how well I did!

'... No, how did she catch him?'

All Alon could do was marvel over and over to himself. Catching Tovet was practically impossible. In game terms, this fairy could move more than a hundred spaces in a single turn!

"How did you catch him?"

The question slipped out before he knew it. Seollang gave him a puzzled look, then answered with utter nonchalance.

"I just caught him?"

"... Uh."

'Well, yes, technically that's true.'

But it also left an awful lot out.

'... No, seriously, what was that?'

Of course, his previous experience had taught Alon that Seollang was fast, but he had never imagined she was this absurdly fast.

'At this rate... couldn't she cross the desert in less than two days? No, more importantly... just like Deus, she seems to have gone far beyond anything normal.'

Once again, he found himself awed by the talent of the Five Great Sins.

'... Now that I think about it, were they strong not because a god descended into them, but because they were born with abilities like this?'

That thought made his own body, with even its tiny mana reservoir, seem rather pitiful.

He felt dejected for a moment, but quickly shook it off and turned to Tovet. After all, the situation before him was still unfolding.

Perhaps having his neck seized in an instant and being threatened by Seollang had shocked him; Tovet looked terrified. Seeing his expression, Alon asked,

"... Does that count as catching you?"

["It counts..."]

"..."

["I'll accept it."]

Tovet stole a glance at the smiling Seollang, then lowered his head.

"Then it's our turn to run away now. Correct?"

["What? Yes."]

Tovet nodded hastily.

"Seollang. Can you do it?"

"Of course I can, Mentor! I'm fast!"

She planted her hands on her hips, brimming with confidence.

At her answer, Alon looked at Tovet, who was watching them warily.

"Then let's begin at once."

["Yes. We'll begin when the hourglass overhead turns over. Um, you need to evade me for one minute."]

Despite Tovet's awkward, somewhat frightened demeanor, Alon was tense inside. He might look like a young boy who had yet to finish growing, but he was actually a fairy who had lived for hundreds of years.

'And since fairies come back to life even if they die, he shouldn't feel his life is in danger.'

With all that knowledge in mind, Alon watched the two of them, suspecting Tovet was feigning fear to catch them off guard. Soon, the hourglass Tovet had summoned in the center of the cavern began slowly turning upside down.

'Just as I thought.'

He saw the corner of Tovet's mouth curl up, at odds with his miserable-looking eyes. It was a thoroughly nasty smile.

Seollang, who had been watching Tovet in preparation for the contest, suddenly called out.

"Oh, Mentor."

"What is it?"

"If I get caught, can I try again?"

"Try again?"

Alon glanced at the hourglass, which had turned about ninety degrees.

"Hmm. I believe so."

"Ohh, so I can try again?"

"Yes."

Alon nodded, recalling the setting's rule that fairies were obliged to grant a test whenever a human requested one. Then the hourglass finished turning and the test began.

"?"

Tovet did not move.

Neither did Seollang.

'... Are they moving too fast for my eyes to follow?'

The thought came unbidden, but of course that wasn't it. The two of them truly weren't moving.

"?"

Alon was utterly bewildered. Yet all the while, the sand in the hourglass continued trickling down. One minute later...

"Yay! I won!"

"..."

Alon looked at Seollang, beaming with both arms raised in triumph, and then at Tovet.

"..."

He had no idea what Tovet had seen, but the fairy looked at Seollang with a somewhat frightened expression before hanging his head.

And that day, Alon obtained the hand of the Hand of the Wanderer.

"I have you to thank."

"For you, Mentor, this much is easy!"

Seeing Seollang radiate such triumphant pride filled Alon with warmth.

"If there's something you want, I'll grant it."

"Really!?"

"Yes. Though I'll have to think it over if it's something difficult."

"Hmm... Then can I think about it and tell you later?"

"Of course."

They left the cavern chatting about such small things. As the entrance to the underground prison came into view, a question suddenly occurred to Alon.

"By the way, why were you both standing still earlier?"

"Huh? Earlier?"

"Yes."

"Hmm... I don't know? He was standing still, so I stood still too. I was going to move when he did."

Alon stared at her casual answer.

"Huh? What is it?"

At her innocent expression, he finally shrugged and stepped out of the cave. It was the early morning, with not another soul around.

#####

Three days in Tern passed in the blink of an eye. By the fourth day, the talks were completely over, and the remaining time was essentially for socializing, with no more meetings.

Thus...

'If I'm going to leave anyway, I should do it soon.'

Alon decided to move on without hesitation. He had already obtained everything he had come for.

"Mentor, you're leaving already!?"

"I have something to do."

"Aww..."

Seollang's tail visibly drooped at the news that he was leaving first. She didn't look as though her world had ended, but her disappointment was unmistakable. Feeling rather as though he were watching a daughter's adorable sulking, Alon said,

"Well, I'll come visit you sometime."

"Really!?"

"Yes."

It was an empty promise for now, but he would need to make a trip to meet the dragonkin before long anyway. Having consoled her as best he could, Alon exchanged a brief farewell with Seollang and promptly set off.

A little later, Alon went to say goodbye to Deus as well.

"Ronovelli, you say?"

"Yes."

"Then let me go with you."

... He never managed to say goodbye.

"With me?"

"Yes. As it happens, I have business in Ronovelli as well."

"... What business?"

At Alon's question, Deus explained.

"Reinhardt entered Ronovelli a year ago and hasn't returned."

"... So you're going to find him?"

"Yes. To be precise, we do have a lead, but the knights couldn't bring him back."

"You have a lead, but the knights couldn't retrieve him."

"From what I've heard, they believe he's inside the Selvanus Zone."

"Ah."

Until a moment ago, Alon had not understood why the knights had failed to bring Reinhardt back. At Deus's words, he nodded without thinking.

'... If it's the Selvanus Zone, I can certainly see why the knights couldn't enter.'

The Selvanus Zone was one of the three explored areas of Ronovelli, a vast jungle that remained largely uncharted. It was home to monsters transformed into aberrations. An ordinary knight entering that place would likely perish without so much as leaving bones to recover. Even in Psychedelia, players only began venturing into the Selvanus Zone in the mid-to-late game.

'They could use the blessing of the ruins, but naturally the knights wouldn't know about that.'

Recalling the game's information, Alon gave a small nod.

"Then let's go together."

"Yes. I'll escort you."

That day, Alon left for Ronovelli with Deus.

####

The journey to Ronovelli with Deus over the next several days proved considerably more enjoyable than Alon had expected. When they first boarded the carriage together, he had worried they would travel in awkward silence as before, but this time Deus was quite talkative.

And so...

"... Are we getting close?"

"It seems so."

Feeling as though even his clothes were growing damp, Alon realized they were nearing the edge of the jungle and organized his tasks for Ronovelli.

'First, visit the Ruins of Malaka, as the monarch requested.'

He nodded lightly. Visiting the Ruins of Malaka wouldn't be particularly difficult. He knew their location from a side quest in the game. However, he had never actually gone inside in the game, since the entrance had collapsed by the time he found them.

'Second, find the other half of the ring.'

Alon reached inside his clothes and took out a bracelet. This was what he had recently obtained in Tern, and on its own it did nothing.

'... It was definitely the Hermit's Hideout.'

But if he obtained the remaining bracelet in the Hermit's Hideout, the moment he combined the two, they would become something he desperately needed right now.

Third and last...

'The Forgotten One.'

He intended to find something here that would help him prepare for the Forgotten One. Unlike the Outer Gods he had faced so far, he knew the Forgotten One had already fully manifested in this world.

"Whew."

How long had it been since he finished his thoughts with that small sigh?

"We've arrived."

Alon realized they had reached Caslot, a domain of Luxible, the small principality bordering the jungle, and stepped out of the carriage. From here, they would have to enter the jungle on foot—more precisely, walk to the expedition camp established by mages and explorers.

The three of them immediately headed toward the southern gate leading to the jungle. The moment they passed through it, touts descended on them as though they had been waiting.

"My lord, you look like a first-time visitor. Might you need a guide? Just tell me where you want to go, and I can take you straight there."

'... I expected a lot, but there are far more than I thought.'

Apart from the expedition camp, most places around here were ruins, making the area a rich source of unearthed artifacts. Naturally, explorers and mercenaries full of dreams flocked here.

Alon took a step back from the tout.

"No need. I know my destination."

"Oh, don't be like that! It's all too easy to get lost in a jungle like this!"

"I'll be fine nonetheless."

Only after Alon's refusal did the tout turn and disappear, as though resigned.

"There are a lot of touts here."

"Indeed."

As Alon and Evan were talking, Deus spoke up.

"My lord Marquis."

"What is it?"

"Shall I kill that fellow just now?"

"... Huh?"

Alon was bewildered by Deus's proposal to kill the man.

"Why?"

"He insulted you, my lord."

"... Did he?"

"Yes. I heard him clearly."

"Uh..."

'Being insulted certainly isn't pleasant.'

Even so, wasn't killing someone just for an insult a bit much? Alon shook his head.

"There's no need."

"Understood."

As Deus nodded, Alon added,

"Still, thank you for thinking of me."

Assuming Deus had said it out of consideration for his feelings after being insulted, Alon nodded appreciatively. But exactly five minutes later...

"My lord Marquis."

"... What is it?"

"Shall I kill that tout from a moment ago?"

"... Why?"

"He cursed at you as he left after you turned him down."

"... Don't."

"Understood."

By the time they reached the southern gate leading into the jungle, Deus had proposed killing someone exactly eight times. Watching him toy with his sword hilt as he gazed regretfully in the direction the tout had disappeared, Alon thought,

'Wait, he hasn't awakened, has he???'

... A strange unease began to creep over him.