Chapter 111

After several trials and errors, the new weapon was finally completed, the Water of Death.

The biggest challenge in using it was figuring out how to store it.

At the very least, a non-dissolving material had to be used as a container to store and accumulate it properly.

Because of this, they experimented with all kinds of materials they could find, starting with wood, then commonly used metals like iron, ceramics, and more.

"This one?"

"That won't work."

"Then how about this?"

"…Wait, are you seriously thinking of making a container out of gold?"

"It's lying around everywhere here anyway, so why not?"

Fortunately, this Koloa region was a mining area where all sorts of minerals were buried.

There was an abundance of materials to experiment with.

They could even freely use precious metals that were considered valuable in other regions.

Of course, since these were technically the property of House Lavitas, they couldn’t use them recklessly, but sneaking a few for testing wasn't difficult.

Through numerous trials with various materials, they discovered that transparent crystals and glass could withstand the Water of Death.

"What do they have in common other than being transparent?"

"Maybe it dissolves colors?"

"I'm not sure, but I don't think that's the reason."

Even after comparing factors such as the type of material and its strength, the only commonality between the two was their transparency.

In fact, colored glass or crystals would dissolve when exposed to the Water of Death, making Solif’s theory, that it dissolved anything with color, sound quite plausible.

In any case, after figuring out a storage method, they moved on to testing it on living organisms.

From animals and plants to magical beasts.

They experimented with spraying the Water of Death, feeding it, freezing and injecting it, even vaporizing it and enveloping subjects in the mist.

The results concluded that the third method was the most effective.

"…This is something that absolutely cannot have its production method leaked, even more so than the Spirit of Fire."

"Yeah, no kidding."

Not long ago, this wetland had been covered by a dense jungle.

Now, only the skeletal remains of melted trees and a viscous swamp of dissolved flora and fauna remained.

By vaporizing a large quantity of Water of Death and using wind magic to spread it across the forest, they had created an inescapable fog of death.

"There's no need to mention what it does to animals… even most magical beasts wouldn't survive stepping into it."

Of course, sufficiently powerful magical creatures could withstand it.

They had diluted it in water to adjust the concentration, tested it by drinking and applying it directly, and found that even the pure undiluted liquid wasn’t fatal to high-ranking nobles with immense magic power.

However, as a weapon for mass-killing relatively weaker enemies, it was even more lethal than the Spirit of Fire.

Since it was a liquid, it was especially useful in environments where the Spirit of Fire was difficult to use, such as on rainy days.

"Let's wrap up the experiments here. Messing around with this stuff lately seems to be putting her in a bad mood."

"Got it."

Meisa didn’t want to be an obstacle to the development of such an important weapon, so she forced herself to act composed.

But every time they tested the Water of Death on different animals, her expression darkened.

If she saw Turan experimenting on his own body, she would probably feel twice as miserable, so he kept that a secret.

Even as they worked on developing this new weapon, the land reclamation project continued steadily.

There was a minor mishap when they attempted to use the Water of Death for clearing land, since the dissolved plants and animals contaminated the soil, but with the help of the settlers, progress picked up speed.

And so, two and a half months passed since they had learned to produce the Water of Death.

Spring passed, summer arrived, and by the time the second rainy season in the region came to an end, the final area of land reclamation was completed.

"It's done!"

"Wow!"

Solif, who had been complaining endlessly about this place, cheered, as did Meisa, who had said she actually enjoyed staying here.

After all, when one poured their effort into something and saw it completed, it was natural to feel a sense of accomplishment.

When they returned to the settlement and officially announced the completion of the reclamation, Yoz, along with several knights and officials of House Lavitas who were overseeing the settlers, cheered.

"This reclamation will truly become legendary!"

"That's right. The time it took to clear this vast land…"

"It must have been about ten months, right?"

"Ten months… That's just ridiculous. It would have taken a hundred years for people to do this by hand."

Before long, a festival erupted throughout the settlement.

There was strong liquor made from the sugarcane that grew abundantly in the south, snacks drenched in dark sugar, skewers packed with various meats and vegetables, all seasoned with spices.

With thousands of settlers singing traditional southern folk songs and dancing amid the food and drinks, the sight was nothing short of spectacular.

Although Turan and his group did not mingle with the settlers to partake in the festivities, they sat in the most honored seats, watching the celebration unfold.

As Meisa chewed on a spicy frog leg, she muttered,

"It still doesn't feel real. I feel like I have to get back to work again tomorrow."

"I suppose most commoners live with that feeling every day."

After all, except for a few among the wealthy, the majority of people could never escape the cycle of labor.

In a way, Turan and his group had indirectly experienced that kind of routine work themselves.

At that moment, from across the table, Solif, who had just downed a glass of his favorite sugarcane liquor, turned to Turan and asked,

"So, what are we doing next? I seriously want to have some fun in a big city now."

"First, we report the completion of our work to House Lavitas… and then, I suppose we should check on the people we rescued from the island to see how they're doing."

"Oh, that. So you’re really going through with it, huh?"

Based on the occasional letters exchanged with Ashiz, the Aravion-Carmine war didn’t seem likely to break out anytime soon.

And from a recent visit, Turan had confirmed that House Zahar wasn’t making any suspicious moves in Kalamaf either.

With the most urgent matters settled for the time being, they finally had the chance to take care of unfinished business.

At the same time, they planned to travel through the South Sea and search for the merfolk royal family rumored to have fled there.

"Besides, since we're heading east, I was thinking of stopping by your family estate. Looks like you’ll get to visit a big city after all."

Hearing Turan mention visiting House Varaha, Solif's jaw dropped in shock.

"…I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. Aren’t we just walking into danger?"

"You can just use my mask to disguise yourself like you always do, and we also have a few other ways to stay hidden."

Over the past few months, Meisa had been diligently practicing the enchantment magic she had learned from Ashiz.

One of the techniques she had been working on involved infusing power from a wizard of a different bloodline.

While assisting with this process, Turan and Solif made an interesting discovery.

Turan could use the sacred relic as a medium to help create a magic artifact that possessed the abilities of the Wave Rider and Mimic bloodlines.

As a result, they had recently completed a necklace that could adjust the wearer’s apparent age and a ring that could change the color of their eyes and hair.

Compared to the transformation mask, these were much simpler disguises, but considering how rare such magic artifacts were, they were still incredibly valuable.

"Besides, let’s be honest, you’re curious too. Don’t you want to know how your parents are doing?"

"…Hmm."

Solif only let out a faint groan, unable to give a proper answer.

*

After the festival ended, when the settlers heard that Turan and his group were leaving, they clung to them in tears.

Not only had they protected them with overwhelming strength, but they had also healed their wounds and cured their illnesses and now, the ‘gods’ who had done all this were leaving. It was only natural for them to feel sorrow.

But they couldn’t stay here forever.

Before departing, the settlers requested portraits of the three of them.

They intended to build statues and offer prayers, vowing to honor and revere them forever.

After entrusting the settlement’s management to a few local knights, Turan and his group set off northward to Merem, the capital of House Lavitas, accompanied by Yoz.

Unlike last time, when they had traveled on lizards provided by the family head, this time they had to walk, which made the journey take considerably longer.

If Solif and Turan hadn’t taken turns carrying Yoz on their backs, the journey would have taken over a month, maybe even two, at an ordinary knight’s walking pace.

Solif kicked at the damp ground beneath his feet and grumbled.

“Ah, damn it. Honestly, I just want to ride Bije.”

“I get it, but… we’d rather keep our mobility hidden as much as possible.”

Even back at the settlement, everyone knew that Bije wasn’t an ordinary golden eagle but a magical beast.

However, no one there knew that despite her small size, she could pull a steel swing carrying multiple people and fly at high speeds for days on end.

Without top-tier noble-level magic power, a magical beast as small as Bije shouldn’t have been able to display such strength and speed.

Since this kind of mobility was one of their greatest advantages, it was best to keep it a secret.

Besides, walking on foot wasn’t entirely pointless and it allowed them to stop by villages and cities along the way to gather small bits of information.

Specifically, they wanted to find out how far and in what manner rumors about their deeds had spread.

The results were exactly as Turan had expected.

“Our story is only famous around the Koloa region. Once you go a little further north, barely anyone has even heard of us…”

“Well, it’s not really the kind of thing that would spread far. We’re not the only ones reclaiming wetlands, after all.”

Meisa spoke with a slightly deflated expression, and Turan chuckled in response.

If anyone had actually seen how they carried out the reclamation, they wouldn’t have been able to hide their shock.

Burning hundreds of meters of land, evaporating tens of tons of water, and raising walls from the earth, such feats were enough to inspire awe, even among the most powerful nobles.

However, the only ones who had witnessed these miraculous acts firsthand were the settlers and a handful of knights.

And among them, the only ones who could spread the story outside were the commoner merchants who visited the settlement to sell goods.

Naturally, when these merchants told tales of some incredible individuals reclaiming the wetlands in the far south with overwhelming power, the wizards in other regions didn’t take them seriously.

‘Those ignorant commoners probably think any magic powerful enough to reclaim wetlands is terrifying. They’re exaggerating.’

This was the general consensus among wizards who had heard the rumors coming from the Koloa region.

After all, who would ever imagine that three individuals, each strong enough to be considered semi-family heads even within a great noble house, were out in the wilderness doing reclamation work?

Likewise, the fact that Solif had revealed his true self as the heir of House Varaha for a month or two hadn’t spread widely either.

And so, after walking at a steady pace for about twenty days, they finally arrived back in Merem.

“Welcome back! My, you’ve all gotten such a nice tan.”

Rida greeted them warmly, gently patting their faces and arms.

Of course, noble skin wasn’t so weak that a bit of sunlight would cause noticeable tanning, so it was merely a polite greeting.

After welcoming the three, Rida immediately prepared a lavish banquet, saying they had worked hard in the southern wilderness.

There was no real comparison between a countryside cook and the personal chef of a powerful noble house.

For the first time in a while, Turan and his group could indulge in a feast so delicious that their stomachs nearly burst.

“Ugh, I can’t eat anymore…”

“Don’t say that. There’s still plenty left.”

Like any grandmother doting on her grandchildren, Rida smiled contentedly as she pushed more food into Solif’s reluctant mouth.

After enduring this round of ‘food torture’, Turan’s group arranged a meeting with Osel, the head of House Lavitas, through Rida.

Since Yoz had already reported to him in advance, Osel specifically instructed that Solif or rather, his supposed attendant knight, ‘Phil’ should join the meeting as well.

Three days later, just like before, Turan and his group entered the secluded residence where no one else was present.

There, reclining leisurely with the curtains drawn back, was the family head.

“You deceived me.”

As soon as they met, Osel pointed accusingly at the disguised Solif and rebuked them.

Turan chuckled and countered,

"I don’t recall deceiving you. I simply didn’t mention it."

During their last meeting, Osel had never once asked if Phil was the heir of House Varaha, so technically, Turan had never lied.

Of course, it was just wordplay when it came down to it.

For an ordinary wandering noble, such an attitude toward the head of a great noble house would be considered highly disrespectful, but none of them seemed to care.

Osel already knew the capabilities of Turan’s group, and unlike before, when they had needed something from him, now that their mission was complete, they stood on equal footing.

"Fine, let’s say I let that slide. But what about my sister? You definitely deceived her."

"I already apologized for that. Fortunately, she was very understanding."

"Hmph. You’d better not take my sister’s kindness for granted. If there’s one thing I despise, it’s people who try to use her for their own gain."

As Turan had sensed before, Osel’s attachment to Rida was rather excessive.

It wasn’t particularly strange for someone to feel a motherly affection toward a cousin they had personally nursed as an infant.

After sulking like a child, Osel regained his composure and spoke as the head of House Lavitas once more.

"Anyway, I’ve already received Yoz’s report. The three of you barely rested and worked tirelessly to complete everything. And along the way, you even gathered people to establish a settlement, creating a sustainable revenue structure."

"Yes. We received advice that this approach would help maintain the reclaimed land. He is quite capable, I must say."

"There’s always a reason when the head of a great noble house takes a mere knight as a trusted aide."

Osel's arrogant phrasing, praising his subordinate while elevating himself, made them chuckle briefly. But then, he suddenly turned serious and looked at them intently.

"That being said, would you be willing to take on another request?"

"A request?"

"Our debts to each other may be settled, but that doesn’t mean you won’t need help again in the future. Last time, I allowed you to defer payment for the treatment because of my sister. This time, I’m asking if you’d like to pay in advance."

In other words, he needed their strength, but he either lacked sufficient payment or simply didn’t want to compensate them properly. Instead, he was offering a vague promise of free medical treatment in the future as currency.

Turan glanced at his two companions to gauge their opinions before nodding.

"I’m open to hearing you out first. But does it align with the conditions I mentioned before?"

"Yes. It's catching a thief. A sufficiently righteous deed."

Catching a thief.

It sounded simple enough, but if the head of a great noble house was requesting outside help instead of handling it personally, it was unlikely to be easy.

Turan remained expressionless as he waited for Osel to elaborate.

"A man named Moroz Lavitas, a distant relative of mine, recently fled with an important sacred relic belonging to the family."

"By sacred relic, you mean......"

"Yes. The very one my sister promised you."

It was the same sacred relic Rida had agreed to give Turan if he brought back the white elf necromancer, an artifact that continuously imbued its owner with the powers of healing and purification.

Not just Turan, but several promising nobles had been promised that relic.

"And how did this happen?"

"It’s an internal family matter, but… tch, fine. You wouldn’t accept that as an answer, would you? The bastard fell in love with a knight and stole the relic because he didn’t want his lover to die of old age. As if that would change anything, when time comes, they’ll die just the same."

From what Turan had previously heard, if a commoner used the relic, their lifespan would extend to about 130 years.

A knight’s lifespan would likely be slightly longer.

Perhaps even close to that of a noble.

It was quite a romantic reason, to be sure, but stealing a sacred relic from the family and fleeing was undeniably a serious crime.

"How strong is this thief?"

"A little weaker than my sister."

That would put him somewhere in the upper-mid tier.

He was undoubtedly a formidable wizard, but for anyone in Turan’s group, defeating someone of that caliber wouldn’t be difficult.

However…

"We don’t know his exact whereabouts."

"The last sighting reported that he boarded a ship heading east. Beyond our family’s territory, where he went is unknown."

That was essentially the same as saying he could be anywhere in the world.

The only fortunate thing was that his escape route happened to align with Turan’s next planned destination.

"What’s the deadline? And what’s the reward for retrieving it?"

"Unlimited."

At that brief response, Turan’s eyebrow twitched slightly.

Osel, now with a serious expression, continued.

"Whenever you find it, just bring it back. As for the reward, no matter who you bring, no matter how severe the injuries, I will use my full power to heal them. I understand that this task warrants such a price."

For House Lavitas, which already had an abundance of healers, this lost sacred relic wasn’t an absolutely essential item.

However, if someone ever succeeded in bringing a necromancer skilled in spirit summoning, the relic was supposed to be their payment.

Considering that such an individual could play a crucial role in the family’s long-cherished dream of immortality, they had to recover it at any cost.

"Understood. I can’t promise to drop everything to search for it immediately, but I’ll retrieve it if the opportunity arises."

"Good. I’m entrusting this to you because I trust you. You’ve already completed a request with integrity after receiving compensation."

If they had been unreliable, instead of returning the relic and collecting their reward, they might have tried to keep it for themselves.

A sacred relic that halted physical aging was valuable enough to tempt anyone.

Aware of this, Osel casually added,

"That relic permanently grants healing and purification effects without cost, but its actual healing power isn’t particularly strong. For injuries like last time, you’d still need my help."

"I’ll keep that in mind. But before we move on, I have one more question."

"What is it?"

"Are we free to deal with his magic power as we see fit?"

At Turan’s question, Osel let out an amused chuckle.

"Well, if you find him far away, capturing him alive would be troublesome… As long as the relic is recovered, I don’t care. Besides, someone of his level wouldn’t be of much use to you anyway. Do as you wish."

"Understood."

Turan nodded, idly toying with the Mimic Relic hanging from his chest.

It seemed he would have to make room for another one soon.