< 55. Baidian Mountains (4) >
#55
Ronan’s eyes widened. The woman was definitely talking about the temple of Sarante. Eventually a sharp remark came out from between her chapped lips.
“Sa Sarante…take me to him….”
“Do you know Sarante?”
Instead of answering the woman lowered her head. Even when I shook her shoulder she only let out a gasp and couldn’t open her eyes. She must have lost consciousness again as she couldn’t see any mana.
“Damn I’m in a bad state.”
“I’ll take you there.”
“I have the fastest feet. “I’ll be back soon so join Asher and wait.”
Ronan lifted the woman up and kicked her swearing at her. She didn’t know why a noble race like the elves would crawl to a place like this and die but she couldn’t leave it alone. He said looking back at Marya and Braum.
“Don’t get hurt doing something stupid.”
Ronan left those words and started running. Even with only one person riding on it it climbed the mountain as fast as a squirrel. Braum looking at his back chuckled.
“You’re such a good junior.”
“huh. “It’s because you have a dirty mouth and are insensitive.”
“We can’t just sit still. “Let’s go quickly.”
Nodding her head Marya looked up at the sky. The bombardment of Asher was still in progress.
“That’s amazing you’re so cute.”
Perhaps due to the influence of her ley line her telekinesis became much stronger. It almost felt like the orcs who were swept away by the river were in a better situation. Two people carrying large swords walked forward.
****
“Sarante!”
“Surprise. Ronan?”
Ronan arrived at the temple in less than thirty minutes. Saran Te who was cleaning Seniel’s statue looked surprised and turned her head. His eyes widened when he saw the bound elf woman.
“That person..?”
“I was just rolling around the orc village like this. “He called your name right before he passed out so I brought him to you.”
“You found me? “What are you talking about about the orc village?”
“Damn it just take a look. “It doesn’t look very good.”
Ronan carefully laid her down on the long chair. Luckily for her she was still breathing. Sarante seeing her woman’s face exclaimed in astonishment.
“Oh my god Brigia…!”
“Do you know someone?”
“yes. One of the pilgrims. “The last time I saw you was about two hundred years ago so how did something like this happen…!”
Sarante explained that she like herself is a believer in Seniel. Pilgrims regularly go on pilgrimages to find the statue of Seniel but they say they may have encountered some misfortune on their way here.
“Now is not the time. wait a minute.”
Sarante stopped speaking and hurriedly ran inside the temple. When he returned he held a small jar in his hand.
Inside the jar was a thick liquid like honey and when she was fed it the woman’s complexion clearly improved. Sarante muttered wiping the sweat from his forehead.
“Huh…I guess I just spent an hour.”
“What the fuck happened? “The potion doesn’t work well. Are you okay?”
“I don’t know either. However judging from the symptoms it seemed like he was poisoned so I gave him a neutralizer.”
“Poison?”
“yes. “It looks like a type of poison that seeps into mana but I don’t know where I came across such a powerful poison.”
“Then what is this rope? “Even if I cut it like a saw it wouldn’t cut.”
“This…is definitely….”
Sarante looked at the rope. Her usual softness was nowhere to be seen in her distorted expression. Eventually Sarante put his hand on the rope and muttered something.
“Huh?”
The rope which had not broken even with La Mancha began to unravel on its own like a snake that has finished mating. Ronan’s eyes widened.
“What did you do?”
“Fortunately this spell was correct. It is a very old magic tool. “It was a natural thing that I couldn’t cut.”
Having thus explained Sarante picked up her Brigia and laid her on her bed in her own room. He breathed a sigh of relief after placing a wet towel on Brigia’s forehead.
“Whew… I did everything I could. “You did a great job.”
“What happened to that woman?”
“Like I said I don’t know. “I think we’ll have to wait until he wakes up.”
“There’s a lot going on.”
Sarante said she could not possibly guess how Brigia who had lived a similar time as herself ended up like that. After barely catching his breath he asked Ronan.
“Then why did you approach the orc village?”
“yes?”
“Thank you so much for saving Brigia. I just want to hear this. Was there any reason to go to that dangerous place? What if she was wrong?”
I was speechless for a moment. I never thought I would be criticized even though I said I intentionally found it in the surrounding area rather than inside the village. He probably felt like scolding his great-grandchild who was playing near the water.
“that is….”
“that is?”
Ronan trailed off his horse. If I told the truth I would definitely be treated as a crazy person. How can you say that you went to annihilate the orcs and ogres that are likely to destroy your temple in the near future? Ronan who was quickly shaking his head opened his mouth.
“I was just looking around and found my feet. “I’ll be careful.”
“Looking around? Are you looking for something?”
“Hmm…Do you know of a monster called Curse Eye?”
Ronan explained that his friend had been cursed and that he had come to capture Curse Eye to break the curse. Saran Te who was listening to her story nodded her head.
“okay. “It’s a curse.”
“yes. “Actually I was going to ask from the beginning but somehow I missed the timing.”
“This Baidian is definitely a good place for a Curse child to live. “I don’t know where it is but why do you want to do such a dangerous thing?”
“yes?”
“It is true that it is possible to use the curse eye to easily heal but it will place a significant burden on the person affected by the curse. This is because the curse is forcibly removed rather than going through a formal process of resolving it. There is a reason why they are used in Lodolan and for interrogation purposes.”
This was also the first information I learned. Sarante added that in severe cases the cursed person could go crazy or become permanently disabled.
Now that I think about it I remembered that my eyes had been itchy all the time since I got sucked by Curse Eye. At the time she only thought it was a precursor to Mana becoming visible but it could have been a precursor to becoming blind.
“I almost got screwed….”
“yes?”
“no. “I’ll be back then Sarante.”
“You’re coming? “I’m sure we’re not heading towards the orc village this time right?”
“That can’t be possible.”
Ronan turned his back. She never thought she would be indebted to her like this again.
There wasn’t much time left now. I had to leave the temple at least today to get back to Phileon by Wednesday night.
****
“…I told you to wait patiently.”
When Ronan returned one more village had already been destroyed. Asher and Marja Braum were gathered in the middle of a village where there were no more moving orcs.
“ha ha ha! “I can’t make you suffer alone!”
Braum chuckled putting his hands on his waist. Five or six orc corpses were scattered at his feet. Marja swung his greatsword sharply shaking his blood off its body.
Red blood droplets formed like dew on her golden hair. Ronan asked shrugging his eyebrows.
“I guess it was more worth it than I thought?”
“Well hunting monsters is something that has to be done at some point.”
“You have a good mindset. “This dwarf still has a long way to go.”
“Don’t do that….”
Ronan held Asher’s head lightly in her hand and rocked her back and forth. Asher who had overused her mana had a dark shadow over her eyes.
“What about Sita?”
“We are dealing with the orcs who survived after being swept away by the river. Ronan wasn’t that what you ordered?”
Marja tilted her head. Ronan laughed. Now that I see him pretending to do something he wasn’t even asked to do I think he might start talking to people sooner or later.
“Anyway everyone worked hard. “We don’t have much time so let’s finish it quickly and let’s go.”
The group quickly moved to the next location. The slaughter carried out in a state where victory was already won was carried out systematically and reliably. As they passed through each village the group’s skills improved noticeably.
“This invisible hand!”
“Chwiik! “I’m flying!”
Asher committed murder by causing the orcs to fall to their deaths. The reason was that the mind was not yet ready to kill by shooting a projectile. It was ridiculous to say something like that about canceling telekinesis while floating it so high that it couldn’t be seen.
“Then this time let’s go to the place that our archmage destroyed.”
“Heeeeeek…!”
There was little to do in the two villages bombed by Asher. Rocks and giant trees the size of houses fell on the heads of buildings and orcs creating ruins that could hardly be called a village.
“Good job Asher. “It’s your work.”
It was also telekinesis magic. Clap clap clap. Ronan clapped as he looked at the completely destroyed corpses of the Orcs and the building. Asher covered his mouth with both hands and muttered quietly.
“…I’m going to hell.”
They searched the village and took everything they could find. Still as it was a village that had existed for a long time there was quite a bit of loot collected. There were no survivors other than Brigia.
After completing the village tour the group returned to the temple. Despite the sky full of dark clouds my steps were light.
‘With this the biggest threat has been eliminated.’
It was most likely the orcs that destroyed the temple of Sarante. Because it was their habit to move around and loot and destroy.
The population was reduced by more than 70% and the villages that served as bases were completely destroyed so the surviving Orcs would leave Baidian and disperse.
With this that old man will be able to harvest herbs with much peace of mind. However one question crossed Ronan’s mind.
‘That’s strange. Although ogres are rare they are not invisible monsters like this.’
Actually I thought one or two would show up when I opened the river. There was a possibility that it was the monster that destroyed the temple so Ronan searched diligently for the ogre but was unable to find one.
‘It’s a bit disappointing.’
Ronan who briefly remembered his past enemy quenched his appetite. The twin-headed ogre who probably reigned as the supreme king of Baidian failed to win a match even after three days and nights. I wanted to settle the matter now but it was just a shame.
I did everything I could. Although orcs and ogres. Of the three candidates a natural disaster only one could be dealt with but as long as the orcs were eliminated nothing would happen in most cases.
As I entered the temple I saw Sarante meditating. Ronan greeted.
“Sarante we are here.”
“You’re here. “You probably didn’t get close to the orc village right?”
“Of course. What about that woman?”
“… She hasn’t woken up yet. “It seems her poison is stronger than I thought.”
Brigia said she was still worried. Ronan twisted his lips.
“Damn I’m worried for no reason. “Can you contact me if she ever wakes up?”
“Of course. “I will definitely tell you.”
Ronan wrote the address of the dormitory on a note and handed it over. Sarante raised the corner of her mouth with an effort and continued her words.
“Don’t worry. Probably nothing will happen. If it weren’t for you Brigia she would have been left helpless. She almost lost Seniel’s few remaining believers in the world.”
“I’ve been curious since day one. What on earth does this Seniel do?”
“Strictly speaking it is not a god but a great soul. “Inhabited by a great will that transcends time…”
She muttered as if she missed Sarante smoothing her chin. His eyes were fixed on the statue of Seniel.
“It brings back old memories. “I carried those rocks on my back and carried them to Konya myself.”
“Damn you carried that thing on your back? Are they all cones?”
“yes. “It is a sacred place for those who believe in Seniel.”
Ronan shrugged his eyebrows. Sarante talked about a sacred place called Da Konya which exists far away from the imperial territory.
“It’s always a place where wind and rain blows. Once every thousand years we bring a thousand huge rocks to the center of the Holy Land. And leave it alone for a thousand years. Even after a thousand years have passed the remaining rocks become the statue of Seniel.”
“So if there are a hundred rocks left does that mean they all become Seniel?”
“Exactly.”
“I’m sorry to say this but it’s a really strange religion. “How can you call that a new statue?”
Sarante continued his speech with his hand on the statue.
“Seniel is a soul not a god. It’s the same as pride faith and love having no clear form. “We respect the will engraved here for a thousand years and make it a statue of Seniel not a stone.”
“It’s difficult. “It’s kind of cool but…”
A thousand years. It was something that could not even be imagined by anyone other than a race that had stepped into eternity. At best maybe an elf or a dragon? Ronan who had heard the information about Seniel was really ready to go back.
His group’s luggage was several times larger than when they arrived. It was questionable whether the ghost horse could run properly. But that wasn’t the end. Just as we were about to open the temple Sarante held out a few more sacks.
“Take it. “I have prepared it for you.”
“Why are you giving me all this? “I’ve already had enough.”
“These are things I don’t need anyway. Please consider this as an example of saving Brigia and please accept it.”
The bag was full of the herbs and magic stones he had given me so far. Despite Ronan’s refusal Sarante insisted that he accept the sack.
“This is so….”
I couldn’t refuse to see an old man who was at least ten centuries older than me appear in such a low manner. Ronan takes the sack. Sarante then smiled generously and shook hands in farewell.
“Please proceed carefully. It was the most enjoyable two days in nearly a thousand years. May Seniel bless your future.”
“I’ll come sometime. I’m doing great.”
Ronan smiled awkwardly and shook hands. Sarante waved his hand until the figures of his group disappeared behind the trees. The thunder roaring beyond the dark clouds made it seem like it was going to rain soon. Sarante looking at the handshake palm muttered softly.
“Ronan.”
Sarante stood outside for a while and then returned to the temple. Once the guests had left the temple lonely silence prevailed again.
He passed by the statue of Seniel which stood firm and entered his room. Brigia who had been lying down just a moment ago was nowhere to be seen.
Sarante quietly took the teapot and left his room. And after drinking a cup of tea as usual he began wiping the statue with a dry cloth.
Every corner no place left out. Saran Te who had completely cleaned his body opened his mouth without turning his head.
“The bird I’ve never seen has changed a lot Brigia.”
