Episode 207
Arriving at Celia’s castle in the afternoon of his hometown, Ray immediately packed up his small things and hurriedly ran out.
There was no bird to escort and sleep.
There was an uproar for a while because of the sudden disappearance of the saint, but Iriel stopped it and it has faded.
“Anyway, it only rots inside.”
What can you do?
Because returning home is always exciting.
After Ray left, Iriel was in the midst of preparing for the next pilgrimage site.
The next destination was a different continent.
So we had to travel by boat.
She sighed as she leafed through the parchment.
“It’s a kingdom of Frias…”
If there is a kingdom of Gaia in the East Continent, there is a Kingdom of Frias in the West Continent.
Goddess Prias, sister of Goddess Gaia, is the goddess of suffering and trials.
It was inconsistent with Gaia, who governs abundance.
I already feel dizzy at the distance between continents that cannot be said to be close even with lies.
Feia patted Iriel’s shoulder, who was drooping from the side.
“Think of it as a slightly longer trip and you’ll feel better.”
“Travel… Travel is good… However, it’s a bit problematic that the place is the kingdom of Frias…” “
Why? Do you have any bad memories from Frias?”
Iriel trembled in silence at Feia’s question.
“It’s a bad memory…. You mean the time you made me fast because I needed to know the pain of the starving? Or when I was forced to stay in a cave for a full week because I needed to realize gratitude in everyday life…?”
“….”
“If that’s not the case, when I was thrown into a boiling hot spring to awaken my fervent faith…? What are you talking about?”
“…”
Feia could not say anything.
I didn’t know that the saintess would be subjected to such an ordeal.
To her, who has always lived in abundance under the protection of the goddess Gaia, the goddess of suffering called ‘Prias’ was her natural enemy.
Besides, the two of them are sisters, so what’s the point of rebelling?
If I sputtered out saying that I would not do it, and then the existence disappeared by any chance, who would I complain to because I was unfair!
That’s why I had no choice but to do what I was told to do quietly.
The many ridiculous penances made her freak out, but thinking that she is not alone this time is a little comforting.
No, I even laughed for some reason.
“Ray… you won’t be able to escape either. Come on, fasting, hot springs, and working hard. Whoop whoop whoop.”
“Saintess, you were just ignorantly evil.”
* * *
There was no time to leisurely walk down the road for the first time in a long time while bathing in the warm sunlight.
Ray was sprinting through the forest at an incredible speed.
It doesn’t matter if there’s a goblin tribe or an ogre colony there.
If a village is standing in front of you, blocking the road, you can only destroy it with your body.
The ogres whose house was razed to the ground by someone’s merciless kicking made them cry.
After running for several hours, I started to see a familiar road I often traveled.
“Is it quite busy?”
Before, there were few adventurers, but that changed over the course of a year.
If it had reached this level, the local lord would have come to his senses.
As adventurers and merchants started to interact with each other, it was transformed into an emerging commercial area.
I headed for the thick forest on my way back home after passing through the square in the village of Billo, where there were many people.
Around the time when the paved road became more and more rough and soon changed to a natural one.
At the edge of the forest where the big rock was located, mana flowed around.
“This is enough to welcome you.”
After sitting on a randomly placed rock and waiting for about 10 minutes, a friendly face appeared.
“ray!”
An elf with light brown hair stood out and waved his hand with innocent eyes.
Ray smiled at him.
“Pia! how have you been doing?”
“What is it? Is that period already over?”
“no. This time, it was just a short stop during a pilgrimage.”
“Hehe… First, let’s talk in the village. Everyone waits for you.”
still an elf
Did you vaguely notice that it was you even though the distance you spilled mana was considerable?
In terms of mana sensitivity, it is worthy of pride that it ranks next to dragons.
Just like the day I first met her, I headed to the Elf Village following Pia’s guidance.
Pia looked at Ray with a small admiration.
‘You’re not going crazy with mana on your feet like before… To
achieve this much growth in just one year.
I remember hearing that humans’ latent growth potential was the best among all races in Middle-earth, but I didn’t expect it to be this much.
“Are you able to activate mana?”
“I learned it over my shoulder.”
“…Considering that it’s over the shoulder…”
It’s a pretty decent mana activation.
She did not waste mana in useless places and the distribution of power was very appropriate, so she was more efficient in terms of efficiency.
Thanks to this, I was able to shorten the travel time to the village more than I thought.
The elf who stood guard at the entrance welcomed me.
“Are you a human helper?”
“hello. long time no see?”
“The mana outside the village was also yours. well come back.”
“I’ll take care of you again.”
“What’s the matter hahaha! Stay as you like and go. If we say we, we can no longer be called strangers.”
The elf guard stepped aside with words that could cause misunderstandings.
As soon as you enter the village, you can already feel the refreshing breeze.
It is blocked on all sides by trees, but I wonder how the sunlight and wind can pass through it so well.
After passing through the entrance and passing the houses one by one, several elves greeted them.
“Human kid! Your steps are a little slow!”
“Aira-sama is waiting for you. Come see me before it’s too late.”
“all right. ha ha ha.”
A smile naturally bloomed on his face.
It is a feeling of being at ease.
Of course, not all elves were happy to visit him.
As I passed by the village and looked around, I saw a lot of faces I hadn’t seen before.
It was probably what Aira had said before.
Merging of two elven villages.
The upper elf villages, where there were no high elves, requested annexation, and it seems that they were safely combined under Aira’s command.
That’s why I can’t help the gaze that doesn’t seem to be happy now.
The elves who were there before would know him, but in the eyes of the other elves, he would be seen as nothing but a normal human child.
For them, it would be a little uncomfortable for a human they have no one to know to stay in their village.
Pia said with a slightly apologetic expression.
“It’s been a while since the merger ended, so it’s a sensitive time for everyone.”
“are you okay. Rather, is it Aira’s house?”
“Is it Aira? Maybe he is?”
“Good. I just came to say hello.”
While talking, head towards the beautiful giant tree.
It is a tree that boasts an enormous size at any time.
Thinking about it again, thinking that I had climbed ignorantly by riding over that place, I was in awe of myself again.
Now that I can activate mana, I will easily jump over it.
He kicked the ground and lifted himself up.
Then, with just a few steps, I was able to approach the high peak.
Looking at Aira’s old-fashioned wooden house, memories of the past come to mind.
The fact that I had been in this house for several days to treat her, and the fact that I had washed myself carefully in the lake in the back.
Even though only a year or so had passed, it was already a vague memory.
As he opened the door, a welcome voice came from inside.
“Come in.”
It’s calm, as if he knew he was coming.
Of course, there was no way that she, other than anyone else, would know since she spilled mana outside.
Goo-Woong-
As expected of a heavy door, the sound was magnificent even though it was only lightly pushed.
As soon as I opened the door, what I saw was Aira, her white hair tangled on her shoulders.
she said with a charming smile.
“…It’s been a while. No… It’s not like I haven’t seen you in a long time, but it feels like it’s been a while. Is it longing?”
“Maybe. It wasn’t until I came to the village that I realized, but I seem to have missed life here quite a bit.”
“That is a good thing.”
Upon entering, Aira handed over the tea she had prepared on one side of the table.
Looking at the hot steam rising, it was clear that it hadn’t been a month.
Recently, he had been burned once by a car that was like the filth of all the dirt in the world, so he was frightened just looking at the car.
When Hana Aira smelled the scent of the tea she brewed herself, it felt calming.
It is also a tea-like scent unique to elves.
As soon as you take a sip, a pleasant bitterness leaves a lingering aftertaste in your mouth.
Iriel’s car skills were also excellent, but compared to Aira, he would have to fold a number.
After enjoying the silence for a while, she put down the teacup and asked.
“So… who is it?”
“huh?”
“Didn’t you say that you have a woman you have a crush on? I am asking who it is.”
“How could you do that…”
Aira grinned, enjoying Ray’s flustered expression.
He tapped his left hand, and there was the same mark as his own engraved there.
“Didn’t I tell you? This is proof that I am with you.”
“No, I didn’t even tell you exactly what this is!”
It is unfair.
Didn’t you just pass it over by explaining that it was steamed!
At his words, Aira thought about it and then raised a finger.
“Hmm. As long as you’re thinking of me, I can see your situation. What did you say or what expression did you make?”
I mean…
she smiled shyly as her face turned red.
“Looks like you reminded me of me when I told the emperor that he had a woman he liked. The heart knew well. That’s right… huhuhu.”
“…why did you ask if you already knew everything?”
“Because you wanted to hear it yourself?”
It’s all covered up.
I never dreamed that the mark on my left hand would have such a function.
It was his own mistake.
“So, who is the person you like?”
He laughs and jokes inappropriately.
“…Ira.”
As I spoke, my face grew hot.
Aira’s expression became cold at his expression, which was different from his usual appearance.
Even she did not expect to hear an answer to what she had said as a joke.
She brushed her bangs with a cold expression and took a sip of her tea.
“Once more.”
