My Demons

Chapter 122

In my opinion, Atalante’s proposal was quite attractive. However, there were a few things that bothered me.

First, Baron Malory.

It seemed he was trying to eliminate Atalante, the most likely winner of the hunting competition, and I was worried we might get caught up in something.

But on the other hand, I wondered, ‘Was the lord really only targeting Atalante’s group?’ Naturally, it was about money.

I had heard that around 2,000 silver coins would be enough to build a fortress. Not just a small castle, but a proper fortress with a moat, watchtowers, and an inner courtyard.

Now, Baron Malory has spent 3,000 silver coins. Simply comparing, he spent more than the cost of one and a half fortresses on mercenaries.

Well, thanks to this, the territory is enjoying an unprecedented boom, and he might recover some of the expenses through taxes. But the fact remains that he has spent an enormous sum.

Because of this, I suddenly suspect, ‘Might the lord’s plan be to sweep away all the mercenaries after driving back the Anupad army?’

If this suspicion is true, then joining forces with the Nude tribe might be the best way to counter the lord’s threat.

“Of course, I’ll think carefully. I’ll respect whatever decision you make.”

“…Really, from earlier…”

Her blue eyes seemed ready to burst into flames.

Yes, that’s also something that bothers me.

Ellen is so particular that I can’t even imagine how much trouble would arise if she traveled with Atalante.

Although she’s not someone who completely ignores me and her attitude has somewhat softened, it’s still worrying.

“Think slowly. We have plenty of time,” Atalante said, crossing her legs and smiling. Her smooth thighs caught my gaze.

Hmm, there are some uncertain factors. But if I could persuade Atalante – no, bring her on as a colleague – wouldn’t it be worth it? She’s not just an ordinary person, but a genuine hero character…

“Well, I think…”

Just as I was about to respond, two pairs of men and women approached our table.

“Are you Sir Phoenix?”

The one who stepped forward was a woman with striking round eyes. Wearing a robe with strange patterns, she appeared to be a Mage.

Glancing at those sitting at the table, everyone looked perplexed.

“I am Phoenix. What can I do for you?”

“We’ve found you properly,” the woman, who looked to be in her early twenties, smiled slightly and continued.

“We want to make a request of you.”

“…A request?”

“Yes, a request.”

Her large green eyes stared directly at me. Being of average height in this world, she was at about eye level with me as I sat in the chair.

“Hmm. I’m not sure what brings you here, but we’re currently engaged in something.”

“I heard you’re participating in the hunting competition?”

I glanced at those standing behind her.

A young man in a mage’s robe like the woman, a slender youth in thin clothing, and a woman in leather clothes with steel gauntlets and a sword at her waist.

What is this combination?

“Yes, that’s true, but…”

“Our destination is Graduel Mountain. We want you to escort us there.”

“Escort?”

“Yes. You’ll be climbing the mountain to hunt monsters anyway, right? We’ll pay you generously, so please take us safely to our destination.”

“…Where exactly is your destination?”

“The summit of Graduel Mountain.”

The summit? The summit would mean…

Ellen, receiving my gaze, spoke up abruptly.

“Why are you going there?”

“…You’re the Witch of Fire, aren’t you? Nice to meet you.”

The woman with large eyes spoke as if delighted to meet her, but Ellen remained expressionless.

“I asked why you’re going there.”

“We have something to investigate.”

“…Are you investigating the flow of magic?”

At Ellen’s question, the woman’s already large eyes grew even larger. It looked like they might pop out if tapped on the back of the head.

“How did you…? Do you know something?”

“I don’t know the details. I just felt that some magical power from the summit is pushing the magic away.”

“You felt it? Have you gone up there?”

“No, I confirmed it from midway up.”

The woman’s mouth opened slightly.

“You confirmed the flow of magic originating from the summit, from midway up?”

“Yes.”

“…How is that possible? What level of magical power would that require?”

Ellen still had an expressionless face, but upon closer examination, her lips were slightly twitching. She seemed to be quite pleased with the woman’s intense reaction.

I let out a sigh internally and spoke,

“Even if we weren’t here, there are mercenaries in Longville who would be on the move. Why don’t you go and investigate with the others?”

“…Hmm, well. I’ve already investigated. I asked a scribe to check all the high-scoring mercenaries, but there isn’t a single group that could take on the request.”

“…Not a single group?”

When I made a puzzled expression, the woman nodded and replied,

“Yes. Three or four groups seem to have already left, and the remaining groups are mostly waiting for the lord.”

“Waiting for the lord? What does that mean?”

“I heard they’re going to break through the path soon. They’re gathering personnel because they need to repel the Anupad army.”

“…This is the first I’ve heard of this.”

The woman shrugged with an ‘Oh, is that so?’ expression and continued,

“In the end, only the Nude tribe and the border remain. But to entrust the task to the Nude tribe…” 

A fully armored female swordsman touched the woman’s arm. The woman who had been talking for a while finally noticed Atalante and her companions and muttered, “Oh…”

“Are you perhaps a group?”

“We were discussing whether we would become a group or not before you arrived.”

“I see. Oh… I hope we can work together. I’ve heard the Nude tribe warriors are incredibly, well, brave.”

Atalante shrugged at me. The woman, who read the slight displeasure on her face, quickly pulled something out from her bosom.

“Here, take this as compensation.”

“Hmm?”

What she pulled out was a small crystal ball. Slightly smaller than a tennis ball but larger than a ping pong ball, the transparent crystal ball was emitting a subtle blue light.

“That, that…”

Ellen, who had been sitting silently, suddenly stood up and seemed to slightly fly up.

…Hmm. It looked like she’d only taken one or two steps, did I see that wrong?

“Can I take a look at this for a moment?”

The woman was momentarily surprised by Ellen suddenly rising from the ground but immediately handed over the crystal ball.

“…Wow.”

Examining the crystal ball she was handed, Ellen stood there with her mouth open. Her blue eyes sparkled with admiration.

“Not a single flaw. The amount of magic contained is enormous. I’ve never seen anything like this.”

At Ellen’s murmur, the large-eyed woman smiled slightly.

“It’s an object that any magician would dream of.”

“…There are very few places in the kingdom, no, in the Middle World that could create a crystal ball of this level. Where exactly did you obtain this?”

The woman’s smile deepened.

“It was made by my family.”

“…Family?”

“I apologize for the late introduction. My name is Siren Lao.”

Siren Lao. An unusual name.

But, Lao?

“I feel like I’ve heard this somewhere before.”

At my mumbling, the woman who introduced herself as Siren confidently nodded.

“That’s right, it’s that Lao family. The current family head, Tulon Lao, is my uncle.”

At Siren’s words, not only Ellen but also the Amias group and the Nude tribe warriors were shocked and open-mouthed.

In the Milanol Kingdom, there are three prominent magical groups.

The first is the La-Palais Palace, renowned for elemental magic. It is rooted in the mysterious island of Tirin Mel next to Ailant, and it is also Ellen’s hometown.

The second is the ‘Dawn Council’, famous for illusion magic, with its headquarters located in the royal capital. The last is the ‘Lao Family’, masters of golem creation and earth magic, situated in the northern Barden region.

Siren, a woman from the Lao family, was sitting and introducing her companions one by one.

“Here is my brother Ethan, this is my lover Zhanabas, and the last is the mercenary Simos.” I carefully examined the three individuals.

Ethan Lao was a boy with green eyes and brown hair, similar in age to Ellen. He had a distinctly cold impression and a somewhat arrogant atmosphere.

Zhanabas appeared to be around twenty years old. With a slender build and wearing thin clothing, he looked somewhat sickly due to his slightly sunken eyes.

Lastly, Simos was a female swordsman in her mid-twenties. Wearing leather armor and steel gauntlets, with ash-gray hair and dark blue eyes… Hmm, her face seemed familiar somehow.

When I stared directly at her, Simos turned her head slightly, seemingly uncomfortable with my gaze. Around this time, Siren spoke again.

“So, will you accept the request, Lord Phoenix?”

“…Would you mind waiting a moment? I have something to conclude first.”

“Of course.”

After getting Siren’s understanding, I looked at Atalante.

“If we accept this request, what will you do?”

“Nothing will change. My conditions remain the same.”

“…Alright. Then let’s go together.”

At my consent, Atalante’s face bloomed like a flower.

“Good decision, Nix.”

“During our journey, you must absolutely follow my orders.”

“Of course.”

Atalante leaned back satisfactorily. I glanced at Ellen, fortunately, she was completely absorbed in the crystal ball.

I turned to Siren and asked, “I understand who you all are. But what is the exact reason for investigating the summit of Graduel Mountain?”

“…I’ll tell you if you accept the request.”

“Hmm.”

Noticing my hesitation, Utequais spoke up.

“Deceivers, very useful. Will help with hunting.” The word ‘deceivers’ here refers to magicians. Beings who deceive mothers, apparently.

“And there’s one in mother’s embrace. Must help.”

“…One in mother’s embrace?”

When I looked back with a puzzled expression, Siren and her lover Zhanabas looked slightly surprised.

The sickly-looking young man, Zhanabas, hesitated for a moment before looking at Utequais and asking in a hoarse voice,

“Urwha, iya ti tanka’ute?”

“Zui. Rec’ne heplan somae riquwa ti hatanka.”

After Utequais’s response, Zhanabas was silent for a moment, then bowed his head.

“Rec’ne bota enden aunka dirldi. Nje lavdi tille ur.”

Utequais silently nodded at Zhanabas’s words.

“…What? What did you say?”

“That one, dirldi. A wandering druid.”

“Druid?”

“Correct. Druids came to people’s world for a bad reason. Must help with his task.”

A druid.

Though not a playable character in the game, I remember some major NPCs had the druid profession.

But the name Zhanabas doesn’t ring a bell…

When I stared directly at him, Zhanabas hesitated before speaking.

“I’ll explain the reason for going up the mountain.”

“Zhanabas.”

“It’s okay, Siren. With the great warrior of the plains here, even if I don’t say it, he’ll notice.”

After dismissing Siren’s concerns, the young man coughed softly and continued,

“About a month ago, while passing through distant Abiden, I had a dream. A dream illuminating the peak of Graduel Mountain.”

“…Something like a prophetic dream?”

Zhanabas slightly shook his head at my question.

“It’s a bit different. Not precognition, but rather a distant vision. In that dream, I saw souls gathering towards the mountain peak.”

Ellen, who had been listening silently, furrowed her brow and spoke.

“Souls gathering? Are you saying there’s a necromancer?”

“These weren’t human souls. These were old souls of nature, souls in the process of becoming spirits, gathering together.”

Ellen asked with a perplexed expression.

“Spirits gathering at one point isn’t uncommon. Especially in a place like a mountain peak with clear and abundant magic…”

“This case is different.”

“Different how?”

“Yes. The phenomenon occurring on Graduel Mountain right now is extremely artificial. Some powerful sorcerer is distorting the natural order.”

“A sorcerer powerful enough to distort the natural order…”

Noticing the uneasy look on Ellen’s face, Zhanabas lowered his voice.

“This must be done. If left as is, a calamity will occur.”

“A calamity?”

“Yes. Perhaps the spirit realm might touch the current realm.”

“…A dimensional collision? That’s not something that could happen so easily.”

As Ellen muttered with a bewildered expression, Zhanabas looked at Utequais.

“The great warrior would know about ‘Gitgula Ti Akanku’, right?”

“…One expelled from the plains. Could this be his doing?”

“Yes. That wicked being is pulling the spirit realm. If he isn’t stopped, this entire area, perhaps even the entire Marva region, will be destroyed. Due to the aftermath of the dimensional collision.”

Ah, how frustrating. Why are there so many unfamiliar things today?

“What is this Gitgula Ti Akanku?”

“Gitgula is the name of a plains tribe. Akanku refers to a very powerful sorcerer who handles souls.”

…A sorcerer who handles souls?

Wait a moment, Akanku?

“…It can’t be that the sorcerer’s name is ‘Karamek’, right?”

Utequais looked surprised at my question.

“How do you know that?”

“Is it correct?”

“Correct. Akanku Karamek, the name of one expelled from the plains for seeking evil power.”

I involuntarily covered my face at Utequais’s response.

“…Damn it.”

Akanku Karamek.

The default name for a male soul sorcerer.