Chapter 1229 – 1229. Yggdrasil (8)
The beginning of the journey was nothing short of smooth.
“Wow, this rock is big.”
“Tsk… Hey… There’s a waterfall over there too.”
Living in modern times, my party members and I, who were not used to hiking, were now able to comfortably cross obstacles such as grass and rocks just like the residents here.
But even we couldn’t surpass the skill of an elf.
“From here on, you’d better be careful about climbing on the rocks.”
“Uh? “Why?”
“This is because the Skia Mountains we are passing through was once one of the battlegrounds during the Ragnarok War.”
“… ?”
Not only me, but the party members looked at each other with puzzled expressions.
It was now known to everyone that Ragnarok occurred a thousand years ago.
But I didn’t know what the war of a thousand years ago had to do with being careful about climbing on rocks.
My party members and I looked at Lucien with eyes full of curiosity, but the thing that actually solved our doubts was…
“This is because the golems and curse traps left over from back then are still scattered everywhere.”
It was Erdin.
Erdin continued speaking while stroking the rock that Min Ha-yeon had climbed on.
“The rock golem’s strength makes it easy to hide the core, and its outer shell is resistant to weathering, making it virtually unaffected by time. So there is a record of it being useful during Ragnarok.”
“Then what about the curse?”
For your information, it was Midsummer who asked about the curse, not me.
Rather than feeling offended by Midsummer’s question, Erdin answered naturally.
“It’s similar to the reason I mentioned earlier. Rocks are strong and weather-resistant, so secretly engraved curse traps can remain there for a long time.”
“Oh… “You are very knowledgeable.”
“… “If you don’t know these basic things, you’re not qualified to be a leader of an artillery unit.”
Erdin spoke sarcastically, but his actual reaction seemed to be flattering.
After that, Midsummer continued to talk to Erdin.
And Erdin was sincerely answering questions that were almost nonsense.
I couldn’t help but be surprised to see Erdin like that.
‘We became friends faster than I thought?’
This was because Erdin’s current attitude towards Midsummer seemed far from misanthropic.
Of course, I wasn’t looking at Midsummer with reason.
Just…
“Can’t you carve a curse somewhere other than a rock? Trees, land, etc…”
“It doesn’t mean it can’t be done. Rather, it is also a method that I often use. However, what remains as time passes is the curse left on the rock…”
Erdin seemed to be showing off his explanation-loving nature to the fullest as he talked to Han Yeo-reum.
But what really surprised me wasn’t Erdin’s changed attitude.
‘When did we become so close?’
I was impressed by the sight of midsummer, which brought out Erdin’s expositor’s temperament.
There is no way Erdin, who is full of misanthropy, would have been attracted to her by her midsummer appearance.
If he had been attracted to her in the first place, he would have shown interest in her from the beginning.
‘Hey… Midsummer… I’m really born with the ability to seduce women.’
Thanks to the know-how she had accumulated while meeting many women, she seemed to have opened Erdin’s heart not with her looks, but with her words.
Of course, Erdin’s pettiness seemed far from her affection.
But…
‘I guess that’s a talent too, right?’
I couldn’t help but admire Midsummer’s talent just by opening Erdin’s heart, which was full of misanthropy.
As I watched Midreum and Erdin having a happy conversation…
‘… Should I do a masturbation show here?’
[…]
The desire to destroy began to arise.
But I could barely resist that desire.
‘Be patient, because if you do something like that, I’ll get criticized too.’
The only ones who knew that Midsummer had the [Immortal Imprint] Were my party members and I.
However, the moment I order Midsummer to do something like that, Erdin and Lucien will sense something strange before they start hating Midsummer.
And immediately, I will think of my relationship with Midsummer and decide what I did.
Erdin and Lucien, who are smart, can easily guess that much.
‘Well, I guess I’ll just have to get over the chatting.’
Anyway, Midsummer will never end up with Erdin.
Since Midsummer has already been recognized by Stella’s chastity magic, the chastity magic of other elves will be forcibly blocked.
If there was any way, it would be to learn from me how to remove the chastity spell…
‘I have no intention of telling you anyway…’
I thought there wouldn’t be a big problem since Midreum would never learn chastity magic in her life.
But my complacent thoughts…
‘… No, but let’s come up with something.’
I started to evaporate at the sight of Midsummer smiling brightly.
When I said that over the phone, Armonia asked in a puzzled voice.
[Do you not like the sight of him smiling and talking to another woman?]
In Armonia’s eyes, I seemed to be jealous.
But I shook my head and answered calmly.
‘No, there is a more important reason.’
[Aren’t you saying that the previous reason is ultimately the second reason?]
‘…’
I couldn’t bear to shake my head at Armonia’s words.
But instead of shaking his head, he changed the subject as if making an excuse.
‘The real reason is… The opponent is midsummer.’
A peerless handsome man? A regressor? The luckiest person in the universe? Owner of a steel mentality?
There are already so many reasons why I am wary of midsummer, but there was one reason big enough to encompass them all as one.
As soon as…
‘You never know what the temple behind that guy will do.’
[Ah…]
This was because Midsummer was the chosen protagonist of her temple.
Midsummer was chosen by the temple thanks to her looks, luck, and mentality.
And at the same time as making that choice, the temple granted an even greater blessing, the ability to return.
By realizing those two facts, I was able to reach one conclusion.
‘Stella’s chastity magic pointed to Midsummer… Isn’t that something the temple manipulated?’
[Hmm…]
The reason I was able to infer this fact was because the phenomenon was unconvincing.
The maximum lifespan of an elf is known to be approximately 1000 years.
Of course, a thousand years is a long life by elf standards, and most people usually die between 700 and 900 years.
However, according to that, Stella’s lifespan remained at least 400 years and up to 600 years.
Even if Stella lived well, she chose a person who couldn’t live past 100 years old as her spouse?
No matter how much I thought about it, it was difficult to understand.
Therefore, I couldn’t help but suspect that Stella’s chastity magic was influenced by the temple.
And Armonia heard my thoughts…
[Listening to Suho’s words… I think so too.]
He continued his answer via communication as if he agreed with my thoughts.
[Originally, there was no way to cancel the chastity magic within Yggdrasil, so even if the return was repeated, it would be impossible…]
‘It would be a different story if Enel had been used.’
Neither I nor Armonia could accurately estimate how much Enel the temple used to give Midsummer the ability to return.
However, Armonia’s guess was that at least hundreds of millions of Enel would have been used.
And if you spent hundreds of millions of dollars on Enel…
[You’re right. If it is a temple, it is quite possible to use Enel in such a place.]
It was judged that it was sufficiently possible to use Enel to manipulate Stella’s chastity magic.
Having convinced Armonia, I breathed a sigh of relief.
‘How is it? Doesn’t this seem like an important enough reason?’
[I can feel it. The second reason is a bit difficult to understand.]
‘…’
Failed to change topic.
I failed to change the topic, but I was able to convince Armonia anyway.
[But what measures do you plan to take?]
I, who was quietly listening to Armonia’s words, smiled and answered.
‘I have to wait for now.’
[… ? What do you mean… ?]
I could hear Armonia’s slightly embarrassed voice, as if my answer was absurd.
I spoke to Midsummer, who was talking to Erdin while looking at me.
‘The unknown space we are going to this time… I should get something there.’
Of course, there was no guarantee that the item I wanted would come out in an unknown space.
However, it is a place where items powerful enough to turn the summoner into a god are piled up.
In a place like that…
‘Isn’t there something that can fill Midsummer’s leash, like Loki’s ability or Cerberus’ eyeball?’
I was hopeful that I would be able to get a chastity belt beyond the leash.
Armonia, who heard what I said, answered in agreement.
[Considering the level of items according to the number of floors so far… I think it’s quite possible.]
After getting Armonia’s consent, I smiled bitterly at Midsummer.
‘I’ll release it until then, so enjoy it to the fullest.’
I decided not to pay attention to Midreum, as I was worried that Midreum might notice me and keep her distance from Erdin.
Of course…
‘We meet in secret every evening, so let’s just eavesdrop on what they’re talking about.’
I planned to not just give them attention, but to monitor Midsummer’s every move.
.
.
Four days have passed since we set off on our journey.
Moving through the mountain range itself was not difficult.
Thanks to Lucien’s guidance, there was no need to worry about getting lost, and since the party members had sufficient stamina, there was no problem.
Additionally, there were no particular problems with Midsummer and Erdin.
‘Well, the only thing I can do is chat, but…’
Still, as I eavesdropped, I learned about the advantages of midsummer that I had never thought of.
‘Was that guy really that good at talking?’
Midsummer’s speaking skills were better than I thought.
The Midsummer I knew until now was not a very talkative person.
Rather, she was the type of person who would only make excuses and then score points.
However, Midsummer’s speaking skills while talking to Erdin were so good that I wondered if it was the Midsummer I knew.
‘I thought you only seduced her with her face, but it looks like she also had some gift for speaking.’
I had no way of knowing whether that gift of speech was a product of talent or effort.
But what was certain was that Midsummer was interested in Erdin.
Even when I didn’t touch him for three days, Midsummer clung to Erdin without paying attention to me.
‘What… There is no reason to remove it right now.’
With that in mind, I just quietly watched the conversation between Midsummer and Erdin.
However, problems began to arise in conversation from the fourth day.
The problem is…
“Ha, ha, ha…”
Erdin’s physical strength must have been depleted after three days of hiking, so only heavy breathing came out of his mouth instead of chatting.
‘You said you didn’t like hiking, but you said you didn’t like it because it was really hard.’
What was surprising was that among these, Erdin was the only one having a hard time.
Even Stella, who sits all day, didn’t show any signs of fatigue.
Seeing Erdin like that, I started to feel a little worried.
‘We’re only halfway there, are you okay?’
When I thought about it, I wanted to go right away and give him a piggyback ride.
It wasn’t because I felt sorry or sad for Erdin.
‘It’s true that they were forcibly taken because of me.’
It was because I felt guilty.
When I was looking at Erdin with such a sad heart…
“Shall I give you a piggyback ride?”
The sound of midsummer waking up was heard.
‘Why does that bastard only make that kind of voice towards women?’ .’
A deep midsummer sound that brought out the disgust hidden in a corner of my heart.
Fortunately, I wasn’t the only one who was upset.
“Haha… That’s it.”
The moment Erdin refuses and takes a step forward…
“Why should I… Ha… Huh!?”
I stepped on a small stone and started to fall forward.
I was surprised by that appearance and tried to run, but there was someone who reacted before me.
“Yikes!?”
“Wha!?”
Midreum grabbed Erdin’s upper body and lifted him up as he was about to fall.
The moment I was relieved that Erdin would not fall…
Paaaaat!
“What!?”
Midsummer made a strange voice and collapsed instead of Erdin.
The thing that surprised me the most about the sudden fall in the middle of summer was none other than…
“Why are you doing this!?”
It was Erdin who received support.
Not only Erdin, but all of us clung to Midreum with surprised expressions.
I wondered why he was doing that all of a sudden…
“S-No way… “Did you put your hand on that rock!?”
In the process of catching Erdin who was about to fall, Midsummer accidentally placed her hand on a large rock next to her.
“Uh… Huh… By mistake…”
And unfortunately, there was a curse on that rock, and that curse was passed on to Midsummer.
“Ha… Why did you do such a useless thing…”
“Ugh..? It’s useless, of course I have to do it.”
“Ugh…”
Erdin, who was always expressionless, was looking at Midsummer with a guilty expression for the first time.
Fortunately, the curse itself that fell on Midsummer was not a big problem.
“Suho, will you treat me?”
“Yes, please do it.”
It was easily solved by removing Min Ha-yeon’s curse.
Fortunately, what almost turned into a big problem ended smoothly.
When the situation is over, the moment you are ready to start again…
“Now, get on your back.”
Midsummer again advised Erdin to ride on her back.
“Oh, no. That is far…”
Unlike before, Erdin refused, showing apologetic feelings…
“If the same thing happens again, we’ll both be tired. “Pick up.”
“… Okay.”
I eventually gave up and started approaching Midreum’s back due to Midreoreum’s almost coercive recommendation.
As I looked at Midsummer and Erdin…
‘Summer, that’s not possible.’
He immediately grabbed her hand and used the return ring.
When I used the return ring, time went back…
“Why should I… Ha… Huh!?”
The scene of Erdin falling caught my eye.
‘Now is the time!’
Paaaaa!
Before Midsummer could react, I used the Heavenly Wind God Technique and flew towards Erdin.
“This… Nice…”
Midreum also reacted like me and stretched out her arms to Erdin.
But…
Whoops!
“Keuek!?”
My body swayed due to the wind pressure created by my divine law, and I fell to the other side.
So, I took my place in the place where Midsummer was.
And I barely caught Erdin…
“Wha!?”
“What!”
She was cursed because she placed her hand on the rock where Midreum placed her hand earlier.
Erdin looked at me with a surprised expression…
“W-what happened all of a sudden…” Uh? Oh, no way… “Did you put your hand on that rock!?”
He seemed to realize what had happened to me.
“Uh… As I was rushing…”
“Ha… Why did you do such a useless thing…”
“Ugh..? It’s useless, of course I have to do it.”
“Ugh…”
While enjoying Erdin’s guilty expression, I was able to easily recover by lifting Min Ha-yeon’s curse.
I lifted the curse like that…
“Now, get on your back.”
Just like Midsummer did earlier, I recommended it to Erdin.
“Oh, no. That is far…”
“If the same thing happens again, we’ll both be tired. “Pick up.”
“… Yes.”
I carried Erdin like that
“Hold on tight.”
“… Yes.:”
After giving a smile to Han Yeoreum, who was staring at me with an angry face, I turned her head and started to leave again.
Wah wah wah