Chapter 289 – Great Madness (1)
The chief was waiting for us alone.
“You are here. Sit down and talk.”
I sat down as instructed. Ulster’s traditional tea–not my taste, to be honest–and after a brief thank-you and her small talk, she got down to business.
“The reward to give to you has been selected. Here are the magical reagents that our village can proudly offer. It also contained a small amount of Romanian currency.”
She brought her things with her own hands, without having anyone down there.
The cash was heavier than I thought, probably because it had taken away the public goods of the village.
Veronica said it was a reagent and checked the provided stone powder or herbal juice.
“I don’t know the exact usage, but it must be useful for magic circles.”
Judging by the expression on his face, our attendant seemed satisfied.
It’s a good thing. Space movement consumes a lot of mana, so I have to fill it up with reagents and natural mana. If you install a magic circle like a portal, cost-effectiveness will be advantageous.
“Huh. Isn’t the pay a bit tight?”
However, there was someone who was openly pointing out.
No, it wasn’t a person. To put it bluntly, she is a god.
Of course, it’s not our cute goddess with two horns, it’s a confident lesbian unicorn.
“Did you defeat that monster? And thanks to your mistake, I almost died in the middle. But you’re going to pay for it with a few herbs and some stone crumbs and a few pennies?”
At first glance, the tone was harsh, but facts are facts.
‘It’s a bit modest, though.’
I learned how to use auras, possess beasts, and learned a little bit of witchcraft that other party members wouldn’t normally tell me.
However, since we will give you the reward in advance, we would have expressed disapproval if we had been told to risk our lives to fight. I was just shutting myself up thinking what more would come out of a rural town like this.
“Yeah. Thanks to that, the villagers were very sorry. There’s not much I can give you. I sympathize with them.”
At Alice’s words, the chief proudly raised his finger.
“So, I’m going to open the town’s treasure chest on my own.”
“… A treasure trove?”
When Alice said doubtfully, the chief laughed and grabbed a handful of reagents. And threw it into the fireplace where the green fire was burning.
─Hwaaaaak!!
─Rumble!
Just seeing what happened, the magical sparks added heat, and as the fire soared up the chimney, an entrance to the basement jutted out beneath it.
“As you know, the descendants of Erinn don’t have many relics. So in fact, this is a secret known only to the chiefs for generations. Although it is a small warehouse”
The chief smiled at us, who were dumbfounded by the unexpected gimmick.
“Even if our ancestors couldn’t make a treasure to pass on to their descendants, they seemed to know how to steal it.”
Damn, that’s what I heard. I hit my forehead.
If Erinn’s warriors really lived in the backcountry, she couldn’t have been ranked as one of the top three barbarians.
***
As the chief said, the underground treasure house was simple.
Still, it was not an empty space. Although there were only ten of them, so taking one per person would have a puncture in my conscience.
“… How much can I bring?”
“You can take them however you like, but most of them are junk because they haven’t been maintained. Please choose carefully.”
It sounded like he was scavenging, but it wasn’t like that at all when we looked around properly.
What I found was a white gauntlet.
─Less.
If you look at the weight, it is not iron. It was very light, but it was a damn different thing. The Chief checked the gauntlet I was looking at with closed eyes.
“Ah, that’s it. The name has been lost, but the previous chieftain called it the [Shaman-Inscribed Gauntlet].”
A spell imprint?
As I twisted my head, the chief rolled up his sleeve to reveal the tattoo.
“It is a small legacy of Erinn. They said it was the chieftain’s mark, which was used before the culture of [Witchcraft tattoos] Arose. [Shamanistic tattoos] Previously, it is said that such tools were inscribed with magic.”
“… Are you saying you can engrave magic?”
“Yeah. In the end, it is the user’s ability to activate the spell.”
Indeed. It was something that seemed useful.
Besides, if it was an item used by the chieftains of the era of ancient civilization, wouldn’t it mean that there might still be a spell cast on it!
It’s a pretty attractive item, so I sneakily notice the chief.
‘I want to take this with me… It’s the symbol of the chieftain.’
It’s a fucking obsolete thing, but wouldn’t it be possible to give it to someone else? When I noticed, the chieftain shrugged.
“Should I at least tell my next chieftain that it was ‘damaged during the battle with Nukelaby’?”
“Yes?”
“Alternatively, you can tell the truth that you gave it to the benefactor of the village. It seems that even the ancestors in the land of paradise would not consider a person who regrets old things but does not return the favor as their descendant.”
I said it back, but it meant that I could have it. It’s honey. I happily took the gauntlet and put it on my side.
That’s how the party members packed their things one by one.
In the case of Veronica, they were content with taking precious reagents, as if they hadn’t found a better weapon than the burning branch, but Dana and Frank didn’t tell them what they had packed.
“Isn’t there such a thing between married couples?”
“Whoops. It’s a secret for now! I didn’t have any weapons for me to use, so I chose this one.”
“What are you talking about? Is this a defense again? My baby, anyway, one body is fucking. “
“I can’t help it because my body doesn’t belong to me.”
Anyway, that’s how we, a couple of four, made a rough choice, but it seemed like the main equipment was the puppet Laliru, and the worries were getting longer.
Why, even in the game, didn’t the occupation group without equipment for sale increase the time spent walking around the auction house two to three times that of others? I calmly waited for Lalilura’s choice.
“Senior? How about this?”
What Lalilura found after 20 minutes was a pink jewel.
The extreme concept that this girl shows off has now reached the point where it should be emulated. Even the equipment is matched.
I’m even starting to think that if he had been born in the same country as me, he’d be a black cow in a new country, preying on the pinkness of Artis’ girls’ shoes.
It’s fortunate that I wore red at least at a party… Is plague. Come to think of it, red is also pink, right? This is fucking severe.
“Hey. You just picked up something that looked expensive because you didn’t have anything you deserved.”
“Aha~♡ I thought it might help with the coma~.”
I really want to see a man who is happy to receive a pink jewel as a gift.
There is an opinion that pink is the color of a real man, but in my childhood, if a kid with a cock was chosen not from Greek and Roman mythology, but from the cartoon version of Character Change, he was bullied straight away.
When a man gets close to a pink color other than a woman, it’s an instant to turn into a bunch of fucking girls.
The same goes for being an adult. Do you know the awkwardness of waiting with your girlfriend’s bag in front of the women’s bathroom? I know.
Ah, my ex-girlfriend, whose face I don’t even remember anymore. How are you? I hope not.
“That’s the Featherwind Jewel.”
Then the chieftain explained. It was a rare expression of perplexity.
“It is a magical object that makes the person holding it or the object attached to it lighter. However, the origin is not certain, so it might be better to use it carefully so as not to be seen by others.”
“Senior! It’s a gem that lightens the weight! Wow, that must be expensive♡! I don’t have to go on a diet anymore!”
“Crazy… I do not read the terms and conditions when purchasing insurance…”
Well, it’s something suitable for Raliluru.
Wouldn’t it be a circus skill, as well as a speed buff for Ringling, who is slow on his feet because he’s heavy? If you switch well during the fight, it will be of great help.
Honestly, it was an effect that seemed to be useful for me too.
‘Hi-Hi. I’ll borrow it when I’m clearing heavy obstacles.’
What I said earlier is cancelled. True macho can be close to pink.
Who would call Dwayne Johnson or Wolverine gay because they wore pink lanyards? And determining gender based on color is a discriminatory act. You’re like a fucking color racist.
“Professor? Did you choose the professor too?”
Dana asked, hiding the selected item from me. Then, Hi Romain, who looked a bit embarrassed, answered.
“Yeah. Alice picked out a good item for her recovery.”
“That would be good for skin elasticity! Oh, and I with this one.”
Unicorn Shack, a slug that is faithful to its desires, pointed to the necklace. I looked at it without thinking and thought my liver was falling off.
“This shit?”
It’s Orihalcon. There was an Orihalcon necklace in this fucking warehouse!
After recognizing the material of the necklace, I, Fran, and Veronica jumped up at the same time.
“Chief! That doesn’t work! That’s fucking expensive!”
“There is no way to choose a gift for a benefactor by price.”
No shit, it’s a theory, but isn’t it something that can be given just like that? I went out, but the chief tilted his head.
“By the way, Orihalcon. That’s amazing. I heard it’s a necklace made of sea iron… It must have been a misfire.”
Don’t you know how much this person is doing? We forgot what to say at the sight of the chieftain who was so calm.
‘A child. I’d choose that one too.’
The gauntlet on his side felt cold without realizing it. Fuck.
***
“Are you done?”
It was Victoire, a peddler, who spoke to us after leaving the warehouse.
It looks like we bought something worth selling in this village while we were being summoned by the chief, so our luggage increased a bit.
At his words, Hi Lo Main nodded his head.
“Yeah. I guess we should start by ourselves now. Others have work to do around here.”
“Oh, finally! Fortunately, I brought non-perishable items, but the business almost went out of business!”
Ignoring him who tenderly expressed her gratitude, Alice whispered in the chief’s ear. Of course, I heard it all in my ears.
“Yes. I’m willing to take it, but can I just give it to you like this? Even if these things are not your ancestors, they are probably part of your history.”
It was a question like an archeology graduate student (Jin).
Although she asked for more of her pay, she couldn’t possibly not know the value of the corn she ducked as a unicorn.
‘No, to be honest, I don’t even realize how valuable it is.’
I’ve been told that our Orichalcon pillars will cost more than Hennesys Manor. It is 20 times the amount of our house rent. I get a real feeling.
I’m sorry, little prince. I have become an ugly adult who can only determine the value of things with money…
“Does not matter. We are the descendants of Erinn, who do not depend on material things and convey their will from heart to heart.”
The chieftain smiled softly.
“As soon as I started interacting with the outside world, I went through colic, but my intentions did not change. It was all thanks to the help of strangers like you that we were able to defeat Nukelaby.”
─Fallang. She lifted and released the clothes she was wearing.
The thin clothes that Ulsterians chose in compromise with foreign cultures.
“Even if we stay in the same place, times change. I hope this incident has taught the villagers the same lesson.”
“Huh.”
The unicorn, whose hometown was destroyed by the flow of that era, looked at the chieftain’s smile as if it were strange, then smiled.
“Not bad. Because it’s true that the world won’t leave us alone, whether we change or not. Wouldn’t it be a happy life to make choices without regrets at that time?”
“Whoops. Is it important to prepare for the future?”
“There is no word as futile as the future~? … Well, I’ll keep that in mind.”
After saying that, Alice separated from the chief. Now is the time to say goodbye.
“Thank you, Chief. I hope to see you again.”
“Yes, Hi Romain. Next time, we will definitely meet again during peaceful days.”
Hi Romain greeted with an unusual gesture. Seeing that the chief responded with the same motion, it seemed to be Ulster’s way of greeting.
I asked the professors and graduate students who got on the wagon like that.
“Are you leaving right away?”
“Yeah. The threat of Nukelaby is gone, and unlike you, the purpose we came to this village… Because I learned Erinn’s magic.”
Hyromain, pointing to the new tattoo.
Behind him, the peddler Victoire is sucking his finger. He kept quiet about the treasure he received as a reward, but he seemed to have forgotten about cash.
The amount he received as compensation seemed to be sufficient, so it would have been polite to share it with him in moderation, but since Victoire didn’t do much, he had no intention of giving it to him.
Are you dissatisfied with the bundle merchant shack? Then go to sea. If you catch Nukelabi, I can give you primitive ancient barbarian equipment.
“Come on, Master. Take this.”
─Poof!
As I was thinking about that, Alice suddenly handed me something. After accepting it roughly, I turned it around because I wanted something else this time.
It was an Orihalcon necklace.
“… Meme?”
“That’s the price of our lives.”
“The cost of life?”
I couldn’t understand for a moment and asked back dumbfounded. Alice laughed as she giggled, even though my surprised face was funny.
“Since you seem to want it, I will give it to you. Orihalcon or something, it’s not worth the lives of me and Jeanne.”
Was it like this from the beginning? Alice laughed happily as she let her hair fly. She seemed happy to be able to do that in front of others.
“Honestly, I was greedy and I picked it up as soon as I noticed it, but I hate Jeanne getting hurt while carrying such an extravagant thing. So, just let the guide take it.”
“… If you give it to me, I will be grateful.”
I gave it to Veronica with a wry smile.
I’ll have to find some use for it, but I’ll just put it in the slate and carry it around.
And she decided not to refute the word that she was a stepfather.
Didn’t I swear to Veronica that someday I would lift the curse of the Bicorns? With that in mind, Alice was right.
“My clan has already been ruined, so they may be living like me in various parts of the world or doing bad things… Still, if someday there are children who leave descendants differently from me, I want them to know the charm of other races.”
Alice let out a good-natured smile befitting a holy divine beast.
In a sense, it felt like I was meeting a prejudiced race for the first time in a different world.
Elves, dwarves, bicorns, gods…
Considering that among those different races, those with whom I interacted a lot were all people who disregarded the country rules of fantasy, wouldn’t that naive virginal unicorn fall into a fairly normal category?
“Oh! Yes. I had a good idea.”
Anyway, I was preparing to say goodbye with a feeling that wasn’t so bad.
The loaded Hi-Ro Main snapped her fingers and said.
“Hey, Miss Dana? Actually, I really want to write a thesis about what I experienced here, but the university is threatening to cut off research funding if I continue to do low-cost research.”
After that, Hyromain smiled innocently.
“If you don’t mind, would you mind giving me the paper on Nukelaby in Miss Dana’s name?”
“… … Yeah?”
I silently chewed on those words.
After pondering, thinking, wondering if I was wrong, I came to a conclusion.
‘… So fuck, the professor said he would give the thesis to a graduate student?’
No Dana is no longer a graduate student or a research student, but isn’t that important now?
‘… The professor won’t take the thesis away, but will give it to you?’
Really, that’s not the world’s professor. Lab room ghost.
The rest of my heart was so fucking magnificent, I was at a loss for words.
