novelraw Chapter 175 : Chapter 175
Chapter 175 : Chapter 175
Chapter 175. Embers (3)
There are no empty houses in the village.
Because they build houses whenever they need them.
That is, it means they can build a house at any time.
“I ask you, Mokolin.”
The Mage named Mokolin was the village architect.
A middle-aged man with graying hair, he estimated the size while looking at Harad and Ellen at Manoa’s words.
“One room would be enough?”
“……?”
“Let’s make it one.”
Mokolin spoke as if notifying them and returned to the village.
His back somehow looked excited.
“Is he naive?”
“He is welcoming you.”
Manoa said.
That he likes it because he thinks the number of villagers is increasing.
“It wasn’t that kind of meeting.”
It was a touch-and-go situation.
The village was hostile towards Ellen. If Harad hadn’t regained his senses, Ellen would have fought.
“It is a common occurrence.”
Manoa didn’t seem to think much of it.
It seemed running the village wasn’t that easy.
“Indeed, that could be the case. For asylum seekers, it starts with being hit by magic.”
The village is under the protection of the Dream.
Not a simple dream, but the Witch's magic.
Asylum seekers are hit by magic from the moment they enter, and their insides are laid bare.
Since they would have been kicked out from the Otherworld’s gate already, it was plausible for asylum seekers to react sensitively.
‘It would be stranger to trust immediately.’
A village in the Boundary, a Witch who set up a Manifestation.
For asylum seekers who start by dreaming, the first thought would be that it’s a trap.
“The house should be built by now.”
How much time passed? Manoa said, looking toward the village.
“You don’t have to.”
Even building a house?
Manoa’s consideration was excessive.
Harad and Ellen would stay for a few days at most.
“It is fine. Please rest comfortably.”
Manoa isn’t being considerate; she wants consideration.
At least Harad felt that way.
‘She called him specifically. Without asking separately.’
Architect Mokolin, who came at Manoa’s call, showed goodwill to Harad and Ellen.
Would it be just Mokolin? The whole village would be like that.
It was a village of those who ran away from the continent and were rejected by the Otherworld.
Furthermore, they passed the Witch’s test.
They would have no choice but to act naively towards those in the same situation. Only such people would have gathered.
Manoa wants to show that village to Harad and Ellen.
“Well, alright.”
Harad nodded.
He was curious about the village anyway.
“Ah, about the Embers.”
Harad was about to head to the village but suddenly turned back and asked.
“Does it happen to have other effects? Excluding fire. For example, to Meteoric Iron.”
“None.”
“The Tower of Meteoric Iron was looking for this place.”
“It must be interest in the dream.”
Manoa asserted.
That the Tower of Meteoric Iron has no business with the Embers.
‘I don’t think so.’
For the regressed Harad, he was skeptical.
According to his past life, the Tower of Meteoric Iron finds this place 8 years later.
And Harad found traces of Meteoric Iron on the way here.
It means the Tower of Meteoric Iron was obsessed with the Dreamlike Place for 8 years, or perhaps longer.
* * *
When they first discovered the village, Harad and Ellen marveled at its facilities and scale.
And now, they were marveling at the village’s vibrancy.
Perhaps the new house was a sign of permission, as the villagers were no longer hiding inside their homes.
They walked around, gathered in huddles, and chatted loudly.
That appearance wasn’t artificial at all.
It was their daily life.
There were children in that daily life too.
The desolate empty lot they saw earlier seemed to be a place made for those children.
‘Were they born here?’
The children played properly.
Even some boy threw an opaque wind with his hand. It was magic.
“I told you not to use magic!”
Someone who appeared to be his mother scolded the boy.
The reason was that his friend could get hurt.
Not because someone might catch them.
‘Because there is no Church.’
So such sights exist too. Harad marveled anew.
The village consists of asylum seekers.
They were mostly Mages, with some former Knights mixed in.
Naturally, no one sees the boy as a Devil.
They are those who fled here because they hated that.
“Better than us.”
Ellen said from the side.
“Indeed.”
Duke and Shura now play making snowmen.
Those snowmen were also made with magic.
But…… the level is different.
He didn't know if it was the right expression, but Harad felt that way.
Different from Duke and Shura.
Those children have no caution. It is because they were born here and grew up without knowing the concept of Devil.
The boy who used magic was chased by a girl holding a branch like a sword.
To those children, Origin is not a sin. It is merely a characteristic.
“Are you envious?”
Ellen asked implicitly.
“Envious? Hmm.”
Envious.
Harad thought that expression was insufficient.
“Rather than envious, I covet it. That would be more accurate.”
“How much?”
“Enough to lift this entire village and move it to Serzila?”
To be precise, not this village, but the village's ideology.
“Shall I move it for you?”
Ellen said.
It was a joke befitting a Northerner.
Harad laughed briefly.
But Ellen wasn’t laughing.
“I will move it for you, someday, surely.”
“…….”
“I also felt like scolding Duke and Shura in the plaza. Telling them to play without using magic.”
Plaza.
Harad recalled the nonsense dream he had earlier.
It was like that there too. Just as mercenaries sell their abilities, Mages bought and sold magic in the plaza.
Was it really a nonsense dream?
“But can a collateral do it?”
“Of course, the Grand Heir should do it.”
“What if the Grand Heir says no?”
“Hmm.”
At those words, Ellen stared at Harad intently.
“That won’t happen, probably?”
Then she smiled brightly.
* * *
“Here it is.”
The house newly built by architect Mokolin was at the left end of the village. It was a gray brick house, and Mokolin added that those bricks were his Origin.
“Thank you. We will use it well.”
Even though the house was built in an instant, it showed signs of sophistication.
‘Magic indeed.’
That sophistication was proof that magic is formidable.
The house was bigger than expected.
It was an area that seemed built for three people rather than two.
Contrary to saying he would make it one room, there were two rooms inside the house.
One was large, and the other was small.
“Ahem. Ahem.”
Entering the house, Ellen suddenly cleared her throat.
She even tidied her clothes and carefully opened the door to the large room.
“Alena!”
Then she shouted.
It was a welcoming voice that made carefully opening the door pointless.
“Oh my god. Is it really Ellen?”
Alena’s eyes, visible over Ellen’s shoulder, widened.
“That’s right. I came to catch you.”
“Is it my turn to be silenced?”
Ellen and Alena laughed while looking at each other.
Those two remember the words exchanged when they bid farewell sometime ago.
“That’s right. You should have hidden thoroughly.”
“I couldn’t hide because I missed you.”
Alena seemed to have anticipated the reunion as much as Ellen.
They were only together for a few days, but those two were closer than thought.
“Actually, I can’t take you either. It looks good, right now.”
It was as Ellen said.
Alena’s condition looked quite good. It was the complete opposite of when they first met.
“It’s thanks to Manoa-nim.”
“Manoa-nim?”
“The Witch of Dreams. You didn’t hear her name?”
“No. She didn’t tell us?”
Ellen and Alena tilted their heads at the same time.
Soon, their gazes turned to Harad.
“Thank you, Harad. The information you gave was a big help. Thank you very much, and nice to see you.”
Alena greeted him belatedly.
“Nice to see you too. If it’s the Witch’s name, I didn’t hear it either.”
Harad answered Ellen’s gaze.
“Probably because we received less permission.”
“She even built us a house?”
“This, she builds quickly.”
Harad said, placing his hand on the inner wall.
If the Origin is suitable, construction is an easy task.
There must be plenty of buildings in the Otherworld more massive than this.
The Watchtower of Fire was proof.
A mere watchtower was that high. It was even originally transparent.
“The Witch probably wants us, no, me to experience this village.”
Ellen tilted her head.
“To instill guilt.”
“What guilt?”
“Because if I take the Embers, the village disappears too.”
“Ah.”
“Showing the village, and asking if I will kill such a village in a roundabout way. Since I am a Mage too.”
If one is a continent Mage, they are bound to feel guilty.
Manoa aimed for that.
“You said you wouldn’t take the fire.”
“I did. But who would believe that, today being the first meeting.”
Even if Harad were in Manoa's position, he wouldn’t have believed it.
Harad is calm only because he regressed and is certain of the future, but if it were another Mage, they would have gone crazy for the Embers.
“She is a good person.”
Alena, who was listening quietly, intervened.
“I think so too, so far.”
Manoa said Balbebron and Alena recovered.
But seeing Alena’s reaction, it seemed the Witch helped with the recovery.
Probably the whole village helped.
“I fully understand the Witch’s position.”
Alena smiled as an answer.
It was trust.
For a short connection, Balbebron and Alena trusted Harad and Ellen excessively.
Harad didn’t point it out.
Unlike Balbebron, Alena was a wise woman. She wouldn’t trust just anyone.
It also meant the Witch could be trusted.
“Alena. What kind of person is the Witch you saw?”
“A pushover?”
“…….”
“She is so kind that I suspect she might have an ulterior motive.”
If she were a little kind, one would accept it, but she is so kind that it becomes suspicious.
Harad half agreed.
The Witch Manoa was soft. Even the visiting Otherworld Mages were sent away alive if their dreams weren’t bad.
“So, are you suspecting her?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Does the reason matter? What matters is that we received.”
“A wise answer.”
Harad nodded.
Whatever Manoa's intention, Balbebron and Alena lived.
The other villagers were the same.
It is irrelevant to the Witch’s intention.
To the village, the Witch is a savior.
“How is village life? Do you like it?”
Instead of answering, Alena smiled and stroked her belly.
Ellen’s eyes widened. It was a very excellent answer. Harad laughed not so quietly.
“The Embers would be more useful to you guys.”
Usefulness is decided by the situation, not the person.
What has moderate value to the regressed Harad is extremely valuable to them.
“The Witch succeeded.”
Even putting Ellen aside.
Harad lost the confidence to take the village.
“If I ask you two to become this child’s godparents, would it be rude?”
“That can’t be.”
Because the more he felt rewarded, the bigger his greed grew.
“That measly name, sell it as much as you want.”
Harad wanted his name to spread not just in the village but also on the continent.
Impossible alone, but Ellen will move it.
“What about my opinion?”
“We should exclude Ellen. Since she says she hates it.”
“When did I?”
Someday, surely.
* * *
A drinking party began.
It was also a match between Ellen and Balbebron.
“I have never passed out in my life.”
A fact he didn’t know, Balbebron took pride in his alcohol tolerance.
“I have never been drunk in my life.”
And as far as Harad knew, Elaine was someone who believed from her past life that she had the strongest alcohol tolerance in the world.
“The judges are Alena and Harad.”
“Good.”
Balbebron nodded.
Since each would be biased towards their own, it was at least a draw.
They called it a match and judges, but in fact, Ellen and Balbebron just needed an excuse.
If they call it a match, they can drink heavily.
Ellen originally liked alcohol, and Balbebron said he hadn’t drunk alcohol since entering the Boundary.
“But where did you get the alcohol?”
“There is nothing absent in this village.”
It seemed there was a Mage skilled in brewing.
Indeed, they build buildings in a snap; would alcohol be difficult?
“Harad, aren’t you drinking?”
Balbebron offered a glass.
Harad shook his head.
“I have bad drinking habits.”
“What happens?”
Ellen’s eyes shined.
“I told you, I become very fiery.”
“Not that. For example.”
“Hmm.”
Harad recalled the last time he got drunk.
When was that?
He doesn't know the time, but he remembers what he did.
“The Sun rises.”
“It’s 4th Rank.”
“Now a projection would rise.”
The target was Elaine.
It didn't particularly work.
When Harad reached the 5th Rank, that Grand Duke was already a monster.
“Sun?”
Balbebron, listening quietly, blinked his eyes.
“It is my Origin. Did I not mention it?”
“You didn’t…… isn’t that something tremendous?”
“It is something tremendous. Since it is the Origin that became the origin of the Magic Tower.”
“……?”
“It means if I go to the Otherworld, I become a Tower Master.”
Strictly speaking, not Harad but the Sun.
If Harad goes, he would be killed or captured.
Since the Sun belongs to a woman.
“How did you find this place?”
To Harad’s question, Balbebron poured out as if he had been waiting. Just listening to it was an arduous journey. However, he said it was comfortable once he arrived.
“I felt it as soon as I came. This is a Dreamlike Place!”
If one steps on the field, one dreams.
The Witch acquires the Mage’s ideology and information through the dream.
That it is a dream, Mages do not know.
But Balbebron knows.
“Indeed. Since you are not a Mage.”
Furthermore, Balbebron is a Sword Master.
He would have easily noticed it was magic.
To Balbebron, this place wasn't a Dreamlike Place but an intuitive place.
Haha. Balbebron kept laughing while talking.
He seemed to like life here quite a bit.
“By the way, Alena.”
Suddenly Ellen opened her mouth.
“Yes.”
“About the Honey Badger.”
It is now.
Harad quietly slipped out of the house.
Gasp. He heard the sound of Balbebron and Alena gasping inside the house. Harad moved as far away as possible.
The place he arrived at was the Shrine in front of the cliff.
“As expected, you were here.”
Manoa was standing in front of the Shrine.
BEEP! The Fireball sitting on top of the Shrine flew to Harad.
“Weren’t you drinking?”
Manoa asked in a low voice without turning back.
“Were you eavesdropping by any chance?”
“……I do not know such magic. Balbebron’s voice gets loud when he is drunk.”
Manoa knew even Balbebron’s drinking habits.
If it’s about the villagers, she would know everything.
Why?
As Alena said, it is not important.
“Your intention hit the mark. I cannot take that no matter what.”
Harad pointed to the Shrine and smiled bitterly.
“……It is Manoa.”
Then the Witch revealed her name.
It must mean she trusts him now.
“It is Harad.”
“What rank are you?”
“Didn’t I say earlier? I am 3rd Rank.”
Only then did Manoa turn back.
Her brows were furrowed.
“I revealed my name.”
“I revealed mine too.”
“I am 5th Rank.”
“Why don’t you believe my rank?”
“It is not a fire a 3rd Rank can endure.”
It was true.
The Embers is that kind of fire.
Even if the Origin is the same, if the gap is severe, one has no choice but to be tempted.
“Just very occasionally, a 4th Rank like a 5th Rank.”
“A peculiar rank. Has such a stage been newly established?”
“Established only for me.”
“…….”
Manoa had an enigmatic face.
“To think a world where one deceives their rank has come. It is the end of the world.”
“Aren’t you from the Otherworld?”
“Didn’t you go around deceiving yourself as the Tower of the Sun, no, the Red Tower?”
“Ah, so. Don’t worry. It’s just me. The Otherworld still blabbers everything. Foolishly.”
“…….”
How old is she?
Harad became curious about Manoa’s age anew.
Because of her choice of words.
“Tower of the Sun. You call it easily.”
Tower of the Sun.
The Witch called the Red Tower that.
Harad heard that word for the first time today.
“They say one shouldn’t dare call it that. That it is the greatest tower in the Otherworld.”
So, Herbis of the Watchtower had once said it is the Red Tower.
“There was such a trend. It must be mainstream now. However, the Moon Tower would be an exception.”
“She wasn’t the Moon Tower Mage I know. She was 5th Rank.”
“What is her Origin?”
“A dot. About this size. Ah. And she is from Gu Poison.”
“……Then it is possible.”
Manoa seemed to have been a Mage far superior to Cassion.
“I called this guy a Divine Beast.”
Harad rubbed the Fireball’s forehead with his finger. The Fireball made a pleasant sound.
“That is correct. It is the Divine Beast of the Sun.”
“This?”
“…….”
-BEEEEEEEEEEP!
The Fireball cried very long.