novelraw Chapter 43
Chapter 43
Ch.43 There Was Nothing There
And so we stayed in the village…sawing wood diligently.
“Young man! Saw like that and you’ll ruin your back!”
“Haha.”
I gave an awkward smile as I worked the saw, and the woman beside me clicked her tongue.
“Tsk tsk—kids these days can’t even saw properly. Hand it here.”
She snatched the saw from my hands and pulled it with practiced ease.
—Swish! Swish!
“This is how you do it so your back doesn’t give out. Don’t you know a man’s back is his life?”
The woman, who looked to be in her fifties, handled the saw with remarkable skill.
How on earth was she so good at it?
Sure, she was easily twice my size, but as a man, I should naturally be stronger than her.
And yet…
Why was she better than me? Had I really been that out of shape?
“Master! I brought more wood!”
Leah pulled out logs haphazardly from her subspace, piling them beside us.
The sheer quantity made my back cramp just imagining carrying it all myself.
Sigh…
If we keep stuck doing this, I’ll collapse from exhaustion. When do we leave?
“Oh my! Mage-sama, you’re back already? How did you gather so much? Did you cut it with magic?”
“No wonder she’s a Grand Mage!”
The villagers praised Leah warmly.
Just moments ago, these same people had given me subtle disapproving glances for my poor sawing…
As her master, my pride took a serious hit.
After all, I am Leah’s teacher.
But what could I do?
I couldn’t use subspace or Wind Cutter like Leah could.
While I stood there dejected, Leah’s eyes sparkled as she asked:
“Master, what should we do now?”
“Me? Keep sawing, I guess.”
Though I’d never done hard labor like this back in the modern world,
I figured even one pair of hands would help these struggling villagers.
“Hmmph! Young man, I’ll take over the sawing now—you go rest.”
The woman gave me a meaningful look—
clearly implying I was more of a hindrance than a help.
Seriously…
This was humiliating.
Yet, oblivious to my inner turmoil, Leah beamed brightly.
She gently took my hand and said:
“Huh? Master’s done working? Then come rest with me!”
“Sure thing.”
My heart was in shambles, but Leah looked genuinely cheerful.
“Master, isn’t Aria just the cutest?”
“Right? I’ve never seen her in person before, but she really is adorable.”
I’d only ever seen Hetchling in illustrations until now—and Aria was impossibly cute.
Her plump white body, huge sparkling eyes, and that uniquely endearing, lisping voice of hers…
Honestly, Aria was even cuter to me than Pipi.
Much cuter than Pipi, who’d grown quite large by now.
Ah—not that it had anything to do with Pipi ignoring my orders or anything.
“Mm-hmm, absolutely!”
“Huh? What is?”
Oops—I’d accidentally said my thoughts out loud.
“Oh, nothing—just that Aria’s cuter than Pipi.”
“Aww, they’re both cute! Pipi’ll get jealous if it hears that!”
Of course you’d say that—you obey Pipi’s every whim.
“It’s fine. Pipi can sulk all she wants.”
She never listens to me anyway—just blows me off like I’m nothing.
“Hehe… Master, Are you sulking because Pipi doesn’t listen to you?”
She’d hit the nail on the head, but I did my best to hide my embarrassment.
“What are you talking about? At my age, I don’t sulk.”
“Master, your pupils tremble when you’re flustered, you know?”
I gave her a puzzled look and replied:
“Really?”
Leah nodded brightly.
“Yes, really.”
I had no idea. Was that actually true?
Suddenly, Leah glanced around the village and said:
“But… shouldn’t we take Aria back soon?”
The village had recovered significantly since our arrival.
There wasn’t much left for us to do—the rest would heal naturally with time.
“That’s true.”
“Let’s send Aria home quickly, then head to Master’s hometown!”
“Huh?”
Oh no—hometown?
I’d used missing my hometown as an excuse to come to the New Continent, but…I had no real hometown here.
It was just a lie I’d blurted out while running away.
If she found out the truth,
I might pay a horrifying price for that little white lie.
I had to prevent that at all costs.
I remembered the letters from my former Hero Party members.
Leah might act demure and polite in front of me, but I knew better than anyone that her true nature hadn’t changed.
At this rate…
I might end up roasted alive by Leah’s magic.
And it wasn’t just Leah—
if Scarlet, Cecilia, and Mia found out too…
My head spun with dread.
First, I needed to somehow get Leah away from me.
“Why aren’t you answering? You said you wanted to go to your hometown, right?”
As I panicked internally, Leah looked at me with shining eyes.
“Ah… yeah. Hometown…”
I need to find a way out of Leah’s clutches—fast.
“Huh? Sister Leah is here?”
Just then, Raela and Aria arrived, arms full of food.
“Kyaaah! Aria’s too cute!”
Leah dashed over to hug Aria, but Raela quickly stopped her.
“Wait, Mage-sama—Aria’s uncomfortable.”
Aria trembled behind Raela’s skirt, peeking out fearfully.
Leah pouted at the sight.
“Aria says Sister Leah is scary…”
It felt surreal—Aria, who was easily hundreds of years old, calling Leah ‘sister.’
But then again, she looked like a baby, so…
More importantly, her timid, sweet demeanor made her even cuter—unlike Leah, who acted more like a hired farmhand.
“Leah, stop bothering Aria.”
At my scolding, Leah looked genuinely hurt.
“But I wasn’t bothering her! I was just being affectionate!”
Aria immediately hid even deeper behind Raela, so I stepped in.
“She hides every time she sees you. There’s such a thing as too much affection.”
Leah let out a small groan.
“Ugh…”
Well, she couldn’t argue with that.
“Aria, what about me?”
At my question, Aria peeked out shyly.
“Brother Hans is nice. He doesn’t bother me.”
I nodded vigorously.
“See? I’m the good one!”
“Aria?! That’s so mean!”
Leah complained—but then immediately pulled Aria into a hug and rubbed her cheek against Aria’s.
‘No wonder she’s scared of you.’
Even as Aria squirmed, Leah kept rubbing her cheek against the poor girl’s.
“Let gooo!”
Days passed in this noisy, cheerful routine—until finally, the day came to leave the village.
Perhaps because we were departing, the villagers threw a grand feast for us the night before.
“Thank you, Leah!”
“Please visit us again!”
Surrounded by villagers, Leah’s expression wasn’t exactly joyful.
She forced a smile as she waved goodbye to Raela and the others.
“Uuugh… I think I’m gonna throw up…”
Seeing her pale, near-death face, I sighed inwardly.
‘No wonder—she drank like a fish last night.’
When the villagers heard we were leaving, they brought out barrel after barrel of liquor.
Maybe it was the cold—but Leah kept drinking every high-proof drink they offered.
‘I knew this would happen. Seriously.’
And so, as we left the village—
“Uuugh!”
Leah collapsed onto the snow, frantically ‘baking a pizza’ with her face.
—Pat pat.
Seeing her in distress, Aria gently patted Leah’s back with her tiny hands.
“Sister, are you okay?”
“Uuugh! No… not okay…”
—Pat pat.
Watching Aria’s small hands patting Leah’s back, a brilliant idea struck me.
On the way to Aisla’s lair, there’s a mandatory avalanche event—every new player experiences it.
The developers probably meant it as a jump scare, but it actually hides a nasty mechanic.
What if I used that?
If I played it right, I might finally shake Leah off.
Conveniently, Aisla’s lair was on a snowy mountain.
A plan formed in my mind.
After weighing hundreds—thousands—of possibilities…
‘Yes! That’s it!’
I’d fake getting buried in an avalanche.
I didn’t know if it’d work—but if she believed I was dead, that’d be perfect.
Though…the thought of Scarlet and the others chasing after me sent chills down my spine.
Still, I had to try something.
The path to Icira’s lair wasn’t easy.
Heavy snow narrowed visibility, and halfway up, the mountain twisted into a labyrinth of winding paths.
I knew the route by heart from the game, so it wasn’t a problem for me— but Leah, left alone?
Inside Icira’s domain, even a compass became useless.
No matter how powerful a Grand Mage she was, she’d have no choice but to turn back.
Grinning wickedly, I finalized my sinister plan.
***
Selena’s days were always packed.
“Goddess’s Wedding Ring.”
Besides ‘Equality,’ there were several other divine artifacts.
Recently, she’d deciphered an ancient prophecy and pinpointed the resting place of the Goddess’s Wedding Ring.
Now, Selena and her team were heading straight for it.
Since they’d failed to recover ‘Equality,’ she was determined to secure this divine power—anything that could threaten her god had to be eliminated.
‘This time, I’ll claim the divine power for sure.’
According to the prophecy, the ring granted its wearer immense holy power.
‘It must be beyond imagination—after all, it’s infused with divine energy.’
Her heart raced—she was certain the ring would greatly benefit her organization.
After weeks of travel, they finally reached the location described in the prophecy.
“Captain, no need to worry this time!”
A sharp-eyed man in his early thirties grinned confidently, but Selena’s expression remained grim.
“We weren’t worried last time when we went for ‘Equality’ either.”
She allowed herself hope—but never let her guard down.
After all, some unknown man named Hans had snatched ‘Equality’ right from under them, as if mocking her confidence.
Seeing her tension, Alex spoke carefully.
“Miss Selena, Ian’s right. Surely the same thing won’t happen twice?”
Ignoring him, Selena stared down the cliff edge.
Below lay a deep gorge, beyond which stretched an endless forest.
The team secured ropes to nearby trees and rappelled down.
“There should be an underground tunnel somewhere around here.”
At Selena’s words, butler Alex surveyed their group.
“Ian, Evan—search for the tunnel. Jayden and I will set up camp nearby.”
As Selena, Jayden, and Alex began pitching tents—
“Captain! I think I found it!”
Ian’s voice echoed through the canyon.
Selena and Alex exchanged glances.
“It seems we’ve found it.”
Selena nodded and rushed toward Ian’s voice.
He pointed to a dark cave as if he’d been waiting.
“Here.”
“Light.”
Selena conjured a glowing orb and hurried into the cave.
Her team shouted after her in alarm:
“Captain! Wait for us!”
“Miss Selena?!”
Ian and Alex chased after her.
—Thud thud thud!
Her frantic footsteps echoed through the cavern.
‘I couldn’t recover ‘Equality’—but I must secure this!’
Anything that might hinder her god had to be removed.
That was her salvation.
Soon, a maze unfolded before them.
“Miss, acting alone is unwise.”
“Hah… hah… You’re right, Captain. Why do you always do this?”
Selena replied absently to her followers.
“What do you mean?”
Her cold tone displeased Ian.
“Captain… how long will you stay like this? Is it because of ‘Equality’?”
—Flinch.
Selena flinched—hit right in the heart.
Ian sighed.
“Captain, last time wasn’t your fault. It was beyond anyone’s control.”
Everyone in their organization knew how hard Selena had worked to locate ‘Equality’ and other divine artifacts.
In fact, it was entirely thanks to her efforts that they could even interpret the locations of divine powers.
Though they’d lost ‘Equality,’ they’d gained the means to find other divine artifacts.
Thanks to her, their organization would grow even stronger.
“You couldn’t recover ‘Equality,’ but you found other divine powers, right? That Hans guy just got lucky—he took ‘Equality,’ but we all know who its true master is. We can always take it back later. Honestly, it’s not a bad outcome.”
Selena lowered her head at Ian’s words.
“You’ll get the Goddess’s Wedding Ring soon. So please, don’t rush. Captain—we all believe in you. But if you keep acting so anxious and impatient, it makes us all uneasy.”
Ian had known Selena for years.
He’d never seen her this unsettled before.
So he spoke from the heart, hoping to bring back the bright, confident leader he knew.
Perhaps it was his sincerity—
Selena murmured softly:
“Do you really think so?”
“Miss, we all trust you. So please don’t be so impatient. We’ll find the Goddess’s Wedding Ring very soon.”
With Alex joining in to encourage her, Selena wiped her damp eyes with her fingers.
“Yeah! I will. Thank you, both of you—Ian and Alex.”
She’d been deeply troubled by her failure to prove her worth to the organization, so Ian’s words struck a deep chord.
After that heartwarming exchange, they navigated the maze and climbed toward the altar where the Goddess’s Wedding Ring lay.
“Alright! Let’s see this Goddess’s Wedding Ring!”
Selena opened the small box on the altar—but it was completely empty.
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