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Chapter 94 – Day 39 of Exploration
We get up before dawn, eat a small breakfast, and set out. The monsters in the ruins have been eating their prey since last night and are now quiet as they digest.
We focus our magic power on our legs and run south. We run up the cliff that separates the Cliff Garuda from the demonic land and reach a forest where the plants don’t attack us.
“Let’s get to the main road quickly.”
“Yes, staying here too long will slow us down.”
For Chel and me, the fact that no plants or monsters attack us in the forest is extremely strange. When we come to the main road and see man-made objects, we can remember and understand where we lived in the past.
If there are monsters that want to attack us, we will immediately get ready to fight. However, most of the monsters just stare at us and run away.
We took the highway and went to the nearby town, where we hired a flying carpet and a wizard to take us to the capital. We had no idea what to do with all that money, so we decided to spend it. The magician seemed curious about what kind of work we did and asked us a few questions, but both Chel and I ignored him and just looked at the fields and mountains in the distance. I guess he thought we were country bumpkins.
We arrived in the royal capital of Cliff Garuda, Valkirya, around noon. We went to a small trade shop near the airship landing field.
“Xuenie, are you there?”
Chel went into the shop alone.
It seemed to be open for business, and there were many birdmen in the shop who looked like merchants or nobles.
“Chel, it’s busy, let’s come back later.”
“Please wait!”
As we were about to leave the shop, a small old man stopped us from the back.
“Please go around to the back!”
When we went to the back of the store as he said, Xuenie was waiting for us and opened the back door.
“Makyo-sama, I’m sorry. We weren’t prepared for your sudden visit…”
“Oh, that’s okay. It’s our fault for coming so suddenly, so I’m glad to hear that the shop is doing well.”
“No, there have been a lot of rumors about the trade goods you brought. Please come in, it’s not very comfortable to stand here.”
Xuenie opened the door of the next house and led us inside.
“We bought the house next door, but the furniture is not yet in place, so please make yourselves at home.”
They must have bought the whole next house with the money from selling our trade goods. They must be making a lot of money.
We sat down on the sofa and were served tea.
“I thought you’d be here a little later?”
Xuenie asked, still wiping the sweat from her brow.
“I’m worried about the movements of the Meiju Kingdom. I want you to make sure that this reaches the royal castle of the Meiju Kingdom.”
“A letter?”
“A letter. You can say it’s from the Margrave of the demonic land.”
“I understand. I’ll make sure it gets there.”
“I’m sorry to put you through all this.”
“No problem. The royal family told me to do everything I can.”
“I see. That’s all I have this time. I’ll bring the trade goods another time.”
“We will be waiting.”
“Oh, you don’t have any charms that can break a curse, do you?”
I’ll ask anyway.
“I can prepare a charm for you. But if it’s a curse, I think you should ask a sorcerer. Is there a problem?”
Both Chel and I are worried about Hel, who collapsed in a pool of blood before we left the base. The root of Hel’s curse is her curiosity about magic. However, the curse that seals magic is now affecting her body, so it would be good if we could somehow seal or destroy that first.
“It’s hard to explain.”
“The cursed person is in the demonic land. It’s a curse that prevents the use of magic.”
“If it’s a mental thing, there are specialized doctors and medicine, but is it an old curse?”
Does Cliff Garuda have a well-developed medical system?
“It’s an elf curse.”
“In that case, I think it would be best to consult a sorcerer. Shall I introduce you?”
“Please.”
Xuenie took out a piece of paper and a pen and wrote a letter of introduction for me.
“So, where is this sorcerer?”
“Well, he lives near the Great Hole, and when you enter the area, he will come to greet you. I wish I could take you there myself, but the royal family has ordered me not to leave the city. However, even if you get lost, it’s a place that everyone in the city knows, so you’ll be able to find it easily.”
As she said this, Xuenie marked the south side of the Great Hole on the map.
“I think I got it more or less, so it’ll be okay.”
We were sent out the back door and walked slowly out of the city of Valkiriya.
Being close to the royal capital, there were many peddlers and carriages, and the road leading south from the Great Hole was also busy. I thought about renting a flying carpet, but it was also busy, and I couldn’t find one.
Since we had reached our main destination, there was no need to hurry.
“Are your clothes dirty?”
Chel asked as we walked down the main street.
“Huh?”
We looked around and checked our clothes, and it was true that they were hardly clean. Even the bird people, who were peddlers carrying heavy loads, were wearing white shirts, and we looked shabby.
“Everybody does laundry, I guess. The bird people are clean freaks, aren’t they?”
“I didn’t think so when I first came here.”
When you put it like that, it’s not long since we were last here, but have we suddenly awakened to a sense of aesthetics?
“What? Are you two visiting the capital for the first time this season?”
The old peddler walking behind us asked.
“Yes, that’s right. Is there anything special?”
“The forest ahead is said to be the Sorcerer’s Forest. When the wandering monsters take flight, the spell will be cast.”
So, it was the migratory monsters that had come to the demonic land?
“What kind of spell is this?”
“It’s a spell to calm down monsters and beasts. But since humans also get sleepy when they’re dressed like beasts and can’t work, everyone from cats to ladles has to look neat and clean.”
Even the slave laborers who carry the cargo are supposed to wear shirts.
Both Chel and I were suddenly ashamed of our dirty, sweat-stained armor and robes.
“Should we change?”
“Do you have any clothes?”
“I guess not.”
There was no solution to this problem, so we had no choice but to endure. If we were attacked by monsters, we could deal with them, and our first destination was the sorcerer in the Sorcerer’s Forest.
After walking for a while, we came to the Sorcerer’s Forest. We recognized it immediately by the naked beastmen slaves wearing white shirts in front of the forest.
We ignored the merchants’ cries of “You’ll be eaten by the monsters!” and entered the forest.
It was a quiet forest.
The monsters were also relaxed and didn’t seem to be trying to attack us. In fact, they seemed to be avoiding us.
“I should have asked them where the sorcerer’s house was.”
“No, it looks like they’re coming towards us.”
A small man wearing a wooden mask emerged from the trees, blending in with the monsters.
“Are you lost in the forest?”
The man asked in a husky voice.
“No, we’re here to see the sorcerer. Someone we know is under a curse.”
When I said this, the man looked at me intently.
“You’re the new master of the demonic land, aren’t you? Couldn’t you do something about it yourself?”
It seems they’ve found out about us.
“It just happened. The curse of the elf is powerful, even I, a demon who knows more about magic, can’t do anything about it.”
“Even for a demon, it’s a curse that can’t be helped. It makes you unable to use magic, but it seems like the magic power comes out without the person even noticing.”
Chel explained simply.
“A curse to seal magic away? Sounds like a criminal. Can’t you just leave such a person alone?”
“You understand well.”
“I was a criminal too.”
The man said, rolling up his sleeves to show his arms. There were tattoos on them, but there were also burn marks on the inside.
“It’s better not to try to lift the curse yourself. It hurts like hell.”
“I thought the sorcerer would know how to lift it?”
“I’m sure he does. But he’s in bed with a hangover right now, so he’s useless.”
It seems that the man before me was not the sorcerer. The man shakes his shoulders and laughs.
Maybe he is a sorcerer, but he is lying. I don’t know what it is.
“You probably thought that I wasn’t a sorcerer, but if I were to lie and say that I was a sorcerer right now, then I would be the sorcerer of the three of us. That way, my position would be decided, and before you know it, you two would only see me as a sorcerer. Even if a real wizard appeared, you would see him as a fake.”
“I don’t care which one of you can break the curse.”
“The fact that it doesn’t matter who is important in magic. It is imprinted in the memory, a proof is made on the body, and it is activated when a certain condition is reached.”
“You talk too much, Sorcerer.”
Chel started to gather magical power.
“Demons are heartless. That’s why they’re better at magic than sorcery.”
“Chel, don’t do it. Don’t make enemies over something so trivial. Please, tell me how to break the curse of the seal.”
“Hmm… Even two people with such high magic power have a hierarchy. Do you really live in the demonic realm?”
The sorcerer (temporarily) smiled a little and asked. It didn’t seem like he was making fun of us, but he was asking if we could really do that.
“We don’t have anywhere else to live. What can we do?”
“Is that why you’ve been living in a place with no history of habitation for 100 years? I don’t understand.”
The sorcerer shook his head.
“That’s enough. Let’s just tie him up and lure the sorcerer here.”
Cher turned her shoulders and pulled the vines tangled in the tree apart with a snap.
“Don’t get so excited. This person has nothing to gain by teaching us, so he’ll be careful.”
“This is typical of a demon. Does the master of the demonic land know the difference between magic and sorcery?”
The sorcerer (temporary) approached me and asked.
“I don’t know. I have a high position, but I’m not educated.”
“Magic was created by a hot-tempered person, so its effects are short. Sorcery was created by a relaxed person, so its effects are long.”
“Both are difficult for me.”
“Both are laws. They are made up of ways and restrictions, so if you want to solve them, you can change the laws themselves. But it’s hard to change old laws. But if that person is suffering now, then those laws have started to go wrong. Do you have any idea why?”
Finally, we came back to the main topic.
“Living in the demonic land, I guess.”
“Yes. It’s hard to understand if you just say it vaguely.”
“Makyō, show him some magic. Sometimes, it’s faster to experience something than to talk about it.”
“Huh? Oh, it will change the scenery a bit, but is that okay?”
“Huh?”
The sorcerer (temporarily) let out a weak voice.
I put my hands on the ground and probed the earth, interfering with the power that was causing it to rise. The whole area suddenly rose, and the tops of the trees that had been facing the sun turned in all directions. The birds all took off at once, and the monsters fled in all directions.
“I understand! Please, give me a break! Put it back the way it was! Please!”
The sorcerer (temporary) got down on the ground and apologized in a panic.
I pushed down on the ground to level it.
“This is part of life in the demonic land. Do you understand? This Makyo is using magic without knowing whether what he did was magic or sorcery.”
Even though it was me who did it, for some reason, Chel looked down at the sorcerer, who was still lying on the ground, as if she was triumphant.
“You almost let the monsters from the Great Hole run amok in the royal capital.”
The sorcerer (temporarily) stood up and brushed the dust from his robes.
“Has such a curse been placed on this land?”
“Yes. It is the role of my sorcerer’s clan to protect this curse. I am the one who calls himself a sorcerer because I have learned the tricks of the curse better than anyone else in the clan.”
“You thought you taught him the difference between magic and sorcery, but this Makyo doesn’t understand!”
“What? Is something wrong?”
It’s like I’m the only idiot here, but I have no idea.
“A sorcerer is someone who follows the law. Sorcery requires skill. It’s like martial arts. Instead of hitting with all your might, a blow that grazes the jaw can make the brain sway and bring the opponent down, right?”
“I kind of understand that. So you mean you’re good at cursing people according to their abilities?”
“Close enough. That’s a good understanding. Hah…”
The sorcerer let out a long sigh.
“So, this cursed… elf criminal, is she a mage, a sorcerer, or a wizard?
I have no idea what the difference is.
“I think she’s a wizard. It seems like she’s been researching it for a long time.”
Chel explained in my place. She seems to know the difference.
“So you saw that thing from the master of the demonic land? That must be hell. I understand the situation.”
The sorcerer began to think about it in a way that was easy to understand and ruffled his hair.
“Chel, is my magic hell?”
“Makyo’s magic is original, so it doesn’t have a name. It is not classified, and there is no established lineage. Moreover, it’s not based on the nature of the human body or mind, but on the terrain. It’s doubtful if it’s even magic. However, it’s difficult to explain because it uses magic power and causes phenomena.”
“It’s as if there was a road in the sky while you were walking along the main road. It will probably become normal eventually, but it’s too exciting for someone to see for the first time. It’s too much. I think the old curse of the elves is about to break.”
Chel and the sorcerer said as if they were accusing me.
“So what? Are you saying that Hel is suffering because of me?”
“Yes!”
“I did something bad, didn’t I?”
“Not really. She can use magic, right?”
The sorcerer asked Chel.
“It’s a bit gradual, and she doesn’t even notice it.”
“Then it would be better for her to practice using magic with magical tools. That would probably be faster than trying to break the curse by force. Tell her to try focusing her magic on something with a magic circle drawn on it, like a magic stone lantern or a flying broom.”
“Okay.”
“If she can get a feel for using magic and get the hang of it, she might be able to use magic that is outside the bounds of magic. But that doesn’t mean she’ll be able to use the thing that the master of the demonic land is using.”
The sorcerer said this and slumped his shoulders, taking off his mask. The bearded face of a middle-aged birdman appeared.
“I thought that even in the history of Cliff Garuda, I was in the genius category. Are people like the master of the demonic land normal in Estinia?”
The sorcerer asked Chel.
“If that were normal, we would have been enslaved long ago.”
Chel said fluently, without an accent.
“That’s right. Haha… Lord, can I go to the demoicn land one day?”
“Yes, that’s fine. We welcome new immigrants.”
“For now, it’s important not to die. Besides, there’s a new one from the bird tribe.”
“Really? I’ve been beaten to it.”
After that, the sorcerer said, “I’m going back to learn the curse again,” and disappeared into the depths of the forest.
We promised to meet again and headed north to return to the demonic land.
On the way there, we stayed in a ruined tower in the desert on the way back. The monsters were in a bad mood again today.
“It’s so quiet.”
“Yes.”
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