Dark Fantasy: Magical Eye Knight – Chapter 61

Chapter 61: In the Season of New Beginnings (3)

TL: Potato-tan

Proofreader: Asianpotato

 

About a month after leaving Logos Village, the young dragon suddenly spoke.

 

“Don’t always call me ‘hey, you’. Give me a name.”

 

This came as a surprise to Russell, who had only seen her eat when awake and otherwise sleep, play with her tail, or flutter her underdeveloped wings.

 

When he asked her when she had learned to speak, she said it hadn’t been long. She supposed it was because she wasn’t used to her body yet.

 

Without much thought, Russell gave her the name Aellasis. In his opinion, a dragon’s name should have five syllables. Fortunately, the young dragon liked the name.

 

“Good. My name is now Aellasis.”

 

Not long after receiving her name, the young dragon surprised Russell again by transforming into a human.

 

“Why are you so surprised? Dragons are born with the ability to awaken magic and wisdom, and they retain it until they die. We wouldn’t call them the guardians of the world otherwise.

 

However, the young dragon could only use transformation magic. Instead, she had elemental attributes: ice and lightning.

 

The lightning attribute was understandable since Russell had infused it into Aellasis when he awakened her, but he could not guess how she had obtained the ice attribute.

 

After all, her mother was a golden dragon with golden scales. Her father, Ludwig, was human. Aellasis, on the other hand, was a white dragon with white scales.

 

‘Could the expression of genetic traits in a dragon’s offspring differ? Or had something changed in her deal with the devil?’

 

Aellasis shrugged at Russell’s question. She said she did not know either.

 

“I’m hungry!”

 

Now transformed into a human, Aellasis exhibited the healthy curiosity and appetite of her age.

 

She would be interested in a flower by the roadside one moment, drawn to the stream just across the next, and then delighted by the clouds in the sky and the raindrops falling.

 

In the meantime, she was very curious about her own kind. So it was not difficult to understand why Aellasis became so interested in the rumors about the ruins mentioned by Temoshi.

 

“A dragon’s nest”?

 

Aellasis looked back at Russell, her eyes filled with interest.

 

“They say it’s a dragon’s nest.”

 

“That’s just a rumor. It could be something else.”

 

Russell said this, but he knew it would be difficult to dampen Aellasis’s excitement. Sure enough, Aellasis exclaimed,

 

“Let’s go!”

 

Russell shook his head, but the expressions of Temoshi and the other men brightened a little.

 

“Ah, if you are thinking of going to the ruins, perhaps you could join us. . .”

 

“It’s fine. I’ll think about it later.”

 

Russell declined bluntly, but Temoshi did not seem offended and chuckled. Then, after finishing his meal, he took out a large water bag from his bag. He clearly heard the sound of liquid sloshing from the water bag.

 

Temoshi cleared his throat.

 

“Hmm, the moon and stars are beautiful, and the breeze is cool. The sound of the campfire is also pleasant. How about a drink? I happened to have some honey wine from the Denas region.”

 

“Wine!” Aellasis’s eyes widened again. She had never had wine before. A man named Doeden said,

 

“Temoshi, you’ve been guarding that like crazy, and now you’re taking it out here? Come on, you wouldn’t give it to us when we asked before.”

 

“You guys drank it all up without savoring it! I only have one bottle left now.”

 

A thin-faced man named Leham said nothing and simply took out the appropriate number of cups from his bag. Temoshi poured honey wine into the cups with a smile.

 

“Now, now, have a drink. It tastes sweet at first, refreshing in the middle, and sticky at the end. It’s so good that you’ll want to drink it again and again.”

 

Russell thought it would be strange to refuse here, so he simply accepted the cup of wine they offered him. He wondered if it was okay for Aellasis to drink alcohol.

 

But Aellasis was already happily receiving a cup of wine. Russell left her alone. She will learn the horrors of alcohol when she wakes up with a hangover in the morning. As she received the cup of wine, Aellasis said,

 

“Thank you, human!”

 

“Huh? Oh, haha. Yes.”

 

After a moment of bewilderment at Aellasis’s exclamation, Temoshi looked around and laughed awkwardly.

 

“Well, shall we make a toast?”

 

Doeden waved his hand. Leham also said:

 

“There is no need for toast. Let’s just wish for good health.”

 

“Then, to the success of our excavation of the ruins and to the health of Russell and Aellasis,”

 

Russell took a sip of wine. As its name suggested, it was sweet and mellow. It was not weak, and a warm sensation spread through his esophagus. His stomach seemed to be bubbling.

 

Russell had not had wine for a long time. He felt a sense of nostalgia.

 

Aellasis carefully brought the plump, red lips to the cup’s rim and sipped. Then, as if she liked it, she drank it all down.

 

In an instant, the girl’s face flushed.

 

“Wow, this is so delicious! It’s sweet!”

 

People laughed at her slurred speech. The sight of a white-haired girl with a doll-like appearance sitting with her legs crossed and drinking from a cup with both hands was enough to make them laugh.

 

The atmosphere gradually relaxed as the cups of wine circulated. Temoshi said that if he found a decent relic in these ruins, he would sell it for a good price and return to his hometown. Doeden said he would open a textile shop, and Leham said nothing.

 

However, Doeden revealed that he had a woman he liked, which drew laughter. Leham’s face flushed slightly, but he did not deny it.

 

Five people had almost finished the abundant honey wine. Temoshi poured the remaining wine into Russell and Aellasis’s cups.

 

Aellasis drank it all down without hesitation, nodding her head back and forth. She seemed sleepy.

 

“Aella.”

 

When Russell called out softly, Aellasis raised her head and approached Russell on her knees. Then she crawled under his armpit and laid her head down.

 

There was a slight snoring sound. She had fallen asleep. With a bewildered expression, Temoshi said,

 

“She fell asleep so quickly.”

 

“She’s that kind of person. What about you guys?”

 

“Oh, if it’s okay with you, we’ll take the first watch. We’ll wake Russell-nim last.”

 

Russell shook his head.

 

“I appreciate the meal, but I don’t want to spend the night with others. I want you to take the embers and go somewhere else. If you want a reward, I’ll give it to you.”

 

At this point, Doeden’s expression changed immediately. With a flushed face, Doeden shouted,

 

“What? No, you’re telling us to leave in the middle of the night for some money, it’s absurd. . . . . .”

 

Doeden’s words trailed off. Russell had taken out a heavy pouch from his coat. The men’s eyes widened at the clear sound of coins hitting each other. Their mouths fell open as the pouch’s entrance opened, revealing waves of gold and silver.

 

Russell extracted three silver coins from it. This was enough to stay in a decent inn for five days. Or, it could be enough to spend a night with a woman in a brothel.

 

However, Russell handed over the silver coins as if they were mere toys.

 

“Take it.”

 

With an awkward expression, Temoshi said,

 

“Oh, well, it seems like a lot. . .”

 

“Your cooking was good, so that’s fine. You also gave me wine.”

 

In the end, Temoshi received the silver coins as a representative. The expressions of the other two men also brightened. Money was, after all, a cure-all in any situation.

 

While Temoshi and Doeden packed their bags, Leham collected the dishes and cups that had contained the stew and wine. They had also cleaned Russell and Aellasis’s plates, but Temoshi and his companions had left some leftovers.

 

Russell watched them clean up in silence, then unbuttoned his coat and relaxed his posture to help Aellasis feel more comfortable. The white-haired girl curled up with a hum, half asleep. Leham said,

 

“You seem to care for her a lot, even though she’s not your family.”

 

“In any case, I’m responsible for her now.”

 

“Hmm. I suppose you have your reasons.”

 

“Everyone does.”

 

Leham took the cue from Russell’s curt reply that he did not want to continue the conversation and stepped back. Temoshi, who had packed everything, took a piece of firewood from the campfire and made a torch. Doeden and Leham also made torches and stood by.

 

“Then we’ll be going.”

 

“Go on. You drank well.”

 

Temoshi bowed his head. The explorers left. Russell gazed in their direction until the sound of their footsteps vanished.

 

Soon, the surroundings became quiet again. No, it was not quiet.

 

Now, forgotten in the pleasant season, insects were crying out, each with their own unique voice. The wind was gentle, and the campfire still crackled and burned.

 

Russell threw a few more pieces of firewood into the campfire. The charred charcoal and fresh wood met, sending countless sparks flying.

 

“Purrung”, Kry whimpered, and he tossed his head. The twitching of his legs suggested that he was running through a grassy meadow in his dream.

 

Russell closed his eyes.

 

He opened them an hour later.

 

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

 

“Are you really going to do it?”

 

“What? You’re not going to do it? Didn’t you see that money pouch earlier? Leham, when you get back to the village, you’re going to propose to Nora.”

 

“. . . . . . .”

 

While Temoshi retrieved a slingshot from his bag, Doeden was persuading Leham. Leham hesitated.

 

“I’ve already given him Aticso grass and honey wine. By now, he should have digested everything and more. He’ll be sleeping so soundly that anyone could carry him. We can just go and get his coat and the girl.”

 

“The girl too?”

 

“Yes! Did you see how pretty that girl was earlier? We’ll make a lot of money just by selling her as a slave. And the coat? You saw how meat and money poured out of that coat! It’s obviously a great magical tool!”

 

“. . . . . .Even so, if he has such a magical tool, doesn’t that mean he’s capable?”

 

“Leham.”

 

Temoshi, who had been loading a bolt onto the slingshot, stated, “

 

“We’ve already failed twice in dungeons and ruins. They say this ruin is different, but even so, do you think an opportunity will come to us nobodies? Like last time, the nobles, wizards, adventurers with backers, and mercenaries will have all the fun.”

 

“Even so.”

 

“Why are you hesitating so much?”

 

Leham did not say that he had a bad feeling about this. Like everyone else, his gut feelings could be right or wrong. For example, he had not won much money at the gambling den.

 

But this time it was different. He had a feeling like an alarm bell was ringing in his head. He could not say it out loud, but Leham could not shake the feeling that he was walking deeper into a swamp.

 

Temoshi approached and put a hand on Leham’s shoulder. He smiled his characteristic, charming smile. It was his smile that drew the three people who had grown up together in the village to follow him.

 

“There are three of us. There are only two of them. Besides, one is a frail girl who looks like she would break if you touched her, and the man has taken a sleeping potion that would make an insomniac sleep for two days. We didn’t take it.”

 

Temoshi didn’t call the people they had just met by their names. He simply called them the girl and the man.

 

Leham nodded slightly. He had confirmed that Russell and Aellasis had eaten every bit of the stew, even the leftovers, when he was collecting the dishes.

 

On the other hand, they had intentionally not eaten the aticso grass. Aticso grass was an herb that simply removed the smell and added a unique flavor to food, but when eaten with honey wine, it became a medicinal herb that induced deep sleep.

 

The effects took about an hour to fully manifest, and once they did, no amount of shouting in the ear could wake one up.

 

Leham said,

 

“But why are we going so far as to arm ourselves?”

 

“Insurance. We might encounter a beast on the way. If you know, bring a knife, too. Don’t forget to apply charcoal powder to the blade.”

 

Doeden was already using the torch he had brought from the campfire to ignite charcoal and make black powder. Leham eventually nodded and took out his own knife to apply charcoal powder to the blade.

 

Under the moonlight and starlight, the knife, untreated to reflect light, no longer shone. They did this to shield the heavens from witnessing the evil deeds they were about to commit.

 

The three men switched to leather shoes and walked slowly. There was almost no sound of footsteps.

 

It was not difficult to retrace their steps. They had left marks by burning leaves and branches with their torches.

 

Soon, Temoshi, Doeden, and Leham arrived at the small clearing where they had eaten and drunk and chatted an hour earlier. They all had black-stained knives in their hands.

 

The campfire in the center of the clearing was only smoking because there was no more firewood. The charred charcoal was still emitting heat, so it would not be too cold.

 

Temoshi, who was leading the way, raised his fist to stop Doeden and Leham. He silently lowered the knife he had been holding and picked up the loaded slingshot that had been strapped to his back.

 

When Leham, seeing this, tried to stand up without realizing it, Doeden grabbed his shoulder with a growl and pulled him down. In a small voice, Leham said,

 

“What are you going to do? You said we were just going to take his coat and the girl!”

 

“I didn’t tell you this in advance because I knew you’d be like that! If that bastard wakes up, he’ll naturally chase after us on horseback, won’t he? We have to kill him first!”

 

“No, that’s not. . .!”

 

Ignoring the commotion behind him, Temoshi calmly aimed the slingshot at Russell, who was lying against a tree. To his left, the white-haired girl, Aellasis, was sleeping under a blanket.

 

Temoshi’s face, as he aimed the slingshot, was terrifyingly cold. It was hard to believe that this was the same man with the charming smile and polite speech from earlier.

 

Temoshi calmly inhaled and exhaled, aiming the gauge at Russell’s head. His finger touched the trigger.

 

Thung!

 

The trigger pulled with a small sound, releasing the slingshot’s complex cogs, pulleys, and tightly drawn bowstring. Then the loaded bolt shot out with great force and lodged itself in Russell’s head.

 

Russell slumped.

 

“Whew.”

 

Temoshi exhaled the breath he had been holding. He did not apologize, either outwardly or inwardly. The world functioned as a food chain, where individuals consumed each other. If you didn’t eat first, you’d be eaten. That was the lesson Temoshi had learned from leaving the village and going out into the world.

 

Just then, Russell’s limp body shook. ‘What the?’

 

The moment Temoshi frowned, Russell’s body vanished like a puff of smoke. His eyes widened. Temoshi jumped to his feet.

 

“W, What? Where did he go?”

 

And then he heard a voice he would never forget, even in death, coming from right next to him.

 

“Right here.”

 

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