Ch 222
Forest Night.
Her first meeting left a deep impression of awe on Lisir’s party.
An awe that would make one bow their head in her presence.
But now.
They had forgotten that awe, gazing intently at her face that night.
“…”
Forest Night suffering from extreme cognitive dissonance.
It was because of the thought of where else they could see such a rare sight.
White Iron Guild.
Yellow Mage.
They were unconsciously making subtle expressions.
Should it be called the superiority of a predecessor?
Having met a certain man before Forest Night,
and having experienced the same situation before Forest Night, that thought naturally came to them.
Ah.
I know.
That feeling.
Golden Star, who could be considered on par with Forest Night among the party.
Carozen, having somewhat regained his usual atmosphere, opened his mouth.
“Forest Night. Even someone of your caliber feels the human emotion of embarrassment, I see.”
Labella turned her head to look at the pigeon.
The unique languid impression that had exuded an inhuman composure was clearly wavering.
“You… already knew about Lisir’s power, I see.”
“Well, something like that.”
“…Then, I will ask one thing. How did you accept and understand this child’s… ability?”
“…!”
Carozen felt a sense of amusement.
And, excluding him, the individuals from the Yellow Tower and the White Iron Guild felt an indescribable elation.
Especially since Forest Night, unable to fully control her confusion, was seeking advice from her.
“His ability.”
Actually.
They didn’t know exactly what Labella and Lisir were talking about.
However.
They vaguely anticipated it.
In eight out of ten cases, it would be about the mysterious spirits he controlled.
“Surely, they’re talking about the demon that became a spirit.”
When Carozen spoke in a flat tone, ripples appeared in Labella’s silver eyes.
“You really did know. About this child’s ability…”
Carozen’s natural acceptance of Lisir’s ability made the cracks in Labella’s composed atmosphere even more prominent.
It was the face of someone whose entire world had been denied.
“Since when did you know?”
“In terms of timing, it’s not much different from you.”
“Someone of your caliber wouldn’t simply dismiss this ability—or phenomenon—as an inexplicable mystery and ignore it. You seem very calm right now. As if you’ve reached your own answer. In such a short time. Will you tell me the secret?”
The amusement Carozen felt reached the realm of ecstasy.
He opened his mouth—or rather, beak—in a cheerful voice.
“How can I ignore a polite request from Forest Night? Fine. I’ll gladly share it. That secret. Now then. Where should I start? First, I can’t avoid mentioning the demon’s existence.”
As Labella said.
The Yellow Tower, having already consulted with archdemon experts, had reached its own conclusion regarding the relationship between ‘that demon’ and Lisir.
Carozen’s confidence stemmed from that.
Golden Star had regained his characteristic boastful atmosphere.
“Demon…”
“Judging by your reaction, you’ve encountered that demon before. Do you know anything about that demon?”
Labella smiled wryly at that arrogant tone.
“Are you asking that of me, a Dark Elf? Do you know about Verbandes?”
“Verbandes? Why that name suddenly—”
Carozen questioned the sudden mention of the name of a high-ranking demon comparable to the lowest rank of archdemons, and the existence that was the nemesis of many Dark Elves.
And.
That question soon turned into bewilderment.
He realized that the flow of the conversation was quite different from what he had anticipated.
“Older Sister!!!”
At that moment.
The Crybaby Spirit, who appeared unexpectedly, interrupted the flow of conversation.
“!!!”
Its spirited eyebrows seemed to express a determined protest.
“You forgot my name again!!! My name is Verbande…ss! I told you!!!”
The Crybaby Spirit declared majestically, raising both arms.
At that sight, the expressions of the Yellow Tower and the White Iron Guild changed drastically.
What is this?
“You sealed another spirit besides Dangaleon…?”
Master Yerika of the Yellow Tower muttered.
It was also the sound of the hypothesis they had derived being shaken.
“Sealed?! What an ultimate insult!!!”
Another spirit（?） appeared.
An unusually high-rising grayish-white fireball looked down at them.
“My becoming my Master’s servant is a testament to my unwavering loyalty!!! To be treated the same as you worms who bow your heads when stepped on!!! Master!!! Please allow me to burn these worms!”
“I don’t think they meant it in a bad way.”
“Oh! Actually, I thought so too!!!”
The atmosphere suddenly became lively.
Perhaps feeling lonely while watching it from afar.
“Huh?”
Lisir felt pressure on his legs and looked down.
“…”
The expressionless Purple Girl Spirit was silently clinging there.
The effort to increase the closeness was expressed by her squished cheeks.
“Myeong-i! Come here!!!”
“…”
The Sand Spirit forcibly pulled away the Purple Spirit.
“I found a good place to play yesterday!”
“…”
The Purple Spirit, helplessly dragged away, gazed wistfully at Lisir’s legs as they moved away.
“Oh!!! Verbande…ss! Please take me too!!!”
The great migration of spirits.
Lisir’s party followed behind, as if hypnotized.
The spirits headed towards the garden in front of the hut.
“Myeong-i catch!!!”
The spirits were playing ball there.
Something rolled across the ground from the Sand Spirit’s kick.
“…”
The Purple Spirit bent down as instructed and caught the ball（?）.
It was a human head.
To be precise, a spirit（?） that seemed to be a tangled mass of several human heads.
“Hey!!! Mute!!! Throw that to me too!!!”
“…”
The Purple Spirit silently looked at the fireball floating in the sky.
But you don’t have hands or feet to catch the ball.
That seemed to be its meaning.
“Foolish!!! Even without that, this body has fire!
“Hwal-eok-ah!!! That’s not how you play ball!!!”
“Then… how am I supposed to join this game!?”
“Don’t join!!!”
“Kaaaaak!!! What an ultimate regret!!!”
The scene created by the cute（?） spirits（?） in the flower garden was more than enough to bring a heartwarming smile to the viewers.
Of course.
Only Lisir had that expression.
“Child?”
“Huh? Ah! Yes! Bella-nim.”
“What… are those children?”
“Ah! These children, you see—”
Lisir introduced his spirits（?） one by one.
“…”
Since when?
The Yellow Mage and adventurers, who had clung to Lisir as if escaping from Forest Night—
were now clinging to Forest Night as if escaping from Lisir.
It was the moment when the awe they felt when encountering Forest Night was overlaid with a greater emotion.
“Child, then—”
By now.
Labella’s languid expression was creating subtle wrinkles, like feeling a slight headache.
“Every time I purify those children…”
Forest Night trailed off, speechless.
It was truly a spectacular sight, but they were no longer looking at Forest Night.
They watched Lisir’s reaction with expressions similar to Forest Night’s.
He nodded.
“Yes. As I mentioned, I experienced an inexplicable increase in rank every time I performed the purification.”
“…”
After a moment’s hesitation, Forest Night spoke with difficulty.
“Why?”
They thought.
There could be no more appropriate question in this situation.
They forcibly purified impure beings with transcendental rank.
It was clearly an act of power comparable to a miracle.
In fact, the Great Hero who wielded similar power—
the first Saint—met their end with their existence disappearing as they bore the price.
But.
How could that price be ‘an increase in rank’?
After a moment’s hesitation, Lisir spoke with difficulty.
“Now that I think about it, it’s definitely strange.”
“…”
Thump.
At that genuinely dubious look—
the distance between them and Lisir grew even further.
Meanwhile.
They felt a sense of incongruity.
They discovered those whose attention was focused on Lisir, not themselves.
Master Didoa and Master Melthas.
“Ahem.”
Melthas, sensing their gaze, cleared his throat as if waiting for this moment.
“A few months ago, when I brought Lisir to the tower, he was still at Rank 3.”
A self-satisfied smile appeared on the face of the old man with braided beard.
Those who watched that smile thought.
‘So what…’
Is that really the right reaction in this situation?
Does looking at Lisir for too long distort one’s thinking like that?
Thump.
The distance between them and Lisir grew even further.
That’s when it happened.
“Pfft.”
They all jumped in surprise and looked towards the source of the sound.
Surprisingly, that lively laughter was made by Forest Night.
“Well, what’s there to worry about?”
Forest Night.
She gently stroked the Sand Spirit’s head.
“!!!”
The Crybaby Spirit bravely accepted her touch.
“As the child said. It’s good to be good. Isn’t it?”
Dark Elf.
Verbandes.
It was the moment when their long-standing feud came to an end.
The Dark Elf made a completely bright smile.
✦✦✦
Perhaps because they had found a common ground.
Or perhaps because the atmosphere she exuded had become noticeably softer.
Afterwards.
Lisir’s party was able to converse with Forest Night relatively naturally.
Having a meal together again, they continued their unfinished conversation.
“Using Shallado’s pure silver, we arrived at this place.”
“Bella-nim. Do you have any idea?”
“Perhaps, my potion was used in the process of refining Shallado’s pure silver.”
“Potion?”
“Because my energy was put into the potion more than necessary, it ended up affecting the pure silver. Naturally, I don’t remember making something that allows outsiders to enter and leave my territory.”
Labella nodded and said, looking at Lisir’s party.
“It must have been a disaster for you as well.”
Carozen shook his head.
“Since it stemmed from a mutual misunderstanding, I won’t worry about it anymore.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about.”
“…Then?”
“You must have been greatly anticipating the spoils of exploration. Didn’t you encounter a grumpy Dark Elf?”
“…”
It was true.
They were satisfied with the fact that they had survived their encounter with Forest Night—
but originally, what they had expected was not their lives, but immense spoils.
In the case of the Yellow Tower and the White Iron Adventurer’s Guild—
the leader of the group had already recognized the extraordinary nature of the dungeon.
Seeing them, Labella made a meaningful smile.
“In that sense, I think it’s appropriate to express my deep gratitude to our descendant.”
“What do you—”
Labella snapped her fingers, and the plants in the garden intertwined to create a gate.
Beyond that gate was Forest Night’s warehouse—
among the many warehouses she possessed, it was ranked around number 2 in terms of importance.
“White Iron Adventurer’s Guild. Yellow Tower. Grey Tower. I grant you my—private property. Take one item each that you like from inside.”
“…!”
Forest Night’s warehouse.
Countless anecdotes—or legends—related to her came to their minds.
“What on earth is—”
Having regained their senses, they looked at Lisir with shining eyes.
Lisir could only smile wryly at their burdensome gaze.
“And our child—”
Labella took Lisir’s hand.
“Will you come with me for a moment?”
✦✦✦
“Bella-nim, this place is…”
The place Lisir was led to by Labella’s hand was a clearing deep within her forest.
A cave of plants.
That expression came to Lisir’s mind.
Plants he had never encountered before.
A verdant green light.
And a rich life energy.
All of it combined to form a single space.
“In many ways, it’s my most cherished place. I have something I want to do here with our child.”
“What do you mean by ‘something you want to do’?”
“Nature Magic.”
The word was subtly mentioned by Labella.
It was a branch of ancient magic—
but because of one wizard’s existence, it became taboo and its lineage was cut off.
Thus, it became the exclusive property of one wizard, and the power of secret magic.
“I want to give our child a little teaching. Is that alright?”
“…!”
Lisir’s heart pounded.
The mysterious power that formed this wondrous forest.
The overwhelming power that easily subdued his party, including Golden Star.
More than anything.
The power that his master, Pamon, wielded.
At the fact that he could inherit that power, Lisir felt an unprecedented elation.
“P-Please…!!!”
At Lisir’s appearance, so excited that he even stuttered, Labella made a happy smile.
“Alright. Then, before we begin—how much have you learned?”
“Yes?”
“Nature Magic. That child—Pamon. How much have you learned about Nature Magic from her? Let’s start from there.”
“…”
Lisir scratched the back of his head and cautiously said.
“Well, I haven’t learned anything yet.”
“…What do you mean?”
Lisir cautiously confessed to his master’s master.
Pamon.
The fact that he was abandoned less than a week after becoming her disciple.
“!!!”
Demons who had become spirits.
The power of purification.
Forest Night, who maintained her composure even while experiencing this phenomenon that contradicted reason.
That transcendental being finally lost her composure.
Her mouth fell open.
It was the reaction of someone who had truly encountered an existence beyond the norm.
✦✦✦
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