There was a perfect table on the balcony nearby. I sat there and outlined Caspal’s story to Ethel.
“indeed. I heard that it smells like a black beast, but it must have been fog in the past.”
“Tell me if you know anything.”
I’ve been bluffing a lot, but I don’t know anything about this side. It’s roughly the extent of predicting that it might be similar to the one used by the original necromancer.
“Speaking of fog, it is like the blood of a black beast.”
“Okay, not this. What is a black beast in the first place?”
I want you to stop saying that you know it by using strange proper nouns. Even if it’s cool, if you can’t understand it, it’s just frustrating.
“To make it easier for you to understand. Would it be better to say that ‘the black mist has substance in the form of a beast’?”
“So what is the black mist? I think people here called it ‘death’.”
“That is also a kind of chaos. unrefined.”
If it was chaos, it was something roughly like radioactivity. I sorted out the concept for a while.
“Wait a minute, is chaos being refined or not? Isn’t it chaos at the point of refinement? I don’t understand.”
“Hmm. I put it on and came out. This is it. It’s a topic that elves have been debating for 500 years. Would you like to hear it?”
Ethel put on her pods and grinned. It looks pretty sincere.
“… … I’ll just go with that in moderation. How can I kill it anyway?”
“Do you think you can kill the air or the ground?”
Ethel asked, leaning on her chin. I thought for a moment and then shook my head.
“It may be possible to scatter them in an instant, but it would be impossible to completely eliminate them. I have never seen such a case yet.”
“is it. If so, the name death given by the people here is also accurate in a way.”
‘But in the end, the magic stone material in the original work, pitch blend, must have been supplied from here.’
There must be some way.
And if Parabellum found it and did it, there’s no reason why I couldn’t.
“Let me ask you, is the black fog harmful to you too?”
“It’s not that big of a threat to me. The root of this body is also chaos.”
“… … If you hear it like that, it sounds like you are a very harmful being.”
The root of composition is chaos, did I just run with something like that on my back? Thinking that I might have been bombed by chaos made me a little anxious.
“The right amount might be good for your health. Never mind.”
“Can it be any good?”
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Ethel chuckled as if it were a joke. In the moonlight outside the window, it felt magical for no reason.
“Then how can you not do the black mist?”
“Simplely, I’ll have to go ahead and absorb the chaos. If it’s a little contaminated, I might be able to purify it.”
“… … If it is purification, is it possible to cure it?”
“It is possible as long as the erosion has not progressed severely. Your condition may deteriorate for a while, but let’s just say that exposure for a short time won’t cause any major problems.”
He was much more capable than I thought.
“That is fortunate. But is there any other way to get past safely?”
“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to ask the people here?”
Ethel grunted, as if tired of the constant questioning.
“Looks like you’re right there.”
“… … !”
I hurriedly turned around at Ethel’s words.
Behind him, Caspar’s older brother, Felix, stood holding a teapot.
“Excuse me. I can hear the story and have a cup of tea… … !”
I grabbed Felix by the collar.
“Since when have you been there?”
“Bah, just before. I haven’t heard anything in particular.”
Felix was taken aback, but answered calmly. He did not miss the teapot and cups he was holding in his hands. I was concerned about his excessive composure, but-
“I am not lying. It’s okay to be relieved.”
According to Ethel’s words, he was released.
“… … I apologize for the rudeness.”
“it’s okay. It’s because I didn’t pretend to be popular.”
said Felix, tidying up the hem of his clothes. And put the teapot and teacup on the table.
“I’m sorry for interrupting the tryst. Have a good time.”
I grabbed the hem of Felix’s clothes as he quickly left.
“Where are you going? I think I had a strange misunderstanding. To tell you, the two of us are absolutely not like lovers. keep in mind.”
“Oh, well. Then I will know that.”
Subtle reactions are annoying. If rumors spread that the prince’s taste was a little girl, he decided that he would have to slit his head right away.
“I want to ask you something, so please sit down.”
“… … If so, I’ll listen. Excuse me.”
Felix politely bowed his head and sat down. When we met during the day, I thought he was a bright young man, but now, after hearing Caspal’s story, or perhaps because of the moonlight, I felt a dark atmosphere somewhere.
“Moonlight illuminates a person’s truth. It’s an elf proverb.”
Ethel said something wonderful but hard to understand.
“… … Now that it’s like this, is it okay if I say one thing I wanted to say?”
“what. to speak.”
After I gave permission, Felix chose his words for a moment and then lowered his head.
“Thank you for being Caspal’s friend.”
And thank you.
“Since ‘the incident’, Caspal has become very dark. I was often locked in my room quietly without a single friend.”
“is it.”
“Your personality can never be said to be friendly, so I was worried about whether I would do well at the knight academy, but it seems it was over.”
It’s definitely an unaffiliating personality. That’s also the charm.
“You have no friends.”
“yes. I rarely go out of the house… … ”
“Looks like there was one in town? Maybe you just weren’t interested.”
I sipped tea and sarcastically.
“… … .”
Felix, who was playing a good older brother who worried about his younger brother, hardened in an instant.
“… … Maybe it was. I feel sorry for you.”
However, he soon relaxed his expression and replied bitterly. It was intentionally sarcastic, but it made me feel a little guilty.
“Isn’t that too harsh? Crown Prince.”
“noisy.”
I said a word to the smirking Ethel.
“What, the black mist… … I’ve heard stories about death. I want to hear about it.”
“That’s what I was going to tell you about tomorrow, too.”
As if Felix had been waiting, he straightened up and took a posture to listen seriously.
“Is even a little exposure dangerous? I wonder if there are any means to prepare for something.”
“If you have a proper protective suit on your gas mask, you can survive to some extent.”
“okay? Can I use it to get into the mine?”
My question made Felix think for a moment.
“… … A lot of time has passed since then. I wonder if the black fog would have dissipated a lot now.”
“Is there?”
“However, since the quest is only for the monsters around the mine, we have no intention of asking the Crown Prince’s party or Caspal unreasonable favors.”
And spoke in a soft, respectful tone.
If you think about it at first glance, it was the same words as Caspal, ‘don’t go because it’s dangerous’, but the intention was slightly different.
It was a kind of provocation, as if to go if you could.
“But we can’t just leave it like that forever.”
I shook my head and denied it.
“I’m thinking of doing a quick investigation and reporting it to my father. What do you think?”
“… … Can’t you put up with that?”
After a bit of silence, Felix said as if he was troubled.
“We have already paid the price. Death is not something humans can do.”
And he politely refused the hand of salvation offered by the prince.
“It is better not to touch the death of the abandoned mine any more than this.”
As if he wanted to protect the ‘death’ inside it.
“Hoo. Do you think I, Iron Blood, will not be able to stand against that death?”
I raised my upper body and asked Felix as I brought my face closer. With a kind of threat to treat it as treason, depending on what you say.
“… … .”
Felix stared at me quietly.
“All right. We will support you wherever possible.”
And he promised support as if he couldn’t help it.
“I hope you don’t harm your body by overdoing it. If the Crown Prince suffers something bad, that’s when our family will end.”
“are you okay. There will be more people who will be happy if I die.”
“It’s such a big deal for the Crown Prince too.”
With this, the preparations are complete. The quest starts tomorrow.
We finished preparing in the morning and headed to the abandoned mine.
The abandoned mine was in a wasteland quite far from the town. It was originally much closer, but after an avalanche five years ago, Caspal explained that they had moved their dwelling away from the mine.
In front of an off-limits area blocked off by an old fence.
“Oh, are you here? I was waiting for you to lose your throat!”
Borland, Kaspal’s friend whom we met in the village yesterday, was sitting on a rock waiting for us.
“… … Borland. Why are you here?”
“Did you tell me? Because I’ve been waiting for you!”
Borland said with a thumbs up. That’s so lively.
“What were you waiting for? I didn’t tell you we were coming here.”
“Don’t ignore the speed at which rumors spread in town. Everyone knew that the lord recently sent a quest to exterminate monsters. In the meantime, since you came yesterday, it’s only natural that you’ll be here today! It actually fell apart.”
“That’s true… … Great.”
Caspal rubbed his forehead and sighed. In the meantime, Borland waved hello to the other dumbfounded teammates from behind. It has good adhesion.
“Hey, what happened to the lady over there?”
Beyond the level of good friendliness, he is putting work on Katyusha.
“… … Not really, it has nothing to do with you.”
It was immediately and flatly rejected. It was Katyusha with a rare expression of contempt.
“is it! Then let’s try to be related in the future! How about the timid-looking girl in the back?”
But even so, he didn’t get hurt and quickly waved his hand to Ber at the back and spoke to him. Caspal averted his gaze, pretending not to know, as if telling him to be what he should be.
“Me, me? I’m not really… … . I’m interested in the ore from the abandoned mine.”
“indeed. It’s a mineshaft! If it’s an abandoned mine, I know it well! I still go in sometimes!”
“… … what?!”
Caspal, who was avoiding his gaze, shouted in a shrill voice.
“You are entering an abandoned mine?! it’s crazy?! Are you crazy about dying!”
Caspal shouted, holding Borland’s collar with both hands.
“Ka, Caspal? what’s the matter. Your face is scary, huh?”
Everyone was surprised because it was the first time that Caspal, who was always quiet and only sighed or glared at him when angry, had reacted with such a rage.
“You know best how many people died there! What stupid things are you doing, Borland!”
“Ha, but ‘death’ is almost gone now? It’s okay, it’s okay.”
“Not okay! Don’t even come near here from now on! Otherwise, I’d rather have you… … !”
“Caspal, calm down. I was so excited.”
I stretched out my arms in front of the screaming Caspal. Caspal was pushed by my arm and let go of Borland’s collar, but his anger didn’t go away.
‘I never thought Caspal could have been this angry. It’s amazing.’
“Because it’s really good. Just be careful of bumping into black dogs from time to time and it’s okay? Where am I sick or what do I look like?”
“Everybody died saying that! Since when did you enter!”
“Caspal, calm down!”
I yelled at Caspal, who clenched his fists and argued.