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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Cyno
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Before I knew it, Callen and I had entered a wooded area. Callen suddenly spoke up.
“By the way, White Mask, how old are you?”
“Why?”
“You look a bit young.”
“Not that young. I’m around thirty.”
I revealed my honest age. My physical age is twenty, but I’ve lived for thirty years.
“Quite well-preserved for your age, I see.”
“I hear that often. I was always young-looking, and my skin got a bit fairer after becoming a Master.”
“But you must be quite old on the inside. To be able to reach Master level by just thirty. There probably aren’t many examples of someone becoming a Master at that age since ancient times, right?”
“No, there are. There’s Grand Duke Cloud, and if you convert their age to human years, there’s Grolmog and Ilfain Sides, aren’t there?”
Callen waved his hand dismissively.
“They are exceptions. Beings that are hard to classify as human.”
“Is that so? Hmm… Ah! There’s also the bald old man. Fabius the One-Eyed. Know him?”
Fabius the One-Eyed was a top-tier Master Swordsman, originally a knight from the Roblos Kingdom, who currently holds the title of Marquis. But that old man’s personality is really strange. He’s incredibly proud of the eye he lost in battle, but he’s very self-conscious about the hair he lost from hard years on the battlefield.
“Ah, right. There was him too.”
“And there’s Old Man Zenbe.”
“Right. Zenbe of Sainyu was like that too.”
“And there’s the recently deceased Black Hero, Wayne, right?”
Wayne was a Master-level paladin belonging to the Flame Church. He was known as a very stubborn, righteous, and rigid individual, often respected by the masses for eliminating mercenary groups that engaged in pillaging and vicious villains during his journeys of penance.
But I had a bit of a bad connection with this guy.
Was it my second year in the Imperial Noble Academy’s middle school? He sent me a letter proposing we conquer the world together, but it was completely ignored without a single word of reply.
Callen gazed at the distant mountains.
“Wayne, huh… Yeah, he was there too.”
“See? There are plenty.”
Exiting the path through the lush vegetation, Lake Kara came into view. We turned towards the bridge leading to the island where the Euroa Temple stood.
Crossing the bridge, I admired the lake. Below the clear water surface, I could see a colorful, sandy pebble bed and schools of variously colored fish swimming leisurely in groups.
I figured I should bring a fish trap next time I come. The fish were just the size of a palm; catching them and making soup would probably be delicious.
‘As expected of a major holy site for the Water Church, it’s quite large.’
Upon entering the island, a temple of magnificent scale revealed its grandeur. The buildings weren’t very tall, but the area was vast, rivaling any other temple I’d seen so far.
We pushed through the crowded plaza path and passed by statues spouting water. They were called Baptismal Statues, where pilgrims and believers visiting the Euroa Temple receive baptism to wash away all the sins of the world.
I looked around with a lecherous gaze, and Callen shot me a questioning look.
“Why?”
“Just seeing if there are any well-built women getting baptized.”
“Baptisms are only performed at dawn, when the lake water is cleanest.”
“Tch. They should do it anytime. Why bother with the time…”
Callen narrowed his eyes.
“Be careful. Looking at you, it seems your downfall will be because of women.”
I snorted.
“Even if I’m ruined, I’d have no regrets if I were surrounded by pretty women. Heh heh heh.”
Soon, we arrived before a giant statue in the center of the plaza. It was a statue in the image of Saint Euroa, quite faded, likely from enduring the water streams from the surrounding fountains for ages.
But it seemed to contribute decently to the temple’s income. A fair number of coins were scattered under the fountain, and a long line of people wishing for their desires stood before the statue.
Callen bid me farewell in front of the Euroa statue.
“White Mask, let’s part ways here.”
“You have somewhere to be?”
“I have an urgent appointment. Actually, I’m a bit late already.”
I made an awkward face. I couldn’t hold him back if he had an appointment.
“Well, I have things to do too, anyway.”
“What things?”
“Gotta pick up some pretty local women. A day like today is the perfect timing.”
“Lucky fellow. Well, good luck then. I’m off.”
Callen gave a hollow laugh and left. Left alone, I scanned my surroundings with the eyes of a hawk hunting prey. But women to my liking didn’t appear easily. If they were pretty, their chests were lacking; if they were slender, their faces weren’t great.
‘Are my standards too high?’
The spray of water mist scattering into the air took on a rainbow hue under the midday sun. Even at this moment, the fountain swallowed the pilgrims’ coins. The Euroa statue looked down upon them benevolently as they made their wishes.
I sat on the fountain railing, glancing at the ownerless coins scattered on the bottom. For some reason, I feel conflicted at times like this. It’s just a small amount of money, but strangely, the desire to secretly dip my hand in grows strong.
Checking the reactions of the pilgrims around me, I suppressed the urge and soon rubbed my rumbling stomach.
Hunger had arrived. The cry of my belly button clock announcing the exact noon hour. Time to eat.
I postponed the task of picking up women and walked towards the food stalls huddled together under the trees at the edge of the plaza.
* * *
‘Oh?’
Arriving at the food stall area, I saw a large figure and made a happy face. Unexpectedly, Old Man Zenbe was running a food stall here.
“Oh, Old Man Zenbe, fancy seeing you here.”
Old Man Zenbe saw me approaching with quick steps and twitched his nose. Unlike me, he didn’t seem very pleased.
“Human. What brings you to this temple?”
“I came to enjoy the festival. And you?”
“During the festival, this temple gets the most customers.”
“Ah, that makes sense.”
I sat on the long bench in front of the stall and looked around. Then I noticed some were missing. The stalker orc mercenary group.
“Where did those nuisance stalkers go? Do they get holidays off?”
“They’re gone. Probably doing mercenary work somewhere in Kara by now.”
At Old Man Zenbe’s indifferent answer, I narrowed my eyes.
“Eh, really?”
“They’re really gone.”
“Strange. They don’t seem like the type to give up easily… How on earth did you get rid of them?”
Old Man Zenbe was silent for a while before giving a bluntly honest answer.
“I beat them. We orcs listen well when you show a difference in strength.”
“Whoa, all of them? That many?”
“So I just beat the heads of a few representatives. If you take care of the heads, the underlings scatter on their own.”
“But they’ll keep coming. Aren’t they flocking from all over the Great Desert after hearing rumors about you?”
“So I beat up every one that comes and send them back.”
“Ah~.”
Perhaps not wanting to answer anymore, Old Man Zenbe furrowed his brow.
“Enough pointless talk. Why did you come today?”
I sat on the stall’s bench.
“To eat, of course. Give me food.”
Old Man Zenbe grumbled and snapped at me.
“I don’t mind giving you food, but you know that, right?”
“Know what?”
“You. You’ve never once paid for a meal at my stall.”
Now that he mentioned it, I had no memory of paying. The first time I came, I was in a hurry to subdue the Freyaker and didn’t have time to pay, and the next time, I didn’t pay because I’d given him 300 leaf gold as labor fees.
“Huh, was that so?”
“You’ll definitely pay today, right?”
“Don’t worry, just give me the food. The usual order.”
“Alright. Wait.”
Soon, Old Man Zenbe placed minced meat on the grill and started cooking. And as the patties sizzled, he looked at me, who was subtly scanning my surroundings.
“Why? Expecting someone?”
“Yeah.”
“Who?”
“A beautiful woman for a chance encounter.”
Old Man Zenbe snorted.
“Still living a frivolous life, I see.”
“No, it’s a substantial life. If a man isn’t interested in women, it’s practically time to open the coffin lid.”
“Your tongue is still as smooth as ever.”
Just then, a long palanquin procession entered the Euroa Temple grounds. It was a palanquin carried by twelve bearers, covered with white silk curtains so the inside wasn’t visible.
I saw the hundred or so armed guards following on either side of the carriage. Soldiers of Kara. It seemed the owner of the palanquin was a person of high status in Kara.
“Who is it?”
“Probably the Lord of Kara. Must have come to deliver a festive message to the citizens of Kara gathered today.”
If it’s the Lord of Kara, then it’s Hessa Sharif Kara. A woman called the Pearl of the Great Desert, who became the Lord at the age of six after her parents and all her siblings died during major epidemics in Kara twenty-two and fourteen years ago.
“They say she’s quite pretty…”
“Quiet. Rumors about high-born women are always exaggerated.”
“Well. That is a bit of a problem.”
“Enough. Just eat your food… Huh?”
Old Man Zenbe stopped handing me the bread and looked up at the sky. A huge shadow had just swiftly passed over our heads.
Our gazes followed the shadow.
Soon, the giant flying creature that had been soaring in the sky descended rapidly, swooped down on a small tent shrine in the plaza, grabbed a young priest standing in front of it, and soared back into the sky.
“Uh, what’s that?”
Then, the giant creature twisted the young priest’s head 180 degrees with its long, pointed beak and tossed him aside carelessly.
“Huh, he’s dead?”
The festival-goers, who had been standing around dazedly watching, screamed and scattered in panic upon seeing the young priest’s body plummeting helplessly to the ground.
Shouts soon came from the Lord’s palanquin procession.
“Monster attack! Everyone, form a defensive formation!”
The guards simultaneously drew their bows and aimed at the flying monster.
Old Man Zenbe also hurriedly retrieved the holy sword Titanía from the stall’s storage.
Taking a bite of my bread, I spoke to Old Man Zenbe reproachfully.
“Old man, what are you doing?”
“Don’t you know! It’s a monster!”
I stared intently at the giant flying-type monster circling the sky.
A body less than 3 meters long even including the nearly 7-meter-wide bat-like wings and long beak. A bulging nose bridge protruded above the beak, and fierce two-toed feet sported claws about 20 cm long.
A Level 50-ish Velvok. It’s considered a high-risk monster, but it’s not really one to worry about. Flying monsters are tricky to deal with simply because they fly, but most are weak due to structural limitations.
“Tell the kids to catch it. It’s not even worth the labor cost for us to catch that thing. No matter how ignorant you are, who thinks of catching a flying bird with a sword?”
“But…”
“Then run away like everyone else. With that size, it’d be quite a sight.”
Looking somewhat awkward, Old Man Zenbe silently watched the Velvok hovering in the air. He was a being far too strong and honorable to run away just because one monster appeared.
I watched the situation unfold. The Kara soldiers were busy firing arrows at the Velvok, and armed paladins and holy soldiers were pouring out from all over the Euroa Temple, likely having heard the news.
I chuckled scornfully watching the soldiers and holy troops showering the Velvok with arrows. It was absurd that hundreds were struggling to catch just one thing.
“Ugh~ Those fools, trying to catch it with arrows. Do they think it’s that easy?”
“Then what do you catch it with?”
“Mana Bolt Launchers.”
Mana Bolt Launchers were magical weapons that fired 1st-Circle mana bolts. The concept was invented long ago, but in practice, only wealthy nobles with hunting tastes or the occasional person used them; they were hardly ever used. The reason was simple: extremely poor efficiency.
For example, a lowest-grade Mana Bolt Launcher with a 60-meter range, including ‘Lock-On Magic’ and ‘Tracking Magic,’ could fire about three shots every three days. The money needed to make one could fund scholarships for 2-3 1st-Circle mages. Moreover, it had the fatal flaw of being almost useless against mana knights or mages with high magic resistance.
Old Man Zenbe gave me a look of disbelief.
“But would a 1st-Circle mana bolt take down that big guy?”
“If you shoot a lightning-type mana bolt when it gets close, it will. Lightning bolts stun them temporarily, right?”
“Well, of course.”
I lightly brought my open palm all the way down to the ground.
“Creatures flying in the sky are inherently fast? At that speed, if they get stunned and headbutt the ground, they’re at least incapacitated.”
“Ah, that’s a method.”
In the early days of the Age of Ruin, flying monsters were the ones that plagued humanity the most. These things could fly, so neither the Polkin Fortress nor the naturally treacherous Ipogeum Mountains could stop them.
So, quite a few humans were sacrificed to flying monsters early on, but the problem was largely solved once Mana Bolt Launchers became widely available. You could easily catch them with lightning bolts.
The only issue was that the essence required for Mana Bolt Launchers was very expensive, but since Chaos Pieces and Essence were everywhere after the Age of Ruin arrived, it didn’t really matter.
Old Man Zenbe suddenly looked urgent and drew the holy sword Titanía.
“Human!”
“What?”
“Look over there!”
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