Chapter 126: Peaceful Days
Once I stopped Gale from continuing his excited spellcasting, I rose into the air and surveyed the surroundings.
A little ways off, there was a group of goblins.
After briefly informing everyone, I moved above the goblins, trapped them with a ring so they couldn’t escape, and returned to the group.
“Did something happen with that group of goblins?”
“There’s something important about Gale’s lightning magic that I want everyone to see.”
“So we also need to be careful, huh?”
“Right now the power is low enough that it’d only result in some injuries, but once it gets stronger, if it lands near you, you’ll die.”
I guided everyone to the goblins.
Steve and the others looked on curiously, but the two veterans casually remarked,
“Oh, you caught them with a ring?”
“Haven’t seen this in a while.”
I had Gale create a dome about 20 meters away.
Because everyone was watching me with great interest, I told Gale to fire lightning at the goblins—specifically telling everyone to pay attention to the ones that don’t get hit.
“Shouldn’t we watch the ones that do get hit?”
“The ones that get hit will collapse, of course. But the ones that don’t get hit still take damage. Gale, aim for the goblin on the far left of the group.”
“The far left one? …Very well.”
〔I, Gale, command you—strike the goblin on the left! …Hah!〕
〈Crackle-crash!〉
The lightning bolt hit the leftmost goblin, knocking it down in a puff of smoke.
But the three goblins to its right jolted violently—some collapsed, others freaked out and began panicking.
The remaining four realized the danger and tried to flee, but since they were inside the ring, they could only run in circles.
“Interesting. Fireballs can scorch nearby enemies, but lightning works similarly, huh?”
“This was a weak lightning spell, but since the ring confines them in a tight space, those nearby were also affected. Once Gale gets accustomed to it, we’ll start increasing power—but I think you now understand that you can’t use lightning on nearby enemies.”
“Yeah, definitely. We don’t want to get caught in that.”
“If you’re inside a barrier dome, I think you’d be fine… but I’ve never tested it, so…”
I couldn’t claim anything reckless since I didn’t know whether barrier domes were insulated against lightning.
“Gale, you’re counting how many spells you cast, right?”
“Uh… um…”
He started counting on his fingers, so I told him it was eight, including the misses.
“With barrier magic, even when you’re almost out of mana, you can still create a shelter or dome at least once or twice, so it’s safe. But attack magic is different—you sometimes have to cast repeatedly. If you’re not counting, you’ll run out of mana suddenly.”
I’d heard of people only realizing they were at their limits when they suddenly felt exhausted.
I gave him a firm warning.
Barrier magic will probably save him even at the last moment… but carelessness kills.
I let everyone rest and flew alone toward the forest to hunt birds, something I hadn’t done in a while.
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I dashed through the forest while hovering, startling birds into flight, then captured them by wrapping them in a 〔Whirlwind!〕 and pulling them toward me.
This was far more efficient than walking, searching with detection magic, and using a sling to make them take off.
In no time, I caught 13 Chikki-Chikki Birds and 22 Green Birds, so I moved toward the grasslands.
Next, I used small whirlwinds in bushes and shrubs to flush out Runner Birds.
Before Gale recovered, I stopped hunting and headed back— but I had already caught 15 Runner Birds and 17 Red Chickens.
A very satisfying haul.
I decided not to dump everything on the guild at once, but instead sell it across four or five visits.
If I hunted like this all the time, I’d wipe out the population—so I’d only do it for large orders.
“Hey, got a good haul?”
“Yes. There aren’t any specialists hunting these lately, so their numbers have increased quite a bit.”
“That’ll make the dismantling guys happy.”
“If I bring in too many at once, they’ll complain, so I’ll sell them in small batches.”
“Well, if you really hunted seriously, you’d wipe them all out.”
“When it comes to Chikki-Chikki or Runner Birds, nobody can beat you.”
“My wind magic is more convenient for hunting than Gale’s lightning, after all.”
“Every magic depends on how you use it, I suppose.”
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A report finally arrived from Ambassador Trevan McNeil, who had been dispatched to the Holtland Kingdom.
Chancellor Brighton skimmed through it quickly—then froze.
Marginas, the chief aide, braced himself.
Whenever the chancellor reacted like this, it meant something bad.
“I must inform His Majesty immediately.”
With just that, the chancellor left quickly, clutching the report.
His face was pale, but he wasn’t tense—so at least it didn’t seem like the kingdom itself was in danger.
“Your Majesty! I’ve discovered why Leon took so long to return!”
“The war is over already. No need to panic like that.”
“That man—he’s been hiding his true strength splendidly!”
He thrust the report toward the king.
As the king read through it, his head began to ache.
“So this is why Holtland practically surrendered. He was supposed to deliver a ceasefire letter, yet he fought inside the enemy’s castle? What a reckless man…”
“Your Majesty, it’s far worse than that. Please read to the end.”
The king’s face tightened as he continued reading.
“…Is this true?”
“His first report after escaping captivity didn’t include why he had been released. It seems the ceasefire negotiations delayed his message.
And he likely didn’t want us to know he acted on Holtland’s request.”
“He did all this… at the request of another kingdom. His strength is greater than an entire army.”
“He flew freely through the sky, dropped massive quantities of stones—enough to shatter shield formations meant to simulate an army. It even says he dropped stones as large as a man’s head in one go. Against such an attack, even ten thousand soldiers couldn’t win.
Combined with the method he used to attack Holtland’s royal castle earlier… Your Majesty, we’ve gained a terrifying power. One mistake, and our nation could be destroyed.”
“Berlant was wise to give him identification papers. When I saw the part recommending a count’s title, I thought it was excessive, but…”
“He’s not truly Your Majesty’s vassal. Who knows when he might turn against our kingdom?
He has openly demonstrated his power to the ambassadors of other nations under Holtland’s orders.
Even so… you would still approve this?”
“Berlant’s report says he cares deeply for his family and refused a noble title immediately, only accepting the ID for their safety.
As long as he lives peacefully in Arclight territory with his family, there will be no problem.”
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I asked my sister to think about the layout for the shop, and asked my parents to think about the layout of the house— but while my sister seemed fine, my parents quickly said they had no idea what to do.
For my part, as long as the house had six bedrooms for the family, a living room, kitchen, and dining room, that was enough.
But my brothers rarely came home.
My sister would eventually marry and have kids, but if the place was both a shop and a home, she’d end up living with us again—but that was far in the future.
Since the market was close and the first floor needed to be the shop, the layout had to match whatever building we found.
Being a pharmacist’s shop, the store itself could be small— the room for potion-making was more important.
While I was puzzling over the house, my sister suddenly said:
“By the way, aren’t you 20 now?”
Oh right. I had completely forgotten.
I needed to get new city clothes made too.
And I wanted to give my sister a spirit blessing soon, but never found a chance to bring it up.
Once I bought a house and prepared to live independently, maybe I could give it to her as a celebration gift—if the spirits liked her.
“You’re making a creepy face. What are you thinking about?”
“Just wondering what I should give you once you move out. Tell me if there’s something you want.”
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When I visited the Commercial Guild for the first time in a while, Guildmaster Raymond practically flew at me.
“We’ve been waiting for you, Lord Leon!”
“Did you find a good property?”
“Let’s discuss it in the negotiation room—this way, please.”
He almost grabbed my hand as he led me, shouting,
“Bring the finest tea and sweets immediately!”
The tea and sweets were delicious, but his ulterior motives were obvious.
“I heard you want a building that can serve as both a residence and a pharmacist’s shop…”
“What kind of building is it?”
“Well, we haven’t yet found a house that perfectly fits your request… but the owner of the Olivetan Hotel is aging, has no heir, and wants to retire. He asked if we knew anyone who might buy it. Adventuring isn’t a job one can do forever. Are you interested in running a hotel?”
Oh no.
He definitely assumed I had too much money lying around.
“As hotels go, it’s around 200 years old, but being stone-built, the exterior is in good condition. With some interior renovations, it could become quite a splendid hotel. And the price is only 673,000,000 Dara—quite reasonable!”
“Ah—no thanks. Please focus on finding a house. Also, I want to have better city clothes made, but I’d rather not have the tailor come to my home.”
“In that case, I’ll call someone from the clothing department…”
He left looking extremely disappointed.
The Olivetan Hotel… I think it was a historic place located on the street named after the domain.
I’ll ask Mother when I get home.
When the tailor arrived, I told him I wanted city clothes—slightly nicer than what I currently wore.
Looking at fabric samples, I requested materials that could be enchanted with:
• anti-slash defense
• impact resistance
• magical attack nullification
• temperature regulation
He looked surprised, but clearly knew how much I had in savings, so he agreed politely.
While I was at it, I ordered a ninja-like hood for flying during winter.
The prices were:
• Coat: 8,600,000 Dara
• Pants: 7,200,000 Dara
• Hood: 1,700,000 Dara
The coat and pants were slightly cheaper than adventurer gear, but the hood was somehow pricier than a hat—probably because it covered the entire head, down to the neck and shoulders, and had a detachable face piece leaving only the eyes visible.
After signing the invoice for the total 17,500,000 Dara, I was told the fitting would be in ten days at the Commercial Guild.