Chapter 151 – The Temple of Ninggard

The temple of Ninggard was a structure surrounded by tall stone walls like a citadel. There was even a moat through which water flowed around the stone wall, so it was safe to say that it was a fortress.

We passed the bridge built over the moat and arrived in front of the main gate of the temple.
Then Delia stepped forward and shouted in a loud voice.

“Open the door! My old friend Bellatrix has come to see my father! Besides that, I’ve brought adventurers and a wizard who will become a new rune mage!”

What a profit!
Soon the gates opened and we entered the temple grounds.
A total of eight people including me entered the temple.
Standing proudly at the head of our group was Delia. As I was following Delia to the palace-like temple building, Rebecca suddenly spoke to me.

“I don’t like it. That cheeky silver-haired kid.”

Rebecca glared at the half-elf’s back with sharp eyes. I thought I knew why Rebecca was upset, but she asked just in case.

“Why?”
“When we first met, you treated us as possessed criminals. You called yourself a dreamer and did rude things, and you still haven’t apologized. Are you going to fuck my boyfriend and move on quietly?”
“…”

I was silent at Rebecca’s words.
It was true that Delia had been rude to me. She arbitrarily suspected me of being an evil dreamer, and even after the suspicion was resolved, she never apologized. She thought that if she waited quietly, she would apologize, but even after she arrived at the temple, there was no news.

“That kid really wants to feed me a chestnut!”
“Calm down.”

Rebecca gritted her teeth as she saw Delia walking in front of her.
I stopped Rebecca because she was really ready to run out and feed me chestnuts if I left her alone. If that half-elf had a bump on his head, the wizards of Ninggard wouldn’t let us go.
All in all, he’s a half-elf with the chief as his father, so he has a huge following.
On the other hand, we must remember that we are mere adventurers.
On the Midgard continent, an apology is made on an equal footing, and if a person lacking in strength asks for an apology, he or she might be beaten in a pile.
I didn’t want to offend the half-elf, who was no different from a giant.

‘If it’s unfair, I have to develop strength.’

That was this world.
But my employer, Bella, didn’t seem to think so.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Luke.”

Bella, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, suddenly bowed her head and apologized to me.
I asked Bella with a puzzled expression.

“Why is Bella apologizing?”
“Because my friend was rude. She’s a bit immature because she grew up without a mother. In fact, she’s probably a year younger than Mr. Luke.”

I was a little surprised to hear Bella’s words.
I thought that half elf lived a long time, but was he twenty years old?
Then you’re the same age as Kate.
I do have a bit of a childish side to me.

“I can’t help it because my parents are odd.”
“Whoa. Wait. I’ll call Delia.”

At first I thought it was just Bella trying to apologize on behalf of her friend. But to her surprise, Bella stopped her Delia and she cut her off.

“Delia. Stop there for a second.”
“Yes why?”
“Do you have something to say to Mr. Luke?”

What you have to say to me
Delia seemed to understand what Bella meant by what she said with her serious expression.
The silver-haired half-elf glanced at me and broke into a cold sweat.

“Ha, there’s something I need to say. I suspected that dreamer in front of the villa earlier…”
“I know. But why are you keeping your mouth shut?”

Bella went smooth with her own childhood friend, Delia.
Perhaps because she was a guild leader, her skills in dealing with people were not normal.

“Mr. Luke belongs to the adventurer’s guild. It means that he is my one and only precious person. Treating Mr. Luke badly is the same as treating me badly.”

Am I the one and only precious person?
Treat me and Bella the same?
Somehow it sounded strange, but the tone was so calm that I just let it go. My lovers weren’t particularly in the mood to care, but rather cheered for Bella.

“Going Bugilma!! I didn’t expect you to care so much about our adventurers!”
“I’m impressed by Bugilma unnie! I’ll call you unnie from now on!! I love you as much as the horn!!”

As Rebecca and Kate cheered, Bella responded by lightly raising her hand.
Delia was unruly in front of her own childhood friend, her Bella.

“Sah, actually, I was thinking of apologizing even if you didn’t tell me?”
“Yes?”
“I just stayed still because I missed the timing. I can’t help it if that adventurer is so precious to you. I’ll do it now.”

Delia came close to me with her blushing face, blatantly humiliated by her. The silver-haired half-elf, whose height reached my chest, naturally formed a composition looking up at me.

Rumble.
Her breasts, swollen under her robes, swayed with Delia’s movements.
Contrary to her youthful appearance, her maternal love was as big as her mother’s stomach.

“Hey, Luke.”

Delia placed her hands on her breasts like a cradles and opened her mouth.

“I’m sorry! I apologize for being rude in front of the villa.”

She finally heard her apology from Delia.
It was also in the temple of Ninggard, which was no different from Delia’s master bedroom. Her attendants, as well as the members of the Nine Guards who passed by her, looked at Delia with surprised expressions.

It was because her Delia’s voice rang quite loudly.
Everyone around me must have heard her apologizing to me.

“Did Delia-sama apologize? To the Incubus?”
“I, the successor of Nine Gard, finally bowed her head to the dreamer…”

Among the members, there were also a few wizards with quarter staffs. As they watched Delia and I talk, the surroundings became noisy.

Of course, that’s not something I care about.
I met Delia’s eyes and opened her mouth.

“It took quite a while, but you apologized anyway.”
“…Yes.”
“I will forgive you.”

After receiving a polite apology, I released the lump I had stored in my heart.

“I won’t even call you Kamp anymore, Mr. Delia.”
“So what is a kamp?”
“You don’t have to know.”
“Well, it must have been a curse anyway. You don’t have to say anything.

That’s how Delia and I shook hands of reconciliation.
I thought it was all over with a handshake.

“Now that we’re done shaking hands, let’s go again! It’s nice to see!”

Bella’s voice evoked the atmosphere that had become too serious.
After the conversation, we went inside the temple building in Ninggard.

*

I talked to Delia, who had made up, so I could find out who we were about to meet.

Temple head Lawrence.
She was the head of Ningard, a research institute of ancient magic, and a rune mage with the highest rank on the continent.
Delia proudly recounted her story of her own father.

“Chief! That’s why my father is the wisest mage on the continent. Even Yoensu’s tower lord asks his father for advice on runes. In terms of academic achievement alone, he’s one step above the tower lord.”
“Are you saying that the head of the temple is stronger than the owner of the tower?”

James, the lord of the Mage’s Tower of Joensu.
James is regarded as the only archmage on the continent. However, it sounds strange to hear that there is a wizard who is better than James. Of course, Ninggard is a magical society that is not well known to the world.

“If you go into a magic match, the tower master will probably beat my father. My father is older, so the young tower master has a better advantage in the match. But isn’t magic necessarily a skill that kills people? That’s what it sounds like.”
“How old is your boss?”
“250 years old.”

250 years old!
That was a figure that far exceeded a human lifespan.
Wizards and warriors who became superhuman by accumulating mana in their bodies lived longer than normal people. However, no matter how long you live, I know that cases of over 200 years old are very rare.
It was truly a monster.

“When you meet your father, bow nine times first. That’s a courtesy to the head of Ninggard.”
“All right.”

We heard from Delia about the etiquette to follow when meeting the head of the temple.
After passing through the long corridor and reaching the center of the temple, Delia stopped her steps.

“This is a temple dedicated to Odin. If you go inside, my father will be waiting for you.”

A temple dedicated to Odin, the founder of magic, was built there.
The head of the temple, Lawrence, was waiting for us.

“Let’s go in.”

Upon entering the temple, I saw an old man in a white robe sitting on the floor in an upright position.
Behind the old man were huge statues depicting the gods of Midgard. Among them, I saw a one-eyed god sitting on a throne.
It was Odin, the father of magic.

“You’ve had a hard time coming this far.”

A white-haired old man sitting with his white beard hanging down.
Head Lawrence said to us.
Bella bowed in a familiar manner, as if she had never met Lawrence. We just had to follow Bella in moderation.
After bowing nine times, we were able to rise from our seats.

“It’s been a while, Mr. Lawrence. I’m Bellatrix, the deputy guild master of Galarhorn. I’m visiting Mr. Lawrence because of an important guild business.”
“It’s nice to see you again! Is it Bellatrix? I was a little girl when I met the guild master before. I guess it’s time to take over the role of her father because you’ve grown up without seeing me.”
“Lawrence-nim, you don’t seem to have changed from before or now. You look the same as when I met you 10 years ago.”
“You’ve changed a lot. Your health is worse than before. Now it’s time to leave this world, so it’s hard to move.”

Contrary to what was said to be in poor health, Lawrence was very correct.
Even the limbs were moving normally, and no matter how I looked at it, it didn’t look like an old man who was about to die.
Bella revealed to Lawrence her purpose for visiting her temple.

“Our Adventurer Guild is experiencing a severe shortage of wizards right now. There are over 1,000 adventurers in the guild, but there are only 4 proper wizards. It’s no exaggeration to see.”

Of course, Bella’s situation was the adventurer’s guild’s manpower shortage.
It is said that the wizard of the guild visited Ninggard every year to solve the ever-decreasing problem.

“Galarhorn would like to sign an official contract with Ningard. When ordering a high-priority quest, the wizards of Ningard will support you. Of course, I will give you a reasonable reward.”
“Do you mean to send rune mages?”
“Yes. Wizards who use ancient magic will be of great help to adventurers.”
“Give me the contract. Let’s read it.”

Bella even prepared a contract and presented it to Lawrence.
Lawrence began to read Bella’s contract carefully.

‘Galarhorn signs a contract with Ninggard?’

In fact, for an adventurer like me, now was a very important moment.
If the Adventurer’s Guild and Ninggard officially sign a contract, you’ll finally be able to meet other mages other than me when doing quests.
Rebecca and Kate, fellow adventurers, were listening to Bella’s story with interest.

“I heard that a wizard could be dispatched to the guild? Kay.”
“Isn’t that nice? When it comes to magic-related quests, only the dreamer is always eaten. What do you think of the dreamer?”
“Huh? Well…”

But I couldn’t concentrate on Bella’s story at all.
For some reason, he was more concerned about the statues behind Lawrence.

‘What?’

The founder of magic worshiped by Ninggard.
A one-eyed god sitting on a throne.
It was a statue of an old man with two crows hanging from his shoulders and holding a spear in one hand.

I couldn’t take my eyes off the statue of Odin.

“Looks like someone…”

Although it is nonsense.
I think I’ve met you somewhere.