Chapter 180 – The Village

000

The road in the emerald-covered valley is narrow, but wide enough for a wagon to pass through.

Between the cliffs soaring to the sky, the crystals that reflect the light dazzle the surroundings when the sun shines down.

No matter how you look at it, it didn’t happen naturally, so the party was surprised that the plants that grew these things were healthy.

“Hmm. You came here to find clues about Tris Megistos? I hate the kingdom, but Aurelia’s daughter and my granddaughter’s acquaintances are a little different.”

After looking through Aurelia’s letter of introduction that Aruru forced to hand over, Gabriel asks as he walks through the Emerald Valley with the group.

Perhaps she had cried as much as she did, Amelia was walking close behind her grandmother her, rubbing her reddened eyes with her hand.

Her remarks her about being Amelia’s grandmother, and her her light her steps forward as she flutters her fluttering garments like her winged garments, make her feel like she’s out of human existence.

For that reason, when no one in the party was speaking prematurely, Gabriel turned his body around and walked backwards while looking at the party with his eyes his.

Soon, he points his finger at Cleon, who he thinks is the leader of the group.

“You. The child of the Dark Demon clan.”

“…This is Cleon.”

“Ah, yes. Cleon. You were the leader among you guys. Don’t be like a honey-drinking mute, and answer me. Apparently, you’re not even a pity, but you’re not ashamed to see such an old man’s body, are you?”

Unlike Amelia, who is polite and discreet, Gabriel talks while giggling or changing his expression quickly.

“… To be precise, I learned that there is a relationship between Tris Megistos and the hero Lesia-“

“Ah! Lesia. It’s been a while since I’ve heard that name. Whoa. She also visited this place once. It’s a story when the war between the kingdom and the empire intensified.”

At her words, Cleon was silent for a moment.

“It happened more than 30 years ago. He was a kind, strong child. Gabriel sneaked out of the village and was kidnapped by imperial soldiers. Lesia, who rescued the child, brought Gabriel to this village.”

Gabriel imagines the old story as if it were just before.

It was quite awkward for Gabriel to recall what happened 30 years ago as being in his early teens, but there was nothing false about her voice or expression of her.

Cleon, too, smiled as if he could easily imagine Lesia’s appearance of her.

Gabriel also begins to ask more persistently, as if interested in Cleon’s expression her in response to his answer her.

“Are you her? I don’t think he’s a son. A disciple? Or, are you just a follower of hers?”

“…”

Cleon felt a choke in her throat as he tried to answer her.

The first thing Cleon tried to answer her was the word ‘family’. However, wouldn’t that be too self-centered choice of words?

It is true that she stayed together in Elesia. And, it is true that she spent a short but family-like time.

However, it might be the same for Cleon. She might have felt differently to Lecia.

“… Lesia, I once saved her life her… Do you know what she is like now?”

She said, “I know. I heard she was exiled. It was just before her stupid son her staged a coup d’état.”

“…”

If you think about it, yes. If her daughter was Sariel, Amelia’s mother.

The younger brother of Sariel, who caused the rebellion, is Gabriel’s son.

Daughter and son. Considering that both met miserable ends in the kingdom, it was understandable that she hated the kingdom.

“Well. The letter of introduction says that he was controlled by ‘demons’ and committed such a thing. Not being able to overcome the devil’s brainwashing is also the child’s fault. I’m sorry, the old man said useless things. This story done.”

Gabriel sighs and looks straight at Cleon.

“I am taking action to bring her back to her world to her.”

“Repaying the favor… In order to find Lesia, who was exiled in the season, to find Tris Megistos… If people who don’t know anything hear it, they’ll think they’re looking in the wrong place. It seems like they’ve gathered her information from quite a few places.”

Leila’s eyes widened at Gabriel’s words of her, as if he knew something about her.

“She must have said that Lesia owed her grace, child. There is no human here who did not do that. Because of her, the empire collapsed, and the kingdom and this valley were able to be intact.”

Aruru also nodded her head. She was also one of the most aware of Lesia’s merits as her as a member of the Tromeia family, the shield that protects the kingdom.

“However, even if you know that she was banished due to her climax. Among the people who owe her grace, there is no human like you who tried to bring Lesia back. She might be different if it were her colleagues, but.. “Do you know why?”

“Why?”

“Even if a person dies, the feelings toward the deceased do not disappear easily even with time. However, banishment from the final season is worse than death… The ‘relationship’ between the object thrown into the dimensional rift and the humans remaining in the present world. (緣)’ is cut off. Gratitude, admiration, and precious feelings towards her…”

Cleon also seemed to feel something about her words.

The hero, Lesia, was an existence that the Church could not ignore.

It was because he was the ultimate warrior who best suited their doctrine.

A hero who saved the world, who can be said to be the protagonist of a legend of an era.

There is not a single person in her royal people who does not know about her, and there are many who are still alive among those who have actually been helped by her.

Even so, there were many characters who accepted her easily, even though they strangely regretted the fact that she was exiled.

The ones who failed to do so were Cleon and Talcheck. And only colleagues like Sophia, Esca, and Ruti who were very close to each other and were like family.

Neither the church nor the kingdom. She didn’t do anything about her disappearance of her.

“However, you still have that ‘relationship’. You have a special bond that doesn’t disappear through the dimensional walls. You. And, it’s not a one-way connection that starts with you.”

Gabrielle pointed at Cleon and Cleon tilted her head as if she wasn’t sure what she meant.

“Don’t you understand? Kite means talking about your heart for each other. In other words, Lesia too. I have a strong heart for you, so it means that the relationship is continuing.”

“… Lecia, us.”

Unknowingly, Cleon clenched her fist.

Her feelings for her were not one-sided.

She, too, thought of them as her precious comrades her, as her family her.

“I’ll ask you again, Cleon. What are you to her?”

“… Family. And, friends… Colleagues.”

Unlike before, if Cleon answered confidently. Gabriel also turned his body forward with a bright smile as if satisfied.

Soon, the narrow street comes to an end, and when you think you’ve come out into an open space, you see a huge crystal tower that intensely reflects the light falling from the sky.

“Welcome. To ‘Tricia’, a village in ‘Valley of Beryl’ (Emerald Valley). You can stay as long as you want until you find the answer you want.”

The sight that caught my eye was even more spectacular than the one I saw when I first entered this valley.

In the space called the village, there were several huge trees growing, and there were emeralds bigger than a human body growing there.

They were cut and processed and used like people’s houses, and although there were not many of them, each one was beautiful like a work of art.

Its essence is the ‘giant crystal tower’ that catches the eye first. The gigantic tower that grew from the ground to the sky was playing the role of forming a barrier that covered the entire valley after processing divine and water-attribute magic from the spirit vein.

“Whoaaa♡♡!!”

It was Lila who was excited and her eyes sparkled when she saw it and spat out exclamations like swear words.

Holding her hands together and looking at the huge magical structure, she was like a child who was given a toy she wanted.

“…Lyla…”

Quon smiled bitterly at her and called Layla’s name her, but Layla already seemed to be studying everything around her.

“Whoa, that kid must be a scholar. If you’re a magician, you might be surprised at a sight like this. First, go to the inn. If you follow the road to the right, there is a building for guests. “

“Ah, yes! Thank you. Let’s go Layla, first unpack.”

“Now, wait a minute~ Even if it’s just a sample of the surface~!”

“Where did you get those hammers and chisels from!? You can’t do that even after unpacking!”

Lila, who is about to run wild, and Quon and Sasha, who drag it while drying it.

Aruru bursts into laughter as he watches the scene. And, Amelia follows them hesitantly.

Cleon looks at the scene with a smile, but also looks around.

Perhaps because Layla’s loud voice echoed through the square, others in the village could be seen watching the group through the windows of their houses.

However, I felt that the number of gazes was not as large as the number of houses was small.

Besides, most of them have platinum blonde hair and golden eyes. The physical characteristics of Amelia and Gabriel were visible.

“Do they care?”

Gabrielle asks Cleon, who stops her in her tracks.

That would also be the case, because their gazes glanced at Cleon as if they were startled when they stopped at Cleon even after scanning the party.

“No. To be precise, they seem to care about me.”

“Whoa. That’s right. For the dark horse clan to set foot in this village, it’s impossible in the first place.”

Arms crossed, ‘um. Um’. Gabriel nodded.

It wasn’t for a day or two that the eyes of the Dark Demon’s family were not good, but Cleon, realizing that the same was true of the people living in such a closed village, couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.

“…Hmm? You’re not misunderstanding something, are you?”

“…What?”

“Ah- well. That’s all right. I’ll tell you about that later. You too, hurry up and unpack your bags. This old woman will be waiting for you with tea ready.”

Saying so, she patted Cleon’s back with the palm of her hand and walked away in the opposite direction from her group.

Cleon followed Gabriel’s back her with his eyes her for a while, then she herself followed her party her.

001

The accommodation provided for Cleon’s party was clean, even though it hadn’t been used for decades, and the furniture was not small compared to the number of people.

Layla once took out her monocle and inspected her quarters her, and she explained to the party without asking.

“This building feels like wood, but it’s actually made of emerald like the other buildings outside. On top of that, magic that changes the color tone is added… It seems that the furniture is automatically made according to the person recognized as a guest.”

“It’s convenient… Is magic omnipotent?”

When Amelia asks that, Layla shakes her head.

“Furniture isn’t made from nothing, but it can be seen as being made from the crystals of this mansion.

“I’ve heard of brownies. They don’t show up when summoned to the mansion, but they say cleaning and other things are done automatically. That’s true.”

When Aruru responds like that, Layla nods her head.

“It must be the same principle that this house is clean. Everyone, this house is like a living creature. Be careful not to injure it.”

“…Then, this is the belly of the crystal…?”

When Sasha spoke as if she had realized something, everyone fell silent for a moment.

It seemed that each of them was imagining something in her head.

“…S, shall we go to Grandma soon?”

When Amelia opens her mouth as if to evoke the quiet party, the party all nodded and left the inn and passed in front of the crystal tower once again.

As Cleon saw, if you walk along the road in the opposite direction from the inn, you can see that there is a house that is slightly larger than the other buildings.

And, in front of him, a woman dressed similar to Gabriel seemed to be waiting for someone with her hands as she folded politely.

Soon, when she made eye contact with her party, she slowly walked over and lowered her head.

She, too, was a golden-eyed woman with long platinum hair, just like the other villagers.

Unlike Gabriel, she was a tall, adult woman who could be sensed from her appearance.

She opened her mouth to her party with a small smile.

“You are the princess’s guests.”

“…Princess?”

When Quon asks, tilting her head at her unfamiliar title her, the woman nods her head.

“Have you not heard? Gabriel-sama is the highest-ranking person in this village. In the village, he is called ‘Princess’.”

“Ah- it was something like that. He said he was free, but he had some dignity… He was like the village chief.”

Lyla nods her head in agreement, but Quon cooks her and stabs Lyla in the side her with her elbow.

“Huh, that’s right. If it’s a normal village outside, the title of ‘village chief’ might be the closest.”

“…You are?”

When Cleon asked that question, she looked at Cleon and then said, “Ohh…” And blurted her expression.

However, she eventually regains her smiling expression as before, and she continues.

“…The introduction has been delayed. My name is Jibril, who serves as the princess’s assistant.”

“…”

Cleon didn’t want to pay much attention to her reaction from her earlier, but it seemed inevitable that her mood her was slightly awkward.

Jibril, too, felt that she had made a mistake, so she seemed to be contemplating whether to continue her words in such an awkward atmosphere.

“Then, Mr. Jibril. Please guide Gabriel.”

Aruru quickly came forward and dispelled the atmosphere.

“Ah. Yes, yes. Come in, Gabriel-sama is waiting for you.”

Saying so, Jibril turned around and guided her party into her mansion her.

“…Thanks Aruru.”

“What. By the way, he’s popular! Cleon.”

“… You’re not kidding, are you?”

“Whoops. How is it?”

While Aruru smiles, she goes one step ahead into her mansion.

Cleonon sighed as he looked at Aru, who had such a tomboyish side, but soon she followed her to the place where Gabriel was.

What Gabriel is waiting for is the innermost part of the mansion. It was a unique type of room that could be reached through several double doors.

Gabriel is brewing tea while sitting on a cushion.

And, there were several cushions placed in front of her.

“Ohhh. I’m sorry guys. Since I live alone, there aren’t enough chairs for everyone to sit on. I’ve prepared cushions. Sitting on the floor won’t be a problem, right?”

“Isn’t this house unable to be furnished like a lodging?”

When Lila asks such a question, Gabriel answers with a wry smile.

“It was possible in the past, but this crystal mansion is nearing the end of its lifespan. If you do that, it will collapse.”

‘Even crystals have a lifespan.’

A group of people sitting together thinking the same thing.

“Good job Jibril. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Yes…”

Then, after Jibril, who guided the party to this place, is bitten, Gabriel asks Cleon.

“How is it? How do you feel about seeing Jibril?”

“…Suddenly? It’s just that she’s a sincere woman…”

At Cleon’s words of her, Gabriel raised her voice and nodded as if he understood.

“As expected, is this our fault…?”

“What do you mean?”

“No. Nothing. That’s later. More than that, we’d better talk about Tris Megistus.”

I don’t know what she’s hiding, but as she said, it was more important for her to fulfill her original purpose for coming here.

“First of all… This village. No, I should start by saying that this valley itself is a space created by his experiments.”

“…A great experiment that twists the entire terrain and leaves the influence of the spirit vein on the ground…”

Lila listened to her and swallowed her saliva nervously, with a look on her face as if she still could n’t predict what it was with her knowledge of her.

“Even so. This village is not the place of his experiment. To be precise, the place of the experiment is underground in this village. It’s a place we don’t enter properly, but maybe you can find the traces of him you guys are looking for there. Goa.”

“What was Trismegistus’ experiment like?”

When Layla asked a question, Gabriel, who made a sound of ‘Umm…’, Added the word “I’m not sure, but-” And then continued.

“I can only say that it was an experiment related to the spirit vein and divine magic.”

It was Sasha who asked the next question.

“How can I get into the basement?”

“Pylon tower in the center of the town. If you go down the underground stairs there, you will find an ancient laboratory that has now become a dungeon.”

It was Cleon and Aruru who blinked at the word underground dungeon, and Quon and Sasha sighed.

“Of course, if it’s dangerous, it’s a dangerous place… But that won’t stop us from going.”

“Of course.”

When Cleon nods in response, Gabriel smiles as well.

“Yes. It’s good that the answer is clear. According to the rules of the ancestors, we are forbidden to enter the laboratory. So, you are the only one going, but-“

“…It’s okay.”

Cleon nodded as if he expected that too.

“Even if something happens, you can’t even go to pick up bones. Do you really want to go though?”

“Surviving in dungeons is my specialty.”

Well, even if everyone else was wiped out, there was even a case where they returned to the village with them.

“Um! Then there’s nothing more I can tell you! Go on an adventure to get your precious one back!”

“…No, it’s light! What’s the point of saying this… But is it okay with that?”

When Laila asked a question to Gabriel, who suddenly raised her voice, she smiled as if of course.

“Yes. No matter how many threats I tell you here. Are you going? If so. All I can offer you is blessings and words of encouragement. If not, do you have any other questions?”

At her words her, the group became quiet.

As she said, it was something she had already decided to do, so there was no need for further delay.

Everyone expected that something dangerous might happen, so they were ready to fight.

“…What kind of truth is in it. See with your own eyes.”

“… Gabriel-sama, do you know?”

“Well… Of course, the facts I know are more than the facts you know. It’s not the absolute truth, or the answer you guys want.”

Once again, theorem.

After hearing the story up to that point, Cleon stood up.

As if it were a signal, when the others stood up, Gabriel smiled.

“This old lady should prepare some pies while waiting for you guys to come back.”

Watching the backs of young people walking to find the truth, Gabriel closed his eyes for a moment.

[Even if I say no, you’re going to defeat the emperor of the empire, right?]

[Of course.]

[Before that, there will be a series of unimaginable pain and suffering.]

[It’s okay.]

[Surviving on the battlefield will be very difficult.]

[It’s my specialty.]

In the past, there was a girl who exchanged questions and answers like that.

In return for saving her daughter her, a girl who rejected the idea of ​​living together in this place where even the empire could not invade.

The story before becoming a hero.

“… Cleon. You really are. Her…”

Gabriel was nostalgic and quietly lost in memories of the past.

Feeling grateful for the small relationship that reminded me of it.