Chapter 981 – Woodang Tangtang Return Ceremony

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When Cleon opened her eyes again, she could feel a bright light surrounding her, along with a throbbing pain.

Her mind is clearer and clearer than she thought, reminding her of what she experienced a little while ago.

Obviously, in order to save the ‘idea’ that had been eaten, he swung his sword with all his might and fell after that.

“Ugh…!”

What happened after that?

When I quickly got up and looked around – the adamantite golems that had filled the surroundings had disappeared without a trace.

Instead, Ventuna is mending the torn clothes of ‘Thoughts’ on the spot, and Laila is looking at her dexterity with amazement.

Since there was no longer any need to keep the mine’s height rising, Kuon was concentrating on healing his wounds.

And Bourbon, who has collapsed from exhaustion and is panting just like her, and Herti who is watching her by her side.

Lastly, Flammé, who is picking up the fallen adamantite and looking at it, and Melusine, who is sharing her opinion.

Fortunately, the situation seemed to have been resolved without anyone missing.

“Are you out of your mind, Cleon?”

And in a calm voice, he looks back at Kuon, who had been talking to the awakened Cleon.

“Ah… How long have you been passed out?”

When Cleon nodded her head, Cuon thought for a moment and answered.

“Luckily, it’s not that long. About 10 minutes? Galatea and Caliburn healed most of Cleon’s injuries, so you can thank me later.”

As Kuon said that, she smiled slightly and looked at the two swords lying down next to Cleon.

Both sides were lying still, probably because they had expended a lot of magical power in the battle, recovery, and formation of a small area.

When you wake up, let’s say thank you properly.

As Cleon thought so, she picked up the two swords and returned them to their sheaths, and Cuon stood up from her position.

“Everyone~! Cleon has woken up, so let’s go back now!”

The group turns around at Kuon’s call.

Some people sigh in relief, while Flamme comes directly to Cleon and pats him on the shoulder.

“You had a hard time. As expected, you recovered quickly because you were young. If it were me, it would have taken about a month.”

Flammé was stroking Cleon’s beard as if she was a little envious of Cleon’s resilience, and she said something to Cleon that I couldn’t tell if she was joking or serious.

Cleon will answer the old man’s words.

“Thanks to Kuon and my partners’ healing skills.”

“Didn’t you know? Healing arts only return a person to ‘normal’. And what ‘normal’ means is different for each person.”

As Flamme said this, she turned the thick part of the staff she had been using for anti-magic words behind her back and tapped her waist.

“The body is damaged quickly if it is not carefully maintained when it is still intact. When I was young, instead of a staff like this, I used to fight by moving between enemies with a tall baton. I used a quarterstaff that had been strengthened with the magic of the earth.”

Then, swishingly, Flammé swings her own baton.

Certainly, looking at the staff that moved so quickly and cheerfully that it left an afterimage, it seemed like the skills he had honed in his youth were still excellently maintained even now that he was older.

But that’s only for a moment.

When Flamme, who was swinging his arm widely, heard a sound like ‘Wud!’, The wand he was swinging fell to the ground with a ‘clunk’ sound.

Flamme slumped down in his seat, making a grumbling sound, and placed his hand on his shoulder.

“What are you doing… Do you feel younger after using magic to your heart’s content for the first time in a while?”

Lila, who was quietly taking a step back and looking at the scene, spoke as if she was a little embarrassed.

“Well, whatever it is, cherish your body. Young man…”

Flamme smiled bitterly as she spoke to Cleon, who was supporting her.

Will I become like that when I get older?…

Flamme’s words to cherish one’s body felt like words that could not be ignored by Cleon, who either collapsed or became a mummy every time he completed a request.

“Why are you looking so serious? Rather…”

Lila immediately tapped Cleon, whose expression was so worried that it reminded him of Cleon of the past, who was thinking something like, ‘What request should I make today to earn money for a night’s stay…’ And then raised her hand and raised her index finger.
Pointed somewhere.

There was a ‘thought’ that she could barely stand in front of people with her clothes half-repaired.

Thinking walked in front of Cleon with her hands clasped in front of her and bowed her head.

“Thank you, Mr. Human on Earth!”

A guy who knows how to properly express gratitude is a good guy.

As Cleon thought so, he just shook his head and said it was thanks to everyone.

“Ah, you also fixed the vocalization magic.”

“Of course. It was my precious work, including that.”

And when Lila reacted to the sound of her voice, Ventuna smiled and brushed her bangs.

“Is there anything strange about the body? Like the part that was broken when it was eaten by that guy.”

“Yes, it’s okay. After I came out, I talked to other ‘compatriots’ and made up for the missing parts.”

She shakes her hands while saying that, or jumps in place.

She makes various movements, showing that she has no problems moving her body.

However, her clothes may not have been like that.

“Ahh! Don’t run around like that! Clothes that were just repaired! Pins that held them in place!”

When Ventuna came running with a loud scream, her thought was to stand at attention and stop on the spot.

“S-sorry!”

“Cleon… If we go to the surface, let’s first find clothes that are easy for him to move around in…!”

Ventuna looked like she had given up on wearing the clothes she had made.

Even if she made clothes that she wore modestly, given her personality, she looked like she would be in tatters the next day.

“Well, now all that’s left is to return to the ground with Mr. ‘Thoughts’.”

And at that time, Herti, who had been watching Bourbon, carefully approached the place where her group was gathered.

As she approached her, stepping carefully on her unbalanced floor, her ‘thought’ turned her head.

“Yes…! And, when we get to the surface, we have to find a ‘place to live’ first!”

“Clothes first!”

“Clothes and a place to live!”

Despite Ventuna’s criticism, her thoughts appear positive, and she clenches her fists and nods her head.

“Both of these are products that our store handles, so I think we can definitely help you, Mr. ‘Thinking’.”

When Herti also smiles, Lila listens to the story for a while and then-

“That’s it. The name ‘thought’.”

“Huh?”

“Originally, you named yourself that because you were an entity that represented the ‘thoughts’ of other adamantites, right?”

‘Thoughts’ nodded her head at Lila’s words.

“But I guess it’s a bit of a special name to use on earth… I realized that adamantite is a being with individual will. Instead of a simple name like that, why don’t you get a new name that has meaning to you?”〈 Br〉

‘Thoughts’ must have blinked at Laila’s words.

“I see…! Now that I think about it, all of your names felt closer to ‘sound’ than ‘meaning’. ‘Lila’, ‘Cleon’, ‘Quon’, ‘Herti’, ‘Flamme’, ‘Melusine’, and ‘Ventuna’. ‘Bourbon’…”

While saying that, the ‘thought’ of pointing out each member of the group and recalling their names.

“Well, our names do have some meaning, but… Well, it would be tacky to say that out loud.”

Bourbon was shaken by the words ‘thought’ but answered, and Herti also nodded.

“I think the name ‘thought’ is also good. I feel like it is the most important value in defining oneself.”

“I agree, but should I say that the meaning of the word is used too literally to be integrated into human society…”

Flamme nodded at Herti’s words, but looked a little worried.

“Layla. Any ideas?”

“Hehe. That’s a good question, Cleon. I guess you finally realized who to ask when it comes to naming things?”

Cleon nods his head while swallowing the words, “It’s better than I.”

Because from the time she first brought up the subject, she felt she had a name in mind.

“The pronunciation of the rune word meaning ‘thought’ is slightly modified and used. So-“

“Zita.”

As if to stop Lila from saying something, Ben Tuna opened her mouth.

“Zita?”

Before Lila could even express her opinion, Ben Tunawa said her name first-

When she hears the name and sees the ‘thought’ sparkling in her eyes, she feels a sense of crisis.

“For a moment, I heard the name I thought of…”

Therefore, it was Lila who tried to calmly persuade Ventuna, but-

Phew, Ventuna exhaled deeply.

He jumps up and lies down on the ground.

What is a grown woman doing?

Thinking this, the brains of all the group froze for a moment and then-

“I hate it, I hate it, I hate it! I like Zita! It’s okay for me to choose the name of the perfect and beautiful adamantite girl I thought of! Her appearance and outfit didn’t go as planned in the end!!”

“Wow…”

She was literally lying down, waving her legs and arms and throwing tantrums like a newborn baby.

Of course, it may not have been long before she established her identity as a spirit, but she is definitely an adult.

Moreover, she is quite tall and has a cool appearance.

Seeing her like that, everyone couldn’t help but feel cold.

“Well, even if you say that… You have to convince yourself…!”

Lila says so with a glimmer of hope.

“Zita! I think it’s good!”

“You like it…!”

Her answer was probably more positive than anyone else’s, but Lila had no choice but to give up.

In the end, her ‘thought’ seemed to be that she had completely accepted the name ‘Zita’, as she nodded and said ‘Zita, Zita’ over and over again.

“Do you like it?”

“Yes! I never thought I would even be given a name by you! Furthermore, I was thrilled! After all, choosing to be with you humans was the right choice -“

‘Zita’, who was speaking passionately, stretched out his arms and held them towards the sky –

Suddenly, he stopped and fell forward.

“Huh?”

Cleon was really embarrassed, and a strange voice came out.

“Thinking!? No, Zita!?”

Kuon raised his voice after seeing her fall.

Flammé hurriedly placed her hand on the back of the fallen woman’s neck and let out her magical energy as if examining something in her…

“I’m running out of magic power.”

He simply figured out the cause and sighed.

“In many ways, it’s the result of using a lot of magical power. In her case, it takes magical energy to feel emotions. Well, if you give it time, it will absorb the magical energy around it on its own and move again.”

“I see. That’s good. Then, let’s hurry and get it to the ground.”

Herti is also heartbroken, surprised that Zita, her best friend, has collapsed.

“Okay. If you stay underground, you’ll get hit by adamantite dust. Let’s go back quickly.”

“Ah…”

If Cleon also agrees with Bourbon’s words, the group’s eyes turn to Cleon.

“Huh…?”

Why? This was the first time I heard this question.

Lila once again raised her hand and pointed to a part of the ground.

What do you think is there? And if you narrow your eyes and look at her-

Because of the golems rising and falling, there were traces of a magic circle on the uneven ground.

“Ah.”

Seeing that, Cleon would unconsciously make a sound similar to a sigh.

This is because it was originally the place where the transfer gate connected to the ground that he had drawn was located.

“I need to fix that.”

“Ha, ha…”

Cleon could only nod his head at Lila’s words.

Even though there are several wizards here who have better magic skills than Cleon, there is a reason why Cleon is given that role.

This is because we don’t know what will happen if another magician’s magic intervenes when Cleon has already opened the transfer door.

Touching a transfer door created by someone else is similar to opening someone else’s body without anesthesia and replacing the organs inside it.

If I made a mistake, the distortion of space inevitably caused by the transference technique would intensify, and the entire surrounding area might fly into a gap in another dimension.

Cleon trudges along with the chalk that Lila gave her.

And Cleon once again moved the chalk along the faint flow of magical power remaining on the ground.

“…”

And the women quietly looking at the squatting Cleon.

When all eyes gather, Cleon feels a little burdened, but tries not to worry and moves his hands.

Kagat, Kat, Kagagat.

A cheerful sound is heard every time the chalk moves on the metal floor.

However, contrary to the sound, Cleon’s hands were not moving that quickly.

Unlike the previous flat floor, moving the chalk on the uneven floor was quite difficult.

Nevertheless, if you move the chalk until you somehow complete the magic circle you drew –

“Whoa… It’s done!”

After about 10 minutes of wrestling, Cleon finally stops drawing chalk and stands up, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

As much as I worked hard, I felt proud when I saw the finished painting.

“Now with this-“

“Ah, Cleon. There, at your feet. The circle is a little twisted.”

“And the pattern on the right is tilted to the right by about 12 degrees.”

Lyla and Melusine’s tackle comes flying in as soon as they get up thinking they’ve finished it.

When Cleon heard those words, he closed his mouth for a moment, then squatted down again, wiped the chalk with a handkerchief, and moved the chalk again.

Kagak! Tak!

If Cleon’s hand stops once again, this time it will be complete.

And he gets up on his knees again.

“This will work!?”

When Cleon turned to Lyla and asked, like a child about to be examined after completing his homework, Lyla looked at her magic circle for a moment.

“Over there… The runes at 3 o’clock…”

“Pfft!”

“Just kidding.”

“Are you kidding me?”

When Lila immediately confesses to teasing her, Cleon raises his voice.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. The ground isn’t flat, but you draw it well like this. As expected, you’re very dexterous.”

“Ah, because I am training myself in many ways when it comes to delicate work with my hands.”

When Cleon responded to Lila’s words, Cuon blushed as if she was surprised.

“Eh. Wait a minute, Cleon… What are you saying in front of people?”

“…?”

Cleon looks at Kuon with an expression that asks, “What are you talking about?”

When it comes to delicate work that involves using one’s hands, all Cleon does is ‘sculpting’ as a hobby.

“Quon… That’s not what Cleon said. You must be tired too. Let’s go back and get some rest.”

Lila, who was listening to her with Cleon next to her, just shook her head with an expression of disbelief and shock.

“Eh…!? Is that so? I’m sorry, Cleon! I guess I guessed!”

“No. I didn’t even understand what you meant…”

“I’ll go back and explain. Like Kuon said, there are a lot of people here right now.”

Lila spoke to Cleon while laughing, and Cuon lowered her head and looked embarrassed.

Looking at that, Cleon thinks.

‘Hmm. Looks like everyone is tired. If I see you saying nonsense.’

That’s a relatively normal thought.

At that time.

“Now, this one contains Cleon.”

“Ugh!”

And, Ventuna casually hands over Zita, made of heavy adamantite, to Cleon.

“Wasn’t it your precious work?”

“Because it is precious, the strongest person should lift it.”

“Ugh… That’s right…!”

In the end, when I carried the heavy Zita on my back, I could feel the soft part of her with human-like skin touching my back, even though she was clearly stationary.

‘Jita rides a golem, Jita rides a golem, Jita rides a golem…’

Cleon reflects on this within himself.

“Then… Let’s go!”

Trying to keep your composure, when Cleon activates the transfer magic circle.

A large light spread out, surrounding the group and causing them to disappear on the spot.