Chapter 597: Haulon’s Brief Respite
A few days had passed since the founding festival of Karn’s Country.
Just as the gods I met for the first time were preparing to leave, my magic power was drained, and I found myself in a contract state. Wanwan had requested the bone he entrusted to me, and I had a moment of confusion as Haulon made himself comfortable in the House. Es’s water continued to flow into the Temple, showing no signs of stopping, while Captain Cat snuck in pretending to be a cat. Asas attempted to flirt with Shiva, who had come to pick up Dinoss along with the children, only to be swiftly shut down. Soleil rushed in after noticing the golden vegetables and fruits floating by, and Asas, who had tried to flirt again, was shut down once more. Then, upon seeing Faramia standing behind Soleil, Asas was shut down yet again without uttering a single word. So much had happened.
Yeah, a lot had happened.
—Shouldn’t I have said something to Ash? No, maybe not.
After the festival, I spent a few lazy days, tending to the fields and mountains. It felt like I had taken a break, even though it was more of a goal for Karn than for me.
Building a country wasn’t the end; there would be challenges ahead. But this wasn’t my first time being a king, and with Haulon by my side, I felt reassured. I would miss him since he would likely come to Kanum less often.
Just as I was lost in thought, Haulon invited me.
“I’m thinking of making the Traveler’s Stone a protective stone for our people. And also, our specialty products,” he said from his usual spot in the rental house in Kanum.
“The transparent one? The blue one?” I asked.
“The blue one that Esha had. The story has already spread among the citizens that the Traveler’s Stone called forth a spirit, guiding them back to their homeland.”
Wait, I’ve been turned into a spirit without realizing it!? Well, I admit I looked pretty suspicious when I visited the mountain where Esha lives. More like, I looked too clean for someone who had walked for days.
“The king Tildonai knows where to find it. I’m going to scout the location now, and I thought you might want to join me since you’re looking into the Traveler’s Stone, right?”
“Not exactly researching, but sure, I’ll go.”
And so it was decided; we were off to the Dragon Continent again, heading further southeast from Karn’s Country.
“…Are we passing through the jungle?” I asked, not thrilled about the idea.
“Just before it.”
Thank goodness.
We were traveling through the night desert on Haulon’s magical carpet. A small moon hung high above, casting a pale light over the surroundings. The wind was gentle, leaving delicate patterns in the sand without stirring it up.
“If I call, a white giant would probably appear and whisk us away at high speed,” I mused.
“Can’t you say something a bit more atmospheric? What’s with the ‘high-speed’ nonsense?”
It’s not that I had a problem with the slow pace, but it reminded me of the spirits moving like jet skis.
When I brought the miners, we would likely follow the Es River as much as possible, but for now, we were making a diagonal shortcut through the desert from Karn’s Country. On the carpet, there were snacks and tea.
“By the way, is it impossible to repair the large carpet?” I asked, noting that it was only big enough for two.
Haulon was sitting back, puffing on his water pipe, while I lounged, letting my legs dangle off the edge, gazing at the moon. It was cramped, but if we squeezed, we could fit two or three more people—though the weight would be an issue.
I had heard there was another large flying carpet for bigger groups, but it had been burned.
“Not possible. The current generation lacks both magic power and patience, making it difficult to weave intricate patterns while infusing them with magic. There are successors to the one who wove this carpet, but they lack magic and can’t see spirits,” Haulon lamented.
We chatted idly as we headed toward the mine. This was probably Haulon’s brief break after being busy for so long. I suspected Karn had sent him off with that in mind, so I chose not to use [Teleportation] since I didn’t know the location and instead rode along on the carpet.
We snacked, played board games, and gazed at the moon, letting the carpet carry us through the night desert without a care in the world.
The sandy desert gave way to cracked earth, and soon, low, slender trees began to appear, gradually becoming denser. They were more substantial than the jungle, with proper trunks and branches.
When I thought of a mine, I imagined rocky mountains. Mountains are tall, right? But the place we arrived at felt more like a plateau. Is this a mountain? It’s not flat, so is it a mountain? I could see tall mountains in the distance, but this one wasn’t very high.
And perhaps because there weren’t many trees like in Japan, it didn’t feel much like a mountain.
“This looks like the place,” Haulon said, pointing to a hole in the ground.
Not a horizontal hole, but a vertical one. The walls were solid rock, and it seemed the entire mountain was made of rock. The reason there weren’t large trees was likely due to the thin layer of soil on the rock, making it impossible for roots to take hold.
How did they dig this? I briefly wondered, but then I remembered this was a world with magic and spirits. The narrow hole was deep enough that I couldn’t see the bottom. If it rained, it would probably fill with water, and even though it was a rocky mountain, it seemed like it could collapse in an earthquake. Though, we hardly had rain or earthquakes here.
After casting a light spell, Haulon floated down slowly, supported by an Ittan Momen. I followed him, thinking that if I hadn’t had [Teleportation], I wouldn’t have been able to enter this place.