Chapter 170: To the Elf Village
“Your Highness, what is your magic and magical power level?”
“I was bestowed with Ice Magic, and my magical power is 72. Incidentally, I can release magic 44 times.”
He should know a lot about Ice Magic, and it seems he’s been practicing according to the Magic Primer.
“Your Highness, would you like to try going outside the Royal Capital?”
“I would very much like that.”
“Your Highness, please refrain from doing so!”
“To leave the Royal Capital without His Majesty’s permission!”
“You all will wait here.”
“However, we also have our duties…”
The wall-stain bastards were being noisy, so I used my intimidating gaze for the first time in a while, but as expected, it seems to have leaked out all around, and even Milene-sama and His Highness have turned pale.
“We’ll be back by nightfall, and we have escorts stronger than you, so there’s no need to worry.”
“Could I perhaps see it too?” Milene-sama asked.
“We’ll be entering the Grassland, is that alright?”
“I’d like to see your magic at least once.”
She’s the type who wasn’t frightened even seeing the swarm of Bee-chans or the Forest Wolves. If Milene-sama is also with us, even the wall-stains should feel at ease.
It’s amusing to see Marks, who came along to meet Lucian, flustered by the appearance of Milene-sama and the gentle-looking man, His Highness.
Marks sat next to the coachman, and we headed out of the Royal Capital with Milene-sama and His Highness on board. After riding for about 30 minutes, we entered the Grassland, had the carriage stop in a place hidden from view, and R and L went for a stroll in the Grassland to patrol the surroundings.
Mii-chan returned to her original form and kept watch from atop the carriage.
I led the two, who got off looking around curiously, to a spot away from the carriage.
“Please watch closely.”
As if to envelop the two of them, I instantly erected a 2.5-meter-high ice Shelter.
It was only about 5cm thick, but its strength was exceptional; an ordinary Magician’s attack probably wouldn’t break it.
“This is a Shelter. The height and size can be freely adjusted, but this time I made it to envelop three people. If you seal the top, it can withstand attacks from all directions, but if it’s completely sealed, it’s like covering your mouth, and you’ll slowly die.”
I narrowed the top, leaving only a small air hole to show them.
I created an entrance beside the astonished pair, led them outside, and once we were at a distance, I asked Milene-sama to attack the Shelter.
《Strike down my foe… Hah!》 BOOM!
It was from a distance of about 30 meters, but it hit dead center and made a good sound.
I thought she should be able to conserve more magical power, so I pointed that out and had her try firing again.
The size of the fireball was about the same as a volleyball, but the sound of its explosion was a little quieter.
In front of the two of them, I created a softball-sized Fireball and launched it.
Next, I created a Fireball of the same size but with slightly increased magical power and launched it.
The first Fireball went BOOM, and the second went BOOOM, clearly showing an increase in power.
“Do you understand? The first shot was with minimal magical power, and for the second, I slightly increased the magical power.”
“Can you increase only the power while keeping the flame size the same?” His Highness asked.
“The size of the flame doesn’t matter. It’s just that when you chant, you unconsciously decide the amount of magical power and the flame size. Try firing while imagining the flame to be fist-sized, and you’ll see.”
At my words, she faced the Shelter. 《Strike down my foe… Hah!》 BOOM!
This time it was a fist-sized fireball, but the power felt a little weaker.
I dispelled the Shelter and, in its place, slowly erected a 3-meter tall and wide Shield. Beside it, I showed them a Shelter rising from the ground in a ring shape.
“Your Highness, I made it slowly, but with practice, you can do it in an instant. As for strength, you just need to create it thinking ‘as hard as rock’.”
I moved about 40 meters away from the completed barrier and unleashed a triple Ice Lance attack.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! With those sounds, three holes were pierced.
Following that, a triple Fireball attack.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! It made sounds, but there was no change to the barrier.
“For the Ice Lances, I used the same amount of magical power as the barrier, but the Fireballs were attacks with minimal magical power. If you increase the magical power a little, this is what happens.”
Saying that, I once again launched a softball-sized Fireball at the barrier.
BOOOM! A deafening roar echoed, and it was engulfed in an explosion.
When the blast subsided, the Shield had vanished, and only the Shelter remained standing.
In front of the astonished pair, I used Earth Magic to erect a 2-meter-high, 50cm-wide barrier and had them stand beside it.
Then, I launched three consecutive 30cm needles, which I named Needle. Thwip Thwip Thwip The earthen needles pierced it.
I was holding back, so they only pierced about halfway, but the two of them watched in amazement.
“What is this?”
“Needle. It’s a secret weapon I named ‘Needle’. If you launch this at the speed of a crossbow bolt, the opponent won’t even realize they’ve been attacked.”
Saying that, I launched three more consecutively without even raising my hand. Thwip Thwip Thwip They pierced with a sound.
Finally, using Earth Magic, I created a Needle, a Bullet, an Arrow, and a Stone Lance and gave them as samples.
“When creating things like Shields, Shelters, or Needles, channel your magical power with the intent of making them as hard as rock. Quickly, solidly, accurately. If it doesn’t hit, it’s useless. Practice so you can create them in the size of the samples I gave you, whenever you want, just as you intend.”
After conveying just that, I had the two of them board the waiting carriage and returned to the Royal Capital.
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The last two Snakes remained. Just as I was getting excited about buying them up and hoarding the meat, Prime Minister Brighton’s aide appeared.
Filled with a bad feeling, I went to the drawing-room and asked his business; as expected, it was a request for meat.
It was too much for me to eat alone, so I decided to give up 2/3 of each snake for 5,000 Gold Coins each, totaling 10,000 Gold Coins, but with a condition attached.
Since I don’t have an Adventurer Card, I requested an Identification document granting Viscount-level treatment, like the ones I gave everyone else.
When asked, “What about the Queen’s Identification?”, I replied that an Identification from the Royal Family is difficult to use.
I explained that since I’d retired as an Adventurer, the only easily usable Identification I had was from the Commerce Guild, and they immediately agreed.
The next day, the aide reappeared and presented two cards. One was, as requested, an official’s card granting Viscount-level treatment. The other was from the Queen, but it had four flowers on it.
A question mark must have appeared on my face, as he explained it was a token of gratitude from the Queen for my help with Prince Barrot.
Since it’s for dealing with nobles, a more powerful one is easier to use, so I gratefully accepted the exchange.
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I diligently engaged in autumn mushroom hunting and spring Flower Nectar gathering, making preparations so that things would be fine even if left unattended for five years.
By the time I finished handing over all the Dragons, three years had passed.
The remaining payment was transferred from the Royal Family, totaling 3,212,800,000 Dahla. Terrano Dragons and Armored Dragons had dropped significantly in price, a disastrous situation where they were almost half price, and the numerous Whip Dragons were down to 1/4 of their price.
However, only the Turtle Dragons fetched a rather high price of 168,400,000 Dahla.
Dividing it among 30 people, it came to 107,093,333 Dahla per person. The total per person was 202,093,333 Dahla, which exceeded 200,000,000 Dahla, so I considered it good.
I went to the Commerce Guild, handed over the memo I had written during the second transfer, and had 107,100,000 Dahla transferred into each person’s account.
I had heard that you could open an account at the Commerce Guild with an Adventurers Guild card, so I checked if I could move the money deposited at the Adventurers Guild using my Commerce Guild membership card.
I received a concise reply, “You can,” and decided I would go withdraw the full amount eventually.
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I entrusted two years’ worth of Flower Nectar, Gold Mash, and Honey to my steward, Murad, and also handed over about ten bags of Gold Coins.
“Are you going out?”
“I don’t think it will take that long, but just in case.”
“Where are you going this time?”
“I’m thinking of having an acquaintance introduce me to an Elf elder.”
“Eh? You have an Elf acquaintance… Or rather, is the reason you don’t age at all because you have Elf blood?”
“I’m human. It seems I have more magical power than others, and my Divine Protection is probably special too. There’s something I want to ask an Elf elder about that.”
“You can’t just waltz into their settlements, you know. Or rather, the story is you can’t go because they won’t tell you where it is.”
“The Guild Master of the Zandra Apothecary Guild is an Elf. She took an interest in me and told me a little. Now that I have some free time, I’m thinking of going to hear the details, so I’m counting on you for the rest.”
“Alright. I’ll be praying you can get into the Elf Village.”
** ** End ** **