“I’m quite certain I asked you to tell me about the Nether King.”
He had sounded as if he were going to tell me about Heize. I couldn’t understand why he had suddenly veered off into a story about the Great Forest burning down.
“Heh heh… Don’t make such a frightening face. Just listen for now.”
Crazy bear bastard.
“I know about it too!! I remember learning it at the academy.”
Rafi suddenly raised her hand and cut in.
“They said it was an unprecedented, enormous incident—no one knows how a place where elves lived, a place overflowing with life mana, could have caught fire!”
No one knows? I burned it down together with Amon Kornen, the lord of Limhold. Did they hide the records?
‘Aaaaargh!!! Ancestor, what sin did I commit to take part in this mad human’s plan? I’m going insane, seriously!’
Well, Amon had complained all the way to the very end of the plan. I could understand why.
Spilvena looked at Rafi and smiled.
“Hehe… So our Rafi knows about it too. Well, it was such a huge event that there’s no way you wouldn’t.”
The druid continued speaking.
“Rafi, did you know that the place now called the Shadow Forest was originally the Great Forest?”
“Huh…? No!? I had no idea.”
“The Great Forest was such a vast, expansive forest that even though it burned, the forest itself is still alive. Still, unlike before, when it was called the Great Forest, it has become smaller.”
The Shadow Forest. It was the place where I met the starving orc and Rafi.
“In any case, more than fifty years ago, the Great Forest burned down and the elves disappeared. But that place was still overflowing with life mana.”
“Ooooh!!”
Rafi’s eyes sparkled, apparently interested in what the bear was saying.
“And a few years later, the first ones to notice that the Great Forest was empty were magical beasts and monsters. Not just from around Limhold, but from countless places, monsters came swarming in droves to devour the life mana. The sight of them pouring in like a flood was called the First Overflow.”
“…!? The First Overflow? Don’t tell me there was a second one too?”
As if agreeing with her fussing, Spilvena nodded.
“That’s right. In any case, during this First Overflow, a hellish scene unfolded where monsters repeatedly devoured one another. And at the end of it, a gigantic snake monster appeared.”
The talkative bear’s tongue moved without pause.
“Wait.”
I raised my hand and stopped Spilvena.
“Hm? What is it, Evan? The more interesting part is about to begin.”
The bear tilted his head.
“Listen, bear. What I want to hear about isn’t the Great Forest burning down or some snake monster.”
What did the Great Forest burning down and a monster overflow have to do with anything?
Seeing how Limhold, which had once seemed like a backward rural village, had developed like this, Amon must have managed to stop it somehow. I had even left him a few items as compensation, so it should have been doable enough.
What mattered to me was not Limhold’s history, but Heize.
“What I’m curious about is news regarding the Nether King, Heize. Since when has a druid’s mouth been so loose?”
Hrrmph!
Spilvena snorted and shook his head.
“Listen, you impatient bastard. I’m about to tell you now.”
Spilvena cleared his throat and continued.
Ahem!
“Where was I? Ah, right, that snake monster. It was said in the observation records that the monster used abyssal mana, but whether that’s true or not was never definitively verified.”
The bear’s face twisted as he spoke about the snake.
“The great snake was truly dreadful. Our tribe and Count Amon Kornen joined forces and succeeded in stopping the Overflow, but that snake was something we could do nothing about.”
So Spilvena had fought together with Amon. The minority tribe must have settled in Limhold after the Great Forest burned.
“When Limhold was on the verge of being erased by the great snake, the Nether King came to the Shadow Forest.”
At last, the story about Heize began.
Spilvena’s expression darkened.
“When she appeared, the countless rampaging monsters fell silent, then took their own lives. But that great snake alone made its eyes gleam and charged at the Nether King.”
Gulp!
Rafi swallowed.
“Wh-what happened to the snake?”
“…”
The bear’s fur trembled.
Heize? Or the great snake? Whichever it was, Spilvena was afraid of the past.
“A massive scythe emerged from her shadow. With a druid’s intuition, I knew. That scythe was the Authority of Death itself.”
…A scythe. It was probably the Life-Severing Scythe. The hidden piece I had given Heize.
“When the Nether King lightly swung the scythe, the great snake, which had been like a calamity, collapsed on the spot. Then several swords shot out of her shadow and cut the great snake to pieces.”
Swords? That was an ability I didn’t know about. Was it a new power Heize had manifested after I went to Earth on vacation?
Clap!
The bear’s paws clapped together. Nature mana spread outward. The heavy atmosphere in the room brightened a little.
“In any case! Traces of that dismembered snake still remain in the Shadow Forest. I’m talking about the bones of the gigantic snake.”
Spilvena’s subdued voice rose. That nature mana just now must have been for the bear himself.
“Ah, and for reference, Rafi, you must never touch the snake’s bones, all right? The great snake was a vile creature even in death, and it still emits a terrible poison.”
“What happens if you touch the poisonous bones?”
Innocent Rafi raised her hand.
“A red-rank adventurer clan touched the bones carelessly and had to run to high priests. The clan went bankrupt because of the treatment costs. They were promising fellows in their own way, so it was a shame.”
A sigh escaped the bear’s mouth.
“Hieeeek—! I won’t! I absolutely won’t touch them… If it was enough to bankrupt a clan, then how much would the tuition—hiiik!”
Rafi shook her head at an incredible speed.
“Spilvena, what happened after the Nether King killed the great snake?”
At my words, Spilvena continued.
“Ah! Right, there’s still more to tell. Let’s see. After the Nether King eliminated the great snake, she went deeper into the Shadow Forest. And that was when the Second Overflow occurred.”
“…? The Nether King entered the Shadow Forest, and that caused the Second Overflow?”
“It was because the monsters that had settled in the Shadow Forest were afraid of the Nether King and came out of the forest.”
At Rafi’s question, Spilvena raised his index finger. As a druid, could he move a bear paw like a human finger?
“Even so, the Second Overflow wasn’t as dangerous as the first. The monsters were afraid of the Nether King, so they were trapped between the outside and the depths of the forest.”
“Ooh…”
At Rafi’s response, Spilvena laughed lightly.
“Because of the First and Second Overflows, mercenaries and adventurers came from all over, and thanks to the byproducts from the monsters, Limhold was able to develop like this.”
“…”
Spilvena’s story about the history of the border city of Limhold came to an end.
Setting everything else aside, I had obtained information about Heize.
She had been in the Great Forest, the place now called the Shadow Forest.
“But do the Nether King’s traces end there? Is she still in the Shadow Forest?”
“Hehehe—!”
Spilvena let out an unpleasant laugh.
“Do you want to know more? Hehe. The Great Forest may have burned, but the Shadow Forest is still vast.”
As Spilvena said, the Shadow Forest was vast. When I returned to the world of Adenia, I had wandered around for two days.
More importantly, why was this bear bastard dragging it out like this?
“If you help Rafi carry out her request, I might tell you the next piece of information?”
“…”
Thunk!
I took out my axe, wrapped it in mana, and drove it into the desk.
“Listen, druid. Have you ever had your teeth pulled out?”
“—! Lord Evan! Calm down…! Branch Manager, you too!!”
Rafi stood up and stopped me.
“Kahahahaha—! Glare at me all you want, it won’t work! If you really want to know, carry out the request like I said! This is a chance to put a red-rank powerhouse to work. Did you think I’d tell you so easily? Heh heh heh.”
Filthy druid bastard. He looked like a bear, but he was as sly as a raccoon.
So he hadn’t earned the position of guild branch manager through strength alone.
“Tch! Fine. In any case, all I have to do is help Rafi and carry out the request, right?”
“Wow…! Branch Manager! Thank you!!!”
“…”
Shouldn’t you be thanking me, Rafi?
Spilvena taking care of Rafi like this was probably because she was the disciple of his close friend.
Still, I wondered if it was really all right for an Adventurers’ Guild branch manager to push someone so blatantly.
“Evan, you’ll need a medal. Go downstairs and give them my name, and you’ll receive one. Normally, new guild members have to pay twenty gold, but I’ll specially give it to you for free this time.”
Spilvena made a show of his generosity. For a druid, he sure brought up worldly money easily.
“And if you’re with Rafi, some bothersome things may come up. Please be lenient with them.”
“Bothersome things?”
“Yes. There are fellows who mess with Rafi. Those with brains don’t touch the disciple of a great mage, but the riffraff are the problem.”
“…”
Now I had even taken on the role of babysitter.
When I looked at Rafi, she was scratching her cheek with a finger and an awkward smile.
“Ugeek—! Lord Evan!? That hurts—!”
I lightly patted the little mage’s head.
“Spilvena, keep your promise. Rafi, let’s go downstairs.”
“I’m counting on you. Ah, and safety comes first, Evan!”
“Lord Evan—! My head hurts, stop—!”
With the bear paw seeing us off, I went down to the first floor with Rafi.
“Oh! They came down…! Lady Rafi, greetings!”
What is this?
As soon as we came down to the first floor, an adventurer party approached us.
“Lady Rafi, please join our party! As promised, every member of our clan has been promoted to blue rank this time!”
“…Pardon? No, that’s…”
The moment we came down, riffraff were scouting Rafi.
Just as Spilvena had said, they were guys aiming for Rafi. How should I get rid of these annoying bastards?
Should I beat them up and send them away like the bear did?
***
Hissss—!
A single snake was roaming deep within the Shadow Forest.
The snake, which had been searching for the place where life mana was densest, had discovered this location by chance.
The life mana gave the snake endless strength.
Each time it took in mana, its body grew larger and its power became mightier. Its newly sprouted head thought:
If it stayed in this place longer, it could surely reign as the ruler of this forest—!
Kwaaaaaang!
Lightning struck the Shadow Forest.
The dark green lightning did not vanish, but continuously emitted light.
It was the light of death that devoured life mana.
The lightning erased the overflowing life mana of the Shadow Forest.
Kiiiiiik—! Pajijijik—!!
The sky and earth screamed. As the lightning flashed, the surrounding space shattered like shards of glass.
Each time the dark green light flickered, death mana burst out from within the lightning like waves.
The death mana began devouring the life mana that filled the Shadow Forest.
The greenery that had sung of life perished, and in its place, flowers of death bloomed and screamed.
—Piiiiiiiiik—!!
At the screams of the flowers of death, the birds roaming the sky died and fell.
Shaaak—
The snake, barely alive, swallowed the corpse of a bird. Another of its heads had died from the aftermath of the lightning, but even so, the snake tenaciously survived.
It could still do it. Even as the snake ate another bird’s corpse, it did not take its eyes off the lightning.
From within the dark green lightning filled with death, a single figure walked out.
Hair as white as snow, and eyes of different colors—one gold, one pink.
An elf called the Nether King.
It was Heize.
When she emerged, the lightning that had scattered death and torn the world apart disappeared.
As the death mana was cut off, the suppressed life mana surged back and attacked death.
The flowers of death that had sung screams withered. The birds that had fallen dead rose again.
Puhwak!
Another head of the snake, which had melted, stuck together, and died, burst apart. From that wound, a bird the snake had devoured pierced through and flew out.
Even though half its body had melted and run down, the bird was still alive.
In this place where life and death were grotesquely mixed, the snake rejoiced. If it absorbed these manas, it could reach not merely the ruler of the forest, but the pinnacle of its species—!
Crunch!
Heize turned her gaze toward the sound.
A knight clad in armor was driving a greatsword down into the snake.
—My lord, have you returned?
The Death Knight, Heize’s loyal servant, knelt.
—How was this expedition into the Netherworld?
“…”
—I apologize, my lord.
At Heize’s silence, the Death Knight lowered itself even further to its knees.
She withdrew her gaze and looked at the ceiling of leaves.
As soon as Heize’s gaze disappeared, the Death Knight collapsed. It scattered like mist and was sucked into Heize’s shadow.
“Cough!”
Heize placed a hand over her mouth. Her hand was covered in black blood.
It had now been fifty years since her beloved disappeared.
To find her beloved, Heize had gone in and out of the Netherworld every single day without fail.
As a result.
She, who possessed the Authority of Death and was called the Nether King, was paradoxically dying.
“…Evan. I miss you.”