Chapter 173
Chapter 173: Tricked? (1)
Cale and the group returned to the inn they had previously stayed at . He seemed to be out of it as soon as he sat down and leaned back on the chair .
Human, that was very fun! I really am great and mighty!
On the other hand, the invisible Raon was extremely energetic . The Killer Whale Archie mumbled to himself in disbelief .
“…Those vicious bastards . ”
The vicious bastards that he was talking about were the Elves of the End Village .
Cale looked up at the ceiling and recalled the sight of the Elves giving them a teary farewell .
‘You, you are leaving after staying such a short time? I am very sad . ’
‘It was as if we had seen the beautiful sun underneath this frozen lake for the first time in a long time . I will never forget about our blessed time together for the rest of my life . ’
The Elves were crying as they said things like that to Raon .
‘Do not worry! I will return again with Goldie gramps!’
The Elves had cheered after hearing Raon's excited remark .
Cale was tired after having to wade through the Elves and the Elementals to get out of the Lake of Despair . Cale then remembered the middle-aged Elf Chief who had continued to caress his hand .
‘It isn’t like we are strangers . ’
‘How did I end up becoming a collective, ‘we,’ with the Elves?’
Cale did not know how it had happened, but decided that it wasn't a bad thing and pushed it aside in his mind .
Clack!
A wine glass was placed in front of him .
“What is this for?”
This was the inn Cale had stayed in before they went into the Lake of Despair . Cale asked the meaning of this wine glass as he looked toward the owner of the inn .
The old woman looked over Cale's group before mumbling to herself .
“…Looks like you returned alive . ”
Cale had said the following to the old woman who had lost her daughter and son-in-law to the Lake of Despair .
‘I will return alive and drink all of your alcohol . ’
The corners of the woman's eyes were shaking . Cale jokingly asked .
“It's free, right?”
“Bad boy! You look rich!”
The old woman smiled before peeking at the side of Cale's head and casually adding on .
“…Well, it looks like you are warm and don't need to drink in order to warm up . Just one glass should be enough . ”
‘Warm?’
Both Cale and Raon flinched .
-Human! This human grandma is weird!
However, the old woman walked back to the chair by the fireplace before Cale could say anything . The old woman's grandson, Sully, walked up as Cale continued to watch her .
“…Grandmother asked me to give you some snacks as well . ”
He slowly moved the dishes onto the table . However, his expression seemed to be complicated .
He was very curious about the Lake of Despair and how they had managed to return alive as he had lost his parents to the lake .
He was also curious about who they were and was also happy that they had returned alive .
But, most importantly, there was something that kept catching his attention .
“…Excuse me . ”
He could not help but ask .
Unlike Cale, whose hair was brown thanks to magic, this boy actually had brown hair and freckles, making him look innocent .
Sully, who had never left this small village by the Lake of Despair, rubbed his eyes as he started to speak .
“Excuse me, guest-nim . ”
Cale started to feel iffy .
The boy was not looking at Cale, but slightly off to the side . If you looked closely, you could tell that he was looking at the empty spot next to Cale's head .
It looked empty to Cale's eyes at least .
Sully started to speak .
“I'm sorry, I’m not sure if there is something wrong with my eyes . Ah, this is really weird . ”
He mumbled for a bit before pointing to the spot between Cale and Choi Han’s head .
“There seems to be a small and round red ball that looks like a ball of red fur? Am, am I hallucinating? Ah, what is wrong with me?”
Sully rubbed his eyes .
However, there seemed to be a red furball floating by Cale's side no matter how many times he rubbed his eyes .
Cale started to think at that moment .
‘This is driving me nuts . ’
‘He's an Elementalist?’
Cale could not believe it .
Raon started to speak at that moment .
Human, he seems to be able to see the Elemental!
Cale naturally could not see that red furball by the side of his head . Raon and the others could not see it either .
This was because the Elemental was currently saving its energy because of the cold air .
However, they had seen this red furball down underneath the Lake of Despair when the Elf priestess awkwardly smiled and showed it to them .
‘Excuse me, Cale-nim . ’
The Elf priestess Adite had a worried look on her face as she fidgeted her fingers .
‘If it is okay with you, one of our, mm, this baby fire Elemental-nim that was born less than a year ago would like to escort you to the entrance of the village outside the lake . Would that be okay?’
The half-transparent red furball had floated over to Cale's side at that moment . Cale looked toward Adite while wondering what kind of baggage was being placed on him as she quickly explained .
‘This Elemental-nim has not picked its shape just yet, but it will be warm if you have it by your side . Elementals change their shapes once they determine their own paths . ’
This red furball that had not determined its path yet was a fire Elemental . Adite quickly added on after seeing Cale starting to frown .
‘The Elemental-nim said that it respects Cale-nim and really wants to escort you, to the point that it whin-, no, sincerely asked . ’
‘…It respects me?’
Adite answered as if it was obvious .
‘Yes sir . It said that it had never seen such a destructive and crazy fire before! It wants to be like it!’
Cale responded immediately after hearing why this baby fire Elemental respected him .
‘We will go our separate ways once we get to the village . Got it?’
‘Yes sir!’
Adite responded energetically and the red furball had floated over to the side of Cale's head before turning transparent . It had followed them to the inn while remaining in that transparent state .
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‘But he can see this transparent Elemental?’
Cale looked past Sully, who was still rubbing his eyes as if he had seen a ghost, and toward the old woman .
He remembered what she had just said .
‘…Well, it looks like you are warm and don't need to drink to warm up . ’
Cale flinched while recalling that statement . The word, ‘Elementalist,’ was currently stuck in Cale's mind . He turned his gaze back toward Sully .
“Ahhhh!”
Sully suddenly covered his face with his arms in shock .
Clang .
The tray fell to the ground .
“The furball is suddenly floating toward me!”
Sully had a shocked expression on his face as he continued to look around as the red furball floated around him .
Cale immediately turned back toward the old woman . She was smiling brightly with her teeth showing .
“My husband told me when I said I could see them . He said that they were Elementals . ”
The old woman looked toward Cale and continued to speak .
“I was relieved that my daughter could not see them . I worried that she would be like me and be able to see them . ”
Them . She was definitely talking about the Elementals .
Cale could see the regret in her eyes .
“Because I was seduced by them . I settled down in this Land of Despair so that I could get glimpses of them when they appeared . But this damn lake seduced people even if they could not see the Elementals . ”
The old woman turned her gaze toward her grandson .
She had been relieved that she had not seen them for decades .
It was painful to see glimpses of these beautiful Elementals that refused to approach her .
However, her grandson could see them .
“…I guess they do approach people first too . ”
She had never seen one taking the initiative to approach a human .
The old woman looked back and forth between Sully, the Elemental, and Cale whom the Elemental originally came with as she started to smirk .
“You showed something useless to my grandson, so pay up for the alcohol . ”
Cale shook his head .
“I will freeload since you said the drink was on you . ”
Choi Han and Archie looked toward Cale after that comment . However, Cale did not care as he continued to speak to the old woman who was still smiling .
“However, I will pay you well for the snacks . ”
“Hehe, what a funny kid . You clearly look like a noble . ”
The group flinched at the old woman's observation skills, but Cale did not care as he looked toward Sully .
‘I didn’t expect him to be an Elementalist . ’
Cale had gotten involved with an unexpected existence . Raon's voice could be heard in Cale's mind .
-Human! Will he go with us too?
‘No . Why would he?’
Cale did not want to get involved with other people for no reason .
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There was no reason for someone like him who had ancient powers of all elements to have an Elementalist by his side .
‘…Although I don't really have all of the elements . ’
Cale touched the necklace with the Dominating Water inside . He then recalled the conversation he had with priestess Adite .
‘Do you know who the judge is?’
‘The judge?’
‘Yes . Apparently, there is a judge who went to the Eastern continent . ’
The judge that the World Tree told him to find . Cale debated asking Gashan and Ron who were originally from the Eastern continent, but had asked Adite just in case .
Adite brushed her hand through her hair before shaking her head .
‘No . I’ve never heard that name before . ’
‘Is that so?’
Cale had not expected much .
‘Yes sir . I have heard about the Water of Judgment though . ’
‘…What?’
He ended up hearing something unexpected .
Adite looked worried as she continued to speak .
‘The Water of Judgment is an ancient power . ’
Adite brought an old wooden plank from the village library instead of explaining it .
‘I remember it because the information on the plank was quite shocking . ’
‘…Can I borrow it?’
‘…The plank?’
Adite looked toward Cale as if asking if he was being serious before eventually nodding her head .
‘Yes sir . Please do as you wish . ’
Cale understood why Adite would have been shocked to read it .
There were three lines of text on the plank . This was the first line .
And then the second line .
< World Tree, you stupid idiot! I am now free! >
It sounded intense .
Cale had a feeling at that moment .
‘The Water of Judgment . This one seems like a lunatic as well . ’
He became certain after reading the last line .
< The Water of Judgment? I am a free spirit now! >
‘I may end up having to pick up another odd thing . ’
That was what went through Cale's mind after reading the statements on the plank .
He took a big gulp of alcohol in order to ease his frustration . He then quietly observed the mess that Sully and the invisible fire Elemental were creating .
‘Will I meet with them again?’
There was this baby fire Elemental which had a good chance of growing in a slightly destructive way, the extremely innocent to the point that he looked slightly stupid Sully, and the sharp grandmother .
Cale predicted that he would not run into them again in the future .
However, he could not hear what the fire Elemental was saying on the shocked and confused Sully’s shoulder .
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‘…Fiery thunderbolt . Respect . Sea of fire . Strong . ’
The shape of the fire Elemental that was continuously mumbling these words slowly started to change . However, it was still just a bundle of fire, making everyone unable to anticipate its future shape .
However, the fire Elemental did not get away from Sully at all .
Cale had no way of knowing as he could not see or hear the Elemental .
“We're finally here . ”
Choi Han observed the city from inside the castle gates .
The pointy roofs were covered in white snow . The white roofs made it look like a kingdom of snow .
Choi Han, who was currently wearing a white priest robe, turned his head to the side .
A white-haired man .
Cale was fixing his priest robe and smiling gently .
“Our destination is not far . Let’s all go together . ”
Cale had entered into the Paerun Kingdom’s capital of Bago .
He had no issues getting in with the identity card that crown prince Alberu had created for him as he walked in while wearing the priest robe .
Raon started to speak in his mind .
Human, is there a festival here?
White roofs and white snow . The white castle in the distance . There were many decorations on the castle .
Rosalyn approached Cale and started to speak .
“Priest-nim, Bago City is so decorated . Is it a festival?”
She looked around as she asked the question . There seemed to be a lot of people going through the gates . The streets in the capital were packed, even though it was freezing .
Choi Han saw this as well and looked toward Cale for answers as well . The half-blooded Whale Paseton started to speak at that moment .
“…Did you all come here without knowing about it?”
“About what?”
Rosalyn had been a crown princess in the past, but she had no reason to memorize the festivals of the most northern kingdom .
Paseton looked toward Cale after hearing her question .
Cale started to speak with a calm expression .
“The Paerun Kingdom has a unique festival in January . ”
“Meeeeeow . ”
The red kitten Hong patted Cale's arm and urged him to tell them . Cale petted Hong’s fur as he continued to speak .
“They bring offerings to the lake that is supposed to have the god's tears in order to pray for it to take away a year’s worth of sorrow in advance . There are celebrations throughout the city of Bago as well . ”
Choi Han flinched .
It sounded like an important time .
But they were currently going to start a fire in the lake with the god's tears .
He had a feeling that it would overlap with this festival .
Choi Han looked toward Cale . Cale whispered quietly in order to prevent others from hearing .
"We don't want to hurt anybody, so we won't do it on the day of the offering . Apparently, they all gather in the plaza to dance on the last night . ”
The last night . People will gather in the plaza for the finale in order to dance and sing through the night .
Nobody would be at the lake except for the guards . It was easy to move without harming a few guards .
Cale smiled as he asked the group a question .
“Shouldn’t the festival end with fireworks?”