129 – symbol-7

“Oh, you look pretty funny.”

The unicorn laughed like a horse, no like a horse, as if Celia’s holding my hand was so ridiculous.

“I couldn’t help it.”

Anyway, at least until we get out of here, our party’s healer is Celia. I can’t leave it like that.

Her hallucinations had worsened, and she said that not only the physical me, but also the incorporeal me were talking to me. However, he said that the sense of touch cannot be confused.

In order to tell who the real me was, I needed to have some body parts attached.

“What is it! Very friendly… hands! What the hell is that!”

The contemplative Ceres ran towards me.

“Oh, how long do you plan to stay like that!”

“Perhaps until we fight.”

Celia’s condition improved noticeably. Right now, I had to do whatever I could.

“Ugh…”

Come to think of it, the condition of Ceres has become noticeably darker lately.

Since the original body tension was high, it was normal to lower it, but it was a little different compared to Ceres, who was always exciting and energetic.

“It seems to have been organized to some extent, so I will start the commission now.”

The unicorn cautiously opened its mouth.

“First, how much do you know about this place?”

Everyone in the party looked at Farseer.

It was I, who gained some knowledge through the books I read in the imperial palace, but in the end I was a stranger. Eleanor, Celia, and Nerwen would be similar.

“I’m assuming I don’t know. It wasn’t a very important place, and I’ve never set foot in it except for a brief wander around the entrance.”

“Then, I’ll explain slowly. You guys call this place the middle ground, right?”

Even a unicorn living in such a deep remote area seemed to have met a human.

“That’s right.”

“Do you think it’s halfway between where and where?”

“…”

never thought about it When I first came, of course I thought it meant the middle of the Aldgild and the Weather family.

However, the conflict between them was long, and the territory also changed. Aldguild succeeded in conquest a few decades ago and the entrance turned into a disputed area, so Weather must have occupied the entrance here before.

“In ancient times, gods lived up there. At least, humans believed so.”

Celia’s eyes widened.

“I’ve heard of it… about this mountain. But, it was so long ago that I hadn’t even thought of it.”

The unicorn nodded slowly.

“Since ancient times, humans have channeled their origins here through countless spells and sanctuaries. Emotions and desires, anger and love.”

“The flow of this magical power is…”

Farseer frowned.

“This is that kind of magic? I didn’t notice any artificial smell.”

“That’s because your nose is paralyzed, wizard.”

“what?”

He hurriedly shook his head as if he was surprised by what he said to the unicorn.

“Ah… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you. Being in a place like this, the ability to communicate with humans is bound to decline. Apparently, a unicorn’s sense of smell is very sensitive and easily damaged.”

It was difficult to understand, but if you forcefully use an example, ‘I buried something on my leg.’ Is it the same feeling?

“Humans’ magic is artificial in itself. Even if you don’t have to use magic, it’s so familiar to humans, but so foreign to us, it’s permeated with a smell.”

“Hmm…”

“And those artificial magical powers flowed into this place and are overflowing. I want you to pierce it.”

It was an abstract word. I had hopes that Farseer would do something for me, but I couldn’t think of a specific way to do it.

“There’s no need to worry too much. Those emotions and magical powers have become lumped together and turned into monsters. They’re very dangerous, but I don’t think they’ll be your opponents.”

If so, it would have been more convenient. I didn’t know how strong it would be, but if it was a monster, there was no reason to be pushed back.

“But is it… so important? Worth risking your life?”

No one lived here, and it didn’t seem like the monsters would come out.

It wasn’t something she couldn’t do if she thought she was preparing now for the future that would come one day, but she wasn’t sure if it was so important that she would have to give her life right now.

“It’s important to clean up the trash and make this place clean again. It’s no exaggeration to say that it’s our long-cherished dream. My life is short, and I have no regrets.”

If she made that decision, I couldn’t force it.

“Then what will happen?”

“This land will return to its pure form, albeit a little. Unspoilt. It needs no other reason than that. Just like you need my blood to return to where you came from.”

Should I kill her? Somehow, I couldn’t find another way.

But whatever decision he made, there was no reason not to grant her request right away.

“Then, where is that monster… located?”

“I’ll show you the way. It’s not far, but I think it’s better to come on horseback. I don’t know about the carriage, but if you tie a horse here, you’ll be a meal for the beasts here.”

The place the unicorn pointed to with its horn was not too far away. It wasn’t a place you could go on foot for a while, but if you ride a horse, you should be able to get there in no time.

“Let’s go.”

/////

Riding through the woods on horseback was a strange experience, but after hours of looking at similar trees, I couldn’t help but feel bored.

“Ugh…”

It was a bonus that I couldn’t breathe comfortably because of Celia’s arm holding me tight from behind.

“You’re insidious in your head, huh?”

I tried to ignore the unicorn’s smirking smile. Talking to the riding horse, I felt an unfamiliar sensation.

I was not good at riding horses.

If you don’t know how to ride a horse, you can’t stably ride a normal horse on such a rough road.

Celia had to hold me after all, and she, the unicorn, was the only horse to accept a clumsy rider like me. In the end, it was inevitable that the personnel distribution would be like this.

Celia’s breathing caught in her ears. The hero’s overly sensitive senses sensed the sound of her heart.

When night fell, the horse stopped walking on its own without saying anything.

By the time preparations for camp were over, Farseer stood alone in a secluded spot, fiddling with his fingers in the air.

“Parse?”

“Ah, Enerel. He was feeling mana. Hearing the words of that unicorn, it seemed like that.”

“Can you understand?”

“No, I just noticed that magic contains rough information. I don’t have the ability to distinguish what is sadness and what is hope. It’s not even a code, maybe the language itself is different.”

It was strange, but that wasn’t the reason I came to her.

“Parseer, why are you following me?”

“Is this old man no longer needed? I thought I did my best.”

“Help… ok. But, you have no reason to help me.”

An apology for a wrongdoing or a willingness to atone may remain in her heart. However, she was a person who knew how to distinguish between public and private affairs.

It’s unrealistic that you can help me this far with just that alone.

“I thought it was over. Didn’t I tell you? It’s because you succeeded and I failed. It’s not strange to go looking for successful people and learn their secrets.”

I still couldn’t quite understand what she was saying about me being successful, but my doubts persisted.

“After knowing that I was a hero, what was the sudden kindness to me? At that time, there was no such thing as success, right?”

The strength of the hero is, of course, enormous, but not absolute. It doesn’t seem like Farseer wouldn’t have thought of this.

Of course, it was powerful enough to wreak havoc in the imperial palace alone, but that wasn’t the strength of a hero in the first place…”

“Heroes are loved by the gods. And the gods are very jealous, so they often want what others want.”

“therefore?”

“It means that it wouldn’t be strange if the goddess responded to your anger and prayers and destroyed half of the world. Even if that wasn’t the case, there are cases where a hero enraged by betrayal destroyed countries around the world for revenge.”

I snorted.

“It’s nonsense, I begged and begged, but the goddess never spoke to me.”

“Have you ever prayed?”

“In my heart…”

“That’s not it, formally. After drawing a different sign for each denomination, close your eyes and put your hands together in a stable position, how do you move those fingers… just like Celia does!”

I’ve seen Celia’s unique sign of the cross while praying, so many times I can’t forget it.

“Do you want to try it? According to the unicorn, this is also a place close to the Holy Land in its own way. There will be no loss.”

I had no intention of doing this, but there was nothing to lose by trying.

“Well, now I can’t believe I’m doing something like this…”

After quietly making the sign of the cross, I prayed to the goddess.

It was once, but I saw her in person. There was no way I could forget the goddess’s face and the atmosphere she gave off.

When I opened my eyes a moment later, I had no choice but to let out an absurd laugh.

“What… what? Really? Like this?”