Chapter 130

“Gideon, I really do want to tell you more… but no. I shouldn’t. Sorry I can’t be of more help.”

“It’s fine. You’ve already helped plenty.”

“You’re… such a kind person. Truly.”

Veron settled on my shoulder, smiling with a meaning deeper than words.

“If you ever manage to break the contract imposed upon us… then I—no, we—will tell you everything. As much as you want. Until you grow sick of hearing it.”

“Everyone seems to be expecting something from me.”

“Yes. Me too… everyone’s placing their hopes on you.”

“I’ll do my best not to disappoint.”

I smiled back at Veron.

The Evil God and the Evil Dragon.

It all felt overwhelming, but every being within this Protected Zone was placing their hopes on me.

It was a heavy burden, but… well, it was something I had to do anyway.

Since it had come to this, I decided I’d do everything I could to live up to that hope—those expectations.

The two weeks in the Protected Zone for Other Races passed by swiftly.

Especially for Kara—it must have gone by in the blink of an eye.

And understandably so, since she had spent those two weeks busily, and meaningfully.

‘She barely slept, trying not to waste even a single minute.’

Of course, this wasn’t our last visit.

I planned to bring Kara back here again whenever the opportunity arose.

But this time, she moved around as if it were her first and last chance to explore.

Well, she looked happy the whole time, so that was enough for me.

‘And I… didn’t do a thing for a whole week.’

There was no way I’d find traces of the past here.

After hearing that from Veron, I gave up searching for anything in the Protected Zone.

The inhabitants here weren’t deliberately hiding anything from me.

So, if Veron said there were no clues here, there really weren’t.

‘So I didn’t push myself. I just focused on resting.’

It had already been a week since Veron told me that.

During that week, I practically spent my days recuperating within the Protected Zone.

Each day, I visited a different race’s territory.

‘Everyone was so kind to me—it was touching.’

None of them showed even the slightest hostility toward me.

In fact, whenever I visited, they did their best to make me feel comfortable.

‘I really got close to a lot of them over the past week.’

I’d spend one night in one race’s territory, then the next night in another.

And just like that, the week passed.

‘It was a fun week.’

When I was searching for traces of the past, I had no time to relax.

No time to truly bond with the other races.

But after giving up the search, I wandered the zone freely—like a tourist.

‘The Giants, the Merfolk, the Dwarves… spending a night among them was truly an unforgettable experience.’

Of course, not all those experiences were entirely pleasant.

For instance, the Birdmen and the Harpies.

Spending a night in their rocky mountain region was… unique, but not exactly comfortable.

The terrain was hardly livable for a human, and more than that, the food they ate……

“Ugh… no, let’s not think about that.”

Anyway, there were also the Birdmen’s area… and the Beastmen’s.

The night I spent in the Beastmen’s territory left quite a strong impression on me in more ways than one.

‘Next time, I’d better be careful around the female Beastmen. Don’t provoke them unnecessarily.’

Remembering how a few of them had come to find me late at night…

I could only let out a wry laugh.

Even with all that considered, the past two weeks I’d spent meeting and living among the other races in this zone were undeniably meaningful.

‘They’re far too valuable to be trapped here.’

The Empire had supposedly stripped the other races of all their technology before confining them here in the Protected Zone.

But after meeting them myself, I realized something.

The Empire hadn’t taken everything from them.

No—more accurately, it couldn’t take everything.

The value unique to these races still remained.

‘If I ever get the chance, I’ll make sure to bring out that value.’

With those thoughts swirling in my mind, I sat idly in the plaza of the communal district.

Then, from afar, a familiar Centaur approached.

“Gideon, what are you doing here?”

“I was thinking about everyone living on this land, Akkion.”

I replied with a smile to the Centaur leader.

“Everyone here… they’re far too precious to remain trapped forever. So if the chance ever comes, I want to lead you all out into the world beyond.”

“…How curious.”

“What is?”

“Centuries ago, the first human who appeared on this land… he said the exact same thing as you. Not a single word different.”

“…Then I really must be his descendant.”

I scratched my head and laughed.

I guess my personality resembled that man’s from hundreds of years ago.

“Then I’ll try to do the same as he did. To show the world your potential and mystery.”

“If you do that for us, we’ll follow you for the rest of our lives.”

Akkion replied with a smile, then soon changed the subject.

“By the way, you’re leaving today?”

“Yes, we plan to depart around noon.”

“Then we should prepare to see you off.”

“You’re not going to make it all fancy again, are you?”

“Don’t worry. Unlike the welcoming ceremony, our farewells are truly modest.”

Time passed, and noon came.

The other races offered us lunch, but Kara and I politely, yet firmly, refused.

That was because we planned to use a Teleportation Spell on our way back.

I had been fine on the way here, but Kara had ended up throwing up everything she ate.

We definitely didn’t want a repeat of that.

“Looks like we’ve packed everything.”

We didn’t have much luggage to begin with.

Even when coming to Serenus, I hadn’t brought much.

“Are you ready to go?”

“Yes, Veron. I’m ready. But what about Ms. Kara…?”

“She’s over there.”

Kara was in the distance, exchanging farewells with the races who had come to see her off.

“I’ll definitely come visit again! Next time, I’ll bring lots of gifts!”

“Thank you, thank you!”

“Our culture and food! Make sure to spread them well among the humans!”

“I’ll do my best to share them! Though… the food of the Birdmen and Harpies might need a bit of tweaking first…”

A rather large group of the other races had gathered to see Kara off.

Even though she had gone around poking her nose everywhere for her research during the past two weeks, it seemed they had grown quite fond of her.

“Are you going to bring that magician again next time?”

“There’s a very high chance I will.”

I replied to Akkion with a faint chuckle.

Then I glanced around the area.

“Just as you said earlier, Akkion—it’s fewer than I expected.”

“We’ve always kept our farewells to a minimum.”

As Akkion said that, he lowered his body slightly to meet my eyes.

“When do you plan to return?”

“Probably in winter.”

“Winter, huh… Understood. Then I’ll see you again then. And…”

Akkion paused briefly, then spoke again with a soft smile.

“I ask that you free all who live on this land from their curse.”

“I’ll do my best to return in winter—with good news.”

“Thank you.”

After that, I finished saying goodbye to the other races I had grown close to over the past two weeks.

A few minutes later, Kara and I left the Protected Zone.

“Gideon, you said you’re heading straight to the House Balmuth’s Mansion, right?”

“Yes, that’s my plan.”

“Do you know where that mansion is?”

“I roughly know. It’s in the southeast of Lysquare, about an hour and a half from the capital, right?”

“You know it well.”

Kara nodded, then looked at me with a slightly apologetic expression.

“Come to think of it, I promised to teach you magic while we were in the Protected Zone… Sorry. I got too excited and forgot.”

“It’s fine. Instead, could I ask for the same private lessons during the next semester?”

“…Only if you promise to bring me here again in winter.”

“Yes, I promise. I’ll count on your lessons next semester, then.”

I replied with a chuckle, packed my things, and stood beside Kara.

“We’re heading to Lysquare, right?”

“Yeah, let’s part ways there. We each have our own paths to take. I’ll use the Teleportation Spell—ready?”

“Yes, let’s go.”

Thanks to Kara, we arrived in Lysquare directly from Serenus.

After arriving, we immediately parted ways.

Kara headed to her magic workshop in the capital, while I gathered my belongings and called for a carriage.

‘It should be around here somewhere.’

After riding for over an hour—

I arrived before a massive mountain range.

‘The House Balmuth’s Mansion is inside a cave, so I’ll need to find the cave entrance first. If what I saw in the game was right, it should be around here somewhere…’

I began searching around the mountain range for the cave’s entrance.

After a short while—

“Huh?”

I found a large cave opening.

It looked exactly like what I’d seen in the game, so I was sure of it.

But in front of the cave… someone unexpected was sitting, waiting for me.

“…Lisa Noona?”

“Gideon. You’re here. I knew you were coming—I could smell you from far away.”

Lisa greeted me with her usual expressionless face.

But for some reason, she looked terribly tired… and hungry.

“Noona, how long have you been waiting here?”

“Since last night.”

“…Let’s go inside first.”

I walked over to Lisa, trying to help her stand up.

But instead, Lisa pulled me down—and I ended up flat on the ground.

It was such a familiar development that I could only let out a dry laugh.

“Noona, I get how you feel, but maybe not here…”

“Take it off.”

“…Huh?”

“Your top. Take it off. Or should I do it for you?”

Lisa’s red eyes glared down at me dangerously.

I slowly began to unbutton my shirt…

“Haa… Sorry. I can’t hold back anymore.”

Lisa grabbed my shirt and tore it apart violently—then brought her lips to my shoulder.

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