Chapter 158 : Chapter 158
Chapter 158. The Lake Tourism Project Was Saved
Kraaagh!
Amazingly, the pill took effect almost immediately.
Even Radel, who had thrown the vial, was taken aback.
Sluuurrk.
As the medicine dissolved, the water dragon’s core cleared. Then the dragon’s body itself began to collapse.
At the same time, all the slimes the great spirit had summoned from the lake melted away.
Kraaaagh!
The great spirit, still in the form of a water dragon, let out a shrill scream. It seemed unable to think straight from the agony of its body falling apart.
“It looks extremely painful.”
Radel spoke while observing the water dragon’s condition from atop the griffin.
“That’s because it’s regaining its senses. Going from madness back to sanity is bound to feel like death.”
The library spirit snorted dismissively.
“Hmph. It should be returning to its original form about now.”
It seemed the water-dragon appearance had merely been a false shape the great spirit had fabricated.
Most likely, it had mimicked the strongest being it knew.
The griffin, having confirmed that the water dragon had fallen, cried out toward Radel.
The battle was over, so it was demanding its reward.
Kreeeek!
“Alright, let’s head down.”
Radel circled the lake once with the griffin, then descended leisurely to the ground.
While he was coming down, everyone by the lake erupted in cheers.
“His Highness defeated the water dragon!”
“Wooooaaah!”
Thunderous shouts burst out from all sides.
The Lizardmen and the apprentice holy knights alike swung their arms and chanted Radel’s name.
“Prince Radel!”
“The one blessed by the Lord!”
“Human lord! You are the greatest warrior!”
Even the domain’s hunters, who had arrived late, embraced one another.
“His Highness saved Ravidel!”
“To think I’d witness this with my own eyes!”
Among the apprentice holy knights, who were moved to tears at having witnessed the Lord’s blessing firsthand, Gusto quietly smiled.
“Gusto, His Highness is truly a miracle.”
“It’s an honor to be here. Hic.”
“All thanks to the Lord… Oh, Lord!”
Some of the apprentice holy knights even knelt down and offered prayers of gratitude.
The Lizardmen reacted no differently.
In a culture that valued warrior spirit above all else, it was only natural that Radel appeared extraordinary for having defeated such an unreal being.
“So he really took it down, the human lord!”
“There’s no reason not to acknowledge that.”
“That was incredible! The greatest battle I’ve seen!”
Radel’s feat was something even the Lizardmen couldn’t look away from.
Taming and riding a griffin, then charging fearlessly at an unknown water dragon that emerged from the lake,Radel embodied exactly the kind of warrior the Lizardmen admired.
Radel slid down from the griffin’s back after it landed.
Kreeeek!
“Wait. I’ll give it to you now.”
Telling the impatient griffin to wait, Radel took out some jerky.
But the griffin snorted, clearly displeased.
Kreeeek! Kreeeek!
“Ah, you want it grilled? Alright.”
Had he spoiled it?
After getting used to eating only grilled meat, the griffin’s tastes had apparently grown refined.
Radel pulled out his staff and grilled the jerky, letting out a small chuckle.
Wasn’t it thanks to winning over the griffin’s palate that he had succeeded in taming it like this?
Being able to purify the great spirit had owed much to the griffin.
After tossing the grilled jerky to the griffin, Radel patted its back.
“Make do with this for now. We’ll eat plenty of meat later.”
Kreeee!
As if it understood, the griffin replied briefly and began chewing on the jerky.
At that moment, Shartea approached Radel.
“That monster seems to have been your training partner.”
“Senior.”
Radel realized she must have seen him flick the griffin’s forehead with the Imperial Sword Art, and he felt a bit embarrassed.
“You saw that.”
“You used the Imperial Sword Art at exactly the right moments. It was worth teaching you.”
Judging by her reaction, Shartea seemed to evaluate Radel’s swordsmanship positively.
So that was why his favorability had gone up earlier. It really was like Senior Shartea, who was serious about swordsmanship.
“Setting swordplay aside, your spirit in standing against an enemy as the lord of a domain was also admirable. I’d say you carried yourself like true royalty.”
“Thank you. Without your help, it would have been difficult to achieve this outcome.”
It was true that the water dragon’s strength had diminished thanks to Shartea using her ability midway through.
When Radel expressed his gratitude, Shartea looked at him even more favorably. She always held humble people in high regard.
Without realizing it, Radel was steadily earning more points with Shartea.
“…Your Highness!”
From behind Shartea, Chariot, the acting lord, came running over. His face was pale, as though his heart had been in his throat the entire time.
“Th-thank goodness. Truly, thank goodness you’re safe.”
Chariot’s voice trembled, and his eyes glistened with tears.
When Radel had been attacked, all he could do was tremble in fear, unable to act,and that fact shamed him deeply.
Wasn’t he the acting lord?
And yet, he had done nothing to protect his lord.
“You went through so much to protect the domain, Your Highness… and I, I couldn’t do anything.”
As Chariot reproached himself, overwhelmed by helplessness, Radel spoke to him.
“Don’t say that. You evacuated the domain’s people and brought the Lizardmen. Without that help, I could never have done this alone. I believe everyone here protected the domain together.”
Radel gestured toward the people cheering around them.
Chariot looked across the battlefield.
The domain’s men embracing each other in joy, the Lizardmen celebrating shoulder to shoulder, and the apprentice holy knights tending to the wounded.
Indeed, without everyone’s efforts, it would have been impossible to overcome this crisis.
And in the end, weren’t they all people His Highness had gathered?
Realizing that, Chariot felt his chest swell.
“…You truly are the one who came to save Ravidel, Your Highness.”
At that moment, a notification chimed in Radel’s ear.
Ding.
[The target’s favorability has exceeded 10.]
[The target’s favorability has reached 50.]
[Status window unlocked!]
***
Radel carefully examined Chariot’s status window that had appeared before him.
There was something unusual about it.
Name: Chariot Saphir
Age: 27
Position: Acting Lord of Ravidel
[Health 25] [Mana 30] [Strength 14] [Agility 19] [Intelligence 35]
Overall Rating: C
Skills: Financial Accounting (B), Domain Management (C)
Trait: Descendant of a Contractor (S)
‘An S-rank trait…?’
At that moment,
“Aaagh! Something’s crawling out of the lake!”
“Is it a subordinate of the water dragon?”
From the body of the great spirit, which everyone thought had collapsed, someone was staggering out.
People immediately raised their guard.
Tension once more filled the lakeside.
Only the library spirit, fluttering beside Radel, recognized what it was.
“Tsk. Looks like it finally came to its senses. That’s its original form.”
“That’s the great spirit?”
Radel was startled by the sight of the great spirit in human form.
“Indeed! Don’t think only humans can take human shapes.”
Unlike ordinary spirits, great spirits could maintain a human form as well.
“I’ll try talking to it.”
Now that he knew it was a great spirit, Radel pushed through the crowd and approached the lake.
Up close, the great spirit appeared as a human with blue hair.
To think the great spirit from old tales looked like this.
At this point, one could easily believe it was a person.
The great spirit staggered to its feet, clutching its head.
Having only just regained its senses, it seemed confused.
“What… what is this…?”
Radel attempted to speak with it.
“Do you remember what you’ve been doing until now?”
The great spirit hesitated, then spoke haltingly.
“I… what have I… done?”
“You were guarding the lake. And you tried to take children.”
At Radel’s words, the great spirit’s expression twisted.
“I… was waiting for my contractor.”
It was the answer Radel had expected.
Without a doubt, it had never forgotten the contractor from long ago.
“I waited in the lake… They said they would come if I waited. That they would definitely return…”
The exact details were unclear, but from its words, it seemed the contractor it had awaited never returned.
“Why… didn’t they come? Why?”
Looking at the great spirit muttering blankly, Radel answered.
“Your contractor died long ago. That’s why they couldn’t come.”
“…Died?”
The clear eyes of the great spirit, which had only just regained reason, grew moist.
It didn’t try to hide its emotions as it murmured vacantly.
“That can’t be… That child was young.”
Then the library spirit interjected.
“You fool. Do you think time flows the same for spirits and humans? While you went mad waiting for a contractor who never came, centuries passed. That’s more than enough time for a human to die.”
Tears fell from the great spirit’s eyes at those words.
The great spirit understood death.
It meant never meeting again.
“…Never again? We can never meet again?”
The lake rippled in response to the great spirit’s sorrow.
Radel watched quietly, then spoke.
“People eventually die. But some things continue. Your contractor left behind descendants.”
“…Descendants?”
Radel brought Chariot before the great spirit.
Upon seeing him, the great spirit’s eyes trembled.
“He resembles that child.”
The trait Radel had seen in Chariot’s status window,Descendant of a Contractor.
Once again, Radel’s intuition had been correct.
Chariot, whose family had lived in Ravidel for generations, was the descendant of the one who had contracted with the great spirit long ago.
“I believe your contractor did come looking for you. I don’t know why you couldn’t meet.”
Otherwise, why would the contractor’s descendant have lived in Ravidel until now?
Surely, they had come to keep the promise to the great spirit, failed to meet it, and ended up settling near the lake.
The library spirit grumbled.
“It’s obvious. A reckless contract with a child who lacked mana,so the connection broke midway. The contractor probably searched for that fool around the lake without ever understanding why.”
If that was true, it was a tragic story.
At first flustered, Chariot gradually grasped the situation as he listened.
The great spirit looked at Chariot, then spoke.
“…You truly are that child’s descendant. Will you become my contractor?”
Chariot nodded.
If all of this was true, and he really was the descendant, then he wanted to contract with the great spirit and protect Ravidel.
He never wanted to feel that helpless again.
When the domain was in danger.
When Radel was in danger.
He never wanted to feel that crushing powerlessness again.
“It ended well.”
Radel smiled as he watched Chariot form a contract with the great spirit.
With this, Ravidel Lake would remain, the great spirit had found a new contractor, and Chariot had gained new power.
It was the moment Radel’s lake tourism project was safely preserved.