Chapter 108 : Chapter 108
Chapter 108
For the first time in a long while, Aquila found himself groaning in misery.
Not from dizziness, ringing ears, or headaches—but from this wretched… alarm.
“……Be quiet already!”
At last, Aquila snapped irritably and bolted upright.
There was no one around him, yet a floating cluster of light hovering in midair stabbed at his eyes.
‘That insane dinging sound…….’
Even if he covered his ears, it would not help. The sound was ringing inside his head.
His entire body felt heavy from yesterday’s aftermath, his muscles aching from rolling across the ground. He merely wished to sleep a little longer—so why was this happening?
Running a hand through his hair, Aquila furrowed his brow sharply.
“I should at least mute it……”
Muttering to himself, he summoned the System window.
Ding!
【Note from Joreumi: ㅈ∪Lㄱ{(I'll give [you this])】
“What.”
He was certain he had seen a mute button somewhere before, but it had been so long that he could not recall where.
Aquila began pressing different parts of the window, searching for it.
Ding!
【Note from Joreumi: KK⊥⊥⊥⊥⊥⊥⊥♧(Flowwwwwwer)】
“You want to curse at me?”
The Great Spirit froze momentarily, then shook its entire body hurriedly from side to side.
Ding!
【Note from Joreumi: ??????? ^ㅓN□ㅜL(??????? A Gift!)】
Judging by the string of question marks, it seemed to be denying that—but Aquila had only just woken up and had no desire to decipher the spirit’s cryptic messages.
He snorted and waved his hand dismissively.
“Bring someone I can actually communicate with—or just leave.”
With an annoyed expression, he shoved the hovering cluster of light away with his palm.
To his surprise, he could touch it.
Yet despite the push, the Great Spirit rose higher, spun twice above his head, and then stood perfectly still as though reaching some grave decision. Its light intensified, shining brighter than before.
Ding!
【Note from Joreumi: Hold on.】
Leaving behind only that message, it suddenly darted away at high speed.
“…….”
Aquila stared blankly at the message window.
‘Honestly. I have no idea what it wants.’
Feeling even more exhausted, he flopped back down onto the bed.
He placed a hand over his chest.
Thanks to the Sun God Raspalara’s blessing, the scratches had long since healed, and the necklace set with a blue gemstone was helping to stabilize his Mana.
The Mana consumption had not been extreme, but perhaps because he had used two spells simultaneously yesterday, there was slight overload.
Fortunately, Aquila Reschenhardt’s body harmonized well with Mana breathing and adapted to its flow with relative ease. Otherwise, he might have collapsed midway.
‘Back when I was an Archmage, I could change the entire Washerd Forest into summer weather…… and now I can barely manage that small area.’
Moreover, the Spirit Tree Branch.
Though it assisted in stabilizing Mana and made it easier to deploy magic formulas, it could not contain a large quantity of Mana.
It was little more than a beginner’s weapon.
Still, considering the likelihood of further emergency quests like yesterday’s, perhaps it was time to acquire proper equipment.
‘A staff and a sword. I can commission Kanherz for the sword, but as for the staff…….’
As his thoughts trailed off, his body sank heavily, as though descending beneath the surface of sleep.
It felt as though someone were pulling him downward into the earth.
Aquila slowly closed his eyes.
If he could just fall asleep—
Ding!
“Ha.”
The alarm rang again just as he was about to drift off, and Aquila shuddered, opening his eyes.
“Ah. You are awake.”
A blunt voice.
Heinen, who had evidently been up for some time, entered the room and greeted him.
“You appeared to be sleeping deeply, so I did not wake you. Did you rest well? It seems to be around four o’clock.”
Considering he had collapsed the previous evening, sleeping until four was not unreasonable.
Rubbing his eyes, Aquila sat up at last.
Then he checked the message he had been deliberately ignoring.
【Note from Joreumi: ^ㅓN□ㅜL B}ㄷ|-!!!!(Take the gift!!!!)】
“The Great Spirit said it had a gift for us. It did not seem appropriate to refuse, so I brought it.”
“……A gift?”
Aquila muttered hoarsely.
Then, lifting his gaze, he paused.
Heinen was wearing unfamiliar clothes.
Leather garments mixed with white cloth, a belt cinched at the waist, and boots reaching his shins.
“You look like one of the forest tribes. Did the Blue Scale Descendants give that to you?”
“……Yes. I could hardly put the armor back on.”
“They do not wear such armor here, so they lack the tools to repair it.”
Aquila nodded, recalling the dented armor from yesterday’s battle.
In a forest, heavy attire would only hinder movement. There was little reason for them to wear such equipment.
As it stood, Heinen now resembled a member of the forest tribes to anyone who saw him.
The Blue Scale Descendants dressed similarly, as did the elves.
“You are not wearing your helmet.”
“Ah. The fastening was damaged, and they insisted that I absolutely must not wear it with this outfit…….”
Heinen tilted his head, puzzled.
Aquila, however, understood perfectly.
‘They must think that helmet does not belong with those clothes.’
Leaving aside the fact that it covered his face, a silver helmet paired with forest attire was, by any standard, disastrous.
Ding!
【Note from Joreumi: Pay some Attention】
The Great Spirit trembled and enlarged itself, scattering brilliant flashes of light.
‘Attention-seeker…….’
Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Aquila rose from the bed.
“So, what is this gift the spirit gave us?”
“Ah. It is this.”
Heinen extended what he had been holding.
When he removed the cloth covering it, three lush purple blossoms were revealed.
At first glance, they appeared to be nothing more than flowers—but the moment Aquila recognized them, his eyes narrowed.
“……The fruit of the Guardian Tree.”
The blossom was ornate, its petals layered thickly.
But if one peeled away those petals, a hard white shell would appear within.
Even with a blade, splitting that shell required effort. Inside, a thin liquid gathered.
One simply had to drink it.
The effect of the fruit of the Guardian Tree, wrapped tightly in petals and shell, was simple.
“You know of it. I have only heard of it in stories; this is my first time seeing it.”
“……Yes. A natural restorative is not something one encounters easily.”
A natural restorative.
One said to be potent enough to restore a person on the brink of death to full health.
It grew only on a single Guardian Tree said to stand at the forest’s center. Naturally, no one could even touch its fruit without the spirits’ permission.
The demi-humans did not believe in gods.
Thus, they had no priests—no so-called messengers of the divine.
Without priests, there was no one to wield Divine Power. Unlike humans, they could not heal wounds through sacred means.
And yet, they were not immune to illness or injury.
Even so, they lived healthily.
Because of blessings such as this—gifts borne of the forest and the earth.
Fruit from trees, dew gathered on blossoms, crops sprouting from the soil.
Through such means, the forest’s inhabitants sustained their lives.
In other words, this fruit was akin to a blessing bestowed upon humans by a god—the forest’s own benediction.
“They said they were aware that our condition was not ideal. If taken for the first time, it drives out impurities within the body and purifies it with the forest’s vitality.”
Heinen regarded the fruit in his hand with a complicated expression.
For one who believed in the Sun God Raspalara, accepting what amounted to a blessing from a different faith was no simple matter.
“Accept it. This is precious.”
For Aquila, however, there was no reason to hesitate.
Once consumed, the tangled flow within his body would ease, and his condition would lighten considerably.
For someone who had habitually drawn external Mana into his vessel—regardless of its quality—this was precisely what he needed.
‘They are offering something quite valuable.’
Casting a glance at the hovering cluster of light, Aquila looked back at Heinen.
Without the helmet obscuring him, it was clear.
This man’s thoughts were rather transparent.
Having worn a helmet so often, he had never needed to school his expressions.
And yet he stood on the side of that sly Ianpel.
“It will not affect your Divine Power. On the contrary, it will cleanse your body more thoroughly.”
“I…….”
Heinen still hesitated.
But Aquila did not press him.
Instead, he spoke quietly.
“In the distant past—over a thousand years ago, it is said there was no great rift between humans who believed in gods and demi-humans who revered the earth. They accepted one another naturally and shared in the blessings granted to them.”
Taking one of the fruits for himself, Aquila added,
“Do you truly believe their faith is entirely different from yours?”
Heinen’s coffee-colored eyes met Aquila’s black ones.
This knight of the sun, with hair the color of warm soil and tree bark, loosened his tightly held lips and shook his head.
“No. I would not dare to claim such a thing. I am merely faithful to the belief within me.”
As he spoke, he briefly gripped the necklace bearing Raspalara’s emblem at the center of his chest before releasing it.
Aquila gave no further response.
He simply nodded.
His question had not been meant as reproach—merely a question.
“……I will accept it with gratitude.”
As Heinen expressed thanks, the Great Spirit twirled above his head in what seemed like a dance.
“I thank you as well.”
Ding!
【Note from Joreumi:heh.】
At the sight of the message, Aquila could not help but let out a faint laugh.
“The remaining one is for Porzelin. Is she outside?”
“Yes. Surprisingly, she is sparring outside. I am reminded once again that the knights of House Reschenhardt are fiercely competitive.”
Heinen’s gaze briefly touched Aquila’s blazing red hair.
‘Well, Igrail is where sword-obsessed lunatics gather.’
Aquila merely shrugged.
Together, they stepped outside.
***
Porzelin was startled to see the fruit of the Guardian Tree, yet she accepted it more readily than Heinen had.
The Blue Scale Descendants led Aquila’s group to the plaza, where they shared a meal.
Yesterday, the corrupted soul had left everyone shaken—but today, they seemed steadier.
Aquila explained what he had been unable to say the previous day.
He did not speak of why Fenrir had appeared.
But he did explain what the corrupted soul was.
And that this had been their second encounter with such a being.
The Blue Scale Descendants listened with grave, fearful expressions.
“Ferocious monsters in the Frost Forest…… Then there is a strong possibility they will appear in the eastern region as well.”
“Yes. I believe so.”
“We must inform the inhabitants of the other forests. With Fenrir’s corpse and the shattered black fragments, it will not be difficult to convince them.”
Aquila nodded, and Tesser continued.
“You received a gift from the Great Spirit. We, too, have something to give you.”