Completing everything on Leo's planned itinerary while traveling by horse would take more than two weeks.
Even so, Leo had told Hans it would take only a week.
That was because he had intended to use Minatos's power from the very beginning.
When Leo subdued Jamie at 'The Wolf That Drinks Moonlight,' he had all but flown through the sky.
Because of that, his failure to control his strength had nearly shattered the bones in Jamie's neck.
Moreover, Leo judged that it would be entirely possible with the amount of mana he now possessed, which was far greater than it had been then, and his judgment proved correct.
'This is incredible, isn't it?'
Flying through the sky did not feel bad at all.
He was not flying particularly high, but it was enough to cross small hills directly instead of going around them.
"You feel just like a unicorn now, don't you? Right? Haha."
Leo laughed happily as he stroked the neck of the snorting horse.
The shrunken landscape below. The pleasant wind in the sky.
Thanks to them, he could fully savor the feeling of flight.
-Should I increase our speed, Leo? I can! Shall we run?
Minatos also looked quite excited. This was practically the first time since forming the Spirit Contract that they had been able to use their power freely.
However.
"No. That's enough."
-Why?
"Hmm...... Let's say it would be inefficient."
The higher and faster they flew, the more mana it consumed.
Their current pace was just right.
-That's too bad. We could arrive in the blink of an eye.
"At a speed that would get us there in the blink of an eye, my body wouldn't be able to withstand it. Every bone in my body would break, don't you think?"
-Shall we test whether Leo can withstand it?
Leo shook his head at Minatos, who wore an excited expression while saying something so brutal.
"No. That's enough. We can try that later. I want to live a long life."
Of course, it might not be impossible.
If he trained further and eventually possessed more mana and a stronger body.
'It might be possible.'
Lost in thought, Leo smiled at the pleasant wind brushing his cheek and shouted.
"Run, Minatos!"
-Really? Shall we run?
"Just run at a reasonable speed!"
***
His first destination was the 'Living Forest.'
Traveling there normally on horseback took two days.
But by flying through the sky, Leo arrived at the 'Living Forest' only half a day after departing.
Along the way, he had lost some time recovering his mana with the Mana Cultivation Method whenever it ran out.
Even so, he had saved a day and a half compared with traveling normally on horseback.
After he arrived at the 'Living Forest,' everything proceeded without obstruction.
The Biserk Altar stood at the center of the 'Living Forest.'
Long ago, House Valantes had used it to offer prayers to a god. Now, it was an abandoned altar where human footsteps had long since ceased.
At the center of the altar stood a broken stone monument.
Beneath it, hidden among grass that had been left untended for years and grown thick, was the 'Elven Leaf.'
It was a mystical herb found in the Valantes Domain, yet had fallen into House Metiller's grasp in Leo's previous life.
This time, Leo claimed it in the name of Valantes.
'There was nothing to it.'
He had already seen its appearance in a book, so finding it had not been difficult.
It was a round leaf tinged blue rather than green.
Leo sat before the altar and carefully brought it to his mouth.
Then he immediately munched and munched until he had eaten it.
-Leo. Why are you picking up something from the ground and eating it? My dad said people who pick food up from the ground and eat it are beggars.
Leo frowned at the bitter taste in his mouth as he crunched and crunched on the leaf, then answered.
"Who says that? Whoever taught you that is the real beggar."
-My dad.
"Ah...... Sorry."
He had not meant to do it.
He had just turned the Spirit King into a beggar.
"I need to concentrate now, so go inside and rest for a while."
-All right.
After sending Minatos back, Leo immediately sat cross-legged in a lotus position.
Then he slowly began practicing the Mana Cultivation Method.
'Hmm......'
Once the entire 'Elven Leaf' had passed down his esophagus, a burning energy struck his Mana Circle.
'The herb's effects differ according to one's proficiency with the Mana Cultivation Method.'
Merely consuming an herb that increased the amount of mana did not allow someone to obtain its full power.
After consuming it, one had to use a Mana Cultivation Method to make the herb's energy one's own.
That was what determined whether someone absorbed all its power, half of it, or even less.
In Leo's case, it was naturally the former.
'I've eaten harsher things than this in my previous life.'
There was an herb he had consumed at the risk of his life in order to use Mana Blade.
Compared with that, absorbing the 'Elven Leaf' barely even tickled.
Of course, that did not mean the 'Elven Leaf' was a weed.
Depending on the user, the 'Elven Leaf' was an Upper-Mid-Grade herb that could increase the user's mana to as much as 1.5 times its original amount.
'Good...... It's started.'
The Mana Circle, which had been emptied by the flight, slowly began filling with mana again.
Leo continuously expelled the incoming mana through the Mana Road.
Just as a heart contracted to pump blood throughout the body, his Mana Circle tirelessly repeated its contractions and expansions, constantly spitting mana into the Mana Road.
Had it repeated those eruptions dozens of times over such a long period?
The mana that had spread throughout his body suddenly began to be sucked toward his Mana Circle.
Mana poured in as though a dam had burst.
If he failed to withstand it, his Mana Circle could rupture, leaving him a cripple from Mana Poisoning or even ending his life.
But Leo remained calm. He had already completed the 2-Star Mana Circle Training Stage, and he had completed the Mana Circle Training Stage.
'This much is nothing.'
His Mana Circle could withstand enough stored mana to use Mana Blade. This could not so much as scratch it.
HUMMMMM!
The blue energy enveloping Leo's entire body began growing larger and larger.
And then.
FLASH—!
With a tremendous flash, the blue energy rippling around his body was absorbed into Leo in an instant.
His eyes snapped open.
'I sucked it all in.'
His mana had increased by as much as it had after finishing his spar with his father.
With this much mana, he could summon Minatos here for as long as five days.
'My Mana Circle has filled quite a bit too.'
Of course, it was not even one-third full yet. But considering that the Mana Circle Leo had cultivated through Akedos’s Mana Cultivation Method was nearly twice as large—if not larger—than those of others, it was clearly no ordinary amount.
"Minatos."
After absorbing all the energy emitted by the 'Elven Leaf,' Leo immediately called Minatos.
-Yes. Did you call me? You told me to rest, so why did you call me back so soon?
"It's time to get back to work."
-Didn't you use all your mana earlier? Huh? No, you didn't? When did you fill it up this much?
Leo gave Minatos a small smile at their startled reaction and spoke.
"Now...... Take me to Ril Village next."
-Ril Village? What kind of place is that?
"Just...... a rural village."
***
Ril Village.
It was a small rural village within the sphere of influence of Baron Jeffrey Chris, the strategist of House Metiller.
In other words, the village was under House Metiller's influence.
'I've arrived.'
Only a day after leaving the Biserk Altar, Leo appeared in a forest near Ril Village.
Traveling from the altar to this place on horseback would have taken at least three days.
Thanks to his increased mana, Leo had flown diligently with only a single break along the way and arrived in just one day.
'I need to be careful.'
Leo had never visited Ril Village even once in his previous life.
However, he possessed some information about it.
It was an extremely remote and considerably underdeveloped place, and illegal activity was correspondingly widespread.
It was difficult to predict what might happen there. For that reason, Leo intended to conceal his identity as thoroughly as possible and avoid contact with others.
'I'll get only what I want, then leave for Rutoa immediately.'
Leo had come here to visit the workshop that could refine the Gray Troll Hide.
He also planned to obtain a reasonably good shield from that workshop.
He intended to leave the village immediately after acquiring exactly what he wanted.
The reason was.
His next destination, Rutoa Fortress, lay in the exact opposite direction from Ril Village.
If the Biserk Altar was at the center, Rutoa and Ril Village lay to its left and right.
Even if he flew, it was clear that it would require that much more time.
On top of that, refining the hide would also require a considerable investment of time.
There was still some time before his father left for Rutoa, but that did not mean Leo could afford to be complacent.
"Minatos."
-Yes, Leo.
"I probably won't need to call you again until I leave this place...... so go inside and rest for a while."
-All right.
"Wait."
Minatos, who had begun slowly fading away, returned to normal.
"Your horns have gotten shorter, haven't they? And...... I think you've grown a little taller too?"
At Leo's words, Minatos rubbed the places where their horns grew.
-Is that so?
The red horn and the white horn were clearly shorter than they had been when Leo first met Minatos.
They seemed a little taller too......
"Am I imagining it?"
-Yes. I think you are. I'll be going now. Bye!
After that firm answer, Minatos slowly faded away.
'They definitely grew.'
Leo could feel it.
The difference was minute, but Minatos had undeniably grown.
Naturally, that must mean their bond had deepened by just as much.
'That little rascal. Are they embarrassed?'
Leo smiled at the spot where Minatos had vanished, then grasped the horse's reins and spoke.
"All right, let's go. To Ril Village."
The horse snorted and slowly followed behind Leo.
A short while later.
Leo passed through the entrance to Ril Village.
'This place is gloomy, isn't it?'
He had not noticed from a distance, but the closer he came, the more he felt the village's sinister atmosphere.
The village was tinged gray, as though storm clouds hung over this place alone.
"Hey, you over there!"
As Leo entered the village, one of the two guards sitting on a wooden platform to one side called out to him.
Leo pulled on the reins to stop the horse and glanced over.
Liquor bottles stood atop the platform.
The guards were already far from sober.
'The security here is a mess. Is that why he settled here?'
"Are you here to have some fun? Hahaha."
Leo had been thinking about the man he planned to meet, but the guard's words abruptly snapped him from his thoughts.
"You came on the perfect day. One hell of a slave trader arrived today. Hahaha. Go take a look."
"If it weren't for this pointless duty, we'd have gone to watch and enjoy ourselves too."
Leo gave a slight nod at their conversation, then guided his horse into the village.
'With security this bad, they wouldn't notice even if an Orc walked in wearing a hood.'
To conceal his appearance, Leo had covered half his face with a mask and pulled up the hood attached to his robe.
Anyone would have found his outfit suspicious, yet the guards showed no wariness whatsoever.
'A slave trader...... This village is even more vicious than I expected, isn't it?'
Slaves.
It was a practice condemned as inhumane, yet it had not disappeared because some powerful nobles secretly supported it.
Far more territories in the kingdom prohibited slavery than allowed it, which was why so much slave trading took place in remote frontier towns with lax security.
'It's a practice that must disappear someday...... but now isn't the time to concern myself with it.'
After making his way toward the center of the village for some time, Leo stopped when he saw the sign of a shabby weapon shop nearby.
'Is that it?'
[The Woodcutting Axe]
Faint letters were engraved beside an emblem of two crossed axes.
Leo had also heard the shop's name in his previous life, so finding it was not difficult.
"Haa......"
Leo tied his horse to a post beside the shop, let out a deep sigh, then slowly opened the door and entered.
***
The musty odor of damp wood assaulted his sense of smell.
The shop was not even half the size of a weapon shop in the Valantes Domain, and all manner of weapons were displayed along the walls.
Armor was arranged beneath them, while rows of shoes lined the floor.
CLANG! CLANG!
Leo walked toward the sound of hammering.
He stopped before an iron door beneath a massive painting of a forest that stretched as tall as an adult man.
"Shopkeeper!"
The hammering continued despite Leo's call.
"Shopkeeper!"
Only when Leo shouted with mana behind his voice did the hammering stop.
A moment later.
CREEEAK!
The iron door slowly opened with a drawn-out creak.
"Who are you?"
A middle-aged man emerged from within.
He was about Leo's height, and his burly body was packed with muscle.
'Oh......'
His physique was solid enough to draw even Leo's inward admiration.
But unlike his body, which could have belonged to a Swordmaster, his face was covered in wrinkles, and his hair and eyebrows had turned completely white.
His beard was so long that the only part of his face visible was a pair of eyes like those of a fierce beast.
"I came to buy some weapons."
The owner answered Leo with an indifferent expression.
"Looking at you, that does not seem to be the case."
He tossed out the remark and was about to close the door and go back inside when Leo caught the iron door.
"Hm?"
A strange contest of strength began between the man trying to close the door and the one holding it open.
By common sense, the well-built owner should naturally have won, but Leo was no ordinary person.
"You are strong."
"I said I came to buy weapons."
The owner met Leo's eyes, slowly relaxed his strength, and dusted off his hands.
"Choose quickly and leave. I am very busy right now."
"Before that, there's something I'd like to show you."
The owner looked puzzled by Leo's words.
The moment Leo saw that expression, he immediately removed the robe he was wearing.
"Gray Troll Hide. You know how to work with this, don't you?"
The owner's pupils trembled faintly at Leo's question.
"I do not know. If that is your request, go ask somewhere else."
The shopkeeper turned away coldly, and Leo gave him a small smile before speaking.
"May the protection of the Forest God always be with you."
The owner's expression changed subtly at Leo's words.
"......What do you mean?"
Watching him, Leo enunciated every syllable as though reciting them.
"Barbarian Blacksmith, Jakus. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Leonard Valantes, Second Young Master of House Valantes."