“Did you hear the news?”
“What news?”
“The inn by the northern gate burned down completely yesterday.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. They say it vanished without leaving a trace.”
The two guards stationed at the entrance to Kongd Village were discussing the inn fire from the previous night.
“What happened to the people staying there?”
“They must’ve died...... Apparently, they were the same bastards who planned to sell slaves in the central square.”
“Hoho. Good riddance. Rotten bastards. But wasn’t that inn rather large? Who started the fire, and who put it out?”
“No one knows.”
“What? How could no one know when the inn was that large?”
The guards were secretly pleased that the slavers staying there had met such a terrible end.
They weren’t alone. Most of the villagers took satisfaction in the slavers’ deaths.
Just because the village was a high-crime area didn’t mean all its residents were criminals.
To those who wanted stable law and order like any other village, slavers were extremely unwelcome visitors.
“Good riddance.”
“Yeah. I hope this puts an end to the slave trade here.”
Just as the two guards were about to end their conversation with hearty laughter, a man who had approached them spoke.
“Hey, you two.”
The man wore a large robe with its hood pulled low over his head.
Perhaps frightened by how thoroughly he had concealed his identity, the guards stammered.
“Y-Yes...?”
“If slaves cannot be traded here, where should they be traded?”
The two guards looked at each other.
Then they slowly answered.
“Well...... there are plenty of other places.”
“They should do it somewhere else. This is still a village where people live....”
The robed man nodded before slowly raising both hands, his palms facing the guards.
Then—
WHOOOOSH.
A chilly wind blew past them.
“Did everything in the inn by the northern gate burn and disappear yesterday?”
“Yes. That is correct.”
“The slaves, the wagons, and the mercenaries as well?”
“Yes, of course. Is that not obvious? The entire inn disappeared.”
“And no one left through the gate afterward?”
“No, no one...... The guards stationed at the other gates said they did not see anyone either.”
The man slowly nodded at the guards’ answers.
At that moment—
WHOOOOOSH!
Wind gathered around both his hands with a vicious howl.
“This happened because you failed to guard the village properly. I will punish you.”
“Wh-What? Who are you to punish us?”
“Who the hell are you?!”
The two guards raised their weapons and were about to charge when—
“Wind Blade.”
SHRAAAAK—!
The wind magic released by the robed man engulfed the guards.
They couldn’t even scream properly before the blades of wind shredded their entire bodies and sent them collapsing to the ground.
“Come on. That was going too far.”
The robed man was dusting off his hands as he looked at the fallen guards when he turned toward the voice beside him.
The man who had spoken was wearing identical clothing.
“Sorry. I was angry and could not help myself.”
His voice was dry, betraying neither remorse nor anger.
“Ugh...... Do you feel any better now?”
“To some extent. More importantly, what should we report?”
The man who had arrived later thought briefly before slowly answering.
“We should tell them the truth. The target was attacked by an unidentified entity, and we failed to protect it. As a result, the plan was ruined....”
“Good. Then let us move immediately.”
With that final answer, the two men vanished from before the village gate in an instant.
***
Leo, the man currently at the center of Kongd Village’s greatest controversy, was riding Igrit slowly along a forest trail.
-That kid is impressive.
‘What do you mean?’
-The magic they used yesterday left quite an impression.
‘Yeah.’
Minatos had used Fire Strike to burn down the inn and Water Wave to extinguish the fire. Igrit was still marveling over what it had witnessed.
-But why did you send them back?
Once the work was done, Leo immediately sent Minatos back to the Spirit Realm.
Minatos had remained in the Human Realm continuously as of late, so Leo had allowed them to rest.
Of course, it was also beginning to place some strain on Leo himself.
‘Because I was afraid you two would fight.’
-You make it sound like we fight every time we meet.
‘At least whenever I was watching, you were always fighting. Why? Do you miss them now that they aren’t here?’
-Well...... it isn’t that...... Forget it! When are you going to inspect what’s inside the wagon?
‘A little later. Once she wakes up.’
Leo glanced toward the wagon.
While Minatos burned the inn from the ground floor upward, Leo had gone straight to the Tantra Tribe girl’s room.
She had been unconscious at the time. Even now, with nearly an entire day having passed, she still hadn’t regained consciousness.
-You should’ve brought that mercenary commander with us too. The people who’ll become your friends would’ve appreciated it more.
‘Forget it. He deserved to die.’
Leo had initially intended to do that.
After all, bringing the culprit to them would have been better for earning their trust.
But the moment Leo saw the bastard who was in the room with her, he borrowed Minatos’s power and burned the man to death in more agonizing pain than anyone could imagine.
-She needs to wake up so we can feed her something....
“I’m already eating.”
-Whoa! You scared me!
Leo flinched at the voice from the wagon and turned around.
More precisely, Igrit’s shout had startled him even more than the voice itself.
“Thank you for rescuing me.”
Neither her disheveled hair nor the countless stains covering her face and clothes could conceal her innocent smile.
The Tantra Tribe girl was already awake in the wagon. She smiled as she took a large bite from an orange carrot.
-Hey! That’s my carrot! Don’t eat it!
“I’ll only eat a little. Hehe.”
If Minatos had been human, perhaps they would have looked like her.
Of course, there was a difference in gender.
-Leo! Stop her! Please? Aaaaagh! My carrot! Hurry up and find her something else to eat! She’s going to eat it all!
Despite Igrit’s shouting, Leo merely stared blankly at the girl as she crunched on the carrot.
-Leo! What are you doing?! Stop her!
At Igrit’s desperate shout, Leo quickly pulled the reins.
-Ack!
Igrit coughed as the reins constricted its neck and brought it to a stop. Leo slowly dismounted and approached the girl.
“You...... How can you understand Igrit?”
At Leo’s question, Igrit, which had been coughing for some time, snorted and spoke.
-Now that you mention it...... You can understand me? How?
The girl stared at Leo and popped the rest of the carrot into her mouth. She then answered with an innocent smile.
“Because I can hear it.”
“No...... What I mean is....”
When Leo trailed off, the girl extended her hand.
“I’m Galia Mund, the Priestess of the Tantra Tribe. What is your name?”
Still bewildered, Leo took her hand and answered.
“I’m Leonard Valantes of House Valantes.”
“Valantes?”
Seeing her pupils tremble, Leo smiled.
“Yeah. That House Valantes. Don’t be afraid. I’m going to return you to the lands of the Tantra Tribe.”
***
Galia believed Leo more easily than he had expected.
The greatest reason was Igrit.
She said Igrit was a ‘Divine Beast’ sent by the Forest God. She also said Magalo Rekus, the current chief of the Tantra Tribe, was accompanied by a Divine Beast named Iztus.
‘You’re more impressive than I thought.’
At Leo’s words, Igrit cleared its throat and raised its head proudly.
-Indeed. From now on, make sure you provide me with fresh carrots.
‘Sorry, but I don’t think that’ll be possible.’
-Why not?!
‘Let’s reconsider it after winter. I’m thinking of establishing an enormous carrot farm in Rutoa.’
-NEEEEEEEEEIGH!
Leo calmed the wildly excited Igrit and tied it to a tree before walking back toward Galia.
At that moment, a thunderous noise came from her stomach.
GRRRRUMBLE.
“Are you hungry?”
Galia nodded slightly in embarrassment.
‘First, then....’
Leo wanted to discuss Divine Beasts further, but he was also exhausted and hungry.
‘We should establish a campsite first.’
Leo found a suitable place and summoned Minatos.
He borrowed Minatos’s power to start a fire and hunt wild animals.
In the process, he confirmed something.
Galia could understand Igrit, but she couldn’t understand Minatos.
Leo wanted to ask about the reason immediately, but....
“Wow...... You can really eat.”
“Yes! Eating is when I’m happiest in the whole world!”
After watching her continuously devour the meat, Leo decided to let her eat for a while.
Once the meal had progressed and around half the boar Leo hunted had disappeared, their conversation resumed.
That was when Leo learned why Galia could only understand Igrit.
A Divine Beast was an animal granted special abilities by the Forest God.
Like Igrit, Divine Beasts possessed abilities far beyond those of ordinary animals.
They could also communicate with Galia, the Priestess.
In addition to wolves and horses, other Divine Beasts existed as well. All of them could communicate with the Priestess and their Contractor.
As Leo listened to her, a thought suddenly occurred to him.
“If I found and gathered all those Divine Beasts, it seems like they would become a considerable force.”
However, Galia shook her head.
“I don’t know where they are. Other than Iztus, today was the first time I had ever seen a Divine Beast.”
Galia wiped the juices glistening around her mouth and continued.
“That’s also why I trusted you despite hearing the name Valantes. A Divine Beast doesn’t accept just anyone as its Contractor. Each one has its own conditions, and it only forms a contract with someone who meets them.”
“R-Really?”
That differed slightly from what Igrit had told him, leaving Leo flustered.
Igrit had been forcibly captured by the Death Knight, and the reason it contracted with Leo was....
‘I think it was because of carrots....’
Regardless, Leo now knew that other Divine Beasts besides Igrit existed.
‘I should try to find them if I get the opportunity.’
Igrit’s power alone was already tremendously reassuring.
If other creatures possessed similar abilities, securing them would provide Leo with several times more strength.
If a Divine Beast already had a Contractor, he wanted to make its master an ally. If it was roaming freely through nature, he wanted to find it and bring it back.
“I’m going to check the wagon for a moment.”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
“But Galia.”
“Yes?”
“That thing loaded inside the wagon....”
“You mean that black lump of metal?”
A black lump of metal?
That was ‘Dragon Scale’!
When Leo looked puzzled, Galia spoke hesitantly.
“You can have it if you possess the knowledge required to refine it. I heard that not even the kingdom has a blacksmith capable of refining it....”
Leo nodded at Galia’s words.
The Dragon Scale loaded onto the wagon hadn’t been refined yet.
It was an enormous black rock the size of a wagon wheel. The actual Dragon Scale needed to be extracted from it through the refinement process.
But there wasn’t a blacksmith with that knowledge anywhere in the kingdom—or even anywhere on the continent.
That was how extraordinary it was.
“Can’t the Tantra Tribe’s blacksmiths work with it?”
Galia shook her head at Leo’s question.
“I heard there used to be one person who could, but he was exiled. So no one can do it now.”
Leo smiled inwardly at her words.
He had a feeling that the one person she mentioned was someone he knew.
‘It must be Jakus.’
“Why were you taking it with you if you couldn’t refine it?”
“We simply found it. We planned to enshrine it at our temple because it’s so difficult to obtain. But you may have it if you want it. I’ll give it to you as repayment for rescuing me.”
“Are you allowed to decide that yourself?”
At Leo’s question, Galia slowly lowered the enormous chunk of meat she had been holding in both hands.
“I’m the Priestess. Even the Tantra Tribe’s chief cannot treat me carelessly. And you rescued me.”
Leo knew the Priestess was extremely important to the Tantra Tribe, but he hadn’t realized that even the chief couldn’t treat her as he pleased.
‘Then again...... they need the Priestess to use their mysterious power.’
Leo had more questions, but he decided to ask them gradually while they traveled to the Tantra Tribe’s settlement.
“Then I’ll go check the wagon.”
“Yes! Go ahead! May I eat the rest of this?”
Galia smiled brightly at the enormous boar carcass dripping with juices.
“Sure. Eat all of it.”
“Wow! Thank you!”
Leaving the overjoyed Galia behind, Leo headed toward the wagon.
-I want to talk to her too.
-Heh heh heh. If there’s anything you want to say, tell me. I’ll pass it on for you.
-No, thanks.
-Shall I tell her you love her?
-What are you talking about?! Carrot-brained moron!
Leo looked at the furious Minatos.
-Don’t look at me like that!
Leo snickered at Minatos’s words.
‘All right. Do you want to return to the Spirit Realm, then?’
-No. I’ll stay here.
‘Why? You said you wanted to rest.’
-I’m fine. I’ve finished resting.
Leo had summoned Minatos both to establish the campsite and to determine whether Galia could communicate with a Spirit.
He felt needlessly guilty for disturbing their rest, but Minatos refused to return.
‘All right, then. But you two mustn’t talk to each other in front of Galia. Understood?’
Galia might find it strange if Igrit appeared to be talking to itself.
There was no way to conceal that Igrit was a Divine Beast, but Minatos’s existence still needed to remain secret.
‘All right...... Shall we open it?’
Leo slowly pulled away the cloth covering the wagon. A pitch-black rock reflected the moonlight, emitting a faint glow.
‘Beautiful....’
It should have been nearly invisible in the darkness, but the black stone glowed faintly and radiated an unmistakable presence.
Entranced by its beauty, Leo slowly raised his hand to touch it.
Just then—
“Aaaaaagh! Leo! Help me!”
Galia’s scream filled the forest.
‘Minatos! Stop!’
Minatos reacted to Galia’s voice first.
They flew to her in an instant and were about to use their power when Leo quickly restrained the mana.
“What’s wrong, Galia?”
Fortunately, nothing was wrong with the campsite itself.
Galia’s face, however, was covered in tears.
“Leo...... Please help them. Please....”
“All right. I’ll help, so tell me what happened.”
“Our Tantra warriors are dying.”
“What?”
“They aren’t far from here...... They’re surrounded by malice, and they’re all terrified....”
At Galia’s words, Leo immediately stamped out the blazing campfire.
He then mounted Igrit and spoke.
“Galia. You can tell Igrit where they are, right?”
“Yes.”
At her answer, Leo stroked Igrit’s neck.
“Igrit, let’s go at full speed.”