Chapter 103

Leo was actually a woman, and her name was Leona .

I had a terrible misunderstanding and desperately apologized to her shocked looked and managed to calm her down .

“… So Usato . Did you fight the awakened Karon?”

“Yes, well … for the time being . ”

Nodding to Norn-sama’s expression, it made her look a little tired from the commotion .

Even though I said I fought against him, I was just hitting him back, even though I was blown away by the snowstorm and couldn’t move .

I don’t know if it’s a battle, but if my information is useful, I should say it .

“I have the same impression as Leo …… na-san . The horns and tail made the atmosphere even more violent . Maybe if I had to fight next time, I would lose in terms of strength . It may end up … “

In fact, even before awakening, he was the same or maybe even stronger than I was .

If his power continues to increase, the only part that I can beat him is speed . Then, I have to train to improve my speed and strength, considering the possibility of facing each other .

Norn tilted her head while I folded my arms and was thinking about the training regime for the future .

“Is it a mistake? Now, it sounds like Usato had the same power as him before he was awakened . ”

“… Huh !?”

S-Shit .

What a grave hole . I should have wrapped it in more oblate .

I knew I shouldn’t have told them about the fight with Karon .

“… No way, it’s just a figure of speech . ”

“Huh, you don’t have to be humble, Usato . I was watching with my own eyes . You’re overwhelming Karon with just your physical strength …”

Although I tried to deceive them, I was corrected by Leona-san who had regained her composure .

Leona-san might have remembered the scene when me and Karon-san were fighting, with a biting smile and a strong clenched fist .

“Despite holding me, he runs on the ice like the wind and not only pulls Karon away …! He even avoided the falling ice spear, and even knocked off scattered debris with his bare hands… . ! “

“Le-Leona-san …?”

“I was watching his fight in the side lines, it can be said that the crisis detection ability that almost completely avoided the axe that is swung around in front of him, and the agility to avoid are especially far from human beings! . ”

Somehow she’s being overly excited ……?

I’m grateful for her introducing me, but I feel like she doesn’t have to explain that much . I mean it’s true, but when hearing it from someone, it makes me embarrassed …

Norn-sama, who was slightly drawn to Leona’s heated explanation, widened her eyes and turned her eyes to me .

“I thought I wasn’t the only one, but the Kingdom of Lingle sent a ridiculous human … It’s obviously not normal to compete with Karon in that state with just your body . Maybe you’re the rumoured rescue squad? “

“……Yes”

This person, like Gladys-san and Lucas-sama, does not seem to know Rose, but seems to know the rescue squad from rumors .

‥ …… I’m a little scared to hear about the rumors of the rescue squad .

“It’s decided”

“…?”

Norn-sama nodded once when she saw me .

I’m having doubts about the words she muttered .

“I finally figured out why he expected you to come . ”

“He? Who is it?”

The word “he” that Norn-sama has pointed out earlier .

At first I thought it was Karon-san or Leo-san, but it’s obviously different .

They were expecting us to come here and still grasping Karon’s current situation .

“Let’s meet him now … . Leona”

Norn stood up from the throne and talked to Leona .

“Let Usato meet him . You too . ”

“Then, what about Karon?”

“Yes, we’ll reveal everything . ”

Leona-san was slightly skeptical of Norn-sama’s words, but when she immediately returned to her serious expression, she moved to the immediate vicinity of us .

Along with that, Norn-sama also approached us .

“Norn-sama, what exactly is …”

“Originally, a secret place in Miarak that is only shown to people of special status . I will take you to that place . ”

Secret place ……?

Is that the “he” that Norn-sama mentioned?

“The one who we’re meeting is the one who created the armor of Charon — the one who created the sword of the hero who defeated the Demon King . ”

“!?”

The person who created the weapon of the hero !?

So it’s the person who is also the creator of the knife I have now … right?

“Please wait a moment . The hero who defeated the Demon King was a story hundreds of years ago, isn’t it? An ordinary human shouldn’t be able to live for such a long time …”

I remembered what Neah said to me .

It is impossible for humans, but there is a possibility for monsters such as Neah that have more intelligence and lifespan than humans .

“Yes . It’s not a human that will meet you from now on . ”

Norn-sama, who answered my mumbling, hit the floor three times with the cane on her hand .

Then, a blue pattern emerges on the ground and disappears as if the feet sink into the ground . I turn my face towards Neah .

She had a stern look and was touching the floor with a blue pattern .

“Neah, what is that?”

“Yeah, it’s magic . And it’s very old and highly hidden . I didn’t even notice … And it’s from some high level magician . It’s sad to say, but this person can handle magic better than I do . ”

While hiding as much as possible and talking with Neah, our bodies went down through the floor .

When I looked overhead, I saw the maid waving from the place where the floor was translucent .

The scaffolding went down steadily .

During that time, Norn-sama, who was staring at her cane, raised her face .

“We still have some time before descending . If you have any questions, please ask . ”

What should I ask …?

The most important thing to ask is about the people I will meet from now on, but is it okay because I can understand it immediately?

Ark-san talked to Norn-sama when he was thinking about what to ask .

“Queen, can I ask you a question?”

“I don’t mind if it’s something I can answer . ”

“So, how did the people living in this city move to the neighboring country? Now that Karon is rampaging, it should take a lot of time and effort to move even a small number of people while hiding . ”

Right, we didn’t ask how they sent the citizens of Mia Rak to neighboring countries .

Although it is a city, there are many people who live there .

Moreover, the surroundings are ice, not water . No matter how many people can ride on a ship, it is meaningless if the water surface is frozen .

In the meantime, how did the Mia Rak people escape abroad?

“In moving the people from here, I first asked Leona to stop Karon, and while she was stalling, I moved all the people . ”

‥ …… Isn’t that impossible?

I couldn’t say it, but the explanation was too concise and suspicious .

Norn-sama, who saw our reaction, smiled as if noticing our doubt .

“You can’t be convinced by this explanation . It’s a reckless operation so far, but with the help of the person we’ll meet from now on, we succeeded in this reckless operation . ”

Norn-sama said that, and raised the cane in her hand to show us .

A triangular jagged scale-like jewel was fitted in the center of the cane, and light similar to the barrier covering Mia Rak was emitted from it .

“Is this the magic tool that created the barrier?”

“Yes . To be precise, it’s a tool that combines magic . This is also a special wand that he created and has been passed down to us royal family . ”

In other words, can it be said that Norn’s cane is the last fort to protect this city called Mia Rak?

When I heard that a large barrier was emitted from the magic tool, I thought it was a bigger device, but it was quite compact .

“This wand can create a wide-area barrier by putting magical power into it . There is a restriction that it can only be used in this city under his control, but with my magical power, I can develop a barrier with a certain strength in any form . ”

Although it can only be used in limited places, it is a magic tool that exerts a reasonable effect .

It is quite nonstandard to be able to continue to activate with the magical power of one person .

When she was drinking the potion a while ago, she was throwing it …

“I moved the people safely by creating a barrier between Karon and the people, but most of the forests are ferocious because of Karon’s attention . I’ve put the knights on an escort mission, so very few people are in the castle right now . “

“So that’s why……”

The reason why there is no knight in Mia Rak is because they went out together to escort the people who are moving from the ferocious monster .

It’s a difficult situation .

“That means that Leona-san was actually dealing with Karon alone . ”

“I was on the defensive from start to finish . To this day, I was almost stabbed . ”

“Still, I think it’s amazing . ”

Without any help, she couldn’t be weak when she confronted a big enemy named Karon .

Dismayed by my words, Leona-san turned away awkwardly .

“No, no, if I could do better in the first place, I might have managed to defeat him before he had awakened …”

“Don’t be too demeaning to yourself, you did well . ”

Norn-sama answered Leona, who was self-deprecating herself .

“Humility is both your strength and your weakness . What you need now is confidence . If you have that, you’ll be Mia Rak’s——“

“Norn-sama …!”

Leona interrupted Norn’s words and made a painful voice .

She immediately bowed to her rude attitude, but her expression turned into a harsh one .

I didn’t know what Norn-sama said, but I understood that the words after that were not very good for Leona-san .

“There seems to be some reason . ”

“Yeah . ”

Nodding to Ark-san who was watching the exchange between the two .

I’m curious, but it’s not something we should get involved in . This is a problem between Norn-sama and Leona-san, the master and the servants .

“It’s almost time we reach the bottom layer . ”

Norn-sama said with a slightly sunken voice .

When I looked at her voice, I found that the magical pattern that glowed blue gradually lost its light .

“He said this to me,[You are an immature and inexperienced queen . See yourself with those two eyes . ]”

When I was watching the floor going down quietly, Norn-sama murmured .

“In my eyes, you guys … seemed credible . Still, we should be careful . ”

“Caution? Is it something to be careful about?”

“Yeah . If you meet him, don’t be scared . He has a slightly big and scary face, is uselessly intimidating, and his words and actions are over the top, but his heart is kind…… . ? So … “

The scary face was uselessly intimidating, and the words and actions were from above … Is she referring to Rose?

No, it’s not unreasonable .

What… . if that’s all there is to it, then I’m okay with . Even if it’s a scary face, I don’t think it will surpass that strong face of Rose .

“It’s alright because I know a similar person . ”

Although the person we’re going to meet is an outsider, there could be no more scary people than Rose .

Rather, I even wonder if there is a more terrifying existence in this world than that person .

“It can’t be . There shouldn’t be someone who would be the same as him . . ”

“Eh?”

I instinctively asked her, who muttered a little .

Is he such a great existence?

Maybe even more than Rose …? No, let’s not based this on Rose, and it’s possible that he’s amazing in a different sense .

While thinking so, the scenery around me was changing .

Until now, the scene where only the deep blue walls continued was changed to a huge cave .

“Oh …”

Unintentionally, a voice of admiration leaked from my mouth .

A cave with an unusually wide ceiling and width . There were fountains everywhere in the cave, and blue light leaked from the bottom of the cave, illuminating the inside of the cave .

It was a fantastic sight .

I was surprised that there was space in the basement, but I didn’t think I could see such a beautiful view .

“This is the treasure and heritage that Miarak is proud of . The [Kureha Fountain]”

“This is amazing . Those are the only words I could think of . ”

Norn-sama, who laughed a little at my words, turned to the fountain that gave off a blue glow .

“The water in this spring is special . It may look like shiny water, but if you drink it, you can get tremendous power . ”

“Great power? That water has such an effect … but there can be no such sweet story, right?”

“Yes . This water is poisonous to living things . And it does not give power, it draws power . The source of that power is life — it turns life into power . And it is the most harmful to human beings . “

Turning life into power .

For me, it doesn’t seem very good .

“The power that can be easily obtained upsets people’s hearts . Drinking this water means giving in to their own weaknesses and turning away from the reality in front of them . Losing their composure, they become outlaws who just wield their power—–”

The scaffolding arrives at the cave .

Norn-sama, who had advanced ahead of us while I was being fascinated by the surrounding scenery, reached out to the nearby fountain and scooped it up lightly .

“Those who want greed and karma, their hearts will be torn and bodies decay after pain . ’ … If you drink this water, your mind and body will be destroyed by its excessive effect . Thus, the royal family continues to protect this place so that the “greedy” will not abuse the fountain . “

A fountain that gives power .

Surely, if someone knows about its existence, there will be no end to those who want it .

By just listening to the story, I understood that the beautiful spring in front of me was dangerous .

“… I’ll show you where he is . ”

Norn-sama, who returned the scooped water to the spring, walks to the end of the cave .

When I followed her silently, she stopped in front of the biggest fountain .

However, there is no one in the fountain .

Where is “he” as Norn-sama says?

“… He’s here”

“Neah?”

Nea muttered with a tense voice .

Looking at her line of sight, I was staring at the fountain .

“He’s definitely here . I know this sign … We know . Amako, do you feel this sign too?”

“……Yeah”

Ark-san and I don’t know what Neah and Amako are feeling .

However, looking at the strong facial expressions of the two, it is clear that something is definitely in the fountain .

“—— I have brought them . Please show us your appearance . ”

When Norn-saa utters those words, after a moment of silence, a huge “something” emerges from the center of the spring water .

At the moment, a presence that even I could feel was emitted from that in front of me, and I stood in front of Amako and clenched my fist lightly .

“Oi oi, you gotta be kidding me …”

As Neah said, we knew .

It was just two months ago .

The opportunity I learned about the predecessor hero .

The dragon of disaster that she awakened .

“—“

However, it appeared different from the “wicked dragon” we know .

Of the four wings, two were torn from the middle,

The big tail had no tip as if it had been cut off,

The scales were cracked, more than half of the nails were missing,

The mane extending from the neck and the beard from the lower jaw were colored pure white .

To our surprise, we were looking up at “him” in a situation where we couldn’t even make a voice, and the “dragon” who dripped the spring water looked down .

“— Welcome, humans . You have done well taking care of my other half . ”

“He”, the blue old dragon, said to me with a wrinkled voice reminiscent of an old man .