East Road Quest

Chapter 97: Memories of Merald

Merald surveyed the expanse of the marshland, a place spread wide without a single puddle.

The openness made it easy to detect an enemy’s approach, yet it also meant being easily spotted in return.

Under normal circumstances, such a location would not be chosen for an overnight stay, but the day’s unique situation left no choice. And if a large-scale enemy charged head-on, it was a decision made with the confidence that Ruby could handle it.

‘Am I being too complacent, trusting Ruby excessively? If an unforeseen situation arises that he can’t handle, I won’t be able to cover for him. Then, I shouldn’t leave it to him. It’s not a matter of trust.’

As Merald made his way here, he had checked twice for any signs of fish-like Komoras or other enemies in the marshland. Yet, a sound he had missed earlier nagged at him, leaving him unsettled.

It was definitely not the work of a Watercone, but another magician.

‘Maybe it’s that person I know.’

Echo flowers also grew in this marshland, their coughs and murmurs audible. Merald worried that these sounds might cause him to miss the presence of other enemies.

‘I should check one more time.’

Merald revisited the spots he had checked twice before, vigilant for any potential traps or ambushes. He retraced his steps to about two duophons (Author’s note: approximately 90 meters) away but found nothing. Still, he didn’t consider it a wasted effort; at least it brought him peace of mind.

Merald returned to where his companions were.

The campfire revealed their exact location. But then, Saph stepped away from the fire and approached Merald.

Ruby, with her red eyes glowing, kept a watchful eye on Saph, indicating that her approach was not sudden.

Saph walked ‘meticulously’ towards Merald, seemingly intent on stepping only where he had. Yet, she accidentally kicked a marsh mushroom he had avoided.

The mushrooms emitted spores, glowing red in her path. Though not potent, the powder was toxic, and Merald warned her.

“Hold your breath. Inhaling the mushroom spores is not good for you.”

Saph continued walking without panic, even as the whispering of the echo flowers persisted.

“Hello, I am…”

“Honestly, that could be…”

“If that’s the case, we have too little… prey…”

The sounds, neither clear nor logical, were hard to discern. If one didn’t listen closely, they could be mistaken for the wind.

Then, a relatively clear and familiar woman’s voice was heard.

“…Whether you’re an elf or an orc, it doesn’t matter. Stand back.”

Merald, startled, reached for his bow. However, it was the voice of an echo flower about ten steps away. Astonishingly, it was a conversation from three years ago when he had visited this place.

Even if no other elf had passed by since then, what were the chances that an echo flower, remembering over a thousand years, would utter that voice precisely when he was there? Merald grew cautious, suspecting it might be intentional.

Saph, more startled, froze in place.

Merald lowered his bow and gestured.

“It’s alright. It was just the whisper of an echo flower.”

Saph slowly resumed her steps and reached Merald.

Merald spoke with an unintentionally reproachful tone.

“Why come here dangerously? If you have something to say, it could wait until I returned.”

“I thought it should be just between us.”

Saph replied politely.

Looking back at the campfire, Ruby’s gaze had vanished.

She had watched attentively until Saph reached Merald, then deemed it unnecessary to continue once she arrived.

‘Although she says otherwise, it seems she trusts me subconsciously. Perhaps I should open up a bit more to the idea of a cooperative relationship.’

Merald looked down intimidatingly at Saph, who was only as tall as his chest.

“A private conversation?”

Saph, facing the fearsome visage of an orc, spoke without fear.

“Sage is very worried about Merald. It’s as if she’s worrying about her own son.”

“The old woman simply considers everything within her domain as her children.”

“I think her worry has rubbed off on me. I’m concerned about Merald.”

To Merald, it sounded like a tiny vine mouse expressing concern that the champion might run too late. But then he realized why she had started this conversation.

“Is it about the devil’s weapon?”

Merald considered showing the buffalo horn dagger tucked at his waist but remembered that Saph feared such things and decided to end the conversation verbally.

“That’s part of it,” Saph continued slowly.

“I’ve been thinking about it since leaving Sage’s cabin. Merald has been guarding the forest alone for centuries. How lonely must he have been? How much he must have needed someone to talk to? Perhaps there are countless unspoken words piled up, even things he hasn’t said to Sage.”

“So, you’re offering to listen to those words?”

“No.”

Saph glanced back.

“It’s about Father Jade.”

“Hmm?”

“In the Catholic faith, one confesses their sins to a priest and receives forgiveness. The priest must keep those sins secret, only for God to hear, forever.”

Merald made an effort not to mock her faith.

“If you’re thinking of imposing your religion’s rules on me, forget it. Would you offer sacrifices to the trees of the forest if I asked you to?”

“It’s just an example. I don’t know what troubles Merald is facing, but I’m aware he’s alone. He must want to talk about something. I’m ready to listen, but Father Jade is better at lending an ear than anyone else.”

“Stop with the nonsense.”

“It’s not nonsense. Everyone has their worries.”

“My only concern is praying for the forest’s well-being. What’s the point of discussing such with Jade? Even if I have sins, what meaning is there in seeking forgiveness from your gods?”

“What about trivial worries then? The kind you can cast aside in front of a campfire and forget?”

“I told you, I have no such worries.”

“Then why did you just startle?”

Merald was taken aback as if struck by an arrow out of negligence.

‘I was merely startled by the voice of the Echo Flower. It’s none of your concern.’

If it weren’t for Saph’s earnest and expressionless face, Merald would have dismissed the topic outright. But now, his thoughts had shifted.

Saph’s words held some truth.

‘It’s better to shake off trivial worries to focus on the significant ones.’

Merald brought up a concern that had been nagging him since he entered the ancient swamp ruins.

“There is something that’s been bothering me.”

“What is it?”

“…Three years ago, before we knew Buffalord was a demon.”

Merald was tracking a creature that seemed immortal, not yet knowing it was called Buffalord, thinking of it only as an intruder.

Buffalord moved so swiftly that Merald crossed the boundaries of the Dark Forest, through the Black Pine Forest region, and reached the Whispering Swamps.

Just as Merald was about to catch Buffalord in the swamps, he was attacked by an unknown mage.

It was also night then.

The mage primarily used water magic. Pillars of water rose in the darkness and fell heavily like rocks.

Merald had no choice but to retreat. His counterattack arrows were blocked by shields made of water.

Without knowing the opponent’s location, close combat was impossible. The wind carried the weight of water, and ice spikes formed from frozen water flew from all directions, making approach utterly impossible.

Merald had means to break through such magic, but doing so would obliterate the mage without a trace.

He couldn’t bring himself to do it.

The mage who attacked him was not a monster like Buffalord but an elf woman. She had the pale skin and pointed ears characteristic of the Tree Elves.

Unlike the Earth Elves, Tree Elves grow very tall upon reaching adulthood, but this mage was quite small. She was likely still a child.

The mage girl held a magic wand no larger than Merald’s dagger, but it looked like a large staff due to her small stature.

She wore a belt with elaborate decorations that didn’t suit her figure, a short skirt, and large jeweled earrings peeked through her flowing blonde hair.

She seemed like a child trying too hard to imitate an adult.

Merald was familiar with mages altering their appearance to seem younger, thanks to the Sages. But that didn’t lessen his hesitation to attack a girl who looked so young.

“Do not come any closer.”

The girl mage spoke for the first time.

Merald was surprised by her appearance, but she, too, was taken aback by the sight of him.

Her request was strange. He had expected her not to speak at all, or if she did, to threaten him more aggressively. But all she said was not to come closer?

“I do not wish to kill you.”

The girl extended her staff forward and spoke. Though the magic might be threatening, her gestures and tone did not seem threatening at all.

Merald had to admit that he was softened by the girl’s appearance.

“I feel the same way.”

The girl closed her mouth and glared at Merald fiercely for a long time.

Why? Merald thought her eyes looked as if they were brimming with tears.

“Then step back. I do not wish to fight a battle where we kill our own kind.”

The girl said.

Merald was taken aback.

“Do you think I am an elf?” The girl was also surprised.

“Are you not an orc?”

“Are you not an elf?”

Their mismatched conversation paused for a moment.

“Let’s stop this.”

The girl held her staff and extended her other hand forward.

A column of water, rising ten meters high from under the girl’s feet, became her footing, and giant water columns shaped like snakes appeared on either side.

“I do not care whether you are an elf or an orc. Step back.”

“I am the guardian of the Dark Forest. I must eliminate all dangers that occur in the forest. And that black bull-shaped monster you’ve been protecting has killed more than twenty elves in a week.”

“Just twenty? Many more elves will die. Not a hundred or two hundred, but thousands, tens of thousands of elves will die. Can you stop it?”

Her words were a threat, but her voice carried a bitter emotion.

“I will stop it.”

“Can’t even kill a single Buffalord?”

The girl dispersed the water columns.

Merald was swept away like a tidal wave and fell backward.

When he finally regained his balance and stood up, there was no one where the girl had been standing. Instead, the nearby echo flowers were mimicking her voice.

“Can’t even kill a single Buffalord…”

♦

“…For the next three years, I continued to worry about that incident while fighting Buffalords in the Dark Forest.”

Even as he spoke to Saph, Merald kept recalling the girl’s angry, sad, and furrowed expression.

Saph’s expression was very serious as she listened. She was originally expressionless, but it was clear she was focused.

‘It’s just as this child said. Having someone listen is quite comforting.’

It was a story he hadn’t even told Sage. Not that he kept it a secret, but because he was focused on the immediate tasks at hand.

“That’s a strange conversation. Was Merald originally an elf?”

Saph asked.

“Let’s talk about that story another time.”

“That must be the past Merald wants to hide. Alright, I won’t pry.”

“If we’re at this distance, Ruby must have already overheard.”

“Ruby is a curious child, but she’s not the type to forcibly pry if the other person dislikes it.”

Saph spoke as if warning Ruby, who might be eavesdropping at that moment.

Saph looked down at the nearby echo flowers and continued.

“Even just hearing the story, I can feel that the magician wants to say something. It’s as if ‘Can’t even kill a single Buffalord?’ There seems to be more to her words.”

“I want to hear the rest too.”

Merald sketched the scene he had witnessed earlier, now somewhere in the marshlands, and continued speaking.

“I’ve slain Buffalord and even greater demons can be vanquished. Now, what is it that you wish to say… I’m eager to hear it.”

“Soon, I will be able to speak those words.”

Saph fiddled with one hand using the other. With an expressionless face, this action seemed both strange and endearing.

“Speak if you have something to say.”

Given the chance by Merald, Saph spoke as if he had been waiting to say,

“I somehow don’t believe that elf mage is a demon.”

“Do not be hasty in judgment. Demons can take on any form.”

“But I haven’t seen her form.”

“Then you must have been influenced by the stories I’ve told.”

“Does that mean you don’t think the girl is a demon either, Merald?”

“Is that so? It might be. But it’s not an important matter. If an elf sides with demons, they must be slain regardless. Let’s return.”

Saph nodded and walked beside Merald through the marsh.

“Talking like this seems to lift my spirits, but I’m not sure if it’s the right thing to do.”

Merald felt a sense of relief, yet also a tinge of regret.

“You did well. If the chance arises, seek confession with Father Jade.”

“I’ve said before, I have no intention of praying to your gods.”

“Father Jade won’t pray to the gods either. He believes he’s not worthy.”

“Then it’s not truly a confession, is it?”

“It doesn’t have to be. After all, you don’t believe in our god, Merald.”

For a moment, Merald felt persuaded by Saph.

Together, they returned to the campfire where Ruby and Jade awaited.

Jade was deeply asleep, a sight that pleased Merald.

The whispers of the Echo Flowers continued throughout the night.