NOVEL NEXT Chapter 32.2
“Hey, about your mana—”
“…I don’t need it. I’ll handle my own recovery.”
“Don’t overdo it. Just accept it.”
Ignoring her protest, I placed my hand on Veronica’s head. She instinctively raised her hand to brush mine away, but I gently caught it.
“Ah.”
Her pale hand was caught in mine, and her silvery hair, soft like threads of light, brushed under my other hand. Veronica looked up at me with flushed cheeks and tightly pressed lips. In the end, she quietly allowed me to transfer my mana to her. After ensuring she had enough, I grabbed Moonlight again.
“You used quite a bit of mana. Don’t hesitate to say something if you need more.”
“…..”
“…..”
“Well?”
“I understand.”
“Y-yes…”
Good. That should suffice.
Since we were resting anyway, I figured we might as well eat. I pulled out the sandwiches I had prepared earlier in the morning.
From a small basket, I handed out the sandwiches, and the two women quietly took them, starting to eat with little fuss.
“Eat up. I put a lot of effort into these.”
In this world, eating delicious food temporarily increases your stats.
While the Ice Golem isn’t particularly strong, this game has a habit of punishing the smallest lapse in preparation with a total party wipe. Being overly cautious was better than being underprepared.
“During the Hero’s journey… did you handle everything like this, master?” Lucille asked.
“For the most part, yes.”
“That must’ve been exhausting.”
“Haha. Compared to now, it definitely was.”
Nowadays, I’ve leveled up most of my skills to a decent level, so things are easier. But back then, it wasn’t like that. I remember nearly coughing up blood from grinding skills and chasing achievements while the Hero’s Party progressed the main storyline.
Thinking about those times makes me dizzy even now.
Compared to that, this was downright adorable.
“I see… Even though I’m your disciple, I feel like I barely know anything about you.”
“Well, I know almost everything,” Veronica quipped nonchalantly.
Lucille turned to stare at Veronica, but the latter simply smiled after finishing her sandwich and lightly grasped my hand.
“You really went through a lot. Even watching from the side, it was obvious. Talking about the past makes me remember… the time we slept together.”
“S-slept together?!”
“Hoho, when the Sage was trying to increase his divine power… hohoho.”
The way she trailed off made it sound ambiguous, but it was nothing special. She had merely stayed near me while I meditated before a shrine to raise my divine power.
Still, Lucille looked visibly displeased, her pouty expression darting between Veronica and me.
“Sure, we slept in the same place, but nothing happened. You were dozing off, and I was meditating the whole time.”
“Ugh. Hey! Why would you say that—”
“Haah…”
“All right, let’s get going.”
I flicked Veronica on the forehead before standing up. Lucille sighed in relief, while Veronica pouted and rubbed her forehead.
“All that’s left is the Ice Golem. Let’s take it down quickly. The strategy is…”
“While you keep it occupied, I’ll keep attacking, right?” Lucille interjected.
“Yes, you’ve got it. Let’s move.”
Defeating the Ice Golem, the dungeon boss, wasn’t particularly challenging.
I carefully managed its aggro while maintaining Warmth to counteract the cold debuff. Veronica skillfully dealt with the summoned Ice Elementals while healing the party. Lucille, having regained her mana, efficiently used her spells.
Thanks to our teamwork, we brought the Ice Golem down without much difficulty.
Rumble… Rumble!
The massive ice construct crumbled, leaving behind a faintly glowing white hexagonal ice crystal amid its remains.
That’s the Eternal Ice, the item requested by the Church.
I placed the crystal into the box provided by the Church. When the dungeon-clear reward chest appeared, I nudged Lucille toward it.
“Huh?”
“Go ahead, open it.”
“M-me? Are you sure?”
“That’s what we came here for.”
With my permission, Lucille carefully opened the chest. A soft white light poured from inside and flowed into her body.
“There’s… just this inside,” she said, holding up a small bracelet.
It was an accessory that boosted the power of ice magic. While its value wasn’t particularly high, the important part wasn’t the item itself.
“Opening the chest is what matters. It increases your affinity with ice magic.”
“I see…”
“Now, let’s test it out by using some ice magic outside.”
At the dungeon’s end, a small door appeared. Passing through it returned us to the dungeon’s entrance, where the adventurers waiting outside shouted upon seeing us.
“Hey, Sage!”
Something was off.
I’d expected them to be resting at the camp, but the adventurers were on alert, holding their weapons and keeping an eye on someone.
“What the…?”
Standing before them were tall, beautiful women with long, pointed ears.
Elves.
They bore a resemblance to Evangeline, who had once traveled with me.
At the forefront was a striking woman with long, pointed ears, violet eyes, and dark skin. She wore revealing armor and strode toward me confidently, her gaze filled with arrogance.
“You are the Sage, are you not?” she asked.
“And you are?”
“I am Lorellia, chieftain of the Wings of Light tribe of the Elves Forest.”
The Wings of Light?
That’s Evangeline’s tribe.
“So?”
“Sage, I have a proposal for you.”
“Proposal or not, I’m really not interested in getting involved with elves.”
Most elves come prepackaged with arrogance and a superiority complex, making any interaction with them exhausting.
See? Even though I’m trying to avoid them, this scantily clad dark elf insists on—
“A plague has spread in the Elves Forest. You, the one who knows everything—surely you must know how to solve it.”
“Of course I do. Let’s go.”
Wait, is this the Plague Purge event already?
It’s an achievement, so naturally, I have to do it.
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