Chapter 146

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 146

Chapter Title: Peanut Thieves and Nymph Territory

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The carriage raced nonstop for six full days. By the time we arrived near the mine and stepped out, I was utterly exhausted.

Ishak, who had gotten out of the carriage with me, looked at me like I was some old man on the verge of death.

"You're awfully fragile, kid."

I was dumbfounded.

It wasn't that I was weak—these monsters were the ones who could charge like this for six days straight without breaking a sweat!

The road was so rough that my motion sickness hit hard. But I couldn't starve for six days, so I'd eat and then vomit, over and over.

Sometimes I had to use the bathroom, and since it was summer, the heat was unbearable.

We could have used magic stones to make the trip more comfortable, but that would leave traces of residual mana along the route. Since we needed to move in secret, we couldn't use magic stones at all.

"Leblain, how about we rest a bit?"

I clenched my fist and nodded. "Yeah."

I was so tired my divine power wasn't working properly. We might have to fight spirits, and in this state, it would be dangerous.

"We'll camp briefly at the mountain's edge."

At the Iri platoon leader's words, the Iri troops sprang into action.

Ishak went to scout around the mountain, while Henri assembled an advance party with Seto to search the mine interior.

In the meantime, I stood blankly near the Iri troops as they set up the tents.

"Shall I fetch a chair for you?"

"No, this rock is fine."

"Is your motion sickness better now?"

"The medicine from the mansion must be really effective. I'm fine now. More importantly, I'm starving..."

With my appetite twice that of an ordinary person, I'd barely eaten all day because of the nausea.

When I gazed at him pitifully, the Iri soldier guarding me said, "I'll go find something to tide you over from the carriage," and hurried off.

I felt reassured with Zakari erecting tent poles right in front of me.

Gurgle.

"......"

"......"

Grrrrrrgle.

"......"

"......"

Grrgle.

"You got beggars living in your belly or what?"

Zakari, who was pounding a pole into the ground, stared at me with an incredulous look. I nodded with a pitiful expression.

"Feels like more than one beggar in there..."

"I've got peanuts. Want some—"

I bolted over and thrust out my hand.

"Who'd take you for a noble lady?"

I took the peanut pouch and returned to my rock, quietly shelling and eating them.

We used to eat these all the time back when I was a beggar.

Workers with kind hearts would sneak me a handful when the shop owner wasn't looking, as I loitered near the stores.

As I chewed the peanuts thoroughly, a rustling sound came from somewhere.

Zakari, who had just finished setting up the tent poles, flinched, grabbed his spear, and stuck close to me.

"Mountain beast?"

I asked, clutching my precious peanut pouch. Zakari shook his head, face tense.

"Killing intent. Not just one or two."

I nodded and gripped Zakari's collar tightly.

Zakari crouched slightly, feet planted firmly as if ready to spring, and grabbed the whistle around his neck.

"When I signal, run the opposite—"

That was when it happened.

"Kiyaaak—!!"

A monster's shriek echoed from all directions, and something burst out all at once.

In that instant, Zakari blew the whistle—the signal to summon the Iri.

I dashed in the opposite direction. Zakari cleared a path for me, smashing several assailants with his spear haft in one go.

But there were so many that one broke through Zakari and charged at me.

And then.

"Ack!"

The assailant snatched the peanut pouch from my hand.

"My peanuts! Peanut thief—!"

"Kiiik—!"

The peanut thief hugged the pouch and fled toward the pile of downed assailants.

Zakari seized the moment as it approached, grabbing it by the scruff.

I ran up and frowned at the assailant Zakari had caught.

"Humanoid monster?"

It had arms, legs, eyes, nose, and mouth like a human, but was dwarf-sized with a bulging belly. Its skin was slick like a fish's, and its eyes showed only large black pupils like a dog's.

"Kiik! Kk!"

"Goblins?"

"Similar, but missing some goblin traits."

All the assailants who attacked us were kin to the peanut thief. The tiniest one in the group pounded Zakari's knee repeatedly.

"Kki! Kkii! Kki!"

"Wants to be put down?"

As I muttered that, the Iri and Ishak rushed over to us.

"What happened... what the hell."

Ishak scowled at the peanut thief gang.

Ishak stared in disbelief at the monsters devouring dried fruit and nuts like there was no tomorrow.

"How much more are those things gonna stuff themselves?"

I gaped at the towering piles of food pouches too.

There were only six of them, yet they'd polished off two days' worth of our troops' rations and still seemed hungry.

I handed jerky to the smallest one. It sniffed it curiously before taking it.

"Kyak! Ptooey!"

Apparently it didn't suit its taste.

Ishak snorted as the monster hacked up the jerky.

"Well, aren't we picky for freeloaders?"

"No, it seems like it can't eat meat."

"Then definitely not goblins... nymphs, maybe?"

In legends, the place guarding the spring was a nymph's lake—meaning where nymphs lived.

Nymphs served water spirits, and according to the book I'd read on the way, they looked similar to these.

"But nymphs live in clean water. They can't survive an hour outside it, but these kids have been with us for at least two."

"Mutants? Or not nymphs."

At that moment.

"They are nymphs."

It was Henri, back from scouting the mine ahead with the advance party. Behind him, a massive monster that looked like kin to the ones with me was being dragged along.

"Kiiik—!"

The monster that stole my peanut pouch bared its claws and charged.

But it couldn't reach Henri before slamming back with a bam!!

"Don't be annoying."

Henri's hand glowed with mana. Come to think of it, there were scratches on his neck and face. The Iri who'd gone with him looked injured too.

"Henri!"

I rushed over, pale-faced, and he patted my head.

"Nothing to worry about."

"You got hurt catching that giant nymph?"

"Yeah. If it hadn't hesitated in front of Seto, we wouldn't have caught it."

"Probably because he's blessed by spirits, so the nymphs—spirit kin—couldn't harm him."

Henri and the Iri were aura users, powerhouses who didn't bleed easily. Yet catching one nymph left them this banged up.

"Not just one."

I widened my eyes at Henri's words.

"What?"

"At least dozens. Maybe hundreds in that mine."

As I and Ishak froze, Henri wiped the purple blood from his blade with a cloth.

"But a bigger problem's here."

Ishak frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Those with you are nymph younglings. Adults wouldn't let young out of their territory."

"......So this whole mountain is nymph territory?"

"Yeah, the mine's just a fraction. More are scattered across the mountain."

Henri's eyes darkened.

"We're basically surrounded by nymphs."

"If they notice their young are gone... damn it."

Realizing the dire situation, the Iri platoon leader shouted.

"Pack the tents! Douse the fires!"

As the Iri moved efficiently, I, Ishak, and Henri discussed countermeasures.

"Even catching one injured the whole advance party. We should abandon the spring search and retreat."

Ishak shook his head at my words.

"We can't miss this chance. We have to strike while Marsch is distracted with Marquis Nodelli's business and the Ballua territory annexation."

"We need to send Leblain back first. Risk pursuit or not, we'll use a long-range warp circle."

"If you two don't go, I won't either!"

I shouted, and Henri grabbed my shoulders with a rare icy expression.

"We brought the maximum stealth force possible. No reinforcements here. We have to find the spring with just these troops. Can't spare guards for you."

"I... know that."

"Non-combatants are just liabilities."

"......I can fight too. Better than the Iri."

"It's not about can or can't fight. It's can you kill without hesitation in a crisis? Do you have that resolve?"

I bit my lip, unable to respond.

Henri was right. I lacked resolve. I wasn't helpful like Seto or immune to nymph attacks via blessing.

As I sulked and pulled out a warp circle, my brothers grinned.

"Kid, if it gets dangerous, we'll run too. Think your big bro would fight to the death?"

"Yeah. I'll go back."

I rubbed away the tears welling up with my palm.

"Promise. You have to come back alive?"

"Have we ever broken a promise to you?"

"......Keep it this time too."

I hugged Henri and Ishak, then teary-eyed, tore the warp circle.

But.

"......?"

"What."

"Why......"

I pulled out and tore a new one.

"......"

"......"

"......"

The warp circle wouldn't activate.

We'd just had this heartfelt farewell, and now it fails? How embarrassing!

I glanced around slyly. The knights who'd watched my teary goodbye with sad faces were blinking in confusion.

I quickly stuffed the torn circle into my pouch and declared.

"What do you mean go back! Dead together, alive together!"

"......"

"......"

"Let's go! To find the spring!"

As I shouted dramatically, the stiff-faced Henri and Ishak stared at me in disbelief.

The problem wasn't just the warp circle. The communication stones were dead too. I even tested a magic stone just in case, but no dice.

"Mana completely blocked?"

"I could cast spells. It's not that we can't use mana—just magic tools are busted."

"Warp circles, comm stones, magic stones all failing at once? Makes no sense."

"......Maybe a specific wavelength affecting mana conduits on this mountain."

"Then how'd Baron Eton mine here? They were pulling ore until a month ago."

A mountain where magic tools fail, crawling with powerful nymphs even Duvered's Iri can't handle.

Listening to them, a sudden thought furrowed my brow.

"......The blessing."

We all turned to Seto.

"Maybe the blessing sends a signal?"

Ishak muttered at my words.

"One that summons nymphs and jams mana conduits......"

Henri rubbed his temple.

"Then we finish the legend to end this nonsense."

Meaning enter the mine and complete the young hero's legend.

In other words, meet the spirit.

But something felt off.

Why Seto, out of all kids? Why him chosen by the spirit, and coincidentally when we were together?

Anyway, no choice but to go.

Our siblings put the nymph-immune hero Seto at the front and entered the mine.