Chapter 76 – Return to the Knossos Guild (2/2)

lves, fairies, and spirits? Do they all gather there because there's something special about that land, or are they together because they coexist well together I wonder?>

<It's definitely not the latter. The elves and faeries didn't seem to get along that well last time we went there. They separated themselves and don't mingle much. The spirits on the other hand are only there because there's more mana there than most other places and the elves and fairies are nicer to be around than the other races.>

<I see.>

Claret answered the idle question I just happened to say out loud...figuratively.

But it was interesting to hear about a nation that had high concentrations of spirits. It wasn't really a surprise that it was the land that the elves considered home, but to think that another fantasy race would appear there as well: the fairies.

But if pressed to say that I had the leeway to go visit such a country at this time, it was pretty hard to say yes.

<By the way, how far is this Arcadia anyways?>

<Umm...if we flew without rest, I think we can get there in two days or so? I'm sorry, but I still have trouble gauging how fast you can fly Master.>

<No, it's fine. I was just wondering anyways.>

A few days each way nonstop, but I can't fly during the day because my wings are exposed, so we'd only be flying for a third of a day or so forced to walk the rest of the time when the sun is up. Then add the time to gather the data I want on spirits, presuming they even had that data in the first place. In the end, it would probably take three weeks or so as a round trip, and that's if we went without any rest or breaks.

That was really starting to sound like I would be seriously pushing things, and that's if everything went well and there weren't any real delays involved. I didn't think that risking Magni having to wait any longer than that would be a good idea. The worst thing would be for him to go and start looking for me.

”You're pretty well used to handling parchment, aren't you?”

”Huh?”

When I looked up, I saw a sharp glint in Peitho's eyes. Somehow I must have given her some sort of tip while I was distracted talking to Claret.

(What did I even do? I was just pretending to look through the information she gave me.)

When I actually looked back down at my hands, I had all the sheets gathered together and was just flipping the top halves of the pages. I was only pretending to compare some information between some of the pages about the golems.

(Wait, this is the first time I've seen parchment or any other sorts of paper in this world. Does this mean...?)

When I thought about it, it was obvious what it was that Peitho noticed. While I preferred digital data in my previous world, it wasn't like I didn't often deal with paper, especially when I was in school. Most likely, only the rich dealt with paper in this world to the point of being casual about sheets being placed in front of them.

While the conclusion that this assistant guild master came to was most likely completely the wrong one, I didn't know if the end result was going to be a negative for me or not.

”No, I'm sorry, that wasn't professional of me. Please don't mind it.”

”Umm, alright.”

That really was all I could do, since I didn't know what it could mean in the future.

”Are you satisfied with the information we have managed to gather?”

”Ah, umm, yea. I am.”

Shuffling through the pages, I quickly glanced through the information about vampires and spirits. While the things on golems would help me out when it came to progressing in the dungeon back home, the other data was what I was really needed. If I could understand how they were born, I would be one step closer to creating a body for Alicia.

But unfortunately, at a glance there wasn't a single clue in sight.

The page on vampires mostly dealt with their typical behaviour, strengths and weaknesses in combat, and notable specimens. There was even a note at the bottom that my predecessor was suspected to being a vampire, but details about it weren't available.

Spirits on the other hand had quite a bit more information when it came to their ecology, but conversely there was almost no data about their abilities in combat. Or rather, they were stated to be virtually harmless and warned that killing one could come with a penalty depending on the country.

There was a spot about how they are created, but aside from a single note that they tend to appear most in places that are dense in ambient mana, there wasn't really anything known beyond that.

Frankly, the data I received was pretty much useless to me. Aside from the notable specimens which I didn't even care about, all the information regarding vampires were things that I had already known. The spirits page was slightly better, but it looked like almost everything on it were things that I could find out if I just asked Claret.

For the most part, this was a bust. It might really be better to just go visit Arcadia and hope I could find something useful before Magni got tired of waiting for me or a celestial assassin decided to show themself.

”Oh, by the way, I did hear something interesting. I don't know if it's completely accurate, but I heard that there's someone who's familiar with vampires near a small village to the west of Eremus city.”

”Someone who knows something about vampires by some small random village?”

To be frank, it sounded a but suspect, but I was willing to at least hear Peitho out.

”Unfortunately it's only hearsay, and I couldn't verify the authenticity of it, but I did hear such a thing regarding a village called Parietina. If you could find this person, I'm sure that he'd be able to tell you more than any resource you could find outside of any secured archives.”

”How confident are you that this person even exists anyways?”

”Pretty, actually. You can't underestimate the ears of the Adventurers' Guild after all.”

And with those words, Peitho gave me a brilliant smile that made a shiver run down my back and forced me to look away. My cheeks even started to feel a little warm, and due to how poor my complexion was, I could only hope that my hood did a good enough job of hiding that.

”...Ahem! And, how far away is this village anyways?”

”Frontier City Eremus is five days by carriage if you exit the south gates and take the first fork to the right. After that, I believe Parietina Village is a further two days by carriage to the west of Eremus.”

”I see.”

From a distance standpoint, it was probably close enough that I could get there within a day, even when only flying at night. And even if I got delayed, a round trip probably wouldn't take much more than a week. Two at the absolute most if this person Peitho mentioned made me do some inane errands. Hopefully he won't ask for a bunch of fetch quests to prove my trustworthiness or something.

It was certainly much more attractive than going to Arcadia. The certainty that either would have the information I needed was iffy. Between the two, Arcadia was more likely to have what I needed, but the distance was just too much.

Since those were the only two leads I had, the outcome was pretty obvious.

”Well, thanks for the information.”

”It's no problem. You've done us a huge favour and the things you've requested is still less than the reward we originally prepared for you. In compensation, we did increase the money reward, and we'll have it ready for you the moment we confirm that the ash wyvern is gone. If you are unable to return to this city though, you can withdrawal it in another branch if you like, though we would prefer it if you visit us again.”

”Ah yea, I know about that. I'll probably be back to pick it up sometime in the future then.”

It's not like I was hurting for cash anyways. Unless if I desperately needed it, there wasn't much reason not to come over to pick the money up in person when I had the time.

”We look forward to that day then.”

Peitho gave me a smile and bowed her head.

”Then is there anything else I could help you with?”

”No, I don't think so.”

I thought about it for a moment, but nothing came to mind.

”In that case, would you like to have some breakfast? I know a good place in the city.”

”It sounds tempting, but no, I'm fine.”

I shook my head. While I was hungry, sharing a meal with someone I only met a day ago wasn't something I could do. Not when one considered what my diet was. Eating in public was a double no at that.

”Is that so?”

Peitho looked visibly disappointed for a moment. It really was only a moment and her professional mask came back in a blink, but this time I was pretty sure that it wasn't just my imagination.

”Well, I think that's everything then?”

”Yes. Thank you for subjugating that ash wyvern for us. We are really grateful for your work.”

”No, you're paying me for it after all.”

”That does not change a thing. Gratitude has nothing to do with that. If there is anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask for me. I will inform our staff to immediately bring up any messages you have for me.”

”No, I mean, aren't you busy?”

”That does not change the fact that I am willing to put aside the time for you. Even if you don't have any particular business, I would like it if you would be willing to have a meal with me or something in the future.”

”No, really. To take so much time from someone who's so busy...”

Peitho leaned forward and grabbed my hands.

”I'd consider it a favour then. If it's a request from you, I can get away from the office for a little while and that muscle-brain can't do a thing.”

For the latter half, the assistant guild master looked off to the side and spat out her words with a harsh glint in her eyes.

I couldn't help but feel that this was the real reason why she was so insistent.

”Umm, in that case, I'll consider it. Next time though.”

”It's a date then!”

The elf in front of me did a full 180 and gave me a bright smile, making my cheeks feel warm once again, but with no ability to hide it from her.

Ninetailed_Furball

Hi everybody! It's your recently necromanced furball! (≧∇≦)/

Seeing such a strong reception to the changes I made to chapter 34 was amazing. To be honest, I didn't expect it to be so universally positive, but it was a happy surprise for sure! (^▽^)

Now, unfortunately I haven't been able to get the other changes, nor a few new things finished in time, so instead it's just a normal chapter.

Sorry!!! ☜(ﾟヮﾟ☜)

I'm close to finishing Iceborne's main story finally, so hopefully I'll be able to get everything done next week, but we'll see how things go. There's so many event stuff going on right now on the PC version, and looking at the schedule for the free DLC is terrifying when I try to think about how I'm supposed to balance that, work, and this story. (／ロ°)／

Well, I look forward to seeing what you all think!

Peace! ＼| ￣ヘ￣|／