Chapter 80 (1/2)

Volume 1

V4 Chapter 10

「The Power of the Spring, the Power of the Curse」

We ascended the moss covered steps with sunlight shining through the trees.

Although they were carved into a gentle slope, the steps were already breaking away due to prolonged neglect.

Since there weren’t any signs of people living in the area, the forest animals used this path. I could see animal tracks embedded into the soil that had accumulated on top of the steps.

The chirping of birds, carried along the wind, helped complete the calm atmosphere.

Without the large monsters that inhabited Great Canada Forest and the nearby mountains, I felt as if I were on a weekend hike.

The only thing out of place was the large tree that the Dragon King used as his resting place.

There were few monsters that would try to settle down near such an overwhelming predator, while the weaker creatures sought shelter here.

A pair of squirrels sitting on a tree branch looked at us as strange intruders as we passed them by.

When it reached the point where Ponta had to sit on my helmet and we had to start cutting our way through the undergrowth to clear the path, birds and other animals would occasionally jump out at us.

The scenery only opened up once we managed to pass through the torii near the top of the hill.

There were still a few trees located here, but there wasn’t much undergrowth or a lot of boulders in the area.

Instead, we got a clear view of the wall-like trunk of the Dragon King’s tree and the innumerable amount of branches that covered the area in the tree’s shadow.

My gaze unintentionally traveled up the tree as far as I could and then went down the mountain range behind it.

“This is an unbelievably large tree.”

The trees in Great Canada Forest were certainly large, but this was on an entirely different level.This tree reminded me of a certain tree that held up a heavenly castle.

My comment caused both Ariane and Chiome to simultaneously look up at the huge tree.

“The Dragon King’s Tree seems like a mountain on top of another mountain.”

Chiome was in slight awe of the view before us.

“I’ve seen it in picture books when I was little, but this is the first time I’ve seen it in person.”

Ariane gulped down some water from her canteen she had brought along wiped the sweat off of her brow after she stopped talking.

“Come on, we’re almost there.”

She resumed her trek after urging us to continue.

Eventually, the stone steps came to an end and a smaller version of the torii that stood at the base of the hill came into view.

The landscape between us and the torii was completely desolate with sunlight shining down on it, but beyond the torii, the density of the trees increased.

“We appear to have reached our destination.”

When we finally passed through the torii, I took a look around.

This place seemed to have originally been a small basin. Because the place had been neglected for such a long time, the path was uneven and covered in grass, but I could make out steps descending into the basin.

At the end of the stairway stood a single decaying building.

The wooden roof had already collapsed in on itself, but the stone walls covered in moss had remained mostly intact.

The shape of the building was also familiar to me.

“It looks like a shrine……”

Ariane spoke her opinion of the building right beside me.

And she wasn’t wrong either.

The building’s structure and torii gates were reminiscent of a Shinto shrine.

The main shrine stood in front of the building and window frames were evenly spaced on both wings of the building.

However, unlike a regular shine, there was no offering box or bell anywhere in sight and there was only one entrance to the left.

“This is the residence that Lord Hanzo once occupied. It is similar to the chief’s house in the village.”

When Chiome saw the decaying shrine-like building she was convinced that it was the first clan head’s hideout.

It was as if simply seeing this building left no room for doubt in her mind.

The thin layer of mist and the sacred Dragon King’s Tree in the background certainly gave the tranquil scenery a tinge of mystery.

Chiome had begun scouting the area but all of a sudden her cat ears stood up and her nose twitched as before she calmly opened her mouth.

“The scent of the water has changed……”

“Kyun!”

Ponta cried out in agreement with her statement from atop my helmet.

While I lacked the enhanced sense of smell the two of them had, when I strained my ears I could pick up the sound of running water nearby.

“It must be the rumored spring……”

“The sound…… is originating from behind the shrine.”

The others nodded at my comment before Chiome took the lead and begin to walk towards the shrine.

She stepped off the stone path and took a detour around the back of the shine, with Ariane and I silently following.

There was something completely unexpected behind the shrine.

A steam of hot water was endlessly flowing into the area from a slightly elevated rock formation. The water was flowing into a hollowed out groove, and to prevent the water from overflowing there was a cliff at the groove that allowed excess water to be drained off.

By all accounts, this was an artificially created hot spring……

“Is that hot water flowing out!?”

Ariane uttered a shout as her pointed ears began to move up and down.

Seems like this was the first time she saw a hot spring.

Chiome was also surprised, but apparently she already knew about hot springs and was smiling as if she has found something really good.

“It’s a hot spring…… a quite large one at that.”

Chiome was right, seeing how this hot spring’s two main pools were about twenty-five meters wide.

This outdoor hot spring was like one of those you’d find at a large hotel, yet the moss covered rocks made it seem like an undiscovered natural spring.

“Certainly, this is an impressive hot spring, but is it the one we seek?”

“Looks like it.”

Seeing my doubts, Ariane bent down in front of the hot spring and soaked her hand into it before standing back up.

“Kyun! Kyun!”

Ponta showed some interest in the spring as well, since she jumped from my helmet and proceeded to dip her forepaw, nose and tongue into it.

I never thought that the spring we sought would be a hot spring, but it was a nice surprise, to say the least.