Chapter 114

Continuing through the jungle, the forest’s veil parted, revealing a wide expanse of flowing water.

Ariel stopped in her tracks and gazed at the scene before her.

A vast river cutting through the jungle, flowing leisurely.

The river seemed hundreds of meters wide, its emerald waves sparkling under the sunlight.

“Whoa, it’s the Siland River, sis!”

Roo shouted from her shoulder.

“To get to the giant ruins, we have to cross this Siland River. It’s written in Eras’s book, [History of the Giants].”

A cool breeze blew from the Siland River.

Ariel trudged toward the Siland River.

“Eras used a canoe to cross the Siland River.”

At the word “canoe,” Ariel’s ears perked up.

For a moment, she imagined herself crossing the river in a canoe.

A leisurely canoe cutting through the water, the warm sunlight shining down, the distant chirping of birds.

Ariel rowing, Sparki flying around, Roo sitting across, sipping fruit wine.

It was a heart-fluttering, romantic scene of adventure.

“Then we should…”

Ariel stopped mid-sentence.

Come to think of it, there was no canoe.

For a moment, she thought about making one, but it seemed too much.

It would take a lot of time, and honestly, she had no idea what a canoe looked like or how it was structured.

Unfortunately, it seemed they’d have to ride a canoe another time.

Ariel prepared to cross the river.

Using telekinesis, crossing the river would be a piece of cake.

She could run across the water or fly through the sky.

But Ariel decided to swim across the river.

Using the “spinning top swimming technique” she learned in the Lizardman Kingdom.

It seemed more fun and refreshing.

But just as Ariel was about to dive into the river, a huge shadow appeared in the water.

Slowly emerging from the surface was a turtle…

But it was way too big.

It felt like a small island was moving.

Its head alone was twice Ariel’s height, and its shell looked like a tall hill.

The giant turtle slowly approached Ariel, its amber eyes gazing at her.

“The river is dangerous, little elf.”

Surprisingly, the turtle spoke.

“This river has strong currents and is deep. It’s safer to play in the forest.”

“……”

Ariel silently stared at the turtle.

Its overwhelming size and ability to speak clearly indicated it wasn’t an ordinary turtle.

“What, you? A turtle that can talk?”

Roo asked, and the turtle slowly blinked.

After a pause, it replied.

“My name is Teodoras. I am the guardian of this river.”

“Guardian? So, you’re a divine beast?”

Roo asked again, and Teodoras answered after another pause.

“Yes.”

Slow in both action and speech, just like a turtle.

“Sis, this guy must be the divine beast of the Siland River.”

“Divine beast?”

“Yes. It’s my first time seeing one, but it’s written in Eras’s book, [History of the Giants].”

At Roo’s words, Ariel pulled out the [History of the Giants] book from her inventory.

Roo flipped through the pages and pointed to a section.

“Here. Eras wrote about encountering a divine beast in the Siland River.”

Ariel began reading the page Roo pointed to.

———

[Divine Beast, Teodoras]

The Siland River is as majestic as it is mysterious, but the most astonishing being I encountered was none other than the divine beast Teodoras.

Divine beasts are guardians of nature created by ancient gods, said to possess lifespans exceeding a thousand years and high intelligence.

Teodoras, the guardian of the Siland River, took the form of a giant turtle.

When I first met him, I was struck with awe.

His amber eyes clearly indicated he was no ordinary being.

But as we conversed, my illusions gradually shattered.

Teodoras was unexpectedly greedy.

He demanded my food, especially sweets, and almost forcibly took them.

His behavior was more like a shameless beggar than a noble divine beast.

Even more surprising was his intellectual level.

The riddle game he proposed was utterly disappointing.

His questions were too simple, and conversely, he couldn’t even solve the easiest riddles.

His thoughts and actions were slow, and conversing with him tested one’s patience.

The most troublesome aspect was his excessive competitiveness.

He refused to admit defeat, prolonging the riddle game endlessly.

Fortunately, his slow pace allowed me to escape, but if I had been in a canoe on the river, avoiding his persistence would have been difficult.

I warn future adventurers.

The Siland River harbors a ‘special danger’ named Teodoras.

If you meet him, don’t give him food and refuse his riddle games.

Use his slow pace to quickly leave the area.

Perhaps the true danger of the Siland River isn’t its rapids or monsters, but this foolish and stubborn divine beast.

———

“……”

After reading the book, Ariel and Roo were momentarily speechless.

Meanwhile, Teodoras slowly approached Ariel and spoke.

“Little elf. Do you have any food? Like sweet berries, for example. I’ve been craving something like that for a while.”

Just as the book described.

Teodoras shamelessly asked for food upon their first meeting.

“…Sis, let’s just ignore him.”

Roo whispered.

Her face clearly showed she wanted nothing to do with Teodoras.

“He seems like a waste of time.”

But Ariel quietly looked at Teodoras.

Teodoras blinked slowly, like a docile creature.

“I have plenty of sweet food.”

At Ariel’s words, Teodoras’s eyes slowly widened.

His large eyes began to sparkle with anticipation.

“Then give me…”

“But I won’t give it to you.”

“……”

Teodoras slowly blinked.

After a pause, disappointment spread across his eyes.

“Do you want sweet food?”

But when Ariel asked again, his eyes widened once more.

“I want sweet food…”

“I’ll give it to you if you want.”

“Thank you…”

“But there’s a condition.”

Teodoras couldn’t keep up with Ariel’s pace.

“Condition…”

“Carry me across the river.”

At Ariel’s words, Teodoras fell into thought.

Then, he slowly opened his mouth.

“But I have a condition too. You have to play a riddle game with me.”

“……”

Teodoras spoke confidently, but it was an unreasonable condition.

Ariel had already offered sweet food in exchange for a ride, and now he was adding another condition.

Just as Eras’s book described, Teodoras was shameless.

Moreover, his confident expression suggested he wasn’t even aware of his own shamelessness.

“…Sis, just ignore him. No need to bother with such a stupid guy.”

Roo didn’t even lower her voice now.

She didn’t care if Teodoras heard or not.

Teodoras, who must have heard Roo, still looked at Ariel with a confident expression.

It felt like time had stopped.

“Alright.”

Ariel nodded.

Playing a riddle game wasn’t too difficult.

Though Teodoras’s slow speech was frustrating, riding a giant turtle, a divine beast no less, across the river was an experience not easily had.

She could endure it for a while.

Ariel pulled out a bunch of food from her inventory.

Cakes, macarons, cream buns—Ariel’s carefully selected best desserts spilled onto the ground.

“Eat first.”

Before Ariel could finish speaking, Teodoras was already moving.

Roo cursed at his shamelessness, but Teodoras pretended not to hear, burying his large face in the desserts.

*

Teodoras ate slowly, so they had to wait for a while.

Roo lay on Teodoras’s shell, sipping fruit wine, while Ariel sat beside him, quietly watching him eat.

Teodoras’s amber eyes sparkled with happiness, satisfied with the desserts.

“Teodoras, what abilities do you have?”

Ariel asked, and Teodoras answered after a pause.

“I can speak.”

“And?”

Teodoras thought for a while before speaking again.

“I can live a long time.”

“And?”

“I’m wise.”

“……”

Ariel nodded.

It seemed the divine beast didn’t have any special abilities.

Just the ability to speak and live long, she concluded.

After a while, Teodoras finished all the desserts.

Ariel had taken out a large amount of desserts, but Teodoras, after eating them all, asked if there was more.

Roo shouted, “How long are you going to eat, you shameless turtle!” and stomped on Teodoras’s shell, while Ariel simply said there was none left.

In truth, Ariel’s inventory still had plenty of desserts left.

But giving him more would mean waiting even longer.

“It’s a shame there’s no more. That was very sweet food. Maybe later…”

“Let’s do the riddle game now.”

Ariel said.

“You go first.”

Teodoras slowly smiled.

Though he loved sweet food, he also enjoyed riddle games.

Of course, it took him a while to come up with a question, so Ariel wiped the cake cream off his mouth and sat beside him, waiting.

After a while, Teodoras posed his question.

“What shines at night, twinkles in the sky, and grants wishes?”

“……”

Just as Eras’s book described.

Teodoras’s question was so easy even a child could solve it.

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