Chapter 17 – Miracle of the Mythical Era (2)
The fierce shockwave blew away the string of the cape she was wrapped in. Her silvery hair fluttered chaotically, and her uniquely long, pointed ears popped out among her locks.
Though it was hard to open her eyes, she narrowed her large red eyes and quietly gazed at the hand stretched out right before her.
It was a large hand, trembling as if it was sad because it desperately wanted to reach her but couldn’t. Clawed and covered in fur, the hand quivered, trying to reach her no matter what.
At this very moment, the being sighed as it attempted to reach the elven girl before it with its unmoving body.
“Why?”
She let out a bittersweet smile while looking at the being trapped by the sharp stone spears protruding from the ground.
There was not a hint of rationality in those eyes, yet they simultaneously radiated intense malice and desperation. This was undoubtedly a genuine instinct that Irilia could not comprehend.
She could only guess based on the outcome right in front of her.
“You, you… Elf…”
Patrick, who had barely managed to rise with his sword, stuttered in shock upon recognizing Irilia’s true identity.
Of course, in that moment, she had no leisure to spare for Patrick.
“Are you wanting me to do something?”
Ignoring both Patrick and Rina, who stood behind him helplessly, Irilia slowly reached out her hand. When her slender fingers touched the quivering werewolf’s hand,
“Ugh?!”
She widened her eyes in shock and bit her lip at the intense backlash. It felt similar to when she purified the corrupt power tainting a relic using her own strength.
“No way…”
Seeing that scene, Patrick fell to the ground in disbelief.
The werewolf’s power, once corrupted by a curse and rampaging wildly, began to purify from the point of contact with her. A miraculous event that had not been achieved by anyone for thousands of years was unfolding right in front of them.
‘Damn it, is this all that’s happening now?’
However, it was impossible for Irilia to completely purify the werewolf with her current strength.
At best, it had reverted from a half-covered black-furred werewolf to an ordinary wolf with teal-colored fur.
“D-died. Its breath has ceased. How did this happen?”
Patrick muttered absentmindedly, misunderstanding what she had done.
The werewolf’s arm, unable to withstand the physical shock, dropped limply. Once Irilia cleared the stone spears away, the breathless body collapsed to the ground.
‘Was it hoping for this? So it desperately came to me? To kill me, yet simultaneously to be saved by me.’
As she approached the werewolf’s corpse quietly, Irilia noticed the corner of its mouth faintly rising.
*
“Am I dreaming? No, but if this isn’t a dream…”
“Stop the fuss and get up. Others are coming. We should leave before they get here.”
Picking up my cape and tossing it over myself, I clicked my tongue at Patrick, who was muttering on the ground.
I never expected to reveal my identity to him in this way. Being an elf might not be a problem, but the purification of the werewolf’s curse being tied to my power was another matter altogether.
“What exactly are you? Ah, no, what are you?”
“You’re quite curious, aren’t you? Can you handle it?”
I grinned down at him as he asked about my true identity. Ethan was regretting his choices at that very moment; I wondered what he might think.
“I want to know.”
“…”
Surprisingly, Patrick, without a moment’s hesitation, knelt down on the ground and bowed his head toward me. I was at a loss for words, feeling incredulous.
Upon reflection, it made sense; unlike Ethan, a businessman and a high-ranking organization member, Patrick was a lifelong adventurer. Their natures were bound to differ.
“First, get up.”
I didn’t have the luxury to explain everything to him right here and now.
We hastily prepared to leave the scene.
“Ah, it’s too late.”
But ultimately, they were faster. Just as we were about to depart, a group of people rushed toward the scene.
Although they were quite far away, they had spotted us on the slope.
“Wait! Hold on!”
It seemed like several adventurer parties had combined. They slid down the slope one by one, and one even stumbled and rolled head over heels.
In an unfortunate turn, the comrades of the rolling individual showed no interest in their fallen friend.
“The guards too?!”
Even the guards arrived a moment too late. The captain, wielding a shotgun, descended the slope, and the adventurers began to murmur among themselves as they surrounded us and gazed at the werewolf’s corpse on the ground.
“This mad wolf broke through the encirclement and fled. Many have died or been injured in the process!”
“Wait a minute, did you two… no, just the two of you capture this monster?!”
The excited adventurers were only talking amongst themselves. Since I was hiding my identity, I couldn’t step in, and Rina, having gone through too much already, was almost in tears.
“Everyone step back. We’ve just nearly escaped death and are exhausted.”
“Patrick?! Have you started adventuring again?”
Fortunately, Patrick stepped forward astutely and began to play along. Moreover, there were adventurers who recognized him, making the situation easier to manage than expected.
“We were just here to catch a lake monster, but yes, we did indeed capture this one. It was a precarious victory. Had it not been weakened and injured, we might have been in trouble.”
“That new beastwoman is a novice, and Patrick managed that?”
“That’s impossible. That fellow may have experience, but nothing remarkable. So, could it indeed be that the newcomer is impressive?”
Though Patrick explained coolly, the situation didn’t calm down easily. Perhaps due to their excitement, several adventurers openly whispered, directing their gaze toward Rina, who stood awkwardly.
“Now, now, let’s save the discussions for later. In any case, the werewolf has been captured, so let’s focus on handling this first.”
It was then that the captain of the guards jumped in. He, holding a shotgun, wore a look of immense joy.
It seemed that the resolution of this incident had been quite fortuitous for them.
“Did you say your name is Patrick? Even though it’s a weakened beast that broke through the encirclement, your achievement in capturing it is substantial. If you visit the town hall, I’m sure the mayor will reward you handsomely.”
“I shall certainly make my way there. Thank you for your service, guards.”
“Of course. Now, everyone, let’s go back, tend to the injured, mourn the fallen, and celebrate with some drinks!”
As Patrick neatly dealt with him, the captain grew even happier and pointed toward the city.
Before I knew it, evening had begun to set in.
While many still regarded us with curious eyes, we returned to the city as nonchalantly as we could.
‘I didn’t want to become famous like this.’
This was an ambiguous outcome in many ways. Not only had the light-hearted training I had undertaken expanded into something greater, but the secrets that had continued since the Mythical Era were weighing heavily on my mind.
Restoring relics could be expected, but the fact that even the curse deemed a calamity could be unwound by my hands was something I couldn’t take lightly.
“I might need to become independent from Ethan’s house soon.”
I whispered to Rina. After living as a guest for this long, I felt it was about time for me to move out of his house.
“Well thought out. Coming out into the sunlight and getting involved can be a bit dangerous.”
“You seem surprisingly happy about it. But I’ll be taking Rina with me.”
Upon returning home and sharing this with Ethan, he flashed a broad smile and nodded. It seemed he had completely forgotten about the intruders I helped catch.
“Of course, Rina must be compensated separately after paying off her debts.”
“But you’re going to pay her, right?”
“?”
Of course, my intention to leave Ethan’s house didn’t mean I wanted to sever ties with him. I wasn’t foolish enough to leave that honey pot behind.
“I’ll still need to be paid for restoring the relics. Surely a businessman wouldn’t want to take everything for himself?”
“Geh… that’s fine. In the future, make sure to book a good hotel and rest well there.”
It appeared that after I provoked him once, he was just content to have me out of his face. Given that he seemed to fear me, it wasn’t too surprising.
“I’ll be around often, so don’t worry.”
In a playful ramp-up, I declared that this wasn’t the end.
With my promise to visit often, I had Rina start packing our things. According to Ethan, there were also hotels in the city designed for long-term guests like adventurers.
Moreover, his organization had stakes in that hotel, making it a good place for communication with Ethan as well.
“One downside is that I won’t be able to see Rina in a maid outfit out there anymore.”
The one thing I regretted was that I could no longer employ Rina as a maid outside. This made it all the more necessary to visit often.
