RPWS Chapter 089

New chapters released weekly here. Read the completed novel on my patreon by clicking the banner at the bottom of the post!

_______________________________________________________________________

 

Tap, tap, tap.

Every time the sound of the horse’s hooves echoed across the plain, dust from the dry earth rose in their wake. Elaine and Ash’s hair was blowing in the strong wind as they rode at high speed.

Fields of sun-ripened wheat stretched out before them. They rode alongside a large river that cut through the golden plains.

 

‘Talos Asgar is alive?’

‘Yes, the crystal ball’s mana responded.’

‘It only responds when the target being tracked is alive, so the wizard must be alive.’

‘… So, we’ll be able to find him?’

 

A letter from the Magic Tower arrived late into the night on July 10th.

The letter stated that Talos Asgar’s mana was detected in the southern part of the continent.

However, the location could only be roughly identified, and the exact location had to be tracked directly using magic tools made from the Magic Tower. The magic tool was enclosed in the letter.

Ash made plans to depart immediately after receiving the news, and the next day, the 11th, he headed to the southern part of the continent with his escort knight, Elaine.

They used a teleportation portal to reach the south, and then used the magic tool to pursue further. A week had passed since then.

“Let’s rest here for a moment.”

Ash stopped his horse on the plain. Elaine followed his lead and pulled the reins. The horses looked quite tired, they’d traveled far.

They dismounted from their horses to rest.

The soft breeze blowing from the riverside tickled her cheeks. The wheat bunches danced in the breeze with their heads bowing. The two led their horses down to the river with the intention of giving them water.

While the horses were drinking, Ash took out a map and unfolded it. He pointed to a spot on the map.

“We passed by Mount Harel a while ago, so this is where we are now.”

“What’s the compass direction?”

In response to her question, Ash took out a compass and showed it to her. To be exact, it was a compass-shaped magic tool used for tracking.

An arrow made of magical energy was floating in the center of the directional board. The arrow moved in the direction of the target, and lit up and blinked when the target came within a certain range.

The arrow that was spinning around suddenly stopped in a certain direction.

“It’s still pointing south.”

The place where they stood was along the lower reaches of the Leang River, one of the six major rivers in the south, close to the edge of the continent.

But further south from there…

“There are a few cities near the sea.”

“Do you think he’s in one of them?”

“Could be. We’ll have to travel down this river first.”

He pointed to the line of the Leang River drawn on the map. He then described their plans, including the several villages they would stop by to replenish food and supplies. Elaine listened to him and occasionally added her opinions.

After finishing the conversation, he folded the map and put it away. Suddenly he asked.

“You’re not tired, are you? We’ve traveled a lot since the birthday festival.”

“I’m fine, but what about you? You didn’t get much rest after attending the banquet and taking care of the estate’s business.”

“It wasn’t a strenuous job, so I’m not tired, and I rested along the way.”

Their conversations were no longer as awkward as before. After they talked about the confession, Elaine decided to stop avoiding him.

His confession was still vivid in her memory, and it was stained with regret, pain, and guilt for not being able to honestly reveal her feelings, but she didn’t want to act like a fool anymore.

She felt sorry and didn’t want to hurt him again. She wanted to be as considerate to him as he was being to her.

In fact, it was all thanks to him that she was able to talk to Ash like before. Even though it must’ve been difficult for him to have his confession rejected, he didn’t avoid her and instead interacted with her normally, thus she was able to muster up her courage since he took the initial step, one she couldn’t have dared to take first.

When she thought about it, Ash was stronger than anyone she knew.

He’d had to bear the world’s scorn and disapproval alone for so many years, and he hadn’t let it break him. He didn’t hang his head in shame of his origins.

Instead, he made a place for himself and looked ahead proudly.

Even in this situation, instead of running away due to the pain in his heart, he stood dignified. She always thought he was cool and admirable. She felt grateful again… She smiled a little without realizing it.

“Why are you smiling?”

Ash gave her a puzzled look. She shook her head slowly, saying it was nothing, with her small smile still present.

Ash stared at Elaine for a moment.

He hadn’t said anything interesting, did she recall a pleasant memory?

He didn’t know why she suddenly smiled, but he felt like he’d somehow gained an advantage.

He hadn’t seen her smile for a while, so seeing her happy for the first time in a while felt more precious than anything else.

Her gentle eyes were rounded, the pupils beneath long lashes was the color of sunlit leaves. The smile was almost too pretty, with a slight upturn at the corners of the mouth that softened it even more.

Ash stared at that smile in silence for quite some time. But before she could feel his gaze on her, he turned and walked away.

“We should leave.”

While they were talking, the horses, which had gotten enough water, were grazing on the grass that grew by the riverside.

Elaine and Ash got back on their horses.

The well-rested horses were rejuvenated. With a light flick of the reins, the horses stamped their front feet once and began kicking the ground with force.

 

* * *

 

The compass continued pointing south along the Leang River. After half a day’s journey down the river, they came to a vast expanse of sea at its mouth.

The name of the city by the sea was Volperand.

“Come buy some fresh fish!”

“I just caught a giant octopus!”

The voices of merchants selling various seafood echoed throughout the street facing the deep blue sea. In every store, strings of fish were hanging, and stands displaying large clams, live octopuses, and dried seaweed were seen everywhere.

The salty wind was accompanied by the smell of the fishy sea.

Although Volperand was not large, it was a small town that developed in its own way.

Elaine and Ash, who followed the compass and reached Volperand, continued their pursuit within the town. However, it wasn’t long before they learned that Talos Asgar was not there.

The reason was simple.

“This…”

The two were standing on a white sandy beach overlooking the sea. Ash narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked back and forth between the sea and the compass.

The compass arrow was pointing beyond the sea, not anywhere within Volperand.

Of course, there was no way for people to live within the sea, so there was only one option.

They opened the map and checked it again.

“There are three islands.”

Based on where they were standing, there was one island on the left and one on the right, and the other was at 12 o’clock. And where the arrow was pointing was the island at 12 o’clock, in the center.

The other two islands were relatively close, but the central island was quite far away and looked like a small rock in the distance.

“Is there any possibility that he’s on another continent?”

“Or maybe he’s on a deserted island that’s not on the map.”

“We’ll have to check it out first.”

“Okay.”

They headed to the dock to catch a boat, but immediately ran into a problem.

“… The boat can’t leave?”

“It’s not that it can’t depart, it’s that it won’t depart. No matter where you go right now, you won’t be able to get on a boat.”

When Elaine asked, a man with bronze skin tanned by the hot southern sun answered. The handsome man was the captain of a large ship visible behind him.

The two went down to the port and talked to the captains, hoping to find a ship to board, however, the answers that came back were all the same as what the man had said a moment ago.

Ash pointed to the various ships floating at the dock.

“Aren’t those merchant ships? Why won’t they leave?”

“If you go out to sea now, you’re basically putting your life on the line. Who would be crazy enough to become Kraken lunch?”

The situation was like this.

The Perez Strait, located quite far off the coast of Volperand, was the home of the Kraken. And in the spring and summer, schools of giant marlin came down to the waters off Volperand in search of warmer water temperatures.

The giant marlin were low-level monsters and not very aggressive. Therefore, them coming down was not a threat.

The problem was that they were the Kraken’s favorite prey.

In other words, the Kraken was active in the sea here every spring and summer to catch and eat the giant fish.

And, of course, it was now that time of year.

“So – don’t even think about getting on a ship. You shouldn’t set sail, unless you want to be Kraken lunch.”

The captain shrugged his shoulders as he advised Elaine and Ash. He lightly flicked his ears, indicating he had no intention of letting them aboard.

Regardless, Ash spoke.

“I heard you’re the most skilled sailor here.”

“That’s correct! I’ve been sailing these waters for over forty years. I don’t think any of the natives can fly through these waters as well as I can.”

The captain didn’t hesitate to show off, he was truly confident in his abilities. Still, he didn’t forget to draw a line firmly.

“But no matter how skilled I am, I can’t do it now. Of course, my skills are outstanding, and if I’m lucky, I might not encounter the Kraken, but if I’m unlucky, we’ll all go under together.”

“…”

“Even if you give me money, it’s no use. Even if you give me a lot of money, something more precious than life is-”

“Is this enough?”

“There’s nothing more precious than -! Hahaha, Sir! Just say the word. Where should I take you?”

The captain opened the heavy bag of gold coins given to him by Ash and quickly offered up his life, which was supposed to be more precious than anything. His attitude changed faster than the wind. Elaine shook her head and Ash briefly answered.

“To Noire Island.”

“Alright, I’ll get you there quickly!”