Chapter 111
Raphaela and her party didn’t enter the village until almost midnight.
Raphaela generously paid the young coachman. Normally, because monster attacks were considered natural disasters, they wouldn’t have to pay for the carriage, but she remembered how many times the boy had vomited riding along the Lycan Slope, so she gave him a hefty reward. After all, they still had plenty of the gold they had taken from the bandits the last time.
The young coachman gave Raphaela a wary look as he left. She didn’t mind much; it was probably natural after seeing her ruthlessly beat up a Grade 3 monster. Everyone was too eager to find their lodgings and rest their exhausted bodies to pay it much attention.
“Ugh… I’m dead.”
Leo groaned, struggling to move his trembling legs as he followed into the village. Raphaela clicked her tongue and urged him onward.
“Tsk. Always cooped up doing research, and your stamina’s trash. Come on, keep up!”
Raphaela walked ahead, looking around curiously, while William followed her like a shadow.
Since it was nearly midnight, most shops were closed, and the only places still lit were a bar or two. The village was small, after all.
It was more like a tourist village, earning its living by selling byproducts from the Lost Forest and occasionally entertaining travelers who came to sightsee.
Passing through a small square and entering an alley where the inns likely gathered, the largest inn sign in the middle of the road caught their eyes. Seeing that the entrance was still lit at such a late hour, Raphaela ran straight in.
“Host! Do you have rooms?”
“Eh?”
The middle-aged woman, the owner, had just finished cleaning the first floor and was about to lock up when the sudden guests arrived. She quickly put on a professional smile.
“Rooms? Of course! Welcome in!”
“The three best rooms. And three hot baths.”
“Oh, it’s late, so all the staff have gone home. Three baths might be a bit difficult…”
Ping!
A gold coin flicked from Raphaela’s thumb flew at the innkeeper. Reflexively, she caught it, instantly recognizing the thick, shiny coin, and quickly changed her words.
“…but I’ll try my best! I’m naturally fast with my hands!”
“Good attitude. And after the bath, bring a hearty meal with meat to the central room.”
“Oh my, well then. I’m terribly sorry… but the chef went to bed early today…”
Ping, ping!
Two more gold coins flew, and the innkeeper snatched them skillfully.
“I’ll wake him up! Such precious guests have come, and I’ll make him get up even if I have to slap him! I’ll serve our inn’s most popular dishes!”
The innkeeper laughed gleefully and handed over the keys to the three best rooms on the floors with the best view.
The three of them went into their rooms to wash up and change, naturally gathering in Raphaela’s room afterward.
When Raphaela came out of the bath, towel-drying her wet hair, the table was filled with steaming leg-of-lamb roasts, soups, bread, fruit pies, and various other dishes.
William and Leo were already sitting at the table, swallowing hard, waiting for Raphaela to emerge.
The tantalizing aroma pushed Leo’s hunger to the limit, and he called out to Raphaela, his curly blonde hair bouncing as he waved.
“Ella-Ella, why did it take so long? I thought I’d starve!”
“My hair is ten times longer than yours, of course it takes longer. You should’ve started eating already.”
“I was about to, but Liam-Liam…”
Leo shot William a resentful glare, but William blocked him with a firm, no-nonsense look.
“Luckily you’re here before the food gets cold. Please, Raphaela, have a seat.”
William promptly pulled out Raphaela’s chair for her.
As she roughly brushed back her wet hair and was about to eat, William quickly brought a fresh towel to carefully wrap her long hair.
“There’s still a lot of moisture. You might catch a cold, so I’ll keep it covered for a moment.”
“You worry too much. Aren’t you tired?”
“Not at all.”
“Liar! Liam-Liam, you didn’t check the mirror while washing, did you? Those dark circles under your eyes are no joke.”
Leo stuffed lamb into his mouth, objecting. William discreetly rubbed his eyes and returned to his seat, looking a little embarrassed. Raphaela grasped her fork and knife with both hands.
“My stomach’s practically sticking to my back. Let’s eat!”
The three of them ate in silence until they were full. Understandably so—they hadn’t eaten anything all day since that watery soup the young coachman had made in the morning.
The leg-of-lamb was tender enough to eat with just a fork, and the accompanying grilled mushrooms, soaked in the lamb juices, were deliciously savory with every bite.
Raphaela smiled quietly, noticing even the normally composed William was eating faster than usual.
After the plates were cleared, Raphaela sipped tea and finally spoke.
“There’s something you need to know about the Lost Forest.”
“Oh! Finally! I was wondering when you’d tell us.”
“Yes. You’ll find out tomorrow anyway, so it’s better to know now when dealing with the forest’s master.”
“The forest’s master?”
“William, you’ve met them once already.”
“Me?”
“Liam-Liam, how?”
Raphaela took off the black bracelet from her wrist and placed it on the table. William’s brow twitched.
“You don’t mean… that black-haired woman back then…”
“That’s right.”
“Ugh… what is this incredibly dark and ominous aura…”
Leo frowned as he looked at the bracelet. Sensitive as a mage, he could sense the faint energy emanating from it. He tilted his head and asked:
“Ella-Ella… this bracelet… it’s not inanimate? It’s alive.”
“I know. It’s a strand of Blehel’s hair.”
“Blehel… that’s the woman I saw?”
“Yes. She’s the daughter of the Demon King, sealed within the Lost Forest.”
“!”
“Why… why is the Demon King’s daughter appearing here? You only said it was a divine barrier, but you never said it connected to the demon realm!”
“If I told you, you’d probably have turned pale and run away, so how could I?”
“Ha… this is insane.”
Leo buried his face in his hands, groaning.
“Mages have an unspoken rule: you can deal with monsters, but don’t touch beings from the demon realm. There must be a reason for this ancient custom…”
“That’s probably because of Blehel. She once rampaged in the human world and crossed the line. I remember she killed a huge number of mages then. That’s likely why.”
“Oh? I read about that in history books. They said thousands of mages perished trying to stop a rampaging evil witch, and their bodies were incinerated, leaving nothing behind…”
“And not just that—tens of thousands of innocent humans were brutally slaughtered. That’s why she’s sealed. The joint tribunal of the gods and demons sentenced her to a 5,000-year seal.”
“So… that means Blehel, or whatever her name is, is insanely strong. Can I run away now?”
“You think so?”
“Damn… I’m too valuable to die yet. The world would lose out if a genius this beautiful and talented died at this age.”
“You won’t die. I told you, she’s sealed. She can barely use even a fraction of her power.”
“But Raphaela… then how do you explain that I met her in the capital of Renton back then? If she’s sealed, she couldn’t have come out.”
William’s sharp observation made Raphaela’s expression stiffen for a moment, but she quickly returned to her usual playful smile.
“I thought that was suspicious too. You probably met a phantasmal projection sent by Blehel. She appeared and vanished in an instant, right?”
“That’s right. She suddenly appeared in an empty alley, we talked, and then when I looked around, I was alone.”
“Exactly. It was a projection. What she sent you was a vision containing her mental energy. It’s similar to spirit-based magic.”
Raphaela explained as if it were trivial, but inwardly she was a bit anxious. If Blehel, who should be powerless like her due to the seal, had recovered enough energy to send a projection…
Could it have something to do with the mirror shard?
