Absolutely Do Not Touch Eldmia Egga - Chapter 372

After the last conversation with something meaningful, I threw a last question with a hint of anticipation.

“Oh, so when will these tattoos disappear?”

I shouldn’t have done that.

“It really takes a while to be permanently etched into the body. Five years?”

If I didn’t know, I would have turned the happiness circuit for a while, believing that it would disappear soon.

Awesome isn’t it? I said in front of Lumings full of confidence, no matter how blind she was, I couldn’t help but cry and frown. I had no choice but to say. If I believe in Jang Saeng-jong’s ‘soon’ in my future life, I’m not a person, I’m a dog.

I returned to the village with Celebian leaving behind Lumings’ farewell, which made my mood rise and fall as if on a roller coaster, and I hurriedly got ready to go home. First of all, it was obvious that I was going to poop anywhere, so I got some grass and herbs to give to the horse I had tied up outside the village and threw it to him.

“The fatigue of the trip wouldn’t have healed, so I’ll take a little more rest.”

“It wasn’t a planned step, so there’s a lot of work to do. Asili is also worried, so I’m going to hurry.”

When I added that I would definitely visit with Asilie later, the people of the Enderinia family were very moved and prepared for everything in an instant.

To be honest, I thought that the story of my age would start to be mentioned in detail after a while, so I was close to running away, so my conscience pricked me a little, but I decided to keep my mouth shut. This is a tough problem for me to deal with on my own.

Anyway, even though I only stayed for one day, there were quite a few people who saw me off. Thanks to that, I was able to head to the forest only after saying hello to the Enderinian family, the Celebians, the few elves who ate and ate diligently at the drinking party, and the village chief Laberry.

This time too, because Celebian voluntarily took on the role of my guide, the road was not awkward. While I was visiting the territory of the World Tree once more and deciding my route, there was a small incident that took a while to respond to the other elves who recognized me and greeted me, but… well, it’s nothing compared to stabbing the thieves with a knife.

“I think asking you this kind of question is useless, but is it really okay to go alone?”

I laughed as I looked at Celebian, who burst into laughter as if it was funny even after he said it.

“Didn’t you say there are a lot of restrictions on movement because winter is starting to fall under the forest you mentioned. There’s no need to go to the trouble of that.”

At the end of the journey, which I had become accustomed to, I arrived at an unknown forest with the smell of the sea, which I had never smelled since I came here, where I could see a neat barrier in the distance. Surprised by this, I turned my head and saw an endless sea stretching to my left.

The sea, which I saw for the first time in another world, was so blue, and the ships in the harbor lined up along the shore were truly magnificent. I had heard that there was a sea at the southern end of the Western Zone, but in the context, that sea meant only one thing.

“Are you Eastern?”

Celebian dutifully answered my obvious question after I had just crossed the continent once more.

“That’s right. It’s near the eastern part of the Empire and Isthel. The wall you see over there is the city of Itthel.”

As he turned his gaze to the direction he was pointing, he saw a barrier standing tall at the far end in front of him. It was still in the forest, so I couldn’t get a good sense of the distance, but it seemed like it would take less than an hour to arrive.

“Actually, the one close to the capital was sandwiched between the empire and Isthel, but I came here because I thought there would be problems with a pass or something.”

To be honest, it was a problem I hadn’t even thought about, but thanks to Celebian, the hassle was reduced. It would have been perfect for a person to be mistaken for smuggling if a human holding only the Margrave of Kelvast’s identity card and an Itis-El adventurer’s card, which is only accepted in the Western Continent, suddenly appeared in a city in a strange country.

When I smiled and shook hands with him who was considerate of me until the end, he also responded with a smile.

“Give my regards to Asillie.”

“Thanks to you, I came back easily. Next time, I’ll greet you with a little more time.”

With a small nod, Celebian gave a short bow and disappeared into the woods. I didn’t know if I didn’t have any regrets because I could see it ‘soon’ anyway, or if it just didn’t matter, but it was a neat goodbye.

“Then… now it’s time to find out specifically where we are.”

Thanks to my future father-in-law’s mother-in-law, I made sure that my thick backpack and ax were well tied to the saddle, and I moved toward the city.

Obviously, it was cold here as well, but because it was much warmer than the northern edge, the thin ice that had formed on my shoulders and saddle began to melt in an instant. Even with the sea breeze, it’s to the point of laughing at this level.

I didn’t run into anyone until I left the forest. Not only that, but I didn’t encounter a single monster that was so common that I was suspicious that the elves might have set up an appropriate waypoint to keep the kiido secret.

As a result, the sight I saw as soon as I left the forest was even slightly awkward.

“I thought it was a big place because it’s a city with a port… but isn’t this a bit harsh?”

The city was located so close that it could be reached in less than 30 minutes by horseback. The plain that appeared as soon as the forest ended was a little bare, but apart from that, as we approached the city, various wagons and passers-by came and went on the well-polished road.

At a glance, it was an extremely ordinary view of a port city, but the reality was a little different. This is because most of the people coming and going on the road had distinct characteristics that could be recognized even from a distance.

“There are so many mercenaries…”

Countless flag-armed soldiers and wagons followed by merchants.

A procession, which is common when large mercenaries move, was leading to the port city.

“Come to think of it, I heard that Port Mandeli was properly robbed by a surprise attack by demons in the past. Are the aftermath still going on?”

It’s a pretty old memory, and I thought I wouldn’t go near it for a while, so I was even more indifferent to it, but I never thought I’d experience it like this. A mercenary procession was lined up from the outside of Ethiel, so at least they weren’t preparing for war due to a feud with a neighboring country.

No answer comes from worrying, and no matter what conclusion, I had to come to the city in the end, so I shook off my meaningless worries and spurred on.

I was able to stand at the end of the procession that continued on the road pretty quickly as I drove the horse without hesitation thinking that I would have to do a bit of equipment maintenance today because I was in charge of the sea breeze. It’s good that it’s comfortable because I’ve been walking with the elves for the past few weeks, but it’s awkward for no reason.

Perhaps because everyone was moving slowly, they suddenly focused their eyes on me as I approached them while galloping, but it was only for a moment. At least, all the mercenaries were interested in was looking at my equipment and horses as if they were interested, then turned their eyes away.

There was no one to recognize. It was only natural that they crossed the continent faster than rumors through the forest. Thanks to this, I was able to enjoy the indifference of the surroundings and enjoy watching the procession shrinking for the first time in a long time.

Maybe ten minutes passed quietly like that, but one of the mercenaries who were moving in groups in front of me moved stealthily and approached me. The people in between were peddlers who followed them and sold goods, but even though he was going backwards, he got out of the way and greeted them in various ways.

I don’t know if he has a good network or if he’s a mercenary officer, but he looks good even after everyone says hello. Rather than the feeling that they look good simply because they are making money, it was a little strange because the feeling of being really close was strong.

As my gaze continued, the man, presumed to be a mercenary, waved his hand and greeted me loudly even though he was a little far away.

“Hello, Dok2-hyung! You have a strong body. Are you a mercenary?”

A man with ears twice as big as the others and round eyes, so that he might be of mixed blood with another race. He seemed to be smiling kindly, but perhaps because of his innate impression, he felt strangely snarky and mean.

It was a look that once you see it, you will never forget it. It’s to the point where I wonder if he’s trying to make an impression by acting like that on purpose.

“No, I’m just a passing adventurer.”

I didn’t have to raise my voice, because he came so fast. When I answered with a moderate bow, he continued with an exaggerated expression of surprise.

“Oh my God, it’s been a while since I’ve seen my older brother responding politely like this. It’s a pity that he’s not a mercenary… but isn’t there a law that says adventurers shouldn’t be mercenaries? It looks like they’re going to participate in this subjugation. Don’t you want to try?”

“…What subjugation are you talking about?”

No matter how distracted it is due to the long war, there is something that needs to be subdued by bringing in a mercenary group? I couldn’t imagine it easily, so I tilted my head and asked, but the man said rather embarrassed.

And when I heard that answer, I couldn’t help but be embarrassed.

“Oh my God, where did you come from on the other side of the continent? Of course, subjugating orcs!”

Orcs again? To the extent that it has to move on the scale of a mercenary group?

At the moment when I was about to wrinkle my expression, the man continued his explanation with exaggerated gestures.

“Somehow, an unknown gate was activated near the capital of Ethiel, and a large number of orcs from the far-off western steppe came over, something! I thought it was bullshit at first, but what is this? They say they directly mobilized nobles and dragon knights to launch a massive subjugation! They destroyed the gate to prevent further damage, but there are so many that the remnants have spread all over the place!”

oh what They were orcs that I already knew.

Contrary to the serious man’s explanation, I felt my stomach, which was about to be clogged, feel relieved.