Chapter 197 – What You Lose When You Become an Adult (Five)

What Parun placed on the table was a bolt made of gleaming silver metal.

Even from the multicolored mana contained within, one could tell it was no ordinary object.

When Ray sent a look asking for an explanation, Parun opened his mouth.

“It’s a component that has been passed down in Rael Row since ancient times.”

“Since ancient times?”

“Correct. You could say it’s the only piece of the past we preserve, we who only look at the present and future and run forward.”

He said there is a toolbox in Rael Row that the original designer used.

It contains components made of materials not found in the modern era, and it has been a long-standing tradition of Rael Row to gift them as tokens to honored guests.

“You can return this bolt at any time and make one request of Rael Row. As long as the request does not threaten Rael Row’s existence, we will aid you by all means and methods.”

At Parun’s words, the other Elders vehemently objected.

“Parun…! This wasn’t an agreed-upon matter…!”

“Correct. You deciding the matter alone is a clear abuse of authority.”

Parun erupted in a roar.

“Everyone, be quiet. Having directly experienced how strong the intruder was, can you still not grasp the situation? It was a situation where Rael Row’s very existence could have become uncertain. This level of gratitude is only natural.”

“No, but still….”

The argument continued.

Ray whispered to Is.

“Is this bolt such an amazing thing that they’d fight over it like that?”

“Uh… I’m surprised too. I know it hasn’t been given to an outsider in the last few hundred years. At least according to records.”

Ray fiddled with the bolt.

The weight of the statement that he could make any request of Rael Row didn’t quite sink in.

However, judging by the complex and intricate mana pattern flowing inside, it didn’t seem like a simple component.

‘…Rael Row’s designer.’

According to the mural’s content, it appeared the seven Guardians waged war while each holding a piece of the rainbow.

Then, six joined forces to corner the Guardian holding the indigo piece.

Since the mural ended there, it was impossible to know exactly what happened to the Guardians afterward.

But if one were to speculate, wasn’t it possible that the Guardian who protected the yellow gem designed Rael Row?

“Is there any record passed down about Rael Row’s designer?”

Parun, who had been engaged in a bloody argument with the other Elders, turned to look at Ray and answered.

“There are no remaining records. We presume he was likely a Dwarf, but exactly what race he was, for what purpose he designed it, all are unknown. The only clear fact is that his objects have been given as tokens to honored guests.”

Ray tilted his head.

“Why aren’t there any records?”

“Perhaps due to spatial issues, they erased the written records and opted for oral transmission, which was cut off at some point. Uh, uh, why are you generating current in your hand right now?”

Ray suppressed the momentary surge of anger with calm breaths.

He somehow felt he understood Grine’s mood yesterday, right up to the point of almost getting into a scuffle with Parun.

Swish.

He pushed the bolt toward Parun and spoke.

“I’ll use that request permission right now.”

“Right now…?”

“It’s about the issue of handling the Current Stone.”

From Ray’s pocket emerged the object everyone had been waiting for.

It was the complete form of the Current Stone.

The smoothly joined seam made it hard to believe it was originally two pieces.

“As you can see, the Current Stone has merged into one. I’ve experimented with several methods, but separation is impossible.”

“…May I examine it for a moment?”

“Feel free.”

Unidentifiable small tools were pulled out in droves from the wall drawers.

Parun and the Elders, forgetting their fight, explored the gem as if enchanted.

“My goodness, it’s perfectly fused. One would believe it was originally a single ore.”

“Huh, can you see the hardness value exceeding 20? It was already at an impossible-to-destroy level, but it’s become even harder.”

“Let’s check the mana purity too!”

The gaze of observation pouring in from outside.

Lacria, who had been resting inside the gem, made a flustered gesture as if it had suffered an indignity.

Spirits fundamentally feel an instinctive aversion to everything that goes against the natural state.

That aversion applied without exception to humans, and even to Dwarves.

────.

The exceptions it felt comfortable with were only Ray, Veronica, and the Elf Grine.

Add to that, it hadn’t been summoned in this battle, so its energy was excessively accumulated.

With a premonition that the ill-tempered snake might materialize in the conference room, Ray quickly spoke.

“I think it’s better to stop now.”

“Ah, ah, right.”

The Elders handing over the gem had very regretful looks.

“It seems separation is impossible even with Dwarf technology that has entered into dialogue.”

“We’d need to analyze it more, but it’s highly likely.”

“Then a problem arises. Who will own the Current Stone. I’ll use the bolt to make a request. I’d like you to acknowledge that the ownership of the merged Current Stone lies with me.”

The Elders buzzed.

Parun spoke with a very stiff face.

“Sorry, but that’s a request that harms Rael Row’s existence. Without the Current Stone, Rael Row cannot operate, you see.”

“It’s better not to operate, actually.”

“Is that that nonsensical story from before again? That the more Rael Row moves, the more the land gets polluted? A fantasy with no evidence─.”

“There is evidence.”

Ray looked around at Parun and the Elders once before opening his mouth.

“The black stains left on the walls and ceiling.”

Black smoke had continuously billowed from Vicious during the battle.

The byproduct of mana, visible only to Ray, touched the walls and ceiling inside Rael Row, leaving black traces everyone could see.

“As you all saw, Vicious, the intruder, handled materialized mana. At first it was a dark red color, then gradually changed to pure black. That result appears when elements are forcibly fused and used, and it negatively affects the surroundings.”

The Elders fell silent.

It was a statement hard to believe easily, but having seen it with their own eyes, they couldn’t completely ignore it either.

The Elders hesitated for a long while, exchanging opinions, and Parun spoke.

“Let’s assume your story is true. But even if so, Rael Row cannot be stopped. The moment it stays in one place, the very possibility of finding a settlement disappears, you see.”

It was a valid point.

It was at that moment a piece of itchiness occurred in the boy’s mind.

On a pure white canvas.

Multicolored lines stretched out.

Ray focused his mind to control the wildly running imagination, but soon realized there was no need to do so.

…Imagination was free by nature, and controlling it would rather break its influence.

“…….”

He calmly set his mind down.

What was completed at the end was a single picture.

Crude, but with many parts that sparkled.

The boy spoke softly.

“If you settle, you won’t need to move anymore, right? I’d like you to call Grine.”

Arriving at the conference room, Grine, upon spotting Parun, sent a look engaging in a subtle battle of nerves.

“Noona, you called─.”

“Sit.”

“Well, I’ll do that for now.”

Grine, who sat down, listened to Ray’s continued story and asked back in a slightly surprised voice.

“Below an island floating in the sky?”

“Is said that the Sky Island is always observed from the same bearing.”

At Ray’s words, all gazes in the conference room turned to Is.

“Uh… It’s my hobby to look up at the sky. Every time I look at the sky after a storm passes, the island’s position doesn’t change.”

Is’s dream was to someday fly into the sky and reach the island floating high in the heavens.

Therefore, he said he also records the island’s bearing daily.

Parun, who had been keeping silent, looked at Ray with a hum and spoke.

“So, to summarize your words, the land below the floating island in the sky, colloquially the Sky Island, likely received much less influence from the Black Rain than other places.”

“Correct. I think maybe the clouds can’t pile up because they collide with the island. Actually, when I looked up at the sky during the day, that area felt like it had fewer Black Clouds gathered than elsewhere.”

“So move there and settle. This is really absurd.”

The Elders murmured.

Ray turned his head and continued the conversation with Grine.

“That place could also become the spot where a new World Tree sprouts.”

“…Of course, I think the possibility of investigating it is sufficient. But for a World Tree to grow to a sufficient size, it doesn’t just need ordinary quality land.”

“I think that can be somewhat compensated for with Dwarf technology. You said there’s a technology to make plants grow rapidly. Right? Is?”

Is, who received Ray’s question, answered in a dazed voice.

“Uh, um, it’s a technology to quickly grow plants that grow underground for use as food, but there’s no reason it couldn’t be applied to plants that grow above ground.”

Ray nodded.

“And Grine, you said the green gem holds the power of growth and purification, right?”

“That’s right. Though not much research has been done on it.”

“I’ll lend my power to growing the World Tree. Using the green gem’s mana.”

The Elves of the Last Forest didn’t know much about the green gem.

The boy was the same.

It wasn’t something he had sufficiently analyzed and communed with like the yellow gem, and his knowledge of the dissolved elements was also much lesser.

But why?

He felt he could realize things exactly as imagined using the green mana.

“Ray-nim will lend his power to growing the World Tree…?”

Grine made a rare face of being unable to grasp the thread.

The mana of the green gem, the Life Stone, could only be handled by an extreme minority even among Elves, who are born with high affinity for magic.

That boy handled such finicky mana as if he had been handling it for a long time, without any hesitation.

His skill in handling mana was beyond doubt.

‘But there must certainly be a limit to the height one can grow plants using the Life Stone’s power. And to build each other’s homes through cooperation with Dwarfs….’

It was uncertain, and also awkward.

It was like the wild fantasy of a young child, extending without considering the situation.

But at the same time, the thought of ‘what if’ was indeed disturbing her mind.

And that thought.

“Let’s hear more of the story first.”

It seemed the Dwarfs felt the same.

Ray’s explanation continued.

Elves above ground.

Dwarfs below ground.

Though living in different worlds with the ground surface as the boundary, their goal of clean land was the same, so they could join forces and coexist, that was the story.

“Hmm, certainly, if the Sacred Tree, the World Tree, acts as a giant umbrella blocking the Black Rain….”

“Wouldn’t it be better to first sort out a list of technologies we can provide?”

Before they knew it, the Elders were deeply immersed in Ray’s story.

“…….”

Is listened to the conversation in silence.

The thought that perhaps Rael Row’s long-cherished wish might be resolved, and the thought that he would soon be exiled and become a person utterly unrelated to such matters, created a strange feeling.

A feeling as if a hole had been pierced in his chest.

Soon, shaking his head inwardly, he firmly steeled his heart.

‘Right, leaving Rael Row is something I’ve wanted for a long time. Finally freeing myself from the shackles of customs and regulations, I can become a free-spirited wanderer.’

Boiling fighting spirit and exhilaration.

It was then that Parun’s voice awakened him from his thoughts.

“Is, you’ll be busy from tomorrow.”

“Huh? Why me?”

“There were quite a few casualties, weren’t there? Manpower is lacking, so we need to fill the empty positions.”

“I’m supposed to be exiled, though.”

Parun twitched his eyebrows.

“What nonsense is that again?”

“Perhaps you don’t remember me punching Elder’s solar plexus?”

“Ah, I remember. My abdomen still stings, you see.”

“Defiance during an emergency. A clear violation of regulations, and according to the clause, one receives an expulsion order without warning.”

“You seem to have worried a lot because of that.”

Parun spoke with a face that had become generous after a nod.

“Don’t worry. We decided not to hold you responsible for anything that happened due to the urgent situation. I also realized some things thanks to it.”

“Huh?”

The other Elders chimed in from the side.

“We heard the story. In the end, being able to repel the intruder was thanks to your judgment in opening all passages.”

“No.”

“Be glad. We also decided to lift your disciplinary order and reinstate you as a leadership candidate.”

“What.”

“It’s a matter decided unanimously.”

“That’s.”

“To think you could show such decisiveness. I see you in a new light, Is.”

“Ah.”

Is looked at Ray with a dumbfounded face.

‘You told me to cause trouble.’

‘Are you asking me to congratulate you?’

Ray gave a thumbs up.

For a while, only the Dwarf boy’s vacant laughter flowed in the conference room.