Chapter 66: Opening the Doors One by One

Whether it be forests or mountains, places devoid of human presence tend to develop their own unique ecosystems.

Occasionally, Magic Beasts stir as if they were uninvited guests, but by now, even that is considered part of the natural ecological cycle.

Furthermore, since Magic Beasts do not always occupy the top of the food chain, there are many cases where the balance is resolved naturally.

However, the biggest problem occurs when Magic Beasts integrate with indigenous lifeforms by transferring to them, multiplying, or infecting them.

In such cases, they rapidly expand their numbers and territory—doubling, or even multiplying several times over.

This applies regardless of whether they are plants, insects, or beasts.

Moreover, since the disasters and calamities that occur vary by region, it has long since become a quarterly routine and a major state affair for each nation to periodically scout and purge them.

“The smell is fishy, but bear meat is top-tier as a health food! There’s nothing to waste, even with the organs!”

Luirin, who had abruptly knocked down a bear, began the smoking process under the pretext that no meat should go to waste.

“This hide is great for selling, but it’s also incredibly cozy to have one as a sleeping bag, a cloak, or when building a base, a burrow, or a campsite.”

“…….”

To be honest.

I am more afraid of the bear than the Luirin before my eyes.

Even more so than a barbarian warrior capable of facing that bear head-on.

…The bear is scarier.

The reason?

It’s not simply because they are large and ferocious.

Because they possess a strong natural instinct of their own, there is a high chance that my usual methods would not work on them.

The thought that it would actually be… much easier to deal with if Demonic Energy had penetrated them and caused Monsterization… left me wondering whether I should laugh it off or swallow hard in nervousness.

The moment the bear appeared, Luirin roared back and charged straight at it.

Then, he slammed a fist directly into its face.

Seeing the bear’s snout cave in like a crushed fruit… how should I put it?

It sent a chill down my spine.

The skull and brain were likely crushed entirely.

Despite that, the brown bear managed to endure and fought a fierce battle with Luirin for several more minutes.

The Magic Tools it wore were likely no ordinary items, as it neither scratched nor tore.

“That hurts?!”

However, while it didn’t tear, the impact and pain were delivered in full, and it seemed to become incredibly irritable.

Thwack!

Have you ever seen the spectacle of a bear being hit so hard it flies back, slams into a tree, and bounces back out?

…It was my first time too.

No, the moment a bear was sent flying by that kid, I felt that something was not just wrong, but terribly wrong.

As soon as the bear was dealt with, Luirin began sniffing the air, nostrils flaring.

“Bleeding it out and all that would be a bit much here, but I smell a stream nearby. Let’s go there.”

After that, we set up camp nearby.

Skinning the hide took considerable time, but cutting and dividing the meat and bones took twice as long. Even with my help in the preparatory work for smoking the meat, we only managed to catch our breath just before the sun set.

“I could eat it all, but that would just make my body heavy for no reason. We don’t know how long this journey will take, so we should stockpile well when the hunting goes well.”

This was likely possible because of the Magic Tool she possessed.

A coat that could store contents regardless of their volume.

She said it has a name, but she doesn’t know it.

Apparently, it was originally a tacky cloak, but a craftsman she knows reworked it, repairing it with a convenient and practical design.

As she spoke, it was obvious she was just repeating what she had been told, so I just let it be.

She was certainly competent.

To be at that level with only a four-year age difference… she is an absurd prodigy.

In this case, should I call her a prodigy of survival, or a genius of adaptation?

…I’m not quite sure.

While grilling the bear meat thoroughly over the fire.

…Though it was a bit large.

Water was boiling in a small cast-iron pot placed near the fire.

After stirring in some grain powder and some dried vegetables, it became a mediocre soup.

It was a desperate effort to increase the volume of the food.

Since there was a stream, her intention to at least fill her stomach with water was very apparent.

“Seeing how you have such a small appetite despite moving so much, I’m telling you, Master must be an Ear-person, right?”

“…….”

Master.

At first, she told me to call her whatever I wanted, but when I asked why she called me Master:

“Imagine I enter a remote village. Then, a child born in that village would know the paths better than I do, right?”

“That’s true.”

“Then there must be something to learn from that child, right? As you can see, asking about things you don’t know is the best policy, isn’t it?”

“That’s true.”

“Because a skill is the product of a subject’s time and effort. Sometimes it even contains misfortune and luck, or a person’s long-cherished desires and beliefs, so it cannot be neglected, right? Even those who are ignored for being serfs, if they dig the earth for over a decade, they can dig better than most knights or warriors. Those with power are good at breaking things and buildings, but they cannot achieve the same results as those who make and build them. That’s why those with power know this and try to employ them with that power.”

“…….”

“Calling you Master is the appropriate respect for that. Am I wrong?”

“…Do as you wish.”

After that, she asked and poked at me about various things.

However, even when I explained things as the Demon King had confidently told me, she couldn’t seem to understand.

Application was even more impossible.

Even though I had even taught her a Heart Formula.

“Why is something so obvious called a Heart Formula? Isn’t there something more plausible? More importantly, what is a Heart Formula? Is it like a spell of the heart that warriors hold? The chivalric principles of the Imperial knights?”

So, I considered teaching her the basics I learned at the Academy, but I stopped.

…Something standardized from that side wouldn’t suit this girl, and while I don’t have particular patriotism or loyalty to the Empire… I felt a slight reluctance to easily leak Arcane Secrets or Secret Manuals.

‘I would have told her if it were necessary.’

But I thought that planting unnecessary prejudices or clumsy expectations would be bad in its own way.

And so.

Since explanations were difficult, I changed direction toward letting her experience it firsthand.

While teaching her, I realized that this was beneficial for Luirin and useful for me as well.

• Learning is originally completed and matured through teaching.

The Demon King said it was a natural phenomenon.

…The reason I had been spacing out lately, even forgetting to play the lute, was because my intuition had been focused on that.

And yet, I realized and gained more from a few hours of pondering what to teach Luirin than from one or two weeks of deep contemplation.

Deep down, I wasn’t sure if this was right.

• That is what a process is. If you just shut yourself away and rack your brain, do you think the answer will just fall from the sky? That’s only possible after you’ve been granted the qualification.

The Demon King began to say strange things.

• Of course, if you ponder alone, there will be a day when it suddenly hits you, like water overflowing from a vessel… but I told you. Your vessel has been overflowing for a long time. Conversely, the key for you is to make good use of that overflow. Just as religious folk bestow grace and virtue, even if they do so unknowingly, their realm rises and enlightenment follows; it’s all the virtue of filling and emptying.

“…….”

Is he starting to imitate the chatterbox after seeing Luirin?

“The point is, giving is meaningful for enlightenment and rising in realm, is that what you’re saying?”

• Yes. Even because of Cause and Effect.

Cause and Effect?

“…….”

I feel like my head will start hurting if I keep listening.

• It’s close to the act of opening a closed door. And those who don’t need to do that are the type whose doors were already open by birth. Those whose doors aren’t open? They have to open them.

“Is that also a type of talent?”

• Strictly speaking, talent itself falls into this category. Even if you have talent, what if the door is closed? It will instead fester or rot. Want an example? Try lighting a fire under a pot. Then close the lid tight and keep the fire blazing? The water or contents will burst through the lid, right? It’s just like that.

Come to think of it.

• Just as your situation was before.

“……?”

Anyway.

It was a journey where I gained a lot.

Even so.

Screech—

“?!”

There were several times when I woke up from a seizure during sleep and spent the night wide awake.

That Residual Grudge, or whatever it was, was still poking at me without warning.

“Are you under some kind of curse? It’s hard to see you sleeping properly.”

“…….”

Luirin’s comment was surprisingly piercing for a casual remark.

I brushed it off, saying it was like a personal chronic illness.

After that, the movement itself was smooth.

We briefly passed by a bandit camp midway, and we encountered dwarves and other non-human races, but it didn’t lead to combat.

Still, it wasn’t entirely without crisis.

When we reached what the map marked as the border, it happened to be a forest, and I was so tense my throat felt sore when we almost encountered the Sixth Mountain Ranger Unit—known as the Magic Beast Logging Unit—which is famous for its elites in Dabas.

Because we had to wait in a burrow for two whole days.

“…Do you have a lot of experience with this?”

“With what?”

“Most people go crazy within a few hours, let alone a day, but you endured it quite well.”

“…I’m used to spacing out in a small room.”

At least I wasn’t made to kneel and pray.

I could sleep if I wanted to, and I didn’t have to worry about who might break in; at this point, it was practically a vacation.

Being trapped in a narrow space without a single speck of light was a bit much, but once I got used to it, sleep came easily.

The problem was when sleep wouldn’t come, and the situation where I had to handle my business….

“Wow, you’re tough. You’ve been quiet all day. They’d love you if you were tucked away in a monastery. You’re quiet, don’t seem like you’d cause trouble, and you’d probably work well. Most importantly, you don’t eat much!”

“…….”

That’s because I have a lot to think about.

More importantly, are all of those insults? Or compliments?

Not only that, but with the Demon King hovering around, the burden of claustrophobia was unexpectedly lessened.

Partly because Luirin kept talking, even though she was whispering.

Anyway.

By following Luirin’s words, we were able to cross the border marked on the map safely without encountering the Magic Beast Logging Unit.

And from now on.

“We have to be careful of the Metran Kingdom’s patrol.”

The reason Dabas’s unit is called that.

It’s because the Metran Kingdom’s border patrol, specifically the Eleventh Border Patrol responsible for this forest area, is referred to as the Beast Companion.

And here.

This area where the so-called Magic Trees grow… was famous as a place where one should not step recklessly.

The purple-tinted leaves and the sight of branches undulating as if they were alive… would be absolutely terrifying to see for the first time.

“Old long-trees actually eat living creatures. Some of them are said to possess consciousness and are capable of communication, so they are treated as half-spiritual creatures and divine spirits around here.”

Unlike Dabas, the Metran Kingdom is closer to the outskirts of the continent, so they put more effort into exchange and harmony with other races.

Among them, the policy of bringing other races into Metran to build harmony or embracing them through mixed blood is the driving force that allows non-human races to settle diversely even now.

…She kept talking, but these were things I had roughly learned at the Academy.

“…….”

I recall this was the third place I visited when I was traveling as a hostage.

It’s not that I remember it, but I know it as information because I heard about it separately.

“The rough journey is only temporary. Once we cross the border, let’s travel comfortably.”

“…….”

Why not just pass through the border and checkpoints confidently, since we have separate identities prepared?

Luirin answered this question.

“As long as we don’t pass through the border, it’s twice as hard to track our location. You said someone is following you, right? Seeing how they clearly wouldn’t welcome that, it could turn into an unnecessary incident later, so we’re taking a bit of a risk to erase our tracks. Master might not know, but all borders, trading posts, checkpoints, and even some neutral trade zones exchange information. ‘Hey, your citizen came this way.’ ‘Hey, this noble of yours passed through here.’ Or, ‘Has so-and-so been here?’ ‘Oh, let me check, yes they have.’ It goes like that.”

“…….”

She talks too much.

More importantly, for such a cute explanation, the content is surprisingly grim.

“And that information flows not only to each country but also to all sorts of underground organizations. Even if the state leaves you alone, if you look like you have something, they might bring in members to ambush you or send assassins.”

“……Is it that bad?”

“They’ll see if they can get a bounty after killing you, or just kidnap you first. If what you’re carrying is great, that’s a profit in itself, right? Both you and I are carrying Magic Tools, so we’d be immediate targets. And if you’re killed and buried in a remote place like this, or die screaming as food for beasts or Magic Beasts? How would they find you? They’d give up on the body and find it much faster to just look for relics.”

“Hmm….”

That explanation made me realize once again what a brutal world it is.

“But if you use that to your advantage, you can rip them off instead, which can be a lucrative way to make money depending on the situation. It’ll be annoying if you get caught later, but if you’re determined not to show your face in that area for a few years, it’s a venture worth trying with a bold heart.”

“…….”

This one was just as brutal as the world, despite her cute appearance.