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chapter 75




A light seemed to shine in Syax’s eyes for a moment before she said.
“You only just got back?”
Kain nodded.
Syax felt a bit strange because of his attitude.
“Did you learn anything about that Magic Warrior?”
Kain didn’t answer, and instead continued to look at Syax’s face.
She felt a chill run down her spine at that moment because his gentle eyes seemed as though they were seeing right through her.
After a brief period of silence, the words that came out of the man’s mouth made her heart shake.
“We need to go into the Great Forest.”
Those words had come suddenly, but he had spoken them in a calm, natural tone.
Syax did her best to hide the shock that she felt at that moment.
“…why would you tell something like that to an old woman like me?”
“This isn’t the time for bad acting. We’re running out of time.”
“What are you talking-”
“Then you’re an old woman who doesn’t understand anything.”
Another man with a fierce voice appeared from behind a tree.
It was the muscular man who had destroyed the undead. She remembered that his name was Ivan or something like that.
Syax was surprised by his appearance for a moment before her eyes became sharp.
“…did you guys know each other?”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean? Just shut up and lead us into the forest. Even if you’re an Elf, if you don’t help us, then you may as well kick the bucket.”
“What…”
Ivan’s rude remark brought anger to Syaxs face.
Frey sighed and stopped him.
“You stay out of it. It’s hard enough to talk to her as it is.”
“Hmph.”
“Syax, I know you’re a High Elf.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking abou…”
Shuk.
At that moment, Kain’s body trembled before a silver haired man appeared in his place.
Syax sighed.
She knew at that point that the man before her was a wizard who was far superior to her.
Kain, no.
Frey, who’d changed back to his original appearance, spoke softly.
“I’m a Wizard from the Circle. Do you know about the Circle?”
This was a crucial point.
Syax bit her lip for a moment before sighing.
“…a bit.”
Syax finally stopped acting.
If he was able to see through her illusion, then it didn’t make sense to keep up the pretense.
Meanwhile, Ivan’s expression became strange. This was because he couldn’t see through her illusion, and the old woman with age spots before his eyes had suddenly begun speaking in a feminine tone.
“Then you should know about the Demigods. No. From the start, you said you took this mission because you were worried about the undead.”
“That’s right. Demigod…I heard that they are transcendent beings who have near godlike powers. No way, is the necromancer in the Forest…”
“There is a high probability that they are a Demigod’s subordinate.”
“Hmm.”
Syax frowned at that.
“Can’t you sense the Divine Power?”
“I am not a part of the Circle. I felt a strange power, but I didn’t know that it was Divine Power.”
She wasn’t a part of the Circle, but she knew about the Circle.
She was the same as Julian Montolivo, the Tower Master for the 3rd Magic Tower.
Since the High Elves’ population was said to be very small, they did not need to hide the existence of the Circle, like the humans.
“The necromancer we are hunting has entered the Great Reynols Forest. It’ll be dangerous for us to leave him be.”
“That’s impossible. The Great Forest would not accept outsiders. Even if they were to use radical methods…”
“The Queen would notice right away, yes. But this guy is different.”
“How is he different?”
Frey had no intention of talking about Oydin at that moment.
High Elves were a particularly loyal race. This meant that it would be difficult for her to accept the possibility of a traitor among their ranks, and there was a higher probability that she would doubt his words and drive the two of them away.
This was something he’d also talked to Ivan about before they arrived.
It wasn’t just that. They also didn’t intend to immediately reveal that the one they were after was an Apostle.
It felt like a lot to hide, but it was important for them to subdue the Apocalypse’s Apostle.
“I can’t explain it to you as you’re not a member of the Circle. So all I can say is that we are the only ones who can find him. You’ve seen the undead he created, haven’t you? What if such a disaster were to happen within the Great Forest?”
“…”
Syax seemed to hesitate.
Frey judged that now was the best time to play his trump card.
He sighed helplessly.
“If that’s the case, then it can’t be helped. We’ll have to find another way.”
Syax couldn’t help but ask with a confused expression.
“Another way?”
“I have acquaintances among the Dark Elves. If it’s them, they will believe me.”
Then he turned around without hesitation.
It seemed like he truly intended to leave, but in fact, Frey was feeling rather desperate at that moment.
At first glance, the plan that he’d just said was not a bad idea.
Frey had a good relationship with Liamson and Camille; they had even experienced a life and death battle together. So it was highly likely that not only would they trust him completely, but they would even give him their complete support.
‘The problem is that it’s impossible to tell how long it’ll take to get a chance to meet the Dark Elves.’
So the best option would be to enter the forest with Syax’s help.
The most important thing at this moment was how much time they could shave off.
Frey hoped that the rivalry between the High Elves and Dark Elves hadn’t been completely dissolved after 4,000 years.
“W-, wait!”
Syax stopped Frey with an urgent tone.
“Do you really have a relationship with the Dark Elves?”
“That’s right.”
“How could a human interact with them…the Dark Elves haven’t completely let go of their closed nature even after the Great Unification.”
The Dark Elves are still closed off?
At least Frey didn’t think so.
How could a closed-off group go to a magic tower in another country and ask to be taught magic?
Were the Blacktooth Elves the strange ones?
“I don’t care if you believe me or not. What’s important is that we don’t have the time for this.”
Ivan snorted.
He was trying hard not to show it, but he didn’t like the thought of begging the woman in front of him for help.
If he could, he would smash through the trees to enter the forest, grab Oydin from wherever he was, and kill him.
He’d beat any Elves that interfered half to death.
Of course, they couldn’t actually go through with such a plan.
If that guy, Oydin, noticed the commotion and decided to hide deeper in the forest, they wouldn’t be able to find him before the Demigod meeting.
Even more so in the Great Forest which was the Elves’ territory.
“Can you tell me the names of the Dark Elves that you know?”
“Liamson and Camille.”
“…!!!”
Syax took a deep breath.
From her reaction, it seemed like she knew them, so Frey tilted his head as he asked.
“Are they famous?”
“…I’ve never heard the name Liamson. But there is probably no one in the Great Forest who hasn’t heard the name of the Leopardess.”
Frey felt pity for Liamson who was being groomed to be the new leader of their village, and he recalled Camille’s powerful momentum.
‘Leopardess. It suits her.’
It was with her help that he’d been able to defeat Lukes, the Deputy Tower Master, turned Apostle.
That was because her ability to recognize and coordinate both Liamson and Mikel’s powers was incredibly accurate.
Besides, the only thing Frey could truly see through was the magic that she had learned superficially.
When it came to the martial arts and Spirits that she was most proficient in, Frey was unable to tell just how strong she truly was.
However, since she was the teacher of Liamson, who was a Second Class Magic Warrior, she should be at least a First Class Magic Warrior.
“I see. An acquaintance of the Dark Elves…so the Spirit contracted to you is a Dark Spirit. Hoo.”
Syax lowered her head with a small sigh.
“I’m sorry I doubted you. I will believe what you said. I’ll show you to our village. Will you follow me?”
“Don’t you have to inform the other Mercenaries?”
He was asking because she had left the Mercenary group not so long ago. However, Syax shook her head.
“As you just said, every second counts.”
At least, now was not the time to care about her human identity.
Ivan snorted at Syax’s firm words. (TL: he snorts so much)
“Hmph. Now you’re making sense.”
Frey looked at him with a dumbfounded expression for a moment. The one who had done nothing was the most satisfied.
Syax took Frey and Ivan in an opposite direction from where the caravan was heading.
“Isn’t the entrance to the Great Forest over there?”
This made him think about the Mercenaries that were waiting there.
Syax nodded.
“That is an entrance for outsiders, but I am a wandering Elf. That entrance has a troublesome entry and exit process as well as a winding road, so it would take at least a few days to get to the nearest village. What I’m taking you to now is a shortcut that every Elf race knows about.”
Shortcut.
They liked the sound of that.
“If we use the shortcut, it won’t be long before we arrive at the High Elf village, Lilund. Should I contact the Circle members in Lilund?”
“We can talk about that when we arrive.”
Frey remembered the incident with Lukes.
There was no telling whether Oydin would be the same.
Therefore, their first priority was figuring out just who this particular Elf was.
Cooperating with the Circle could come after.
‘It would be great if he was just a normal guy.’
It was just a personal wish, but he knew that the odds were low.
After all, Oydin was appointed to be an Apocalypse’s Apostle.