NOVEL NEXT Chapter 89
The village of the demon race was oddly similar yet distinctly different from Grasis’s village.
Grasis and the land of the demons were right next to each other, so I guess they’ve been influencing each other for a long time, whether they realize it or not.
“The atmosphere is strange…,” Da-eun remarked while looking around.
“People are smiling, but there’s something shady about it… Is there something going on?”
“Who knows.”
Even when asked, I had no clue.
“Even the genius Kana doesn’t know something?”
“…Are you teasing me?”
“No!”
I really couldn’t tell if Da-eun was being serious or joking.
For a moment, I shot her a suspicious glance as we walked through the streets behind a man, feeling the curiosity and wariness of the surrounding gazes flying toward us.
Just as we were unfamiliar with the demon race, they seemed just as fascinated by humans.
As I fiddled with my cape, the man noticed my discomfort and casually shared, “It seems rare to see a normal person.”
“A normal human?”
“Yes. Most humans we see are either dying from mana addiction or are crazed lunatics.”
“…Ah.”
The man didn’t elaborate on what had happened to the humans he encountered, but it was easy to guess it wasn’t a pleasant story.
Da-eun must have had the same thought, as she closed her mouth after chattering.
Somehow, the air felt heavy.
Amid this tense atmosphere, the man stopped in front of a certain building.
“…We’ve arrived.”
“Where is this…?”
“This is the Lord’s official residence.”
“Official residence?”
I looked up at the building.
It was indeed larger and more extravagant compared to the surrounding structures, but it didn’t feel majestic enough to be the home of someone high-ranking.
If I had to describe it, it felt more like a wealthy merchant’s house.
Creeeak.
At that moment, the door of the residence opened.
“It’s not the Lord or the official residence, you know….”
A voice flowed out with the door, and the figure that emerged was a woman who exuded a lethargic aura that matched her voice.
With the pale complexion typical of the demon race and dark circles under her eyes, she looked as if she could collapse at any moment.
A tall, black horn protruded from her disheveled, ebony-like hair, larger than the man’s horn who guided us.
“The horn….”
However, her right horn was significantly smaller, as if someone had broken it off.
“Oh, this…?”
When Da-eun muttered upon seeing the rough break on her horn, the woman raised her hand to caress the cut horn above her head.
“It’s broken.”
“…Would it be rude to ask how it happened?”
“It might be rude… but I wear it as a badge of pride.”
True to her words, the woman’s face was filled solely with pride.
“I got this scar while fighting a dimensional being when I was in Raxia…. It was quite a strong one, but I brought it down myself, of course.”
Ahem.
While speaking, the woman puffed out her chest.
The gesture was pretty confident, but she looked younger than Da-eun, and her lazy demeanor didn’t portray any dignity.
Just like the residence she lived in.
“Lord, shouldn’t we go in first?”
“Ah, should we…?”
As the time spent dawdling in front of the residence grew longer, the gazes directed at us multiplied.
Maybe rumors had spread that humans had appeared, as the number of demon races loitering around noticeably increased.
With the man’s cautious words, the woman gestured for us to enter.
“Come in….”
“Then I will take my leave.”
“Sure. Good work….”
As the man departed, only the woman and we remained in the residence.
When she stopped while holding a teapot, she hesitated.
“Want some tea…? Ah, humans probably shouldn’t drink this, should they…?”
“Why not?”
“Because the tea leaves contain mana… Though you seem fine after coming here, you never know….”
“Aah, that could be it. Then I’ll just have water….”
“I want to drink it.”
“Hmm…?”
The woman looked at me quizzically.
Her eyes traveled from my head to my toes before returning to my face.
“If you want to drink, I won’t stop you, but… this is a bit bitter, are you okay with that?”
“…Is there no sweet option?”
“There used to be, but we’re out….”
“Then I don’t want any.”
“Okay… What about you?”
“I’ll take it, please.”
In the end, only Selin was served tea.
The fragrant yet slightly bitter scent of the tea wafted through the reception room.
Clink.
“Phew… Should we introduce ourselves first….”
The woman, having set down her teacup, began to speak with a long sigh.
“I’m Atysha…. You can call me Aty or Tisha, whatever you prefer….”
After finishing her drawn-out introduction, Atysha took a sip of her tea.
“I’m Joanie. Please call me Joanie.”
“I’m Canaria.”
“I’m Selin. Nice to meet you.”
Following her lead, we completed our introductions.
Atysha, who hadn’t reacted much while listening, picked up the teapot again.
Pour, pour…
And while filling our empty teacups, she asked us, “What brings humans here…?”
“We’re heading to Raxia.”
She paused.
“…To Raxia…?”
The tea that had been pouring suddenly stopped falling into the cup.
“There’s only one Raxia that I know of….”
“That’s the one. Your hometown, Mad Continent Raxia.”
“Hmm….”
Atysha’s tired expression vanished, and her eyes sharpened.
I could vaguely hear someone gulping next to me.
“Leaving aside whether you have the ability to go or not, why do humans want to go there…?”
“You’re quite cautious.”
“If someone like you wants to go to Raxia, it’s only natural to be….”
“Uh-huh, that’s a sensible statement.”
Her words felt like she could see right through my intentions.
Suddenly, a powerful being showed up and expressed a wish to go to my… to my clan’s hometown.
Naturally, I had to be suspicious about it.
So instead of lamenting over her doubts, I quickly got to the point.
“I came to fulfill the wishes of your clan. …Would that suffice as an answer?”
“…That’s not something humans would typically know.”
Thud.
“How on Earth did you know?”
Atysha’s eyes were glaring with strong suspicion as she set down the teapot.
As if it weren’t enough, ominous mana was streaming from her broken horn.
How annoying.
Like swatting away a pesky mosquito, I waved my hand to disperse the mana and called for someone to vouch for my identity.
“Selin.”
“Yes.”
Selin understood my intention perfectly and unleashed divine power with a strength I hadn’t seen from her before.
Golden waves of energy pushed back the mana that had invaded the room.
Like a child being soothed, Atysha’s eyes turned into saucers as she witnessed the gentle expulsion of the mana by Selin’s divine power.
“To have this level of divine power… Are you a Saint…?”
“Not yet.”
“You’re saying there’s potential….”
Atysha nodded.
“Alright… that makes sense….”
I was really glad to have brought Selin along.
It’s wonderful how she can just show her divine power and make them accept the situation without having to elaborate.
Of course, the main aim of showing it was to protect my companions from the influence of mana and for contingency purposes, but being versatile is always a plus.
“Wait a minute!”
“Uh…?”
Da-eun, who had previously been fidgeting while the conversation advanced without her, suddenly chimed in.
“What exactly is this wish you’re talking about?”
“Uh…?”
Atysha looked at Da-eun as if asking, “What’s your deal?”
For a moment, Da-eun flinched under Atysha’s cold gaze, but she stood firm and didn’t back down.
“It seems the other two know, but… you don’t…?”
“I just followed Kana here! They said I’d find out later even if I asked, so how would I know?”
“It’s rude to discuss someone else’s matters without permission.”
“…Don’t bring out the formalities now!”
Why is she raising her voice like that?
Da-eun sure gets angry easily.
I turned to Atysha and asked for permission.
“Is it okay to tell her?”
“It’s fine….”
Atysha surprisingly gave me a cool green light.
I had thought she would hesitate a bit, being that the demon races feel ashamed to have left Raxia.
Now that I had permission, I shouldn’t delay further. Da-eun might get upset if I take too long to explain.
“The demon race’s original name is ‘Purifier Clan.’”
“Purifier Clan?”
“Yeah.”
Hearing this would likely raise further questions.
“What do they purify?”
As expected, Da-eun had a very standard response.
“Mana.”
Purifying mana that has been tainted and returning it to normal mana.
That was the fate and duty bestowed upon the demon race, the Purifier Clan by Edel.
In the world of Silia, there exists an energy called mana.
People often misunderstand mana as merely a means to gain strength or a convenient power, but the reality of mana is that it is as essential for living beings as air is.
The problem is that, like air, mana can also become polluted.
As it passes through the bodies of various life forms and as time goes by, mana becomes contaminated and muddied, causing adverse effects on living beings.
Edel recognized this and created a system.
To gather polluted mana in one place, purify it, and then release the purified mana back into the world.
A circulating system encompassing the entire world of Silia.
“That polluted mana is what people refer to as ‘magical energy.’”
“So Mad Continent Raxia is….”
“Yes, that’s right.”
The terminal point of the system created by Edel.
The place where polluted mana is purified and returned to its original form.
That is what Mad Continent Raxia truly is.
If you think of magical energy as garbage, then calling it a dumping ground wouldn’t be entirely wrong.
Though people likely didn’t know that and referred to it that way nonetheless.
“And the one in charge of purifying this massive amount of waste was—”
“Precisely us, the Purifier Clan….”
“Now that I listen, it sounds pretty trivial, doesn’t it?”
While listening to my explanation in a daze, Da-eun blinked.
“…No, it’s actually quite significant, you know?”