37. Arcana Online
37. Arcana Online
Because I enjoyed the party until late last night, I overslept and got scolded by Yong-yong.
I took out three top-rank magic stones for our Yong-yong, who was glaring at me saying he wouldn't let it slide this time, and he said he'd make a special exception just this once.
"Succumbing to capitalism, how disappointing!"
"Kyuung!?"
While teasing our Yong-yong, who was looking at me with a dumbfounded expression, I almost forgot what I had to do.
The quest I received from Grandpa Kraken.
I took out the compass he gave me, saying it would help find his youngest daughter.
«Golden Child Compass»
Shows the location of the runaway golden child.
To set out in the direction the compass was pointing, I went outside the city, whistled, and waited, and the bear taxi came running.
"Have you been well?"
"Groooan!"
The bear greeted me cheerfully.
Of course, with a capitalist smile.
Now it's time for negotiation.
"I need to go straight in the direction the compass is pointing, but I don't know how far we'll have to go."
"Groooan!"
"That's expensive! Give me a discount! I'm a regular customer!"
On the way, after falling for the bear's sob story and ultimately failing in negotiations.
"Come to think of it, how is your family doing?"
"Groooan!"
"You're worried because they've grown too big? Just earlier you said they got smaller because they were starving!"
"Groan?"
As he slyly changed the subject saying he didn't know about it, this bear is truly scary.
While we were chatting about various things, I felt someone's gaze on me.
It must be my imagination. As I was thinking that, I remembered a post I saw yesterday.
Someone said they felt like they were being watched, so they shouted loudly, and they were really being watched.
Just in case, I shouted loudly.
"Come out!"
Surprisingly, nothing came out.
For a moment I felt embarrassed, and as I turned my head, an angel revealed itself...?
"How did you know? I perfectly concealed my presence."
"How interesting. There must be a reason the Archangel told us to watch over you."
The two angels who appeared before me had beautiful appearances and were wearing peplos.
I calmed down the bear who was wary of the angels, got off its back, and as I approached, they looked at me with interested eyes.
"How strange. It feels like meeting an old acquaintance after a long time."
"Indeed. It's surprising to feel this way about a human."
An angel took something out from their subspace and handed it to me.
"This was sent by Archangel Michael. Please accept it."
They handed me a letter.
I opened and read it, and it was an invitation.
An invitation inviting me to the celestial realm.
"We'll come to pick you up in 14 days."
"I'll see you in 14 days."
The angels left after saying only what they wanted to say, leaving me alone.
No, Yong-yong and the bear are here too.
"Would it be rude to sprinkle salt?"
"Kyuung?"
"Groan?"
With all these incidents happening lately, I really need to have an exorcism performed.
How long have we been running in the direction the compass was pointing?
The sun had set and the moon had risen, so I lit a campfire to camp for the night and snuggled into the bear's embrace.
In the warm and cozy embrace of the bear, there's no need for a tent.
"Groooan."
"......"
Our bear is asking for an additional fee for this too.
If he had been born human, he would have become the owner of a huge merchant group. No matter how I think about it, he was born in the wrong body.
I logged out and logged in early the next day to find the bear sleeping while hugging me.
Our bear, carefully hugging me so I wouldn't get hurt.
Really, isn't it cute?
"Kyuung."
"Did you sleep well?"
Hearing our voices, the bear also opened its eyes and greeted us.
"Groooan."
"You couldn't sleep because I was snoring, so you want an additional fee...? You bad guy!"
"Grohoho!"
He laughed it off saying it was a joke, but it feels fishy.
I think he really meant to charge me?
I handed out magic stones one by one, and as we moved following the compass, I saw something in the distance.
As we approached, there were two people standing guard at the entrance of a village.
"Can you wait here for a bit?"
"Groan!"
I left the bear waiting to enter the village, and as I approached with Yong-yong, I made eye contact with the uncles standing guard.
"What brings a little miss here?"
"I just stopped by while passing. What village is this?"
"Hmm? You don't know our village?"
With a surprised expression, they introduced the village.
"Our village is the Sage's Village where the Sage resides."
[Sage's Village]
The guard uncle explained that the Sage, who played the role of spiritual pillar for Arcadia, known as the homeland of magicians, resides in the village and gives various advice to people based on his vast knowledge, experience, and mysterious power.
After finishing the explanation, I entered the village and saw many people gathered around a fountain.
As I approached, an old man was sitting in the center of the fountain, and people were lined up around him.
People were talking to him one by one, then thanking him with tears in their eyes.
Curious, I went to the back of the line and waited for a long time until it was finally my turn.
The old man looked at me intently.
It felt like he was seeing through my inner self.
"What brings our little miss to see this old man?"
"Lately, there have been non-stop incidents."
"Let me see."
The old man, who was muttering to himself while looking at me, suddenly looked at me with a surprised face.
"Oh my! How can such a young child..."
"What's wrong?"
The surprise was brief, and with a moved expression, he held my hand tightly while shedding tears.
"You are a saint who has saved so many lives that they are innumerable."
"Suddenly!?"
After shedding tears for a while, the old man took something out from his bosom.
"This will help you save many more lives in the future."
He handed me a small box.
«??? Box»
I don't know what it is.
"Open the box when you need help someday."
"Th-thank you."
As I greeted the old man and set out, many villagers were looking up at me.
My face flushed, and I hurriedly left the village and whistled.
After waiting a bit, the bear appeared and we started our journey again, but in the end, I didn't hear anything.
Sigh, my fate.
*
*
*
After camping for several days and moving forward, we finally reached the border of the Avalon Empire.
There was a huge wall, and people were being inspected at checkpoints. To go further, we needed to pass through the inspection.
It's no problem for me, but if I bring the bear, it will surely cause a big problem.
"What should we do? Looks like our journey ends here."
"Groooan!"
The bear said it knows a secret path and will join me later.
Our bear taxi, reliable like a bowl of beef soup!
The bear disappeared, saying there would be a separate danger pay for illegal entry.
If he had really been born human, he would have become a great merchant.
I took out the pass I received from Uncle Charles and headed to the empty checkpoint.
«Imperial Pass»
A pass issued by Charles Caesar, former captain of the Avalon Empire's Imperial Knights.
When I presented the pass at the checkpoint, after verifying its authenticity, the guard respectfully escorted me.
"If you need a carriage, we can provide one that will safely escort you to the capital!"
"It's okay. I'll just accept your kind thoughts."
After passing through the border and walking for a while, I heard the sound of something running from afar.
The bear revealed itself.
How on earth did you enter illegally!? With that size!?
He laughed carefreely and told me to get on quickly, saying we need to run away, but what does he mean?
At that moment, arrows came flying.
"Monster! A monster has invaded!"
With a loud shout, soldiers began running towards us.
Now I could see how he passed through.
He just blatantly passed through!
"You bastard! And you want danger pay for this!?"
"Groooan!"
"Isn't it dangerous enough!?"
Our bear ran at full speed in the opposite direction from where the soldiers were coming.
What if we get a bounty on our heads because of this!?
At that moment, a message popped up.
[You have a bounty placed on you in the Avalon Empire.]
Name: Yuna (Summoner)
Crime: Smuggling an unregistered summon
Bounty: 10 million gold
Special note: Possesses a Warbear over 15M tall
A bounty of 10 million gold was placed on me.
When you have a bounty, you can't use normal villages or cities.
And the biggest problem is that you become a target for bounty hunters.
"What are we going to do about this, you bastard!?"
"Grohoho!!"
"We might have been born on different days, but we'll go together!? You bad guy!!"