Vol 3 Chapter 4

As they were about to enter, they realized the door was much smaller than expected. As they bent down and carefully stepped in, they heard the homeowner's voice.

"Ren! Don't come out."

'...Ren?'

Looking towards where they thought someone else might be in the house, there was a room with elaborate bead curtains preventing them from seeing inside.

"Ah, you two please sit here."

Unlike the outside, the interior of the house was large and clean. The stone furniture and the array of colorful glass bottles lining the shelves on one wall created a unique atmosphere.

"I'll bring out something to drink first. Please wait a moment."

Watching her disappear towards the kitchen, Kran lowered his voice and said,

"Do you really think we can get information here?"

"...We have to."

It felt like they had just barely grasped the end of a thread, and they couldn't let it go.

Before long, the homeowner returned with a tray carrying three cups filled with something cold and thick, like yogurt. After placing one in front of each of them and sitting down, she finally opened her mouth with a smile.

"My name is Edenia Muharam. I'm a descendant of the Muharam family, famous for producing love potions. What is it you've come to ask me, guests?"

'Love potion?'

Before Kapros could even be surprised by this unexpected statement, Kran bowed his head to Edenia and shouted loudly.

"P-Please sell me one love potion!"

Thwack!

The punishment was delivered immediately and silently.

Without even looking at Kran, who had collapsed to the floor holding his struck head, Kapros opened his mouth.

"I am Kapros. This is Kratos. The reason I came here is..."

After swallowing once and clearing his voice, he continued.

"While looking for a way to cross the Desert of Death, I heard that someone from the Muharam family had crossed the desert and returned in the past. Do you know anything about the person who crossed the Desert of Death?"

At Kapros's words, Edenia's eyes widened, and she stared at him intently, even stopping mid-drink. Her gaze seemed more evaluating than surprised. After staring at Kapros like that for a while, and then looking at Kran collapsed on the floor, Edenia blinked and swallowed her drink.

"Why is that?"

"Because we need to cross the Desert of Death."

"Why do you want to cross it? Surely everyone knows that the sun there is cursed."

After grinding his molars once at her blunt question, Kapros racked his brain to appropriately modify the story about needing to go there for a quest.

"...To be precise, it's not the desert, but there's a place I need to go beyond that desert. I know where it is, but I don't know what kind of place it is. I can't tell you the exact reason beyond this, but if you know anything related to it, even a little, please tell us. I beg you."

"..."

Without answering, Edenia only increased her drinking speed, gulping down the last of her drink. She put the cup down on the table with a clack. Startled by the sound, Kran let out a faint groan as he got up. Edenia gently narrowed her eyes and slowly stood up.

"How strange. That at a time like this, not one but two people wanting to go to 'that place' would come again like this. This has never happened in any history recorded in the Muharam secret texts."

"Then..."

"Alright. I'll tell you what I know. But before that, I might need someone to correct me if I say anything unnecessary. Ren, you can come out now."

No sooner had Edenia finished speaking than they heard the sound of beads rustling as they were drawn back from the hidden room.

The person who emerged had a very beautiful face. Moreover, because they were wrapped in thick cloth from head to toe, with only a bit of hair, eyes, nose, and mouth visible, it was difficult to guess their gender easily.

As soon as they came out, their eyes closely examined Kapros and Kran's faces, and Kapros began to feel increasingly uncomfortable as the gaze felt like it was appraising them, just like Edenia's earlier.

"My name is Siravi Ren."

The person who revealed their name in an androgynous voice quietly sat down next to Edenia. Glancing at Siravi Ren, Edenia slightly withdrew the smile from her face.

"The information you came with is true. There was indeed someone in our family who crossed that Desert of Death and returned. But there's also something incorrect, which is that it wasn't just one person who went to the desert. My father, and his father, and his father's father... they all left for the desert and returned. About once every 10 years."

Kapros had to suppress his expression to avoid showing surprise.

"And I too went to the desert with my father's hand in mine six years ago and returned. So, to put it simply, I can answer that there is a way to cross the Desert of Death. And it's very easy."

"Easy...?"

"Yes. Very easy. Teaching you the method isn't the problem. What's important is whether you have the qualification to go beyond the desert."

"Qualification, you say?"

"That's right."

"There's only one qualification."

At that moment, the person who had introduced themselves as Siravi Ren stood up and unwrapped the turban-like cloth covering their head. As their deep green hair, longer than shoulder-length, fell disheveled, something long and pointed was revealed on both sides of their face.

They were ears. Revealing without hiding the long ears that no human could possess, they opened their mouth with a cold gaze.

"Show me your strength. If you have skills enough to make me say I've lost, I'll acknowledge you and teach you what you want."

"An... elf?"

Edenia nodded, smiling at Kran, who had stiffened and was only rolling his eyes next to Kapros.

"Do you know what lies beyond the desert you wish to go to, who exists there? This person will be the answer to that."

Since Edenia and Siravi Ren said there was no need to show that 'strength' right away, Kapros and Kran gained some time and left the house.