Vol 3 Chapter 34

"So, you pretended to be dead and came back after 10 years?"

"Ahaha... well... something like that."

"I don't know what you mean by being glad to meet again. I thought beings with thoughts at least contact people they'd be happy to see later. Don't they?"

As Superior tried to gloss over it with his usual confident smile, Ilumine delivered a sharp rebuke.

"Hahaha..."

"...I really thought you were dead."

Ilumine said, looking at Superior as he scratched the back of his head, all playfulness gone from her demeanor.

"After 'that,' I actually went there... But no matter how much I tried to read the earth's memories, nothing came up, so I gave up."

Superior briefly erased his smile at Ilumine's words, then quickly showed an embarrassed grin.

"What? An elf came to that place overflowing with demonic energy? That must have been hell."

"So when you suddenly showed up here, I was really surprised. I'm glad you're not dead."

"Haha... Actually, it's not that great. Being alive alone like this..."

"You, don't say things like that..."

"I won't. Give me a break, Grandma Ilumine."

"What did you say?"

After bickering for a while longer without much substance, the two finally remembered their original purpose of returning to the village and changed the subject as they started walking.

"So, you're leaving traces of yourselves now?"

"Yes. It was something everyone had prepared before the war, but I'm adding some finishing touches. I hesitated a lot, but I thought completing it would be a good gift for everyone."

"..."

"What's with that expression? So gloomy. Anyway, Lumi. Didn't you ask for help with something earlier?"

"That... Actually, because I built this forest in a place so opposite to my power, a lot of my strength has drained away. At this rate, I don't think I can sustain it for more than a few years, so I was planning to set up an axis at the center..."

With that final image of the two moving further away, Kapros's vision darkened as if his eyes were closing. When he came to his senses, he was standing in front of the moss-covered cabin surrounded by large trees, back in the present. At the same time, he saw the quest notification window that had been making him anxious finally appear.

Ding!

- You have completed Superior's Memory Quest 3 / 8.

So this was indeed the correct way to view this quest memory. Breathing a sigh of relief, Kapros read the text that appeared before his eyes.

The fact that the notification window, which had mentioned rewards when he saw the Shadow Knight video before, didn't mention rewards this time probably meant that what he had gained through Ilumine was equivalent to a reward.

Feeling relieved, Kapros closed the quest window as Kran and Un-o approached.

"Kap. Did you succeed?"

When Kapros quietly nodded in response to Kran's sparkling-eyed question, an exclamation of "Oh!" came back.

"Wow, then maybe you can use that magic on the spellbooks you have too? This is really interesting, isn't it?"

At first, Kapros was about to say that it was a bit different from that, but he stopped. Something in Kran's words had struck a chord with him.

"Spellbooks?"

As Kapros asked with wide eyes, he felt Kran, who had been hugging his shoulder happily, nod.

"Yeah. Those magic books."

'...Right. The books.'

"I mean the one you originally had and the one with nothing written in it. Aren't those traces too?" As Kran continued muttering, Kapros felt as if his eyes had suddenly opened to a new realization.

'That's right... Those are traces too, if you think about it.'

Until now, Kapros had only thought of traces in relation to places, but Kran's words made him discover an enormous new possibility.

"Haha... Yes. Those are traces too."

"Huh? K-Kap?"

"Hahaha!"

Thanks to this, Kapros forgot all about everything that had been bringing him down until now, and as he grabbed Kran's arm and patted his back vigorously, Kran's eyes widened in surprise. It was a bit strange that Kran, who had hugged him on his own earlier, was now so flustered when Kapros initiated contact, but he was still happy!

"W-w-w-wait a minute! I can't feel anything because my clothes are too thick! Let me take them off and grab me again!"

"Thank you, Kran."

As Kapros spoke with sincerity, he felt Kran's body, which had been flailing about while spouting nonsense, come to an abrupt stop. Even without looking at Kran's face right now, Kapros could imagine what expression he was making. As always, he would be smiling like that.

Whenever Kapros was stuck somewhere, whether indirectly or directly, Kran had provided a lot of help. How many times had this happened already? Although he could be foolish at times, Kapros was newly grateful for having such an honest, bright, and insightful guy by his side.

Even if you've been friends for over 10 years, you can't know anything if you don't speak what's in your heart. The saying that you can know ten fathoms of water but not one fathom of a person's mind had long been a troubling subject for Kapros.

At that moment, something grabbed Kapros's arm and Kran's shoulder and pulled them apart.

"How long are you going to stay like that?"

When Kapros turned his head, he saw Un-o with a blank expression. Only then did Kapros realize that he had been holding onto Kran for a long time while lost in thought, and he took a step back.

"You...!"

Kran was glaring daggers at Un-o.

"Haven't you finished your business here now?"

"Neither this guy nor that guy listens when I speak..."

Un-o spoke to Kapros, ignoring Kran's anger. Kapros glanced at Kran, who was grumbling with a slightly reddened face behind Un-o, and then nodded.

"Yeah... that's right."

At Kapros's answer, Un-o smiled faintly.

"Then... since this is my last, would you mind coming with me?"

"...Is it okay if we go?"

"Please follow me."

Un-o, with his usually rebellious eyes, began to walk ahead with an uncharacteristically submissive gaze. As Kapros started to follow Un-o, Kran tagged along with a dejected face. Kapros looked at Kran for a moment, then patted his shoulder to make him turn his gaze.