Chapter 27

The next morning, I would return to the capital of Felsgairo. Since I planned to travel with the extermination squad, I decided to take care of various matters during the day.

First, I would teleport to Helsper and head to the Sakaiya. In any case, since I would have to return to the tower and then move to the village, I decided to leave some simple items in the inn room. If I set my house as my base, it would be easier to fly to the village, but the inconvenience of the teleportation magic was that I couldn't fly to any target except for castles or prominent buildings. The remaining options were the relay points called "porters" that were once set up in various places, but after comparing old and new maps and visiting the locations, I was disappointed to find that there were no traces left.

"Maybe I should just build a tower or something as a landmark?"

"It might turn into a den for bandits or mountain robbers."

I decided to restrain myself after being reprimanded by the AI.

"I also need to find or dig for magic resonance stones. I want to get some quartz sand to make glass for my house."

"It's full of materials."

I walked through the streets of Helsper, conversing with Key. To an outsider, it would look like I was talking to myself, but I didn't notice.

Magic resonance stones are minerals that can store magic, and when embedded in the ceiling during house construction, they can serve as a light source. The effect varies depending on the size, but even without a permanency spell, they can store enough magic for dozens of simple spells, making them quite useful. For example, a barrel enchanted with "Freeze" could serve as a refrigerator, and a barrel enchanted with "Rotation" could act as a washing machine. All of these would need to be dug up from the ground, but it was unclear where they were buried. There were two methods: either dig to a mine myself or have a summon beast like a rock worm dig them up for me. Later, I would be grateful to find a way to obtain them without digging.

"......Still......"

When I arrived at the Sakaiya, the scene was just as I had seen before. The main street was bustling with people, and the shouts of porters mixed with the crowds of customers and small shop employees. The single-story Japanese-style house with a tiled roof stood out. The neighboring shops were deserted, giving the impression of a villainous merchant from a period drama who had risen to power through wealth.

"Kerrick and Keirina, those names are taken directly from mine, right? Was Mai Mai lonely for two hundred years?"

Kena muttered, but there was no response from Key. Instead, another voice called out to her.

"......Great-grandmother?"

"Aah, Izuuk. It's been a while."

The young elf lord, accompanied by several servants, came out and, looking surprised, called out to Kena. After entrusting the kobold servant to follow, he invited Kena back inside.

"Please take your time, Great-grandmother. I'll have tea brought to you later."

"Don't worry about it. Thank you, Izuuk."

Kerrick, who had just seen his son off, was acting suspiciously as he had been discussing matters related to his sister and grandmother. Keirina, on the other hand, had been trained by the knights and showed no signs of nervousness, but her brother's flustered behavior would likely ruin their secret. She frowned and sighed.

"Great-grandmother, it's been a while. Is there something......?"

"Did you seem so flustered because you were hiding something?"

Her accurate words made their hearts skip a beat. "I'll sit here, okay?" Kena said, sitting next to Keirina and spreading out the documents she had received from Suinya in front of Kerrick. After skimming through the report on the new technology from the in-house workshop, Kerrick's eyes widened when he saw his grandmother's name in the inventor's section. He reread it and then cautiously looked at Kena.

"Could the mechanism described here be the 'Ancient Art'?"

"Well, if you can somehow make it work, there might be various useful applications, right?"

Kena could only create the patterns as described in the text. If the people of today could improve it, it wouldn't be limited to just wells. During the game, various things created by players roamed the city and fields, and it would be interesting to recreate some of them. Curiosity was the main driving force. However, her current curiosity was focused on the fact that the siblings were together, as her intuition suggested. She also noticed Kerrick's flustered behavior and smiled slyly. Both of them felt a sense of danger and took a step back, with Keirina even reaching for her sword.

"More importantly, what are you two up to?"

"A, ah, no, that is, well, ... hahaha."

"......Kerrick, you fool......"

Despite being a merchant skilled in rhetoric, they couldn't hide their agitation in front of Kena, who was known to be frightening when angry. Keirina sighed and pressed her forehead, as her brother fumbled for an answer.

"Actually, the leader we caught......"

Kena's expression suddenly sank, and Keirina hesitated, wondering if she had made a mistake. But there was no turning back, so she continued.

"The other day, he was publicly executed......"

Kena's expression sank even further. While the state's response was not wrong for someone who had committed such acts, the grandchildren were worried that their grandmother, who felt responsible even for cruel and inhumane villains, was too kind. Kena was plagued by guilt for causing the death of players, but it was odd for her to say so, considering she had initially intended to kill the leader on the spot. She was secretly grateful that Keirina had stopped her at the time. The leader was a rare fellow elf who had committed a major crime. There was more to the story.

"Publicly,......"

"Huh?"

Keirina's confused face made Kena's eyes widen. She timidly explained that the guillotine blade had fallen, but the leader was not dead. Kena was also confused by this explanation.

After a high-speed conversation with Key, they concluded that the leader had not died because the damage system in Riedale was based on HP. In the game, death was determined by whether HP was 0 or 1. Even if the damage was enough to sever the head, if there was 1 HP left, the person was not considered dead. The leader's life was likely saved because the HP was not distributed by body part. The "Punishment Collar" reduced stats and level to 1/10 but left HP and MP unchanged. With the abundant HP and "Continuous HP Recovery," he survived.

Naturally, the public execution site was in chaos. The state had no choice but to temporarily suspend the execution and later display the heads of similar criminals to demonstrate the royal family's authority. The leader, who could not be killed by the guillotine, was sentenced to forced labor in the coal mines (life sentence) by some of the courtiers who found him creepy.

After a mix of relief and concern, Kena returned to her usual demeanor and thanked Keirina for sharing the confidential information by patting her head.

"Great-grandmother... I'm not a child anymore..."

"You're still a granddaughter. Come here, Kerrick, I'll pat you too."

Waving her wrist to beckon him, Kerrick shook his head and backed away. Seeing Kena's displeased face, he hurriedly left.

"I, I'll bring the reward money! Please wait, Great-grandmother!"

The sound of his footsteps faded away. Kena, who had watched him go with a mix of relief and concern, was reminded by Keirina, whose cheeks were still flushed from being patted, that her brother was just shy.

"It would have been better if we had been educated from a young age..."

"If I had met you when I was a child, I might have had a different life now."

The two, who had a good rapport, smiled gently at each other.

After exchanging the reward and receiving a thousand silver coins, Kena, having finished her business in Helsper, teleported to the capital of Felsgairo. She planned to return the next day to purchase various items.

She also wanted to inform her overprotective sons.

First, she bought ingredients to replenish the space used for cake materials at the market. Next, she asked the children in the area if anyone was selling stones. When she asked Kerrick about magic resonance stones, he said they existed but no one could process them, so they had been wondering about their usefulness for years. In Helsper, she had found and purchased them, and the children had been searching for and polishing pretty stones along the streets and rivers to sell for pocket money. After casting an identification spell, she found that some of the stones were magic resonance stones, so she came to Felsgairo to look for children selling similar items.

She found children doing the same thing and was able to purchase a considerable number. However, since each stone was only as large as a palm, she would need to collect many. She would need to be a regular customer for a while to get enough to process into a usable size.

Kerrick had suggested transferring the rights to sell the stones as a product. Kena said she would think about it, but it seemed he was seriously considering setting up a "Sakaiya Border Village Branch" to maintain close communication. Kena couldn't help but feel that the border village strengthening plan was progressing without her involvement.

Next, she went to the church where her eldest brother, Skargo, was, but he was absent due to a meeting at the castle. It was probably for the final adjustments before the knight squad's dispatch the next day. Hearing this, she realized how seriously he worked for the country. However, once she met him, all her appreciation would be shattered.

Feeling frustrated, she went to the neighboring royal academy, bowed to the guards, and entered the grounds. The teachers were already informed, so she was not stopped on her way to the principal's office.

"Mother?"

"Hey, Mai Mai."

When Kena knocked and entered, Mai Mai stopped her work and welcomed her mother, who had suddenly appeared. She practically tackled her with a display of affection.

"Why am I suddenly being hugged......"

"Because Mother, you haven't paid attention to me lately."

"That's not something a mature elf woman with children and two marriages should say."

"Au, Mother, you're so harsh."

Glaring down at her, Mai Mai reluctantly released Kena from her embrace. Kena felt a bit of jealousy towards Mai Mai's mature figure, a result of character creation. There were no signs of growth for Kena.

After thanking her daughter for making the tea, Kena took a sip of her second cup of the day. The tea at Sakaiya was elegant, but this one had a lingering sweetness.

"So, is there something you came for today?"

"I'm going to look for the Dragon Palace along the coast, so I'll be leaving here again."

"What's this 'Dragon Palace'......?"

"Oh, you're not familiar with the term. To put it simply, it's a guardian tower, the underwater version."

"Hmm... Before you say you're 'leaving here,' why don't you settle down somewhere? You can't keep being a rootless wanderer."

Seizing the opportunity to bring up the topic she wanted to discuss, Kena nodded with a full smile. Mai Mai, on the other hand, was wary of the smile and stepped back.

"Well, after I find this tower, I'm thinking of settling down in the border village."

"Wh-What!?"

"What are you surprised about? It's what you just said."

Kena responded calmly, knowing that Mai Mai's reaction was as expected. She was worried that Skargo might suggest building a church.

"Not in the capital?"

"No, I don't like places with little nature and where I might get involved in the state's troubles. Besides, I'm afraid Skargo will keep showing up."

"Haha, yes, he would probably do that, indeed..."

Having many acquaintances in the state was also a concern. The high priest, self-proclaimed prime minister, knight commander, princess, and probably prince were all part of her network. In just three months, she had connections with prominent figures. Adding the influential merchant family and the southern country ruled by her niece, she was worried about being involved in disputes.

She told Mai Mai that she might hide out until the fuss died down. Mai Mai thought it was better than being in a deep forest where communication was impossible and agreed to pass the message to Skargo and Karta. After saying goodbye, Kena teleported away, leaving Mai Mai to mutter, "So busy..."

"Mother always seems to cause trouble wherever she goes..."

She would eliminate or trigger events, like when she went north to destroy bandits or when past event monsters appeared upon her return. It felt like she was a world deterrent.

"Surely, she won't pick up any trouble at the sea, right......?"

She had a bad feeling. Kena causing or getting involved in trouble meant unleashing her rare power, which could change the coastline within days. Mai Mai could almost see the scene and felt a headache coming on.

Due to the temporary teleportation point she had set up, Kena returned directly to her room. Litt was surprised to see Kena return from above, while Marele welcomed her as usual, not prying into her business.

"It's awfully quiet, isn't it?"

"Yes, the scholars from Outarokues have left. They said they achieved their purpose."

"Really, they only came for the hidden purpose......"

"The cat brother was looking for you to say goodbye."

"Oh, I'm sorry. If I stayed any longer, I might have missed Marele's dinner. ...That's what I was thinking."

"You always say such nice things. Flattery won't get you more on the menu."

"Oh, what a shame."

Kena tapped her head, looking disappointed, and Marele laughed as she went back to the kitchen. Litt, still not convinced, looked up at Kena.

"Why did you go out and come back from above?"

"Well, there's a magic that allows instant travel to major cities regardless of distance."

"Wow, you're amazing, Onee-chan..."

Litt looked up at Kena with admiration, and Kena, a bit intimidated, tried to hide it. She wished she could take Litt with her, but it wasn't possible since she couldn't join the party. She thought of something that might make Litt happy and asked.

"How about flying in the sky next time?"

"Huh!? ...Sky?"

"Yes, on a sunny day. I bet you can see many things from up there, and it's beautiful."

"Hmm, but Mother......"

Litt, who couldn't leave the inn without Marele's permission, looked up at Kena, who squatted to meet her gaze and patted her head.

"Then I'll ask Marele with you. If she says it's okay, we'll go, okay?"

"Okay!"

Seeing Kena and Litt laugh together like real sisters, Litt's real sister, Luine, who had come to help early, sighed.

"Ugh, Litt never got that close to me......"

"Kena is much better with children. She's a truly mysterious girl."