Chapter 35

In the thick fog, Aichi and his companions followed the tigerian Jil forward.

The direction they were heading was Fyabelugen. With Aichi, Tsuki, the Horia clan, and Elfrik at the center, the surrounding sub-humans had formed a circle and had been walking for an hour. It seemed that the tigerian, previously known as Sam, had delivered the message at an incredibly fast pace.

After walking a little further, they suddenly arrived at a place where the fog had dissipated. Although it had dissipated, not all the fog had disappeared; instead, a straight path had appeared, looking like a tunnel through the fog. Upon closer inspection, there were fist-sized crystals half-buried in the ground on both sides of the path, emitting a blue light like guiding lamps. It seemed that these were the boundary lines to prevent the fog from intruding.

Elfrik noticed Aichi staring at the blue crystals and explained:

"These are called Philodorien crystals. For some reason, fog and monsters do not approach them. Fyabelugen and the nearby villages are surrounded by these crystals. Well, the effect of repelling monsters is only relatively effective."

"Ah, I see. It makes sense. Living in the fog 24 hours a day would be depressing. It’s better if the place you live in is fog-free."

It seemed that even in the forest, the city was fog-free. This was good news for Aichi and his companions, who were going to stay in the forest for ten days. Tsuki, who had initially been unhappy due to the fog, became very pleased after hearing the conversation between Aichi and the elder.

At the same time, a huge gate appeared before them. Thick trees intertwined to form an arch, and below it stood two ten-meter-high wooden gates. The natural wooden walls, at least thirty meters high, exuded a sense of dignity befitting the sub-human realm.

Jil signaled to the gatekeepers, and the towering gates creaked open slightly. From the surrounding trees, they could feel the gazes of the sub-humans directed at Aichi and his companions. The shock of humans being summoned into the city was impossible to hide. If Elfrik hadn’t been there, even with Jil leading the way, there would have been some arguments. Perhaps the elder had anticipated this and personally came to greet them.

After passing through the gate, they entered a different world. Giant trees with diameters of several dozen meters stood in the city, and it seemed that houses were built within these trees. The light from oil lamps leaked out from the hollows in the tree trunks—what should be windows. The massive branches intersected to form aerial walkways, capable of accommodating dozens of people at once. Vines wrapped around the trees, and pulley systems, like elevators, were set up to connect the trees, forming a large wooden aerial pathway. Each tree was about twenty stories tall.

Aichi and Tsuki stood with their mouths agape, captivated by the beautiful city, when they heard a deliberate cough. It seemed that because they had stopped moving without realizing it, Elfrik wanted to bring them back to their senses.

"Hmm, it seems you like our hometown, Fyabelugen."

Elfrik’s expression relaxed pleasantly, and the surrounding sub-humans and Horia clan members also looked proud. Aichi, seeing their expressions, praised them frankly:

"Yes, I’ve never seen such a beautiful city before. The air is fresh, and it’s a beautiful city in harmony with nature."

"Um... beautiful."

The sub-humans hadn’t expected their hometown to be praised so highly. Such an unreserved compliment still surprised them. However, being praised for their hometown made them happy, and they turned their faces away, but their animal ears and tails couldn’t help but twitch.

Aichi and his companions were watched with curious, wary, or even confused and hateful gazes by the residents of Fyabelugen as they walked to the place prepared by Elfrik.

---

"…I see, passing the trials to grant ancient magic, and the god’s chessboard…"

Now, Aichi and Tsuki were having a conversation with Elfrik. The content was about the liberators and ancient magic that Aichi had heard from Oscar Alkus, as well as the fact that they were from another world and that conquering the seven great labyrinths might grant them the ancient magic to return home.

Elfrik’s expression didn’t change when he heard about the gods of this world. When Aichi found this strange and asked, he replied:

"This world is not kind to sub-humans. What can the topic of gods do now?"

Yes, whether the gods were mad or not, the current situation of sub-humans wouldn’t change. Here, the authority of the Holy Church didn’t exist, so there was no faith. If anything, the faith was gratitude to nature.

After hearing Aichi’s story, Elfrik told him about the abstract oral tradition passed down by the elders of Fyabelugen: If someone with the emblems of the seven great labyrinths appeared in the forest, Fyabelugen should not oppose them, and if they were favored, they should be taken to where they wanted to go.

Lulu Harutena, the founder of the great labyrinth in the Harutena Forest, called herself a liberator (though she didn’t tell others what a liberator was) and left the names of her companions. This information was passed down by the clan that had lived on this land before Fyabelugen was established. The prohibition against opposition was because she had foreseen that the person who could overcome the great labyrinth’s trials would be extraordinarily powerful, and thus gave this advice.

Elfrik’s reaction to the emblem on Oscar’s ring was because it matched one of the seven emblems carved on the stone at the base of the great tree.

"So, this means I have the qualification, right?"

Through Elfrik’s explanation, Aichi understood why he, a human, was invited into the sub-human stronghold. However, this reason was not known to all sub-humans, and it would be necessary to inform them of this.

Just as Aichi and Elfrik were about to end their conversation, a commotion occurred downstairs. Aichi and his companions were on the top floor, and downstairs were Sia and the Horia clan members waiting. It seemed they had gotten into an argument with someone. Aichi and Elfrik exchanged glances and stood up together.

Downstairs, large and dangerous bearians, tigerians, foxians, winged sub-humans, and small, hairy dwarves were glaring at the Horia clan members. In one corner, Kam was desperately protecting Sia. Sia and Kam’s faces were swollen, indicating they had already been hit.

Aichi and Tsuki descended the stairs, and the sub-humans looked at them with sharp gazes. A bearian spoke in a dangerous tone:

"Elfrik… what the hell do you mean by bringing humans in? These rabbitians are also forbidden to step here… Depending on your answer, you might be punished at the elder council."

It seemed he was struggling to control his emotions, his fists trembling. Indeed, for sub-humans, humans were mortal enemies. Moreover, the rabbitians, who had hidden a taboo child, were also brought into the city. Not just the bearian, but the other sub-humans were also glaring at Elfrik.

However, Elfrik seemed to be listening to the wind.

"Nothing, I’m just following the oral tradition. You are the elders of various races, can’t you understand this situation?"

"What oral tradition! That’s just a lie! It has never been implemented since Fyabelugen was established!"

"So, this is the first time. It’s just a matter of this level. As elders, you should follow the oral tradition. If we, as elders, disregard the rules, how can we expect others to follow them?"

"Then, are you saying this human brat is qualified? He’s the one you can’t oppose?"

"That’s right."

Elfrik answered calmly throughout the questioning. The bearian stared at Elfrik and Aichi in disbelief.

In Fyabelugen, the representatives of a few races with higher racial abilities served as elders, and the national policies were decided by the council of elders. Judgments of a judicial nature were also carried out by the elders. The sub-humans gathered here seemed to be the current elders. However, there were differences in their understanding of the oral tradition.

Elfrik was one of those who valued the rules, including the oral tradition, but the other elders were different. Elfrik was a forestian, a sub-human race with an exceptionally long lifespan. In Aichi’s memory, forestians had an average lifespan of about 200 years. This meant that the current elders were much older than Elfrik, and thus their values differed. Incidentally, the average lifespan of sub-humans was about 100 years.

Therefore, the other elders, besides Elfrik, could not tolerate the presence of humans and sinners in the city.

"…So, let me test you right here and now."

The agitated bearian suddenly lunged at Aichi. Because it was so sudden, no one around could react. Elfrik, too, was surprised by the bearian’s sudden attack and widened his eyes.

In an instant, the distance was closed, and the bearian, a man over two meters tall and built like a mass of fat and muscle, delivered a powerful punch (Gohwan) at Aichi.

Among sub-humans, bearians were a race with particularly excellent endurance and arm strength. Their single strike could break a large tree, and as a representative of the race, he possessed exceptional destructive power. Everyone except Sia and the Horia clan and Tsuki seemed to see Aichi being turned into a meat paste.

However, in the next moment,

They were stunned by an impossible sight.

ZIDON!

It was because the bearian’s fist, accompanied by the impact sound, was firmly caught by Aichi’s left hand.

"That’s a gentle punch. But, it contains killing intent. Are you prepared?"

After saying that, Aichi manipulated his magic to increase the grip strength of his prosthetic hand. The bearian’s wrist made a crackling sound. The bearian, looking shocked, felt a sense of danger and tried to pull away.

"Gr, let go of me!"

The bearian struggled to pull his hand back, but Aichi, who was only half his height, remained immobile. In fact, at that moment, Aichi had used the metal plates hidden in his shoes to create nails through alchemy and nailed them into the floor to fix his feet. To the bearian, who didn’t know this, Aichi must have looked like an immovable tree.

Aichi silently injected magic, and the grip strength of his prosthetic hand increased dramatically.

BAKI!

"Zzz!?"

The bearian’s hand made a sound that it should never have made. The fact that he didn’t scream showed that he was indeed an elder-level character. However, the pain and shock caused a moment of stiffness, which Aichi would not let go.

Releasing his left hand, Aichi tightened it into a fist and charged into the bearian, who was retreating.

"Fly."

BANG!

Activating [Gohwan], Aichi used his prosthetic hand to strike. At the same time, the elbow part generated an impact, and the ejected shell flew through the air. The already powerful punch was further accelerated, greatly increasing its destructive power.

The mechanical fist, with immense power, mercilessly pierced the bearian’s abdomen, creating a shockwave on impact. As the name suggests, the bearian was blown away violently. He didn’t even have time to scream, his body folding into a “V” shape as he crashed through the wall behind him and disappeared into the void. After a while, a scream was heard from the ground.

Aichi used a jet gun from his elbow. The recoil from firing the built-in jet gun could also be used as propulsion. While attacking with Shuraku, it could also attack enemies behind. This time, he only used the propulsion. When used with [Gohwan], it could unleash tremendous power.

As everyone was frozen in shock, the sound of the arm mechanism, KASU!, rang out, and Aichi looked at the elders with a gaze filled with killing intent.

"Are you my enemies?"

No one dared to nod in response to this question.

After Aichi sent the bearian flying, Elfrik mediated to stop Aichi’s rampage. The bearian, with his internal organs ruptured and almost all his bones shattered, was in a critical condition, but his life was saved. To save his life, the sub-humans used a large amount of expensive healing potions. However, this bearian would never be able to fight like a warrior again.

Now, the current elders—Zel of the tigerians, Mao of the winged sub-humans, Ruwa of the foxians, Gusan of the earthians (commonly known as dwarves), and Elfrik of the forestians—sat facing Aichi. Aichi was accompanied by Tsuki, Sia, and Kam, and the Horia clan members sat stiffly behind them.

The expressions of the elders, except for Elfrik, showed strong tension. Considering that the experienced bearian (named Keen) was effortlessly defeated by Aichi, their tension was understandable.

"Well, what do you want us to do? I just want to go to the base of the great tree. As long as you don’t interfere, I won’t oppose you… If the sub-humans can’t unify their opinions, it would be terrible if I don’t know who to attack when something happens. I’m not a good person who would consider who’s who while fighting you."

Hearing Aichi’s words, the elders tensed up. They understood the implications of his words—he wouldn’t hesitate to fight all the sub-humans.

"Beating our companion to the point of being unable to move and then saying this… That’s not a friendly attitude, is it?"

Gusan groaned, looking as if he had bitten a bitter bug.

"What? What are you talking about? Wasn’t it that bear bastard who attacked with killing intent first? I was just defending myself. Being beaten to the point of being unable to move is his own fault."

"You! You bastard! Keen, Keen was always thinking about this country!"

"Does that justify trying to kill someone you just met without a word?"

"That, that! But!"

"Don’t misunderstand, I’m the victim, and that bear bastard is the perpetrator. As elders, you are responsible for judging criminals. Don’t get the blame wrong in this matter."

It seemed that Gusan and Keen were close, so even though he understood Aichi’s words rationally, he couldn’t accept them emotionally. However, Aichi wasn’t a good person who would consider his feelings.

"Gusan, I understand your feelings, but that’s enough. Everything he said is correct."

Hearing Elfrik’s words, Gusan, who was standing up, sat down with a twisted expression. He remained silent.

"Indeed, this boy has one of the emblems, and his strength is indeed capable of overcoming the great labyrinth. I, as an elder, recognize him as a qualified person according to the oral tradition."

This was said by Ruwa, the elder of the foxians. After looking at Aichi with his thin, long eyes, he looked around at the other elders to see what they would do.

Under the gaze of the foxian, although Mao of the winged sub-humans and Zel of the tigerians seemed to think a lot, they eventually agreed. Elfrik, as a representative, conveyed the message to Aichi:

"Nagumo Aichi. The elders of Fyabelugen unanimously recognize you as a qualified person according to the oral tradition. Therefore, our overall opinion is not to oppose you… We will also do our best to convey to the lower people not to attack you… However…"

"The prohibition is not absolute… right?"

"Yes, as you know, sub-humans don’t look favorably upon humans. In fact, they can be said to hate them. We cannot deny the possibility that some hot-blooded individuals will ignore the elder council’s decision. Especially the bearians, who have a high regard for Keen, are likely to be unable to control their anger…"

"So what?”

Even after hearing Elfrik’s words, Aichi’s expression didn’t change. He only did what he should do and would only do what he should do. His eyes showed this will. After understanding this will, Elfrik, as an elder, also looked at Aichi with a gaze filled with the same will.

"I hope you don’t kill those who attack you."

"…Are you asking me to show mercy to those who attack me with killing intent?"

"Yes, with your strength, it’s possible, right?"

"Given the skill level of that bear bastard, the answer is yes. But I have