At the library, Zich and his companions looked for any books concerning the ancient city for a while. Not long afterward, help from the allied forces arrived. Lyla handed them papers with inscriptions and asked them to find similar letters. There was a considerable number of elves, and they searched between books while carrying the papers. For those who didn’t have the papers, the elves made their own copies and handed them out.
The project progressed incredibly quickly, but not everything went smoothly.
Crumble!
Zich scowled and stared at the remains of the crumbled book in his hands. His grip hadn’t even been that strong. All he did was lightly grab it, but the book immediately disintegrated into tiny pieces like a dried-out leaf. Even if the library was well-maintained, it seemed like the power of age and long years nullified everything.
“Tch!” Zich clicked his tongue and threw his book in a nearby trash can. Inside the trash can, there were already piles of books in unrecognizable states. Then, Zich returned to his original position and took out another book. Thankfully, this book was in better condition compared to the last one. Although it looked like it would crumble like the last book if he handled it roughly, it didn’t seem like it would fall apart as soon as he grabbed it.
Zich opened the book and glossed over its letters. He thought, ‘This one doesn’t seem like it.’ The shape of the letters looked different from the Lyla’s inscriptions. Zich placed the book by his side and picked up another book.
“Ah, you were here?” He looked over the wall of books. Between the gaps of books that covered his view, he saw bright pupils and shaking hair. It was Lyla. As he was looking for books, it seemed that he had reached the place where Lyla was searching. Zich stared at Lyla and thought, ‘So even she could be the Demon Lord...’
It was unbelievable how Lyla, who hated the thought of Zich becoming a Demon Lord, could be a Demon Lord candidate—especially one who opposed Zich when he used to swing around Estellade as a hero.
“…What are you staring at me for?” Lyla asked when she noticed Zich’s gaze.
“…Do you perhaps have any frustrations about the world?”
“What?” The book in her hands slipped down, but she caught the book and glared at Zich.
“Why are you suddenly talking nonsense?”
“Or do you have the mindset that you should use all means necessary to reach your goal?”
“Do you think I’m you?!”
If Zich was close to her, she would have kicked him in the shin. But Lyla simply glared at Zich, walked towards a different location, and said, “You should look at another book in case you have a knack for talking nonsense.”
‘I can’t believe such a person is the Demon Lord.’ Was it really a meaningless dream?
‘No, like I thought before, it could be a lost memory; and you never know when a person will change.’ For example, who would’ve known that Zich Steelwall could imagine Zich Moore in the future? That was how unpredictable a person’s future was.
However, Zich didn’t try to dig up more information from Lyla beyond that. He had already organized his thoughts and mind, and he headed towards a different pile to look for books related to the ancient empire.
* * *
A considerable amount of time had passed since they arrived at the Great Adrowon Forest. After the war ended and they searched for books at the library during their stay in Mentis, it became time for Zich and his companions to leave.
“I will miss you!” With tears in her eyes, Leona hugged Zich and Lyla. Lyla patted her back, and Zich also tapped her shoulders once.
It was decided that Leona wouldn’t follow the rest of the group. In the first place, she had only left her family because the Lake’s Tear was stolen. Since the Lake’s Tear was returned to the tribe, there was no reason for her to leave the Great Forest. Of course, Leona also thought that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to continue traveling with Zich and his companions. However, the title of the shaman’s heir made her hesitate. This was mainly because the shaman position, which had simply overseen the ancestral worship before, had greatly risen in importance ever since the tree of fire was introduced; and the importance of the shaman’s heir position rose accordingly.
If it was like in the past, Leona would have tried to resist a bit. She wouldn’t have outrightly refused the candidacy, but she would have kept showing her displeasure; after all, as an elf, she was a young girl. However, the experience she underwent in the human world changed her and made her decide to take upon the position as the shaman’s heir. Thus, she couldn’t leave with Zich and his companions. Leona hugged Hans and Snoc once too and hugged Nowem tightly. Then, she backed away. With a big droplet hanging from her eye, she smiled vibrantly. “Even though we are separating now, I’m sure this won’t be our last time seeing each other.”
“Of course. I plan to use Kalpunar from time to time, so we can see each other then,” Lyla responded.
“Then, whenever you come, you have to see me, all right? Do you promise?”
“Of course!” After receiving affirmation from Lyla, Leona stared at Zich. “And you, Zich?”
Leona stared at him with a bit of anxiety, but Zich nodded his head. Thinking back to it, Zich and Leona’s relationship was very strange. Leona had worked with Glen Zenard to kill him before, but Zich honestly didn’t feel an ounce of grudge towards her for that.
‘Losers have to just keep their mouths shut. Also, I already collaborated with Lubella before, so why would it be any different for Leona?’
However, he didn’t have a good image of Leona; the fact that she appeared in his dreams as Brave’s companion was also unpleasant, but that was the extent of his thoughts about her. Moreover, Zich currently recognized her as one of his companions.
‘It won’t be hard to just meet her when the opportunity comes up.’ For that reason, Zich was able to make an easy reply. Of course, Lyla’s intense gaze at Zich to nod also played a big part.
Leona loudly said, “Thanks!” Then she walked back and moved next to her family.
Leona’s family quietly watched Leona say her farewells to Zich and his companions. The Queen hugged Leona and wiped away her tears. Romanne also rubbed Leona’s head. The only ones who were outside were the royals of the Lake Tribe. The other kings had already finished their greetings last night. This space was for Zich and his companions and Leona and her family to say goodbye.
The King took one step forward. “I want to express my gratitude once again for helping us.”
Zich replied, “Your Majesty, you thank us too much. We also gained a lot from this.” They were able to gain various pieces of information such as information about the ancient empire and the tree of fire. They definitely reaped a big harvest from this trip.
“Moreover, you let us take books from Kalpunar.” Thanks to Zich and Lyla’s efforts and support from the soldiers sent by the allied forces, they were able to find a large amount of books that had similar letters as the tablet.
However, they weren’t able to figure out the books’ contents. They also couldn’t transcribe all the books they found; and even if they transcribed all the books, they could make mistakes since they didn’t know the meanings behind the letters. However, they also couldn’t just stay in Mentis all day and try to decode the letters. The elves recognized Zich and Lyla’s dilemma and let Zich and his companions borrow all the books they found.
It was a very surprising development. As Leona’s brother said, the books in Kalpunar were treated as treasures by the elves. but the elves easily let Zich and his companions borrow them for a while. This clearly indicated how much the elves in the Great Adrowon Forest were thankful to Zich and his companions.
“If you need anything more, come whenever you want. I’ve already finished talking with the other kings. Even if you come back after destroying all the books you borrowed, we’ll let you borrow more books.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Zich and his companions also finished their greetings with the other members of the royal family. Romanne was also very regretful that they, especially Lyla, were leaving. Romanne and Lyla had gotten close after working with each other to bring out the mana from the Lake’s Tear.
“If something difficult comes up, ask us for help right away. Even if the other tribes refuse, the Lake Tribe will always help you all.” Romanne looked at them with kind eyes as if she was looking at her own grandchildren.
After finishing their farewell greetings, Zich and his companions left to go their way. Like the first time they came to the Lake Tribe’s capital city, D’niel guided them out of the forest. Thanks to his work in this war, D’niel returned back to his original position as one of the royal guards. However, for just this time, it was decided that D’niel would guide Zich and his companions to the edge of the Lake Tribe’s boundary. This was an act of goodwill from the Lake Tribe and D’niel also actively volunteered for this position.
“Let’s go.” D’niel walked forward and Zich and his companions followed him from behind. Like this, Zich and his companions began walking out of the Great Adrowon Forest.
* * *
After reaching the Lake Tribe’s last village, Zich and his companions also separated from D’niel. Now, the only ones left were themselves.
“It feels a bit empty.” Lyla stole a few glances to her side. The space where Leona used to be was now empty. Even though they hadn’t hung out for long, it seemed as if Lyla had gotten very attached to Leona.
‘It’s understandable for Lyla.’ Since Lyla didn’t have her memories, the people who were close to her could be counted on one hand. Lyla was also somewhat rich in emotions, so it was not surprising that she felt very lonely at seeing Leona’s empty spot.
‘A person like that became a Demon Lord?’ Even though Zich knew that people could change, he couldn’t help but wonder about this.
After wiping a tear, Lyla asked Zich, “What do you think happened to the Iron Tribe?”
“It seems like the other tribes would be managing them, and they’re going to get payment for the damage they received.”
“I feel bad for ordinary elves. Those elves must have no relation to Renu or the ruling forces.”
In the far past, ordinary Iron Tribe elves might have pressured and unfairly treated the elves from other tribes, but it was unreasonable to expect the current Iron Tribe elves to pay for the actions of their distant ancestors.
“If Renu just stayed quiet, they would have continued to enjoy peace. Well, it seems like the other tribes don’t plan to do anything harsh against common Iron Tribe elves.”
“Well, that’s good news.” Lyla felt relieved. “Then where are we going now?”
“Hmm.”
‘Should I try going to Shootuol?’
It was the place that was mentioned in his dreams and the place that the Demon Lord, who seemed like Lyla, completely destroyed.
‘I don’t think it will be a bad idea to try looking around there.’
However, Lyla shattered Zich’s thought. “Perhaps, if it’s all right, could we go to Sunewick?”
“Sunewick?” It was a city that Zich also knew; no, it was an extremely famous city. Hans, who didn’t know much about the world’s cities, and even Snoc knew about Sunewick.
“I thought that information about Clowon might be in that city. I might also get help translating the books from Kalpunar as well.”
“Yeah, that’s right.” Sunewick was famous for being the center of research and knowledge. However, there was one trait that made it renown all over the world.
“Out of everything, it’s the place with the mage’s tower.” The mage’s tower was the ‘holy ground for all mages’ in the world—and that was the nickname that most people used for Sunewick.