Chapter 111

Chapter 111 - Coastal Bay (1)

Although the adventurer tied to the chair was severely injured from beatings, he did not particularly seem to feel pain.

"Ugggh."

Looking at his bright red bloodshot eyes, frequently shaking head, and parted lips, the answer was roughly evident.

"How many days has this guy not slept for?"

"It has been roughly 50 hours."

The mercenary who checked the hourglass answered.

Splash!

"Aaaargh..."

In the meantime, the other mercenary was throwing water over the adventurer who was just about to fall asleep.

"He will die at this rate. Put him to sleep for now since we might need him again later."

"Understood. We will put him in a cell."

Exiting the interrogation room, Eugene ran into Cassandra.

"My lord. I came after hearing the betrayed adventurer is here."

'She's a capable woman.'

He didn't make a special secret of it, but he hadn't announced it either. How did she, who had barely arrived at the castle, know about matters here?

"If you want revenge, could you hold back for a bit? Because I want to keep him alive until we raid the base of the slave traders who colluded with him."

"How do you view me? Naturally, I possess that level of discernment."

Cassandra smiled and waved her hand dismissively.

"I came to offer my help with the interrogation."

Behind her stood a woman wearing a red robe. Her covering every part except her eyes exuded a fully suspicious vibe.

"And the lady behind you?"

"She is an interrogation specialist. Her skills at making prisoners open their mouths and spit out information can probably be counted on one hand on the continent. She has practically reached the realm of art."

The woman wearing the robe politely bowed with both hands gathered at her navel.

"I appreciate the thought, but we have already obtained all the necessary information."

"Oh my. We are a step late."

Creak.

The door opened, and two mercenaries dragged out the badly messed-up adventurer.

Blocking the mercenaries' path, Cassandra leaned her upper body forward with her hands behind her back. She appreciated the blood-soaked adventurer's face as if enjoying it.

"Information gained through pain and injuries cannot be 100 percent trusted. It also takes a long time. Will you please call me next time there is an interrogation? Aside from efficiency, it will be an entertaining spectacle for you as well, my lord."

Eugene could sense a weak magical energy from the woman wearing the robe. At her waist was a bag containing incense and sealed flasks.

Perhaps it was a type of skill to extract confessions by messing with the mind without violence. Combining magic and physical materials.

Eugene was already a magician and was in the midst of further awakening his eyes to mysteries by communing with the Moving Castle. He couldn't help but be interested in such secret arts.

"I'll remember that. I will be sure to call you if the opportunity arises."

"I absolutely will not disappoint you."

Bringing her right foot behind her left and placing her hand on her chest, Cassandra bowed her head. Her nails, dyed purple like her eyes, sparkled under the light.

* * *

More time is needed until the castle's next teleportation.

-Sir Knight. Shall we go hunting together?

-Again? You went yesterday and the day before yesterday.

Eugene had to suffer from Rex and the tribal warriors constantly pestering him to go hunting.

-Aw. Don't be like that. There are many guys who want to see your strong bow, Sir Knight. They find it amazing how the arrow flies perfectly straight.

-Perhaps because we are on the border of a desert and a jungle, there are many unique beasts. No matter how much we hunt, bastards we have never seen before keep popping out.

-Today is difficult. Just go amongst yourselves.

Shaking off the tribal warriors clinging to him like puppies, Eugene headed to Valda's laboratory.

Completely engrossed in the perfect nest she recently acquired, she became a recluse. Thanks to that, Eugene had to visit her personally if he even wanted to see her face once.

The laboratory he visited like that was full of vitality. It was partly because things neglected for a long time had been cleaned up neatly, but also because the scent of people strongly wafted from everywhere.

Many Blackhand tribe girls had entered as apprentices to both assist Valda's research and receive her teachings.

"Grab the stem and gently pull so the roots do not get damaged. Be careful not to ruin the leaves either."

"Yes!"

In a spacious indoor cultivation room, women wearing short skirts were harvesting herbs. They were one adult Elf and ten adolescent Dark Elf girls.

The interesting point was that everyone was stepping on the soil barefoot.

"We are children of the forest. When handling plants, relying only on the senses of eyes or hands is letting talent rot. That is the method of those unblessed by nature."

Was Valda also an Elf through and through? Pride lingered in her voice.

It also seemed as if a faint sense of superiority, something she usually didn't show in front of Eugene, was mixed in.

Valda's pure white, beautiful feet groped the high-quality soil surface here and there.

"Our skin is a window that communicates with nature. Through your feet, feel the roots hidden beneath the dirt. Their depth or shape."

The girls carefully groped the soil around the herbs they grabbed with their feet. Their diverse insteps and toes moved adorably.

"Oh! You came?"

"It is truly difficult to see your face these days."

"Teaching someone is far more enjoyable than I thought."

Valda patted the heads of the practicing girls and approached Eugene.

"I know a bit about herbs myself, but this is my first time seeing this harvesting method."

"You are aware that precious herbs lose their efficacy even if their roots are slightly damaged, right?"

"Of course."

"However, herbs containing the power of magic go one step further. Even if not a single root is damaged, their quality changes depending on how they are pulled out."

Valda placed a freshly dug herb into Eugene's hand.

Magical energy could be felt from the herb. Surprisingly, a thread of mana was connected from the tip of the root to the soil of the cultivation room.

"Magical herbs are a kind of medium. The mysteries of the world clumped together in the form of a plant. Such things, if you make a mistake, the mystery leaks out through the roots the moment they are pulled."

"I am watching exactly that happen right now."

Eugene watched the girls carefully pulling out herbs one by one in the cultivation room.

As a knight and also a magician, Eugene felt a dissonance of mystery bursting between the herbs and the soil.

Something distinct from the sound of roots being pulled along while brushing off dirt with a squelch! It was a spiritual rupture that could only be heard with the ears of the mind, not fleshly ears.

"Yes!"

"It's clean. Doesn't look like any part got hurt."

While the Dark Elf girls rejoiced at the roots without a single scratch, Valda smiled bitterly.

"You cannot be full on the first bite."

The herbs were only fine on the outside; most of their internal mana had been sucked out into the soil.

"It's not like you can become a magician just because you want to, right? Is it alright to take in and train so many like this?"

"Naturally, I wouldn't be able to turn them into magicians like me. Unfortunately, none of those children possess such talent. But you know of beings who handle mysteries even without talent."

After thinking for a moment, Eugene soon realized the answer.

"It is witches."

"Even if training a magician arbitrarily is impossible, a witch is entirely possible. Because herbology and alchemy belong to the realm of effort."

"That worked out well. You gain assisting hands, Valda, and the Blackhand tribe raises competent witches."

"It will be of help to you in the future as well. Since witches are beings that can substitute for alchemists."

Materials obtained from monsters such as blood, hides, and organs. Potions, scrolls, and immeasurably diverse combinations of herbs.

Alchemists are an essential presence in dealing with lucrative merchandise. To the point where many judge the scale of cities and towns by the existence of an Alchemy Guild.

"I plan to establish an academic society right here where dozens of witches collaborate."

"Like an Ivory Tower."

On the continent, there exist bases where magicians or alchemists gather to jointly research or exchange ideas.

It could be called the magician version of a Knight's House. Although it has a much more closed off and closer to an 'every man for himself' structure.

"It will be more than that. Towers of magicians are naturally built in places where mysterious energies condense. However, searching anywhere in the world, a better place than here will not exist."

"If that happens in the future, the position of principal will be yours, Valda."

"I appreciate the thought, but I will decline."

"Eh? Why so?"

Valda, who hedged for a moment, cutely lowered her gaze.

"To be called a principal... That is a title that makes one sound too old."

For some reason, Valda seemed to subtly care about being older lately.

"How about Professor then?"

"That's also a no."

"Is that so? Doesn't Female Professor sound wonderful? Intelligent and beautiful."

"...It is still merely a workshop with just one magician and ten apprentice witches. Handing out titles seems too hasty."

Valda felt the current conversation was embarrassing and childish.

To discuss titles talking about a distant future that hasn't even arrived. It wasn't even playing house for country boys and girls dreaming of success in the city.

But honestly, she didn't hate this childish sensation.

"I actually have something to give you."

Shaking her head to cast off stray thoughts, Valda brought two small bundles from the corner of the lab.

"Oh! Are they gifts?"

"Yes. Because you should also start being careful."

"Careful of what?"

Opening the parcels, there were indigo and red pills inside respectively.

"It is birth control medicine."

"..."

Eugene had a response of 'What the heck out of nowhere,' but Valda raised her index finger with an infinitely serious face.

"I have no intention of binding your freedom, but you must be careful. Since your position is what it is now, recklessly producing bloodlines will cause problems regarding succession."

"I am well aware of that much. I am not a guy that utterly lacks self-control, am I?"

"Of course I know. But a battle between reason and desire is infinitely unreasonable."

Valda reached out and stroked Eugene's cheek.

"It is purely a confrontation between the defender and the attacker. Even if reason defends a thousand times, it cannot win. It only continues infinite draws. But desire only needs to win once."

"So taking this medicine prevents that?"

Eugene placed one indigo and one red pill on his palm.

"The indigo one is for men; taking it a day in advance will block 90 percent. Suppose a faint indigo light mixes in when you urinate after taking it... That means it is working. Conversely, if the color returns, it has lost its efficacy."

"Then this one must be for women?"

As Eugene pointed to the red pill, Valda nodded.

"Thanks to the excellent facilities here, that one is even safer. You can consider it 100 percent. Whether taken before or after."

The technological level of this world is basically similar to the Middle Ages. However, some fields developed abnormally, and biotechnology was one of them.

The reason this field, which does not suit the era's background at all, developed is simple. It was the power of love.

As diverse intelligent races lived together harmoniously, countless people who fell in love transcending racial boundaries appeared.

When a man and a woman fall in love, wanting to see the fruits of it is human nature. However, while some couples easily had children, others failed to the bitter end.

In cases where the failing couples were people holding power, that turned into a terrifying obsession.

Pouring massive amounts of money and manpower, they ended up researching why they couldn't conceive or what they had to do to have a child.

Naturally, in that process, knowledge about species and life couldn't help but increase.

Countless research on how to make a child conversely developed techniques on methods to prevent children as well.

When the element of magic was added to that, inventions surpassing the modern medicine in Eugene's memory would emerge.

"I have never heard of birth control medicine taken by men."

"It is rarely made because exceedingly rare materials are needed. But there is nothing impossible here."

After looking at the cultivation room with satisfaction, Valda wrapped the bundles and placed them in Eugene's bosom.

"I have seen countless families undergo dissonance over unintended heirs. You must not forget that your seeds are now intertwined with far too many rights."

"Uh, hmm... Understood."

Visiting to see a friend, he suddenly found himself receiving sex education unfit for his age. Eugene had no choice but to smile awkwardly.

* * *

Shortly after, the Moving Castle finished preparations to leave the hinterlands of Samur.

"It has truly been a long time since we actually went to a sea."

The slave traders involved in this conspiracy were an organization operating while based in a city close to the sea.

Because if they kidnapped Cassandra's group and immediately loaded them onto ships to sell them across the sea, the Blackhand clan would have no recourse.

Not to mention rescue, just tracking down who the culprits were would be difficult.

However, affairs of the world didn't always go as intended. Overstepping one's boundaries was bound to follow a price.

When the colossal castle navigated through the gaps of space and appeared in the world once again.

Sploosh!

Swoooosh.

The residents could faintly hear the sound of waves coming through the cracks of the opening castle gates.

It was an echoing sound containing a refreshment incomparable to the inland sea of northern Roman.

"Why is the water surface sparkling like that?"

"The air tastes weird."

Not just humans, but Dwarves, Beastkin, and Dark Elves were all amazed.

Yellow sandy beaches and endlessly unfolding deep blue seas. White foamy waves. Palm trees they were seeing for the first time in their lives.

At the southern tip of the continent. A new world existing beyond the deserts and jungles unfolded before them.