Time Healer Ceres
Chapter 39
Chapter 39
“By the way, where were you?”
Why did she go outside so recklessly?
What exactly did she think she could do out there in a situation like this?
Cheion ran a hand roughly through his hair.
He had to find her before things got dangerous.
Surely, she hadn't already been attacked by a monster…
Woooooong!
“Huh?”
“What is it?”
“The trees are…”
It was then. Along with a strange vibration in the air, the black trees that had been veiling the sky and shrouding the surroundings in darkness began to slowly shrink away.
This phenomenon signaled only one thing.
“…The boss is dead?”
There was no way the Baqura could have been annihilated in such a short time. Even so, the fact that the Black Forest was disappearing meant nothing else but that the boss had been killed.
“Exactly who did it?”
Regardless of their astonishment, the surroundings grew bright at an ever-increasing pace.
* * *
“Unnie!”
Pat-pat-pat!
As soon as Ceres entered the shop, Yulia ran over and threw herself into her arms. The child’s eyes reddened in an instant as she clung to her, as if she had been worried sick when Ceres went outside.
“My Lady, are you hurt anywhere?”
“Are you alright?”
The others were also busy fussing over Ceres’s safety.
What had she been doing outside? Had she gone to secretly check on the mercenaries’ wellbeing? Really? No, why on earth would she do that?
“Yeah, I’m perfectly fine.”
Ceres ignored their questioning looks and comforted the child for a moment. Her violet eyes lightly scanned the interior of the shop.
There were no signs of an attack, but something strange was spread out.
“What’s this Defense Magic cast around the shop? Did you break the Defense Stone I gave you?”
“Ah, a person named Cheion stopped by and then left.”
“Why him?”
Surely he hadn't come to eat in a situation like this.
“He asked so earnestly for the Defense Stone My Lady gave us… He cast a barrier around the shop instead before he left.”
“The Defense Stone?”
At the butler Colin’s explanation, Ceres clicked her tongue. Tsk.
Of all things, he had to get caught by that guy. She had a feeling she was going to get caught up in something annoying again…
“It looks like the Black Forest has been cleared.”
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they saw the clear sky revealing itself again.
“I’m glad the boss was caught quickly. Since it happened inside the Capital, the resolution speed is incredibly fast.”
“I hope the other places didn't suffer too much damage.”
“I agree.”
Jay and Mark looked out the window with anxious eyes, worried about the surrounding shops. A Black Forest in such a busy district—could all those people have evacuated safely? And what about the countless shops lined up endlessly? Among the buildings visible through the window, damaged ones could be seen here and there.
“Doesn't the state compensate for the damage caused by the Black Forest?”
“That’s right. They compensate for everything.”
Colin nodded at Jay’s question. Damage caused by the Black Forest was 100% compensated by the state.
“Really? Everything?”
This was news to her. Was it like that before?
Ceres’s eyes widened at their conversation. When she lived as the Head of the Family of Elercia County, she had only ever roamed through the Black Forest; she had never taken much interest in minor compensations, so she didn't know much about this side of things.
“Then would they cover this, too?”
“…Pardon?”
Ceres pointed subtly to one side of the shop. The remains of a broken chair were still scattered there.
“Let’s ask them to compensate for this as well.”
“……”
…But My Lady, you were the one who broke that. It wasn't because of a monster. Everyone had to let out awkward smiles as they watched Ceres drag the chair outside the shop, where the monsters had been roaming, determined to get her compensation.
“I shall handle it, My Lady!”
Only Colin, the Drow Barony's faithful butler, actively agreed with her, saying it was a great idea.
Chapter 11. The Head of the Elercia County
“You don't know who took down the Baqura Boss?”
“Yes. We investigated immediately, but no one saw them.”
At the edge of Delasi 1st Street lay a giant rat, the size of several buildings combined, dead. It was the boss of this Black Forest.
When the Black Forest disappears, the monsters that appeared with it also vanish. However, monsters that were already dead remained where they were. By the time Crown Prince Aseraian arrived leading his troops, the situation was already over.
He felt suspicious at the incredibly fast resolution, but soon thought it might be possible. He had heard that mercenaries frequently visited Delasi 1st Street.
“Aseraian-nim, look at that.”
“…What is that?”
A wooden stick?
Stuck exactly in the center of the boss’s forehead was a wooden stick commonly found anywhere. Not a single other trace of an attack could be found.
In short, it meant the boss had been handled by a single strike to its vital point. And not even with a sword, but with that common wooden stick.
If someone had that kind of skill, it would only make sense if at least the Mercenary Guild Master were here.
“And you’re saying they aren't here?”
Among the mercenaries who were inside the Black Forest at the time, there was no one with this level of skill. There were only ordinary, average mercenaries. Then who on earth…?
“Aseraian-nim.”
“Hmm?”
At the lieutenant’s low call, the Crown Prince looked up from his thoughts. His eyes met a familiar figure.
Could just the appearance of one person feel this chilling?
‘The saying that one’s whole body might freeze just by touching him wasn't just empty talk.’
The one carefully examining the corpse of the Baqura Boss with an indifferent expression was none other than Grand Duke Persia, Kainel.
“……”
Kainel could not easily take his eyes off the wooden stick embedded in the exact center of the boss’s head.
“Kainel-nim?”
After a long time passed without him moving, his aide Dell called out to him cautiously. Was there something strange?
“Why…”
“Pardon?”
Dell could not hide his bewilderment. It was because he read the confusion in Kainel’s eyes. It was the first time he had seen such a look from him. What exactly had he seen?
“…You say you don't know who it was?”
At Kainel’s question, thrown out after a long silence, Aseraian’s lieutenant flinched. It was because Kainel’s gaze was directed exactly at him.
“Yes. No one saw the person who handled the boss.”
The lieutenant spoke calmly, trying his best not to seem nervous. Why was the Grand Duke curious about who killed the boss of the Black Forest?
‘Him, of all people?’
As the Grand Duke of the Persia Grand Duchy, where the Black Forest appeared at all hours, he must have seen bosses of this level handled commonly. It wasn't exactly something to be surprised about.
“……”
Kainel turned away immediately as if he had no further questions. His aide Dell hurried after him as he left the area without hesitation.
“Is there something strange?”
“Well. Nothing particularly…”
Wondering if they had missed something, Aseraian and his lieutenant thoroughly examined the Baqura Boss’s corpse. But as expected, the only unusual thing was that crude wooden stick stuck in the center of its head.
“They didn't even take the Magic Stone.”
At the lieutenant’s words, Aseraian’s gaze also moved to where the monster’s heart was located. That area was perfectly clean, without a single wound. Usually, after a monster dies, a Magic Stone can be harvested, and they are generally located near the heart. Consequently, the heart area of a dead monster was always hacked to pieces.
“What shall we do?”
Normally, the one who kills the monster takes the Magic Stone that comes from it. That was an implicit rule. But since they didn't know who killed the boss…
“Take it out for now.”
“Yes, sir.”
They couldn't just leave it behind. If it was a Magic Stone from a Baqura Boss, its value was considerable. A moment later, the heart area was sliced open by a knight’s sword, and a reddish Magic Stone was pulled out. The eyes of the people around them naturally gathered on the Magic Stone, which was larger than an adult’s fist.
“Continue to look into what happened.”
“Yes, sir.”
“What about Cheion?”
Having roughly finished up the situation, Aseraian asked for news of Cheion, who had headed here before him. Honestly, at first, he had wondered if all of this was Cheion’s doing. With Cheion’s skill, he was more than capable of clearing the Black Forest in a short time. However, no traces of magic could be found on the boss’s body.
“It seems he went there, as usual.”
At the lieutenant’s matter-of-fact words, a short sigh escaped Aseraian’s mouth.
“The stew shop?”
* * *
“Hey!”
“…Hey?”
Since when were we on ‘Hey’ terms?
Ceres made a face of utter disbelief as she saw Cheion approaching her with glaring eyes the moment she entered the shop. Why did she have to be yelled at right now? What was the reason for him being so angry?
“Exactly where were you?! Do you have any idea how much I looked for you?”
