Chapter 114

Elcoco swiftly unfastened the necklace. She wrapped the cord around her wrist and lightly gripped the accessory that emitted magic between her thumb and index finger.

“Yes, yes! I’m feeling it.”

It was time for the camera Flan had given her to shine.

The trees that had been rampaging with enough force to collapse the mountain all turned in unison.

Elcoco captured the moving trees, Quilbion pointing at something, and the running Idril in a single frame.

She wanted to approach closer and capture it in a photograph, but it looked dangerous at a glance.

Moreover, vibrations had been intermittently rising from beneath her feet for a while now. At first, they were weak vibrations she could barely feel even while concentrating, but now they’d grown strong enough to shake her body.

“Elcoco!”

“Young master.”

Ruki came running with soldiers in tow.

“The ground shook, didn’t it?”

“Yes. It’s not because of the trees.”

Ruki was watching the scene while fully tense. Elcoco moved her circled right hand toward Ruki’s face.

As if peering through a telescope, she looked at Ruki’s face through the hole made with her right hand before putting strength into her fingers.

Mana sparked and the camera activated.

“Why are you doing that again……”

“It’s an errand for Grandma. You know that.”

“I know. But why are you capturing my face?”

“To bring out the sense of realism, you need the spectators’ faces too. Ah, over there!”

Elcoco quickly shifted her gaze.

The trees that had been pounding the mountain gathered in one place. They grasped each other’s branches like shaking hands, then leaped simultaneously.

“Wow.”

Elcoco captured the moment while exclaiming in admiration.

Flan would applaud if she saw this.

BOOM!

Along with a roar, dust rose. Even the shockwave transmitted.

“Fall back!”

Along with Ruki’s voice, she could see the soldiers moving. Elcoco climbed onto the roof while spitting out the sand entering her mouth.

A fireball formed above the dust that had surged as if to cover the sky.

“……Good heavens.”

She kept activating the camera. There were about 200 photographs that could be stored. Normally she couldn’t even fill 10 before returning it to Flan, but today the capacity seemed insufficient.

“Elcoco! It’s dangerous, come down!”

“I’m fine! And if I go down, I won’t capture the right angle!”

“Angle? What angle!”

“An artist’s angle! Anyway, young master, stay clear!”

The fireball grew larger and larger. It looked a bit smaller from far away, but up close, it would feel like a small sun had risen.

She moved her pupils.

She could see Idril running with all his might. A wise choice, since getting caught in it would mean death.

After capturing Idril’s urgent appearance in the camera, she focused on Quilbion again.

The sight of him standing in empty air looked like a god. No, was he a demon descending to destroy the world?

The sizzling fireball began descending.

It was a slow speed.

Meanwhile, the trees gathered together scattered in all directions.

The fireball fell toward the hollowed mountain slope.

She put full strength into her circled right hand to capture the decisive moment.

The fireball struck the ground.

There was no explosion.

Like water sprinkled on dry earth, the blazing fire squeezed between the ground.

At that moment, Quilbion turned his head and looked at Elcoco.

Quilbion’s lips moved. Though the sound didn’t reach from the distance, she understood at once what he was trying to say.

“E-everyone!”

Elcoco jumped down from the roof.

“Run!”

No detailed explanation was needed.

Everyone was watching, after all.

The fireball that had clearly disappeared would cause something.

While running, she glanced back. Flan liked passionate moments. If she captured just this one well, she could see Grandma’s rare smile……

Elcoco felt her body floating. The glasses she was wearing swayed greatly and her vision shook.

She’d forgotten.

I’m physically clumsy.

Just before becoming one with the ground, a robust arm grabbed Elcoco’s collar.

“Be careful.”

Elcoco looked at Idril. A great idea popped into her head.

“Give me a piggyback ride!”

Idril frowned but granted the request. Elcoco turned her body while being carried.

Quilbion floating in the sky was raising his hand.

Now!

She positioned her right hand before her eyes.

Soon, the ground that had swallowed the flames spewed fire.

Szzzzzzz!

A dizzying sound and heat transmitted.

Elcoco captured Quilbion standing atop the billowing flames with her camera.

An absurd laugh came out at the surreal sight.

“I should start praying from today.”

“For what?”

Idril answered while running.

“That compassion remains in that person’s heart. If not, please gift him some.”

Elcoco had a terrifying imagination.

The imagination of suddenly being swept away by flames without knowing why and disappearing.

It had a strangely realistic feel that made her body tremble slightly.

“As long as that person’s alive, it’ll be fine.”

“That person? Who?”

“The person Mr. Quil was watching over. I don’t know well either. The memory remains faintly.”

“Can we help that person? Many are better than one.”

“It’s probably not something we can help with. And Mr. Quil said it. We need to prepare for something else.”

Idril stopped.

Elcoco descended from Idril’s back and looked at the ground dyed crimson.

A sea of scarlet flames was burning the houses.

And shortly after.

With a scream that seemed like it would tear eardrums, something massive burst from the ground.

The thing that leaped while splitting the sea of fire had a serpent’s form.

For some reason, blue chains were wrapped around its elongated body, and perhaps because of the chains, the giant serpent couldn’t escape above the flames.

“Did Lord Quilbion create those chains too?”

“No, that’s not it.”

Idril said.

Then who created those blue chains, and why were they restraining the giant monster?

-Whooooong!

The giant serpent poured out a strange sound.

Elcoco covered her ears but soon realized it was vibrations transmitting through her entire body, not her ears.

“Get as far away as possible!”

Ruki led the soldiers. Several soldiers had their legs give out and sat down, but when Ruki approached and dragged them, they soon stood up and ran.

“Let’s fall back too. The aftereffects of the force seem like they’ll reach here.”

“Understood.”

While retreating backward, she kept activating the camera. Perhaps because it was a magical artifact Flan had obtained, it showed no problems despite continuous use.

The camera she’d bought with money before heated up and broke after capturing about 10 consecutive images.

“Mr. Idril.”

She called to Idril standing beside her, staring blankly ahead. She captured the moment Idril turned his head in a photograph.

“Why am I……”

“Sense of realism.”

“What?”

“There’s that kind of thing.”

The giant serpent that had been rampaging while bound by blue chains dug into the ground again and went below.

Quilbion, who’d been watching the serpent from the air, turned his body.

Elcoco tilted her head while watching Quilbion approaching.

She’d thought he flew through the sky like a bird, but looking closely, he seemed to be running while stepping on something invisible.

Fascinating.

Another shot of Quilbion dropping from the sky.

She also captured Quilbion staring blankly as a photograph.

“Mr. Ruki.”

“Y-yes.”

Ruki approached while completely frozen. The young master must be scared too.

Elcoco looked at the ruined scene. Flames sweeping, a giant serpent rampaging.

Quilbion was Quilbion, but what was that giant serpent?

It was when she was capturing Quilbion conversing with Ruki in the camera. The camera emitted a subtle light before breaking.

Well, she’d captured enough.

She unwrapped the cord from her wrist and put it around her neck again.

“Return! Make haste!”

The conversation seemed finished as the soldiers moved. They gathered the tents used for several days and saddled the resting horses.

Quilbion approached while brushing off his hands.

“I knew you were a scary person, but you were more, more, more scary than I imagined.”

She spoke while observing Quilbion’s expression.

“For someone saying that, you kept sending something at me. It felt like tapping the back of my head. That thing around your neck, what is it?”

“It’s a camera. Don’t tell me you don’t know what a photograph is?”

“I know. It’s just my first time seeing one shaped like that. Where’s the lens?”

“Why would a camera need a lens? The lens is what I need for the glasses I wear.”

It was incomprehensible.

Quilbion shrugged and looked at Idril.

“How did it look to you, Mr. Idril?”

“A mass of curses, a giant dogma. And those chains……”

Idril turned around. His gaze reached Ruki.

“For someone who said their eyes weren’t good, you saw properly.”

“This got complicated.”

“We’ll have to talk with the lord first.”

Elcoco squinted her eyes before adjusting her glasses and asking.

“Could you explain so even an ordinary person like me can understand?”

Naturally, the request was ignored.

Quilbion headed toward the carriage without a word, and Idril followed.

Elcoco let out a small sigh and took a step.

“Young master, what did you talk about with Lord Quilbion earlier……”

“Let’s talk when we get back.”

His expression was complicated. Though she didn’t know what it was about, Elcoco told Ruki to hang in there.

“Yeah, thanks.”

“I’ll make you cocoa later.”

After watching Ruki hurry, she boarded the carriage. Quilbion was looking out the window, Idril was looking at a strangely shaped rat sculpture.

“It was in the room, right? What’s it used for?”

“It’s the great deity who guards the mountain. It’s an object used when offering rites or blessings.”

“A smiling rat is a great deity?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Unique. Ah, I didn’t mean that badly. I’ve never seen a religion that worships rats.”

“You wouldn’t have. Because I made this.”

Idril handed over the sculpture.

Elcoco lifted the sculpture with both hands and matched it to eye level.

A smiling rat.

Looking closely, the eyeball color was red. If he went so far as to paint it separately, there must be some symbolism.

“The more I look at it, the cuter it gets.”

“I’ll make you one later.”

“Oh, I never refuse gifts.”

Elcoco turned the rat’s face toward Quilbion before extending it forward.

“What do you think, Lord Quilbion?”

“About what?”

“This rat…… no, guardian deity. Doesn’t it look a bit cute?”

“I hate rats. When I lived in the warehouse, I couldn’t sleep because of rats.”

“You lived in a warehouse?”

“Yeah. Because I was a slave. A cheaply sold slave.”

“……”

It was a heavy story, yet for some reason Idril smiled gently.

“Tell me like that, bit by bit. Things about you, Mr. Quil.”

“It won’t be interesting to hear.”

“Still, if you keep talking, you might become a bit more comfortable. Of course, I no longer have the arrogant thought of understanding or comforting you, Mr. Quil. I’ll just…… listen to the story. The vast story.”

Quilbion glanced at Idril before smiling slightly.

“The world would run well if there were more people like you, Mr. Idril. A world where small acts of goodwill mesh like gears and turn. Even just imagining it is nice.”

“I’ll do my part too.”

Elcoco spoke while raising her hand.

Quilbion scratched under his nose before closing his eyes.

“When one word of agreement would do, what a petty human.”

Elcoco grumbled while looking out the window.

“But, what was that serpent really?”

As expected, there was no one to answer.