Magic Gems Gourmet

Chapter 256

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ED: LonelyMatter

Chapter 256 – Ruins in Tropical Regions Part 1

A few days later, they arrived at the port town of Roundheart as planned.

This was the first time either of them had crossed the sea.

“Hey, Leonard,”

“…What is it?”

Leonard looked unhappy.

He had been quiet since they boarded the ship.

The other Ishtalikans thought to themselves.

“I see. The future prime minister is deeply devoted to His Highness.”

They came to this conclusion because their destination was Heim.

Leonard frowned, his eyes flickering and his expression resentful. He constantly looked out the window.

During the journey, it had become clear that he would occasionally stand up suddenly and leave his seat.

This behavior was probably due to Heim’s past actions toward Ain and his hatred of Heim for it.

However, his friend Batz had a different opinion.

No, he was not annoyed because of something like that.

“Want another dose of motion sickness medicine? It’s mixed with fruit juice, so it’s easy to drink.”

“…I’m sorry. I’d appreciate it.”

He was seasick.

He was suffering from seasickness due to the long voyage.

He was simply too weak for sea travel.

Seeing him accept it so readily, Batz looked extremely uncomfortable and turned his gaze in the opposite direction.

“Well, it’s a nicer town than I expected.”

“Hmm… Phew. Yeah, you’re right.”

Then, Batz noticed something:

The remains of the World Tree of Gluttony were towering over the old capital of Heim.

“Is that what Ain used to be? It’s huge.”

“It’s just as you’d expect from Ain-sama. There’s nothing wrong with it.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. You get all cocky as soon as you take your motion sickness medicine…”

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

The plan was tightly scheduled yet carefully arranged.

After meeting up with Tigre, the two of them left the port town of Roundheart as part of an investigative team accompanied by the knights of Ishtalika.

They rode their horses toward the location Elena had specified, spending the entire day on horseback.

“It’s getting hotter little by little.”

Batz wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Their destination was the only tropical region on the continent, and the humid air made them irritable.

Leonard was a civil servant, and Tigre was a former prince.

Compared to Batz and the knights, who were physically strong, the two of them were not as fit.

Leonard rode carefully to avoid getting sick, but…

“Still, Tigre has more stamina than I thought.”

He wasn’t completely unfazed; his expression showed a hint of fatigue.

Batz was surprised that the former prince was able to keep up with him.

“I’ve always been like this. You know about when I met Ain in Euro, right?”

At that time, he had gone to Euro to obtain information about Krone.

He appeared suddenly, without prior arrangement, and both Euro and Ishtalika were taken aback.

“Ah, that. I heard about that.”

“Besides, as the Duke of Heim, I travel to Ishtalika every month for work. I wouldn’t be able to do it if I didn’t have the stamina.”

Seeing him looking somewhat amused despite his stern expression, Batz smiled, remembering that.

Come to think of it, Leonard was a gritty guy.

During their school days, he also managed Ain’s special monster fieldwork schedule.

Like Roland, the first pair probably couldn’t have survived without grit.

“Hey, what’s that look? I can handle it, you know.”

“I know. I just thought you had guts, too.”

Leonard noticed his smile and returned it with a forced laugh.

Then, Batz noticed the hot road.

The trees were different from those he usually saw in the forest.

The leaves were large and pointed. The trees themselves were tall with thick, oval-shaped trunks.

The sounds reaching his ears were unfamiliar: the calls of animals and birds marking their territory.

Taking a deep breath, he could smell the damp, warm air and the wet ground, as well as a faint, sweet scent.

The sound of insects flying around was annoying, and he felt an urge to finish scouting the area quickly.

“Hey, Tigre. Are we there yet?”

He asked in a weary voice while riding his horse.

“It should be soon… Hmmm?”

Tigre noticed something.

He narrowed his eyes to confirm it, then raised his hands high.

The group gradually slowed down and, within a few seconds, came to a stop.

“I see it. That’s the ruins.”

There was an old, partially collapsed stone ruin.

Moss covered many parts, and thick vines grew around the pillars.

There wasn’t a single person in sight. Why was that?

It felt strange as if someone lived there.

“I’m glad we arrived safely. Well, then…”

“Leonard-sama. We’ll check the area and see if there are any monsters inside the ruins.”

“Yes, I’ll leave it to you.”

With that, the Ishtalika knights dismounted and took their positions.

Even adventurers from Heim should be able to handle this area.

They would surely be able to subdue the monsters without any problems.

“By the way, are there monsters?”

“Didn’t you hear what Tigre said?”

Leonard held his head in his hands as he watched the knights leave.

It was hot near the ruins, and sweat beaded Leonard’s forehead. His blond hair stuck to his neck.

His breathing seemed calmer than usual.

“There are monsters, but apparently, they don’t go inside the ruins.”

“As Leonard said, they don’t go inside the ruins. For some reason, they don’t approach the altars of bestowal and descent.”

“Huh… That’s a relief.”

Whistling as if it were none of his concern, Batz slowly started walking.

He seemed to be suffering from the heat, too, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

However, exasperated by the sweat that kept appearing no matter how much he wiped it away, he let out a big sigh.

“Well, let’s go inside. Warren-sama told us to check the interior of the ruins thoroughly.”

“Yeah. We can’t afford to leave any loopholes. Let’s check every little detail before we leave.”

Seeing the two of them start to walk, Tigre followed suit.

Like Batz, no matter how much he wiped the sweat away, more kept coming back. Surprisingly, though, walking with the two of them wasn’t so bad.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

They passed by the knights and asked them about the situation inside.

The knights said there were no signs of monsters.

In fact, there were no dangerous beasts to be seen.

Relieved, the three continued on, heading for the altar at the deepest part of the cave.

“…It’s surprisingly cool inside,”

Leonard said, looking around with interest.

Now that he mentioned it, the interior did seem cool.

For some reason, the unpleasant humidity had subsided.

“It’s in the shade. Maybe the rocks are cooling the air?”

The two civil officials nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Batz walked behind them, looking around.

The interior of the ruins was dim, but light from outside shone in through the collapsed ceiling.

Therefore, it was easy to see where to walk.

The air held the lingering scent of damp soil and moss, indicating that this was not a place people usually came to.

When Batz touched the stone walls, they felt rough, and they felt faint dew on them.

The ground and walls were cracked, but the fact that they were not about to collapse showed that the ruins were solidly constructed.

The three of them were walking through what would have been the entrance hall of a mansion.

It was a large, spacious area that extended quite far back.

There were dozens of thick, tall pillars, and the ceiling was probably about thirty meters high.

Then, Batz noticed a painting on the wall.

“Hey, you two,”

He called out, stopping and turning to the two walking ahead.

“What’s wrong, Batz?”

Leonard spoke first, and the other two walked back to him.

“Have you ever seen these letters and pictures before?”

“Letters and pictures?”

He pointed with his thumb, directing Leonard and Tigre’s gaze.

The three of them had never seen the letters and pictures drawn there before.

“What…what is this? A woman and a child?”

“…Tigre, this isn’t a woman; it’s a goddess, isn’t it?”

There was a child kneeling down and a short woman standing in front of the child.

The short woman’s clothes also looked unfamiliar.

“Ah, yes. She may be a goddess, but what is she giving to the child?”

“Isn’t that a sword?”

Batz leaned in and said.

As he said, the short woman was holding what looked like a sword out to the kneeling child.

It was completely incomprehensible.

Eventually, the three of them moved aside to look at another mural.

“This is the child from earlier. It looks like he’s fighting something.”

“…This child looks like a boy. Hmm. There are many people following him behind him.”

Batz and Leonard look.

Was this some kind of war?

There were several similar paintings, and suddenly, the scene changed.

“Hey, that man seems to be dead. What’s going on?”

Tigre noticed a new scene in which four people were standing around a coffin.

That’s where the mural ended.

“Can someone come here?”

Leonard called out, and a knight approached immediately.

“Yes! What is it?”

“I want you to copy this mural. Could you also copy the writing?”

“Leave it to me.”

This could be important information.

Leonard instructed them to make the copies.

“Let’s hurry. We need to take this information back to the capital. It’s better to verify it later.”

Batz and Tigre nodded and followed Leonard as he started walking.

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