It’s surprising that a dish with more vegetables than meat can still taste good. Although it was called soup, it was closer to a broth. The broth was clear and had no viscosity.
I naturally thought about having some rice to go with it and briefly considered asking Myungho for some, but from what I overheard him say, this village didn’t seem to have that kind of luxury.
He mentioned they couldn’t even travel to the nearby city because they’ve been constantly harassed by slimes. Despite feeling unsatisfied, I ate everything on my plate to console myself, but I still felt something was missing.
…Metal, or something like that. While I don’t need to eat it every day, I now feel empty without it. So, without saying anything, I got up and went outside.
Although I’ve already shown everyone before, when they see me tearing into metal, they look at me as if witnessing something truly shocking—so I prefer not to show it off in front of others.
After heading somewhere relatively secluded, I focused mana into my horns to search for an edible piece of iron ore. Fortunately, there was one nearby, so I pulled it out of the ground and took a bite.
While watching the sun slowly set, I chewed on the iron ore… But of course, it had no taste. I eat it purely because my body needs it.
I don’t know exactly how strong my teeth are, but judging by how easily they crush this stuff, I doubt there’s any real need to find out.
…When I was younger, Mother told me to eat metal because my bones were made of metal. At the time, I wondered if she wasn’t feeling well or something.
But it turned out to be true. Later, I found out that not only my bones but other parts of me also required iron. Over time, eating one piece per day became a habit.
“Alterra, why did you suddenly leave without a word… Oh. That’s right. You were going to eat metal, weren’t you…”
Darn. I was planning to sit against the fence, watch the sunset, and leisurely chew on some metal, but Myungho caught me. Still, his gaze wasn’t the same as when he first saw me; it wasn’t filled with fear.
“…Is that edible? It doesn’t look like it would have much taste. If you don’t want to answer, you don’t have to. I was just curious.”
“It’s tasteless. Not bad, just like water—no flavor at all.”
Since he asked politely, and I’m not the type to rudely reject such inquiries, I told him the truth.
“I see… Then… What do you use the iron for? Your nails or maybe your teeth?”
“Bones. Scales. Things like that. That’s why I don’t like water. Even though I can swim, I sink. And… When my body isn’t in good condition, touching water can cause rusting.”
Rusting isn’t common, but when I once threw myself into a river to survive, I suffered for a whole week.
“I see. That’s why you reacted that way to the river earlier. Got it. I’ll be more careful from now on.”
Well, there are a few things I haven’t mentioned—like how water disrupts my mana flow and sensory abilities—but those aren’t important. There is another reason my body uses iron, but I don’t plan to tell anyone about it.
Without a word, I took another bite of the ore. Myungho watched me crunch it for a while, then reminded me to return before it got too late before stepping aside.
So, I got caught. Though it feels somewhat meaningless since he saw me anyway, at least the villagers didn’t witness it, so it wasn’t entirely pointless.
As the sun set beyond the fields, I finished chewing on the ore and returned to the village chief’s house.
When I arrived, everyone was gathered around the acting village chief, listening to some story. Since I wouldn’t understand anyway, I quietly sat next to Myungho.
Leaning on one elbow and curling my legs, I relaxed until Myungho finally spoke.
“There’s no need to worry about the monsters. We’ve defeated far worse. Even if they attack in large numbers, we have ways to handle them. Rather, could you tell us about the ghost?”
A ghost? Well, considering we’ve seen transparent spiders, endlessly regenerating slimes, and all sorts of monsters, it wouldn’t be unusual.
“Ah, yes. As you might have heard, there was once a prosperous kingdom in the Zikur Mountains. However, one night, everything—down to the last ant—disappeared without a trace. The old man near the village entrance claims he visited the place… but don’t believe everything he says. He’s not in his right mind anymore, though he was fine when he was younger.”
“I see… Yuna, Akashi. Let’s check it out tomorrow. It seems like he knows something. Thank you for sharing.”
“We appreciate it, but how do you plan to cross the gorge?”
Myungho glanced at me subtly and replied to the acting chief. She’s the answer, he implied.
The acting chief nodded in understanding after looking at me.
Still, I’d like to know how wide that gorge is.
“Hey, Myungho. How wide is that gorge exactly?”
If it’s too wide, it could be problematic. My ability isn’t the issue—it’s reliable. However, if the rocks can’t support their own weight and collapse, there’s nothing I can do.
Let me clarify—I can only reinforce within a limited range. After hearing my question, Myungho tapped his head lightly as if recalling something and answered promptly.
“About 1.5 times the width of that river… Adventurers and travelers say so. We won’t know for sure until we get there, but don’t worry too much. There’s a broken bridge spanning the gorge. Using your abilities there should make crossing easy.”
We’ll figure it out when we get there. For now, I rummaged through my bag, pulled out a vocabulary book, and handed it to Myungho.
“Let’s finish what we started yesterday.”
“Huh? What we started yesterday?”
The wizard chuckled mischievously while staring at us. If it were a woman, it would have been annoying, but coming from a man, it was twice as irritating.
“…It’s study time, so cut the nonsense, Akashi. Understood? I’ll teach you enough so it doesn’t interfere with our activities tomorrow. Yuna, Akashi, would you two like to play teacher for a bit?”
“Sure. But don’t pile too much on me. I’ll just check the pronunciation.”
“As for me, I’ll just observe casually.”
Hmm. More teachers than last night.
Let’s think positively—it means I’ll learn faster. Myungho opened the book, pointed to a word, and explained its meaning to me.
“This is… <family>.”
“Fa… mily.”
—
—
“…Sigh. Forget being crazy, this guy’s just a wild animal. How does someone with no muscles left have this much energy?”
“Still, from what I heard, he was once a Silver-ranked adventurer. Maybe ‘even rotting fish is still a fish’ applies here… though it feels wrong to say that about a person.”
Because Mr. Sam’s state was far from normal, we had to write things down for him before he could barely converse.
Even then, we managed to calm each other down enough to sit and talk, but we gained nothing substantial. All he could mutter were random, nonsensical words like “a pinched nostril.” It didn’t seem like he understood anything we said either.
“…What could he have seen in that city to end up like this?”
“Let me guess: he encountered a wraith and his mind shattered from sheer terror. Unfortunately, his mental resilience was weak, and he couldn’t resist.”
“…Are we safe from that?”
If a Silver-ranked adventurer could succumb to madness like that, surely we’re not completely safe either. When I asked Akashi, he laughed heartily and replied.
“One of us has divine protection, another has the mental strength to reach Gold rank through self-discipline, one is a half-dragon, and the other is… the result of a forbidden experiment. A mere wraith isn’t worthy to challenge us.”
His confident reassurance eased my tension somewhat. I was already a little nervous about crossing the mountains.
“You don’t have to worry about everyone else… but I’ll keep an eye on you.”
Alterra looked directly at me and said she’d protect me. In a roundabout way, she meant she’d ensure my translation device stayed intact.
Still, humans tend to interpret things based on their own preferences, so I began to wonder if she might actually have feelings for me.
“…Oh. Thanks. Hmm, everyone. Let’s start getting tense now. We’re entering the Zikur Mountains.”
Just the entrance, but I already sense a difference in the atmosphere—more hostile and oppressive.
There’s already a faint mist ahead, which makes people uneasy.
The slope is still gentle, but according to the villagers, it will soon become treacherous.
And most importantly, the monsters…
“…Myungho, inform everyone. A pack of wolves—or something similar—is approaching from afar.”
They’re charging toward us.
