I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

10 – 10. A fairy tale story

The endless downpour turned into drizzling rain, and a faint light fell along with the chirping of birds.

When Arcel opens his eyes, he sees a shaded window.

‘It really doesn’t get much sunlight.’

Is there a problem with the structure of the room, or is the window frame blocking too much light?

As Alfred said, the light doesn’t come in well in this room.

Thankfully, the room was white and tidy, so only a small amount of light could brighten the interior.

All the gathered light is directed to a small seedling in the center of the room.

This room has a rather unique structure. As much as the owner of this room.

‘Did he… Go out?’

Arsel went out to find Alfred, but he was nowhere to be seen inside the castle.

I wondered where I had gone without saying a word, so I went up the wall thinking that if I wasn’t inside, I might be outside.

Then I see a clear, green forest.

‘Is this really the Devil’s Forest?’

Devil’s Forest is as ugly as its name.

There are no leaves or sprouts, and most of the beasts in the forest are crows and vicious monsters.

But now it’s not like that, and it reflects the green blue figure.

Birds, other than crows, were also seen.

“…It’s a prettier place than I thought.”

“Yes, you are lucky. It is only during the rainy season that the rain weakens for a few days.”

“Oh, where have you been? I couldn’t find you in the castle.”

As Arcel was enjoying the view of the forest, Alfred showed up before he knew it.

“I came to fix the damaged forest yesterday, because skeletons alone can only plant land or trees.”

“Ah… Was that the case?”

Come to think of it, the huge pit that was created yesterday due to Alfred and Shion’s magic has disappeared.

Even though it was a fairly large pit, it disappeared without a trace within a day.

“I’ve been curious about it for a while, but you have high-level magic skills. Could your teacher be your maternal grandmother who came to visit yesterday?”

First of all, the ability to freely use flying magic was different from that of ordinary wizards.

In particular, it is difficult to reach a certain level in order to fly using magical power, and even if it is possible to use it, most of them cannot maintain it for a long time and the magical power is exhausted.

But Alfred seems to be using it as usual without the help of artifacts or other auxiliary magic, especially the last time he went up to the clouds without any problems.

Usually at that height, wind and temperature changes make it impossible to maintain the magic of flight.

“She never really taught or was taught anything, but that’s true, her grandmother is a good mage nonetheless, and she knows a lot of pretty useful spells.”

Even the princesses that Alfred kidnapped in the first place were all kidnapped in their rooms in the royal castle.

It would be strange if you weren’t an outstanding mage to do such a thing by breaking through numerous guards and layers of barriers.

“However, when I saw the battle yesterday, it seemed that his maternal grandmother and your magic were different in nature. Usually, masters and students would use magic of the same nature.”

“That’s because she learned the basics from her mother. Of course, her mother is a formal disciple of her grandmother, but most of her magic itself was developed independently.”

“I see, I thought your mother was a human… She must have been a great wizard. Your maternal grandmother must have been like a powerful wizard, but she wasn’t pushed back.”

But Alfred shook his head at that.

I couldn’t understand what that meant.

“All the magic my mother created are all consistently large and powerful, so I can’t control them. If I used them then, maybe Grandma and you and this castle would have disappeared without a trace?”

“…?”

“Let’s talk about this about my mother. If I do something wrong, I might lose my luck due to a ghost or bad energy clinging to me. Especially since I don’t like to call her mother’s name.”

“What else is that-“

“If you don’t close your mouth, you will bite your tongue. Be careful.”

Alfred left Arcel’s question behind and grabbed his hand and jumped down the wall.

“Does your body feel better? It fell from a fairly high place, but it doesn’t seem to be a problem.”

“Thanks to you. Moving my body doesn’t hurt anymore. The stuffy feeling has also decreased a lot.”

Arsel replied with a light smile.

Even though there are still things that tighten my chest, it must have loosened up a lot compared to before.

“That’s good. I showed you the inside of the castle before, so today I was going to show you the outside of the castle.”

Alfred started walking along the rampart.

For a castle made by demons, there is nothing special about its simple appearance.

Even if the material is different, there is no big difference between a castle built using stone, and a bridge is placed at the entrance along with a lake and a clean lake.

“Was this place originally like this…?”

Arcel seemed a bit surprised at the scenery quite different from his memories of the past.

At that time, it felt like it was full of evil energy, to the extent that it was definitely the den of demons.

But not now.

It’s still similar to an unknown place, but now it’s more like a hermit’s castle hidden in the season than a demon’s castle.

“The Demon King likes dark and dull things, so I changed the color a little brighter. But other than that, nothing much has changed from the past.”

“I never thought that a simple change in color would make such a difference. It looks like a castle from a fairy tale I read as a child.”

“Unfortunately, this is only a short-lived phenomenon, and when it rains again and the rainy season ends, it will not change much from the past.”

It is hard to find such a blue light in Devil’s Forest.

It was said that the monsters were all shunned by the terrible torrential rains, but when the rainy season was over, they would come back and restore their territory to their original state.

Hearing that, I felt a bit regretful.

“If it were you, it would be possible to exorcise or deal with all the monsters in this forest, so why not?”

“Why me?”

“You do not like this kind of scenery, then, if the monsters are gone, it will remain for quite some time, if not forever.”

Alfred has the ability to do that.

The Demon King deliberately built a castle in a place like this to prevent intruders from easily accessing it, but Alfred was neither a Demon King nor belonged to such a dark taste.

“Is there really a need for that? It’s not too much of a hindrance to life. It’s annoying to chase away all the monsters in this forest just to see something pretty. Besides, then the monsters will have nowhere to go.”

But he didn’t feel the need.

I thought it wasn’t worth it.

“Besides, even though they look like orcs’ neighbors, there are some pretty cute kids. Especially when feeding them, they come running wagging their tails.”

“…Do you feed the monsters?”

“Since the original owner, the demon king, is dead, there are no people left, and the country should be taken care of, right? Otherwise, after eating each other, they would go out of this forest and start consuming anyone, whether human or demonic.”

“Ah… Sure, if not, there’s no reason monsters would stay in a forest like this.”

Thinking about it, there was a good chance.

In the first place, Devil’s Forest is not a good place for creatures to live as much as its notoriety, and the same goes for monsters.

In that case, it was normal now that the monsters had already been released, five years after the death of the owner, the demon king.

‘If that happened, there would have been huge casualties.’

Arsel had seen so many times that a dangerous monster destroyed an entire village.

If you don’t know if it’s a small and weak monster, the monsters living in the Devil’s Forest will strike you as a disaster beyond a natural disaster the moment they invade your village.

It is impossible to have a knight who can defeat monsters individually in a small rural village, and there is a limit to what the villagers can do on their own.

“Would you like to feed the monsters next time? Although you could become prey if you do it wrong.”

“I-I will decline with this body. Honestly, it’s a burden.”

Arcel hurriedly shook his hand and declined.

As much as I’ve seen it myself, I know how ferocious the monsters here are.

“Really? So, let’s curse it someday and then give it to us. At that time, the monsters will probably be begging just by looking at you.”

“…I think it would be a good experience if I could.”

“If not a great experience, it will be fun. It smells good, but it’s quite warm in your mouth.”

“?”

As Alfred moved his gaze to the sky, Arcel followed suit and looked up.

Although the sky is not clear and there are clouds here and there, there are still some that fly in a fairly clear sky.

“That’s… A bird? Could it be a crow?”

What is unusual is that crows have white feathers.

Originally, crows live in this forest, but I have never seen a white crow.

It was the first time that Arcel, who had been on a journey for a long time, had never seen a white crow.

“The time has come soon.”

Alfred stretched out his hand as if he had waited, and a white crow landed on the back of his hand.

“Is this your bird?”

“That’s not it, you leaky courier. The items I ordered yesterday were supposed to arrive this morning.”

“Jeonseo-gu…? It seems a little different from that.”

“Are you seeing this for the first time? Certainly, unless you’re a wizard, you won’t be able to use it or come across it, but it’s a bit unexpected.”

A piece of paper was tied to the crow’s leg.

“Is this a summoning circle? No It can be seen as a kind of sealing magic.”

“Exactly, this is a specially improved sealing magic. You have a good eye for it.”

When Alfred unfolded the paper, a small magic circle drawing was drawn on it, and when he put the paper under the floor, the shapes of various objects appeared along with the light.

But those things are unusual.

“A box of meat? Where the hell did you get all this meat- is this really monster food?”

There were dozens of blood-stained boxes that could cause misunderstandings, and several plump pigs and chickens were slaughtered and sealed.

“If it is sealed, it will not get damaged or rot no matter how much time passes. There is nothing like this to keep it fresh.”

It seemed that it was using the characteristics of the sealing magic to maintain its freshness.

Since there are no space and time constraints within the seal, it would be very convenient to use sealing magic when transporting foods where freshness is important.

“Actually, they can grow on their own without feeding, but it’s good to take care of them a little during the rainy season. Otherwise, this forest will soon get tired of you and leave you.”

Alfred claps twice after checking the quantity.

Soon, dozens of skeletons appeared from the castle and dirt and headed for the forest carrying a box of meat.

It seems that the role of the undead is to feed the monsters.

“This is the delivery fee. It must have been difficult to come because it was very windy, but I had a hard time. Be careful on your way back.”

Finally, Alfred gave the crow nuts and sent them back.

The crow also took the nuts and ate them accustomed to, then flew back into the sky.

That appearance was just astonishing to Arcel.

Because it was the first time I had heard of the method of transporting goods using sealing magic.

“What about those things?”

“Which one?”

“Where did that bird come from? No, I’ve never heard of this way of exchanging goods like this before. It’s nothing else, but using sealing magic to exchange…”

If I had known about such a conservation method before, I would not have starved for lack of food during my arduous journey.

“I’m contacting the outside and ordering the things I need or food for monsters. Demons and humans don’t like me, so I have to get them non-face-to-face like this.”

“But at what price? If it was the amount of food we just had, we would have to pay a considerable price.”

“It doesn’t cost a lot of money, because in the first place, the monsters’ food is sent almost free of charge, saying that it’s better than releasing monsters from outside. Although I negotiated a little.”

Dried meat and bread made for preservation ended up going bad when it rained or went to a humid area, so Arsel remembered the refugees who suffered from food shortages in the past.

People who lost their village due to monsters and fled.

They had nothing to eat, so they dug up all the grass and fruits around them, and then ate the bark and soil of trees to survive.

It is said that the country provides support, but there is a limit to that as well.

He himself wanted to help them, but since he is a hero, he has no choice but to focus on subjugating monsters rather than helping refugees.

“Then who transports those things using sealing magic…”

“Me? Of course, at first I tried using the wagon or space movement magic, but the wagon was often stolen or damaged in the middle. It would be too expensive to move such a large and heavy object with magic, so I came up with a solution.”

“Is the solution sealing magic?”

Alfred nodded.

“You don’t need to spend money to preserve it, and you don’t need a wagon to move it far away. Originally, magic was created for convenience rather than fighting.”

If he himself had come up with such a method, he might have been able to minimize their suffering.

Most of the food that was provided to the refugees was looted or spoiled during transportation.

“Somehow, I heard that it developed for war or hunting beyond self-defense? It says so in the book.”

“Surely…It is.”

Since the sealing magic itself wasn’t that difficult or a magic that consumed a lot of mana, he regretted why he hadn’t come up with such a thought.

Although Arcel himself is not as skilled as a wizard, he can use magic to some extent.

However, he learned everything to fight against monsters and demons, and if anything else, recovery magic for first aid was all he could do.

“If I had used magic like that, maybe I could have saved more people…”

Arsel smiled bitterly.

It’s funny when you think about it.

Because the warrior chosen for peace has only trained, ironically, how to kill life efficiently.

Of course, the fact that heroes bring peace remains unchanged.

There was only a difference in the way and process of bringing about peace.

It is a clear fact that even the peace brought about by staining the holy sword, the symbol of the brave, is peace anyway.

“I don’t think so. Then you can do that from now on. Of course, for now, cursing your body comes first.”

“Ah-“

Alfred started running while holding Arcel in his arms.

“Are you hungry? Some of the things I ordered are not only meat or fruit, but also things you will eat. Let’s go quickly and have breakfast. I will also try human food after a long time.”

“Al, okay, put it down! I can walk alone!”

“But you can’t run, it takes 10 minutes to walk to the restaurant. So, let’s run at full speed…!”

Runs with a strong spur to the point that the ground caves in.

Alfred jumped high into the sky as he ran, stepping on the castle and outer walls while holding Arcel.

“Why don’t you just go to the door normally?!”

“It’s faster to go this way!”

Of course, Arcel had no choice but to hold onto Alfred even tighter.

Even if you don’t fall, it’s natural to exert your strength in a situation like this.

If it was simply holding hands and descending from the castle wall, it might have been, but it was because it was clear that they would not be safe if they fell vertically from such a height.

“What kind of food do you like? Bread? Or grains?”

“…I like meat. Meat that is chewy and on the bone, if possible.”

Alfred asked as he landed on the roof.

“Ah, then do we have to prepare the same food we give to monsters? I don’t like meat because it’s bloody and fishy.”

“Do you mean uncooked raw meat…?”

“Yes.”

“Did you think I was some sort of raw meat-eating monster?!”

“Honestly, there is not much difference, right? Rather, you are more like a monster than a monster. Even if it is because of the curse now, if the body was normal, it would be enough to become the top predator of the Devil’s Forest as soon as it arrives?”

Alfred imagines Arcel devouring his prey while kneeling down on monsters in the wild.

Alfred thought that would suit her quite well.

“I am not such a beast! The meat is usually grilled over an open fire and eaten! Who would chew raw meat like an animal!”

“Okay, then you can bake it and serve it? It’s a bit surprising, the demon king likes raw meat, so of course I knew you would too.”

“I’m not a demon or a demon king, I’m just an ordinary human!”

“…Why don’t former warriors get rid of normal humans? Are you perhaps more conscienceless than me?”

“Kuh…!”

It was extremely right, so Arsel couldn’t bear to refute it.

“Ah, okay, let’s go down. I don’t like places that high.”

“Yeah, it just starts to smell delicious.”

Perhaps it was because he was high up, Arcel quietly enjoyed the cool morning breeze in the forest.

That felt pretty good.

Because I felt as if I had been liberated from the world.

‘Until now, if I wanted to hug someone, I would hug them, but I’ve never been hugged like this…’

On the contrary, I also felt a little strange.

Until now, he had always saved someone while holding him like this, but this time he is in a position to be hugged by others, so it must be the case.

‘Perhaps, it might turn out surprisingly well.’

But that didn’t sound too bad, so Arcel took his powers off once and gave his body to Alfred.

Thanks to that, she was able to temporarily forget the burden she had been carrying.

She always forgets what has weighed on her and it couldn’t have been better.