I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

17 – 17. Old Fairy Tales

“Do you know why the spring of Hylas got its name?”

“No, I don’t know. It’s just that I’ve been called that way before, so I’m just calling it.”

The next day, Alfred was flying to the spring of Hylas with Arcel on his back.

“Since it’s a bit far away, can I tell you a story about the Spring of Hylas while I’m on the way? Do you hate old fairy tales?”

“No, I like it. When I was young, I was very happy when my parents sometimes bought me fairy tales when they went to the city.”

“Then it will be fine, this is an old story I heard from her mother.”

Since it is such a densely forested area, going by land can take time, and it seemed that it was more efficient to do this in consideration of Arsel’s physical condition.

“A long time ago, a nymph named Hylas must have lived in a spring in a deep forest.”

A spring in a deep forest where people cannot reach.

A nymph lived there.

“Every day was boring for Hylas, because most of the things he could find in the deep forest were small beasts and bugs that couldn’t speak.”

A nymph named Hylas.

Hylas is a spring nymph who purifies the spring water and provides life-giving water to the creatures of the forest.

However, it is said that the nymph gradually began to feel bored with her daily routine, and came to the point where she began to doubt the value of her own existence.

“But one day something happened that really intrigued Hylas. A human being, a herbalist, came from deep in the forest to a spring to drink water.”

“Hylas must have been the first human I had ever seen in my life.”

“Yes, so Hylas was very pleased. It’s just that he’s not a beast that can only drink water, but a human who can talk. Hylas talked to the herbalist for a while and said he really enjoyed the time.”

But someday parting will come.

As the sun went down, the herbalist had no choice but to return, and the nymph had no choice but to let him go, leaving her regrets behind.

“Instead, the herbalist made a promise to Helas that he would visit Sam again the next day, and at lunchtime, the herbalist returned to Sam to see Hylas.”

That was nothing special for an herbalist.

I was just walking around the forest looking for herbs, going to a spring when I was thirsty, and having a conversation with a nymph who lived in that spring to pass the time.

But that’s very special to nymphs.

Because he enjoyed his life more than anything else.

“He forgot his duty, forgetting at some point to purify the well. He just waited day after day for the herbalist to come.”

As a result, the spring became more and more polluted, and in the end, neither herbalists nor animals visited the spring.

Even all the springs in the forest were neglected, so the animals began to burn with thirst.

“Hylas was taken aback. At some point, not even the herbivores, but even the beasts stopped coming. At first, I was confused because I didn’t know the reason, but then a blue bird came and said.”

The fountain became so dirty that no one came to see it.

If you purify the spring, beasts and herbalists will come to drink from the spring again.

“So Hylas purified the spring water, and as a result, the spring water became clean again. Not only beasts, but also herbalists are starting to come back.”

“Good thing.”

“By the way, one day, the herbalist doesn’t come to visit again? Even if it was for a day or two, the herbalist did not show up even after a week or a month.”

The more the nymph did, the clearer the spring water was.

When the spring water is clear, the herbalist will come again.

I believe so strongly that I purify the spring, but when it still did not come, I started to increase the size of the spring.

Perhaps the herbalist may have forgotten the way.

If you see Sam, you may think of yourself and come to visit.

But why are you still not looking for me?

“Still, the herbalist didn’t come until the end, so Hylas thought the herbalist didn’t need Sam anymore. So I thought of another way to make the herbalist come to Sam.”

“…I can’t believe that-“

“That’s right, that’s why the fountain of Hylas is able to seduce people. Was it Hylas’ wish, believing that the herbalist would come back to her if she showed a beautiful figure of the opposite s*x?”

“Is that why dozens of people die every year by drowning in the spring? I don’t know how to react to this.”

“Of course Hylas doesn’t live in the spring any more, it’s a very old story, even a fairy can’t still be alive. But maybe the only thing left is the wish that the herbalist would find her someday…”

It was inevitable.

Hillas enjoyed meeting the herbalist very much.

It could have been said that she was the only vitality in life.

So I must have been waiting for him until now.

“Thanks to that, the spring water was kept clean, so it wouldn’t be bad for the beasts in the forest.”

“But why didn’t the herbalist come back to Sam after all? Was there any particular reason?”

“Well… Why don’t you think about it for yourself? Maybe the herbalist is old and can’t pick up herbs. Or he might have moved his job to another forest.”

After Alfred went down to the ground, he carefully put Arcel down.

After arriving like that, he saw a spring with clean water right in front of him.

“You can drink when you are thirsty. This is a stem that grew out of the spring of Hylas. It is pure water incomparable to anything in the world as it contains the long-cherished wish of a nymph.”

“…No, after hearing your story, I’m a bit reluctant to drink. My throat is not particularly dry.”

“Then, get a bottle of water here. It’s normal spring water, so you don’t have to worry about it. Drink it when you’re thirsty.”

Alfred looks around and figures out where this place is.

Due to the thick forest, it is difficult to see with the naked eye, but there was no difficulty.

I took out a map from my pocket and got directions on where to go.

“Anyway, you escaped the eyes of the guards and went inside, so try to save your memory. The spring of Hylas is so vast that you cannot find it unless you find it yourself.”

“If the Holy Sword is close, you can feel it. Even then, I felt like I could touch it if I stretched out my hand.”

Arcel added that, unfortunately, they did not actually reach each other because they stretched out like stars in the night sky.

“Then let’s go. After all, it’s not easy to find unless you go around selling your own products.”

“I’m sorry. I will try to recall as much as possible.”

The Fountain of Hylas is a spring, but it boasts a scale comparable to that of a tolerable kingdom.

Considering that it has a larger area than the Devil’s Forest, where Alfred lives, it makes sense that dozens of travelers get lost and drown in the spring each year.

On the contrary, it is considered a miracle that only that many deaths occur.

Of course, that was the number of people who were confirmed to have died, and it was at a level that I couldn’t dare to statistically figure out how many people were simply missing.

“Alfred, have you ever been here?”

“Sometimes? Because the spring water of Hylas is pure water, it is often used as an ingredient in magic. Come to think of it, I heard that it is a very rare material by the standards of human wizards.”

“This forest is difficult to enter, and if you are good enough to use it as a magic ingredient, you have to go to the center of the spring. So there were deaths. It’s because there were many people who didn’t listen even if I said it was dangerous.”

“I see, that is foolish. To risk your life just to get the ingredients for the aphrodisiac. Ah… is it precisely because of the money?”

“Mi-weak?”

“Yes, you know the characteristics of the spring of Hylas, right? That’s why it’s mainly used as an aphrodisiac ingredient.”

As Arcel walked through the forest, he was startled as he looked at the flowing spring water.

It’s clean water that doesn’t look like anything special yet.

Still, the people of the spring were a little appalled that they were using this water for such a purpose.

“If you draw water from the spring, the enticing properties will almost disappear, but it is not difficult to revive them.”

“…Hylas couldn’t have imagined that her spring water would be used for such a purpose.”

“But it is correct to use it for its original purpose. The nymph Hylas seduced the herbalist and made him return. So I’m going to bring some bottles too.”

“Well, where are you getting the spring water to use?”

“To give it to her grandmother. You seem upset about the last incident, so if you bring me the magic ingredients from this troublesome place, it will ease your mind.”

“Are you talking about your grandmother? Surprisingly, you seem to think a lot about your grandmother.”

“Still, you are only one family, right? Besides, if you can’t save the elf, after all, Grandma will probably be the only elf in the world. That’s just about it.”

“Is that so… wait, what is that?”

Continuing to walk along Sam, Arcel stopped for a moment at the traces of an artificial structure that appeared in front of her eyes.

A landscape that does not suit a forest where there is nothing.

Although it has collapsed and is old, it is these ruins that are certain that civilization once existed here.

I’ve been to the forest a few times before, but this is the first time Arcel has seen anything like that.

Alfred slightly frowned at the collapsed ruins.

“I wonder if people lived here in the distant past? Anyway, to be honest, this forest is not wide enough for people of the past to come and go to gather simple herbs.”

“Amazing, I have never heard of or seen this. Perhaps, if this were known, historians would go mad and come running.”

“If it wasn’t known, there would be something like that on purpose for that reason. If it gets known, there will surely be more people heading to the Hylas Spring.”

As Alfred said.

Considering that there are still people who go there even though it is only used as a magical material, it seemed that this fact would never be good to be known.

Perhaps a hitherto unknown truth or history will be revealed.

Sometimes the truth is better buried forever.

“Still, it’s a bit difficult for me to understand. No matter how dangerous the forest is, if there are traces of an ancient civilization like this, there’s no way it won’t go unnoticed…”

“…Um, sure, but I think I know why.”

While looking inside the ruins, Alfred suddenly grabbed Arcel’s arm and pulled him toward him.

“Maybe I can’t tell, forever.”

“Wait, when will this-“

With that, Arcel also noticed.

I can’t see it yet, but there are things surrounding the ruins.

One, two, three, the number gradually increases, and soon enough to be seen with the naked eye.

“Is it because you purposely came to a place where no human has ever been before? Originally, these kinds of kids don’t appear in front of people.”

Alfred gives a fishy laugh.

That laugh also contained the intention of contempt and criticism.

“The human smell still lingers. Find him and kill him.”

A voice that led dozens of monsters.

Monsters resembling wolves and lions respond to that voice and rush towards the ruins.

Arsel cautiously stuck his head out and looked at the owner of the voice.

“…Could they be active in this forest?”

A pale, dark-skinned man.

A race similar to elves in form itself, but with the opposite characteristic of elves in their disposition and color.

The appearance is more rough than beautiful, and unlike the elves who handle plants, they have the power to handle animals.

“Dark Elves, I thought I had subdued all the guys in this area in the past…”

Arcel clicked his tongue and narrowed his eyes.

It’s because they were dark elves who led a group of monsters and thieves.

Unlike elves who usually live in the woods cultivating their own world, dark elves roam the world plundering and hunting humans, and have a notoriety comparable to that of the demons.

For that reason, when he was a warrior in the past, Arsel often found and subdued Dark Elves, but due to their nature, it was difficult to subdue them all.

Even if all the dark elves in the forest were subdued, new dark elves took their place after a few years.

“Alfred, since there are so many monsters… Alfred?”

Arsel wanted to avoid the place first because there were so many monsters.

But when I looked around, Alfred wasn’t there.

Instead, he went out of the ruins and tried to talk to the Dark Elves.

“Are you all okay? From the looks of it, you seem very injured. Can I bring you some burn ointment?”

“What the hell are you doing over there-“

At first, Arsel couldn’t understand his actions.

Arsel was quite taken aback by Alfred’s bold appearance.

‘Those Dark Elves are fine, but what kind of burn ointment is that all of a sudden?’

That seemed to be the case with the Dark Elves as well.

The sudden appearance of Alfred took them by surprise, and while they were discussing with each other, what he said could not help but shock them even more.

“No, that’s why your entire body is charred. I heard that a large fire broke out in your hometown because of the rebellion. Isn’t that why it was so burnt?”

Alfred deliberately laughs a little.

“…Tear and kill that cheeky demon bastard.”

Unsurprisingly, the blood pressure of the Dark Elves instantly soared due to Alfred.

This is because Dark Elves’ skin is a topic that is never taboo to discuss in front of them, let alone in society.

Especially if it’s a dark elf who steals.

In magazines dealing with elven society, it was described that it would not be strange to be hit with a knife right away.

“Huh? Why is that, I asked because I was worried about you guys without any other intention.”

“And throw it into the fire.”

“Or did your mother throw you into the fire when you were little? Once I did.”

Alfred laughs as if he is innocent, and the Dark Elf has gone blind.

“Now…!”

After that, countless monsters attacked Alfred.

‘Ah, Alfred used to be that kind of guy.’

Arsel groaned alone as he pressed his forehead against the scene.

Since Alfred had done similar things to him in the past, he understood the feelings of the Dark Elves.

In addition, he remembered how he had suffered only by himself after being excited by his provocation.

That was never a pleasant memory.