Chapter 70: Bottom of Nevera Valley (1)
Having successfully negotiated with Jana, Elwin brought her to Nahrhan, who was waiting below.
“You have returned, Master.”
As always, Nahrhan greeted him with impeccable manners, dressed immaculately.
But not even his clean attire could hide the thick scent of blood clinging to his entire body.
‘Looks like there was a fight on Nahr’s side, too.’
Peeking out from behind Nahrhan, Enaka Clover’s pale, bloodless face betrayed her unease. She looked completely shaken.
The culprit was obvious. Nahrhan, of course.
‘Makes sense.’
Quickly grasping the situation, Elwin gave an awkward smile, thinking he owed Enaka an apology.
Nahrhan spent nearly every waking moment devoted to Elwin.
He handled every chore—housework, medical care, strategy, planning. A true all-rounder, always busy.
–Serving Lord Elwin is the greatest honor and pride of my life. Please, never doubt my sincerity.
He believed it. Those words were undeniably genuine.
But separate from that truth—this had likely been Nahrhan’s first real battle in a while.
‘Nahr… has a bit of a battle junkie streak.’
He had probably been thrilled, though he’d never show it.
‘Given he had Enaka with him, he likely held back. But even with restraint, it must’ve been…’
A massacre.
Bodies dismembered and scattered… heads torn from torsos…
‘Or maybe he vaporized them all in one go. Enaka doesn’t seem scared, just tired.’
To an ordinary civilian, even that level of calm would’ve seemed terrifyingly one-sided.
Nahrhan Ferdic was a Hunter too, after all. One who had received a “Top-tier” rating from his very first evaluation.
“…Lewin. Can we really trust that man?”
Jana whispered behind Elwin’s back, eyeing Nahrhan cautiously.
She couldn’t ignore how dangerous he clearly was, nor the overwhelming stench of blood he radiated.
“Yes. He’s the comrade I trust the most. You don’t need to worry.”
Elwin whispered gently into her ear, keeping his voice soft to soothe her.
Jana gave a slight nod.
In truth, they hadn’t used a mana barrier or soundproofing spell—so someone with sharp hearing like Nahrhan likely heard every word.
But Elwin just signaled him with his eyes.
‘Shh. Pretend you didn’t hear.’
‘Yes, of course.’
Nahrhan nodded smoothly, smiling to show he understood.
“Nahr, this is Miss Jana. She’s agreed to work with us to bring down Depicio. Jana, this is Nahrhan—my butler and assistant.”
“Pleased to meet you. Nahrhan Ferdic.”
“…Jana Bartwell.”
As the two exchanged a brief handshake, Elwin glanced toward Enaka—she looked ready to crumble.
“Nahr, did you finish what I asked?”
“Yes. It’s all here. More than enough to serve as evidence.”
He pulled out a viewing orb from his robes and showed it to Elwin.
“Great. Nahr, take Miss Jana and Miss Enaka back to the airship first.”
“Understood.”
Nahrhan agreed instantly—but Jana did not.
“…Lewin. Where are you going?”
“I still have something to do.”
Elwin turned his gaze quietly. Jana, Nahrhan, and Enaka all followed his line of sight.
“I need to rescue the Red Clover.”
Toward the depths of Nevera Valley.
***
Meanwhile, in Nevera Valley, Spero’s team and Aajen Clover—
“…That golden mana. It’s the kid, isn’t it.”
“Looks like it…”
“……”
They were speechless in utter disbelief.
More accurately—Gale, Sercia, and Calix were.
“Completely insane, that kid.”
“Unbelievable! He really split the mana cannon…! It takes hundreds of top-grade mana stones to build just one of those!”
“So that’s… what it means to be a Top Hunter.”
Those who understood mana could clearly see it.
That golden slash, fired with absurd force—how impossible it was.
How delicate and refined its control was.
How dense and rich the mana flowing through it was… layer after layer of tightly woven power.
“That wasn’t even full strength, was it?”
Even if they didn’t want to understand, their minds soaked up the knowledge instinctively.
And once again, they felt the reality of what it meant to be a Top Hunter.
“Whew! Our sponsor’s amazing~! Honestly, makes me question why an old merc like me is even needed.”
“I should tighten my magic training schedule. But I can’t give up my research either…”
“…Still a long way to go. I need to refine myself more.”
But none of them despaired over the massive gap in skill.
Their journeys so far had been too harsh to give in that easily.
They only thought:
‘Can I ever become like that?’
They genuinely wanted to grow stronger.
“Wow. Amazing!”
Among the group, only Aajen Clover—who was clueless about mana—gazed in pure admiration.
“That was Lewin, right? He’s really incredible!”
“Must be nice having nothing to worry about, huh, young master.”
“Eh?”
Gale’s sarcasm made Aajen blink in confusion.
It reminded him of a saying—sometimes it’s better not to know anything at all.
This was exactly that.
‘Hmm? I thought the falling airship looked like it kind of stopped midair for a second…? No? Maybe I imagined it.’
Gale tilted his head, then dismissed the thought.
“Looks like it’s all over now.”
“Whew. When you think about it, we barely made it. Almost got vaporized by that mana cannon.”
“Indeed. We owe Lewin our thanks.”
They had watched the airship fall, torn in half, and crash to the ground. Now, they continued down into the valley.
They had thwarted Depicio’s ambush, but hadn’t yet achieved their true goal.
–Red Clover.
Said to grow at the bottom of Nevera Valley, they had to find it.
“B-but shouldn’t we wait for Lewin to catch up before heading down? He’ll probably be here soon…”
“It’s fine~ He’ll probably catch up with us on the way. Probably busy cleaning up the mess.”
Gale glanced toward where the airship had crashed.
“How he knew Depicio would send reinforcements from the air—I have no idea… But it’s the kid. He must’ve found a way to dig up the intel.”
“True. Makes sense.”
For Aajen Clover, because it’s Lewin was good enough. He had come to trust Elwin deeply after seeing his plans succeed time after time.
“Probably trying to nip it in the bud. Prevent any surprise attacks or sabotage later on.”
Of course, there might be other schemes behind the scenes. Elwin wasn’t the type to act purely on instinct or curiosity.
He was the kind who drew detailed blueprints before building anything.
‘That Elwin guy… definitely has something planned.’
Gale mulled it over briefly, then sighed and scratched his fluffy hair.
His sharp eyes dulled back to their usual lazy look.
‘Whatever. He’ll handle it.’
As the born slacker, Gale didn’t care to think any deeper.
“But what if we get separated? Or Depicio sends more pursuers…”
“Eh, it’s the kid. He’ll find us.”
“Ahaha! You’re right!”
Gale’s confident line lifted everyone’s spirits—not just Aajen’s, but even the quietly worried Sercia and Calix.
To them, Elwin was like a magical conch shell. More magic than magic itself.
If Elwin heard that, he’d probably be speechless—“What do you all think I am, exactly?”
“Anyway, let’s go! To the bottom of Nevera Valley!”
“Alright-!”
“Let’s move!”
“…So noisy.”
With Gale leading, four capes flapped in the wind.
***
After a grueling flight, Spero’s members and Aajen Clover finally reached the bottom of Nevera Valley.
It was the dawn of the third day since they defeated Depicio.
“…So this is the depths of Nevera Valley?”
“We actually made it. The place that was only ever spoken of in legends.”
“Fuaaaah… I’m dead tired. I want overtime pay. Night duty bonus too.”
Everyone except Aajen collapsed onto the ground, completely exhausted.
They were wiped out.
Having taken turns carrying the frail Aajen during flight, Gale and Calix looked nearly soulless.
Even Sercia, usually so composed, was too tired to sit up and stared blankly at the sky.
“Haha… You all really worked hard.”
Aajen, who’d had a relatively easy descent, gave a sheepish smile.
“I’ll take a look around. Please rest here.”
He was still mobile enough to scout the area.
But smart as he was, he didn’t wander far. He knew people were after his life—even in peaceful moments like this.
“…This is strange.”
Relying on the dim torchlight, Aajen examined the surroundings again and again.
But what he saw was…
“There’s nothing here.”
Even in pre-dawn darkness, you should be able to make out basic landmarks.
But there was nothing.
The waterfalls that had flowed endlessly down jagged cliffs seemed to vanish, merging with some other river long before.
And the supposedly fertile bottom of Nevera Valley? Not a blade of grass. The ground was dry and cracked like a wasteland.
“I thought I’d find the Red Clover here…”
He had wanted to prove his claim to succession, uncover the truth behind the incident, and vindicate his fallen companions.
“Was it impossible…?”
Aajen’s lips twisted in sadness as he slumped down.
His strength left him. He felt hollow.
‘…No. I have to do it! If not Red Clover, I’ll find another way to prove myself!’
He could not give up.
Just as he rallied himself, trying to think of a new strategy—
“Huh? Aajen?”
A familiar voice called out. Aajen whipped his head up.
“What are you doing here alone?”
“…L-Lewin?!”
“Yep~ It’s me.”
Descending gently from above, Lewin Legisel landed gracefully, folding his cloak.
Then he asked:
“So, what’s the problem?”
As if he could solve any problem in the world—just like that.