Chapter 72: Bottom of Nevera Valley (3)
Soon after, the two arrived at the place where Spero's group was waiting.
“Yo~ you’re back.”
“El— I mean, Sir Lewin. Welcome.”
“…You’ve returned.”
The three who greeted them looked far better than they had earlier.
“I’m glad you’re all safe.”
“Hey, brat. That airship stunt earlier—your doing, right?”
“Hm? Do I really need to say it? Isn’t it obvious just by looking at me?”
“…Tsk. Idiot. Not only your hair, but your entire head must be stuffed with fluff.”
“What was that, punk?! You done running your mouth, you runaway brat?”
“Don’t mind those two. Come have a bowl of stew instead. It’s piping hot—just finished cooking.”
“Wow~ Just what I was craving! Thank you, Lady Sercia!”
As the atmosphere instantly turned lively and noisy, Aajen, who had been watching from a step behind, smiled wryly as if resigned.
“So, where’s Red Clover?”
While the group was satisfying their hunger with Sercia’s stew, Gale asked in his usual indifferent tone.
“Where do we have to go to find it?”
At that, Aajen fidgeted and turned to look back at them.
“I’m sure Sir Lewin has something in mind, but… I think it’s about time you told us.”
“…I agree. Please give us instructions on what we should do next.”
They believed. They believed that Lewin wasn’t lying.
They believed that somewhere in this desolate field, Red Clover was truly blooming.
‘…I’ve been thinking all wrong until now.’
Seeing that bond, Aajen felt his face growing uncontrollably hot.
He was painfully realizing how narrow-minded he had been. He hadn’t truly believed, not deep down.
‘They saved my life and my father’s, and now they’re helping me with such sincerity, as if it were their own burden. I thought I believed in them… but not at all.’
If he’d really believed in Lewin, he wouldn’t have prepared the jewel clover. He would’ve asked like the others, “Where is Red Clover?”
He would’ve asked, “What should I do next?”
Instead of hiding the jewel clover he’d received from Uncle Dalton so that no one would find out, he would’ve shown it to everyone without hesitation.
Then—
— We merchants are trained to be skeptical, to weigh all things on the scale of value…
Suddenly, advice from his father, Nonohen Clover, resurfaced in Aajen’s mind.
— But there comes a moment in life when we must bet everything we’ve built, everything that makes us who we are, on that very thing we distrust and dismiss—trust.
— Aajen, when that moment comes to you… don’t doubt, don’t hesitate. Throw yourself in with everything you’ve got.
At the time, he hadn’t understood those words. But now, he thought he might.
‘…So this is it.’
This was that moment. A moment he could neither run from nor turn away.
“Huff!”
Drawing a deep breath into his lungs, Aajen stepped forward. His eyes, compared to before, now shone with resolve.
Step, step.
His footsteps rang out louder than usual in the quiet air, drawing the attention of the four others.
“…Aajen?”
Before Sercia could ask what was going on, Aajen shouted with a powerful voice.
“I’M SORRYYYYYYYYY!”
He bent forward in a perfect 90-degree bow and shouted louder than anything they’d heard from him before.
Aside from Elwin, the other three exchanged confused glances, unable to grasp the situation.
Just minutes ago, they’d been collapsed on the ground. They had no way of knowing what had transpired between Elwin and Aajen.
“You saved my life and my father’s, and now you’re helping me with such devotion like it’s your own cause… but I selfishly prioritized my own interests and caused trouble for my saviors! I sincerely apologize once more!”
Sercia and Calix, sensing the seriousness of the moment, kept their mouths shut but still looked puzzled.
Gale, however, squinted and stared at Elwin with a knowing look, as though he’d figured something out.
“…”
Elwin wore a strange smile with an unreadable expression—something about it evoked the image of a coiled snake.
Muttering "Nasty little brat," Gale turned away and discreetly mouthed some words to Elwin.
‘You’re not even really mad, are you?’
Elwin grinned lightly, affirming with that smile.
And then, he answered aloud.
“Alright. I accept your apology.”
“…! Thank you, Sir Lewin!”
“So please, stand up now. It makes me feel awkward to receive such a grand bow.”
“Ah…!”
With a dying cry, Aajen’s doe-like eyes welled up with tears.
Wearing an expression of deep emotion, he quickly wiped them with his sleeve and then smiled bravely.
“I won’t ever make that mistake again! I swear on the honor of the Clover Trade Company!”
Aajen’s eyes sparkled with conviction as he pounded his chest proudly.
“In that case… ‘this time,’ you must believe what I say, alright?”
Elwin spoke as if he’d been waiting for that moment. That sly smile still lingered on his lips.
***
The thick mist of dawn began to clear, and the surroundings gradually brightened.
Spero’s group and Aajen followed Elwin as he led the way.
“…What the?”
The place they arrived at was just as desolate as where they had been before.
If anything, the only difference was that there were stone cairns piled here and there—making the scenery just slightly, very slightly, less bleak.
…Truthfully, it was about the same. Six of one, half a dozen of the other.
“Hey, brat. What’s supposed to be here? There’s nothing.”
Gale glanced around and raised an eyebrow.
“I hate to agree with that blockhead, but I see nothing noteworthy either, Sir Lewin.”
“…Hold on a sec. I’ve been meaning to say this for a while now.”
Thump. Gale stopped Calix with a hand to the shoulder and spoke in a grim tone.
“Hey. You damned noble brat. I’ve had enough of your crap. Wanna settle this today? Huh?!”
“Let go. You fool. I’m on duty. Don’t interfere.”
Calix frowned and placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.
“Let go, or I’ll cut you down.”
Their relationship was a disaster, but their way of speaking—each only listening to themselves—was strangely similar.
“Blockhead? Blooockhead? You say that to a man as sharp and intelligent as me?! Hey, spoiled noble brat, just curious—are you blind?”
“…Synonyms, moron. And I’ve told you not to call me ‘noble brat.’ You must have the intellect of a cabbage worm. Can’t even learn simple instructions.”
The two glared at each other, then suddenly grabbed each other’s collars and began bickering.
Thankfully, some sense of self-preservation remained—they didn’t escalate into a full-on fight in Elwin’s presence.
“You two again…”
Sercia’s gaze as she watched was ice cold.
It wasn’t the look one gives comrades. It was closer to contempt for worthless inanimate objects.
—Is your brain filled with fluff too? Must be, if all you’ve got in that little head of yours is dust and stuffing. Every thought and behavior is disgustingly crude.
—And you, oh noble lord, won’t treat anyone as a person unless they have the same blue blood. Oh? You heard that? Sorry~
From the journey down into the depths of Nevera Valley, Sercia had suffered through countless arguments and scuffles, often more draining than the fight against Depicio.
“Disgusting humans.”
Grinding her words out, Sercia raised her hand and blasted the two with a shower of fire.
Startled by the sudden attack, Gale and Calix leapt back in panic.
“Hot hot! What the—what was that?! Betrayal?! Friendly fire?!”
“…Traitors are punished.”
“Hah, screw all of you.”
While the three bickered, Elwin calmly watched—then suddenly let out a bright laugh.
“Ahaha! You three seem to be getting along better than ever today~”
“…”
Aajen, awkwardly forcing a smile, was at a loss for words as he stared at Elwin blankly.
‘Lewin… are your eyes okay?’
He barely swallowed back the words, which were on the tip of his tongue.
How could anyone in their right mind look at those three and call them “close”?
“…Ugh, that attitude of his. Really, are you sure this is the right place? We’re not lost?”
Gale, brushing soot off his clothes, grumbled as he approached.
Leaving Sercia and Calix to fight, it was clear Gale had slipped out like a veteran.
“Come on, I told you this is the right place.”
Meanwhile, Elwin approached one of the stone cairns and picked up a few unusually round stones.
“Huh? What’re you doing with those?”
“You’ll see soon. Now come on—Gale, Aajen, stop standing around and help me.”
“Ah, yes!”
“On it.”
Under Elwin’s direction, the three arranged the stones into a large circular shape on the ground.
“Good. That’s everything we need.”
Elwin pulled out Nexion from his coat and checked the current time.
“It’s almost time… Ah.”
He looked up toward the sky and smiled. A brilliant sunrise was beginning to shine through the distant valley.
In a low voice, he murmured—
“It begins.”
And then, the rising sun cast a warm glow across the land. It was a sight that always, without fail, inspired awe in the people of LAMPAS.
As the sun crested the peaks and hung in the distant sky, it happened.
— GUUUUUUUNG!
A single beam of sunlight shimmered like a ray, sweeping across the valley floor.
Reflexively, everyone shut their eyes against the blinding light.
“…I-Is it over?”
As calm returned, they cautiously opened their eyes.
“Gasp!”
And what they saw left them stunned.
The once barren valley floor was now brimming with vibrant life!
“Wh-What is this?!”
“Good heavens…”
Just moments ago, the land had been nothing but dry earth. Dust, sand, and stones had dominated the terrain.
But now?
As far as the eye could see, a brilliant field of lush greenery unfurled beyond the horizon. It was a stunning display of nature’s wonder.
A truly magical sight.
“Haha. Looks like you’re all pretty surprised!”
While the others stood in stunned silence, Elwin was the only one smiling calmly.
Of course—he was the one who had brought them here.
“But this isn’t even the main event. You’ll be even more surprised soon… And we’ve been invited, no less.”
“Invited? Invited by whom?”
Elwin quietly pointed somewhere.
Toward a fog-laden forest that had appeared before them, as if out of nowhere.
— Kyarurururuk!
On the wind, the sound of laughter—someone's laughter—seemed to drift toward them.