Chapter 99

# Chapter 99: <The Inspiration>

The carriage carrying Kale arrived at the capital but did not enter it, instead stopping in the village closest to the capital.

"Dark elves, in the land of death."

"How about it?"

In response to Kale's question, the deranged priest Cage looked at him. Despite the heat, Cage was fanning himself and seemed quite at ease. Anyone who saw him would have thought he was enjoying a tea time.

"Well, how about it? Of course we have to go."

She was in the same boat.

'I thought it was something serious because I couldn't remember the dream.'

The content he heard from Young Master Kale wasn't that serious.

"Will you bless the item that Young Master Kale receives from the dark elf?"

"Yes. Once a day until we reach the capital. I want you to keep blessing that item with the blessing of the god of death."

Dark elves. The blessing of the god of death. Cage's mind was a mess.

Dark elves were weak against the sun god, and the god of death was clearly strong against the sun god. Of course, the number of sun god's followers was overwhelmingly larger, but the power of a deity did not correlate with the number of followers.

"Sir."

"Yes."

"Who is going to kill the sun god's priest?"

"Didn't you think it might be me?"

"Would Young Master Kale ever fight a sun god's priest? The sun god's church would love you. You're rich, possess ancient power, and above all, you're so kind."

Kale didn't refute her words, except for the part about being kind. According to the sun god's doctrine, Kale was the kind of person they would like.

At that moment, a knock on the door was heard. Kale stood up from his seat at the sound of the voice coming from the modest inn room door.

"Let's go! Hurry up, hurry up!"

It was a husky and hearty voice.

"Kale, I have someone to introduce you to."

Kale moved to the door and turned the handle.

"Oh! We have a guest?"

A woman of Kale's height, wearing a robe but with a lithe figure, stood there. She had joined Kale two days ago.

"She's part of our group."

"Oh, really?"

Cage looked at the woman who mixed formal and informal speech with Kale. The woman asked Kale,

"Did you tell him everything?"

"Of course. Where we're going, what we're getting. I told him."

The woman smiled slyly, knowing that he hadn't told everything, just those things.

Kale also used the ambiguous boundary between formal and informal speech with her.

Who is she? Just as Cage was wondering, the woman stepped forward and extended her hand to Cage.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Tasha."

She was a striking beauty. Cage took her hand.

At that moment, Kale closed the door. The door clicked shut, and Tasha's face came close to Cage's ear.

"Dark elf, guide, right?"

The two women's gazes met.

"I've changed my skin color."

Saying this, Tasha looked at Cage as if examining him. At that moment, Cage smiled and introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you, Tasha. I'm Cage, the excommunicated priest of the god of death."

The god of death. At the mention of these words, Tasha, the dark elf, looked at Kale. Kale shook his head, indicating that he hadn't told her about the prince.

"Since we have a new member, how about a welcome party?"

"Do you have alcohol?"

"We have all kinds of drinks."

Watching the two women converse calmly, Kale felt he had said what he needed to say.

"Tasha, let's go."

Tasha and Kale's gazes met.

Currently, no one in Kale's group was unaware that Tasha was a dark elf. However, only Kale, Laon, On, and Hong knew about her connection to the prince.

"Will we go through the capital's teleportation office?"

Cage shook his head at Tasha's question.

"There's a risk my disguise magic might be exposed. We should probably go by carriage."

"Ah."

"I have the necessary identification."

Tasha showed Cage her identification, saying she had it to cross the border.

"Everything except the name and age is fake."

Cage was both amazed and pleased by Tasha's straightforwardness. He looked at her identification.

Tasha. 29 years old.

At that moment, Tasha's cheerful voice continued.

"Of course, I should add a zero to the end of my age."

290 years old.

Cage looked at Tasha and asked,

"Can I call you 'sister'?"

"Sure. You're the third person who didn't call me 'grandma' after hearing my age. Call me whatever you like, Cage."

"Yes, sister."

Kale watched the two women, one with her arm around the other, and then turned to them.

Cage, who was usually crazy, was calm now, but he loved alcohol and had a hearty personality. Tasha seemed the same.

'...It'll be fine, right?'

He seemed to have finished what he needed to say. The two women looked at him.

"It's hot, let's go quickly."

At that moment, Laon's voice echoed in Kale's ear.

-Liar! Weak human, aren't you cool with the temperature maintenance magic? I even made you a freezing artifact!

Right, it's a lie. Kale felt like he was standing in the middle of autumn.

-Anyway, I'll turn invisible and follow you. I'll always be by your side.

The implication was that there was someone always ready to help with magic if he got too hot. Better than an air conditioner.

"We need to go to the Kingdom of Caro."

Kale got into the carriage heading to the Kingdom of Caro, located below the Kingdom of Breck and to the northwest of the Morgan Empire, a land of death.

In his possession was a new golden token given by the prince.

***

Click. The carriage door opened with a small sound.

"The heat is unbearable, isn't it?"

Dry wind blew into the loose-fitting desert clothes. Even in the evening, the air was still scorching.

"Sir, would you like some cool lemonade?"

"Never mind. You stay cool."

Choi Han, carrying Ron and Vikros, On and Hong, followed Kale out.

"Tasha."

At Kale's call, Tasha lightly jumped down from the driver's seat and approached.

Currently, Kale's group was at the western edge of the Caro Kingdom, at the border where the desert began, in the village of Dubori, which bordered the land of death.

"Will we go through the western gate directly to the land of death?"

"Yes."

At that moment, the excited voice of the black dragon Laon echoed in Kale's ear.

-Desert! I've never seen it except in books! Human, it seems you really need to see things in person! Books and reality are different!

Kale flinched and tried to ignore Laon's enthusiastic voice. Tasha, noticing Kale's flinch, smiled wryly and asked,

"Strange, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is."

Kale agreed.

The land of death. No one who went there ever returned.

That's why it was called the land of death, along with the legend of necromancers.

Tasha's lips curled up.

"Why is there a gate leading to a place from which no one returns? That's strange, isn't it?"

Rosalin, getting out of the carriage, answered Tasha's question.

"Indeed, it is strange."

"Right."

Cage also agreed.

Tasha opened her mouth to answer the question but then pointed to the wall.

"Why do they bother with this?"

Kale pointed to the wall, which was more like a dilapidated and low stone wall. People trying to climb over it to escape to the land of death were visible.

"Stop them!"

"Stop them and beat them up!"

Ugh!

The cries of the villagers and the soldiers' mocking laughter were heard.

"Ugh, please, spare us!"

"Bold bastards. Did you think we wouldn't be here just because it's evening? If we had gone to eat earlier, you might have escaped! You ignorant fools!"

"Sir, we were wrong! Sir, we were wrong! We had no money, ugh!"

Thud. Thud. The sounds of beating and stomping were heard.

"We want to go outside the city gate."

Kale's casual tone made the knight pause slightly, but he soon twisted his smile.

Kale took out a gold coin from the Kingdom of Caro and offered it to the knight. The knight quickly pocketed the coin and shouted to the soldier guarding the gate.

"Open the gate."

The knight looked at the man, who seemed to be a noble and at least wealthy, and smiled crookedly.

"Safe travels."

It was the best greeting for those heading to the land of death.

Creak, creak. The sound of the gate opening reached Kale's ears. He watched the gate slowly open.

The knight's voice was heard.

"Please don't let your blood stain the red sand."

Kale saw the red sand, which was redder than the sunset and his hair, and was amazed.

It really looked like blood.

For a while, Kale's group followed Tasha. After running for a long time under the sunset, they were quite far from the gate when Tasha stopped.

She looked at the sunset and said to the group,

"Take a look at this scene now."

This scene?

Just as Kale was wondering, the sunset completely disappeared from the sky.

The moment the sun set,

"Wow."

Meow!

Meow!

The group's exclamations were heard.

The sand grains began to turn black from the horizon where the sunset had disappeared. It was a mysterious and awe-inspiring sight.

"Truly incredible."

The black sand grains were sparkling.

-It's the same color as me! Indeed, this desert is beautiful and magnificent, just like me!

Laon also seemed excited.

Kale shared his impression.

"It's as if the night has descended upon the earth."

"Right."

Tasha smiled slyly.

"The night has descended upon the earth. So where should the earth go?"

At that moment, a cool breeze blew.

Rustle, rustle. The sand grains began to roll with the wind. The desert rebuilt its sand dunes several times.

"Hmm."

Kale understood Tasha's words. He watched the black sand moving with the wind and answered.

"If the night has descended upon the earth."

Kale's gaze turned to Tasha.

"Then the dark elves must have gone below the night."

"Correct."

Tasha took off the necklace she was wearing and threw it.

"Ah."

A small exclamation escaped Rosalin's lips. Tasha's skin, as black as the sand grains, her black eyes, and her black hair made her look like a black pearl come to life.

Tasha, who had appeared to have the skin color of a typical central continent inhabitant, revealed her true form and shouted,

"From now on, I'll guide you to the city of the dark elves."

A wind swirled from her hand. It must be a spirit. The wind made the sand move even faster.

In the middle of the desert, far from the gate and out of sight of others,

At the spot where a sand dune had moved, a large door appeared on the ground. Tasha lifted the round door with all her strength.

"...Underground."

Rosalin's voice, filled with amazement, was heard.

If the night had descended upon the earth, the earth should go below the night.

"I'll go first. The last person to go should pull the door while descending."

Tasha lightly threw herself into the black hole.

"I'll close the door last."

Hearing Choi Han's words, Kale took a slight step back. The hole was dark, and he couldn't see anything inside. He wouldn't fall to his death, right?

-Human, let's go!

Right, with Laon, it should be fine.

Kale, feeling the group's eyes on him, jumped into the hole.

"Oh."

Kale's exclamation escaped.

It was a slide. Kale felt a heavy presence behind him. Laon was clinging to him, riding the slide.

-Human, this is fun! I want to do it again!

Riding the slide heading underground, Kale kept going down, down, and finally saw a light at the end of the tunnel. It was a bright light.

Plop. With a rather cute sound, Kale landed on a soft cushion of cotton. In front of him, the city of the dark elves appeared.

Shimmering lights adorned the ceiling, and massive pillars supported the underground city's ceiling.

Trees, water. The beautiful underground city, filled with nature, welcomed Kale.

A hand was extended to him. It was Tasha.

"Welcome to the city of death."

The city of death. Kale took Tasha's hand and stood up.

"Nice."

At his brief comment, Tasha smiled.