Dragonlord

Ep 138. I Did? (6)

“Chief.”

“…”

Peska counted a grand total of 3 seconds as he watched Urgus rolling about the cold stone floors of his cabin. Despite having a perfectly functional bed inches away, the chief warrior was on the floor for some reason, fast asleep.

A small sigh escaped Peska’s lips. From all the years he’d spent at Urgus’ side, he’d developed a golden rule about waking up his superior.

‘One calling is enough.’

After the 3 seconds had passed, Peska proceeded to take the deepest breath he could muster. He simultaneously pulled back his arm in an arc, his hand gripped into a tight fist.

Then, in one swift motion, the warrior struck down at the sleeping figure’s lower stomach.

A series of coughing sounds filled the cabin as Urgus jolted awake, furiously rubbing his sore belly. Meanwhile, Peska softly blew on his fist, nodding in satisfaction of the strike’s result.

“Chief, I told you drinking last night was a bad idea. Do you even know what you missed?”

“Cough, cough…ugh, what is it? Did Brother Orkaan return?”

“No. The rear gates have been broken. There was a monster attack.”

“A monster attack? How many? Was anyone hurt?”

“…Only one, but…”

Peska trailed off his words as he pondered on how to best explain the situation at hand. But in the end, the warrior opened the cabin door, beckoning his chief outside.

“…Better you see it yourself. Come.”

✧ ✧ ✧

As soon as Aymeia had arrived, Chell’s warriors had been quick to fix up a temporary throne for their guardian deity. But when they took notice of the creature she was sharing the throne with, none of them dared approach her too close – and ironically, Aymeia was finally able to gain some semblance of personal space.

The wriggling black worm in her hand was keeping away any villager that dared approach her.

Though, Karas still remained relatively close at her side – as well as Ilias and Light, who were watching the creature with a mix of curiosity and disgust.

“Ew, look at all that teeth…this thing was inside the bear?”

“…From what I saw, yeah. I don’t know what it is though…professor, do you know?”

“It’s certainly not a species we can find in Wayla, but I’m afraid I can’t say much otherwise. Peska’s told us that he’d be back shortly, I’m sure he can tell us more soon.”

“…”

Upon Peska’s request, Aymeia had agreed to keep the wriggling creature alive while he went to go fetch Urgus. Although he’d skipped over explaining why or what the creature was, judging from the locals’ reaction, it wasn’t difficult to tell that the creature wasn’t something a person would normally want to be near.

The answer soon became clear as Urgus approached the group with Peska in tow, his eyes wide with surprise.

“Stars above…is that a parworm?”

Aymeia’s puzzled gaze darted between the chief warrior and the wriggling worm in her hand.

“…A parworm?”

Urgus and approached closer for a better view. Meanwhile, Peska knelt down apologetically before the guardian deity.

“Lady Aymeia, my apologies for asking you to hold such a foul creature. I thought the chief should see it beforehand.”

“It’s alright. More importantly…is ‘parworm’ this creature’s name? It sounds rather familiar…”

“Why, I would assume so. You were the one who bestowed them their name.”

“I did?”

“Indeed. I believe you’ve also taught our ancestors the dangers they pose, as well as how to best cull their headcount.”

“…I did???”

While Aymeia desperately tried to recall such events, Urgus wore a heavy frown as he finished inspecting the worm. The chief warrior shook his head in dismay, kicking his tongue in distaste.

“Tsk…I was afraid something like this would happen when we missed this year’s Frosthunt. If one’s managed to grow this large, there’s bound to be more.”

“Chief, with the empire’s threat no more, perhaps we should resume this year’s hunt as usual. It’s a little late, but it’d be better than leaving it to just Orkaan.”

“…Hm.”

While Urgus and Peska conversed, the others looked at each other in confusion – especially towards Karas. But when even the professor failed to provide an explanation to what the warriors were talking about, Light volunteered to interrupt their conversation midway.

“…I’m sorry, what’s a Frosthunt?”

“Hm?”

Both warriors glanced towards the half girl. They then looked at each other, then towards Aymeia.

Finally, Urgus began to answer with a confident smile, his hands proudly gesturing towards his guardian deity.

“I’m surprised you don’t know. I thought Lady Aymeia’s retainers would know her teachings.”

“Her teachings?”

“Indeed. The Frosthunt is another tradition borne of our guardian’s prized teachings. Every year before winter’s arrival, warriors of Asarda set out to cull the monsters that plague our land – though this year, we were only able to spare a small party for the task due to the empire’s presence. The parworm you see here is one such creature that we hunt during this season. The Frosthunt allows the people to survive through winter’s chill in safety.”

“Wait, I get that it’s a tradition here, but…you hunt ’monsters’? So this parworm’s a monster?”

A solemn nod soon followed from Urgus.

“It is. Unlike regular worms, the parworm finds shelter in another living creature’s body. While their vessels gain enormous strength, the parworms continue to feed off of the host’s bodily energy. The worm robs the host of their will, and eventually, their life.”

“…So that’s why it was inside that bear…”

“Precisely. Now, according to Lady Aymeia’s teachings, parworms are prone to extreme heat – hence why they dare not make someone like Lady Aymeia their host. A parworm is easily expelled when exposed to ample amounts of fire.”

Hearing the chief warrior’s explanation, Karas studied the black worm with newfound interest. He mentally noted the warrior’s description, as well as the foreign monster’s traits.

“Interesting. A parasitic monster…that’s quite unusual.”

“Mm, indeed. The parworms are an odd bunch, even here in Asarda – but they are monsters nevertheless. As proof…”

Following suit, Urgus politely gestured towards Aymeia for the worm in her hand. As she released the monster into the chief warrior’s palm, Urgus gripped both ends of the parworm with his hands, tearing it into two pieces.

And, sure enough, the parworm’s carcass cleanly faded away, dissipating into bits of mana. Only a crystallized mana fragment dropped to the snow beneath.

Satisfied by the disappearance, Urgus then picked up the crystal and casually tossed it into a nearby fire.

“I suppose that’s one saving grace about the parworms: they only leave behind little stones, if that. Not many would be excited to clean their disgusting carcass -“

“Wait, that’s a mana crystal!”

Both Karas and Light immediately raced towards the fire, with Light managing to pluck out the stone before it was destroyed. She then blew on the surface several times, inspecting the crystal to confirm it was whole.

This time, it was Urgus’ turn to be confused.

“…? Do you collect those stones?”

“…You don’t know what these are?”

“Why, of course I know what those are. They’re stones that melt. Monsters leave them behind on occasion.”

“…”

For perhaps the twentieth time, Light glanced around the small settlement they were in to study the…cultural difference.

Most buildings were wooden cabins, and the few that weren’t were still made of wood nonetheless. A large bear was capable of breaking through the settlement’s gates, and the people lived off of leather clothes and numerous campfires. The most advanced weapon she’d found here were metal-tipped arrows.

Simply put, in the half girl’s eyes, Asarda’s level of civilization was severely – SEVERELY – lacking.

‘I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I don’t think most people even know what mana is here…’

Sighing, Light forced herself to smile back at the chief warrior. She slowly nodded her head, ignoring the burning desire to explain the worth of what Urgus was throwing away.

“Ahaha…yeah, stones that melt! That’s…exactly what these are. I just…like collecting these…”

“I see…?”

Meanwhile, Ilias leaned in towards Karas, her whispering voice just loud enough for the professor – and Aymeia – to hear.

“Hey, professor? How much would that go for?”

“Here? Apparently nothing.”

“In Partivine, I mean.”

“…Considering that the crystal’s from a species we don’t even find in Wayla…at least a thousand gold, purely from an academic perspective.”

“…”

“Depending on other qualities, it could be more. You never know a mana crystal’s worth until it’s in the hands of an alchemist.”

…And no one would ever know their worth if they’re constantly being thrown away.

‘Hm? Wait a minute…’

Karas frowned as a new, dreadful curiosity struck his mind. He warily eyed the chief warrior before hesitantly opening his beak.

“Say…Urgus, was it? You said your people hold a yearly hunt as tradition?”

“Yes. What of it?”

“How many of these ‘stones’ do you tend to find in your hunts?”

“Hm. We don’t particularly count them, but…perhaps a hundred?”

At Urgus’ rough estimate, Peska chimed in from the side.

“Several hundred. I’ve counted before.”

The professor’s frown deepened at the warriors’ answers. He then looked towards Peska, his voice audibly shaking as he asked his next question.

“And what do you…do with them?”

“We toss ‘em into the fire. They’re too fragile to be used for our crafts, but we’ve found that they burn quite well, surprisingly.”

“…You’ve said this year’s hunt hasn’t happened yet, yes?”

“Not in any proper form, no. Why do you ask?”

“Well…”

Karas’ goal had remained ever the same since he’d volunteered to help restore Aymeia’s memories. Asardans throwing away items of enormous academic and alchemic value was none of his concern.

But with that thought in mind, Karas looked towards the former deity behind him.

“Lady Aymeia. Perhaps it’d do well for us to…I mean, for you to participate in this year’s hunt.”

“Huh?...Me?”

“Why, yes. You’d be doing your people a great service, I’d imagine. Your presence alone would provide immense support for Asarda’s warriors.”

Before Aymeia even gave her answer, both Urgus and Peska nodded at the professor’s remark with hope-glinted eyes.

“Legends do tell of a time when Lady Aymeia led the Frosthunt herself.”

“Ah, yes. A legend retold! I can only imagine Brother Orkaan’s reaction.”

“…”

Despite the warriors’ conjoined comments, Aymeia failed to recall such events ever happening. Only vague memories floated within her mind, and she couldn’t tell if participating in this hunt would even yield her any clarity.

…But with her followers’ expectant gazes upon her, there really weren’t many feasible answers Asarda’s guardian could deliver to her people.

In fact, within a certain feathered figure’s head, the conversation’s outcome was likely decided from the start.