Kujibiki Tokushou: Musou Hāremu ken

CHAPTER 230 – ALTHEA’S LIFE

I only brought Eleanor and Hikari and headed towards the north .

『Are you sure it’s over here?』

「Eleanor asked」

「I would not forget a human’s smell once I have met them . As long as they are still alive, I can track them . That human especially possesses a strong smell, so there is no way I can be wrong」

Olivia in her dragon form said with a heavy tone .

Because her body became bigger, not only her tone was heavy, but her voice was loud as well .

She would release a pressure that ordinary humans would feel frightened just by talking to her .

Despite that, more than half of that pressure is neutralized .

It’s because Hikari is hanging by her neck .

Olivia, O-chan .

Although they’re essentially different dragons, Hikari treats Olivia just like how she does with Chibi Dragon .

And Olivia accepts that . Because of how heartwarming they look, the pressure she releases decreased even more .

And I don’t really mind it like that, so I ignored it, and continued to talk with Olivia .

「What kind of place is in this direction? Althea seems to be worried about Rodotos so, is it a city?」

That’s right, it’s Althea .

To establish Mercouri as a kingdom, a proper internal affair is essential after defeating the Empire .

The other four kingdoms might be able to do something about it, but Mercouri only has Rex and Soora who I support .

One of them is a man from a country village and the other is a woman from a village who chose to cease connection with the world .

There was no way they could govern .

And so, there comes Althea .

The Great Sage Althea, the woman who was Rodotos’s right arm .

In the era I’m in, I have witnessed her political ability a bit, so I believe she could do it .

「If it’s the Imperial City Irion, it’s over there」

Olivia slowly raised her clawed hand and pointed diagonally .

「That’s an unfamiliar name . I see, it’s not the city huh」

『I turned into something like “that”, so there is no way she would stay in the city』

「I guess so……」

☆

We flew for about an hour and landed in a deep forest .

I got off in front of a mountain cabin that looks like a secret hideout inside the forest .

Olivia returned to her dragonkin form and Hikari was still hanging from her neck .

「It’s here?」

「Un, she’s inside」

Olivia completely changed her tone after turning to her dragonkin form . She seems like a friendly neighborhood childhood friend in this form .

Her tone just fits how she looks with Hikari hanging from her head .

「Ororo〜」

「What’s the matter?」

「I didn’t notice from far away, but this human, she’s dying?」

「What did you say?!」

『Umu . The life force of the human inside seems very weak』

Hearing what Olivia and Eleanor said, I opened the door almost destroying it, and rushed inside .

Inside the dark cabin was a bad smell and stagnated air .

A silhouette that faintly appears .

She is sitting on the ground, facing towards the wall .

Her long hair and familiar clothes, it’s Althea .

「Althea!」

I ran up to her while calling out her nameーーI was stunned seeing her face when she reacted and looked up to me .

It was an old woman .

The last time we’ve met was only a few days ago, but the youthful Althea turned into a wrinkly old woman .

「You came……I thought you’d come」

Although the tone of her voice sounded very youthful, the voice itself was completely that of an old woman .

「Rather than that, what happened, Althea? What happened to you?!」

「It is the, compensation」

「Compensation?」

「Ahh, it came again」

「What?」

I looked towards the opposite direction from Althea .

I looked over there and saw something dark and transparent passing through the wall .

「Hikari!」

「Un!」

I called Hikari and she turned into a Demon Sword . I raised the mother and daughter Demon Swords and faced towards that thing .

「A ghost huh, I’ll end you quickly」

「Wait」

「Eh?」

Althea grabbed me with her wrinkled hand .

「Why should I wait?」

「That is……he is……」

『Rodotos, huh』

「What?」

Althea and Eleanor said together .

I turned around in surprise . This ghost that doesn’t even have a shape, this is Rodotos?

『There’s no doubt, it’s him』

「……eii! If so, then let’s leave this place first!」

I couldn’t kill it at once, so I carried Althea and rushed out of the room .

☆

I gained quite a distance from the cabin . Although we’re still inside the forest, the silent air made me feel that we had ventured deeper .

Hikari remained in her Demon Sword form and Olivia and I faced with Althea .

And there, I had Althea explain what’s happening .

To save Rodotos whose soul is being sullied by Eleanor, Althea used an elixir to let Eleanor gain a physical body in exchange for releasing Rodotos .

Rodotos was released immediately but still passed away . His soul was released as well .

「ーーor, that was how it should have been」

「He wasn’t released?」

「He was, once . However, his soul did not return to the heaven completely . As you can see, he started to attack me」

「And because of that, you became like this?」

「It would seem that he has an attachment to life . He might be trying to revive himself by absorbing my life force」

「Is that so?」

I asked Eleanor .

『Although I don’t know whether it’s on purpose or just left like that, my powers might have remained in his soul . There are such times, when someone dies possessing my powers, they would turn into evil ghosts that are attached to life』

「You yourself were obsessed with having a physical body after all」

『That is true during this era . I do not anymore』

「Is that thanks to me?」

『Umu』

I spoke in the middle and let Althea and Eleanor speak to each other .

「I want to release him . What should I do?」

『It’s simple . Just ask this man』

「Me?」

『You only need to cut him . Not his soul, but my powers that is possessing his soul』

「I see」

「Can you do that?」

「Leave it to me . I’ll make him ascend to heaven the next time he comes」

What Eleanor is saying is not something that difficult . Rather, for me who was able to bring our powers that Eleanor didn’t have, the level of difficulty is just like riding a bike with one hand .

It’s Althea’s request . I’ll quickly end him .

「Rather than that, it’s you . That appearance, aren’t you in a really bad situation?」

「Let me see, it feels like he took fifty years of my life . I won’t live for long」

「Can’t you do something about it?」

「Well, when it comes to a person’s longevity……」

Althea made wry smile .

The Great Sage Althea, the woman who knows everything in this world .

She is saying that because she knows everything, she cannot do anything against a person’s longevity .

『……I see, it was like that huh』

「What do you mean by that, Eleanor?」

『I understood right now . I understood the reason why how she, an ordinary human, could meet you』

「What do I need to do?」

『You’re too quick to be convinced』

Eleanor laughed .

Althea, just Althea .

When we first met, she was an old woman who would suck up life force from humans, so I thought that she is from a long-lived race . But Althea who I met in this era said that she was an ordinary human .

I secretly had my doubts on why she was able to continue to live and meet me in the future .

『Do you remember? What I said to you after you slept with those Mercouri women?』

「Are you talking about Cima and the other girls? …………the way you sleep with a woman?」

「Don’t tell me……is it like this?」

Althea said and grabbed my hand .

Its the usual thing that Althea in the future does . That ability that absorbs life force .

She held my hand just like that .

「It’s that thing Rodotos was doing huh」

It looks like what I heard from Eleanor, was something Althea actually saw .