Found you!

After Meisa and the dark elf subjugation force departed, Turan's daily life didn't change much.

Building his body with Haram, learning weapon skills and martial arts, resting, practicing magic...

The only difference was that he lost one friend to practice magic with in the evening hours.

That just made those times feel a bit lonelier.

On the thirty-second day of his stay at House Berk.

In the workshop on the highest floor of the mansion, cluttered with all sorts of magical devices, Asiz's older brother Melo handed something to Turan.

His face had grown gaunt from being cooped up for the past month trying to make this.

"Here it is."

The magical device was in the form of a bracelet, made by braiding several long, thin leather straps like a braid and wrapping them with a non-luminous blue metal.

This metal was said to originate only from certain mountains in the east, being a material that could more easily hold magical power.

"Just wearing it slightly increases your physical durability, and when infused with magical power, that effect increases further. Ultimately, it can reach a level similar to nobles with the Guardian bloodline, but the mana consumption is severe, so it's best not to maintain it for too long."

"This... is truly an amazing treasure."

Considering that magical devices that replicate bloodline abilities typically had daily usage limits, this was remarkably powerful.

At Turan's words of admiration, Melo smiled with pride and said.

"Such an item would probably be rare even in great houses. It turned out exceptionally well."

While a craftsman's skill and time invested had absolute influence on magical device creation, even with the same skill and time invested, the resulting quality could differ.

Among these, this item was of the highest quality that would normally be presented to someone of the level of Arabion's head of house, Melo emphasized several times as he praised his creation before adding lastly.

"Asiz may be a dim-witted fool, but he's still my brother. I couldn't be careless with this repayment."

Though his first impression of putting down Asiz had made him seem cold, it seemed he too was a brother who loved his sibling.

After receiving the magical device and saying goodbye, Turan headed next to House Berk's head, Midela.

As expected, she proposed that he formally join the house when he came to bid farewell.

"It's truly a generous offer, but I'm afraid it would be difficult."

"I see..."

Surprisingly, instead of persistently making the offer repeatedly, Midela immediately showed resignation.

Her following words revealed why.

"Actually, I heard from Asiz. That you're someone with many things you need to do, so it would be difficult to settle here. Please consider my bringing it up despite knowing it wouldn't work as just an old person's lingering attachment."

It seemed Asiz had already given the head of house a heads up.

Turan bowed deeply to express his gratitude.

"I won't forget the hospitality you've shown me. Asiz and House Berk will forever be my friends."

"Yes, that's enough."

Though she knew, there must have been some bitterness, as a slight hint of disappointment lingered on Head Midela's face.

After finishing the meeting, other members of House Berk, particularly those who had become close with Turan, were waiting.

"Take it."

Haram abruptly handed over a dagger.

It was of a convenient size that could be easily carried as an everyday item or used as a weapon if needed.

"It's a magical device. Nothing special, but it's sturdy and sharp."

While it wasn't particularly valuable as far as magical devices go, being only slightly better than the magical lamps that were abundant in House Berk, it was still too precious a treasure to give to a disciple he'd only taught for a few weeks.

"...Thank you."

Turan knew why Haram was taking such good care of him.

Among nobles who mostly looked down on close combat, Turan had faithfully absorbed the teachings that Haram had pursued his entire life.

With a sense of respect, Turan used a title he didn't normally use for the last time.

"Master."

Haram's lips twitched once before he turned his head and left.

Perhaps he didn't want to show an expression he couldn't control.

Next, Asiz grinned as he held out a well-maintained shirt, pants, and cloak.

Made of sturdy material without unnecessary decorations, they looked comfortable to wear.

"What's this?"

"Didn't you say you envied my clothes before? I prepared these in my spare time. They won't get dirty easily, and they'll repair themselves from small tears."

Only then did Turan understand what Asiz had meant when he said earlier that it was good they'd made them bigger.

Considering how they often went out together in the afternoons to watch plays, he must have prepared these during his morning or evening free time.

Thinking of that dedication made it difficult to simply say thank you.

"Asiz..."

"You're a good friend, Turan. Not just because you saved my life, but watching how you live while staying together has given me a lot to think about."

Asiz made an honest confession to Turan.

That at first, he had harbored inner jealousy of his outstanding talent, but he came to admire how despite having such talent, he never wasted time and constantly worked on self-improvement.

He said he felt he had been living too lazily until now, and starting with making these clothes, he would dedicate himself to practicing magical device creation again.

"Plus, once the dark elf situation calms down, I'll go on another pilgrimage. From somewhere safer."

Turan nodded and mentioned Asiz's other friend.

"Don't forget to take Tilly with you when you leave again."

"Of course!"

The horse masu, Tilly, was as intelligent as any decent person and had strength that could rival a noble's.

Unless another extreme situation like last time occurred, Asiz shouldn't face any serious dangers.

"So, where are you thinking of going now?"

"East first."

"Kamain?"

"Yeah."

Going straight east from the Dakein Plains led to the port city ruled by House Kamain.

Though smaller than Arabion or Zahar, they were a great house with their own long history and strength, famous for their bloodline ability to control water and ice.

"I've been there once before too. Try not to take a ship if you can help it. I tried it once out of curiosity, but the waves were absolutely terrible."

At Asiz's warning, Turan shook his head with a light laugh.

Unfortunately, he had to take a ship and cross those waves.

His destination was Zahar's territory, the Enril Desert, which could be reached by taking a ship southeast for quite some time.

"Well, you're not a kid—well, age-wise you are, but anyway, you're more mature than me so you'll be fine. Take care. Don't die."

"Right."

Turan embraced Asiz one last time before walking out of the mansion.

It was truly time to leave the cradle now.

==

Leaving Zabilin City, Turan felt the cold autumn wind wrap around his face.

The wheat fields of the Dakein Plains, once spread out in golden hues, had already been harvested, leaving only stalks behind.

When he first came down to this world, it must have been late summer, and now winter was just around the corner.

Running east, Turan employed the breathing technique suitable for long-distance running that Haram had taught him.

Two long exhales and two inhales in rhythm with his steps.

Thanks to the leg strength from his now much thicker thighs, his body shot forward as if the ground was automatically pushing back.

A speed that none could dare to match except for Arabion nobles who could fly through the sky or those with similar movement abilities.

Travelers passing through various parts of the plains or patrol teams made up of wizards couldn't even ask what kind of person he was, unable to catch up when they spotted Turan.

He would run like that for half a day, rest briefly, then run again.

Only stopping in the evening, he made porridge by boiling dried bread, jerky, and some dried vegetables he had prepared.

He had worried his palate might have become too accustomed to fancy food, but fortunately, the travel food he hadn't had in a while was fairly palatable.

After filling his stomach adequately and lying down in the middle of the plains with his cloak covering him, he found himself laughing for some reason.

It was because he realized he had once again become a loner without a home to stay in, just like when he first came down from the hill.

But what was different from then was that Turan's heart wasn't empty like before.

New friends he had made, teachers who had taught him many things...

That alone made coming down to this world worthwhile.

Spending days and nights running like that for two days.

Finally, as Arabion's controlled plains region ended, several mountain peaks appeared, jutting up and down, with dense forests covering them.

Like the area where he had encountered the dark elves in the past, it was a place under Arabion's influence but not formally under their control.

Turan first activated his search magic, which he had kept sealed since entering Arabion's territory, to look for masu.

By targeting all sorts of animals—wolves, deer, wildcats, raccoon dogs—searching for traces of individuals significantly larger than their kind.

After a few minutes, he could find one target.

'A boar.'

The masu he found by following the traces was snorting and prowling around, its tusks unusually long.

Those fangs were probably specialized for piercing something.

When he shouted "Hey!" it whipped its head around and charged angrily.

[Kwieeeek!]

Turan carefully observed the charging boar before using magic to accelerate his thoughts.

The world instantly slowed down.

Taking one step to move out of its trajectory at the right timing, then precisely stabbing it in the side with his dagger, the boar collapsed as its brain was pierced.

'So this is how it feels.'

He hadn't known since he'd always just gotten beaten one-sidedly when sparring with Haram, but hunting using his body was quite fun.

Of course, this boar was an opponent he could have killed with just one thrown stone.

Since he'd need fare for the ship anyway, Turan absorbed the dead boar's magical power—it was a small fry as expected—then butchered it and skinned it.

Taking some time to leave it with a tanner, or if not that, selling it whole would fetch a decent price.

"Nngh."

The unexpected point was that the fully skinned hide was as big as a person, making it inconvenient to carry.

Despite having sufficient strength, he had to use both hands to maintain balance, and its excessive bulk blocking his vision was quite annoying.

Therefore, contrary to his original plan to sell it upon reaching the port city, Turan stopped at a fairly large village nearby and sold the hide immediately.

There was some commotion selling a hide that was clearly from a masu, but somehow he managed to get rid of the cumbersome luggage and obtain twenty gold coins.

After running for two full days with his lightened body, passing through two cities.

Just as he was thinking that House Kamain's territory must not be far now, Turan's nose caught an unusual scent.

'Hmm?'

The first thing detected was the smell of burned ashes.

If that was all, he could have dismissed it as a passing traveler lighting a campfire, but the degree of the smell was excessive.

If this was from a campfire, it would have to be from burning dozens of houses' worth of wood to be believable.

Moreover, not just plants but the stench of burned animals wafted over, making him wonder if there had been a forest fire, but as he approached, an even more horrific sight awaited him than he had expected.

"This is..."

Inside the half-burned collapsed palisade, he could see the ruins of what must have been an ordinary village.

Could it have been attacked by masu?

Going inside, he could tell that wasn't the case.

Because there were bodies burned while tied up in the middle of the village square.

This was clearly the trace of something done with malice by humans or a race with comparable intelligence.

'I hadn't heard that the dark elves had advanced this far.'

If they had, Asiz, who knew Turan was heading east, would certainly have given him a heads up about it.

While wondering how to deal with this mess, Turan detected the scent of a living person through the stench.

Sweat, tears, urine...

'Here?'

Following the traces of the smell, Turan found a trapdoor hidden under a table in one of the half-burned log houses.

When he forcibly tore open the door that was locked with a bolt—

"Kyaaaaaah!"

A girl screaming as if her throat would tear crawled backward.

How old could she be, maybe eight or nine?

Clear white tear tracks stood out on her face, which was dark with soot on her dirty clothes.

"Calm down. I'm not your enemy. I came to help."

The trembling girl, after Turan repeated the same words several times, asked while breathing heavily.

"Really...?"

"Yes. Do you know what happened to this village?"

"Th-they're all dead. That wizard—"

"Wizard?"

"Yes..."

The girl collapsed right after saying that much.

She must have been exhausted mentally and physically from being trapped in this basement for quite a while.

Turan carefully carried her up from the basement.

He thought he should first feed her well and let her rest, then take her to another village nearby...

"Found you!"

Four men and women in a semicircle around the log house entrance.

The one who looked like their leader, a woman holding a pure white ice bow, pointed an arrow at Turan while speaking.

"Kneel, you murderer!"