The Ways to Open the Cursed Orb
"A person inside the cursed orb…? No, we can't investigate it here. Let's return to my mansion in the Royal Capital."
"Yes, understood."
The return journey was easy.
It seemed that the Ice Wolves had devoured all the monsters, as we didn't encounter any monsters or wild animals.
Since we had defeated the giant wolf that seemed like their leader, the Ice Wolves themselves stopped appearing.
Thanks to this, we were able to exit the forest in less than half the time it took us to enter.
The problem was, the 2nd Knights Order was waiting for us at the forest's edge.
"What are you doing here!"
"What do you mean 'what are we doing'? We merely returned after defeating the monster's leader."
"The monster's leader? What's that large cocoon?"
"It's the core of the monster's leader. It's currently sealed, but if the seal is broken, it might revive. I'll be taking it with me."
"We can't allow that! This whole monster incident is the fault of the Adventurers’ Guild! All profits from the monster belong to the country! Hand over that cocoon!"
"It's absurd to claim it's our fault. It was the Kingdom's Knights Order that failed to contain the situation before it spread. Isn't the protection of the highways the Knights' job?"
"We don't care about that! It was the 3rd Knights Order that shirked their duties! The 2nd Knights Order has nothing to do with it! Hand over that cocoon immediately!"
"... There are always people who can't be reasoned with. We have no choice and no time. We'll force our way through!"
It seemed negotiations between Rumaja and the 2nd Knights Order had broken down.
When Rumaja lightly cast a fire spell, the Knights ran away.
That level of fire couldn't even take down an ogre.
Is this country okay in terms of national defense?
I'll place my hopes on the 1st Knights Order, whom I haven't seen yet.
Anyway, with the 2nd Knights Order scattering like spiders, we safely returned to the Royal Capital.
I thought we might be stopped at the city gates, but Rumaja's glare got us through.
Rumaja is really strong.
We arrived at her mansion and went to the largest room, which was the living room.
I wonder what we're going to do here.
The cocoon Talat carried was just big enough to pass through the hallways.
"... Now, I've set up a magic barrier to block external magic. Lily, can you tell Talat to unwrap the cocoon?"
"Um, is it really safe?"
"Don't worry. If it starts to revive, I'll stop it with all my power."
"Got it. Talat, please unwrap the cocoon."
As Talat unraveled the cocoon, a giant red gem emerged from inside.
It was cloudy and hard to see, but looking closely, I could make out a human figure inside, just as Talat had said.
What should we do?
"Hmm... This is troubling. It doesn't seem like something that can be destroyed by magic."
"Should we break it by force?"
"Let's not. It might affect the person inside. Besides, we don't fully understand how this Cursed Orb works, so we can't act recklessly."
Hmm, what should we do?
While everyone was pondering, Talat started tugging on my sleeve.
Does he have an idea?
(Lily, can I eat the surrounding magic stone?)
"Eat the magic stone?"
(Yeah. That way, the person inside shouldn't be affected.)
"Rumaja, Talat says he can eat the magic stone without affecting the person inside."
"... That might be our best option. Go ahead, Talat."
(Leave it to me.)
Talat, given the go-ahead, eagerly started to bite into the cursed gem.
It seemed to be made of some kind of ice, as it slowly melted and was absorbed by Talat.
This might take a while.
Rumaja decided to keep all the adventurers involved in the mission at her mansion for the time being, unsure of how the Kingdom would respond.
I'll also stay at Rumaja's mansion while Talat eats the Cursed Orb.
We also notified Marquis Vardmoi while waiting for Talat to finish.
What do you think about this chapter?
