Volume 1 Chapter 48 Quest： Obsidian To Roses III
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Caught by the ‘Leanan sídhe’, I was taken to a mansion deep within the Roses garden. It was a mansion more luxurious than the adventurer guild on the eastern outskirts of the Franz Kingdom. It was as big as the Margrave Izerland’s residence, and even more refined. The beautiful building was primarily blue and white. At first, I had no idea what was happening, but when ‘Leanan sídhe’ led me to the bedroom and tossed me onto a canopied bed, I finally realized the situation I was in.”
Robert sighed as he said this.
”Did you really have relations with a monster?”
”I had no choice. If I resisted, I would be killed. I… I was scared of dying. Esther, forgive me. I… I was the worst man.”
”Dad…”
”So, what happened? After being r*ped by ‘Leanan sídhe’, did you escape?”
As Serena urged him to continue, Robert pressed his lips together. After a moment, he shook his head.
”During the act, I felt hatred and anger towards her. All my comrades were killed, and my dignity as a warrior was trampled. That’s only natural… But, on the bed, when she blushed and smiled at me, I gradually lost my hostility.”
”So, you were seduced physically?”
”Not exactly. She was certainly a good woman. Sorry, Esther, for talking so indecently.”
”U, umm. More importantly, what happened next? What about you, Dad? You didn’t…”
”… She was indeed a good woman. But what ensnared my heart was her circumstances. She told me, ‘Thank you for the lovely letter. I want to be taken away, to ride together to the ends of a world where no one else exists, and it made my heart ache,’ she said.”
Robert looked up at Kian.
”She seemed to have been tied to the ‘Labyrinth of Roses’ by her ‘master.’ It was unclear how one could bind a ‘Leanan sídhe,’ who possessed immense magic power, with a magic contract… Regardless, she was destined to wait for a ‘master’ who would never return, continuing to care for the Rose garden for eternity. It was a lonely, sad… and cruel story. By the time I visited, she had already spent over a hundred years alone in the Rose garden. Her only companions were ghosts and the little birds that came to the garden, and she would listen to their stories while dreaming about the outside world.”
Robert continued to speak.
”I hate a creature who killed all my friends, a monster that should be slain. However… seeing her beautiful maiden appearance and the way she happily recited my love letters made me lose all sense of what to do. I… ended up living alongside the ‘Leanan sídhe’ without reaching a conclusion.”
”You lived in a mansion with a monster!?”
”Yeah, it seemed like only 3 days in the outside world, but I felt like I spent about 3 years with her. I ate the meals she prepared, she washed my body, and at night we would sleep together, embracing each other n*ked. …It was a depraved life. When we humans love, we touch each other physically, but we also enjoy words and the dance of emotions, right? The ‘Leanan sídhe’ lacked those things and only sought me. When she was lonely, she sought me; when she was sad, she sought me; when she wanted to go outside, we would have s*x while I told her stories of the outside world. It was very… animalistic love. As a result, it was something I had expected from the start: she became pregnant. You understand now, right? That’s Esther.”
”That’s why she had more magic power than a regular person.”
Kian said this while looking at Esther.
”Esther looked just like that woman, but her body inherited the traits of my… human race. Esther wasn’t animalistic like a ‘Leanan sídhe.’ As I held the bright, laughing baby Esther in my arms, I felt that instinctively. After giving birth to Esther, the love of the ‘Leanan sídhe’ for me didn’t fade; it deepened instead. She started to crave me more and more. I began to receive her services while eating, and even when she washed my body in the bath. Whenever I couldn’t get it up, she used every trick to encourage me. How should I put it? It was a very lewd service that learned my preferences. It was crude, sorry Esther. You might think it’s enviable. In fact, I was starting to think that maybe this was enough. The resentment from the years that passed and the loss of my companions faded, and instead, I began to genuinely love the ‘Leanan sídhe’ who passionately expressed her love for me. But…”
Robert let tears fall from his sunken eyes.
”But one day, while I was cleaning the basement storage of the mansion, I found a mirror. For some reason, there wasn’t a single mirror in the mansion, but there was one in the storage. When I looked in the mirror after a long time, I saw a man with dark circles under his eyes, looking like he was about to die.”
Robert rubbed his forehead with his palm.
”I was terrified. Who the hell is this? Is this Robert Pigfoot? Where did that youthful, life force-filled figure go? I thought that. Right, I was being drained of my vitality by the ‘Leanan sídhe.’ She was devouring my life while indulging in love. I had to have thought of her as just a human, but at that moment, I remembered again that she was a monster wearing human skin.”
”That ‘Leanan sídhe’ was in love with her prey for the first time.”
Aliona looked at the bear man with pity in her eyes.
”And she probably couldn’t distinguish between hunger and desire. Even if she didn’t intend to kill you, she was on the verge of killing you as a result.”
”Yeah, I thought I would be killed if I didn’t run away. Even if I didn’t die right away, if I lived in that mansion for another 3 years, I would end up like a mummy, just like Rain Wraith… Awakening with a desire to kill, I found a dagger infused with magic power in the warehouse and hid it in my clothes. And then… to that person who always came to me with an innocent smile…”
Robert couldn’t finish his words and finally let out big tears.
”I’m… the worst. At first, I forgot about avenging my comrades, then I became afraid for my own life and killed the woman who liked me. ‘Why? Robert, Robert!’ she called my name sadly over and over again. But I looked at her with the eyes of a monster and kept stabbing her with the knife until she was covered in blood and stopped moving. I was lost in it. All I wanted was to save myself… In the end, I started to justify myself, thinking, ‘She was an evil spirit that needed to be killed; I didn’t do anything wrong.’ I cut off her hair and, holding Esther, left the mansion to head to the Adventurer’s Guild. I was caught by a guard at the entrance of a town on the eastern outskirts of the Franz Kingdom and forced my way through to the Guild.”
Robert took a trembling breath.
”I offered the hair to the client and received a large reward. At that time, the only thing left in me was the cute Esther. Without Esther, I would have surely committed suicide. But for Esther’s sake, I decided to keep living. To start my life anew… After quitting being an adventurer, I began managing a tavern with the money I had earned. I thought I would forget about ‘Leanan sídhe’ and live quietly with the cute girl. But sometimes, in my dreams, she would speak to me resentfully, asking why I killed her. That lasted for about 6 months.”
Robert shifted his gaze to Esther.
”My memories faded away, and then I spent my days looking forward to the tavern, the food, and Esther’s growth. It was peaceful. But recently, I encountered her again in a dream. This time, instead of asking, ‘Why did you kill me?’ she said, ‘Give me back that child.’”
Robert got out of bed. The floorboards creaked under his weight. He picked up the sturdy axe that was hanging on the wall.
”She has come back. And she’s looking for Esther. I don’t care what happens to me. I’ve done enough. But if she tries to take Esther, I’ll face her bravely. I may be a damn fool, but I’ll become a real piece of work.”
”…I see, I understand the situation well.”
Kian nodded.
”Sorry for the long explanation. So, Kian, I want to ask you to take her down. If you can’t do it, I’ll have to go to Rean from ‘Lion’s Companion,’ knowing you might not believe me.”
”…Wasn’t ‘Lion’s Companion’ on an expedition to the west last month?”
”Then you’re the only one I can rely on. With you, who defeated Griffin one-on-one, and the ‘Thorn Magician,’ we can definitely subdue ‘Leanan sídhe.’”
”Um, can I say something?”
Esther, who had been quietly listening, slowly raised her hand.
When Aliona gently said, “Go ahead,” she looked around at everyone before speaking.
”I understood my dad’s story well. But… my mom──’Leanan sídhe’ is a powerful monster, right? We don’t really need to go hunting for her when the ‘Labyrinth of Roses’ is about 20 kilometers away from this town. Can’t we just leave it alone?”
”Kian and Ms. Serena might not agree, but that’s one way to look at it. If I make a talisman and set up a barrier, it might be okay. But…”
Aliona’s expression turned serious.
”But it’s still dangerous. Robert is already dreaming, right? That means he’s already experiencing mental interference… ‘Absorb Essence’ is similar, but the tricky part about vampire magic is that once a connection is made, the mental interference continues. ‘You must not invite them into your home’──that’s the fundamental rule when facing a vampire. Even if I set up a barrier, if Robert’s mental corruption progresses, she might break through the barrier from the inside. Robert wouldn’t want to deliver his daughter to the ‘Labyrinth of Roses’ with his own hands, would he?”
”Am I already too late?”
”You seem normal for now. But if you keep dreaming, the corruption will definitely deepen. In theory, if we find all the ‘Leanan sídhe’ factors in your body and purify them one by one, the corruption would stop, but that’s practically impossible.”
”I’ve had s*x with her multiple times. There must be a lot of her factors in my body… Esther, did you hear that? We have no choice but to fight. You stay here. I’m going to settle things with Kian and the others!”
”Wait, Robert. If you’re going to defeat the ‘Leanan sídhe,’ you have to take Ms. Esther with you; it’s impossible otherwise.”
”W-What!?”
Robert’s eyes widened. Next to him, Kian spoke up.
”So, you mean we need Esther’s body to break the rain barrier?”
”Yes. From what I’ve heard, what the ‘Leanan sídhe’ craves is to meet Ms. Esther. After being killed by her loved one, she must have despaired when her daughter was taken away. The strong curse summoned the rain and became a barrier that strengthens ghosts and herself. That’s why she was able to survive in a near-death state.”
”N-No way! There’s no way I can take Esther to the ‘Labyrinth of Roses’; that’s too dangerous!”
Robert shouted, spitting as he did.
Aliona placed her hand on her cheek.
”Hmm, so should we set up a barrier and stall for time? It doesn’t seem like the smartest choice…”
”As someone who wants to clear the request, I need Esther’s help. Even if I’m refused here, I plan to think of another way to drag her out of the Labyrinth of Roses──”
”Maybe we can’t kill that Evil spirit unless we stop the rain.”
Serena said, shaking her head.
She had stabbed the forehead of ‘Leanan sídhe’ with her Magic Dagger, but ‘Leanan sídhe’ had escaped and was still alive.
For example──if they bought 20 slaves and massacred them near the labyrinth like the Funnelwings did, even if they could lure out ‘Leanan sídhe’, it would just escape again and regenerate, Serena argued.
Aliona nodded.
”That’s right. Robert stabbed ‘Leanan sídhe’ multiple times, right? But ‘Leanan sídhe’ is alive and regenerating. So, even if we go now and lure out ‘Leanan sídhe’ and cut it up the same way, it would just retreat deeper into the labyrinth and regenerate again.”
”Ms. Aliona, is there no way to dispel the rain barrier without Esther?”
Kian asked, and Aliona’s expression turned serious.
”So, you mean breaking the barrier by force? Hmm…”
”Is it difficult?”
”Yes…”
Aliona nodded. Robert scratched his head vigorously. Kian exchanged glances with Serena. A heavy silence filled the room.
”Um, I’ll go.”
Esther said, breaking the awkward atmosphere. She looked up at Kian with determined eyes.
”Esther! What are you saying? It’s dangerous! I can’t allow it!”
”No, Dad… I don’t really understand magic or barriers, but basically, if I go to the ‘Labyrinth of Roses’, everything will be solved, right?”
”There’s no solution! If you go and break the barrier, the ‘Leanan sídhe’ will come out! It’ll be an immediate fight! That thing can kill just by staring at you! It’s way too dangerous.”
”I’ll put up a barrier for you, so ‘Absorb Essence’ can burst.”
”Yes, the ghosts coming towards Esther will be handled by me and Serena. …Serena, got it?”
”Of course. That’s the minimum condition for asking for cooperation.”
”…! B-but…”
Robert groaned, “Ugh,” and scratched his head again.
Esther looked at Aliona.
”Even if we set up charms and barriers, Dad will eventually be controlled by ‘Leanan sídhe,’ right?”
”That’s right. As long as ‘Leanan sídhe’ continues to mentally corrupt, Robert will eventually fall under her control and take you to the ‘Labyrinth of Roses.’ Before that, we have to find another way to kill ‘Leanan sídhe.’.”
”Then, to save both Dad and me, we have no choice but to go to the ‘Labyrinth of Roses’ ourselves.”
Esther turned to Robert and said that.
”Yes… but. If it’s Kian, he might find a way to break the rain barrier.”
’Hehe, Kian, they’re talking about you. If you ever want to pour magic power into this one, feel free to do so.’
(────)
’Glasses’ said that, but it felt too ominous to consider. Kian wasn’t inclined to simply hand over his magic power.
”Mr. Kian, will you absolutely protect me and my dad?”
Esther said this and fixed a strong gaze on Kian.
He nodded without hesitation.
”Of course.”
”Then──my life is entrusted to Mr. Kian! You’re the amazing person who rescued my dad from Griffin!”
For Kian, it was surprising that someone could trust him so easily, but at the same time, it was likely one of Esther’s strengths.
Trusting.
Relying.
It was a double-edged sword, but with a bit of luck, it could bring in a powerful ally unconditionally.
Being a young girl, Esther’s approach was incredibly effective for older men who were starved for attention.
(Well, regardless, if she trusted me, I would respond with all my might.)
”Since Esther said that much… I guess I have no choice but to brace myself. But Kian, and ‘Thorn magician’ if anything happens to Esther, I will never forgive you.”
”I can’t afford to fail. Just like with Griffin, I’ll protect you two all beautifully.”
”Please don’t call me by that name… Well, fine. Ms. Esther, as long as I’m here, nothing will happen. However, you must absolutely follow my instructions. If you act on your own, I won’t be able to cover for you.”
”Esther, do you understand? I’m watching over you, but if you move around on your own, I can’t protect you. Only lend a hand to our high elf magician when necessary.”
”I’m not a child anymore, I understand…”
Esther said this while glancing at Kian.
It seemed she was concerned about his reaction.
Kian deliberately ignored her, looked around at the others, and spoke up.
”Alright, the plan is set. Ms. Aliona, when is a good time?”
”If we’re doing the ritual, night is best. During the day, the clouds above the labyrinth get thick to block the sunlight.”
”Then let’s head out now.”
Robert said this as he pulled out his leather armor from under the bed.
”Esther, go change. Put on the chainmail we used before. It won’t mean much against a ghost, but it might provide some comfort… I’ll change now too. Wait for me outside the shop.”
Kian and the others nodded and left Robert’s bedroom.
As he closed the door, he slapped his own cheek as if to pump himself up.
* * *
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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