Chapter 365 - Chapter 8: Salamander
We went outside, joined up with Lewis-san and the others, and called Dune and Mel.
The Medioland scout's legs gave out, but Lewis-san said he'd take care of him, so I decided to leave it to him.
"Oh? Isn't it fire? Dune, are you okay?"
"It's okay here."
Dune positioned herself a bit away, and Mel sent wind toward Salamander from behind her.
"Sorry. He said it's okay once we're out of the barrier, and he said it's okay to call him, so I thought I'd have you actually meet."
"I don't mind. It's not like we're on bad terms. We just keep our distance because water and fire have intense interference with each other."
She put her arm around my shoulder, but she didn't take her eyes off Salamander.
Seeing that, the four of Henry-sama's group slowly moved between Dune and Salamander.
"Hey, hey. I'm not an enemy. First of all, if there's interference with water, I'm the one who takes damage too."
"Sorry, sorry. We've known Dune longer."
"Dune?"
When I explained, he said "Hoon."
"Is Salamander-dono protecting someone?"
When Eleanor-sama asked, he shook his head.
"I can't. I have to boil the hot springs. I'm working hard every day for the people of the town."
"Why are you working so hard? Do you get something?"
When Mel asked, he averted his eyes.
Apparently, he's getting something.
"We can provide alcoholic beverages here too. Your favorite strong ones. How about it once in a while?"
Eleanor-sama suggested, but he refused.
Well, if the hot springs stop, the whole town, and by extension the whole Kingdom of Engrio, will be in trouble, so it's no wonder.
"I bet you're peeping at the women's bath, aren't you? Isn't that why?"
At Mel's words, the gazes of the female members became sharp.
Regarding peeping at the women's bath, I also have something to say. If it's as Mel says, this fellow isn't a fire spirit. He's a pervert spirit.
"Hey, what would we spirits do by peeping at humans? Besides, I'm underground. There's no way I can do such a thing."
"Ahaha, it's a joke, a joke."
If that's the case, then good.
But why is he working so much for humans?
"Now, now, since we've gathered like this, let's have a light banquet together. Salamander-dono, wouldn't an hour or two be okay?"
In accordance with Eleanor-sama's words, Henry-sama hinted at a second bottle, and the banquet began.
When we listened to various stories, it turned out that Salamander, who boils the hot springs, is worshipped as the guardian deity of the hot spring town. There are regular rituals at the shrine near the source, including an annual festival, and there are quite a few offerings, and local people come to pray almost every day. He said he can't betray the expectations of the townspeople who go that far for him.
"Royalty, of course, and foreign nobles often come. It has a quite good reputation."
I've heard the reputation too. Nobles and wealthy people from the continent are also coming.
"The quality of the hot spring is its life. The groundwater here is good for treating injuries and recovering from fatigue, so it's a good recuperation. Also, it seems to have the effect of improving the blood circulation of people with heart diseases or fat fellows, so it has a good reputation among the wealthy people who have lived a luxurious life since they were young."
I see. If it's popular among the wealthy, the town's earnings must be good too.
"Also, it's called the hot spring of beauties."
"Hou, hou."
That's something that can't be ignored. Eleanor-sama's breathing also becomes heavy.
"It seems to rejuvenate the skin."
When Eleanor-sama snatched the bottle of alcohol Henry-sama had prepared for negotiations, she handed it to Salamander. Henry-sama, who tried to take it back for a moment, was glared at by Eleanor-sama and looked down obediently.
"Please continue that extremely important role that surpasses anything else in the future as well."
Apparently, she intends to come secretly.
By the way, we met Salamander, but that's not the only purpose. We have to find the altar and specify the location where the book is. When we asked Salamander, he said he didn't know.
"Why are you looking for an altar?"
As a result of getting the second bottle, Salamander, who had completely emptied the first one, has become about the size of a human child. I'd like to see what happens if he drinks from a barrel.
"We're looking for a way to seal the Demon Lord, and it seems there are ruins that you enter from an altar. It should be around here."
Eleanor-sama explained, but he was tilting his head. And no wonder. Neither Dune nor Mel knew about the ruins with the secret book.
"About how old are the ruins? Even though I look like this, I've been in this land for over four thousand years. If it's something humans made, I generally know."
He said something subtle. For the ruins, there are currently the 3,000-year-ago theory and the 5,000-year-ago theory. Wilson-san and I somewhat support the 3,000-year-ago theory, but it's denied in Primordia.
"The old ones are from five thousand years ago."
"Five thousand years ago? There's nothing other than here that was already there when I came."
"Then, how about three thousand years ago?"
"There are quite a few. I think the origin of the town was formed about three thousand years ago. Though, I think the number of humans would be different by two digits."
If I recall correctly, the current population of the hot spring town is about ten thousand. The origin would have been a settlement of about a hundred people.
"I think it's originally the place where the Demon Lord was sealed."
"The place where the Demon Lord was sealed? Then it's easy, isn't it? It would be near a church, a temple, or a place of worship. I don't think it has anything to do with hot springs."
At Salamander's words, I accidentally made eye contact with Eleanor-sama.
Come to think of it, that's true. There must have been some kind of barrier at the entrance to the place where the Demon Lord was sealed, and that's a sacred place, so to speak. Nakanohara was under the church, and there was a temple on the mountain.
"Then, is there such a building built at the entrance of a cave that has been there since Salamander-dono came to this land? Probably the first one was built three thousand years ago. It might have been renovated now."
It was Wilson-san. He thinks the ruins related to the secret book are different from the ruins related to the Black Stones made by the Priestess, and were built three thousand years ago.
"That's also easy. There's one of the source areas that has been there since I came here, and it's been dried up for about three thousand years. Since it's the site of the original source, there's a shrine, but it's properly maintained. I'm sure it was renovated after it became the current country."
"Is there a cave?"
"There would be. All the old sources around here were gushing out from caves."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. To be precise, humans dug horizontal holes in places where sources were gushing out on the slopes of the mountains to guide them to the foot of the mountain."
If you dig horizontal holes and the hot spring gushes out, won't you get burned?
"The original temperature of the hot springs around here is low. It's about as warm as human skin. That's why I boil it on the way to make it the perfect temperature."
To maintain the quality of the spring, it seems the temperature shouldn't be too high. I don't understand what it's about at all, but since a spirit is saying so, it must be so.
That's aside from the main point. If I recall correctly, the place where the secret book is should be the place where the Demon Lord was sealed. Nakanohara became a lake, but the mountain had a large cave.
"There isn't one now. But there's a place that seems to be the site of a large cave. I'm sure there was a cave-in a long time ago. It seems such things happen sometimes."
Eh? Surely the cave where the Demon Lord was sealed wouldn't be buried because of a cave-in?
"It's not an impossible story. The place where the Demon Lord appears might be protected by a powerful barrier, so to speak. That's why even if the Demon Lord is defeated, the underground palace doesn't disappear, and the cave is left as it is. I can only think that some kind of power is working."
At Eleanor-sama's words, Henry-sama and Wilson-san nodded. They might have gone to see the Demon Lord's cave several times. If I recall correctly, they said the Kingdom's army collects the magical beasts defeated on the fourth floor to earn profit.
"But the mountain had a quite large-scale cave, didn't it?"
"Wasn't the structure of the cave on the mountain different from the cave where the Demon Lord was? Most likely, the cave where the Demon Lord was sealed is in another place, and the one we entered was the place where the Fire Dragon lived."
Again, Henry-sama, Wilson-san, and even Will nodded. They might have gone there several times too.
"In any case, for now, let's look for the cave at the site of the old source. Salamander-dono, could you tell us the location? Most likely, it's a shrine or something near the large cave that has already been buried. If you tell us where that cave-in happened, we'll look for the shrine ourselves."
"The church is like that. Even if I say church, it's the one the royalty of this country come to."
What a mess. It's a church of a different religion. We can't enter inside at all. That's why we didn't know even when we asked through the Church.
"Is there a secret entrance or something to that church?"
I've heard that old large churches have secret escape routes like fortresses. But no matter how you look at it, isn't it a crime to infiltrate from there?
"You. You're a former Queen, aren't you?"
Salamander was also exasperated.
"It's a joke. Aside from the church, don't you know a secret escape hole to enter those ruins?"
Isn't it the same?
"There is."
Are you serious?
"However, it's a place that can't be passed easily. Unless you have my guidance."
He showed off by shaking the first bottle of Finis alcohol, which had become empty. He turned it upside down, shook the bottle, and licked the drop that fell onto his hand.
"If you guide us, we'll prepare a suitable reward."
"Ho ho."
"An acquaintance of mine is coming to the hot spring town soon, and through that person, I'll offer several barrels of that favorite Finis alcohol as an offering."
Salamander showed a smile, but said "Wait a bit."
"Wait a bit. Did you say Finis alcohol?"
"Yes. I said so."
"Finis is the country at the northern end of this island, right?"
"Yes. You know it well. That's right."
According to Salamander's story, he was told by a human who broke through Salamander's barrier of steam and flame about two hundred years ago.
"Was that person a man? Wasn't his name William, or Guillaume?"
"That's right. It's Guillaume. Is he an acquaintance?"
When Eleanor-sama asked, the name of the first King came out. He had come after all. Most likely, he came after going to the mountain. The arrows are also the traces the first King followed.
"He's my great-grandfather."
At Henry-sama's words, Salamander's eyes widened, but then he started laughing.
"That's why there was someone who received the protection of water and wind. I've heard stories from Guillaume. Especially water. I heard they were quite intimate."
Ho ho. That's something that can't be ignored. Was there even a forbidden love between a spirit and a human?
Suddenly Dune splashed water, and before it hit Salamander, it made a sizzle sound and evaporated.
"Don't say things in a way that causes misunderstanding."
"Wahahaha. Sorry, sorry. Don't be so angry. It's just a joke."
What. It's boring. Is it just an old man's tall tale? Is he drunk?
The female members all cast cold eyes, and Eleanor-sama took back the second bottle she had just handed over.
After Salamander apologized profusely to Dune and finally got the alcohol back, the old stories of the first King began. He said he only came to the hot spring town once, but during his stay, he met Salamander almost every day and talked about various things, including the situation on the island. The timing was after he first met Dune and before he became King. The first King, who told Salamander about Dune, learned about the interference between water and fire. Perhaps because of that, he didn't tell Dune that he met Salamander. Though, since he didn't tell her when he met Mel either, it probably doesn't matter.
Maybe those arrows were a hidden message that it's better to sandwich the wind that protects Medioland, which has a close relationship, rather than suddenly going from water, which is the starting point, to fire or earth.
"So, do you have connections in Finis?"
The story returned to the original point, and Salamander asked Eleanor-sama.
"Yes. we trade with Finis and enter the country frequently."
"Then, I have a request for you humans. If you listen to it, I'll guide you to the site of the cave-in."
"If it's something we humans can do, we will accomplish it no matter what."
"Good resolve."
The smiling Salamander began an old story about himself.
Salamander was apparently born in the north.
It was the moment a volcano at the end of the island erupted.
There was a Fire Dragon living there. Maybe it's the same one that's still alive.
Being of the same fire attribute, they lived together in harmony. However, Salamander wanted interaction with humans, and the Fire Dragon didn't. After discussions between the two, he explored various parts of the island with the Fire Dragon, who could fly in the sky, and found that hot springs were gushing out in this land. The Fire Dragon was suspicious that it wasn't a volcano, but Salamander made a decision. That was about four thousand years ago. Since then, Salamander has boiled the hot springs and has now become the guardian deity of the town.
He met the Fire Dragon sometimes, but after the town became as large as it is now, it stopped coming out of consideration.
"Do you know Fire Dragon Stones?"
Eleanor-sama shook her head.
If Eleanor-sama doesn't know, no one will.
"It's a stone that can harbor the power of flame."
Is there such a thing? Does that mean there are also Water Dragon Stones and Wyvern Stones?
When I asked Dune and Mel, they said they didn't know.
"There's a red gem found inside volcanoes. If a Fire Dragon imbues magic into that gem, a Fire Dragon Stone is created. Go and get one of those stones from the Fire Dragon."
Can such a rare thing be obtained easily?
"Take my message. Then it'll be okay."
Saying so, he scratched something like letters with his claws on a stone rolling nearby and handed it to me for some reason. It looks like nothing. It's just a stone.
"Try blowing on it."
As I was told, when I blew phew on the stone, it made a sizzle sound, and a pattern written in flame floated up on the surface of the stone!
While I was looking in surprise, it disappeared in about ten seconds.
"That pattern can only be reproduced by the person who just blew on it. Take that and show it to the Fire Dragon, and the Fire Dragon will trust your words."
Why me! It's been confirmed that I'm going!
"A human who can get the protection of water and wind spirits should be okay. You won't die."
"Eh? That's..."
"To meet the Fire Dragon, you have to go down into the crater. There are also quite strong monsters. They're not the kind that are around here. It's not easy."
It's the worst. Now, I'll have to have Dune, Mel, and the Black Dragon Child help me. Otherwise, I'll die.
"Cheating is no good. I said I have a request for humans. Spirits or Black Dragons... wait a bit. What's a Black Dragon?"
When I explained this and that, he said it was out of the question.
"The Fire Dragon is a hot fellow. It won't deal with humans who have spirits or monster-like dragons helping them. No matter how much you take my message, it's absolutely no good; break through by yourself."
What a fellow. Don't push your own preferences onto others.
"That's why I told you. Dragons are stubborn fools."
Dune nodded at Mel's words.
"Now, now, don't say that. Isn't it manly and good?"
Hey, I'm a woman!
In the end, I ended up having to go.
Fortunately, it seems I don't have to be alone. Ghosts and Revenants were also originally human, so they got a "barely safe" judgment.
"Good luck. There aren't many humans who could go into the crater and meet the Fire Dragon. Do your best to the extent that you don't die."
That's not even encouragement.
Why does it turn out like this!