Chapter 47
Kyaaang!! (Let go of me!)
A snow leopard pounced, seemingly intent on biting Elysia. But—
“There, there. Calm down. I’m not attacking you.”
Elysia dodged the attack with ease and grabbed the snow leopard by the scruff of its neck.
Nyaaang?!
The mini snow leopard, caught by the scruff, flailed around.
Howell, who had been running over, froze in place at the sight.
“You… you actually caught that?”
“Hm?”
Nyaang! Nyaaang! (This is humiliating! How could I lose to a mere human?!)
Howell frowned, as if he were witnessing something truly bizarre. The snow leopard eventually gave up struggling but pouted in clear displeasure.
After a brief silence, Howell spoke first.
“Elysia, put that down. That’s not a cat.”
“I know that?”
“…You do?”
“It’s a Hillein Snow Leopard.”
It was a creature Elysia had seen often in the Seiros Saga. A monster resembling a leopard, with white fur and golden eyes.
But this one must be a weaker individual—without any distinctive patterns and smaller in size, it looked almost like a cat.
“Is it a juvenile?”
Nyaaang! (Don’t underestimate me just because I’m young!)
“It seems to understand human speech quite well.”
To think it could understand her so perfectly—there was no need to speak animal at this point.
‘Good, I don’t have to meow in front of Howell now.’
Of course, Howell likely wouldn’t have tolerated her talking to animals like pigeons and cats all the time.
“Alright, let me just ask you one thing. Kitty, do you know anything about blue fireflies? You’re a magical beast, so you must be pretty smart. You know, the ones that fly around sparkling in blue. Have you seen those?”
Nya?
The snow leopard’s ears perked up, as if it had understood her question.
Nyaang, Nyaaang. Nyaa-aa, Nyaang. (Small, blue, flying things? I used to catch them often because they were fun.)
“Oh ho.”
A smile crept up on Elysia’s face.
‘I knew it. Looks like I came to the right place. Good thing I headed northwest.’
She had headed northwest on a whim, but just because the direction was correct didn’t guarantee she’d find the Hillein Forest.
There were various kinds of forests in the northwest: deciduous forests like Enderi, full of sunlight, and chestnut-heavy forests like Marod. The regions were all distinct.
Among them, the Hillein Forest was uniquely atmospheric and located at the very center. It was darker, with oddly-shaped evergreens clustered together. You had to venture deep to even find it.
She had expected it to be hard to locate, but asking the animals had paid off.
Especially finding the Hillein Snow Leopard was a decisive clue. These magical beasts were known to live near the Hillein Forest. So the place she was looking for was likely nearby.
Elysia said in a satisfied tone, “Alright, kitty, lead the way.”
Nyaang! (Why should I!)
The snow leopard growled with an annoyed expression. At the clear refusal, Elysia turned her head toward Howell.
“Hey, brother.”
“…What?”
“Snow leopards must sell for a pretty high price, right?”
Nyaaak?!!?!
The snow leopard froze with a shocked expression. Howell, who caught a glimpse of the cat’s dumbfounded face, hesitated before answering.
“Well, magical beasts usually sell for a lot. Whether alive… or dead.”
Nyaa! Nyaa-aa! (No! Don’t!)
The snow leopard shook its head desperately. Elysia patted it reassuringly.
“There, there. I do need money, but selling a tiny thing like you won’t make me rich. Just tell me where the fireflies are, and I’ll let you go. I’ll even give you lots of yummy food.”
…Nyaa? (That’s really all you want?)
“Of course! If you hadn’t attacked me first, I wouldn’t have done any of this.”
…Nyaaang. (Hmph.)
The snow leopard scanned Elysia suspiciously, then slowly nodded.
Nyaa, Nyaa-aa. (Leading the way is doable.)
“Great, guide us!”
Elysia gently set the snow leopard on the ground. Knowing it couldn’t run away, or maybe just choosing to cooperate, the creature began walking ahead confidently, as if to say “follow me.”
“Perfect! We just follow this guy now!”
Elysia followed right after, excited.
“Wait a minute… did you really just talk to a magical beast?”
“Nope. It just seems to understand human speech really well.”
Elysia shrugged nonchalantly. Howell asked anxiously,
“What if it leads us somewhere dangerous?”
“If it tries anything funny, I won’t go easy on it. Would it really risk that?”
…Nyaaang. (Fair point.)
Howell let out a small sound of admiration as he saw the snow leopard nodding in agreement.
Even he was surprised by how well the beast understood human speech.
He told the coachman to guard the carriage carefully and finally followed them into the forest.
Catching up with Elysia, Howell asked,
“But hey, why are you looking for those blue fireflies?”
Now that he’d heard the snow leopard talk about it, he was curious about Elysia’s goal. She tilted her head and hesitated.
‘I can’t tell him the truth.’
If word got out that she was looking for Frillien, it could ruin everything.
So instead, she replied cheerfully,
“They’re rare, so they must be expensive.”
“…Huh?”
“Think about it, brother. If fireflies are blue, how pretty must they be? And how expensive?”
“…So it’s about money?”
“Of course!”
Elysia nodded quickly. Howell pressed further.
“How much money do you even need? If you’re that broke, you could’ve just said something.”
“Why? Would you give me money if I asked?”
“How much do you need?”
Howell sounded irritated as the conversation circled.
“How much exactly? Just tell me.”
“It’s not something you can help with.”
“Ha.”
Elysia’s words must have come across as a provocation. Howell asked again, now clearly annoyed.
“Just tell me! What do you need the money for? Is it for clothes or jewelry? If that’s all—”
“One trillion gold.”
“…What?”
Howell’s expression froze. It was such an unexpected number. Elysia remained calm as she thought,
‘The item to go home costs 1.1 billion cash. Which means, in this world, it’s one trillion gold.’
So even if he knew, it wouldn’t help.
“….”
Whatever he was thinking, Howell fell silent. As a heavy silence filled the air, Elysia glanced at him—
—and saw him scoff.
“…You don’t even know what a trillion is, do you?”
He clicked his tongue, pitying her. He must’ve thought she didn’t understand large numbers. Shaking his head, he continued,
“One trillion? That’s the kind of money it would take to buy the whole empire. Seriously, don’t say stuff like that in public. You’ll get labeled a fool or a traitor.”
LOL
I’ve already considered treason, though.
What kind of impression did I give for him to think I can’t even count? LOL
Having suddenly been mistaken for someone who couldn’t do math, Elysia scowled and retorted.
“Excuse me, I do know how much a trillion is, okay? A hundred million times ten is a billion, and ten times that is a trillion.”
“Oh, you do know?”
Howell raised an eyebrow in surprise. It was the kind of look someone might give a monkey that accidentally picked a $50 bill instead of a $1. It felt like she was being praised… but it was also low-key insulting.
Still chuckling, Howell added,
“So what are you going to do with all that money? I knew you liked gold, but you’re really serious about luxury, huh? Is that why you were interested in the crown prince?”
His teasing tone made Elysia cross her arms.
“Ugh, it’s not like that. And I’m not interested in the crown prince anymore, okay? Stop dragging him into everything.”
Just then, the snow leopard walking ahead shouted,
Nyang nyang! Nyaaang nyang!! (Both of you shut up! This way!)
Apparently annoyed, it stood up on its hind legs and covered its ears with its front paws. Elysia stopped bickering and followed after it.
So far, the path had looked like any other forest trail. But as they rounded a large tree—
—a completely different forest emerged.
“What the…?”
Howell, following absentmindedly, stopped in surprise. Until just moments ago, they’d been walking through a sunlit path surrounded by short, green trees.
But as they turned the corner, tall, dark trees began to appear. Their trunks were so deep in color they looked black, and their evergreen leaves were pale white tinged with blue, as if dusted with snow.
Even the air seemed to carry a deep, blue-tinged scent.
“Whoa, you actually led us to the right place.”
Elysia murmured in awe. Howell still looked bewildered, but to Elysia, this forest felt eerily familiar—like the Hillein Forest she’d seen in Seiros Saga.
“Let’s see… If I remember correctly, there should be a lake a bit farther in…”
She narrowed her eyes, trying to see deeper into the woods.
Nyang nyang! (Everyone, get down!)
The snow leopard, panic written all over its face, slapped Elysia and Howell’s legs.
Sensing danger, Elysia immediately grabbed Howell’s head and pulled him down with her.
“Ah! What are you—my hair…!”
“Shh. Quiet.”
Howell, now involuntarily crouched, also sensed something wasn’t right and shut his mouth.
Clink—clink—
As they hid themselves, sharp metallic sounds and human voices echoed nearby. Not in the direction they came from, but still close.
Elysia glanced toward the noise. Through the leaves, she saw a group of figures.
‘The direction’s different, so they probably didn’t spot us.’
She was about to observe them more closely when she froze.
‘Wait… those outfits…’
Upon closer inspection, she noticed a familiar symbol embroidered on their clothes.
‘Aren’t they from the Temple?’
