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At Mount Guren, Where the Beloved Child Plays - Episode 2
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Snow: Ohoho! It’d be nice if we were playing a game — but if I hadn’t done this, Owen would have immediately vanished somewhere.
You see, I’ve firmly glued my hand to Owen’s using magic.
Owen: This is truly the worst. I’m about to throw up. (gags)
Mithra: But why did you stop me in my tracks?
Snow: ‘Why’? You should know the reason why. I knew it — you and Owen have completely forgotten what we discussed.
Per our conversation a few days ago: Today, we Northern Wizards are heading out for a mission!
Akira: Oh, you’re right! Your mission is scheduled for today.
Akira: ‘Ever since the calamity descended, my daughter has been extremely temperamental, and she’s been giving us the cold shoulder, especially to her father. Please, restore harmony to our family.’
The Northern Wizards are usually assigned to life-or-death missions, so I thought I’d ask them to join the Southern Wizards on a mission that’s more heartfelt.
Cain: Er, that just sounds like a normal teenage rebellious phase to me though…?
Mithra: Was that the case…?
Owen: I mean, who would be able to remember all that elderly prattling?
Snow: Oh dear… We have Mithra who always conveniently forgets, and Owen who always makes a swift escape.
For goodness’ sake, have some consideration for White and I, for having to run around herding you!
Mithra: I don’t know what you're talking about. I won’t be joining you. I have something to do on Mount Guren anyway.
Cain & Chloe & Akira: Mount Guren…?
Murr: Mount Guren!
Snow: Oh? What business might you have at that far-flung region?
Mithra: What do you mean, ‘what’? I’m going there to be reborn.
Owen: Hunh…?
Murr: Sooo! That’s the volcanic field that’s at the edge of Northern Country, right!?
Whilst the younger wizards exchanged glances at the unfamiliar name, Murr alone piped up cheerfully.
His catlike eyes widened as he peered at Mithra’s face.
Mithra: So it is.
Akira: Murr, do you know that place?
Murr: Of course I do! It’s an uncharted region that has never been subjected to any research, a scorching, wild biome filled with prehistoric flora and fauna.
It’s said to have its own unique ecology, but beyond that, it’s a complete mystery.
Why, you ask? As it happens, every now and then, there’s a volcanic eruption that rewrites the landscape. All the surveys and studies of the region done in the past might become obsolete at any moment, even right now as we speak!
Murr’s bright eyes sparkled as he tossed his arms open wide.
And just like that, he twirled and leapt into the air.
Murr: Before the might of nature, most wizards - not to mention humans - are powerless.
That’s why it’s a place where few have dared venture forth. Try as time and trailblazers might, it repels outside forces, and to this very day, its prehistoric ecosystem continues to thrive.
That is the essence of this uncharted land, filled with the pioneering spirit!
The way he explained what he knew to us was so erudite and intelligent, but his voice was filled with a youthful innocence and eagerness.
Murr’s words had an energy that felt similar to what I’d heard in Mithra’s voice last night too.
Akira: (Don’t tell me, that volcanic field is…)
Chloe: Whoa, a volcano…! Even while I was travelling with Rustica, that’s definitely something we never had a chance to see with our own eyes.
I wonder if it’s even bigger than the magic mountain I visited for the Walpurgis Nacht festival?
Oh, I guess that wasn’t really a volcano anyway though.
Murr: That’s just a plain old enormous mountain! The vicinity of Mount Guren’s all covered in lava rock, which is made from solidified magma.
Now that’s going to be a sight to behold, a marvel of nature.
Owen: It’s hot, craggy, and there’s nothing there.
The spirits are in charge there, so as soon as you spoil their mood even a little, they’ll make the volcano spit up ash and the ground quake.
Cain: That reminds me a little of the time we did that festival in Northern Country…
Back then, you two ran amok and angered the spirits. It was a mess.
Mithra: Ahaha, that sure happened.
Owen: Don’t you laugh. It was mostly your fault.
Akira: Um… Mithra, is that Mount Guren the place you told me about yesterday?
You mentioned that at the edge of Northern Country, there was a volcanic field that you occasionally visited.
Mithra: That’s right. It’s a convenient place.
It’s good for taking strolls, and for disposing of unwanted items too. You can just melt them with the magma.
The volcanic crater’s huge, so it’s also good place to drop any opponents you want to kill quickly. It’s the same place that guy nearly sank into, by the way.
Murr: Who’s ‘that guy’?
Mithra: What was he calling himself again? He’s fair-skinned, and he wears a hat…
Owen: Wait, you mean me…?
Mithra: No. He had, like, some cane-thing with him. He had a scar on his face…
Akira: Wait, don’t tell me — you mean Nova?!
Mithra: Oh, right, that’s him. He invaded the Magical Manor once, didn’t he? What an annoying guy.
Cain & Chloe: No way…!?
Snow: You…… So that one time, the incident where Bradley nearly drowned in magma, was that also at Mount Guren?
One of these days, when we teachers have another meeting, I shall have you testify about it.
Mithra: That sounds about right. Yeah, I think I plopped him in with a fiend.
Akira: Y-you shouldn’t talk about this as if you were just tossing things into the trash…!
Murr: Hey, Mithra! If you’re going to Mount Guren, I’d like to go with you!
Murr raised his hand straight up in the air as Mithra elaborated nonchalantly.
Murr: The farthest reaches of Northern Country aren’t a place where people can drop by on a whim.
It’s a gamble whether or not you’d even make it to your destination, but with Mithra, it’s just a hop and a skip away!
What a fantastic opportunity to set foot on uncharted land! You good with that, right?
Mithra: I mean, I’m fine with it…
Snow: Hold it right there, in the Magical Manor ranking of Wizards Ill-Suited to Going to Lands with Primordial Spirits, you are Number One and Number Two!
Murr: Whuh?
Mithra: Am I really?
[ Snow sighs. ]
Snow: It’s doubly bad for the heart that neither of you realise what you are… Once you two are focused on something, you immediately lose sight of what’s happening around you.
If you do as you normally would, you’re bound to incur the wrath of the spirits, and the volcano’s going to erupt very angrily. The land will be devastated by earthquakes, ripped open by fissures and landslides, and the entire region will be annihilated.
By the end of it all, the whole volcano might even be blasted off the land itself. That wouldn’t surprise me.
Murr: Okay, that just means, let’s all go there together! Right, Chloe?
Chloe: M-Me too!?
Murr: Yes, you! Kenja sama, Cain, and of course Owen and Snow too — all of you, we’ll ALL go to Mount Guren together!
Snow & Owen: Huh?
Cain: We… all are…?
Akira: A-Are you sure that’s alright? From what I’ve gleaned, that place sounds like it’s about as dangerous as dangerous can be…
Murr: Let’s simplify this: We just need to avoid setting off the land and the spirits, right?
Moreover, what’s an excursion without a big group of people! If the land’s going to get blasted open, it’s much funner when you’re all in it together!
Chloe: I-I’d prefer it if we didn’t end up blasting off somewhere…
But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t the tiniest bit interested in this place after seeing how excited Murr is.
After all, Murr’s super knowledgeable, but even he doesn’t know anything about this place. There can’t be many places in the world like that!
Murr: Whoo-hoo, that’s the spirit! What is the unknown meant for, if not to be explored! So let’s do this together!
Are you with me, Kenja sama? Cain, you too!
Akira: Eep!
Cain: Ahaha! Murr, that tickles!
As if he were doing a handstand, Murr reached down while still floating in midair to touch us both, first on our shoulders, then on our hands.
It was like being roll-called, and just then, Murr’s hair brushed against Cain and that made him burst into laughter.
Mithra: Is it really that fun? What a weird bunch of people they are.
Owen: I know, right. Snow, put them in their place. Tell them it’s where casuals go to die.
Snow: Umu…
Well, I suppose it is true that it’s not every day that Kenja or the younger wizards could go on an excursion to such a place.
There’s much to be learned from witnessing the wonders of the world. That type of experiential knowledge is important for living out your life.. All you younglings here might need that sort of lesson.
Very well. I shall personally lead this excursion.
Chloe: Yay~! Thanks, Snow sama!
Owen: Oh…..? Well, it’s your funeral then.
Murr: Alrighty, it’s decided then. We’ll all go on vacation to Northern Country!
Cain: Now that it’s on the charts for sure, I’m starting to get excited! I’ve never seen a volcano before either.
Akira: I’ve never seen one from up close myself…! Besides, it’s not like I can just go on holiday to Northern Country whenever I want.
What are you supposed to do when you visit a volcanic field, anyway?
It’s a rare opportunity, so it might be good to walk around and forage for things.
Murr: I’m pretty sure there’s more fun things than just that!
If it’s near the sea, there’s waterside fun to be had, or even a barbeque!
Cain: A barbeque sounds right up my alley! The outdoors makes grilled meat taste better, too.
Mithra: That doesn’t sound half bad at all. After I’m reborn from the sauna, I’ll stuff myself with meat until I can’t eat anymore, and then I should like to sleep.
Snow: Ohoho, the most important thing is that you all have fun. Now, dear Chloe. Would you be a dear and do us a favour?
Chloe: Mhm, sure thing! Just tell me what it is!
Snow: I’d like you to make us some outfits before we set off. It’s going to be a land where the wildest of spirits reign, so make sure that it’s a design that’ll earn their favour.
The spirits at Mount Guren are just like prehistoric animals, savage and feral, and they love the spirit of the wilderness!
Chloe: Feral and wild… Leave it to me! I’ve got an idea!
Chloe: How about something using fur pelts and incorporating animal bones as accessories? We can paint our faces and limbs too…
It’ll be hot, which means I’ll need to use breathable fabric. Owen, what do you think?
Owen: Don’t ask me. Anyway, I didn’t say I’d be going with all of you.
next episode →
Snow: Ohoho! It’d be nice if we were playing a game — but if I hadn’t done this, Owen would have immediately vanished somewhere.
You see, I’ve firmly glued my hand to Owen’s using magic.
Owen: This is truly the worst. I’m about to throw up. (gags)
Mithra: But why did you stop me in my tracks?
Snow: ‘Why’? You should know the reason why. I knew it — you and Owen have completely forgotten what we discussed.
Per our conversation a few days ago: Today, we Northern Wizards are heading out for a mission!
Akira: Oh, you’re right! Your mission is scheduled for today.
Akira: ‘Ever since the calamity descended, my daughter has been extremely temperamental, and she’s been giving us the cold shoulder, especially to her father. Please, restore harmony to our family.’
The Northern Wizards are usually assigned to life-or-death missions, so I thought I’d ask them to join the Southern Wizards on a mission that’s more heartfelt.
Cain: Er, that just sounds like a normal teenage rebellious phase to me though…?
Mithra: Was that the case…?
Owen: I mean, who would be able to remember all that elderly prattling?
Snow: Oh dear… We have Mithra who always conveniently forgets, and Owen who always makes a swift escape.
For goodness’ sake, have some consideration for White and I, for having to run around herding you!
Mithra: I don’t know what you're talking about. I won’t be joining you. I have something to do on Mount Guren anyway.
Cain & Chloe & Akira: Mount Guren…?
Murr: Mount Guren!
Snow: Oh? What business might you have at that far-flung region?
Mithra: What do you mean, ‘what’? I’m going there to be reborn.
Owen: Hunh…?
Murr: Sooo! That’s the volcanic field that’s at the edge of Northern Country, right!?
Whilst the younger wizards exchanged glances at the unfamiliar name, Murr alone piped up cheerfully.
His catlike eyes widened as he peered at Mithra’s face.
Mithra: So it is.
Akira: Murr, do you know that place?
Murr: Of course I do! It’s an uncharted region that has never been subjected to any research, a scorching, wild biome filled with prehistoric flora and fauna.
It’s said to have its own unique ecology, but beyond that, it’s a complete mystery.
Why, you ask? As it happens, every now and then, there’s a volcanic eruption that rewrites the landscape. All the surveys and studies of the region done in the past might become obsolete at any moment, even right now as we speak!
Murr’s bright eyes sparkled as he tossed his arms open wide.
And just like that, he twirled and leapt into the air.
Murr: Before the might of nature, most wizards - not to mention humans - are powerless.
That’s why it’s a place where few have dared venture forth. Try as time and trailblazers might, it repels outside forces, and to this very day, its prehistoric ecosystem continues to thrive.
That is the essence of this uncharted land, filled with the pioneering spirit!
The way he explained what he knew to us was so erudite and intelligent, but his voice was filled with a youthful innocence and eagerness.
Murr’s words had an energy that felt similar to what I’d heard in Mithra’s voice last night too.
Akira: (Don’t tell me, that volcanic field is…)
Chloe: Whoa, a volcano…! Even while I was travelling with Rustica, that’s definitely something we never had a chance to see with our own eyes.
I wonder if it’s even bigger than the magic mountain I visited for the Walpurgis Nacht festival?
Oh, I guess that wasn’t really a volcano anyway though.
Murr: That’s just a plain old enormous mountain! The vicinity of Mount Guren’s all covered in lava rock, which is made from solidified magma.
Now that’s going to be a sight to behold, a marvel of nature.
Owen: It’s hot, craggy, and there’s nothing there.
The spirits are in charge there, so as soon as you spoil their mood even a little, they’ll make the volcano spit up ash and the ground quake.
Cain: That reminds me a little of the time we did that festival in Northern Country…
Back then, you two ran amok and angered the spirits. It was a mess.
Mithra: Ahaha, that sure happened.
Owen: Don’t you laugh. It was mostly your fault.
Akira: Um… Mithra, is that Mount Guren the place you told me about yesterday?
You mentioned that at the edge of Northern Country, there was a volcanic field that you occasionally visited.
Mithra: That’s right. It’s a convenient place.
It’s good for taking strolls, and for disposing of unwanted items too. You can just melt them with the magma.
The volcanic crater’s huge, so it’s also good place to drop any opponents you want to kill quickly. It’s the same place that guy nearly sank into, by the way.
Murr: Who’s ‘that guy’?
Mithra: What was he calling himself again? He’s fair-skinned, and he wears a hat…
Owen: Wait, you mean me…?
Mithra: No. He had, like, some cane-thing with him. He had a scar on his face…
Akira: Wait, don’t tell me — you mean Nova?!
Mithra: Oh, right, that’s him. He invaded the Magical Manor once, didn’t he? What an annoying guy.
Cain & Chloe: No way…!?
Snow: You…… So that one time, the incident where Bradley nearly drowned in magma, was that also at Mount Guren?
One of these days, when we teachers have another meeting, I shall have you testify about it.
Mithra: That sounds about right. Yeah, I think I plopped him in with a fiend.
Akira: Y-you shouldn’t talk about this as if you were just tossing things into the trash…!
Murr: Hey, Mithra! If you’re going to Mount Guren, I’d like to go with you!
Murr raised his hand straight up in the air as Mithra elaborated nonchalantly.
Murr: The farthest reaches of Northern Country aren’t a place where people can drop by on a whim.
It’s a gamble whether or not you’d even make it to your destination, but with Mithra, it’s just a hop and a skip away!
What a fantastic opportunity to set foot on uncharted land! You good with that, right?
Mithra: I mean, I’m fine with it…
Snow: Hold it right there, in the Magical Manor ranking of Wizards Ill-Suited to Going to Lands with Primordial Spirits, you are Number One and Number Two!
Murr: Whuh?
Mithra: Am I really?
[ Snow sighs. ]
Snow: It’s doubly bad for the heart that neither of you realise what you are… Once you two are focused on something, you immediately lose sight of what’s happening around you.
If you do as you normally would, you’re bound to incur the wrath of the spirits, and the volcano’s going to erupt very angrily. The land will be devastated by earthquakes, ripped open by fissures and landslides, and the entire region will be annihilated.
By the end of it all, the whole volcano might even be blasted off the land itself. That wouldn’t surprise me.
Murr: Okay, that just means, let’s all go there together! Right, Chloe?
Chloe: M-Me too!?
Murr: Yes, you! Kenja sama, Cain, and of course Owen and Snow too — all of you, we’ll ALL go to Mount Guren together!
Snow & Owen: Huh?
Cain: We… all are…?
Akira: A-Are you sure that’s alright? From what I’ve gleaned, that place sounds like it’s about as dangerous as dangerous can be…
Murr: Let’s simplify this: We just need to avoid setting off the land and the spirits, right?
Moreover, what’s an excursion without a big group of people! If the land’s going to get blasted open, it’s much funner when you’re all in it together!
Chloe: I-I’d prefer it if we didn’t end up blasting off somewhere…
But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t the tiniest bit interested in this place after seeing how excited Murr is.
After all, Murr’s super knowledgeable, but even he doesn’t know anything about this place. There can’t be many places in the world like that!
Murr: Whoo-hoo, that’s the spirit! What is the unknown meant for, if not to be explored! So let’s do this together!
Are you with me, Kenja sama? Cain, you too!
Akira: Eep!
Cain: Ahaha! Murr, that tickles!
As if he were doing a handstand, Murr reached down while still floating in midair to touch us both, first on our shoulders, then on our hands.
It was like being roll-called, and just then, Murr’s hair brushed against Cain and that made him burst into laughter.
Mithra: Is it really that fun? What a weird bunch of people they are.
Owen: I know, right. Snow, put them in their place. Tell them it’s where casuals go to die.
Snow: Umu…
Well, I suppose it is true that it’s not every day that Kenja or the younger wizards could go on an excursion to such a place.
There’s much to be learned from witnessing the wonders of the world. That type of experiential knowledge is important for living out your life.. All you younglings here might need that sort of lesson.
Very well. I shall personally lead this excursion.
Chloe: Yay~! Thanks, Snow sama!
Owen: Oh…..? Well, it’s your funeral then.
Murr: Alrighty, it’s decided then. We’ll all go on vacation to Northern Country!
Cain: Now that it’s on the charts for sure, I’m starting to get excited! I’ve never seen a volcano before either.
Akira: I’ve never seen one from up close myself…! Besides, it’s not like I can just go on holiday to Northern Country whenever I want.
What are you supposed to do when you visit a volcanic field, anyway?
It’s a rare opportunity, so it might be good to walk around and forage for things.
Murr: I’m pretty sure there’s more fun things than just that!
If it’s near the sea, there’s waterside fun to be had, or even a barbeque!
Cain: A barbeque sounds right up my alley! The outdoors makes grilled meat taste better, too.
Mithra: That doesn’t sound half bad at all. After I’m reborn from the sauna, I’ll stuff myself with meat until I can’t eat anymore, and then I should like to sleep.
Snow: Ohoho, the most important thing is that you all have fun. Now, dear Chloe. Would you be a dear and do us a favour?
Chloe: Mhm, sure thing! Just tell me what it is!
Snow: I’d like you to make us some outfits before we set off. It’s going to be a land where the wildest of spirits reign, so make sure that it’s a design that’ll earn their favour.
The spirits at Mount Guren are just like prehistoric animals, savage and feral, and they love the spirit of the wilderness!
Chloe: Feral and wild… Leave it to me! I’ve got an idea!
Chloe: How about something using fur pelts and incorporating animal bones as accessories? We can paint our faces and limbs too…
It’ll be hot, which means I’ll need to use breathable fabric. Owen, what do you think?
Owen: Don’t ask me. Anyway, I didn’t say I’d be going with all of you.
next episode →