The Second Son of The Marquis Runs Away from Home ~ Lacking Talent, He Abandons Everything and Becomes an Adventurer ~ - 143

Chapter 143: Monstrosity

“Abyss Lord… so the legendary sorcerer was a monster?”

“Sorcerer… that’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time.”

The creature calling itself Elford stroked its chin with its right hand and waved its left hand.

Immediately, chairs made of stone and T-shaped stone pillars appeared in front of us. Shurin sat on one of them, and Eilsied landed on a pillar.

“To talk about me, about Lowd, and about all of you… it will take a while, so you might as well sit down. If you’d like, I can serve you tea made from leaves and fruits collected from the upper forest.”

“…Tea, you say?”

“It’s made from ingredients gathered from the upper forest. I can’t guarantee it’s safe for humans to drink, though.”

“…Um, if it’s alright, I’ll prepare it.”

When Serena timidly raised her hand, both Aria and I nodded. While Serena prepared tea with cups and a small pot from her backpack, Elford made a table.

“…Did you use earth magic without chanting?”

“…My brother was researching techniques that replaced chanting or used different actions for it, and it seems similar to that.”

“…Even though it should be an amazing technique that would make Filia ecstatic.”

In any case, there was no doubt that the creature in front of us was Elford.

―――――

“Hmm… it’s been a while since I last had tea, but it’s delicious.”

Elford picked up a cup of tea with its tentacle and drank. In its other hand, it held biscuits that we had brought as provisions.

… When it ate the biscuits, its mouth, lined with teeth, opened up to below its ears, creating an image that would make children cry if they saw it.

Shurin ate dried fruits quietly. We had saved quite a bit on provisions until we got here, but if we continued like this, we might run out of the savings.

“…Can we start talking now?”

“Oops, my apologies. It’s been a while since I had proper tea, so I got a bit excited.”

Elford put the cup back and cleared its throat, then faced us and began to speak while touching the sword stuck in its chest.

“First of all, let me make it clear that I am human. Well, it’s more accurate to say that I used to be human.”

“…You turned from human to monster?”

“Rather than turning into a monster, it’s more accurate to say I fused. Originally, Abyss Lord was the name of a monster I found and contracted.”

“…Why did you become a monster? And that sword, isn’t it Lowd’s sword? Why are you impaled on it?”

“I had to do it to stop Lowd. This sword pierced me during that time.”

Elford moved its armor-like scales and showed us the spot where it was pierced by the sword. There, the black skin was slightly whitened and cracked.

“This sword is like a nail that has fallen off and regrown to Lowd. However, the destructive power imbued in it still remains… If I were to leave this space filled with my magic, I would eventually die.”

“Can’t you remove it?”

“It seems to have become part of me due to the seal… If I forcibly remove it, I’ll die.”

“…What happened between you and Lowd?”

At my question, Elford fell silent for a moment, then began to speak as if reminiscing about the past.

“I had to seal Lowd because there was no other way to stop him from becoming an enemy of the world…”