We were inside a larger yurt in the district of lined-up residential yurts. All the high-rankers from the hunting festival were lined up thanks to the emperor's invitation, waiting for the time when the reason they were all there would finally be explained. Haruto was among these people, and he was looking around in an attempt to kill time. The white-winged girl who'd been the winner was of course there, as was the pervert in the bikini armor and the pompous guy in all black.
They're high-rankers too? Haruto felt like something was out of place. Wait… Was the all-black guy always that short? He's wearing sunglasses too. Something seems off…
But Haruto wasn't very familiar with the man, so he set aside his doubts. But his feeling was actually correct; the man in all black wasn't the same person from yesterday. The real person had been attacked yesterday and currently was happily unconscious in his room. The person who was standing there now was Fiona in a disguise. Her disguise had been arranged by Naru, and she was wearing a black wig. But Haruto had no way of knowing that. He totally just let the whole thing go.
Then, after a few minutes of waiting, a small dog beastmen walked into the tent. He was only around 100 cm tall. He looked exactly like a pug dog that just happened to be bipedal, and he wore an almost comically small set of armor. When he appeared, all the beastmen soldiers in the room saluted. Apparently he was quite high-ranking, unlike what his appearance suggested.
After giving the gathered warriors a once-over, the dog beastmen cleared his throat.
"Welcome everyone."
Contrary to his appearance, the dog beastmen's voice was incredibly stoic and manly. It was often said that a beastmen's gender was hard to discern, but it was fairly obvious he was male.
"I am the leader of Draupnir's warriors. Please call me Pakkun. To all of you brave warriors: well met, and thank you for responding to this summons. The hunting festival yesterday was brilliant, and the emperor is very pleased."
Pakkun washed his face with his paws and continued speaking. "The reason why you were called here today is that we would love to borrow your skills for the good of this country. Well, to be perfectly honest, the entire reason why we held the hunting festival this time was to find brave warriors like you all."
"So can we think of this as a job straight from Draupnir itself?" The one who asked the question was a small but very muscular man. His beard was scruffy, and he had an ax in his hands. He's probably a dwarf. It was Haruto's first time seeing one.
"Indeed."
"This will be an official request from Draupnir. Of course, we will be preparing a fitting payment. When the request is fulfilled, everyone who participates will receive one thousand el. And the one who actually brings back what we want will get a further fifty thousand el. Of course, I also swear that we will remember all of you with glory and honor."
At the mention of fifty thousand el, the attitudes of everyone except Wendy, Haruto, and the all-black man changed. The size of the reward was absurdly exceptional for an adventurer. As long as there weren't any huge expenses, a person could live luxuriously off of that money for more than ten years. On top of that, they'd still get one thousand el as well as honor even if they weren't the one to bring back what the country wanted. That alone made it worth it to participate. It would make adventuring easier in the future and also serve to spread the adventurer's names.
"So, what do we need to get?" Wendy asked.
"You will all need to climb the sacred mountain Hnitbjorg and retrieve the elixir that is being kept there," Pakkun answered.
Having heard that, the first thing that came to Haruto's mind was a screen from a great RPG he'd been playing. The sight was something everybody would have experienced. After an entire game's worth of saving the good recovery items because it felt like a waste to use them, they'd suddenly be at the last boss with almost an entire stack of elixirs, too many to even use in one fight. To Haruto, elixirs were like a permanent fixture in one's inventory. Not having one would be a source of unease, but even if he had one, he wouldn't use it. That was what elixirs meant to him. But apparently, it was something that would fetch an absurdly high price in this world.
The crowd started to chatter before a voice rang out in disbelief. "Elixir?! Ha, don't joke with me! Those are legendary wonder-potions that were all destroyed one thousand years ago by the Grimm King!"
"Exactly. But it still exists. Our great founder, the Beast Princess Lisanna Whitefang, hid one in Hnitbjorg."
Hearing that, Fiona thought back to when they were going up the Black Empress's Grave. The legendary miracle potion, elixir, is something that only a small subsection of alchemical masters can make.
The recipe was one of the ultimate techniques in alchemy, and it had been made through the joint research of both Lunaru Fenris and the Witch Princess Juvia over one thousand years ago. It healed any and all wounds, completely recovered one's mana, healed all illnesses, and even extended one's life span. It was the pinnacle of all medicine.
There were tons of them rolling around in the Grave, weren't there…? Fiona thought with a faraway look.
According to Naru, "We had been saving them to use someday. But it always seemed like a waste, so by the time We'd noticed, We had a pile of them."
Of course, they'd taken all the elixirs with them, and even now they were sitting in Ouzel Tower. There were a total of forty-three elixirs in the tower. If they'd sold them all, it'd be possible to straight-out buy the entirety of the land within humanity's sphere of influence. It was a ridiculous amount.
From what Fiona was hearing, it seemed as if the Grimm King had destroyed all the remaining elixirs in the world, but apparently he'd missed the Black Empress's Grave.
"Of course, you will not be allowed to take the elixir for yourself. If you try, then consider this entire country your enemy from here on."
The elixir was a cure-all that commanded an exorbitant price. If it were sold, the price for it would make fifty thousand el seem like chump change. It would most likely go for at least ten times that. It wouldn't be strange for those adventurers to be overtaken by greed, but that would result in them making an enemy of an entire country.
After making sure to drive home that point, Pakkun continued his explanation of the request. "However, there are probably those who won't be satisfied with just that amount. So, the person who brings back the elixir will also be allowed to take a small portion of the elixir with them," Pakkun said, revealing a ridiculously tiny bottle that was small enough to be pinched in between two fingers.
That was probably the amount they'd be allowed to take with them. In physical size, the bottle was only about five centimeters, but seeing that, all the adventurers erupted in excitement. It was just a tiny drop which would disappear in less than a swallow, but its worth was immeasurable. It could heal any wound, treat any illness, and even add a few years or even more than a decade to one's lifespan. That was just how powerful elixirs were.
The only thing Fiona could think of at the moment was the sight of Haruka complaining. "You hoard too much!" she'd said, as she had diligently worked to pick up all forty-three bottles of elixir, each of which held what looked like three liters of the potion. I bet if any of these people here saw that, they'd faint.
"Um, why do you need something like that?"
"The cornerstone of our country's pride, our guardian dragon, has suddenly fallen seriously ill… The elixir is necessary to heal it."
The elixir, being the ultimate wonder-drug, could completely change the course of a war if applied well. For example, if Juvia were to drink one, she'd probably be able to walk again. If Hinata were to drink it, she would regain her wing. The Seven Maidens of Midgar being able to once again move easily even without undoing the Grimm King's curse would change the state of this war considerably. That was probably exactly what the Grimm King had been afraid of when he'd destroyed all the elixir left, since it'd been the natural and correct thing to do.
That was also probably why Lisanna had hidden one away. She'd seen this coming. If that'd been the case, now was the time to use such a panacea.
"Right now, with our guardian dragon weakened, our country is susceptible to attack by the grimmfolk. In order to stop that, we need the elixir, no matter what."
They needed to revive their guardian dragon. Otherwise, Draupnir would have no future. The unexpectedly precarious situation caused Haruto to gulp. The fact that this was a serious situation with a country's future on the line was deeply impressed into his heart.
But at the same time, Haruto instantly made some internal calculations. He simulated succeeding in bringing back the elixir and using his share of it on Juvia. The Witch Queen might be brought back…! We can bring back one of the Seven Maidens of Midgar, who can turn the tide of a battle by themselves! So Haruto asked another question. "One question… Will that amount be able to fix paralyzed leg?"
"Yes, it can. This might not be enough if the leg were lost entirely, but if they just won't move, then this should work."
The flames of motivation burned in Haruto after hearing that. The elixir… I have to get it. This dangerous mission was more than worth doing if the Witch Princess could be healed as a result.
This fact was something Fiona already knew, using an elixir on somebody who'd betrayed Naru was a waste to Fiona, so she'd never told her about it. Fiona also decided to conveniently take the fact that Naru had not once talked about giving any of the Seven Maidens of Midgar some elixir to mean that she still hadn't forgiven those traitors. There was no way for her to expect the truth… That of all things, Naru only thought of elixirs as full-HP recovery items at this point.
"I heard that…"
From the gathered people sounded a low voice, and that voice was in no way friendly. It was filled with promised danger. Everyone's gaze gathered on a common beastmen soldier. In front of everyone's eyes, the soldier warped in form, as if he were liquid. It was like he was a humanoid slime. It wriggled around for a while, before settling into the form of a handsome white-haired young man with a cold aura. He had deathly pale white skin and black sclera with crimson vertical slit pupils—the features of a grimmfolk, humanity's greatest enemy.
"Grimmfolk!"
"I'm surprised. To think there was still an elixir left. Such a thing could heal the Seven Maidens of Midgar." The young man fixed everyone there with a condescending gaze while speaking in an emotionless voice.
Pakkun reacted quickly, drawing his sword and slashing at the grimmfolk at a speed that Haruto could just barely catch with his eyes. The sword bit deeply into the grimmfolk's form, but there wasn't a drop of blood. In fact, there was barely any response at all to the sword going into him. The part of the grimmfolk where the sword slashed through simply wriggled for a while as water.
"It won't work."
The grimmfolk's arm bent like a whip as it assaulted the shocked Pakkun. The single strike caused his armor to shatter, and Pakkun fell, unmoving. Pakkun was in a position to lead other soldiers, so he should have had the strength to match. But he was still like this after one hit.
So strong… Haruto thought, convinced as cold sweat started to bead on his skin.
"Is he dead? Or is he simply unconscious…? At any rate, that is what happens when you challenge someone without understanding the difference in our strength. Use this experience to become a little wiser."
"You bastard!"
The grimmfolk's mocking words caused the other beastmen soldiers to erupt in rage and stab at him with their lances all at once. But of course, it didn't work. The spears went straight through the grimmfolk like they were stabbing at water, and the young man's expression didn't change a bit.
"Such useless actions…"
The grimmfolk man moved his fingers quickly, drawing a pentagram in the air. It was a circle needed as a vessel to activate magic. Wood sat at the vertex, and from there in clockwise order were Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. Each point of the star connected the element to their opposites, showing their relationships. He also drew a double circle enclosing the formation, symbolizing the Moon and Sun elements. Finally, he concentrated his mana and poured it into the finished vessel.
"Magic?! No way, that was too fast!"
It was common knowledge that magic needed three processes to activate. The caster needed to create a vessel, gather mana and pour it into the vessel, and lastly, finalize the magic and launch it. The speed at which the caster could complete those processes directly showed the skill of the caster, and those with a lot of experience could always activate magic faster. At the pinnacle of all that was casting magic with no requisite behavior at all.
Juvia, Tayuya, and the Grimm King's were all at that level. The Seven Grimms of Destruction could cast simple spells with no need for such actions as well.
On the other hand, that also meant that if one of the Seven Grimms of Destruction were using those actions, they were trying to cast an equivocally large spell.
"Apsaras!"
The grimmfolk created a giant swan made of water. Inside the tent, there was no place to run. The spell that was a bird cried out, and the tent was blown up from the inside.