Apostle of the Void

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 54: Wintering(5)

Arzen left the cabin early the next morning.

The girl, who had studied late into the night, was still asleep next to the witch.

Quietly slipping out of the cabin, Arzen sprinted to the top of the vineyard hill.

“Stamina is important. Plus, it’s quite cold, so I might as well warm up…”

Despite being influenced by the Red Mountain Range, the dawn and early morning were still rather chilly.

White breath escaped from Arzen's lips.

After extracting the maximum power from her void insects according to her usual training routine, she pushed beyond her limits.

“I should be good for about two hours now.”

As she was assigning a new void insect to the squad, she didn’t feel the cold much due to the warmth radiating from her body.

“But if I had known this would happen, I should have bought some fur clothes at Aurelinople…”

About two hours had passed, so it was now late morning.

It was roughly around 9 or 10 AM.

Most people were probably awake now, so it would be alright to make some noise.

“Re Taripo!”

The fusion of ten void insects soon created a demon of destruction that violently devoured everything in its path.

As the first void insect heeded Arzen's command, it soared towards its target.

When she intentionally induced a misalignment in her aim, the explosion of the void swallowed half of the beam.

The tree split with a cracking sound as it fell sideways.

“It reacts quite sensitively to my aim correction… I like it.”

However, she didn’t intend to have the trees roll over like yesterday.

Given how the supporting trees creaked, it would be quite troublesome if a landslide occurred.

Thus, she decided to catch the tree before that could happen.

“Evakta.”

This seemed like a good training exercise to use Evakta quickly and accurately in a crisis.

Though it was her own idea, she couldn’t help but praise herself.

Of course, it was more challenging than she expected.

“I need three stages of timing. First, there’s the time needed to cast Evakta, and then there’s the time for the void vines to advance…”

Controlling the vines to grasp the trees also required additional time.

“Once I can execute this process perfectly, Evakta will finally be mine!”

Using the first Evakta, Arzen lifted a tree and stacked it atop the pile from yesterday.

“Su Ja Heros! Pruning!”

During the process, she used the powerful jaws of her void insects to neatly trim the branches.

She had the larger void insects gather the branches that had broken and fallen the previous day.

Having received nutrients from the trees just yesterday, they made for excellent firewood.

“That’s one down…!”

She felled a second tree, following a similar process.

Seeing those sizable trees stacked in a 3-2-1 order filled her with pride.

She planned to move these to the village today.

The trees were needed for the clearing where the market was located.

“Barolus.”

She couldn’t neglect her training in handling Knight Faces.

The moment the demon's hand lifted the bundle of trees, she looped the thick rope she had brought from the cabin downwards.

Once the Knight Face disappeared and the trees were about to tumble, she meticulously tied them up with the assistance of her void insects.

“If I can tie up three trees three times each, that would be ideal, but…”

Barolus had settled for a compromise, deciding to bundle things in pairs since two attempts were his limit.

“Okay, but how am I supposed to move this?”

Arzen plopped down in front of the wooden bundle, panting heavily.

Both his stamina and energy were depleted, making recovery slow.

“The vineyard isn’t a steep slope, but it does have some incline…”

If he wasn’t careful, he might end up damaging the entire vineyard, which would lead to being held accountable.

Grapes were expensive.

However, using either Barolus or Evakta wasn’t feasible since neither could be summoned for a long period.

Just as he was feeling at a loss, he suddenly heard voices from across the way.

“Oh, you’re really doing it.”

“Wow, you’ve already done six of them!”

A middle-aged man and a young man appeared, pulling a cart.

“Who are you?”

“Didn’t Eren tell you? They’re coming to move the wood.”

The name he had heard during yesterday’s prayer didn’t seem to confuse the witch; it was the girl’s actual name.

“They said a kid was coming alone, and all the wives were worried, but it turns out we should’ve been worried about the forest instead! I’m Dave. I’ll rely on you until the logging is done.”

“I’m Tom. I’m his son. By the way, you really look young. How old are you?”

“Fifteen.”

“They say you’re a magician?”

“Sort of.”

“What do you mean, ‘sort of’ a magician?”

“You’re a funny one. I like you. With that cute face, the girls must go wild when they see you. When you come to the village, cover your face. If you keep the village boys from marrying, it’ll be a big problem.”

“Heh, I’ll think about it.”

The men seemed familiar with this kind of work. The way Arzen secured the tied wood onto the cart looked practiced.

Arzen asked, “So how are you going to take this down?”

“There’s a path through the vineyard. It winds down, but it’s a gentle slope. The direct route from the cabin to here is a shortcut.”

“Oh, I see.”

Well, there must have been logging work in the past.

“How many times do we need to come here?”

“Let’s keep it easy. Just come once a day. We’ll bundle everything up like that.”

“Hahaha! This kid is something else! Thinking about adult matters at that age. It’s not easy to be so sharp at your age.”

Dave and Tom waved goodbye to Arzen as they settled on the wood in the cart and headed back the way they came.

Arzen looked up at the sky.

Three suns hung slightly askew in the midday sky. As winter deepened, the days grew shorter.

“Hm.”

Arzen glanced at the forest.

Many trees still stood densely packed.

He then turned to see the witch's cabin and the village.

It seemed like it would be a long and enjoyable winter.

Completely different from the winters the boy had experienced until now.

* * *

Two weeks had passed since Arzen arrived in the village.

During that time, his Void Insect squad had increased to 90 units.

And he was gradually getting accustomed to the control techniques of Re Taripo.

Like Evakta, pointing at a target with his hand significantly increased the speed beyond the usual.

“Of course, being naturally larger means it’s slower and has a shorter maximum flight distance.”

This drawback indicated that there was still much room for research.

He had often wondered whether he could control the explosion.

Using the experience he gained from Evakta, he tried various actions before the projectile landed.

“Hmm?”

At that moment, when he clenched his fist, he witnessed the explosion occurring before the projectile hit.

The action of clenching his fist had triggered the explosion.

He tried to apply the same method to Evakta, but it was futile.

Evakta required two hands to control, which meant he couldn't hold the sacred text.

“No, there has to be a way. Let’s keep training.”

* * *

“Arzen oppa!”

“Big brother!”

“Yes, yes, I’m your older brother. Worship me more!”

Arzen had become quite close with the villagers.

He bonded fastest with the children.

These kids came to the cabin every weekday for lunch to learn to read.

“Witch, I’m here!”

“Huh?”

“I said I finished my work.”

“Are you hungry? Wait a moment!”

The witch was too elderly, so Eren taught the children instead.

Eren had an unusually mature demeanor for her age, and both younger and older kids followed her well.

Of course, Eren was the one Arzen had become closest to in this village.

Living together and sharing meals three times a day naturally led to a bond.

“But those guys from the Divine Guillotine—did they ever feel any affection for someone like me?”

It was hard to believe that those irredeemable trash with such twisted hearts existed.

“Follow me.”

Whenever there was something to do in the village, Eren took Arzen along.

Of course, Arzen was not one to be easily ordered around.

“Say, ‘Please follow me.’”

“Then I’ll run away starting today, and I’ll leave all the witch’s care to you, Arzen.”

“Do you think I’m scared? I should probably say, ‘Just kidding!’”

“I’m serious. If the witch dies due to your negligence, the Witch Association will hunt you down until you die. So long!”

“Ha! Can’t I even make a joke? It’s just a joke~ Just tell me where you’re going. I’ll help with anything.”

Whenever Arzen tried to tease him, Eren countered with even worse jokes to keep Arzen in check.

“Your scheming abilities are on par with, or even surpass mine... Eren, you’re definitely going to be the ultimate schemer.”

“I don’t feel even the slightest bit happy to receive such praise.”

As Dave said, whenever Arzen came down, the village women went wild.

“Oh my, it’s Arzen!”

“Arzen!”

Some girls even came to the logging site to watch or bring her lunch.

But while saying this might be quite rude, the age range of the women was uneven and extreme.

They were either teenage girls like Eren or middle-aged women in their 40s to 50s.

‘So-called older sister types were extremely rare!’

At first, he thought it was just a phenomenon common in rural areas, marked by an aging population.

However, it seemed unlikely that the village of Marind would experience such a decline, as it was a famous tourist destination with many job opportunities.

The village was so large that it had facilities like a blacksmith and convenience stores.

When Arzen asked why, Eren scolded him.

“Stop scanning the ages of the women and just carry the load properly. You look pathetic.”

“Are you really jealous? Is Arzen’s attention being diverted to another woman?”

“?”

“You fool! A face genius like me is a public resource. If anyone tries to monopolize it, a fight will break out.”

In fact, the Divine Guillotine had attempted to monopolize Arzen, leading to bloodshed because the Abyss grew jealous.

“Yes, I’m jealous.”

“Whoa, really?”

“Just kidding.”

“You jerk.”

Seeing Arzen’s reaction, Eren smiled faintly.

“Actually, this village has a local disease.”

“Local disease?”

“It’s a disease that only affects young and beautiful women. They quickly lose their vitality and suddenly die. My dear mentors all died that way.”

Arzen took a step back in shock.

“W-what kind of disease is that? Is this some kind of haunted village? Are you trying to scare me? Hehe, I know it’s just a joke. Now would be the time to say, ‘Just kidding!’”

“So, young women are increasingly marrying to the neighboring village Recol or moving to the city. Meanwhile, women from other villages do not come to marry here.”

“???”

“As a result, young men are also leaving for the city, and the village is slowly dying.”

“Is that really true?”

“Those kids coming to learn to read might be the last generation.”

The way Eren spoke made his back seem somewhat lonely.

By the time their conversation ended, they had arrived at the cabin.

Eren opened the door first, allowing Arzen, who was carrying the ingredients, to enter.

Since they always ate rice-based meals, exotic dishes appeared on the table quite often.

Today, it was “Freshwater Shrimp Olive Risotto.”

“Oh, delicious!”

While risotto alone might lack texture, the shrimp added a crunchy and crispy complement.

It also added a nutty flavor.

“Eat a lot! You need to eat well to grow tall!”

“Witch, you should eat a lot too. You’re shorter than me.”

“Huh?”

Arzen had developed a strategy to deal with the witch, who always served him food.

Whenever the witch served him, Arzen would also serve the same amount to her.

This way, the ratio of food served was perfectly balanced.

Arzen wouldn’t overeat, and Eren wouldn’t need to serve more food for the witch.

“Why are you giving me more? I’m full!”

“I’m full too.”

It was such a simple daily routine, but Arzen enjoyed it.

Having someone to greet him when he returned from work felt nice.

He usually finished dinner and fell asleep feeling good, but that night, Arzen tossed and turned in bed.

“A local disease that only affects young women? Does such a thing exist?”

It was absurd nonsense.

He had never heard of it.

“But if it’s real… what would happen?”

Even if the other girls left this village, what about Eren?

“Would Eren really leave the witch alone here and depart?”

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

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