The Elf Journey In The Western Fantasy World-Chapter 22: The Mysterious Relic Key

"I accidentally entered this relic once. It should be a place left behind by an alchemist, filled with rare medicinal herbs. While exploring the notes left behind by the alchemist, I found records of cases similar to Eoryun’s condition. But before I could read further, I blacked out. When I woke up, I was lying on the outskirts of the city with two stones beside me. One had already lost its glow, and after studying it, I realized it was the one I had used to enter the relic. As for the other one, I suspect it’s the second relic key."

Eoryun asked in confusion, "Then, Uncle, why didn’t you try going back inside?"

Bearnard let out a heavy sigh and looked at him. "How could I? No matter what I tried, I could never enter the relic again. My plan was to let someone win the key at the auction, and then I’d negotiate a deal with them so we could enter together. But no matter how much I calculated, I never expected someone to have the audacity to auction off sentient beings. Still, thanks to that incident, I got to reunite with Captain Darius."

Without waiting for the others to speak, Bearnard went straight to the point about his proposal.

"I hope you all can enter the relic. My offer is this: aside from the medicine Eoryun needs, everything else inside the relic will belong to you. I wonder if the Esteemed Elf and Captain Darius would agree?"

Darius didn’t mind either way.

He simply turned his gaze to Illiya, making his stance clear—since he was currently acting as Illiya’s bodyguard, he would follow his employer’s wishes.

However, Illiya’s thoughts weren’t on the offer at all.

When the City Lord mentioned two keys, the pages of the Book of Elves floating in his spiritual sea suddenly flipped on their own.

What did this mean?

Was the Book of Elves trying to tell him something?

Illiya sensed an abnormality in the Book of Elves within his spiritual sea.

After contemplating the city lord’s proposal in the meeting, he nodded in agreement.

Regardless of the circumstances, the Book of Elv reacting to this undiscovered ruin indicated that something within it held the clues he sought.

Since the city lord had extended a ladder to him, he might as well climb down.

However, there were still some details he needed to clarify.

After formulating a few essential questions in his mind, Illiya lifted his gaze to the city lord, Bearnard who is seated in the main chair.

Before he could even open his mouth, the city lord interrupted him, not giving him a chance to speak.

The city lord, having suddenly become the center of attention, felt as if a heavy stone had been lifted from his heart when the elf nodded in agreement.

Overcome with excitement, he slammed the table and stood up, his tone filled with gratitude.

"Your Esteemed Elf, I truly cannot thank you enough! Give me a moment to organize my thoughts and decide where to start. Actually, never mind, I’ll just start from the very beginning!" ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

"I came upon the ruins’ key purely by accident. I can’t explain the specifics clearly—it was like stumbling upon a gold coin while taking a walk. It was completely unexpected. In short, I really did just pick up this key."

At this point, Bearnard was worried that others wouldn’t believe him, so he immediately turned to Darius, who had been quietly listening on the side, for validation.

"Captain Darius can vouch for me. Back when I was in the Royal Knights, I often picked up strange things from the roadside. I remember once, out of curiosity, I picked up a bottle, only to end up being cursed. I nearly died from it." Bearnard shuddered at the memory.

Darius nodded his head in confirmation, his tone filled with emotion. "I never expected you to keep up this habit even after that incident, Bearnard. That’s some remarkable dedication."

Illiya who is listening in on their conversation, felt a strange sensation.

Bearnard’s tone, apart from fear, seemed to carry a hint of regret.

Was he actually regretting not being able to sell the bottle he picked up?

No way... Illiya hesitated to think further, feeling like any deeper speculation would lead to disillusionment.

It was better to just continue listening to the city lord’s story about the ruins’ key.

Now that Bearnard had a witness, he spoke with much more confidence. "Anyway, the point is, I picked up the key. At first, I thought it was just an ordinary, pretty stone and didn’t pay much attention to it. But after I got home, the more I thought about it, the more I felt something was off. I had this nagging feeling that the stone was more than just a stone. So, I decided to try something—what would happen if I injected magic into it? The result? My vision went black, and when I opened my eyes again, I was in a completely unfamiliar place. That’s right—I had entered the ruins."

"Wow, Uncle, your luck is amazing," Eoryun sighed in admiration. Then, as if he suddenly realizing something, he asked an unexpected question, "But Uncle, what made you think of injecting magic into it?"

Bearnard replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world: "Because that’s how it always happens in novels!"

Eoryun: ...Seriously?

Darius: The diversity of species had been confirmed once again.

Illiya: Is the entire continent reading the same novel?!

Drow: ...

Bearnard chose to ignore the indescribable looks on everyone’s faces and continued narrating his experience (story).

"When I closed my eyes and opened them again, I found myself in a strange place, which made me a little nervous. I walked forward for a long time, but aside from green grass, there was nothing else in sight. It wasn’t until I saw a stone house with a thatched roof that the endless stretch of grass finally came to an end."