The Shepherd Alone on the Hill is a Genius Wizard

Chapter 119 The Missing Librarian (1)

Upon hearing that Labitas's head was coming, the other two also looked down the mountain with tense expressions, just as Turan had done moments before.

Meisa was the first to speak.

"If it's a head of a great house, could it be...?"

"Who knows. I don't think so, but..."

That was all Turan could answer to the suspicion of whether some divine being had possessed them.

Judging by how Rida had been specifically searching for the White Spirits, their house didn't seem to have the ability to mess with souls, but they had to consider the possibility they used other methods.

Solif muttered with what seemed like a nauseated expression.

"...Should we run?"

"Why should we when we haven't done anything wrong? That would only make us look more suspicious."

If that mage presumed to be the Labitas head had been overwhelmingly strong like the Arabion head, they would have fled for safety, but fortunately that wasn't the case.

If the three of them combined forces, while they couldn't win in a fight, they could more than manage to escape.

Moreover, wasn't Labitas's bloodline ability more suited for survival than combat?

Here, it seemed better to take some risk and try to gather information.

While the three who had made this decision recovered their mana depleted from magic practice, the two nobles coming up from below met with Aikul and had some conversation.

Judging by Aikul pointing his finger toward where they were, he seemed to be informing them about visitors on the mountain.

When Rida came up to where they were moments later, Turan was shocked to see the appearance of the person beside her.

Because the identity of the one with tremendous mana turned out to be a pretty-faced boy who looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old.

Similarly noticing their presence, Rida waved toward Turan and called out.

"Why, if it isn't young Turan!"

"It's been a while, Lady Rida."

"What do you mean a while? It's only been about three or four months. For someone like me, that's as close as last night!"

Rida's appearance of speaking like an old person while still having a young face and voice wasn't easy to get used to.

Then, the boy beside her quietly cleared his throat as if asking not to forget about him.@@@@

"Ahem."

"Come to think of it, this is our first meeting. This is Turan, from... where was it..."

"I'm from Kalamaf."

"No, we don't, but..."

"If you plan to keep using the hot springs, you should each get one. As you know, many monkeys use these springs, and those fellows have the nasty habit of defecating while soaking in them. Well, we won't get sick or anything, but it still feels unsettling, doesn't it?"

At Rida's additional comment that she always uses purification magic before entering the springs, Turan's group all froze like ice without exception.

After making everyone uncomfortable with this shocking truth, Rida glanced at Meisa's face and made an expression as if realizing something.

"Come to think of it, you were looking for sulfur because you needed an antidote? That young lady certainly looks quite unwell. But didn't you say she was a noble?"

Though Meisa had nearly doubled her weight in the past few days from continuous food injections, she was still terrifyingly underweight by ordinary standards.

Of course, just going from looking like a walking corpse to appearing as a sickly young lady was tremendous progress.

Since it would be troublesome if they offered to heal her, Turan cleared his throat softly and changed the topic.

"The sulfur wasn't for Me-Misha. She's just thin. More importantly, did you and your brother come for the hot springs?"

"That's right! I've been desperately needing rest after being so busy these past few months. Moreover, my brother has rarely had chances to go out since he grew up practically confined to the main house, so I thought I'd introduce him to Aikul while at it."

"Speaking of which, how old is your brother? He looks quite young from the outside..."

At Turan's words, a flash of displeasure crossed the face of the boy presumed to be the head, Osel.

Perhaps he disliked being called young or looking young.

Then, Rida spoke while pinching both of Osel's cheeks.

"Now, now, I told you not to frown. If you live with such a scowl, you'll get wrinkles."

"I wish I would get some, sister. My face lacks dignity as it is."

Osel mumbled as if garbling his words due to his pinched cheeks.

That appearance looked so much like a sister and brother with a big age gap that it was hard to imagine any god residing within.

Shortly after, while rubbing his previously pinched cheeks, Osel spoke to Turan's group in an arrogant tone.

"I'm one hundred and thirty-two this year. Though I look like this, I'm old enough to be a father to those here, so speak comfortably."

At 132 years old, he was more than twice the age of Solif, their eldest.

But he was still too young compared to Rida.

Perhaps the cousin brother part was a lie, or there had been a big age gap in their parents' generation.

After revealing his age, Osel immediately began conversing with Aikul as if no longer interested.

Thanks to this, Turan could ask Rida the question he had been thinking of.

"By the way, has anything unusual happened around the Siraf Wetlands recently? I know the southern seas were quite noisy not long ago."