When he opened the door to the room where the ham was kept.
"...What is it?"
Chession realized that Iris's incarnation was not just the press. 'Ham', which had lost its luster last time after leaving unknown words, was shining blue and white again. As if welcoming Chession, it sings like pudding.
Chession immediately put his hand on the ham. Then, the many voices and emotions that echoed in a dizzying manner became more and more distinct.
Gradually, it seemed as if he could see someone's memory.
[ If a child is a sacrifice from birth, what should I name that child? ]
[ Gremory. It's the name of a plague that nearly wiped out humans in the East Continent thousands of years ago. ]
[ That's a terrible name! That's just right! But you're not going to let her go and raise her, are you? We need to make a cage to lock her up quickly. ]
Chession had a hunch. This seemed to be a childhood memory from Mori's point of view.
The scene in front of him continued to flow.
Gremory was raised like livestock and waited for the day when she would be sacrificed. Then one day.
[ Whoa! The demon god was furious! Who is it! Who dares to go against His will! ]
[ Aren't you? It's not just one or two times that the demon god suddenly does this! ]
[ This time it's a bit harsh. There were many injured people. and even the aura of the demon world faded. Will everyone get sick or starve to death like this? ]
[ I'm so hungry... We need a human soul that suffers... ]
[ I can't help it. Let's get Gremory out of the cage and let her spread the plague. Let's make a large number of suffering souls to fill our stomachs. ]
Thus, in the cage, Gremory spread the plague to the southern part of the continent against her will. The witches became a little more lenient with Gremory. They let her stay outside of her house, told her what she needed to learn, and let her play the role of a leader worthy of a strong force, but that was all. The witches were not so kind to the soon-to-be-die sacrifice.
Then one day, Gremory was summoned to the human world. By Lenia, a girl who was so lonely that her friend was desperate.
Gremory, who had been indifferent since meeting Lenia, slowly realized her emotions. She was able to smile faintly and became curious about the beauty of the human world.
And with Lenia's death, she experienced despair, sadness, and despair; she didn't know what it was like at the time.
Gremory's memory continued.
A woman who was murdered and died in a mountain village, until the moment she was summoned by Belita's grudge and rescued by Chession.
Since then, Gremory's memories have been covered by someone. Chession Ethel, in memory of him.
'...Mori, you've been looking at me all the time, haven't you?'
Chesion let out a wry smile without realizing it. From Gremory's point of view, he was always smiling. He was always looking at Gremory as if he had a magnet in his eyes, and he had a happy face that looked like a tiger at times.
And Gremory had all those moments in her eyes. For a very long time, in detail. Through the memories conveyed by Ham, the tender emotions that Gremory felt were conveyed.
Later, he also learned the identity and purpose of the witch chaser. The pressure, guilt, and hesitation that Gremory felt because of the presence of the pursuers. As an aside, he even found out that Alice is a witch.
The memory continued until the day the Incident occurred. Gremory took Chession, who had been beaten by Lace, to the Verdant Forest. She spreads her huge witch wings and soars.
After confirming that Chession had woken up safely, Gremory flew back into the sky. Lace followed her.
A brief hand-to-hand battle took place in the air, but fortunately, Gremory won the battle. Gremory broke Lace's stealth tool, the Black Orb, and flew away.
To the east of the continent, to the forbidden zone infested with monsters.
After that memory, Chession's vision returned to its original state.
"I have to go to Mori."
He wanted to run to Mori right away. He also wanted to hug her, who was trembling alone in the forbidden area.
And he had to tell her. It's okay, it's not her fault. If she is suffering from her appetite, she should tell him not to groan alone and to find a way together.
Just as he was about to take his hand off Ham, he heard an unknown middle-aged man's voice.
[ Please save me. ]
At the end of the questioning voice, Ham lost his light again and turned ashen.
***
When Kurchen heard that Chession was going to the Forbidden Zone, he burst into laughter.
"Great. I wonder how Belita thinks she got there. As a friend, I appreciate your efforts in many ways, but you must know how to let go, no matter how sad you are."
"What did you let go? Mori is still alive."
"I want to believe that too. Anyway, good luck. I have an urgent matter in my territory, so I think I should go here."
"Thank you for helping me so far."
"Oh, yes, I'll give you this."
Kurchen, rummaging through his pockets, took out a blue velvet pouch and held it out.
"It's a sachet that smells strong when something evil approaches. It's going to be quite useful, so carry it with you."
"I'll take it gratefully."
"Then I'm going to go, so I hope you'll find Belita, or rather, your Mori."
After Kurchen waved his hand and left.
Chession spread out a vast map and looked for a way through the Forbidden Area, but it was useless. It was literally a forbidden area, so the exploration was not going well, and it was like an unknown land. If you go the wrong way and get lost, you will die.
'Can't I do it? I need to take Seara.'
Seara can find creatures in close proximity. It hasn't awakened yet, so it's only possible to find it on the scale of a small village, but it will be of great help if he takes her with him.
'The problem is that it's a land full of monsters. I'm worried that I will take young Seara to a dangerous place for no reason and instill trauma in her.'
At that time, he was thinking about it for a long time. A pungent smell began to rise from the sachet he had thrown on one side of the desk.
'What is it?'
Is there something evil around me? When he turned around, he saw Alice staring at Chession with a terrifying expression. In one hand, she held Seara's hand.
"Your Highness, did you find out that Sister Mori is a witch?"
"What, what? Alice?"
"Iris, she told me everything. She followed you to the hunting grounds to watch Your Highness the Grand Duke hunt, and she saw everything. I wanted to tell you where Gremory was sooner, but it took me a while to find it, so I was late."
"...Yes, I know you're a witch. I saw it from the memory that Ham told me."
"Then you must be quick-witted. Let's go find Mori together! I can make food that soothes her appetite. I also know how to make sure to bring Mori, who insists on not coming here."
Seara also rushed at her brother and looked at him.
"Brother, you know I have tracking skills! Take me. If I go with you, it will be much easier to find."
"Yes, I know that. I just couldn't speak easily because I was afraid of the monsters in the forbidden area."
"Since then, both you and I are royal! The Imperial family is not afraid of monsters!"
Seara's hands were sweating as she shouted loudly. Chession smiled happily and wrapped his arms around Seara's hand.
"Then Seara. I'll ask you."
Seara nodded firmly
"Yes! So are you leaving right now?"
"No, I have something to do before that."
Chession folded the map. And he threw all this year's budget into the fireplace.
Alice's eyes widened at the unexpected action.
***
"...So, rewrite the budget I wrote all night?"
When Isolene learned of the whole situation, one corner of her mouth twitched.
"You seem more shocked that you have to rewrite the budget than that Mori was a witch."
"Ugh. Anyway, it's not too surprising that Mori was a witch. I thought she wouldn't be ordinary. Of course! How hard I have to spend it all."
When Chession learned of Gremory's whereabouts, his mind cleared. He planned to buy more than 100 holy relics, as Gremori had asked before leaving. To do this, it was necessary to rewrite the budget.
"So, buy all the holy relics as they are available?"
"Yes. Dispose of the dragon's spoils, black demon stones, or anything else to buy the holy relics. I'm planning to camp in the territory with a relic to cut off the witch chaser."
"How many do you need?"
"At least 100. Save them at all costs. It's better if you get more than 120 of them."
"Oh my God. The people of the territory will starve for years to come."
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