Chapter 203 – There was an Ancient Mural!?

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As we walked down the beach to the north, the forest and rocky mountains eventually came into view.

At the same time, rocks started to appear scattered around the beach.

And there were Shield Shells, which were loudly trying to bite at these rocks.

However, the rocks showed no signs of cracking.

In fact, the rocks were the shells of the turtlefolk.

Upon seeing this, Melk muttered.

“Hard.”
“We would not be able to live if they were soft.”

Replied the turtle woman.

And then Iria asked,

“Uhh, by the way… We have not heard your name yet.”
“Name… Ah, yes. Demihuans need names. Long ago, I went by the name Fonia.”
“Ms. Fonia. It’s nice to meet you. I am Iria.”

And so we introduced ourselves as well.

After that, I told her about the Fendel Alliance, and the things that had happened around us recently.
About the human slave hunters, the battle against the Demon King, and our journey to the Toria Kingdom.

Fonia continued to walk as she listened.

“I see. So many things have happened. The Fendel Alliance was only created a short while ago.”
“It would certainly seem that way to someone who has lived for thousands of years.”
“But, it is still a great thing. People who had been separated for hundreds of years are now together. The problem is, how long will it last?”

Fonia muttered, and then Iria replied quickly.

“We shall always be together. Even after we die, our children will continue.”
“I hope that is true.”

Fonia said with a far away look in her eyes.

When the Demon King had forced the demihumans to become separated, she must have seen something. In any case, she probably felt that it was impossible to stay friends forever.

The demihumans were all quite different from each other. That was a good thing, but it could also be the source of conflict.

And so the day may come when we would have to overcome that…

As I thought of such things, we finally reached the rocky mountain.

There was a hole in the mountain, which was apparently where the turtlefolk lived.

I used magic to light up our surroundings, and we made our way through the tunnel.

The turtles inside barely seemed to notice that we were there. And they did not seem curious.

In fact, most of them seemed to be sleeping comfortably.

“They are even more relaxed than Celes and the Mopes.”
“It must be nice to sleep to the sounds of the waves.”

Asuha said.

“Rona and the others lived in a hole too, so Rona understands, meow.”
“Even I feel a little nostalgic.”

Milina said as she looked around. I suppose the foxfolk had lived in a hole as well.

However, I also felt nostalgic.

Just then, Fonia stopped.

“Now, we have arrived. Please make yourself at home. Though, there is nothing here.”

There really was nothing. No furniture or tools. Not even stored food.

It wasn’t like I was expecting food to be served, but I was a little surprised to see that it was so empty.

However, now that I think about it, Melk and the werewolves had also not used any tools. The other demihumans were like that as well. So it was not strange.

“In that case, Melk will take a nap.”

Melk said as she lay down on the ground.

And then Mette turned to me and said,

“Since we’re here, let’s serve the turtlefolk some fish.”
“Ah, yes. I’ll take out the stove immediately.”

And so I set up a cooking area near the hole.

While Mette and the others were cooking, I noticed something.

“By the way…the thing you wanted to show us…”

There had been nothing in the hole. I had thought that if it wasn’t an object, then it might be a phenomenon, but that seemed unlikely as well.

And then, Fonia pointed upwards.

“Huh? On top of the mountain?”
“No. Inside.”

And so I went into the hole once again.

As Melk had been lying on the ground, she already noticed what Fonia was talking about.

“It is quite amazing. Joshua, look.”

And so I raised my head to the ceiling, and there it was.

“…A mural?”

There was a picture that had been drawn on the ceiling.
And it depicted all kinds of demihumans living together.

Iria and the others came as well, and looked up at the ceiling.

“Kijin, werewolf, Tengu… It is just like our Fendel Alliance.”
“And are those the tigerfolk?”

As Melk pointed out, the tigerfolk were depicted as well. And there were other demihumans that I had never seen before.

“Now you know that what I said was not a lie. Everyone used to live together like this. Even this art was created by dwarves.”

That’s why it was so detailed.

And most surprisingly, the demihumans were using all kinds of tools. They had houses, and clothes of various shapes.

And there was something else that was familiar…

Asuha said,

“Is that an airship?”
“There is a ship flying in the sky.”

Melk said, and Fonia nodded.

“I saw when they were able to make it fly a little. However, then the Demon King came, and it could no longer fly.”
“Was it the Demon King who put the plans in the dungeon…”

Like Iria said, there had been plans for an airship in the dungeon, and lich was protecting it.

“If the airship was completed sooner, we were going to escape to the east continent.”
“I see…”

In any case, this showed that in the past, they had a very advanced civilization. It wasn’t too surprising, since the dwarves were there as well.

Iria looked at the ceiling and said,

“It is so nice…it looks just like the current Fendel.”

Everyone nodded at this.

And then Iria turned to Fonia.

“Ms. Fonia. Why don’t you and the others join the Fendel Alliance, just like in this mural?”
“Of course, I would not mind. Though, there is nothing that we can do.”

Fonia replied casually.

As someone who had lived for so long, she probably thought that we would all become separated again anyway.

But I didn’t want that to happen.
I wanted everyone to always stay together as friends… That was my goal now.

In any case, the turtlefolk had agreed to join the Fendel Alliance.

Next Chapter

Seisan Mahoushi no Rakuraku Henkyou Kaitaku - Saikyou no Ajintachi to Howaito Kokka wo Kizukimasu!