Cave King – 256

Chapter 256 – A Late Return!

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As things had settled down in the Langs Kingdom, we decided to return to Sheorl.

It was currently quite sunny, and I was resting on a carpet that had been laid out by the beach.

The waves were calm, and the sea breeze was gentle.
The sounds of crashing waves and a fancy meal.
I could feel both my body and mind relaxing.

“…It’s been a while since I was able to rest like this.”

I muttered with a yawn.

Everyone had worked so hard towards the independence of Langs.
Even I had started to feel tired.
And so for these past few days, we all decided to take it easy in Sheorl.

Nearby, Rienna, Fule, Ashton, and Haines were also resting.

When I yawned, Fule yawned as well.

“Fuwa… It really has been a while. Sheorl really is a nice place.”
“It’s beautiful, and there is no fighting. It really is a wonderful place. But what is normal in Sheorl is not normal elsewhere… This whole incident has reminded me of how rich Sheorl really is.”

Rienna muttered next to me.

“Yes. But from now on, Arancia, Sylpheum and Langs will become rich and peaceful as well.”
“Indeed. And that will lead to further development of Sheorl.”

Rienna answered. And then Fule sat up and reached for a nearby cup.

It was filled with liquid.
A juice made from honey and leaves from the World Tree… It was loved by everyone in Sheorl.

However, unlike before, it was now mixed with berries and apples.

Fule took a sip with a blissful expression.

“These berries sure are delicious. The other countries give us things we cannot get here…The beef, pork, salted meats and bread from Langs…I have not eaten such things in a long time.”

Fule said as she took a bit from the salted meat.
I had eaten some of it myself, and it sure was delicious.

“There is a limit to what we can acquire in Sheorl. …Also, there is the prophecy. And so trade with the outside will be very important. We must continue to find people who we can be friends with.”
“Yes. There are three teleportation gates left…there may be places that we still do not know about.”
“Aye. I do not know if those gates can be used, but I’m looking forward to finding out.”

Fule chuckled.

“Though, it seems like each gate leads to a place with a lot of huge problems.”
“Yes, they have problems of some sort…”

Up until now, we had been able to offer some kind of help. But there was no guarantee that this would always be the case.
Besides, there could be a dangerous enemy force, just like Vader.

Rienna opened her mouth.

“We will not know until we try meeting them.”
“Yes, we must talk first… Well, before all of that, I have to dig a path towards the teleportation gate.”

I said as I turned my head to the pickaxe that was lying next to the carpet.

For some reason, I felt restless… Ah.

I reached out my hand towards it, but the Shiel’s jiggly body blocked the way.
Not only that, but Mappa suddenly appeared and snatched it off of the ground.

Fule said,

“Nice one, Mappa! Lord Heal, you promised to rest for one week.”
“I understand how you feel, but you have been digging for so long. And so you must rest properly now.”

Rienna said. And the Shiel massaged my feet so that I could not stand up.

“Ve-very well. Sorry, Shiel.”

I said, but Shiel continued to massage me.
She was very thorough, and it felt good.

Everyone was worried about me.

I suppose tiredness was not something you always realized on your own.
Right now, I should rest, so that I can work hard later on.

As I looked a little sad, Fule muttered with a troubled expression.

“Is it really that hard to not mine for a short while? You sure like doing it. Well, considering how much you do in a month, that is an understatement…”
“It really is a lot. He dug enough rock that he could make a wall to surround Langs… And there were ten carriages full of precious stones.”

As Rienna said, I had not only mined rocks, but precious stones and rare metals.

“Though, did you really have to give them all to the prince?”

“I know they are valuable, but I dug them out in Langs, so that is where they should be used. Besides, I know that Remlik will use them for the people.”
“I believe so too, but… We could have saved a little for trade with Kamyu and the others.”
“Indeed, it would be useful for trade. But we have more than enough gold and jewels now. …Now that I think about it, Kamyu and the others should be returning soon.”

Several months ago, they had left with the orcs by ship, and were headed to the Amolis republic.
Also, Duke Barleon’s daughter, Leila, as well as others from Barleon, were on the ship.

One of the reasons for this voyage was to take in immigrants.
According to Leila, there were many people who defected from Amolis, and such people would be willing to move to Sheorl.

Rienna opened her mouth as if remembering.

“Now that I think about it… It feels strange, since we also went to the same continent…”
“So much has happened since then. They are going to be confused.”

Fule was right about that.

The situation had changed so much since the day of their departure.

We had wanted human residents here, to make it easier to trade with human countries.

However, now that we had revived the people sleeping in the Sheorl underground, it was no longer a necessary part of the plan.
Besides, there were a lot of humanoid dolls, and we could always just disguise the others as humans with the Ryukin.
Also, people even came in from Arancia.

So we had more than enough.

In the first place, we now had a secret trade agreement with my home country of Sanfaris.
And my father, the king, now saw that we were no threat.

What would Kamyu and the others say after returning from such a long voyage?
What was all of our effort for!? It would be something like that.

“We had meant to keep contact with the outside to a minimum until they returned… I feel bad for them.”
“Well, there is Ms. Leila’s diplomatic negotiations, and I doubt their efforts will go to waste.”

Rienna said.

Leila was not only there to get the Barleon people to immigrate, but she also wanted to establish diplomatic relations with Amolis and Sheorl.

Fule sounded worried.

“It all feels a little too late. Arder went to Amolis around the same time, and he was the governor in Langs. Besides, if they were returning soon, wouldn’t they have sent word? Especially about that thing.”
“That thing?”

I asked, and Rienna looked frantic.

“Uh, nothing! It’s just that there are wyverns flying around Sheorl. So we should be able to know of their return through the wyverns.”
“Ah, I see…”

When I turned my head, Fule nodded frantically as well.

The sky around the Sheorl territory was filled with wyverns, giant bees, other flying creatures, as well as the Mado Armors.

According to Baris, they had a network of scouts that extended half a day’s journey away. So they would have detected a ship that was close enough to arrive within a few days.

At the very least, Kamyu and the others would not arrive for a few days then…

Partly due to the prophecy, many monsters seemed to gather towards Sheorl.
So it was possible that they were attacked by sea monsters, like a Leviathan.

“While the ship is durable…I’m a little worried.”
“They will be fine. Perhaps they are just taking more time in order to meet all of the important people of Amolis. Or they are waiting for all of the immigrants to gather.”

Rienna said, but I was not so sure.

Fule looked at me and then made a suggestion.

“Well, since we have the teleportation stones. Why don’t we use them and check the route to Amolis?”
“I will do it then.”

Came the voice from behind. I turned to see that Baris was there.

“Baris. Not, but…”
“This time, I am the most suited for the task, as I can fly. Lord Heal and you others should rest.”

Baris said with a serious expression.
He really wanted me to rest.
Then Rienna said,

“We should leave it to Baris then. He is just as good with magic as us.”
“Of course, I am not worried about that. But you cannot rest if you are alone. And if something happened, he could not contact us…”

Baris then shook his head.

“I will take wyverns and the Mado Armor. Besides, it will be good training for flying while using the teleportation stones.”
“Indeed, the others should get used to using it… Very well. If you insist, I will leave it to you, Baris.”

Baris was satisfied by this.

“Please leave it to me. Now, I will go and search at once.”

Baris said, and then he left swiftly.

Rienna turned to me.

“Lord Heal. I hate to have to repeat it, but you should rely on others more when you can.”
“I’m sorry… I know that it’s important to rest. And I know he will do a better job than I could.”

And though I was still feeling a little anxious, I decided to continue resting.
Though, my fears were laid to rest that night.

It turned out that Kamyu’s ship was sailing peacefully on the eastern sea, and they would arrive within five days. That was what Baris reported.

Though, he also reported that Leila was not aboard the ship.

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