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“I can’t believe I can rent a room from the Church of Life, that’s quite surprising!”

In the lodging provided by the Church of Life, Finna looked around with eyes full of wonder.

A room that gives off a tidy impression. A double room shared by Finna and Alice. For reference, Eric was staying alone in a single room.

“Yeah. Usually, they don’t offer their rooms like this.”

“I thought the only time they provided lodging was for long-term treatments, like in a hospital. So there are rooms available just for accommodation?”

“It’s a guest room.”

In other words, it meant a room that typically wouldn’t be offered.

“Guest…? Guests of the Church of Life…?”

Finna looked at Alice with slightly surprised eyes, as if she had vaguely grasped what being a guest of the Church of Life meant.

“Alice and Eric, what exactly are you two?”

“Hmm… I can’t tell you yet.”

“Not yet…? So that means you’ll tell me someday?”

“That’s a secret too.”

Common sense would dictate that having an outsider like Finna around would make it right for the Church of Life to book different accommodations… but it seemed Eric and Alice hadn’t thought that far ahead.

Or maybe they felt they could trust Finna enough during their journey to Procyon.

As Finna looked at Alice, she appeared to be deep in thought.

Or maybe she was faintly guessing Alice and Eric’s true identities.

After all, Alice always wore her hood and never revealed her face, and Eric bore a name akin to a hero.

On top of that, these two had extraordinary equipment even a dwarf couldn’t craft.

And there’s the fact that they were treated as guests by the Church of Life.

If one had even a bit of intuition and thought, wouldn’t they be able to guess their identities?

“Well, you’ll tell me one day! I’ll wait until then!”

Finna seemed to decide to leisurely wait for the right time, simply offering a small smile to Alice.

“By the way… what’s the relationship between you and Eric? I mean, are you lovers?”

“Me and Eric…?”

“Yes! If two young men and women are traveling together, one would naturally think that, right? Lovers? Or maybe already a married couple?”

“That, um…”

“Or maybe! They are tragic lovers torn by an impossible love, abandoning everything to achieve that love?! Or fleeing their families to be together?!”

As Finna suddenly started spilling her thoughts with sparkling eyes, Alice began to hesitate.

Whoa! Alice is blushing. This is a rare sight.

Honestly, from a third person’s perspective, one would want to shout “Just get married already!” right about now.

Continuing to feel awkward and embarrassed, Alice eventually managed to speak up.

“Um, let’s stop that conversation for now… since we have to cross the Scorching Desert tomorrow. Let’s get some rest.”

“Yeah. Tomorrow’s finally the day!”

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

The Holy Mountain of Fire.

An unquenchable flame that burns eternally. The sacred fire symbolized by the deification of flames, situated within one of the world’s seven forbidden areas.

Strictly speaking, only the Holy Mountain of Fire itself is designated as one of the seven forbidden areas, but in public perception, it’s thought that both the mountain and the surrounding Scorching Desert are included due to the abnormal danger of the environment.

As soon as you move a little south of Procyon, located at the entrance of the Scorching Desert, you’ll feel an overwhelming heat that makes breathing difficult, falling into the illusion that your entire body is burning.

Those not adequately prepared would find themselves unable to pass through the Scorching Desert, let alone see the Holy Mountain of Fire.

Furthermore, threats to those who set foot in the Scorching Desert didn’t only arise from the blazing heat.

The environment adapted to the desert’s heat. Creatures, and various monsters as well.

The Scorching Desert harbored countless dangers.

Even for those who were thoroughly prepared, the survival rate might dip below one percent in this extreme environment.

If one were to navigate through these dangers and finally arrive at the Holy Mountain of Fire, would that mean everything was over?

Not at all.

The Holy Mountain of Fire was, quite literally, an entire mountain engulfed in fiery flames.

No matter how thoroughly one prepared, or how much they blocked the heat with magic, or how they protected their body with tools.

The sacred and merciless flames would incinerate anyone who set foot on that mountain.

That’s why, despite being a sacred site, it’s one of the world’s seven forbidden areas.

– A guide for adventurers journeying through the world.

Chapter on the Seven Forbidden Areas.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

“It’s hot…”

“Yeah. The heat is one thing, but it’s hard to walk because my feet keep sinking into the sand.”

“…”

Alice lightly sweated while Finna complained about her feet sinking into the sand. Meanwhile, even while wearing the heat-blocking cloth Finna gave him, Eric was still sweating profusely.

Thus, the three of them trudged through the unbearably hot Scorching Desert.

“Eric, should I cast a spell for you?”

“Nah… I’m okay…”

“You really look like you’re struggling.”

“Seriously, it’s fine. Alice is maintaining the detection magic right now.”

At Eric’s words, Alice nodded slightly.

In the sandy desert’s depths, they didn’t know when or where the monsters could ambush them.

So to prepare, Alice was using her magic to detect nearby hostility.

“But Eric’s complexion doesn’t look good.”

“It’s because I’m not used to the heat. I come from a cold place.”

To Eric, whose hometown in North Romania was known for its brutal winters, this scorching heat was a challenge.

That’s why he forced himself to keep moving under the heat-blocking cloth Finna had prepared.

“Yeah…”

Seeing Eric like that, Alice let out a small sigh and took out a tiny leather pouch from her breast.

Then she produced a long-shaped pouch from inside and magically filled it with water, freezing it.

“Hey, Alice? Shouldn’t you save your magic?”

“It’s fine. I can manage this much.”

Then Alice crafted an icicle pouch shaped like a horseshoe that could be hung around the neck and placed it on Eric’s neck.

“I can do at least this much.”

“Thanks… Alice.”

Finna watched Alice and Eric with a strange expression, but they were oblivious to her gaze.

“By the way, are you okay, Finna?”

“Huh?”

“The cloth that Eric is using… you lent that to him, right? Is it okay to share it with him?”

“Ah, well… I’m fine. I’m used to this level of heat.”

“Used to it?”

“Yeah. It’s a blacksmith’s fate to work in front of a forge hot enough to melt iron. I can’t help but be accustomed to the heat.”

Hearing Finna’s words, Alice nodded slightly.

“That’s a relief. Now, let’s hurry. At this pace, we’ll need about three days to reach our destination.”

“Three days?! Wait, do you even know where the Holy Mountain of Fire is?!”

“Yeah. I do.”

Alice spoke calmly, but…

“Really?! How do you know that?! The records of Rychlen that I’ve researched don’t mention a clear location!”

“There was a way to find out.”

Well, she was asking me, after all.

It might be somewhat of a cheat, but isn’t it okay to share a rough idea of its location?

“And I’ve heard the closer we get to the Holy Mountain, the hotter it gets. So not knowing the exact location is fine.”

“It gets hotter… Indeed! If we have a thermometer, we can use it to figure out the direction from which the heat is increasing!”

“That’s right.”

It’s a method where you only know the direction. But as you get closer, the heat increases, making things tougher. But who would dare to seek out an Ifrit without proper preparation?

As they pressed on through the steadily hotter Scorching Desert, the three moves forward little by little.

 

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