201 - - 201st New Year's SS Shining New Year's Day and New Year's greetings

"They found the ruins of an ancient town."

Liliela came back from the Adventurers' Guild at the end of the year with the news that new ruins had been discovered.

"Well, did you find anything unusual?"

"Cuu~"

Mina, who has already finished her work for the year, is in an unusually relaxed mood.

Fluffy is lounging on the heated carpet like an open fish.

"It really was just an ordinary town," he says, "and there wasn't much to see.

"What a pity."

"But, instead, they found many books that could be used as research materials on the social customs of the time," he said.

What are social customs?

To put it simply, it is the common sense, customs, and fashions of the time.

Mr. Gyro tilted his head at the unfamiliar words, and Mr. Norbu replied while pouring tea.

"Yes, and immediately the researcher translated some of the material, and found some interesting information in it.

""""" interesting information? """"""

When we bite into Liliela's words, she smiles at us.

"Yes. The book was about the New Year rituals of that time!"

"New Year's rituals!"

That's great timing.

"Yes. I can't believe we're talking about an ancient New Year's ritual at the end of the year."

So, what kind of rituals?

Everyone is so absorbed in Liliela's story since the cleaning and preparations for New Year's Eve are over.

"It is said that you can predict your fortune for the new year by climbing a mountain called Shikoku no Yama and watching the sunrise on the first day of the year.

"Fortune-telling at the first sunrise?"

"Does climbing a mountain mean that it is a place of worship, like a holy place in the church?"

"Oh, it's only a couple of hours from here by flying magic.

"Oh, it's closer than you think. ......, huh?"

"You know about this, brother?

"Yeah, I think it's the first sunrise of the year."

"""""Desma first sunrise!

"Wow, that sounds interesting. Let's go!"

Gyro-kun said he wanted to go to the first sunrise of the year.

"Oh, it's too much trouble. Let's just relax at home.

"Kyu~"

But Mina and Mohamofu seem to want to take it easy.

"Let's try our luck, if we get a good result, we'll have a good luck with money this year!"

"It would be nice to start the New Year with a clean slate."

But Mr. Megli and Mr. Norbu seem to be on board.

So it's three against two.

What about you, Liliela?

That leaves me and Liliela.

"Well, I just got back and I want to relax, but ...... either way is fine."

Liliela, you are in the either/or camp.

"I mean, I have a feeling that there will be trouble no matter which one I choose.

"Yes?　What did you say?"

"No, it's nothing. What do you want to do, Rex?"

"Well, I'm ......"

The first sunrise of Desma. ...... I had heard about it in my previous life, but I was too busy with my work as a hero to get involved.

I think it was a terrible story that there is no time to rest for the sake of world peace.

......Yes, I've made up my mind!　I've decided to live a life of nonchalance in this life, and I'm going to go see the sunrise on the first day of Desma!

It's just another adventurerly New Year's event!

"Okay, let's go!"

Yay!"""""

What?""What?"" Cuu~"

Gyros are happy, Mina is disappointed, and Mohamofu is disappointed.

"Okay, well, let's get ready to go."

Liliela then solemnly begins to prepare to leave.

Liliela.

"Why didn't I object?

Liliela suddenly shouted as we were climbing up the mountain.

"What's wrong, Lilieira?"

"What's wrong?　No, it's not!　Why do we have to go up the mountain in a blizzard?

"Because it's the first time I'm going to pay a visit to a mountain of death and destruction."

"The word is too disturbing!"

"The Death Mountains, to be exact."

Yes, "Death Mountain" stands for Death Mountain.

"Here comes a more directly dangerous word!

"But isn't this too dangerous?　Blizzards are dangerous, but the demons have been very strong since a while ago. ...... Wouldn't it be better to use flight magic to fly through the air?"

Mr. Norbu says, "Let's fly to the top of the mountain while withstanding the attacks of the monsters that are attacking us.

"No, I can't fly in the sky.

"What do you mean you can't?"

"Partly because of the blizzard, visibility is poor, but there is a magical storm in the sky over Death Mountain that causes magic to run amok.

"Magic storm?　What is that?

That's right. Because of this, you can't go through the death mountain to the other side, you have to go all the way around.

The neighboring lords took advantage of it to collect tolls, and there was a lot of trouble, that's why it was called Death Mountain (in the sense of war).

"Everyone's equipment is equipped with thermal protection, so the cold should be covered to a large extent. Also, they have underwater breathing capabilities, so even if they get caught in an avalanche, they won't suffocate.

""""" I don't feel safe at all!!!"""""

"Well, then, we'd better hurry to the summit before dawn!"

I want to go home after all!

I want to go home!

"Hey, I finally made it to ......."

We managed to reach the summit of Death Mountain before dawn.

On the way, we were attacked by a pack of mutant demons, and the mutants caused an avalanche, among other things.

"I'm so tired!"

Everyone slumps to the ground and exhales heavily.

"Good work."

I take a hot potion out of my magic bag and offer it to everyone.

"Thanks."

"Ha, it's warm!"

Everyone is drinking the hot potion with relieved faces.

All we have to do now is wait for the sun to rise.

"Cuuuuh!"

Mina-san sits on a nearby rock with her fluffy fluff wrapped around her neck like a scarf.

"Yeah, all we have to do is wait for him to come."

"""""" thats it? """"" Cu?"

What?　What are you talking about?　I'll look at you like that.

"Well, a New Year's visit wouldn't be complete without him.

"Hey, who's that guy?　Who's coming?"

Oh, I didn't explain about him to everyone.

"That's right. ......"

I was about to describe him when...

Suddenly there was a bright light shining on us.

"What?　Dawn?"

But isn't it strangely bright for that?

"I mean, I feel like I'm very close to the sunlight. ...... Is it because I'm on top of a mountain that I feel that way?"

"...... there, there's something glowing."

While everyone is wondering if morning has come, Megli points out that it has not.

"Once a year, only on New Year's Day, the magic storm stops, and a great spirit comes from the spirit world to take advantage of that moment. The name is Rising Elemental, a.k.a. the spirit of the first sunrise. That's him.

"The spirit of the first sunrise?

Actually, it's a spirit of light that looks just like the sun.

"Defeating him and getting the first material of the year was a popular activity among adventurers in those days!

""""What the heck!!!""""

"That's funny!　Let's do it!

Gyro-kun, full of enthusiasm, immediately charges at the Rising Elemental.

He used his speciality, the enhanced flame attribute, to attack head-on with maximum acceleration and power.

"Kochi ga dare beopo?

Gyro oh oh oh!

Gyro-kun got hit by a counter and blown away!

"Oh my God, he rolled down the mountainside, bouncing around like slime."

"Gyro-ohh!"

As Megli and the others were explaining the situation, Mina hurriedly ran to retrieve Gyro-kun.

"Oh, that's right. Rising Elemental is a great spirit, so it's quite strong. Use the attribute enhancement as much as you can.

You should have told me that first!"""""""

And so began our first hunt of the new year.

Everyone was trying to challenge the Rising Elemental with all their attribute enhancements, but they were having a hard time against the Rising Elemental who could move at the speed of light.

Especially, Mr. Norbu, who is an earth-attribute hunter, was not a good match for them in terms of speed.

"Guys, don't be fooled by the speed of your opponent. They are light, so exploit their light weakness!"

"What's the weak point of light?

I mean, how do you defeat a spirit?

What?　You all have no experience fighting spirits?

I see that's why you had such a hard time.

Knowing how to fight spirits makes all the difference.

"Spirits of light, by their nature, are weakened when dispersed!　That's why ...... waterjail!"

I trap the rising elemental in a water cage with my water magic waterjail.

The water cage covers the entire 360-degree perimeter, and looks more like a room without a door than a cage.

The trapped Rising Elemental shoots a beam of light to destroy the cage, but it fails to do so because the light is diffused.

"...... If you trap them in a cage of water that diffuses the light in this way, it diffuses the attack and greatly weakens them, and by the same logic, if they try to pass through the water, they are temporarily greatly weakened and slowed down."

The fact that the rays of light did not work allowed the rising elemental to pass directly through the water cage.

In fact, this cage is just water, so it is easy to get out of it once the breathing problem is solved.　

But the rising elemental's power decreases as the light diffuses, so this magic is quite effective.

"And then, when they come out of the water cage, I'll use ...... to get them out!　And that's how you beat them."

I aim at the time when the weakened Rising Elemental comes out of the cage and penetrate the nucleus.

"No, I mean like this, you just killed it right now.

"Ah."

Oh, shit. I thought this would be a good time to train everyone in spirit combat, and then I accidentally knocked him down!

I mean, the Rising Elemental is surprisingly weak.

From what I've heard about the first visit to the shrine in my previous life, the rising elemental seems to have been quite tough.

Was it just a coincidence that the rising elemental was weak this time?

As I was doing so, suddenly the body of the rising elemental shone even more dazzlingly.

"No!　Everybody!　Collect the flying thing!"

"What?

At the same time, the Rising Elemental burst into flames, and several lights jumped in all directions.

I grab one of them, and everyone else grabs one of the lights as well.

"Whoa!　Prepare yourselves, Rising Elements!

"Crap!　What?　What is this?

And just as they were coming back, Gyros got a piece of light, too.

Well, in Gyro's case, it hit him right in the face.

"What in the world is this?"

Liliela asks me as she holds the shard in her hand.

"This is the material of the Rising Elemental. The rising elemental is fragile and can fly very far, so the pieces that have fallen are broken and unusable. And as you can see, the material is glowing, so it's impossible to target the precious material and retrieve it."

I hold up the still-glowing material for all to see.

"When the real sun rises, this light will stop shining, so we can see what kind of material we got and divine our fortune by looking at the scarcity of the material.

"I see, so if you get a rare material, it means you are lucky.

"I mean, I'm not even fighting properly. ......

Gyro-kun, who was unable to participate in the battle, comes in, shoulders slumped in disappointment.

Just as everyone joins the others, the real first sunrise rises over the horizon.

"Wow. ......"

"Wow, you can see things so far away."

"This is amazing. ......"

The sun's rays illuminate the land, and the vastness of the world unfolds below us from our vantage point on top of a high mountain range.

"Not bad."

"Yes, this is worth coming to see."

Mina and the others, who had been dreading their first visit to the temple, seemed to find this sight very exciting.

"Whoa, what's this?

I turned around at the sound of Gyro's voice and saw a yellowish translucent lump of stone in his hand.

"Oh, that's the lump around the arm of the Rising Elemental. It's perfect for making light equipment.

"Wow, light equipment. Sounds interesting.

Lex!　What's this?

"Mr. Lex, what is this?"

Everyone asks me to explain, holding the material of the rising elemental, which has been bathed in the light of the sun and has lost its luster.

"Well, this is the centerpiece of the Rising Elemental. If you process it into a tool, you can make a useful tool for seeing in the distance.

"Oh!"

"This is ......."

I will appraise your materials and teach you how to use them.

You can sell or use the materials of the spirits, so you can do whatever you want with them.

"Bori bori bori ...... cu"

......Mohmohmoh, genie material is not food.

"Well, my material is ...... that?"

"What's wrong, Lex?"

As I was tilting my head to look at the materials I had acquired, people came to me to see what was going on.

"Hmm, that's ......."

"What is this, jewelry?"

Yes, what I got was a beautiful round stone that looked as if it had been polished.

Most of all, it was not just any stone, but a very clear yellow gemstone.

"Isn't it pretty big if it is?"

"Yes, if this is really a gemstone, it would be worth a lot of money."

I guess so. When it comes to palm-sized gemstones made of rising elemental material,...... this is probably the one, isn't it?

"Maybe this is the spirit nucleus of the Rising Elemental."

"Nucleus?"

"Yes, it is literally the nucleus that allows the Rising Elemental to manifest in the human world. ......"

"That sounds very expensive. ......"

Liliela points to the spirit nucleus of the rising elemental as if it might be.

"Is it the rarest material ......?"

""""" still """""

"Cue."

Huh?　What do you mean, "I knew it"?

"I knew my brother got the best material!"

"Well, it's Mr. Lex, isn't it?"

"I think it's safe to say that Mr. Lex is the luckiest guy this year."

For some reason, everyone accepts the fact that I got the best materials as a matter of course.

"Lex beat me anyway, so I can't complain.

Well, that's what they say, but it's not like they were that strong.

Liliela.

"Well then, we've seen the first sunrise, let's go home."

After checking the materials and seeing the real first sunrise, Lex gets up to go home.

Oh, how depressing.

"Oh, I'll have to go through that hellish beast road again. ......"

It really is.

I had no idea that there was such a powerful demon in the mountains not far from the capital. ......

Rex said that the demons around here are very territorial and never venture out, but it still makes me nervous.

"It's hard. ......"

"I guess so."

Everyone sighs like me, wanting to avoid fighting those demons again.

"What are you talking about!　This is the year you're going to train so you don't drag your brother down!"

Gyro was the only one who was in high spirits.

I don't know how he feels, since he was blown away in the fight earlier, and when he came back the fight was already over.

But the truth is ......

"I'd like to start that tomorrow: ......"

Yeah, this is it.

I'd like to go to bed now.

"Shall we fly home today?"

Lex, who has been listening to our conversation, suggests that we fly home.

Yes, flying back is the best way to go home. ......?

Everyone seemed to have noticed the strangeness of Lex's words.　I'm twisting my neck.

"Hey. Hey, Mr. Lex. What do you mean you're flying back home?"

Could it be that you didn't have to go all the way up the mountain?

"Because today is the day the annual magic storm stops. We can fly back home.

What...what...did...you...say?

Wait, wait, wait!　I can't keep up with the information!　We came all the way up the mountain because it was dangerous because of the magic storm, but now that the magic storm has stopped, we can fly home!

""""""Why didn't you tell me that before we climbed the mountain?

This was our honest truth.

"What?　Because to defeat a rising elemental, it's better to aim at it right after it appears. Then we need to be at the top of the mountain before the magic storm subsides.

"""""We didn't go up there to kill demons in the first place!!!""""""

Thus, we returned to our residence in King's Landing, and fell asleep on our beds as if we were dead.