CH 163

Chapter 163 : Portal Crystal

The blinding light from the crystal on Celine’s hand forced me to close my eyes.

Immediately after, I felt a mysterious feeling as if something was pulling my entire body, then I lost the feeling of my footing.

It feels like when you go down with an elevator from the top floor of a very high building at an extremely high speed.

After a while of experiencing that feeling, the light started to dim and the feeling of my footing returned.

While still clinging to Celine, I nervously opened my eyes.

The first thing I saw was a big crystal about the size of an adult. The shape of the crystal was kinda weird. It had many thin branches that spread from the main body of the crystal, making it look like a snowflake.

It was transparent but it reflected the sunlight and illuminated the surroundings with various colors like a rainbow.

「Alright, we’ve arrived~」(Celine)

「Where are we…?」(Mark)

「We’re in my hometown, Schultria~!」(Celine)

I let go of Celine and looked around.

Apparently, we are in the middle of a small open area somewhere in the woods that spread with the giant crystal in the center.

I could see a river nearby and I could feel a cool breeze coming from that direction. I had been in a hot and suffocating mine for a while, so this breeze felt so nice for me.

Now that we are now in a different place, I wonder if Celine just used teleportation magic. I didn’t know that she could use such convenient magic.

When I turned my gaze at Celine, she threw away the crystal in her hand, and as soon as it hit the ground, it scattered into white powder.

「What was that thing?」(Mark)

「It was a Portal Stone. It was a part of the Portal Crystal over there.」(Celine)

Celine pointed to the giant crystal as she said that.

I see… So basically, the crystal Celine just threw away is called a Portal Stone. She took it from the giant crystal which is called the Portal Crystal.

「Waahhー It’s so prettyー!」(Nicola)

Nicola let go of Celine’s waist and ran toward the Portal Crystal while raising her arms.

She looked just like an innocent, cute girl, but then she explained to me about the Portal Crystal with telepathy like a professor.

『Hoo… I see, I see… It seems like this is a lump of mana that took the shape of a crystal. It reflects the sunlight with different colors probably because it contains various mana attributes.』(Nicola)

『Is it different from magic stones?』(Mark)

『Well, you can say that. However, it may have originally been some kind of magic stone. I’m not sure, honestly. But there’s no doubt that this giant crystal was processed by humans.』(Nicola)

『So, it’s artificially made, huh?』(Mark)

『Yeah, probably.』(Nicola)

I feel like it’s been a while since the last time I heard Nicola’s telepathic message that isn’t a dirty joke…

「If you put mana into a Portal Stone that you take from this Portal Crystal, you will be teleported to this place.」(Celine)

While explaining, Celine put her hands on her waist and looked up at the Portal Crystal.

So apparently, it’s a one-way teleportation method where you will return to the main crystal after putting mana into a part of the crystal.

This world really never stops to amaze me…

「I see. That’s so convenient.」(Mark)

「Well… It is, but actually…」(Celine)

Celine stopped talking for some reason and scratched her cheeks with her index finger.

Hm? Is it difficult to use or has a side effect or something?

「Never mind. More importantly, we should leave this place before someone finds us.」(Celine)

Saying that, Celine grabbed my and Nicola’s hands and started walking restlessly.

She said this is her hometown, but… Does she have a traumatic experience here…?

Her behavior made me curious but I didn’t have the courage to ask.

「Hey, stop right there!」(?)

Unfortunately, someone found us and immediately blocked our way.

It was a man in his twenties with a long blonde, a well-organized face, and… pointy ears…?

Ah, he must be an elf! This is the second time I’ve seen someone of a different race. The first one was, of course, a dwarf, Nei-san.

「Geh! Deel!? Oh, God, why do I have to encounter this man of all people…」(Celine)

「Oh? That weird black dress… Celine, is that you? Long time no see!」(Deel)

The guy called Deel waved at Celine and approached us while smirking as if making fun of Celine’s dress.

「Weird, you say? Look at yourself. How can you wear that lame green clothes all year long?」(Celine)

「Hey, this is the traditional clothes of our village, you know! So, what’s the matter? It’s been a while since the last time you came home… Hm? Who are these children…? Don’t tell me… Celine, did you…」(Deel)

Deel was taken aback when he finally noticed me and Nicola. He looked at us with his eyes wide open.

「Why do you care? It’s not your problem. Anyway, I wanna go to my parents’ house, so can you step aside?」(Celine)

「Waaait, wait, wait! You know that we can’t bring strangers to our village via Portal Crystal, don’t you? What are you gonna do about that?」(Deel)

「I know but it’s not that I will get punished or anything, right? Besides, if I didn’t use my Portal Stone, we would have been buried alive. I’m the guardian of these children, so their safety is my responsibility.」(Celine)

「Th.. Their guardian!?」(Deel)

Deel looked shocked for some reason.

It’s true that Celine is our guardian but it seems like Deel thinks that she is more than just a guardian.

「…Well, I apologize for breaking the rules but those rules are made so that we don’t bring bad people here, right? Look at them. They are just innocent children. I can guarantee that they won’t do anything stupid here, so I hope you can let it slide this time. See you~」(Celine)

After saying that, Celine walked past Deel, who was still frozen in shock, and proceeded to the woods.

Nicola and I were naturally following her from behind.

「Say, Celine. That Deel guy is an elf, right?」(Mark)

「Umm, to be exact, he’s a half-elf.」(Celine)

So he is a mixed race, huh?

I didn’t know half-elves exist because the books I read at Sunday School didn’t mention anything about them.

「Hee… a half-elf, huh…? It’s the first time I’ve seen them.」(Mark)

「What are you talking about? Don’t you realize that you see a half-elf almost every day?」(Celine)

「What do you mean…?」(Mark)

「Some half-elves have pointy ears just like elf ears but some others have the same ears as human ears.」(Celine)

「Is that so? Then there’s a half-elf among my acquaintances?」(Mark)

「Yup~ And that person is the beautiful lady who is currently talking to you~」(Celine)

Saying that, Celine winked at me.

「…Eh?」(Mark)