Chapter 67:

Chapter 67:

“The scenery is beautiful, isn’t it?”

Philip and Privia walked through the Elphenia Forest together.

Sunlight filtered through the dense leaves, gently warming their cheeks, and a pleasant breeze rustled the air.

“By the way, what’s with the sudden interest in spirit stones? What do you plan to use them for?”

In response to Privia’s question, Philip grinned and answered, “For my sister. To get closer to spirits, you need something like spirit stones. Plus, there are a few things I need to gather from this forest.”

Privia gave Philip a skeptical look. “I can’t understand you. What could a mere twenty-year-old novice possibly know? Driving away that divine being earlier would have been impossible if you didn’t have a complete understanding of divine beings like that.”

“Well, I don’t think that’s really important.”

“No, it is important. You know a lot for a human. Your way of manipulating magic has some aspects that not even I, a dragon, can fully grasp. It couldn’t be explained just because you’re a prodigy.”

“... That’s true.”

Privia was a being of high caliber, and she couldn’t be unaware that something was off about Philip. While she could have delved deeper, she chose to pretend not to know.

“Let’s get moving for now. There’s a lot we need to find. With you here, Privia, things might go quicker than I thought.”

Philip began walking ahead, and Privia followed him, seemingly observing what he was up to.

Soon, they arrived at the outskirts of the Elphenia Forest, and reached the habitat of the griffons.

“Why have you come here?”

Griffons were creatures with keen senses. They had already sensed Privia’s aura and were staring down at her like gentle sparrows.

Originally a powerful creature with a lion’s body, eagle’s head, and large wings, griffons were reduced to little more than beetles in the presence of dragons, the mightiest beings under heaven.

“Eek...”

One of the griffons locked eyes with Privia and trembled as it accidentally released a stream of urine.

“Sorry for dropping in so suddenly. We’re just looking for something and then we’ll leave, okay?”

Those intelligent griffons didn’t attack people. Moreover, the creatures that inhabited the Elphenia Forest were usually herbivorous, feeding on things like tree fruits and beehives.

Since Philip had a friendly relationship with the elves, scaring them without reason had become unnecessary.

Philip passed by several griffin nests and climbed a hill. His goal was the nest of the royal griffin, “Deffle,” the leader of this griffin habitat.

“This one looks kind of cute.”

Deffle, a griffin faster and more powerful than the average, enthusiastically welcomed the guests to its nest.

Despite its massive size rivaling that of a lion, it quickly rolled on the ground and exposed its belly to Privia as she approached. It was a submissive gesture, much like any other animal.

“... Did you say it looks cute?”

Philip grinned and examined the nest.

“Yeah, it does. So, what are you looking for here? I’ve heard that you have a habit of asking griffins for things you like, but I doubt there’s anything you need from this one.”

As Philip rummaged through Deffle’s chosen feathers, chick remains, and possibly unknown pieces of shell or leftover apples, he found a few red fruits resembling cherries.

It had been observing the items taken by Philip with rapt attention, and let out a sigh of relief.

“You’re only taking this, is that okay?”

Being highly intelligent, Deffle could understand some human speech. He nodded to royal griffin and turned to Privia.

“Let’s move on to another place now.”

“Where are you going, and what’s that for?”

“We’re heading to the Fairy Spring. This is... something like a tonic. Maybe our friend here might have taken this mistakenly and spent several sleepless nights.”

Privia squinted her eyes.

“A tonic? So, you’re planning to drug that merchant girl.”

“Yes? No!”

Philip shouted in frustration, but Privia remained unfazed.

“If it’s not her, then who is it? You’re not the type to be captivated by appearances, and it’s not an elf you just met today. You’re definitely not the type to pursue a married woman, and it’s not that investigator girl either...”

“What, in your opinion, is the most outstanding remedy, Privia?”

When Philip asked, Privia responded promptly as if it was a given.

“Are you talking about the Elixir?”

“That’s what most people believe. So, do you happen to know how to make the Elixir?”

“... I don’t know.”

The Elixir was a legendary cure from ancient times said to even revive recently deceased bodies.

To Philip’s knowledge, there was only one country in the world that possessed this potion, and it wasn’t used even when the king’s life was in danger.

“I heard the Kingdom of Elaha has one.”

Common belief held that dragons created the Elixir, but the reality was different. The recipe for the Elixir had been lost in the distant past, so even if one were a dragon, they wouldn’t know how to make it.

Furthermore, Elixir was often deeply sealed within ancient ruins, making it a rare find unless a dragon happened to discover it by chance.

When Phillip gave a strange smile, Privia stared at him suspiciously.

“Could this be the ingredients for the Elixir? If you’re trying to trick me, I won’t let it slide.”

“Why wouldn’t it be? These are indeed ingredients for the Elixir. They can only be obtained here in the Elphenia Forest. The reason I came all the way here is because of these. Honestly, I managed to procure at least a few World Tree leaves.”

“Fine, let’s assume these are Elixir ingredients. But why do you need the Elixir? Do you have someone on their deathbed? It’s not something a young and healthy person like you would need.”

Phillip looked straight at Privia. Sensing an odd intensity in his gaze, Privia twitched her eyebrows.

“The reason is simple. Anything less potent than an Elixir won’t have any effect on a dragon.”

As Phillip finished speaking, Privia’s expression changed.

Unbeknownst to her, she had never displayed such an expression in her thousands of years of life.

Astonishment, shock, and anger.

Consumed by a mix of emotions, Privia raised her hand.

Phillip felt a magical force enveloping his body, but he didn’t resist. Soon, the ring of magic created by Privia began to tighten around his neck.

“You. Speak plainly. What exactly do you know?”

Seriousness was embedded in Privia’s pupils. Although Phillip realized that he could truly die if he angered her, he wasn’t overly concerned.

“Ugh... well, it’s not a big... deal. First, please calm down a bit. You should make it easier for me to speak if....”

Privia glared at Phillip with a terrifying expression.

“There’s no situation where I’ll tolerate your stalling. I need to know what you know.”

“Well... it’s not a big deal. It’s just that you, Privia, aren’t in your true form right now, and your body isn’t in its normal state, right?”

Privia moved her hand, causing Phillip’s body to rise up and then forcefully slammed him onto the ground.

“Ugh!”

Phillip screamed in agony.

“How do you know that?”

Information about her true form was a secret not even known to other dragons. The fact that a mere human like Phillip knew it was unacceptable.

Bleeding from the corner of his mouth, Phillip shouted with a sense of injustice.

“Verbal magic! I heard verbal magic. It’s a language I shouldn’t be able to understand, so why did I hear it? It’s because you, Privia, aren’t in your true form and can’t fully utilize verbal magic, right? And that body, it was originally created with draconic magic, wasn’t it? You didn’t think I would notice even though it was right next to me?”

“What did you say?”

Surprised by his words, Privia lifted the magic she had placed on Phillip. Regaining his freedom, Phillip coughed and spat out dried blood.

“Now, Kelok, has your curiosity been satisfied?”

Phillip didn’t actually know much to justify his claims.

He was merely quicker on the uptake than expected.

As Privia realized she had made a significant error, cold sweat began to trickle down her forehead.