The Shepherd Alone on the Hill is a Genius Wizard-Chapter 74: The Soul Ages, Not the Body (2)

When Turan didn’t come out even after waiting a while, she clicked her tongue and rose from the hot spring.

"Ugh, I suppose I’ll have to call it a day here. Won’t be able to visit here often anymore. How can I bathe comfortably with some unknown person peeping..."

Hearing the woman’s words, the monkey magical beast snorted and stamped its feet.

Was it pleading her not to say that?

He knew monkeys were quite intelligent, but this magical beast seemed able to understand human speech like Bize.

Watching their interaction from afar with his holy relic’s senses, Turan hesitated briefly before dropping his concealment at some distance away and approached them.

"I apologize for my rudeness. I had no ill intent—I approached to check if there was any danger when I sensed human presence in a place where magical beasts appear."

Since the woman was still unclothed, Turan kept his gaze lowered.

Of course, since he could read mana with the Mimicker holy relic, he could respond immediately if they tried to ambush him.

Seeing Turan, rather than getting angry, the woman burst into hearty laughter.

"My, what a handsome young man! No need for apologies, rather this side lucked out. Ho ho, Aikul. Relax your expression. So you were trying to help this old woman?"

"Yes."

"What a kind-hearted person. Such people are rare these days."

Surprisingly, the woman walked right up to him wearing nothing and stroked his head.

When Turan flinched at her defenseless attitude, she looked down at her body and burst out laughing.

"This fellow isn’t just looking young but really is young? No need to avert your eyes. I’m over three hundred years old and have had twelve husbands—what’s showing my body to a child younger than my great-grandchildren?"

At those words, Turan raised his head to look directly at her.

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

Unlike her words, her face and body appeared to be only in her late twenties or early thirties at most.

"This old woman’s name is Rida. Rida Labitas. And you?"

As expected, she was a Labitas noble.

Well, what other reason would such a powerful person have to be here?

"I’m Turan. I came from Kalamaf."

"Kalamaf? Isn’t that in the far Grey Zone? You’ve come from quite far!"

Though Turan had stated his origin rather than house, instead of asking about this Rida just laughed heartily and reached back.

The Monkey King tossed her clothes, looking like old friends.

"Elder Rida... are you soul-bonded with that magical beast?"

"Hmm? No, nothing like that. Just old friends. I’ve always liked bathing in hot springs here. This fellow has probably lived here for a thousand years. Even my grandfather’s grandfather said it was here in his childhood."

To leave such a powerful magical beast unhunted for a thousand years?

Though surprising at first, considering its unusually gentle nature and power for a magical beast, he could understand it wasn’t a bad approach.

Originally, the process of absorbing magical beasts’ power was hardly efficient—even if four people absorbed it, they could only obtain about twenty to thirty percent of the magical beast’s original power.

Compared to that, maintaining friendly relations like this meant being able to expect help from one high noble-level powerhouse in times of need.

Of course, being just "friends" without soul-bonding meant not being able to expect too much help.

"So kind Turan, what brings you here? If you want to enjoy the hot springs, this old woman has had enough so I’ll let you have it. Though I don’t mind sharing either!"

Her cackling laughter while saying this clearly showed intention to tease Turan.

At her appearance like a grandmother looking at a naive grandson, Turan shook his head and stated his business.

"I heard sulfur comes from here, so I came to get some."

"Sulfur? What use is that?"

"Yes. I heard it’s used as an antidote..."

"Is there someone poisoned nearby?"

"No, not that, I just thought I might try selling it far away..."

Unable to reveal it was for making Soul of Fire, his excuses grew somewhat long.

Rida tilted her head as if not quite understanding, then soon smiled and spoke.

"If that’s the case, I know where there’s lots! Sometimes people gather from exposed areas outside, but if you want to sell you’ll need to mine more than that. Follow me."

Rida gestured for Turan to follow deeper into the valley before walking ahead.

The Monkey King glanced at Turan with a suspicious expression before following behind.

The place she was guiding to was quite deep and complex, seeming difficult to find alone.

Even with superior sense of smell, that wouldn’t show him the way.

Shortly after, Turan groaned softly seeing ground spread yellow deep in the valley.

"Ah."

Approaching closer and picking up a yellow stone, he could tell it was entirely a sulfur lump.

Suddenly remembering buying that tiny amount for one gold coin in Slop City made his stomach hurt anew.

Who would have thought it was something lying around on the ground here?

’No, thanks to that I learned about this place, so think of it as payment for information...’

While Turan was trying hard to rationalize this, Rida watching from behind asked a question.

"But didn’t you bring a basket or something to carry it?"

"I’ll have to make one now, it seems."

Originally he had planned to use the large capacity pouch, but it felt somewhat awkward to reveal a holy relic in front of a high noble of Labitas.

Turan knocked down the largest nearby tree and hollowed out one side to make a basket-like shape like a small boat.

"Oh, can you carry that?"

"This much is quite possible."

Turan moved sulfur lumps scattered around with psychokinetic magic.

As hundreds of kilograms of sulfur moved neatly to fill inside, seeing this, Rida clapped her hands and spoke.

"Your magic skill is very good. Unlike your age."

"You flatter me."

"What flattery? At your age I couldn’t do anything but heal people!"

Rida rambled on like a true elderly person, saying she wished her house’s children were polite and modest like Turan.

Turan listened quietly before casually asking her a question.

"Do all Labitas nobles look like Elder Rida?"

"Hmm?"

"Looking much younger than your actual age, I mean. Unlike how you speak, to me you don’t even look a hundred..."

Before Turan could finish speaking, Rida burst out laughing and slapped his shoulder.

The sulfur loaded in the basket spilled out at the impact.

"Oh my, sorry. But you shouldn’t say such things with that face! How many young ladies have you enchanted talking like that until now!"

"I just said what I saw."

"Now you’re trying to enchant this old woman too."

Rida stroked her face while saying words that might be jokes or not.

"Nobles with healer and purifier bloodlines stop aging completely once their power reaches a certain level. Using healing and purification power together can fix the body’s time."

"Then..."

Turan was about to ask if that meant they could live forever, but recalled the memorial pillar seen during the day.

Hadn’t he just seen today that even the head of House Labitas, not just an ordinary member, had died?

Perhaps knowing what question he was trying to ask, Rida grinned and answered.

"Why we can’t live forever is because nobles dying of old age is actually due to the soul aging, not the body."

Saying this, Rida smiled mischievously like a grandmother telling a secret story to her grandson.