Chapter 52 – Unending Curiosity

The warm afternoon breeze blew from the window behind Jack as it caressed his back.

He was sitting on the wooden sofa in Melissa's spacious office as he practiced his writing, sticking his nose in the mana slate. Even as an hour passed, he never so much as turned his head.

Concentration is one of the fundamental things required for hunting, and he had honed it pretty well in the Dark Woods. That naturally impressed the director sitting behind the large table.

Jack has never bothered her even for a bit, and she could continue her work without minding his presence. She was pleased with his behavior.

Soon after, he put the slate inside his pouch as he was done with his practice.

“Done already?” she asked.

“Yep!”

“So, what would you like to learn now?” Melissa asked.

There were many things he wanted to know. But as he was transmigrated, he first wanted to know what this fantasy world has to offer. So he asked after pondering for a few moments, “How about the geography of this continent?”

“Continent? You don’t mean the world?” her lips curled up. Jack just smiled wryly, without saying anything.

“You don’t think that the world ends there?” she asked, and Jack shook his head in denial. He didn’t know if she was testing him or just asking from her piercing gaze. It was like a teacher trying to reveal a sublime truth to his student by piquing his curiosity.

“Oh? Why is that?” she asked with curiosity.

“Since we can see the moon, the sun, and the stars, it’s obvious that the world wouldn’t end anywhere near.” He said, keeping the description as simple as possible. This world is probably not that advanced in terms of astronomical knowledge, he assumed for the time being.

Thanks to the research that had been done in his previous world over many years, he knew the truth. But that doesn't mean he can simply reveal it, even if it’s the truth. The people won’t accept it readily, given their deep-rooted beliefs.

“And I won’t simply assume a belief without checking it out myself…” he added.

Melissa blinked her eyes a few times when she heard his words. She then asked with expectations, “Oh, then what about those who had already checked and confirmed that there exists a boundary in the ocean that doesn’t let anyone advance further? How would you check if you cannot even advance?”

“What kind of boundary is it?" he asked.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Does it only obstruct the living beings, or does it obstruct everything? If so, then it must have separated a large amount of water from the ocean. The ocean outside must be hammering the barrier with its huge waves.”

He took a breath before continuing, “Is that barrier so strong that it can withstand such tremendous force? Or is it just obstructing the living beings and letting the water pass freely? What about the sky? Is it spanning over it as well? Is it obstructing the air as well? Then wouldn’t that affect the atmosphere?”

He paused to let it sink in her head. Then he said, “These are a few questions that have to be answered before concluding. And the conclusion derived from that might not be correct either."

Melissa stared at him in a daze with her eyes wide open. A moment later, a contemplative expression appeared on her face. That was a new and unique approach to perceive the world. Now, instead of his, her own curiosity was piqued.

Over time, the legend of the Mana Goddess was being forgotten, and people had started believing that the world ends at the World Boundary. It was when the demons actually emerged that people started doubting their beliefs.

Since she was a teacher, she assumed that it was her responsibility to enlighten the future of the nation, the youth. But instead, she got to learn something new from a kid.

She wasn’t dissatisfied. On the contrary, she was pleased. And so began her questions filled with curiosity.

And Jack had to answer her, which he found a bit difficult. If he goes into more specifics, it will raise the question of where he obtained the knowledge. So he had to keep it a bit vague, and logical at the same time.

In just a few questions, she acquired a whole different view of the world. But fortunately, she realized that they had strayed away from their topic.

“Oh my… we strayed away from our topic! My bad. Sorry, Mr. Hero.” she said with an apologetic expression, just to see his wry smile. “Oh, sorry, I will call you Jack from now on, Mr. Hero!”

Jack’s lips twitched as he finally understood that she was just teasing him.

She then started explaining, “This continent is divided into three parts,” lifting each finger, she continued, “The Demon Kingdom to the west, our Lestia kingdom is in the middle, and the Mist Forest to the east.”

“Mist forest?” This was interesting. He already knew some basic things about those kingdoms, but this was new and interesting. Is it a forest covered with mist? Do people go astray there, to never return? His mind spun.

Seeing his unbridled excitement, and as if sensing his thoughts, she answered, “That’s right! As the name suggests, it is a forest covered with mist, and whoever goes there, never comes back!”

Jack raised his eyebrows, and his lips curled up, “How many people have attempted till now?” He didn’t ask if anyone attempted, but how many.

“A lot! Just to fail miserably… Even the royal family had tried. Some of the soldiers had somehow managed to return and said that they saw various illusions and couldn’t even track where they were going.”

And with a sad smile, she added, “And even after knowing this, people still try to traverse it… just to fail and never return...”

“Oh! And why do they do that?” he asked.

With a derisive smile, she answered, “In search of resources. There are various rumors about treasures and such. Legends say that the forest is the lair of an ancient dragon, and the whole mist is created by him… The dragon later came to be known as the mist dragon.”

Now, this made Jack’s eyes wide as saucers. That had certainly piqued his interest. After coming to a fantasy world, it would be a shame if he didn’t see a real dragon.

After coming to this world, just when he had thought that he had seen a mighty, and powerful dragon, he came to know that it was just a wyvern.

Just when he had thought that he had defeated a dragon and become a dragon slayer, the Dulia town poured cold water on it. Now, if he slew a real dragon… A wicked smile appeared on his face.

Melissa made a weird smile seeing his expression. She then dropped another fuel in the fire, “Also, beyond that mist is the fairyland where fairies reside.”

Boom!

Now his eyes popped out, and his blood began churning. A picture of beautiful girls with butterfly wings appeared in his head. This was too tempting, and it was inviting him for a visit as soon as possible.

He must see a fairy along the way, he thought. But what if the fairies in this world were different from his imagination? So, after restraining his excitement, he asked, “Fairies? What are those?”

“Who knows? Legends say that they are the most beautiful creatures in the world. Beautiful girls who have wings…” She answered. And this was enough to make his desire leak out once again.

And seeing his unrestrained desire, Melissa finally couldn’t ignore it. “You aren’t planning to go there, are you?” she asked with a stern gaze. Jack could only awkwardly laugh.

“Listen, Jack. Even the strongest ‘S’ ranked adventurers had gone missing there! So perish the thought of ever going there!” She sternly instructed. And Jack then had to hear her lecture for quite some time.

They then chatted for a while. He came to know that the forest occupies almost half of the continent. Even the Dark Woods is a part of that forest. While humans occupy less than half of the land.

Between the border of the Lestia Kingdom and the Mist Forest, there lay the beastmen territory. All the beastmen are allied with the Lestia Kingdom to face the impending threat of the Demon Kingdom.

The topics just didn’t seem to finish as there were a lot of things to know. Jack’s curiosity was unending, so they talked like that for a while.

“It isn’t like only the Mist Forest is interesting. There are places in our kingdom that are worth exploring. Like the ‘Sword City’, where you will be able to see all the beast people…” she said.

And just when Jack was going to ask about the city, a knocking sound came.

*Knock* *Knock*

“Come in,” Melissa permitted.

Jack finally noticed the golden light of the evening coming from the window as he understood that their chatting had eaten a lot of time.

While another melodious sound tingled his ears. Her fragrance also wafted into his nose.

“Big sis, I heard that…” Natalia barged in. And as she saw Jack, she halted for a moment, furrowed her brows, and said, “Little hero, I heard that you killed someone?"