Salamander’s Tears

What lay beyond was a hellish sight of blazing red. Like a viscous liquid, it flowed over the surface of the rock as if licking it, changing shape like a living creature while it ate away at the ground.

So… this was magma. Of course, Arthur had no idea what it actually was, but even someone as dull as he was could tell that touching it would be dangerous.

“This is…”

“This is Salamander’s Tears. If you touch it, not only humans but even metal will melt instantly. Of course, that would include this child as well…”

Miranda, trembling slightly, shielded the sandworm as she stared at Salamander’s Tears—the magma.

It was the very symbol of absolute flame, and the Desert People even used the name of a spirit for it; in her eyes there was not only fear but also an awe-filled reverence.

“The Fruit of Plenty grows on trees that have received Lord Salamander’s blessing. Just like those over there.”

In the direction Miranda pointed, there was a patch of earth that had risen up in the middle of the magma, and he could see several trees growing there.

“I see… magma, is it… Plants with such strong life force that they try to live even in such a harsh environment… So that is what we call the Fruit of Plenty?”

“Hm? Ah, yes, that’s right.”

Lancelot muttered something under his breath as he stared their way, and Arthur did not really understand what he was getting at, but he nodded for the time being.

Even so, he thought, sure, it was insanely hot, and falling in would be bad, but he also had the magic stone Morgan had given him. They would manage somehow…

It was just as he thought that.

“Lord Arthur!! Please be careful. There’s a monster!!”

“Huh…?”

The magma suddenly swelled up, and something emerged from it.

Its body was covered in bright red, molten lava, from which droplets occasionally fell, burning the ground wherever they landed. Its humanoid eyes burned with flames, and just its gaze alone gave the illusion that it was raising the surrounding temperature.

“Oh… A monster I’ve never seen before!! I wonder if a sword will work on it?”

Lancelot slashed at it without hesitation, but the instant his blade bit into the monster’s magma-covered body, a searing “ssshh” sound tore at their ears.

From the sword’s tip, lava dripped down like melted metal, reacting as if it were an enraged living thing, yet the crucial monster itself had the wound covered over by magma as if nothing had happened.

“To think even a mithril sword would melt… On top of that, it takes no damage at all—if anything, it is the sword that is in danger.”

“It is these monsters… Because these monsters protect the Fruit of Plenty, even we Desert People cannot harvest it. In all of history, only one party has ever set foot on that ground and obtained the Fruit of Plenty. Yes… our first chieftain, the Holy King, the Nameless Sword Saint, and the magician Merlin—a party of four.”

It was no coincidence that Miranda looked up at Arthur with pleading eyes. Arthur, too, had been wondering about something.

He finally understood why they had called him, even though just saving a single child had already threatened his position.

“I see… If Lord Arthur truly has the same power as the Holy King, then perhaps, upon seeing this, some countermeasure will come to mind.”

“Yes… Lord Arthur, what do you think?”

Lancelot nodded at Miranda’s words, and the two of them looked at him with eyes full of expectation. In that situation, all Arthur could do was twist his lips into a strained smile.

No, what were these people even talking about? Wasn’t this way too unreasonable?… he thought.