Meanwhile, Mälwe, who resembled a very tired slug at that moment, slowly got back on her feet. She muttered a few mysterious words, and the blacksmith’s two lackeys began moving at the speed of a snail on tranquilizers. Unfortunately, the spell wasn’t designed to last long—just enough time for Mana, theoretically, to do something brilliant.
"Whatever your plan is, Mana, literally anything is better than this!" shouted Mälwe. Her words, imbued with desperate confidence, sparked a glimmer of courage in Mana. He stopped hesitating and asked with renewed determination, "Give me your talisman!"
And so, he bolted toward the Original Sapphire, the kind of run where everything seems to happen in slow motion—except for the blacksmith, who, with a grunt worthy of a constipated ogre, threw his sword at the archaeologist. Mana managed to dodge, but tripped, his momentum halted by an untimely collision with the carcass of an alligator, whose particularly sharp tooth slashed his leg. "Ah, these creatures really have it out for me!" he grumbled, trying to get back on his feet.
The blacksmith, smiling in a way that was about as pleasant as a shark at a swimmers’ buffet, was closing in dangerously to snatch the talisman. Sparko, Mana’s faithful companion, tried to help him up, but to no avail. The tooth had done more damage than it seemed. Meanwhile, the lackeys, now regaining some of their speed, were just a meter away from Mälwe, and Aranon, slowly coming to with the look of someone who had been hit one too many times, was still too far to intervene.
"Hand it over, scum!" roared the blacksmith. He tried to grab the talisman that Mana was fiercely defending. In one last desperate attempt, Mana grabbed one of the alligator’s teeth, yanked it out, and brandished it like a knife… missing the blacksmith but successfully ripping off his belt. Fortinis retaliated with a kick to Mana’s injured leg, causing him to drop the talisman with a cry of pain.
Triumphant, the blacksmith picked up the fallen object and headed for the Sapphire, his cackling echoing through the cave. "Ah, the power of the Sapphire is mine! HAHAHA!" he exulted.
Despite the pain, Mana managed a sly smile. He stood up with the help of a stick and whispered to Sparko, "The plan worked, little one. Now, let’s get out of here!"
But before they could take another step, the blacksmith, now fully absorbing the Sapphire’s power, turned around with a diabolical laugh. "I will become the most powerful man in Chibu with this extremely rare enchanted talisman! What a glorious day!"

His lackeys joined in his laughter, already savoring the rewards to come. But their delight was short-lived. Two immense red lights flared from within the Sapphire, and a massive basilisk emerged—a creature so terrifying it looked like a living nightmare.
With a swift move, the beast crushed the blacksmith, reducing him to a viscous puddle that vaguely resembled an unpleasant memory. The blacksmith’s belongings were instantly destroyed, and his lackeys, in a desperate attempt to flee, were decapitated in a split second, followed by a sickening crunch that was anything but pleasant.
The basilisk completely ignored Aranon, Mälwe, and Mana. The three of them stood petrified. The creature prowled like a lion searching for something more interesting than ants. Then, as if their presence had never mattered, it returned to the Sapphire, but not before giving the cave a hard shake, causing a menacing rumble. The ceiling began to collapse with all the force of an impending catastrophe.
Aranon, regaining his senses and seeing his companions in trouble, rushed over, lifted them up, and carried them out of the cave just in time to avoid being crushed.
Once outside, safe but visibly shaken, the three friends stood in silence. Mana approached Mälwe, who burst into tears.
"Are you okay?" Mana asked awkwardly, not quite sure what one says in such situations.
"No... That was the last hope of my people..." murmured Mälwe, tears flowing freely.
"What do you mean?" Mana asked, confused.
"We, the elves of my tribe, are connected to nature, particularly to a sacred tree. This tree gives life to many forests in our land, but without its power, our civilization is gravely weakened. My father, the king of the elves, keeps the tree alive by projecting his own life essence into it… but he’s slowly dying."
Aranon, Mana, and Sparko stood stunned. "You’re... a princess?" Mana asked, a mix of respect and disbelief in his voice.
"Yes... But that matters little now… and what about your leg, how are you feeling?"
"Oh, it could be better, but I did get a nice alligator tooth dagger," Mana replied, smiling as he held up the tooth like a trophy. Then, with a wink, he added, "And while cutting the belt of that nasty blacksmith, Sparko managed to grab this little item." He showed the talisman with a grin to Mälwe and Aranon.
"My talisman!" Aranon exclaimed, clearly embarrassed. "I don’t know what came over me in the cave… Aranon was overcome with greed. May I offer it to you, princess elf, as a gesture of apology?"
Mälwe dried her tears and, recognizing the talisman recharged by the Sapphire, leaped for joy into the arms of the large Gyptian. "Uh, Sparko and I were the ones who retrieved it, in case you forgot," Mana protested, feigning indignation.
Mälwe hugged him in return. "I am eternally grateful," she said, her heart lighter despite the seriousness of the situation.
While Mälwe tended to Mana’s injuries with surprising gentleness, she couldn’t help but ask a burning question.
"By the way, something’s been bothering me…" began the elf, casting a sharp glance at Aranon, like a curious cat eyeing a bird it hadn’t yet decided to eat. "That draconic basilisk we just saw… probably one of the most lethally dangerous creatures in all of Chibu, capable of tracking and killing almost any living thing. It refuses to lower itself to slay easy prey, like, for example, a level 1 character, or a harmless creature like Sparko here." Sparko nodded in resigned agreement. But then Mälwe turned to Aranon, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. "You, Aranon, why are you still alive?"
Aranon, who had so far managed to hide his embarrassment beneath a thick layer of bravado, cleared his throat. "Well, actually... I’m not really a warrior," he admitted, each word leaving his mouth like he was confessing to cheating at cards.
"Wait, what?" Mana exclaimed, "So now’s the time you decide to reveal your true identities? A princess, a fake warrior... Am I the only genuinely cowardly archaeologist here?"
Mälwe, in a rare and almost disorienting display of kindness, leaned toward him. "I found you very brave, quite the opposite. And very clever." Her words were like balm to Mana’s ego, causing him to straighten up a little, like a rooster finally being praised for the quality of its feathers.
"Yes, but answer us, Aranon!" she insisted, her gaze returning to the so-called warrior.
Aranon, now more embarrassed than a hobbit caught stealing cookies, continued, "Well, yes... let’s just say I’m actually a merchant. Rather strong, sure, but a merchant. Business wasn’t going well, so I decided to pass myself off as a guide or a level 5 mercenary, playing a bit of a role…"
Mana, frowning, pressed on, "And all those people in the tavern then?"
Aranon gave a sheepish grin. "Oh, them? Most of them are childhood friends who help me out. Or villagers. The innkeeper, by the way, is getting a bit tired of us using his tavern for my little performances. Hence his rather blasé attitude..."
Mana, nodding with the satisfaction of a detective who has finally solved a particularly annoying mystery, concluded, "Ah, now it all makes sense… And that explains your sword throw and your pitiful swordsmanship."
And so, with the truths revealed and identities cleared up (though not exactly gloriously), our three companions continued their journey, lightly discussing their adventures, while Mana couldn’t stop boasting about his new alligator tooth dagger, like a child who had won first prize at the fair.
They soon reached the Library City, where they found refuge in a small but clean inn. It was there that Mälwe spoke.
"Well, my friends," she began, and you could feel that each word carried considerable emotional weight. "Because yes, I now consider you my friends. This is where our paths part. You have completed your missions. Mana, you helped me find the Sapphire, and Aranon, you were a… nearly perfect guide. Together, we solved one of the greatest mysteries of Chibu."
Tears began to form in her eyes as she said these words.
Then, in a gesture both noble and practical, she pulled out pouches full of gold coins for her two companions. "Well deserved! Here you go!" she announced.
"Well, this is getting emotional," Mana teased, unable to resist a joke, even in such a solemn moment.
"Shut up, idiot," Mälwe retorted, but with a smile that spoke volumes of her affection for them.
And so, the three began to part ways, reluctantly, as if invisible magnets were trying to keep them together.
"Hey, princess, don’t you need an escort back to your kingdom?" Mana asked, a hopeful spark in his eyes.
Aranon, already turning back with the look of a puppy invited to share a bone, joyfully added, "And you’ll need a deterrent force and someone for negotiations, that’s for sure!"
Mana smiled.
Mälwe turned slowly, "To the elven kingdom!"
The end.
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