Chapter 68. A Map Drawn with Blood

The party fell into deep trouble with the treasure map in the middle. In fact, Ivan thought it was out of the blue to suddenly do a treasure hunt here, but there must be a reason why the spear of the lost warrior reacted like that.
As it is everywhere, especially in Nord, the meaning of the name was very important. If the lost warrior’s spear pointed the way, Ivan could not ignore it.
Even if this was not the will of the spear, but the will of the gods watching him from heaven.
‘There’s no way those old men would want me to search for the treasure peacefully.’
A very fierce battlefield would be waiting.
There must be a bloody battlefield where he can go one step further as a hero.
Ivan had confidence in the gods of Asgard based on such distrust.
“They always want to lead me to paradise. It will be like that this time as well.”
As Ivan spoke so bluntly, the expressions of his colleagues around him changed subtly.
The Norse paradise was Valhalla, where people constantly died and killed each other. It wasn’t something to be happy about, considering what it would look like in the eyes of others.
Delfino tried his best to make a casual expression. He knows how much Valhalla means to Norse warriors, so he can’t show his dislike. It was a religious disrespect.
Of course, he knew very well that Ivan was not very religious, unlike a normal Norse warrior. But that’s why he became more careful.
Even though Ivan curses God like a habit, if he borrows the power of God to that extent, how much is he loved by the god?
In the Norse, the surname Esirsson could only be used by descendants of the gods. Literally, a demigod who inherited the blood of the gods.
He thought it was just a legend to reinforce legitimacy, as is often the case, but looking at Ivan, Delfino changes his mind. He is wondering if that was the truth.
Even if it has faded over the years, it’s still the blood of a god, so even if Ivan cursed them like that, he still could use their divine powers.
So, Delfino had no choice but to laugh awkwardly. A commander’s son can curse his father, but a common soldier can’t do that.
“If the gods want it, there must be a reason. It’s worth investigating even if you’re not just interested in treasure.”
As Delfino nodded his head, Ferocious Tooth lit up his eyes.
“If God wants it, it may be a more precious treasure than we think!”
Sea, treasure, exploration.
Ferocious Tooth was already fully wet with the magic of those words.
“Well, I don’t know about the treasure, but I’ll be able to fight until I get tired of it…”
“That’s not bad either. Battle is a reward for a warrior. Because sacrifices to our goddess are always insufficient.”
As they said that, even Irene nodded her head as if she couldn’t help it.
“Let’s do it if you want to.”
Ivan made the decision, but honestly, he didn’t know where to start. Rather than knowing a lot, he knew nothing. The sea was so unfamiliar.
Fortunately, there was someone in the party who had experienced the sea. Not just watching, soaking, and playing in the water, but actually going out to sea on a boat.
Irene pondered for a long time what she would say first, and then she opened her mouth.
“First, we’ll have to get an evaluation to see if the treasure map is real. And there’s got to be someone who can read it properly.”
She looked at her parchment and sighed.
“At first glance, it looks like an island, but we need someone to take us there. Ship and crew.”
She tells the story of how difficult and complex it can be, saying that not everyone can find it based on a single treasure map.
“So, do you know anything about those people?”
When Ivan asked so, Irene smoked the tobacco with a complicated expression. And nodded her head.
“I had someone familiar with some time ago. He’s obsessed with stuff like this. He’ll be able to help if we can find him.”

A building that looks like it’s going to collapse. It’s old here and there, and the windows are completely blocked off with boards. It was a place where the unique fishy smell of fish mixed with the gloomy atmosphere of a slum.
Ivan looked at the place and asked tremblingly.
“Are you sure this is the place?”
At that, Irene nodded her head with a confident expression.
“That’s right.”
Ivan should have kept in mind that Irene was an elf.
The information she knew was too old.
She seemed to be talking about some time ago, and she might as well mean it was already decades ago.
The house she first showed was inhabited by a completely outlandish person. An acquaintance of hers said that the guy they were looking for had gone somewhere else.
Since then, they have been here and there asking questions, but it’s really unsettling that the end of their search is such a shabby slum.
Would a person living in a place like this really be that helpful? No, is it true that he is still alive?
There was no response when Ivan knocked on the old door. Obviously, there was something inside, so Ivan knocked on the door with a little more force.
bang bang-.
“There is nobody here!”
As someone shouted so, a head poked out. He was a man who looked too young to be an acquaintance of Irene decades ago.
“What’s going on? I’ve already paid this month’s interest.”
The man who had been uttering words as if being wronged opened his eyes wide. They were a party full of different characteristics to be called simply a debtor.
A muscular Norse warrior, a lizard man, a priest with a gentle impression, and a beautiful woman.
No matter how many races the Western Union Kingdom was, it was a combination that was rare to see.
“Uh, who…?”
When the man asked, muttering his words, Irene took a step forward and said.
“I came to see Thomas Meyer. Is he here?”
As soon as she heard her name, the man’s eyes fluttered for a moment. It doesn’t look like they came in the wrong place.
“I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
“Tell Thomas Meyer that an old comrade has come to visit. If you say Elizabeth, he’ll know.”
“…. Wait a minute.”
As the man closed the door and entered, the group’s eyes all turned to Irene.
“What? Why?”
“Elizabeth?”
“It’s an old pseudonym. There are a few more. Ivanne, Vanessa, Lina….”
She said it was necessary to live among humans for a long time.
“Because I was pretending to be human back then. I couldn’t use the same name.”
“Pretended to be human? Then you shouldn’t appear like this now, shouldn’t you?”
The answer came from beyond the door.
“I already found out that she was an elf. So she had to leave.”
Squeak…
The old door opened, and an old man with a bald head came out with a cane. He looked at Irene with gloomy eyes and smiled.
“Long time no see. It’s been a long time, but you don’t seem to have changed.”
“Right. You are very old now.”
“Ho ho. Forty years have passed. It may be a short time for you, but for me, it’s like a lifetime.”
He stared into the air for a long time as he recalled the past. The water in his deep eyes seemed to be young at first glance. However, the storms he experienced were not easy for him to cry.
Time seems to have taken away even tears from him.
“It’s a really happy day today to see an old relationship I thought I’d never see again. Come inside. It’s a shabby house, but I can give you some hot tea.”
It was dark inside the house because the sun wasn’t coming in well. However, unlike the old exterior, the inside was neatly organized. Although it was narrow, it was not uncomfortable.
The young man who opened the door for the first time brought the tea with a puzzled expression.
Since it was a poor household, the teacups were not unified, and it was all over the place. However, the appearance of the old man drinking tea was very aristocratic.
“I’ve been wasting my life doing nothing. I’m sorry to show you such a pathetic figure.”
At the old man’s words, Thomas Meyer, Irene shook her head.
“It could happen since a lot of time has passed.”
“Ho ho, yes. A lot of time has passed.”
Thomas Meyer, who had been muttering like that, straightened his expression and asked.
“You probably didn’t come here just because you were curious about an old relationship. What’s going on?”
“You’ve always been interested in old legends and treasure maps. Are you still the same?”
“I was once blinded by it. I also left home in vain to hunt treasure. Why do you ask that?”
“I wanted you to take a look at this.”
Irene blinked, and Ivan pulled an old parchment out of his arms and held it out. Thomas Meyer took it carefully and smiled bitterly.
“The whole house was in debt because of this treasure map, but you’re giving it to me again. What you want is the authenticity of the map?”
“yes.”
“I thought only a fool like me would fall for it, but you too? Ho ho, seducing even an elf is a great thing.”
Then Thomas Meyer slowly unfolded the map. Then, looking at it with a light heart, he suddenly hardened his expression.
“Son, get the box from my room.”
“Yes?”
“You know what I always said? Come on!”
His voice, which had been blurry a moment ago, became clear. The old man’s eyes shone brightly as if he had regained his youth by going back in time, and his voice was strengthened.
Thomas Meyer, who had been rummaging through the various pieces of paper from the box the young man had brought him, exclaimed with a great sigh and asked with a puzzled look.
“Where did you get this?”
“Why? Is there any problem?”
“It’s from the same period as Carly Hawkins. A secret map was made about 350 years ago. It’s very sophisticated. It’s the same as the Hawkins family crest and unique technique.”
“It’s hard to see something of this level of quality these days,” said Thomas Meyer, who murmured repeatedly.
“No one knows if this map is genuine or not. No one can be sure until you go there and discover the treasure yourself. But at least it’s the most plausible thing I’ve ever seen.”
He chuckled that there was a way to check if this was really a map made by Carly Hawkins or not.
“I heard that Carly Hawkins hid his map so that only his blood would react…”
“But it’s been hundreds of years already? How do you get the blood of a dead person?”
At that, Thomas Meyer shook his head.
“When a person dies, blood is passed on through offspring. Even if it’s not like the original.”
Thomas Meyer called the young man. And he held out a dagger to him.
The young man hesitated for a moment, and then he cut his own palm with a dagger. His flesh ripped open and red blood gushed out.
drip-.
The blood soaked the parchment. Looking at it, Thomas Meyer laughed out loud.
“Finally, at last!”
There was a line drawn on the blood-soaked parchment.