Forest. (3)

The prison in the far north, Reccordak. An extremely cold region where the temperature didn't even reach 10 degrees in the middle of the day, in a place known as the concentration camp of the worst criminals on earth.

"Ah. I told you, you can't~!"

Reylie stopped Julie from walking out of the main building. Julie, caught by the nape of her neck, was dragged back in brusquely.

"I said I'm fine. Why do you keep doing this?"

"What do you mean fine?"

Reylie poked Julie's back.

"…!"

Her eyes opened wide, and she flapped down, her body aching.

"What do you mean fine? You're dying."

"…Ehem."

Julie's condition was still serious; her physical injuries were accompanied by mana exhaustion.

"But still. I have to say thank you-"

"What? You don't even know who it was. Also, I already said thank you. I also gave them the tiger meat."

Interestingly enough, Julie vaguely remembered the attack two days ago. Of course, she was unconscious, but her body remembered. It was a characteristic of a master. Even if it was a battle that you hadn't fought, the effects of the mana remained.

"Tiger meat?"

"Yes."

The truth is, he couldn't collect the tiger's body because he was running away, but Deculein would have taken it otherwise.

"That. Is. Why! If you want to go out so badly, go for a walk with me. Wear this. I heard that this leather can even stop a sword."

Reylie put the tiger leather coat around Julie's shoulder. Then, her white cheeks flushed red, like she was embarrassed.

"This is…"

"It was made by a master craftsman."

"…"

Even though she didn't say it, Julie's lips were quivering-

Uhm—hmm—uhhm—

-and sounds were flowing out of her like an excited puppy.

"Thank you, Reylie."

"For what? I made a helmet with the leftover leather. It's fine, right?"

"Of course. You have the right to."

"Hehe. Well, anyway, let's just go for a walk."

The two left the main building and walked slowly. The cold wind was harsh, but the tiger fur kept them warm.

"But still, there are also people who live in this place. To be honest, I was scared when we arrived."

The land of Reccordak was divided into the main building, concentration camp, watchtower, and castle wall, though one could see the lives of the convicts from the main building. They were exercising right now, using weights crafted of stone, though some were exercising with just their bodies. It all felt ridiculous. They, who knew the seriousness of life, were brutes who had taken the lives of others.

"Are you feeling better, Knight? Not this injury. The old one."

"…I'm improving."

"That's good to hear. Get well soon and be an example. Don't lose that tiger leather; you'll want to be careful of thieves. With that alone, they can't ignore you."

Julie nodded. Then, she asked quietly.

"Reylie, you said that Deculein is in the North."

"…"

Reylie was quite surprised, but she quickly regained her calm as she recalled Deculein's request.

"Yes. I got a report from the crystal ball… but we won't meet him."

There was a famous saying, 'the adventurer who can't lie is a scammer.'

"…Yeah. I hope so too."

Julie's expression froze over. Reylie swallowed anxiously. Her frozen anger was scarier than any blazing fury…

"I don't know what I'm going to do either; I don't want my anger to control me."

"Pfft."

Reylie forced a smile. She did so to change the subject, and Julie complied, feeling awkward.

"Why are you laughing?"

"No, you are just so serious."

"What do you mean?"

Julie narrowed her eyes. Sure enough, it was the word she hated to hear the most. It was like the way a person would feel if you told them they were ugly.

"Do you know that line from that one old novel? I won't let anger eat me."

"No, what is it?"

"[Ipalencia, The Knight's Role Model]. I read it before."

"…No."

"Really?"

"…I read it when I was young, and I just thought of it coincidentally."

Reylie chuckled at Julie's pathetic excuse.

"Oh, by the way, try smiling properly. You haven't smiled lately. Not a fake smile to reassure people, a proper one."

Julie didn't answer. She continued through the cold without a word, occasionally glancing around the desolate landscape of Reccordak.

"…Ms. Knight?"

Smiling was a habit that a knight should avoid. And… smiling reminded her of her pathetic self from before.

—Once a year is too much, so once a month… smile for me. That's all I want.

His sweet talk that asked her to smile for him once a month. She resented that she fell for such empty words… and was disappointed in herself.

"Reylie, don't ask a Knight for a futile smile."

Now, her smile was gone.

*****

The North was still peaceful. The tasks given to me were a little more practical than those assigned to me in the tower, which meant they were more convenient.

"Just as you have instructed, we made a new map of the nearby area. Also, a letter has arrived."

Today, I received a map and a letter from the fortress guard. The letter was from Yeriel, a very welcome name to see. So, this kid knew how to send a letter?

"Good job. You can go back."

"Yes."

I put the map down on my desk and opened the letter first.

—Hi. How are you?

I could hear her voice.

—Hehehe~, it's a new magic that I learned. It is kind of hard. I barely completed this in three days. Maybe because it's not right for me?

Voice messages were quite a difficult magic to master. She was quite enthusiastic about magic these days, working hard to learn this and that.

—I heard rumors that you are working in the North… huh? What? Did I do something wrong? Isn't this how you do it? But it's saving my voice properly.

Whether she was learning this magic in real-time or someone was meddling, Yeriel suddenly started arguing with someone.

—What did you say? No, I can do it like this. Hey. What's the problem! My voice is saved… so what if it isn't the standard procedure? It's working anyways. Don't you know that it's alright as long as it works? …Ah, why are you using more paper? What a waste of money. Just do it. Don't talk to me, seriously. I have to do this again. One more.

Ehem- ehem-

She cleared her throat and continued talking.

—I heard a rumor that you are working in the North. I'm also working hard here in Hadekain. It's a pity that I can't tell you about the current development of the land. You'll know when you visit, though. I have resolved everything that you asked, and now the business only needs to do well.

That's a good thing. Hadekain would become the most important line of resistance for the main quest in the future. Its development and defense shouldn't be taken lightly.

—Also, there are a lot of demon stories about some 'Voice' or something… dealing with the demon is Yukline's task. Also… what I'm saying is…

She stopped for a moment, then let out a small sigh. Yeriel stuttered as if she was thinking – but eventually, she finished the thought.

—Let's have a meal together when you visit soon… ahhhh! Turn it off! Turn it off now! I'm going to die! What? I can't turn this off? How do I turn it off?

"What a sight."

I laughed a little and stood. It was time to finally start working. I took the map made by the soldiers.

"…Hmm."

I said to infer abnormal areas with mana concentration, and they performed their duties perfectly. After verifying three or four checked places, I used Level 2 of [Midas' Hand]. Then, detailed navigation functions such as current location and contours were added to the map.

"This much should be enough."

I put on my coat and went out to the snowmobile that I had placed near the stable on the

first floor.

"Ah, Professooor~" "It's the Professor!"

I was about to leave when the assistants called me. Allen, Epherene, and Drent; each of them held a huge snowball in their hands and wore smiles like they were on vacation. Epherene took a step forward.

"Do you want to build a snowman~?!"

"…"

I stepped on the gas.

Vroooooom—!

The snowmobile dashed off and kicked up a wave of snow, catching the assistants who were making snowmen.

"Uggghhh—!"

"Ahhh!"

"Oh my!"

It wasn't intentional, but I did not look back.

I drove to the location marked on the map. At the same time, I activated [Man of Great Wealth]. This abnormal mana concentration meant there was something noteworthy in the area.

"…Is it a dungeon, as expected?"

Shortly, I found a glowing crevasse reminiscent of Crebas. This was commonly referred to as a hidden piece, and there were many such event-type dungeons all over the North. I wasn't sure what I could gain from this, but at the very least, the reward was clear compared to the central and southern regions.

"Hmm."

But before I rushed in, I confirmed [The Villain's Fate]. There wasn't a clear death variable, so there was no reason to hesitate. I squeezed my body through the cracks.

…The very next moment, a sentence appeared on my retina.

[Main Quest: Time]

"…Why is it the main quest?"

It was a question that came out very naturally. The main quest wasn't an event that should appear like a mutation. But I didn't have time to think.

Whiiiiiiiiii…!

My body fell to the bottom of the crevasse.

*****

The far-off blue sky and the man-made island famous for their beautiful landscape stood out even from a distance. However, the condition of the owner of the island was strange.

"…"

They were wandering here and there over the island. There was no change to her expression, but she just walked around the east, west, north, and south.

"…If you're that worried, why don't you go and help?"

Idnik, who was watching that scene, spoke dumbfounded. Sylvia's pacing stopped, and she turned to stare at Idnik.

"What do you mean worried?"

"You just said Deculein went into a dungeon."

About five minutes ago, Sylvia muttered the words unconsciously.

—Deculein went inside the dungeon.

But, the magical protection of the dungeon was hard to slip past even with Sylvia's magic. In other words, observation was impossible. And even if it was Deculein, it was still a dungeon in the North. No matter how strong a wizard was, it was unreasonable to go into a dungeon alone. A wizard's ability to deal with unexpected variables was strikingly lower than a Knight's…

This was the reason why Sylvia was anxious.

"When?"

Sylvia pretended to be innocent. No, she didn't even remember saying it out loud.

"Look here."

Idnik projected the scene she just saw; her eyes could show what she had seen at any time. Sylvia was sitting and watching Deculein in the video.

—Deculein went inside the dungeon.

Then, she jumped up and started wandering around. She paced all across the island…

"…"

She couldn't make an excuse because there was evidence. So, Sylvia quickly took a different route.

"I'm not worried."

"Then, what's the problem?"

"He might die before I kill him."

She muttered like that and sat down calmly, staring far-off as her lips twitched. She stared at the vicinity of the entrance, but the dungeon's magic prevented her from entering.

"Seriously. Do you hate him, or do you like him…?"

Sylvia clenched her fist at Idnik's murmuring. Deculein wouldn't die in there. Nothing would happen. Waiting impatiently to be killed by Sylvia meant that he wouldn't die until that happened.

"You just muttered again."

Sylvia looked back.

"No, I didn't."

"Look."

Idnik showed her the evidence again.

—You can't die before I kill you.

She mumbled to herself unconsciously yet again.

"…"

Finding it now inevitable, Sylvia made tape to cover her mouth.

*****

…After Deculein left, Epherene returned to the lodge and fixed her soaked clothes.

"Hehe. That was fun, though. Getting soaked with snow all of a sudden."

When she was about to take off her robe and change into woolen clothes to warm up-

"It's at dawn tomorrow."

"Gaaaaah—!"

She was startled, looking around. Sophien appeared with a grin as Epherene clutched at her chest.

"…Haa, haa. Your… Your Majesty. Couldn't you reveal your presence first…?"

"You dare to make such as impudent demand to me…."

"Oh, oh no. it's just… is the palace alright?"

"It's fine. You can see it in here."

She could use the Imperial Palace cat to issue commands. Even in the far north, the entire continent could be managed.

"In any case, is it at dawn tomorrow?"

"Yes… there are about six hours left."

Sophien was planning on going to the future along with Epherene. It seemed very interesting, so she prepared properly.

"Good. Then, I look forward to it."

Epherene Luna, the dropping moon. Did this kid go to the future by the path of the shooting star to follow her name? And, what would be waiting for her in the future when she arrived?

Sophien was very much looking forward to it right now.

"By the way, don't you need an escort knight?"

"It's fine."

Sophien took out a snow globe.

"The most reliable knight is in here…."