Reccordak, the prison at the northern end. A frigid land where the temperature failed to climb above freezing even at midday, known as “the worst prison for heinous criminals on earth.”
“Oh, honestly. I told you, you can’t~!”
Reilly stopped Yulie, who was trying to leave the main building. Caught by the scruff of her neck, Yulie was dragged back with a sulky look on her face.
Yulie said,
“I said I’m fine. Why do you keep doing this?”
“What do you mean, fine?”
Reilly pressed a finger hard into Yulie’s lower back.
“……!”
In that instant, her eyes flew wide open and her whole body flailed. It was the aftermath of her injuries.
“What part of you is fine? You look like you’re about to die.”
“……Ahem.”
Yulie’s condition was still grave. Not only were there physical wounds, she was also suffering from magical exhaustion.
“Even so. I should at least express my gratitude—”
“What are you talking about? I told you, I don’t even know who it was. And I already said thank you. I even shared the tiger meat.”
Strangely enough, Yulie had a vague awareness of the monster swarm’s attack two days ago. Of course, she had been unconscious, but her body remembered it.
Perhaps it was a characteristic of masters. Even if it was a battle they had not personally fought, the workings of that mana remained wholly within their flesh.
“Tiger meat?”
“Yes.”
In truth, they had been too busy escaping to collect the tiger’s carcass, but in any case, Deculein must have taken it.
“So! If you want to go out that badly, then at least take a walk with me. Wear this. You said this leather can even block sword aura, right?”
Reilly draped the tiger-leather coat over Yulie’s shoulders. At that, a bashful blush rose on her snow-white cheeks.
“This is……”
“I commissioned a craftsman to make it from tanned leather.”
“……”
She did not say it aloud, but Yulie’s lips twitched. It was the reaction she had when she was extremely pleased. Mmm— hmm— grrm— little exclamations flowed out of her naturally, like a puppy purring.
Yulie said,
“Thank you, Reilly.”
“What for? Actually, I made myself a guard with the leftover leather too. That’s all right, isn’t it?”
“Of course. You deserve it.”
“Hehe. I suppose so. Anyway, let’s go for a walk.”
The two of them left the main building and walked slowly. The cutting wind was fierce, but thanks to the coat, it was not cold.
“Still, I guess people really do live here too. To be honest, I was scared when I first came.”
Reccordak’s grounds were broadly divided into the “main building,” “prison,” “watchtowers,” and “walls,” and from the main building, the prisoners’ daily lives could be seen at a glance.
They were exercising now. Crude bench presses. Dumbbells made from stones. Bodyweight training, and so on.
All of it was training to avoid dying in this harsh land, but not even the slightest bit of sympathy arose.
If anything, it was absurd. Those beasts knew so well how precious their own lives were, and yet they had stolen countless lives from others.
“Knight, you’re recovering, aren’t you? Not these injuries. The old one.”
“……I am.”
“That’s a relief. Hurry up and get better so we can show them what you’re made of. And don’t ever lose that tiger leather. Watch out for thieves too. With that alone, at least in terms of skill, no one will be able to look down on you, Knight.”
Yulie nodded. Then she quietly asked,
“Reilly. You said Deculein is in the North.”
“……”
Reilly flinched in surprise, but soon maintained her composure. Deculein’s request came to mind.
“Yes. I received a report through the crystal ball too, but well…… you won’t have any reason to meet him.”
For an adventurer, lying was no different from a virtue. There was even a famous saying: “An adventurer who cannot lie is a fraud.”
“……I see. I hope I do not meet him either.”
Yulie’s face as she muttered that was cold.
Reilly nervously swallowed. Her cold, frozen anger was, if anything, more frightening than a raging fire……
“I do not know what I might do, and I do not wish to let anger gnaw at me and take control.”
“……Pfft.”
Reilly deliberately smiled. It was meant to quickly change the subject, and it worked well on Yulie too. Yulie immediately put on a sulky face and glared at Reilly.
“Why are you laughing?”
“No, Knight, you’re really stiff, you know.”
“What do you mean?”
Yulie’s eyes narrowed. Indeed, it was the phrase she hated hearing the most.
Just as telling an ugly person they are ugly is hurtful. Telling a stiff person they are stiff is hurtful.
“Isn’t that exactly a line from an old knight novel? I will not let anger gnaw at me.”
“It is not. Why would I—”
“「Ipalencia, the Model Knight」. I’ve read that book.”
“……No.”
“Really?”
“……I did read it when I was young, so perhaps that phrase remained in my mind without my knowing. I did not recall it on purpose.”
At Yulie’s pitiful excuse, Reilly chuckled.
“Oh, right. But, Knight. You should try smiling properly too. You haven’t smiled at all lately. Not that fake smile you use to reassure people. A real one.”
Yulie did not answer. Without a word, she walked through the cold wind. She merely looked around at Reccordak’s desolate scenery.
“……Knight?”
Laughter was a habit a knight ought to avoid. Moreover, a smile reminded her of her pathetic self from some time ago.
—Once a year is too cruel, so even if only once a month…… smile at me. That is all I ask.
His honeyed words, asking her to smile only once a month.
She was so disappointed in herself, and so resentful, for having been deceived by such hollow words……
“Reilly. Do not ask a knight for meaningless smiles.”
Now, no smile remained on her lips.
* * *
The North was still peaceful.
The work was a little more practical than at the Magic Tower, but not particularly different, and the fact that I could command soldiers made things more convenient instead. It was thanks to the fortress commander being far below me in rank.
“As you ordered, we have newly drafted a map of the surrounding area. Also, a letter has arrived.”
Today, I received a map drawn up by the fortress cavalry and a single letter.
The sender was Yeriel. A rather welcome name.
So this girl knew how to send letters.
“Good work. You may return.”
“Yes, sir.”
I set the map on the desk for a moment and opened the letter first.
—Hello. Are you doing well?
Her voice immediately burst out.
—Hehehe~ It’s a spell I learned recently. This is a bit difficult. I barely managed to complete it after three days. Is it because it doesn’t suit my school?
A voice letter was quite a difficult spell, so that made sense.
I had heard she was absorbed in magic lately, and it seemed she was diligently trying to learn this and that.
—I heard rumors that you’re working in the North. ……Hm? What? Did I do something wrong? Isn’t this how you do it? My voice is being recorded properly, isn’t it?
Whether she was learning magic in real time, or someone was meddling, Yeriel suddenly began arguing with someone.
—What are you talking about? No, this works just fine. Ah, damn it. What’s the problem! My voice is being recorded! ……What do you mean it’s not standard? Who cares if it’s not standard, as long as it works. Don’t you know the saying, all roads lead to the capital? ……Why are you using a new sheet of paper again? What a waste of money. Just do it. Ah, seriously, don’t talk to me. Again. Again.
Ahem— ahem—
She cleared her throat and continued speaking.
—I heard rumors that you’re doing some kind of work in the North. I’m working hard in Hadekain too. It’s a shame I can’t tell you about the territory’s development. You’ll know when you come see it yourself. Everything you mentioned has been resolved, and now all that’s left is for the businesses to flourish.
That was good news. Hadekain would one day become the most important line of resistance for the main quest. Its development and defenses could never be neglected.
—Also, there are a lot of rumors lately about some demon called the “Voice” or whatever…… Exterminating demons is the duty of Yukline. And…… so……
Her voice stopped for a moment, followed by a small sigh.
Yeriel seemed to hesitate, stammering for a while, before finally saying,
—When you come later, let’s have a meal together. ……Hey, turn it off! Hurry up and turn it off now! Ah, I feel like I’m going to die from embarrassment! What? I have to turn it off? How do I turn it off?!
“What a spectacle.”
I smiled faintly and rose. It was time to begin work in earnest.
I picked up the map the soldiers had made.
“……Hm.”
I had told them to narrow down any places in this area with abnormal “mana density,” and they had carried out their mission perfectly. After confirming the three or four marked spots, I granted the map the second stage of 「Midas’s Hand」.
Then, detailed navigation functions such as “current location” and “contour lines” were added to what had been ordinary paper.
“This should be enough.”
I put on my coat. I went outside and took out the snowmobile I had left near the stables on the first floor.
“Ah, Professooor~”
“It’s the professor!”
Just as I was about to depart, my assistants called me.
Allen, Epherene, and Drent. Each of them was holding a large snowball in their hands. Their faces were also full of smiles, like people on vacation.
Epherene asked,
“Would you like to build a snowman with us~?!”
“……”
Without a word, I stepped on the accelerator.
Vroooooom──!
The snowmobile shot forward, stirring up a tidal wave of snow. The great surge of snow swallowed the assistants who had been building the snowman.
“Uwaaaah—!”
“Kyaa!”
“Mommy!”
It had not been intentional, but I did not bother looking back.
I drove toward the point marked on the map. At the same time, I activated 「Great Tycoon」.
An abnormal mana density meant that something noteworthy existed nearby.
“……As expected, it was a dungeon.”
Before long, I discovered a place flashing with golden light.
A fissure shaped like one of the many “crevasses” in the North. However, brilliant energy was surging beneath it.
It was what people commonly called a “hidden piece.”
There were many event-type dungeons like this scattered across the North. I could not know for certain what I would obtain, but at the very least, compared to the central and southern regions, the rewards were reliable.
“Hmm.”
However, before recklessly entering, I checked it with 「Villain’s Fate」.
There were no particular variables leading to death, so there was no reason to hesitate. I immediately squeezed myself inside.
……The very next moment.
A sentence appeared on my retina.
[Main Quest: The Years]
“……Why is there a main quest?”
The question came out far too naturally. In truth, a main quest was not an event that should appear as abruptly as some mutant.
However, before I had time to think.
Whoooooosh……!
My body descended to the bottom of the crevasse.
* * *
The Nameless Island in the sky. An artificial scenic spot famous for the beauty of its landscape, striking even from afar.
However, the state of the island’s owner herself was strange.
“……”
The owner was walking here and there around the island. There was no change in her expression, but she simply paced in circles, north, south, east, and west.
“……If you’re that worried, why don’t you go help him?”
Idnik, who had been watching her, spoke as if dumbfounded. Sylvia’s pacing stopped abruptly.
Then she looked at Idnik.
“What worry?”
“You said it just now. That Deculein went into a dungeon.”
About five minutes ago, Sylvia had unconsciously muttered,
—Deculein went into a dungeon.
However, a dungeon’s magical defenses were difficult to pierce even with Sylvia’s magic. In other words, “observation” was impossible.
Furthermore, even if it was Deculein, it was a dungeon in the North. No matter how strong a mage he was, a northern dungeon was too much to handle alone. Mages were a race whose ability to respond to variables was markedly inferior to that of knights……
That was the extent of the reason Sylvia was suffering from anxiety.
“When.”
Sylvia feigned ignorance. No, in truth, she had no memory of having said it aloud.
“Look.”
Idnik projected the scene she had just witnessed. Idnik’s eyes could show whatever she had seen at any time.
In the image from five minutes ago, Sylvia, sitting on the Nameless Island and watching Deculein, said,
—Deculein went into a dungeon.
Then she sprang up and began wandering around the area. She repeatedly went back and forth from place to place……
“……”
With evidence present, she could not deny it. Sylvia quickly changed tactics.
“I’m not worried.”
“Then what is it?”
“I’m afraid he’ll die before I kill him.”
After muttering that, she calmly sat down. Moving her lips, she looked down again at the distant ground below.
The crevasse into which Deculein had fallen. She glared at its vicinity, but the dungeon’s entrance did not allow magic to enter.
“Good grief. Do you hate him, or do you like him……”
At Idnik’s murmur, Sylvia clenched her fist tightly.
Deculein would not die there. Nothing would happen.
The fact that he looked forward to being killed by her meant that, until he died by her hand, he would not die.
“You just muttered again.”
At Idnik’s words, Sylvia looked back at her.
“No, I didn’t.”
“Look.”
Idnik showed the evidence again.
—You can’t die before I kill you.
Five seconds ago. Her own figure, unconsciously muttering.
“……”
Left with no choice, Sylvia made tape and sealed her own mouth shut.
* * *
……After Deculein left.
Epherene returned to the lodging and sorted out her thoroughly soaked clothes.
“Keke. It was fun, though. The snow suddenly came pouring down like that.”
She giggled as she took off her robe and was about to change into fur clothes.
“It is dawn on the second day, then.”
“Uhaak—!”
Startled out of her wits, she turned in that direction.
It was Sophien, who had appeared once again. Sophien smirked as she looked at Epherene, and Epherene clutched her chest in relief.
“……Haa, haa. Y-Your Majesty. Could you please make some noise before you arrive……”
“Do you dare make such an insolent request of me?”
“N-No, Your Majesty. I merely…… But is your work all right?”
“It is. I can conduct my work from here as well.”
She could use the cats in the Imperial Palace. All she had to do was handle business through a possessed vessel and return. Even from this distant North, she could oversee the entire capital.
“In any case. Dawn on the second day, is it.”
“Yes…… There are about six hours remaining.”
Sophien had made plans to leave for the future together with Epherene. It seemed like an exceedingly amusing matter, so she had prepared properly without any laziness.
“Good. Then I shall look forward to it.
Epherene Luna.
The moon’s fall.
This girl, who claimed she would go to the future through a shooting star, was she following her own name?
And what would be waiting in the future they arrived at?
Sophien was greatly looking forward to it now.
“But will it be all right for you not to bring an escort knight?”
Epherene asked cautiously.
“It will be fine.”
Sophien took a snow globe from within her robes.
“The most trustworthy knight is inside this…….”