Neoris hated Ian Fercurus.
Of course. From their very first meeting, it was never a normal relationship.
Once, she had even tried to capture and torture him.
In the end, she simply admitted defeat after being humiliated and drenched in water that had been used to clean a mop, after being burned and pouring alcohol over herself.
And that bad relationship continued to this day.
Just this fact alone caused Neoris immense mental anguish.
Every time she saw Ian, only three memories would arise.
Iron, blood, and pain.
Each was a horrific experience that could freeze one’s marrow.
The fact that her superior would point a finger at her if she raised a question was an understatement of the worst kind. Neoris wished she was dead when he was formally assigned to the academy branch.
How could she spend time under such a terrible superior?
Yet, she still had to endure and be patient.
Neoris had dedicated her whole life to becoming a member of the Empire’s Intelligence Department. It was out of the question to quit simply because her superior was unsuitable for her.
It was too late to turn back now.
She didn’t want to belittle the blood and sweat she had shed thus far.
Furthermore, the Intelligence Department aimed to be ‘a cradle and a grave.’ Once joined, it was extremely difficult to leave. Even if one were to resign, they had to live with various restrictions to maintain secrecy.
In that case, she thought to bear it for just a few more months.
Neoris was a fourth-year student at the academy. In just six months, she would graduate and leave.
Thus, it was merely a matter of enduring, and just a few months ago, she had resolved to grit her teeth.
The woman paced nervously around the room.
It was a sad kind of idling.
The barren steps, yielding no answers, repeated themselves. From time to time, the only sound that echoed was the sound of her biting her thumbnail.
Neoris hated Ian Fercurus.
When she was called on her day off, irritation flared up within her. There were times when she swore under her breath several times.
Being called by a disliked superior on her day off?
It was bizarre not to be angry.
Moreover, when she was summoned all the way to this cold and remote northern region, she had hesitated countless times. She had even thought of making some outrageous excuse not to go, like a child throwing a tantrum.
Of course, she could never act on it.
It was because she feared him.
What if he came after her with an axe simply for raising pointless questions?
A madman was unpredictable. The best course of action was to avoid provoking him. In the end, Neoris followed him to the north like livestock being led to a slaughterhouse.
Yes, that was the case.
Neoris hated Ian Fercurus.
At times, he showed concern for her or acknowledged her, even trusting her. During those moments, she had scratched her cheek out of unnecessary embarrassment.
However, that did not erase the resentment lodged in Neoris’s heart.
But why, now?
Why was she so anxious and breathless now?
Ian had been trapped in an unknown veil and missing for several days.
Yuridina Castle was literally in the midst of war.
“How many reinforcements can we dispatch?”
“We need guides to enter the coniferous forest. However, many hunters from the nearby village have died lately due to the elves’ assaults…”
“A envoy has come from the Holy Kingdom.”
Many voices pierced the ears of Neoris, who had slumped down at the door.
The threads of aura slipped through the door crack and conveyed whispers from various places. However, no matter how much she eavesdropped, the information that Neoris wanted did not reach her ears.
The news of finding that man was nowhere to be found.
Neoris buried her face in her knees and let out a long sigh.
Why was that?
Ian had sacrificed himself to save Neoris. If he had abandoned her and fled, he wouldn’t have gone missing.
The man looked desperate.
He was merely a subordinate, wasn’t he?
Yet, why did he go to such lengths to save her and ultimately had to sacrifice himself?
She could not understand at all.
And so, she felt suffocated.
She didn’t even know if it was guilt. She had believed that such naive feelings had been erased a long time ago, yet Neoris was, after all, a woman at heart.
“Is it certain that he is inside the coniferous forest?”
“According to the magic troops’ judgment, it seems so. The coordinates of the teleportation spell have been somewhat specified, deep inside the coniferous forest…”
“Deep inside? Are you saying to search with such vague information?”
The thread making the humming sound continued to convey information.
Neoris mulled over and over that statement in silence.
“From the beginning, he might already be dead…”
“Even if it’s a corpse, you should find it.”
After merely listening in silence,
“That is the will of Yuridina.”
Neoris staggered as she rose. A strange resolve was felt on her face.
She wanted to consider it a good thing.
It was just that a frustrating and terrifying superior had disappeared. Although she bore the guilt of not protecting the owner of the Blood Moon characters, it wasn’t something worth risking her life over.
However, she could not stand idly by.
Out of anxiety, out of fear.
Neoris fiddled with the whistle in her pocket. This whistle emitted special sound waves, allowing a wide area to be searched.
If it were Ian, he would surely respond to that sound wave.
However, she could not explore the coniferous forest alone.
She needed a companion.
After quite a while of quietly heading towards the first floor of Yuridina Castle.
Neoris suddenly noticed a commotion.
“… Lies.”
It was a low sound that echoed in the lobby.
Neoris paused as she was descending the stairs and looked down.
There stood a girl with gray hair.
In front of her were several women with dark complexions.
They were Ian’s companions.
But the one facing the gray-haired girl was not a woman.
He appeared to be a knight from Yuridina Castle, and his expression was very somber.
“Um, Miss? It’s not that Sir Ian has returned. It’s just that his life and whereabouts are unclear…”
“Don’t lie, I told you not to!”
It was a scream akin to a shriek.
With a thud, the young knight’s body was sent flying by the sudden draw of a sword. Following that was a heavy clash that echoed.
Before the knight could regain his senses, Seria had aimed her sword at his throat.
Her blue eyes were lit like will-o’-the-wisps.
“Are you kidding me right now?! Senior Ian was trapped in a suspicious veil, and you just stood by watching? Did you want to advertise how foolish you are?!”
“B-but Sir Ian said not to come under any circumstances…”
“Don’t make excuses.”
It was a chilling assertion.
Not a trace of her usual polite tone was left. Seria was gritting her teeth while merely pointing that blue blade.
“Didn’t you want to live? You must have thought that it would be okay to leave Senior Ian in a clearly dangerous place. You allowed Senior Ian to volunteer as a sacrifice!”
Seria could not contain her anger and squeezed the hand holding her sword. If this went on, the knight would be in danger of having his throat pierced, and the young knight shut his eyes tight.
It was a slender hand that prevented the disaster.
With a snap, the hand gripping the wrist made Seria’s eyes sharpen.
The saintess had quietly approached Seria.
With a voice soaked in sorrow and fatigue, the saintess spoke.
“Please stop.”
“… Ah.”
However, Seria was already out of her mind.
She arrived at Yuridina Castle with a full heart.
She had finally built up skills worthy of recognition from her senior. Yet suddenly to hear that he was missing, and even worse, to not know if he was alive or dead.
It was hard to keep her sanity.
Seria burst into a smile, almost like a sneer.
“Why? Is everyone feeling guilty?”
“Seria…”
The saintess did not even get angry.
As if she had exhausted all energy for that, she merely looked at Seria with sad eyes.
“We cannot prioritize emotions on the battlefield. We entrusted everything to Ian and thus have the obligation to carry out his orders.”
“Obligated to leave Senior Ian alone?”
“No, we have the obligation not to make Ian’s will in vain.”
It was a calm tone.
However, her voice trembled slightly, testifying that the saintess’s heart was still uneasy.
Just looking at the soft anger swelling in her light pink eyes proved that.
“At that time, we could not guess the nature of that magic. We thought it might only be a barrier, a spatial transfer, or a large-scale destruction spell… Either way, we were of no help.”
“At the very least, we shouldn’t have left him alone.”
Grinding her teeth, Seria pushed back.
However, the saintess had something to say too.
She began to enumerate countless possibilities that had crossed her mind within that short time.
“If it is a barrier that closes the inside, then it must be resolved from the outside. Once activated, the inside would turn into chaos… If it’s a spatial transfer, it depends on the type, but that vast space cannot be moved a long distance. Then, the coniferous forest’s interior seems most likely, right?”
Seria fell silent for a moment at the flowing deductions.
Although she still showed dissatisfaction, it seemed she could not come up with a proper counterargument.
It was understandable.
At that time, the saintess’s mind had been on the verge of bursting.
Because she was facing the crisis of the man she loved.
“Then, assuming that specific coordinates are not set, it is plausible that someone is lost. If it drops into enemy territory, it might actually be easier to escape alone. And a large-scale destruction spell?”
The saintess let out a laugh as if it were absurd.
“If that were the case, everyone would die… Do you understand? We almost made Ian’s sacrifice in vain!”
“That would be nice.”
Yet even after listening to the saintess’s heartfelt explanation, Seria’s reaction was flat.
A scoff.
The girl turned away and sheathed her sword at her waist.
“I don’t want to survive as a result of Senior Ian’s sacrifice…”
With that, Seria marched forth with a menacing intention.
Her destination was the head of the Yuridina Clan.
She had planned to ask for permission right after greeting her father and sister.
To head towards the coniferous forest.
What stopped her, seemingly unstoppable, was none other than Neoris.
“… Miss?”
Seria flinched and froze, urgently turning to the side.
The presence was faint.
She had been right next to her, how?
Regardless, Neoris merely smiled gently.
“I think we share a bit of mutual understanding, don’t you? How about we have a little chat?”
Neoris finally felt like things were somewhat unraveling.
Her deep green eyes glancing towards the lobby revealed women still wearing somber faces, conversing with one another.
That was enough.
Now, all she could do was pray for Ian to hold on.
It was the first time.
That she wished for Ian to live.
Neoris thought even that fact had gone unnoticed, as she bit her lip.
She wouldn’t let him die on his own.
*
Meanwhile, Ian was enjoying a feast in the elf’s village.
Though it was really just bread that had been prepared. It was merely a modest gathering rather than a grand banquet.
Yet, the reaction was explosive.
“Oh my, there’s so much bread…”
“So soft!”
“Is it really okay to eat this?”
Ian smiled without saying a word.
To be honest, he didn’t know how to respond. The eager looks in Ishya’s eyes were so desperate that he hastily responded.
“Yes, please eat. I have plenty…”
At that moment, around a dozen hands rushed to grab the bread.
Ian hoped they would eat quickly, yet none dared to bite into the bread carelessly.
Instead, they only shed tears of gratitude.
“O Great World Tree, thank you. For bestowing upon us such a precious blessing…”
The corners of Ian’s mouth began to twitch.
It seemed it would take time to adapt to the elven way of life.
“It’s warm…!”
“It’s soft and sweet. The bread I once tasted before was not like this!”
“Is this really bread?!”
Indeed, it was quite a lot.
Ian sighed deeply inwardly.
