189
It had grown quite cold.
Inside the Prislan Clan Fortress, Johanna finished her daily training and was stretching her muscles when Alesya, who had been wandering around, entered the training room to greet her.
“You’re always working hard!”
“Yes, well… I have to.”
Ray had advised her not to slack off, especially since she was currently neck-and-neck with Speira. If she let her guard down even for a moment, Speira would surely overtake her.
Johanna smiled faintly and asked Alesya, “What brings you here?”
“Just bored, so I thought I’d drop by!”
Alesya replied honestly. With Ray absent and her movement radius greatly restricted, there wasn’t much entertainment available.
As Alesya looked around the training room, she pointed at the leather training pants Johanna had set aside.
“Have you started wearing tighter clothes lately?”
“…”
Johanna frowned deeply, picked up the pants, and handed them to Alesya. Alesya boldly sniffed the pants and grinned widely.
“There’s no foul smell at all!”
There was just a slight whiff of sweat, which was natural for training gear.
Johanna proudly responded, “Thanks to more sets of training clothes from Lady Speira, I’ve been able to rotate them and wash them frequently.”
“Why didn’t you do this sooner?”
Johanna hadn’t dared to ask for more uniforms due to worrying about others’ opinions, but Alesya dismissed it as unnecessary concern. After all, the artifact Johanna had already received was worth about a year’s budget of Phillip’s County. In Ernst’s eyes, Johanna was worth such an investment. Why worry about something as trivial as training uniforms?
As Alesya watched Johanna enviously, Delun entered the training room.
“Big sister, are you here?”
Johanna put the pants down and answered, “What is it?”
“I have something to show you… Oh, Lady Alesya, you’re here too?”
After bowing politely to Alesya, Delun grinned.
“Perfect timing. I wanted to show you as well, Lady Alesya.”
Delun appeared extremely excited. As Johanna and Alesya waited silently, Delun drew his sword while circulating mana through his core.
Soon, a blade of light, clearly identifiable as a Sword Aura, manifested on Delun’s sword.
“Be careful.”
Having issued a warning, Delun released the Sword Aura towards a wooden target about 20 meters away in the training room.
Kwaaak!
The wooden target disintegrated instantly upon impact.
Alesya applauded enthusiastically.
“Oh…! That’s impressive…!!”
“Hehe…”
Delun couldn’t hide his joy after clearly proving he had reached the Expert level.
As Delun’s grin stretched ear-to-ear, Alesya calculated the date in her mind.
‘It hasn’t been long since the start of the year… Delun must be 18 now.’
18 years old.
Thinking further, Alesya muttered unconsciously,
“Ray achieved this at 9 years old, so it took Delun exactly twice as long!”
“…”
Delun’s expression fell.
Of course, Delun’s achievement was enough to be hailed as a prodigy or genius anywhere. Not many people were evaluated as certain to reach the Graduate level, albeit sooner or later. However, even Delun paled in comparison to Ray.
After all, history books wouldn’t find anyone who had drawn out a Sword Aura at 9 years old.
Just moments ago, Delun had been elated, but now he felt somewhat deflated.
Seeing this, Johanna snapped at Alesya.
“Why are you discouraging Delun like that?”
“Oh, oh, it’s a misunderstanding. I didn’t mean to.”
“And yet, Lady Alesya, you’re still only at the 2nd Circle!”
Struck by this fact, Alesya clutched her head and defended herself.
“Circles aren’t everything! And soon, I’ll reach the 3rd Circle!”
Hearing this, Johanna narrowed her eyes and smirked.
“Wow! When you reach the 3rd Circle, you’ll be as strong as Luna, won’t you?”
“…”
After a brief silence, Alesya gave up, slumping dejectedly.
“I’ve made a mistake…”
To compare her to Luna was pushing it.
Alesya still remembered the humiliation of being thoroughly trounced by Luna in an arithmetic duel during her childhood.
Regaining some energy, Alesya playfully tapped Johanna with her balled-up fist.
“Do I really deserve such criticism for one slip of the tongue?”
After all, how much has Alesya done for you?
Where does the money for your food and lodging come from?
Faced with Alesya’s retort, Johanna had nothing to say.
“I’m sorry. It was wrong of me.”
Her insincere apology made Alesya narrow her eyes before sighing deeply.
“I wish Ray would return soon.”
Without Ray, there wasn’t much fun to be had. Karen was also quite depressed.
Johanna nodded solemnly.
“I hope he returns safely this time.”
“Hmm, that shouldn’t be too worrisome.”
Because Luna was with him.
Recalling how Luna effortlessly demolished entire mountains, Alesya smiled broadly.
*
Ernst, who had requested a private audience with the Emperor, finally entered the room under the guidance of the Royal Guard.
Ernst initially knelt to pay his respects but paused mid-motion.
In the small room where a few desks could barely fit, Crown Prince Poibos awaited Ernst.
“Prince Poibos?”
“Welcome. Duke Prizzran.”
“Your Highness, Crown Prince.”
After paying his respects, Ernst sat in the prepared seat and cautiously inquired,
“Your Majesty…”
“He isn’t doing well.”
“…”
Ernst took a deep breath.
Even the usually composed Swordmaster exuded a sense of unease.
Poibos calmly adjusted the atmosphere.
“The fate of royalty. There’s no reason to grieve or despair.”
Poibos’ gaze had deepened significantly compared to before.
Looking directly into Ernst’s eyes with his crimson irises, Poibos moved straight to the main topic.
“What matter did you wish to discuss with His Majesty?”
“It concerns the missing Ulte Count case from Alimo Kingdom.”
“I know His Majesty entrusted this matter to you. It seems there’s been a problem.”
Ernst pulled out a piece of paper from his robes and spread it on the table.
It was a copy of a blueprint created by Luna, redrawn again as a duplicate.
Ernst reported his suspicion that a powerful leader controlling a group of Dark Wizards might exist within the Forbidden Forest, possibly connected to the underground city.
Though there was no concrete evidence, the circumstances were quite convincing.
After hearing the report, Poibos murmured,
“If true, this is serious…”
“A significant amount of smuggled goods has infiltrated the Forbidden Forest. The quantity is likely more than three times what the Empire’s intelligence agency has detected.”
“I understand the gravity of the situation.”
After reviewing the blueprint copy, Poibos cautiously asked,
“Do you intend to send spies into this location?”
“My additional dispatched agents should already be inside.”
“…If the underground city truly exists, it will be difficult for them to return alive.”
“…”
Ernst hesitated.
Asserting troop movements during a period when the Emperor couldn’t act properly might make him appear to have ulterior motives.
After much deliberation, Ernst spoke.
“I believe they will return, but I think additional measures are necessary in case of emergency.”
“…I’m not criticizing you, Duke, but wasn’t this operation too reckless from the beginning? This isn’t even Imperial territory.”
“Indeed, it was my oversight. However, when the related report came in, they had already entered the underground city.”
“Driven by altruism? This happens often. Still, is rescue absolutely necessary?”
Intelligence operatives were ultimately consumption items.
Caring for each life individually would never end.
Ernst couldn’t possibly be unaware of this collective psychology.
Poibos was questioning why Ernst was fixated on the operatives who entered the underground city.
Ernst replied,
“…Someone who would be a great loss to lose in a foreign land participated in the underground city search operation.”
“If you describe them as such, they must be extraordinary talent.”
Moreover, seeing how Ernst was bending his neck tightly and making unreasonable requests, it meant he truly cherished this person.
Although owing a debt to Ernst wasn’t pleasant for Poibos either, he decided to consider the matter.
Deploying additional forces covertly into the kingdom immediately would take considerable time.
Advancing troops to the border and pressuring Alimo Kingdom to open the Gate would make rapid support nearly impossible.
“To go to war and resort to tyranny just to save one person isn’t feasible…”
Poibos smiled calmly.
“Can I hear your opinion first, Duke?”
*
Final preparations were complete.
Two Silver Cross Knight Order members and the mage mercenary hired by Leonie remained in Rioshuko to perform surveillance tasks under Count Girenhal’s supervision.
Excluding them, the entire Silver Cross Knight Order, two Paladins, and Ray and Luna headed toward the Forbidden Forest.
Also included were guides and mercenaries hired by Gilland to protect the guides on their return, making the group rather large.
The newly hired guide, Olda, led them along a path similar to the one she had shown Ray earlier.
Whether it was because the larger group provoked monsters or due to the guide’s lack of skill, Ray encountered monsters far more frequently while advancing through the Forbidden Forest with the Silver Cross Knights.
The mercenaries were shocked, but for the knights, monsters weren’t a big issue.
Especially with Ray and Luna present.
Merely disturbing the slope of the ground where the monsters stepped using magic allowed the knights to deal with them much more easily.
Ssaaaak!!
Gilland cut down a monkey-shaped monster called Sharpenail without manifesting a Sword Aura.
The fifth group of monsters they encountered was completely wiped out.
Except for a few mercenaries who sustained minor injuries, there were no casualties.
As they continued deeper into the Forbidden Forest, a strange wailing sound came from the sky.
Ray looked up.
A winged monster was approaching.
Although it was the first time seeing it, its identity was immediately clear.
It was a Wypor.
Wypors were tricky monsters to intercept with Sword Auras due to their fast flight speed, at least when only knights were present.
Whoosh!!
Luna summoned a wind spirit.
An upper-level wind spirit flew through the air, disrupting the airflow around the Wypor.
With its flight disturbed, the Wypor slowed down, allowing Luna to cast a spell immediately.
The air froze, coating the Wypor’s wings with frost.
“Kiieeeek!!”
Its wings frozen, the Wypor struggled to maintain altitude, spinning in place.
The Silver Cross Knight Order members seized the opportunity and simultaneously discharged their Sword Auras.
Kwaaaagggggaacccc!!!!
Struck by the Sword Auras, the Wypor turned into a rag and plummeted to the ground.
Excited, Leonie raised her balled-up fist.
“Did you see that? Our mages performed amazing magic, right? What would we have done without them?”
Watching Leonie’s antics, Ray regarded her with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
Part 3: Penetration
