Before encountering the missing persons in the forest, I rummaged through my pocket.
It was a space-expansion pocket previously gifted by the Imperial Princess.
Even an item that slightly increased capacity could cost hundreds of gold. The pocket I received from the Imperial Princess was a luxury item, surely worth thousands of gold.
Perhaps it might even exceed ten thousand gold.
The value of this single pocket equaled the price of Emma’s life, making me feel as if my sense of value was skewed.
Moreover, the pocket gifted by the Imperial Princess was not only made of pure white leather but also embroidered with golden threads depicting the royal crest.
Considering these details, its actual worth could have been even higher.
But now that it was in my possession, it was nothing more than a practical tool.
Still, the pocket given by the Imperial Princess certainly justified its exorbitant price.
After stuffing it with dozens of potions, emergency rations, and drinking water, there was still plenty of room left.
Among the numerous stored items, there was one set I paid special attention to.
They were the potions gifted to me by Emma.
These various potions each had their unique effects, but Emma’s latest creations were especially valuable as they contained two effects at once.
Additionally, there was one more item I’d specially requested from Emma.
I had been fiddling with the vials for quite some time when I noticed someone approaching. Before long, a woman had arrived by my side, carrying the fresh scent of spring.
I couldn’t discern her intent and thus regarded her with a skeptical gaze.
In fact, I didn’t even know her name.
As I’d heard before, on the day she was chosen as the Virgin Saint, she discarded her name from her orphan days. The reason for this was unknown.
Whether it was to hide her humble origins or to prepare for a new beginning, her intentions remained a mystery to me. Guessing about such past events was nothing but wasted effort.
I just asked her outright if she had any important business.
“…Why are you here?”
“Hmm, just because. I thought I’d try to make this feel like a stroll.”
I let out a hollow laugh, finding the idea absurd.
We had no idea what kind of monsters lurked in this forest. The Rainelle Clan’s magic troops were searching separately from us.
In other words, if we were to encounter enemies, we’d have to deal with them by ourselves.
Though we did have a means to contact them immediately upon enemy detection, the fact remained that our lives could still be in jeopardy.
And yet, she mentioned ‘strolling.’
However, the Virgin Saint merely appeared unruffled by my skeptical reaction, then tiptoed slightly, whispering heatedly into my ear.
“…After teasing a virgin’s body, won’t you even let me have a stroll?”
“Wait, that’s…!”
It’s partly your fault.
That retort rose to the tip of my tongue, but the standards of chastity for men and women weren’t equal. Of course, blaming her would just make me seem like scum.
Whatever excuse I provided, the situation was inherently unfavorable for me.
In the end, I could only sigh deeply.
“…Do as you please.”
Only then did the Virgin Saint smile contentedly and link her arm with mine.
The plush, elastic sensation on my arm was no less pleasant than usual.
The Virgin Saint then whispered something smug into my ear.
“If you’re obedient, I might let you touch again next time.”
Rather than a Virgin Saint, wasn’t she more like a femme fatale?
Ever since we had crossed that line, she had treated me with no sense of distance. By now, anyone could suspect something between me and the Virgin Saint.
Even my mother, a devout believer in the Heavenly Deity Sect, gave us suspicious glances. That was enough to say it all.
While I was fretting about the unnecessary misunderstandings, salvation came from an unexpected quarter—a girl notorious for her sharp tongue.
“…Hey, lactating cow. Back off already, will you?”
Her voice was dripping with irritation.
Though it was a small sound, one would have been able to discern the content with just a little focus. I was startled and turned to look at Senior Elsi.
No matter how influential the Rainelle Clan was, they couldn’t publicly insult the Virgin Saint.
The Virgin Saint was essentially a living symbol of the Heavenly Deity Sect. If it came down to blasphemy, it would be hard to find many things the Virgin Saint couldn’t get away with.
And yet she publicly cursed her here.
Even considering Senior Elsi’s prickly temper, this action was overly reckless. The fortunate thing was that only the Virgin Saint and I had heard it.
Of course, the Virgin Saint couldn’t help but react strongly.
“Can’t you just stay like a good pet? Right now, I’m having a human-to-human conversation with I-an.”
“Arf arf.”
Senior Elsi mockingly imitated a dog’s bark and smirked coldly.
“Master, run. This woman is really pathetic… her breasts are large but her heart’s so small, she’s perverted, and only knows how to charm through her body—a lustful woman.”
“…Your barking is annoying today, I-an. Perhaps your pet needs more training?”
The Virgin Saint’s tone, gritted through clenched teeth, was menacing.
After the previous incident, their relationship had only grown increasingly hostile. This was obviously not the kind of relationship comrades who were supposed to rely on each other should have.
And we were, without doubt, on the verge of battle.
Just as I was about to intervene with a sigh —
“…Big Brother I-an.”
Celin’s voice caught my attention.
Not just me—everyone turned to look at Celin, then followed her gaze.
Because the tense tone of her voice warned of imminent danger.
The Virgin Saint and Senior Elsi also halted their squabble, facing forward.
There stood dozens of people, like ghosts, a few dozen meters away.
They didn’t move at all. There was no trace of life, making it seem as if person-shaped tombstones stood there before us.
“Villagers?”
That was the Virgin Saint’s murmured observation, tilting her head.
They were shabbily dressed, plain-looking, typical ‘villagers’ you might see anywhere. But there was a reason Celin’s complexion turned pale upon seeing them.
She also remembered the days when she and I used to run around the Perkus Manor.
“…Doris, Mary?”
Celin’s mumble caused the dozens of humans to slowly lift their heads.
Their eyes were vacant or naively stupid. Upon being called, life seemed to return to two of them—a man and a woman.
The two of them looked around with bewildered expressions.
“M, Master? Miss Celin? What… what on earth is going on here…?”
“Eek! What are these people?”
I was momentarily speechless.
Doris from my memories, who always caused trouble for Aunt Yona, and Mary who used to ask if we could build an orchard somewhere in the manor.
But it was clear there was something wrong with them.
After all, Mary was already dead—by the hands of Ceria.
The Mary standing before me now was the second one. I slowly raised my hand.
That was the signal for an order.
We had to kill them. That was the only salvation for them.
Yet, I couldn’t bring myself to give the command.
The two of them unsteadily stepped backward, frightened expressions on their faces, pleading with me.
“M, Master! Who are these people?! Why am I here…?”
“I, I was just going home!”
The group was waiting for me to issue the order.
It was certainly a trap; they were Miltram’s test subjects who would certainly attack us.
How cruel.
What if these two weren’t part of the test subjects?
Even if by some chance Miltram had left the original intact and placed it before me, the decision I had to make was still one.
“…Everyone, prepare for battle!”
The blades slid out with sounds, revealing themselves.
The Virgin Saint and Senior Elsi took the central position naturally while forming a tight battle formation with Ceria at the front. Celin remained toward the rear, ready for any ambush.
When the blades were aimed at Doris and Mary, they screamed in fright.
“Kya, kyaah!”
“M, Master… why are you doing this?! It’s me, Doris!”
The last one to draw my sword was me.
And for what to say, all I could do was bite my lip.
“…Mary, Doris.”
With painful breaths, I pointed the tip of my sword at them.
“It’s my fault.”
What words could a noble who couldn’t protect his manor’s residents even speak?
The faces of Mary and Doris turned so pale they could hardly bear it.
Just as the two were about to beg for something,
“D, Doris! What do you mean by, sooo, ssssss… SSSSSSSSREEEEEEEEEEK?! Yuck, KKKUUUUUUUGHH?!”
The bodies of the man and woman bent their spines with a snapping sound, making grotesque movements.
Their arms bent unnaturally backwards, spilling streams of blood and water. Their bodies grew increasingly reddish and feverish.
“Ah, it hurts sooo much! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! Help me! Help me, Master!”
“Cghk, you bbbb… Master… I… I knoooow!”
With a crunchy sound, their neck bones snapped, and their heads dangled and fell off.
Blood oozed from the heads, still attached by skin and flesh.
It was blood-tears.
The eyes of Mary and Doris were streaming with blood.
“You, you will be cursed…”
“I won’t forgive this, I won’t forgive this…”
Then, with the sound of their joints realigning, dozens of bodies began to move in sync.
As if an infection spreading, the eyes of the test subjects turned red one by one. Groaning sounds peculiar to mindless monsters escaped their mouths.
I exhaled deeply, suppressing my anguish.
“…You bastards and your dramatics.”
The beasts roared and rushed forward.
I pulled out the hand axe from my waist and hurled it.
With a “Pak, Pak!” two test subjects’ heads exploded, scattering flesh and bone fragments all over. Spinning around to catch the axe that bounced off, I kicked off the ground and surged forward.
“O Light, flow forth!”
At the single utterance from Senior Elsi, the atmosphere was immediately filled with magical energy.
Blinding white discharge surged over the ground, creating crackling sounds.
My vision flickered.
Inside the overwhelmingly bright world, my sword carved sharp straight lines.
An experiment subject that was pierced in the center of its chest without any resistance let out a scream. But I promptly twisted the blade, extending the slash horizontally.
With a “Tang!” a wave of impact swept across the sides.
Splashes of blood painted the white vision with color. As the light faded, the vivid red became increasingly intense.
One of them was likely the blood spilled by Mary and Doris.
A test subject with half its upper chest cut off tilted back uncontrollably due to the recoil. Since the test subjects we faced previously had a self-destruction function, I didn’t hesitate to sever its head.
Breaking and killing were so very simple.
But why was protecting such a Herculean task?
Biting my teeth, I pulled out the parchment I carried.
It was a scroll inscribed with a communication spell. Once I rip it, it won’t be long before the Rainelle Clan’s magic troops arrive.
Right before I clean up the surrounding enemies and rip the scroll,
A “Pak!” sound came from something being thrown that forcibly crumpled the scroll.
A trail of blood was forming. Following this bloody trace, I realized what had been thrown at me.
It was an arm.
One of the test subjects had forcibly torn off its own arm and thrown it at me.
And that test subject bore Doris’ appearance.
The excitement of battle heated up my brain.
With a smirk, Doris rasped a voice that seemed to scrape her throat.
“…Nice to see you again, Ian Perkus.”
Yulen was right.
The Dark Priest was here.
As Doris’ body collapsed like marionette strings being cut, the figure standing behind her revealed itself.
I couldn’t see his face, which was hidden by the shadow of a black hood. All I could see was his jet-black hair.
And that twisted smile playing on his lips.
I was about to rush at him when I hesitated.
Because I had seen the color of the eyes glowing under the hood.
Gold.
“Your fate, as per our promise, has arrived.”
The woman’s voice, taunting with a giggle, left me rooted to my spot.
Black hair with golden eyes.
That was the color palette Miltram possessed in this world.
