Indeed, the ghouls had kept their promise.
The ghouls began patrolling around the camp, thoroughly eliminating any potential dangers.
The first night in the Dreamland passed noisily, filled with the sounds of dying animals.
Because of the deal with the ghouls, I had gone to sleep late and woke up from the heaviness I felt on my chest.
“Meow!”
When I looked, Lily was sitting on my chest.
-We’ll skip the morning kiss since others might see.
…What a shame.
-Get up. There are ghouls outside the camp.
At those words, I got up from the makeshift bed of straw and leaves without even grabbing a blanket and headed toward the camp entrance… well, it wasn’t much of an entrance since the area was completely open.
Anyway, an elderly-looking ghoul was standing there.
“Human… animal… meat… want…?”
“What about you?”
“…Meat… enough for… a year’s supply…. We don’t… need more…”
Come to think of it, Lily had said something similar.
“If you’re offering, we appreciate it.”
The ghouls had piled up the meat of the animals they’d hunted all night at the camp entrance.
“Ah, Arthur! What is all this? There’s so much meat here!”
“Good morning, Luke. Is there anyone to introduce? Oh, there is.”
“Hmm?”
I pointed to the ghouls watching us from under the trees.
“They’re called ghouls. They’ll be protecting us.”
“Are they residents of this rift? Well, it’s strange to say this, but… they’re really ugly!”
“Still, treat them well since all this meat was brought by the ghouls.”
“That’s helpful!”
Luke greeted the ghouls formally, and after staring at him silently for a moment, the ghouls returned to their guard positions.
“Let the other students know. Don’t attack these creatures.”
“Got it!”
I approached the piles of meat the ghouls had left.
-Lily, is there any meat we shouldn’t eat?
-Hmm…. None of it will kill you, but the taste… is something you’ll have to endure.
As long as it doesn’t kill us, that’s all that matters, right?
“This is all edible. Go ahead and cook it.”
“How do you know that?”
“…Lily told me.”
“Wow! Cats really are amazing! Thanks, Arthur!”
As Luke excitedly rummaged through the meat, I slipped quietly out of camp.
The camp will manage fine on its own.
As long as the Academy students aren’t foolish, the chances of them doing something reckless in this dangerous situation should be low.
When I judged that I’d put enough distance between myself and the camp, I took Lily from my embrace and held her up.
-Let’s scout the remaining students before heading to Kadath.
After checking, the total count was down by two besides those who had perished.
Lily quickly scanned the surrounding area.
-One of them is a bit farther away.
-What’s their condition?
-…They’re moving fast. They’re likely in the middle of a fight, it seems?
-Let’s go quickly then.
But as I was about to sprint, Lily stopped me.
-Hey, hey. Do you forget what my power is?
-Lily’s power… Oh! Teleportation!
It was something we’d discussed while selecting which abilities to reveal to others.
-I restrained myself yesterday because of the other humans around, but now it’s fine.
The moment I grabbed the soft belly of Lily, the scenery changed.
-We’ve arrived.
Before I could even process it, the sounds of battle reached my ears, and I ran straight toward the source of the noise.
When I reached the scene of the fight, I couldn’t help but chuckle dryly.
“…So, it’s you who survived.”
A silver-blue hair flickered in the sunlight, scattering beams in every direction.
The face underneath was adorned with piercingly blue eyes, even bluer than her hair.
Silver-blue hair and azure eyes—features that symbolize the Great House in the Magic Empire, second only to the Emperor himself.
In a tone of voice tinged with resignation, I called out the name of the girl who was not so much participating in a battle but rather carrying out a one-sided massacre.
“…Ilina Frost.”
The representative of our grade, the top student, was unleashing her magic.
Snowflakes swirled all around while a frigid cold radiated outwards.
The dirt below was freezing solid and transforming into an ice rink, across which Ilina glided effortlessly.
Ilina, dancing gracefully on the icy surface like a snowflake, cast a mesmerizing but deadly performance.
“Keiiiiii!”
An unnamed monster screamed as its body was pierced by shards of ice. Even the hot blood it spewed froze instantly under the cold, turning into an artistic sculpture.
With every organ frozen solid, the monster solidified into a hard ice statue, making yet another addition to the collection—already numbering over ten.
‘True to form, a skill fitting for the top student of the grade. Every time I see her fight, it gives me goosebumps.’
As I marveled silently, a shard of ice whizzed past my face.
Embedded in the tree behind me, the ice shard caused the tree to freeze solid like the monster.
When I looked back and locked eyes with Ilina, a chilling gaze met mine, enough to make anyone shudder.
“Who are you?”
“Arthur. I’m a fellow Academy student.”
“…Arthur… Arthur… Arthur…? I’ve heard that name somewhere.”
“Probably by chance. Hahaha!”
“…….”
“Ha… ha… ha…”
Couldn’t you at least acknowledge me?
“Did you happen to see Luke? I’m looking for him.”
“Ah, you saw the fire too, right? Luke is back at the camp.”
“Camp?”
“Yeah. Students gathered at the camp after seeing Luke’s fire, setting up a place to survive collectively for the four days. Most students are there right now.”
At this, Ilina furrowed her brow slightly.
“…Unnecessary actions.”
Her mutter was small, but in the quiet forest, even whispers can carry far.
“Wouldn’t you like to join the camp too? I know where it is. Just follow me.”
Ilina paused for a moment before responding.
“Unnecessary.”
“…Huh?”
“I don’t need cooperation. I can survive for four days on my own.”
‘Not what I expected… With all the students gathered in one place, it would make escaping easier.’
And this wasn’t just a simple spatial rift.
Dreamland is an entirely different dimension inhabited by outsiders. There could be creatures even Ilina wouldn’t be able to handle.
“Come on, Ilina…”
“It’s fine. I’ll move on my own.”
Then, with a flick of her body, Ilina turned away.
‘Hmm…how to persuade Ilina to go to the camp… Ah, wait. Now that I think about it…’
“Why are you looking for Luke?”
Ilina paused mid-step.
“Don’t your words about being self-sufficient contradict each other?”
“…”
Huh, she’s flustered.
The Ice Princess showing such emotion—rumor has it the Frost family and Blaze family have been rivals for generations.
“Anyway, Luke is safe, so don’t worry.”
“Who said I’m worried…”
Ah, so she is worried, huh?
In that case…
“The fire you saw earlier? That was Luke going into overdrive.”
“Overdrive? That intense?”
Ilina swiftly turned her head toward me.
“Yeah. A giant—no, more like 8 meters tall—giant appeared. It was so powerful that Luke had to go all out, practically fighting for his life.”
“Did they manage the heat?”
“Yeah, after spewing heat for a while, they eventually managed to control it, with great difficulty.”
“What’s Luke’s condition now?”
Before I knew it, Ilina had stepped right in front of me.
“He’s still recovering. Thanks to an agreement we made with the locals around the camp, he’s in a safe state now… but if you came along, it’d put my mind at ease.”
“…”
Ilina paused for a moment, considering. But if my guess is correct, the next response will be…
“…Where is it?”
“What?”
“…The camp. Where is it?”
Right on cue.
A cold atmosphere emanated from her piercing gaze directed at my chest.
-Why are you glaring at me like that, Lily?
-Are you really Arthur?
What kind of absurd question is that?
-Unless you’re someone else pretending to be Arthur.
-It’s really me, Arthur.
-Prove it.
-I love you, Lily.
-!!!!
-Of course, as family.
-…It’s really you, Arthur.
It’s really me, alright.
-Why do you doubt me?
-When did you become so good at lying? You used to be so pure, like a puppy…
…Was I being treated like a dog the whole time!?
-It’s too much! I’ve worked hard to survive… Can’t you praise me instead?
-…
Suddenly leaping out of my arms, Lily reverted to her human form mid-twirl.
“Li, Lily! Since you’re revealing yourself-”
“Relax. I know this area is clear. And besides…”
Spreading her arms wide, Lily added:
“Praise me. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
…How could anyone possibly refuse that?!
I was enveloped in her familiar yet warm embrace.
We parted after a short embrace and prepared to search for the next student, but it seemed this one was quite far away.
‘…Figures it’d be that guy causing problems.’
The last remaining student was Louis Goldsun.
A worrying memory from right before we fell into Dreamland surfaced, stirring unease.
-Lily, there’s something I need to mention…
Listening silently to my explanation, Lily eventually responded:
-You should’ve told me this earlier!
-Sorry, I was kind of busy…
-You said something about scratching the wall with some object?
-Yes.
-Hmm…
After a moment of thought, Lily slapped her forehead.
-…Oh no. This has become the worst-case scenario.
-What is it?
-I just pinpointed that human’s location.
-Where?
-…Kadath.
-Pardon?
-That human definitely has some connection to the God who sent us here.
And Lily quietly muttered:
“…I should have killed him right there and then…”
-Still, you can’t kill him, Lily.
-…Fine.
Then she muttered again:
“…I’ll let him taste living hell.”
I briefly considered stopping her but decided against it.
‘The fault is Louis’s. Let him take responsibility.’
Anyone who doesn’t learn their lesson after a stern punishment deserves a harsher one.
As long as he isn’t killed…
-Let’s head to Kadath first. We need to find the divine being who can help us escape. And check on that human while we’re at it.
-Yes, please.
With Lily in her cat form safely in my arms, the scenery shifted in an instant.
The first thing we saw was the jagged mountain range.
The sharp peaks gave it a perilous appearance.
Beyond the range stood a colossal structure nestled along the midsection of the mountains.
It was a massive city.
-Welcome to the City of Gods, Kadath.
