Chapter 76
Hernant’s Pursuit
2024.03.16.
I couldn’t quite believe Freet’s claim that he had “just happened” to overhear the conversation, so I quietly cast him a suspicious look.
“You heard it through the kitchen window, did you? And you just happened to be passing by the kitchen window?”
“Yes, I was hungry. Sometimes, when I’m hungry, I go down to the kitchen for a snack. Such a small theft is something even the Lord would turn a blind eye to. Anyway, that’s how I just happened to pass by the window, and just happened to overhear the conversation.”
“……”
No matter how I thought about it, he must have been lingering at the kitchen listening in on purpose… but I decided not to press the matter.
Well, maybe he was just curious.
Even I had been somewhat curious yesterday about what Rolf would end up saying.
So instead of probing further, I asked,
“So, did you find anything good to eat in the kitchen?”
“Ah, I found a basket of cookies. Shall we share them?”
“Yes, I’m a bit hungry myself. They’ve got raspberry cookies, don’t they?”
“Of course.”
Freet hopped back over the window into the kitchen, then returned with a basket piled high with cookies.
For a moment, my conscience twinged at the thought of eating cookies the baron’s household servants had worked so hard to make, but I pushed the feeling aside.
Hadn’t I stepped up to play the villain myself, just to protect the Baron’s house from retaliation?
Surely eating a few cookies was forgivable.
I picked up a raspberry cookie from the basket, crunching on it as I casually asked Freet,
“But really, will it be all right?”
“Ah, it’ll be fine. We’ll just take a few and put the basket back in the kitchen, they probably won’t even notice—”
“No, not that. I mean sending off the Count of Kölnhauzen’s second son like that.”
I swallowed the cookie I had been holding, then continued.
“I may know little of worldly matters since I’ve spent my time cutting down monsters beyond the rifts, but even I know the Count of Kölnhauzen’s family holds real influence in this region. Causing a rift with them can’t be good for the Divine Temple, can it?”
The Count of Kölnhauzen was indeed a powerful family in this area.
It was precisely for that reason that I hadn’t refused Rolf outright when he approached me.
If such a powerful house pressed unjustly against the Baron of Ketrenburg, the baron would truly be in danger.
That was why I had tried to reject Rolf with moderation and tact… but Freet had very clearly crossed the line.
The insult he dealt was enough to leave the Count of Kölnhauzen harboring deep resentment toward the Temple.
Yet, contrary to my worries, Freet’s response was simple.
“It’s fine.”
“But—”
“I don’t regret intervening earlier. Even if time turned back, I’d make the same choice. If I hadn’t stepped in, Julia would have had to keep listening to that man’s nonsense.”
I had no time to be surprised at hearing the word “that man” come from such holy lips—
—for suddenly he pressed a cookie to my mouth.
“Don’t worry about such things. Try this cookie instead. I don’t know what they put in it, but it’s very sweet and delicious.”
I held back the words of worry I had been about to voice, and instead bit into the cookie he fed me.
He was right.
The cookie was so sweet and tasty that it swept the worries from my head.
I never thought I’d see the day when I’d look forward to entering a rift.
When I used to go in without rest, it was nothing but exhausting and painful.
But now, after such a long break, I actually found myself eager to go fight monsters again.
With that strange sense of anticipation, I fixed my eyes on the rift before us.
Soon, we—Freet, myself, and two of Freet’s personal knights—would be entering.
Those knights, too, were awakened individuals with powers, and they were joining us this time.
So the four of us stood, surveying the rift. Then Freet suddenly asked me,
“Shall I go in first? Or will you, Julia?”
“I’ll go first. Sometimes you’re unlucky and there’s a monster waiting right beyond the rift.”
That was why either I or the captain had always entered first in the past.
If monsters were waiting right on the other side, only seasoned awakened like us could handle them quickly.
So, once again, I stepped in first.
Beeeep—
As the familiar ringing filled my ears, I crossed into the rift—only to let out a long sigh the moment I saw what lay ahead.
“Haa…”
There were too many.
I had expected a lot, but this was far, far beyond that.
Poisonous mushrooms stretched as far as the eye could see, even out past the horizon.
While I stood frozen, Freet and his knights also stepped through.
Seeing the same scene, Freet muttered,
“Disgustingly many, aren’t they.”
“It’ll take quite some time to coat them all in oil. At least they’re all asleep now, so they won’t attack us…”
Most monsters were nocturnal, and these mushrooms were no different.
That was why we had timed our entry for precisely noon inside the rift.
Under the blazing sun, the monsters were all fast asleep.
I lowered my voice, careful not to wake them, and gave instructions to Freet and his knights.
“If you follow my directions, we’ll be safe. First, be extremely careful not to wake them. Just pour a little oil, but never touch them or make loud noises.”
“What’s the second precaution?” Freet asked.
I answered at once.
“If by mistake you do wake one of them, don’t even think about fighting—just run immediately.”
One of the knights raised a hand respectfully.
“Why must we flee? Couldn’t we simply kill the awakened one cleanly on the spot? We’re awakened too. Such low-level monsters are—”
“No. If one wakes, you must run.”
I fixed the holy knight with a stern glare.
“If one mushroom wakes, the others wake in succession. They’re linked. And when many of them awaken at once… they unleash horrific poison indiscriminately across the area.”
“……”
“That’s why we must coat them in oil and burn them while they’re all asleep. But if even one wakes, then you must not look back—just escape out of the rift.”
Only after my explanation did the knight finally nod in understanding.
But even so, unease gnawed at me.
Aside from myself, the others had never set foot inside a rift. Wouldn’t they make mistakes?
I prayed silently that nothing would happen, glancing back once at the entrance we had just passed through.
What if, by some magic, the man I longed for appeared there suddenly to help us?
…The thought was fleeting, and of course, it didn’t happen.
I set aside such useless hopes and turned back.
It was time to roast some mushrooms.
At the Baron of Ketrenburg’s estate, the old butler Benjamin was busy as ever with his duties.
His role was to manage the household and lands in place of the bedridden baron.
He poured himself wholly into that responsibility.
Even if he had taken things lightly, no one would have scolded him. But the loyal old butler had no intention of slacking off.
His heart, steeped in loyalty over long years, always drove him to give his utmost.
He managed the barren estate where most had fled—
Cleaned the shabby manor long abandoned by guests—
And gave courage to the disheartened household staff.
He believed that if they endured, one day the barony would regain its past prosperity.
Now, with saviors having come recently to their aid, surely things would improve soon.
But what actually arrived was a calamity more difficult to face than rifts and monsters.
“Someone immense has come!! Someone incredibly high-ranked!!”
It was one of the youngest servants, one of the few left after most of the useful ones had fled, who brought the news first.
His voice rang out far too loudly, his training lacking. But Benjamin didn’t scold him.
Instead, he focused on the message itself.
“High-ranked? Who do you mean?”
“They came in a golden carriage! There were so many knights guarding it! And there was a flag on the carriage—embroidered with a golden lion!”
