Chapter 16 ….
“Leaving?”
Azel fell into thought after hearing Seymour’s report.
“For what reason?”
“She said she has a promise to keep—something she must attend to in person.”
At the word promise, he paused for a moment, then nodded at once.
“Let her go.”
“Will that be all right?”
“Even if she tries to run, we can just catch her again. It doesn’t matter.”
At Azel’s words, Seymour suppressed the smile that almost came out of habit.
So it really was confinement.
And yet, for someone supposedly locked up, she had been freely roaming the mansion without restraint.
In any case, Seymour’s concern for his master stemmed from another reason.
Up until now, Azel had not only received reports on Elpis’s every move, but had also often watched her from afar.
If she were to leave the mansion, it was only natural that he would be uneasy.
But at that moment, Azel proposed a solution Seymour had never expected.
“Send Mary along with her. You stay here and keep watch. I’ll follow behind myself.”
“You’re going with her?”
“Of course not. I’ll simply observe, to make sure she isn’t doing anything unnecessary.”
Isn’t that the same thing?
Keeping an eye on someone suspicious was understandable, but there was no reason Azel himself needed to do it.
Yet it seemed Azel had forgotten that obvious fact.
“Why not just go with her openly?”
At the perfectly reasonable suggestion, Azel’s face twisted into a deep scowl—an unmistakable look of disgust.
“…Very well. I’ll prepare everything as you command.”
Seymour, who still remembered how his master had fled in panic on the very first day—complaining that the woman had been excessively familiar with him after he’d given her a name—could only find the entire situation amusing.
“Are you not going to tell me where we’re going?”
As we were about to leave the mansion, Mary asked me in a stiff tone.
It was a manner of speech that clearly did not suit the role of a “normal maid” she was currently playing.
“There’s no need for an escort, so you don’t have to worry, Mary.”
“……”
At my remark—subtly poking at her past habits as a knight—Mary hurriedly shut her mouth.
I could feel her probing gaze sweep over me, but I was already busy with other thoughts.
Is Mary the only one watching me?
No matter how I thought about it, that seemed unlikely.
If possible, I’d rather it be Seymour or Ron.
This was more important than it sounded.
Depending on who the observer was, the ripple effects of what I was about to do would change significantly.
Azel’s interest is one thing, but it’s time I started preparing properly.
There was a reason I had deliberately used the word promise to draw attention.
After boldly declaring that I would save her in one month, I needed to make preparations if I didn’t want to be suspected.
That’s right. At this very moment, I was heading out to farm an item that would play a crucial role in my future plans—while also conveniently drawing Azel’s attention.
I need something that won’t trigger Azel directly, looks impressive enough, and that I can obtain myself.
Fortunately, there was exactly one thing that met all those demanding conditions.
“Have you ever heard of the Red Forest, Mary?”
“The Red Forest? You mean the one near the baron’s territory?”
“Yes, exactly. That’s where we’re heading.”
“Why there all of a sudden…?”
Naturally, Mary—who had no way of knowing my purpose—looked puzzled by the destination itself.
Well, of course she would. Despite its name, the ‘Red Forest’ is just an ordinary forest.
However, there was one secret hidden there—something the people of this land didn’t know.
“There’s something very special there.”
“Something special?”
That allowed me to smile with great confidence.
“Yes. Very special.”
But at the time, I had no idea.
…That the forest held not just one special thing, but more than I knew.
A boy was running frantically through the forest.
“Huff! Hah! Hah!”
His name was Darya.
On Darya’s back was his elderly father, and both of them were terrified.
“Darya! Put me down, now!”
“Father, please!”
“You foolish boy! Leave me behind and run! That way, at least you’ll survive!”
Despite his father’s desperate pleas, Darya didn’t stop. They were being chased by a wild beast.
If he abandoned his father here, the outcome was obvious.
I shouldn’t have been so greedy!
Climbing the mountain in search of medicine for his sick younger sibling had been a mistake from the start.
With rumors spreading about dangerous beasts appearing near the village, even herbalists—and merchants—had stopped coming.
His frail sibling was dying a little more each day, and there was no medicine to give them.
Left with no choice, they had gone into the mountains, only to encounter the very beast everyone feared.
That damn monster! It’s playing with us!
The beast wasn’t hungry.
Whenever it drew close, it would stop, growl a few times, and give them time to run again.
It was toying with them.
“Ahhh!”
“Ghk!”
Darya’s exhausted legs caught on a rock, and he tumbled helplessly to the ground.
He crashed down with a heavy thud, pain exploding through his body—but he was more worried about the father on his back.
“Ghh…! Get up and run! Hurry!”
Covered in dirt, his father was badly injured.
“Get a hold of yourself and run!”
Darya forced his trembling body up and crawled toward him, but the wrinkled hands slapped the dirt, trying to drive him away.
“F-Father…!”
“Please, go already, you idiot!”
Tears streamed down Darya’s face as he stood frozen in place—until the beast’s roar finally echoed right beside them.
—Grrrrrrrr!
“Hah!”
Turning his head in fear, Darya saw yellow eyes flashing mockingly at him.
Ah… it’s already too late.
His father’s expression was no different from his own.
Just as the beast lunged—
“Aaaah!”
—Khuuuaaang!
Thud!
With a sudden, explosive impact, the creature was sent flying far away.
For an instant, Darya’s eyes widened.
W-What just happened?
Someone was standing in front of him.
“W-Who…?”
But the woman’s eyes weren’t on Darya.
“Is that beast the ‘special thing’ you mentioned, miss?”
She was questioning someone else.
Miss…?
Only then did Darya notice another presence behind him.
“You said there was something special here.”
“……”
“Please answer, miss. No—Lady Elpis.”
There stood a young woman with an unreadable expression and a peculiar smile.
“Did you know from the start that Aigerus was here, and deliberately come all the way to the Red Forest?”
At that moment, I thought—
…As if.
That was all I did—think it.
My body, frozen stiff in shock, refused to obey me.
“You couldn’t have been unaware of how dangerous Aigerus is.”
I was unaware. Of course I was.
There was no way I could have known.
Still, I could tell just how dangerous that Aigerus thing was.
I mean, just look at it—it’s absurdly huge.
But the idea that I’d come here deliberately because of that was a misunderstanding.
How did it even come to this?
When Mary and I first left the mansion, I’d never imagined anything like this would happen.
We’d simply been walking through the forest when Mary suddenly stared in one direction and muttered softly.
“Two humans are being chased by something.”
I only learned what that “something” was after we arrived.
A massive beast, as large as a house—like a hybrid of a tiger and a bear—was hunting them.
“I’m sorry, Mary. I never meant to put you in danger.”
If I’d known that something like that existed in this forest, I wouldn’t have come anywhere near it.
I did my best to show a harmless smile to convey my sincerity, but Mary’s face clearly showed she didn’t believe me.
“That’s not the issue—”
“Let’s talk later.”
Later? When exactly is later? You are going to listen, right?
But now wasn’t the time to protest.
“I alone won’t be enough. I’ll hold it off, so please run as far away as you can.”
The situation was far more serious than I’d expected.
—Grrrrrrrr…
The beast Mary had struck was already glaring at us again, completely unharmed.
“Whatever you do, don’t step out from behind me.”
Judging by Mary’s tense expression, surviving this didn’t look like it would be easy.
