Chapter 20: “No One Is Born a Hero (6)”:
After a long discussion, the reconnaissance team was finally formed and began walking down the dark gorge.
Everyone seemed a little fearful, as if expecting an unknown entity—the same one suspected to have attacked the professors and knights—to show up.
Only a few didn’t seem tense, the most notable being Ethan Behemoth, who led the group at the front.
Thanks to the large oil torch he carried, they were able to walk without tripping over rocks despite the dim moonlight.
The thick clouds covering the moon didn’t look like they would clear anytime soon.
The weather felt ominous in every way.
Since the sun had set quickly, the students who were to return to the academy decided to wait at the campsite until morning. However, the reconnaissance team judged the situation to be urgent and decided to push forward, even if it meant taking a risk.
The ground was quite uneven and full of irregular dips, so everyone remained silent to focus on watching their footing in the shadows.
After walking in silence for some time, Ethan Behemoth muttered quietly.
“We should’ve dismounted and walked from here.”
“Can’t we ride on spirits instead?”
“Not with this many people.”
One of the knights responded, and Camilla followed behind them, talking quietly.
The small unit consisted of ten people, including several knights and mages I didn’t recognize.
Kain had also wanted to join the reconnaissance team, but he was asked to escort the remaining students back to the academy.
As for me—
I had thought I wouldn’t be allowed to join due to Ethan Behemoth’s opposition, but…
“W-Wouldn’t it be more reassuring if Lady Edith came along? I-I mean, it’s a dangerous journey…”
Thanks to Lymos Therion shyly speaking in my favor, I was able to join.
On the condition, however, that I stayed in the safest middle position.
‘So much for sneaking away in the middle…’
Those eyes of Ethan Behemoth…
I’d seen them before.
He had the exact same look when we were on a mission together, watching over soldiers likely to desert.
He definitely sees me as a dangerous element, ready to die at the first opportunity.
‘Why would I want to die?’
The chance to uncover—and end—the curse that has tormented me hundreds of times is finally within reach.
So every time Ethan turned back to do a headcount, I waved to let him know I was still in place.
For now, staying with them was more advantageous for this investigation. Leaving the group would be foolish.
Spots of blood, left intermittently by the professor as he made his way to the campsite, dotted the ground.
After following those traces for a while, Ethan suddenly came to a halt.
“…Wait.”
It was a narrow section of the gorge, where the path tapered sharply.
Ethan stopped and raised his oil torch high, looking around carefully, and the others tensed immediately.
I was the only one who didn’t sense anything strange.
Though likely not for my sake, Ethan spoke in a low voice.
“The smell of blood is thicker here.”
“Ah.”
Only then did I realize that the scent blanketing the area wasn’t cold mist—it was something sickly sweet and unpleasant.
…Sweet?
It was too sweet to be simply blood, which is why I didn’t recognize it right away.
The others seemed unaware of the oddity, but several knights followed Ethan up the jagged rocks protruding from the cliff wall.
‘They’re not mountain goats… they’re really climbing that.’
As expected of the students handpicked by that Ethan Behemoth—their overall skills were impressive.
The source of the bloody smell soon revealed itself as Ethan raised his torch halfway up the cliff.
A large hole was carved into the cliff wall—more precisely, a cave.
It was slightly higher than where Ethan stood. From inside, a human hand was sticking out.
‘That…?’
A corpse’s hand?
“…The professor said to come quickly.”
“Yeah, he did.”
“So this is where something happened first?”
“Highly likely.”
Ethan confirmed with Jan, who had climbed up nearby, then handed his torch down to the knight below.
“I’ll go check it out first.”
And with that, he leapt into the cave. His shadow was soon swallowed by darkness.
Moments later, the hand sticking out from the cave was pulled inside. Ethan must’ve retrieved it.
“Is it someone we know?”
A knight holding the torch shouted up, but Ethan didn’t respond—he had gone deep inside the cave.
“Is it bigger inside than we thought?”
“Hard to say. But with an entrance that size, maybe…”
“Let’s prepare to go up, too.”
“Understood.”
Looking up at the gorge, I saw Camilla and the others discussing how best to reach the cave entrance.
They all seemed to assume the hand belonged to one of the professors or knights and had mentally prepared themselves for the worst.
‘Smart.’
After all, who else would come this far into such a remote, dangerous canyon?
‘Then why did the professors or knights climb up there in the first place?’
That’s the real issue.
Did they come here in the past too? Were they hiding, observing students as they moved?
If so, what made a once-safe cave suddenly dangerous now?
Am I jumping to conclusions?
…If worst comes to worst, and that thing I’ve been fearing is inside…
No—Ethan is quiet. That must mean it’s fine.
My thoughts became a tangled mess, shaped by past experiences. My stomach churned.
The sweet bloodlike smell still lingered.
And then, after some time, Ethan’s voice called from inside the cave.
“It’s mostly taken care of. Everyone, come inside.”
“Okay! Let’s go in!”
“Yes, sir!”
Jan nodded and entered first, followed by the others.
One by one, everyone entered the cave midway up the gorge with little difficulty.
As I stood there blankly, I realized I was the only one left below.
Just before entering, Camilla waved to me.
“Hurry up!”
Right. I’d better go too.
I looked up the steep cliff.
Climbing directly would be impossible—I’d have to use magic.
Just as I was preparing a spatial movement spell…
Someone tugged at the hem of my robe.
Was someone else still down here?
I quickly turned around—
“……”
“Lady Edith.”
…It was Lymos Therion.
“Yes?”
All the torchbearers had already gone inside, so I couldn’t see his face—only his faint outline in the moonlight.
‘Ah, he can’t climb on his own.’
So that’s why he grabbed me—for help.
But something about holding his hand made me hesitate…
While I was caught in that thought, Therion quietly asked,
“A-Are you really going up?”
He’s definitely asking for help, right?
“Yes. Shall I help you?”
I reached out to him, and he lowered his head to look at my hand.
Then, he gently placed his hand over mine.
But he didn’t actually grasp it—he wasn’t holding on.
…What does this mean?
I looked at him again.
“Haha…”
He laughed. His low, ticklish voice dripped with amusement.
It was disturbingly close to mockery.
…Then he asked again.
“Are you really going up there?”
“Well…”
‘Wait, is he saying he won’t go?’
What’s he trying to imply?
Suddenly, something felt off.
That cave—randomly placed midway through the gorge.
The hand sticking out.
The sweet smell, not quite like blood. The eerie sensation only I seemed to notice…
Something I’d forgotten. Something I’d overlooked…
Something—
“Everyone, come inside.”
I looked up at the pitch-black cave entrance—and Ethan’s voice rang out again.
Exactly the same as before. No difference at all.
I had assumed the echo was natural due to the cave’s acoustics, but if I questioned it even slightly, it felt horrifyingly wrong.
It wasn’t Ethan Behemoth’s voice.
A strange dissonance that other students—stressed and distracted—didn’t notice.
Even Jan Guardwin, who had spent the most time with Ethan, and Camilla Guinevere, already at the entrance, didn’t suspect a thing.
“Everyone, come inside.”
So that’s the trick.
There’s one bad thing… and one good thing.
The good thing is—I now know how I need to respond.
The bad thing is… this is unmistakably a sign that things are about to get much worse.
It’s begun.
I don’t know the cause—but that incident, the one that led to the academy’s destruction in countless past regressions, is starting early.
