Chapter 6
As noon approached, the once peaceful rest area began to grow unsettled.
It was because the hunting teams that had gone out in the morning were starting to return one by one.
The escorts of the nobles who came back from the hunt were busy unloading their burdens, while attendants and maids hurried about preparing refreshments. Those scheduled to participate in the afternoon hunt were too preoccupied making room for the morning teams, and those who had finished their hunt immediately joined the tea gathering, exchanging information with the afternoon group.
Among them, the busiest of all were the soldiers beneath the knights.
Originally assigned to guard the hunting grounds, they had ended up taking on the task of processing the game simply because they appeared to have the least to do.
“Ugh, I’m dying!”
A soldier who had just carried over a large deer collapsed onto the ground with a groan.
Even standing still under the blazing sun was unbearable, let alone hauling around the carcasses of dead animals.
“They said we’d just be standing guard—what the hell is this?!”
As he wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve and complained, another soldier beside him let out a heavy sigh.
“Exactly what I’m saying. I thought with all these high-ranking nobles around, we’d at least get some scraps of fortune. Turns out I couldn’t have been more wrong.”
“Scraps, my ass. Didn’t you see what happened last time? They dragged us in for some banquet or whatever and had us running around all night.”
“Haah… If I’d known, I would’ve stayed glued to the city walls.”
A shortage of manpower due to the flu was a problem everywhere.
But the burden placed on ordinary soldiers was especially severe.
They were usually kept out of the inner grounds, divided by rank, yet the moment extra hands were needed, they were summoned and made to do all sorts of menial tasks.
“Damn it, this is filthy work!”
One soldier sprang to his feet in irritation and spat on the ground.
The others chuckled at the sight but soon moved again to finish their work.
“…Wait, aren’t we missing one?”
“Huh? You’re right.”
A total of ten soldiers had been called for this hunting event.
But only nine were present here.
“Did he go to the latrine or something?”
At that, the soldiers glanced around.
“…Huh?”
One of them suddenly froze, his mouth falling open.
Seeing his face turn deathly pale in an instant, the others followed his gaze.
What they saw was a strangely black plume of smoke rising from the center of the forest.
For a moment, the surreal sight robbed them of speech.
Then one of the soldiers snapped out of it and shouted,
“…Report this to command immediately!”
“Y-Yes!”
Piii—!
The sharp sound of an emergency whistle rang out.
“We—we survived!”
“Waaah… I really thought we were going to die!”
“Thank you! Thank you, Your Majesty!”
The group that had escaped from the monster wept with overwhelming relief.
Among them, Elisa pressed her brow as she looked at Luze Shonus, whose appearance stood out the most.
“How did you end up being caught by a Polgine?”
On the way back to the rest area after cutting the morning hunt short, Sir Sheraz questioned Luze Shonus and his party, who looked utterly deflated after being captured by a low-ranking monster.
A Polgine was a plant-type monster that ensnared people or animals with long vines and devoured them with a massive flower-like head.
Despite being known as a man-eating plant, it was classified as a low-level threat because, being rooted in place, it could not move from where it grew, and it did not attack unless one entered its territory first.
And yet…
“Well… we didn’t realize it was a Polgine habitat…”
“You didn’t realize? You should’ve smelled it just by getting close.”
Polgine habitats emitted a distinct sweet scent.
It was meant to lure in prey, and because the fragrance was so strong, one could usually recognize the area from a short distance.
“But… there was no scent. I’m ashamed to admit it, but we didn’t notice until the vines were right on us.”
‘Now that I think about it…’
Elisa recalled the earlier incident. When she had dealt with it, the scent had seemed faint—or perhaps it hadn’t been there at all.
As she reflected, finding Luze Shonus and his party rather pathetic—
“Your Majesty!”
Elisa, lost in thought, turned at the sound of someone calling her.
There she saw Luze Shonus running toward her with sparkling eyes.
“What brings Your Majesty here?”
“…To hunt.”
At Elisa’s indifferent reply, Luze Shonus—who had nearly become prey himself—laughed brightly.
“No, I mean—I assumed you would go to His Majesty the Imperial Consort! I’m asking why you came this way instead!”
“…Good question. If I’d known it would turn out like this, I would’ve gone there.”
“Oh, Your Majesty, you’re quite the joker!”
She wasn’t joking.
Recalling everything that had happened in less than half a day, Elisa swallowed the sigh threatening to escape.
Oblivious to her thoughts, Luze Shonus continued chattering cheerfully.
“Still, I’m glad you came this way! Otherwise, my companions and I might have all been eaten by that monster!”
Whether he was simply good-natured or just carefree, he looked as though he had completely forgotten the disgrace he had shown earlier.
“…Just in case—this is only a ‘just in case’ question.”
“Yes! Please, go ahead!”
“Well…”
Watching Luze Shonus trail right beside her like a newly hatched chick, Elisa hesitated before finally speaking.
“A month ago, after the banquet—where were you, and what were you doing?”
“A month ago? Hmm… I’m not sure. I have a terrible memory.”
Luze Shonus tilted his head, his expression so innocent it was hard to tell whether he truly didn’t remember or was testing her.
Left with no choice, Elisa asked more directly.
“Were you perhaps with someone else? For example…”
“Your Majesty.”
As Elisa was whispering so others wouldn’t hear, she turned at the voice calling her.
Hadelriden was approaching on horseback.
“…Why does he look angry?”
Unlike his usual self, Hadelriden was openly displaying displeasure as he stared at her.
“Oh! It’s His Majesty the Imperial Consort! Hello!”
At that moment, the utterly oblivious Luze Shonus chimed in.
But Hadelriden paid him no mind, not even sparing him a glance, and addressed only Elisa.
“Were you on your way back to the rest area?”
“…Yes. And you?”
“Yes. I believe I’ve hunted enough… But Your Majesty, what happened to your game?”
Hadelriden scanned the surroundings in confusion.
It had been about four hours since the hunt began.
Not enough time for a full hunt, but more than enough to catch a few small animals.
And yet there was nothing.
“I thought Your Majesty chose to move separately to focus on hunting…”
Following the gaze of Marquis Lenner, who stood a step behind, Elisa’s eyes shifted—
toward Luze Shonus, still stuck close at her side.
“…but it seems there was another reason.”
The question was pointed.
“Well, that’s—”
Just as Elisa was about to respond—
The sky darkened.
“…What is that?”
Black smoke billowed upward into the sky.
Something ominous, unnaturally so, filled the air.
At the same time—
Piii—!
The shrill sound of a whistle echoed from not far away.
“Argh!”
“Aaah!”
Screams followed.
“What’s going on?”
The commotion had broken out at the rest area.
Riding swiftly to the scene, they questioned a noble who had collapsed near the forest entrance.
The noble, trembling, pointed toward the rest area.
“M-Monsters have appeared—!”
At that very moment, a massive flame burst into the sky.
“That’s—!”
“Red Wolves!”
Three wolf-type monsters, Red Wolves, rampaged about, wreathed in flames.
Fortunately, the knights who had accompanied the nobles were holding them back…
‘At this rate, they’ll be overwhelmed.’
Without weapons specialized for monsters, it seemed like a difficult fight.
As Elisa moved to step forward, Sir Sheraz blocked her path.
“Red Wolves are different from Polgine. Please leave this to me.”
“But—”
“Your Majesty is the Emperor of the Empire. Do not forget that your safety is more important than anyone else here.”
“…”
“Marquis Lenner. May I entrust His Majesty’s protection to you?”
“Leave it to me.”
“Thank you.”
Leaving Elisa standing there, Sir Sheraz stepped forward.
Immediately, Marquis Lenner moved to stand in front of her, shielding her.
Letting out a quiet sigh, Elisa surveyed the scene.
Luze Shonus and his companions were nearly fainting from fear, and aside from Hadelriden, the others were visibly shaken.
Fortunately, with Sir Sheraz joining the fight, victory began to tilt in their favor.
“Kieeek!”
One of the Red Wolves collapsed after being struck by Sir Sheraz’s sword.
As the largest of the wolves fell, the knights pressed their advantage against the remaining two.
Pulling his blade from the fallen beast’s neck, Sir Sheraz charged at the others.
At the moment he raised his sword high and brought it down—
Whoooosh.
A suffocating killing intent swept over them.
Instinctively, Elisa turned toward its source—
Boom!
The ground shook violently, sending hundreds of birds into the sky.
And at the same time—
Sssshk!
Something sharp came flying straight toward where Elisa stood.
