A recap of the story so far.
But right now, that hardly mattered.
Rudeus immediately paid on the spot for a small bottle of soy sauce and hurried on his way.
The next day.
He traveled to the outskirts of the second city, Irel, and set up a teleportation magic circle and a communication stone tablet.
After that, he headed toward the village where Ruijeld had been sighted.
The village was said to be near the Earth Dragon Valley in the Biherril Kingdom, about half a day's journey from the second city, Irel.
It was called the "Earth Dragon Valley Village" or the "Village of No Return," but its officially designated name was Marson Village.
That said, apparently nobody recognized the name Marson Village, so they might as well just call it "Earth Dragon Valley Village."
It was a nothing village.
No specialty products to speak of, no tourist attractions.
They did cut lumber from the forest and grow vegetables using the nutrient-rich soil nearby, but it wasn't the kind of village that had been built by gathering people to produce something—like
Originally, people had lived here, and then the village fell under the Biherril Kingdom's banner.
Something like that.
The nation came second; the people were first.
The houses were spaced far apart, giving a bleak, deserted feeling with no sign of life—except there was.
When we arrived, there were far more signs of life than you'd expect from a remote village.
They weren't villagers.
Clearly, people who didn't belong in this village were gathered at the entrance.
Armed in armor, swords at their hips.
Adventurers, maybe?
No—for adventurers, they had an unnervingly hostile air.
Mercenaries, perhaps, or bounty hunters.
"Shandol, does this mean a lot of people are trying to jump the gun?"
Between what happened at the tavern yesterday and how he handled things on the road, Shandol had proven himself a useful man.
Until now, I'd been half-skeptical about his usefulness, but...
I could see why
In situations like this, I wanted to keep consulting his opinions.
Doga, on the other hand, wasn't all that helpful.
Not useless, exactly, but...
So far, he was really just tagging along.
Well, I wasn't important enough to be judging others. I'd just have to hope he proved useful for something, somewhere.
"No—they're probably just scouting. If you gather intel now, you'll have an advantage right when things kick off."
"But some of them might be trying to jump the gun and hunt the target first, right?"
"Even if there are, they won't be many. This is an extermination quest initiated by the kingdom. Even if someone rushes ahead and kills a demon, there's a chance they won't get any reward at all."
You had to join the extermination party, enter the forest alongside the kingdom's knights or whoever, confirm the demon's identity, defeat it, and secure the area.
Only after all that did you actually receive the reward.
That said, if everyone went in at the same time, whether you earned a special bonus came down to luck.
Rather than relying on luck, you needed to step forward at the right moment and seize first place.
That was the purpose of the preliminary investigation.
"None of our business, then."
"Absolutely."
Laughing with Shandol, I made my way deeper into the village.
There was an inn-like building and a square.
The square was packed with far more people than you'd expect from a quiet village.
Everyone looked desperate.
But having more people around was convenient.
I could mix into this crowd and gather information at the same time.
"Get out!"
Just as I was thinking that, I was hit with an eviction notice.
No, of course, it wasn't directed at me.
The voice came from the far end of the square.
Several of the scouting types wore expressions of distaste as they backed away from the square.
I looked and saw an old woman leaning on a staff, shouting at the top of her lungs.
"Go home! No demons come out of this forest! The People of the Forest protect it! Those who would harm the People of the Forest—leave!"
The old woman tottered forward on her staff, approaching the gathered men and striking them with her body.
The sharp crack of impact was audible even from here.
"You damn—"
"Hey, cut it out—if you cause trouble, the Demon Race will..."
"Tch."
The man who'd been struck bristled with anger and reached for his sword, but his companion restrained him, and they both scurried away.
The old woman didn't forcibly chase after them.
Still shouting, she drove off other groups of people in the square.
The men scattered away from her.
What was up with her?
The old woman saw that the square had cleared out... and then looked over at me.
She was heading straight for me.
"Go home!"
The old woman's staff struck my armor with a clang.
No damage, of course.
No need to worry about a sudden old woman attack, either. Full Asuran armor.
"You mustn't desecrate the forest!"
The old woman kept shouting as she banged her staff against my armor, clang, clang, clang.
"Calm down, Grandma."
"What's this about demons? The People of the Forest looked after you! If they came asking for help, would you just kill them? How heartless!"
The old woman was in a state of extreme agitation and showed no signs of listening to me.
That said, one word had caught my attention.
The People of the Forest.
A new term.
I wanted to know more about that.
"The People of the Forest, you say..."
"If the People of the Forest disappear, demons will come out!"
If the People of the Forest disappeared, demons would appear.
That meant the People of the Forest—or whoever they were—were keeping the demons sealed away.
"The People of the Forest and the demons—they're different beings?"
"Of course they are! Don't you dare lump the demons and the People of the Forest together!"
"Klei, cut it out—there's no guarantee this old woman's sane."
Shandol stepped in to restrain me.
He had a point—someone in their right mind wouldn't go around hitting strangers with a staff.
But I wanted to hear what the old woman had to say.
"I'm not crazy! The People of the Forest exist! When I was young, I was saved deep in the forest by them! And before that—long before that—my great-grandfather was saved too!"
When she said "young," she meant at least twenty or thirty years ago, minimum.
The old woman looked to be well past sixty.
And her great-grandfather—that would be roughly a hundred years ago.
But Ruijeld and I had parted ways only about ten years ago at most.
So maybe Ruijeld had nothing to do with this?
But then... oh.
"The People of the Forest are not demons! Why can't you understand that?! Why would you try to kill them?! You fools! Go home, you fools! Hah... fools... hah... hah..."
The old woman hammered away at my armor for a while but eventually ran out of breath and collapsed to the ground.
"Grandma, could you tell me more about this?"
Waiting for her to calm down, I smiled at the old woman.
Ruijeld might not be here.
But there was a chance...
"I might be friends with the People of the Forest."
In the forest, there could be survivors of the Superd Race—the ones Ruijeld had been searching for.
--- It was pure frustration.
The old woman's attitude had been exactly that, but she spoke more calmly than before.
To cut to the chase, it was either Ruijeld or the Superd Race.
I couldn't tell which.
But I had a rough idea of the chain of events currently unfolding in the Biherril Kingdom.
The People of the Forest.
According to the old woman, the People of the Forest—or whatever they were called—had lived in the Forest of No Return since before she was born.
They rarely ventured outside the forest.
But on rare occasions—extremely rare occasions—when a villager got lost in the forest or was on the verge of death from a monster attack, they would appear and save them.
Neither the old woman nor any of the villagers knew what the People of the Forest actually were.
However, a folk tale had been passed down in the village.
It was from a long time ago, when the war with the Demon God had only recently ended.
In the Forest of No Return, an invisible demon had taken up residence.
The demon would come at dusk, snatch livestock and children, and devour them.
The villagers wanted to do something about the demon but couldn't, and lived in fear.
That was when the People of the Forest appeared.
They made a proposition to the villagers: "In exchange for dealing with the demon, allow us to live in the forest. But you must never tell anyone of our existence."
The villagers agreed, and the People of the Forest retreated deep into the forest.
How the People of the Forest had actually defeated the demon was unknown.
After that, the demon never emerged from the forest again. To this day, they continued to protect it.
Because of this, the village children were taught from a young age to be grateful to the People of the Forest but never to speak of them to anyone.
"Desecrating the forest where the People of the Forest live—that's an outrageous thing to do."
The old woman finished with that.
"I see. Thank you very much."
I didn't know if what she said was true.
Most fairy tales were fabrications.
But let's hypothesize that the People of the Forest were the Superd Race.
The Superd Race had a third eye on their foreheads.
A kind of mystic eye that could detect all living things.
If they used that, invisible demons or whatnot would be no problem at all.
The Superd Race had managed to coexist with the village while keeping themselves hidden.
But about half a year or a year ago, a tragedy struck.
Sickness, perhaps, or injuries.
Maybe the invisible demons or whatever had multiplied beyond control.
The Superd Race, who had never shown themselves before, had come to the village seeking medicine.
No one remembered which merchant had handled their request.
But the information had spread.
Suspicious-looking people had emerged from the forest.
The villagers should have accommodated them—assuming their plea for help had been genuine.
How had that gotten twisted around?
It connected to what I'd heard at the tavern yesterday.
"Demons have emerged from the forest and must be exterminated."
Where, how, and by whom had the current situation come about?
Since it had been a year, suspecting Geese might be premature...
But regardless, deep in the forest, there were Superd Race members.
A conviction had taken root inside me.
But now...
A question arose at the same time.
Why hadn't I known about this?
I had been searching for Ruijeld for a long time.
Everyone knew that.
Everyone.
For instance, yes, even Orsted.
...If the Superd Race had been there all this time, why hadn't I known?
--- The Forest of No Return was quiet.
Normally, the forests of this world teemed with monsters.
Depending on the mana density of the forest, you'd encounter at least one monster per day.
Especially Trents.
Trents existed everywhere in this world but were especially common in forests.
You could think of every forest as a Trent nest—they were encountered that frequently.
But this forest had no such presence.
Truly, it was silent.
There were signs of living creatures, but none of monsters.
A still, silent, hushed forest.
I could tell there were birds and small animals, but that was all.
It was like being inside a nightmare.
"This is unsettling."
"Yes."
Shandol, too, seemed to feel something off about this forest.
"..."
Doga was quiet.
He didn't seem particularly unsettled and didn't bother looking around.
"..."
For a while, we walked in silence deeper into the forest.
As we did, the presence of animals gradually faded away.
Insects and birds remained, but small animals were gone.
Monsters, of course, were absent as well.
The trees grew larger and larger, their thick foliage blocking out the sky.
In the dim light, a false impression took root that we were the only living things here, and the occasional birdsong would snap us back to reality.
The thought crept up that the invisible demon or whatever might be following us from behind.
I turned around.
Each time, I met Doga's plain, honest gaze and turned back to face forward, telling myself it was my imagination.
"Oh."
Glancing at a stone by the roadside, I spotted a familiar stele.
A stele of the Seven Great Powers.
In the past, I hadn't been able to identify any of the marks on this stele...
Lately, though, I could recognize most of them.
As always, the rankings hadn't changed.
"There's one even here?"
"That's not unusual. The steles of the Seven Great Powers only exist in places with a certain concentration of mana."
"Right... because they're magical artifacts."
But Shandol sure knew his stuff.
This kind of magical artifact could only be installed where mana was dense.
Though, come to think of it, that wasn't exactly common knowledge.
But then again, it wasn't exactly a secret known only to the initiated, either.
"The sun will be setting soon. Shall we camp here?"
"Indeed. Doga, gather some firewood."
"...Yes, sir."
That day, we decided to camp near the stele.
Just to be safe, I built a tent using Earth Fortress and rested there.
--- The next day.
We walked through the quiet forest.
Then, as if the thought had suddenly struck him, Shandol spoke.
"This feeling reminds me of the Red Dragon Mountain Range."
"How so?"
"Other animals avoid the area out of fear of the dragon."
Wild animals wouldn't approach the territory of a powerful creature.
Deep in this forest lay the Earth Dragon Valley.
An Earth Dragon was, needless to say, a powerful creature.
It was only natural that wild animals wouldn't venture near such a dangerous place.
"You've been to the Red Dragon Mountain Range, Shandol?"
"To the foothills, yes. It felt similar there—as we drew closer, the signs of animals diminished."
Earth Dragons built their lairs in the valley's rock walls.
They rarely left the valley. They couldn't fly, but they could use earth magic to dig burrows.
Their temperament, for a dragon, was mild, and they wouldn't attack humans unless you trespassed on their territory.
They also possessed a peculiar nature: they were unguarded against threats from above but fiercely aggressive against those approaching from below.
Incidentally, according to Orsted, Earth Dragons were the natural enemy of Red Dragons.
Though the two species' habitats were so different that they almost never encountered each other.
We were about to approach one of these creatures, but the danger was minimal.
As long as we didn't fall into the valley bottom, we'd be fine.
"Oh."
Maybe it was because we'd been talking about that.
Suddenly, the forest opened up before us.
A sheer cliff had appeared abruptly in the midst of the forest.
A cliff so deep you couldn't see the bottom.
The opposite bank was perhaps four or five hundred meters away.
I felt as though I were standing at the summit of a mountain.
I wasn't particularly knowledgeable about canyons, but this scale reminded me of the Grand Canyon.
"Is this the Earth Dragon Valley?"
"Probably. What shall we do? We've arrived without incident, but..."
"Hmm."
I pondered, then channeled mana into my left eye.
Since the view was unobstructed, I could use my clairvoyance.
First, let me peer down into the valley bottom.
I wasn't yet accustomed to using my mystic eye, so I couldn't tell exactly how many meters down it was.
But I quickly spotted the bottom.
At the valley floor, pale blue-glowing moss and mushrooms grew, and nearby, lizard-like creatures with rock-like shells moved slowly along.
Those were the Earth Dragons.
They looked less like dragons and more like Great King Land Tortoises, to me.
Maybe that shell was what let them triumph over Red Dragons, or why they were unguarded against threats from above.
Actually, looking more carefully, quite a few were clinging to the rock walls above the valley floor. A little unsettling.
I withdrew my mystic eye and surveyed the area around the valley.
To the right, as far as I could see, there was nothing.
Eventually, my view was blocked by the cliff and the forest.
According to the map, the Earth Dragon Valley was supposed to be straight, but it seemed to curve.
The map was wrong.
To the left.
Also nothing within view... ah, wait.
"There's a suspension bridge."
Where the valley narrowed, a bridge had been strung across.
"I see. The other side, then."
"Let's go."
I still had seven days until I could gather information from the informant.
Even factoring in the return trip, I could afford another day or two venturing deeper.
With that decided, I set off along the valley.
The suspension bridge wasn't that far.
About an hour on foot.
I was glad I'd happened to emerge at a point where I could see it.
--- The suspension bridge was in terrible shape.
Where the valley narrowed, two thick vines had been stretched across, with wooden planks laid on top.
It was a clearly homemade bridge, and I had concerns about its structural integrity.
Concerns, yes, but if a single adult with luggage could cross it, it was probably manageable.
"Shall we cross?"
But if I, in my magical armor, stepped onto it, I'd probably fall right through.
Given that they kept saying "as long as you don't fall into the valley, you'll be fine," I couldn't afford the stupidity of falling.
"No—let's not cross this bridge."
"Then should we turn back?"
"No. Let's cross somewhere else."
With that said, I walked to the edge of the cliff.
If the bridge was too fragile, I'd just build my own.
From my hands to the ground. I used magic to raise earth.
The spell I used was an adaptation of Earth Lance.
Sturdy enough to support my weight without issue.
Using that as a framework, I extended a massive lance across to the other side.
"...Hah."
When I released my mana, an earth lance materialized.
The lance extended silently, piercing the opposite bank.
No sound was heard.
I repeated this three times.
To be safe, I made them wide enough for people to pass each other.
Then I laid planks across them.
Earth planks again.
Sturdy ones, stretching all the way to the far bank.
Finally, I reinforced the bridge's base and underside with earth magic, completing the stone bridge.
Handrails... eh, those were fine without.
"Impressive... I'd heard stories, but to this extent..."
Bathed in Shandol's praise, I still couldn't let my guard down.
I had no knowledge of bridge engineering, after all.
I probably didn't need to pound-test it before crossing, but if it collapsed under me while wearing magical armor, I'd have to rebuild.
"For now, let me secure the rope."
I tied a rope to a nearby tree and carefully began to cross.
After a few steps, I stomped on the bridge.
The stone bridge held my weight firmly.
If I fell after this, I'd be the biggest fool in the world, but it seemed solid enough.
I reinforced any spots that looked structurally weak as I made my way across.
Midway through, I ran out of rope, so I spliced in the rope Shandol was carrying and made it to the other side.
Each rope was about fifty meters, and the two together barely reached, so the span was just under a hundred meters.
"Alright."
I tied the rope to a tree on the far side and signaled across.
Shandol and Doga gripped the rope and crossed over leisurely.
Both at the same time.
Didn't they worry it might collapse?
Or did they trust me that much?
If they fell, I'd need to rescue them right away...
"Well, shall we proceed?"
I was lost in these anxious thoughts, but Shandol and Doga crossed without incident.
"Now, we'll need to be on our guard from here on."
Shandol gazed into the depths of the forest and said that.
The dark depths of the forest.
From there, I sensed something different from the forest we'd been walking through until now.
The presence of monsters.
--- We were attacked before we'd gone a hundred meters.
At first, it was a sound.
A rustling—like leaves brushing against each other.
But the wind was also blowing, so I hadn't suspected a monster was nearby.
Something far away was approaching.
That was the impression.
Still far away.
Still safe.
The very next instant, a sound reached my ears.
"Woof... woof..."
When I heard that sound, something wet and warm was exhaled across my nose.
Something was clinging to the tree trunk right beside me.
The instant I realized that, the tree swayed and the leaves rustled with a sound.
A split second later, something with mass crashed down behind me.
"...!"
I spun around and saw Doga lying on his back.
Only Doga was visible.
But Doga's head trembled in small, involuntary spasms, completely beyond his control.
His hands grasped at the air, trying to ward off whatever was on top of his head.
There was something there.
The instant I realized that, I didn't use magic—I simply smashed whatever was on top of Doga with every ounce of strength I had.
My mana-enhanced magical armor's fist sent the thing flying off Doga.
I felt flesh and bone crunch beneath my fist.
Whatever had been on Doga was slammed into a tree trunk, splattering red blood.
The blood revealed its silhouette.
A quadruped.
I couldn't make out the details, but it definitely had four legs.
I reflexively fired a rock cannonball into it and finished it off.
Almost simultaneously, something struck my back.
I spun around, ready to unleash magic at whatever had hit me...
"Doga! Get up!"
It was Shandol.
He was standing in front of me, shielding my back.
"...Yes, sir!"
Doga rose to his feet, drawing an axe from his back, and took position directly in front of me.
Hey—I can't see what's in front of me now.
"Invisible opponents! Unknown number! Doga, don't rely on your eyes—listen for sounds! Only deal with what's directly in front of you!
Lord Rudeus, use magic! Sweep them out with wide-area magic!"
Sharp orders flew from Shandol.
A knight-commander's instinct, if ever there was one.
He really wasn't just decoration.
Doing as told, I channeled magic into both hands.
Should I use fire?
No—fire in a forest was a terrible idea.
Putting it out would be twice the trouble.
I'd use water magic. Frost Nova.
"...Ugh!"
The instant before I could activate my magic.
A bare fraction of a second.
Doga moved in front of me.
A massive axe swung through.
The enormous battle axe, swung in the depths of the dense forest, shattered tree trunks as it carved its arc.
But there was no impact.
Amid the scattering fragments of wood, I felt something slip past Doga's side and close in on me.
My magical armor was heavy and hard.
A monster's charge, claws, or fangs probably wouldn't leave a single scratch.
I judged that in an instant and was about to activate my magic anyway when...
"Lord Rudeus!"
I was shoved aside by Shandol.
I didn't even have time to wonder why.
Before I knew it, a spear was embedded in the ground where I'd been standing.
It looked like the spear was sticking into thin air—but no, it had pinned something transparent to the ground.
A white spear.
An extremely white spear, chalk-white.
As white as bone from some creature.
Oh, what a familiar spear.
And then, as if retrieving the spear, a man descended to the ground.
Green hair.
Skin white as illness.
A poncho-like ethnic garment.
Yes, there was no mistaking it.
One look at his back and I'd know—I could never mistake him!
"Ruijeld!"
I rose to my feet, spreading my arms wide as I called out.
He held the spear and turned toward me.
"Hm?"
"...Wait, what?"
It was a stranger's face.
He was handsome, and he gave off a Ruijeld-like vibe, but it wasn't him.
My Ruijeld was more... around the jaw area... more...
"I'm sorry—I mistook you for someone else."
Somehow, I felt incredibly deflated.
It was a different member of the Superd Race.
Well, I'd kind of expected there might be others—but this still wasn't the right one.
Crap, had I yelled Ruijeld's name at the top of my lungs? My face was burning.
"...You know Ruijeld?"
The Superd Race man I didn't recognize spoke with a curious expression.
Ah, but of course.
If he was also Superd, he would know Ruijeld.
And even if this wasn't Ruijeld, there was no problem.
Yeah.
At least, in terms of the current situation in the Biherril Kingdom, there was no issue. Yeah.
"Huh? Ah, yes. A companion... no, a friend... a benefactor, I suppose?"
"If you're a guest, then follow me. I'll let you see him."
The man turned on his heel.
"W-wait—is he actually here?"
"He is."
The Superd Race man nodded matter-of-factly at my dumbfounded expression.