Chapter 34: Inside the Old Fort

Gray, rugged flagstones welcomed them, along with walls and ceilings made from the same material.

Running a fingertip across the stone produced a gritty, damp sensation.

Ren had seen the fort many times in the game, yet experiencing the real place almost made it feel like an entirely different location.

Perhaps because it had originally been built for military use, the windows were small. Even during the day, the interior remained dim unless illuminated by the torches arranged at regular intervals along the walls.

The footsteps of the group echoed through the austere passageways.

(What is happening here?)

The shock of meeting Fiona had disrupted Ren’s composure. Fortunately, the emergency took precedence, and detailed introductions were postponed.

“My name is Meidas,” the wolfman said as Fiona led them through the fort. “For the duration of this rescue, I command the adventurers who are not members of House Clausel’s knight order.”

His explanation caused Fiona to misunderstand Ren’s position.

Ren was not dressed as a knight, so Meidas’s words naturally suggested that he belonged to the adventurer group. Ren was registered with the Adventurers’ Guild, so that conclusion was not exactly false, but neither was it the full truth.

“Why were boys and girls like you in the Baldor Mountains?” Meidas asked.

Fiona answered without stopping.

“We are examinees. We took shelter in this fort several days ago.”

“E-Examinees?”

“Yes. This region was selected as the site of the Imperial Military Academy Special Class’s final examination.”

Meidas was stunned. Ren and the knights reacted with equal surprise.

Nevertheless, they remained silent and listened.

“I wondered whether that might be the case,” Meidas said, “but students aiming for the academy’s famous Special Class…”

“Ha! Meidas, mind your manners!” one of the other adventurers called.

“I know! Forgive me. I am not accustomed to speaking with nobles.” He turned toward his companions. “You should at least introduce yourselves as well!”

Because of whom they were addressing, Meidas was trying to be as polite as possible.

The other adventurers looked reluctant.

“I’ll decline,” one woman said. “The last time I accepted a noble’s escort request, I was accused of being disrespectful.”

“I would rather not identify myself either. Students from that academy are too important for a provincial adventurer like me.”

“Exactly. Their parents might pay well, but ordinary adventurers who become involved with great noble families usually find trouble waiting for them. If someone claimed we caused this disaster, we would have no way to defend ourselves.”

The adventurers had their own reasons for refusing introductions, even before nobles.

Another man added, “We will get the students down the mountain. They will allow us to do so without interfering, and neither side will concern itself with the other afterward. That should be enough.”

“Mutual noninterference,” someone agreed. “If they accept that, we guarantee their safety.”

“Consider our anonymity the payment.”

The examinees’ families might have offered substantial rewards, but the adventurers understood the danger of powerful people. A single unreasonable accusation could destroy them. Keeping their identities private was an act of self-defense.

Fiona Ignat’s presence made that caution even more understandable.

“I understand,” Fiona said. “Then we will proceed that way.”

Perhaps she had personal experience with unreasonable nobles, because she accepted without complaint.

Meidas apologized as they walked, but she gave him a sincere smile.

“There is no need. We are the ones receiving your help.”

To ease the heavy atmosphere, Meidas changed the subject.

“If you are taking the Special Class examination, I assume many of the candidates excel in magic as well as swordsmanship?”

The Imperial Military Academy was Leomel’s greatest school, and admission to its Special Class was limited to an exceptionally small number of people. Anyone attempting the examination should possess greater ability than most provincial adventurers.

Meidas was really asking why such talented students had needed to take shelter even in abnormal weather.

“We cannot match adults in endurance,” Fiona explained. “If the conditions had lasted only a few days, we might have endured. But by the time we decided to retreat here, we had already spent more than a week marching through the mountains.”

Their bodies were not fully grown. Over a short period they might outperform adventurers from the Clausel region, but prolonged travel and repeated camping placed them at a severe disadvantage.

“More importantly, an inexplicably large number of monsters appeared. We were forced to exhaust far more strength than the examination should have required.”

Meidas’s eyebrows rose for an instant.

Then he said, “Perhaps the monsters found a group of young people easier to target. Combined with this unusual cold, it is understandable.”

While Meidas accepted the explanation, Ren considered the situation.

(The Special Class examination is certainly difficult. This final stage is meant to prove that… but it still should not be this unreasonable.)

The academy selected a location and required each group to complete a predetermined route. The exam evaluated stamina, endurance, judgment, adaptability, and cooperation.

Examiners should have been watching from somewhere.

The weather was so abnormal that even seasoned adventurers had requested rescue. No reputable academy would simply abandon candidates under such conditions. Many were connected to noble families inside and outside Leomel; allowing excessive danger would create a political disaster.

If that was true, where were the examiners?

“You noticed too?” an adventurer walking beside Ren murmured.

“This situation is not normal. Someone powerful enough to kill people like us without effort may be behind it. The students have connections to nobles from every faction. Anyone willing to interfere with them is dangerous beyond reason.”

“So that concern is why everyone suddenly became distant.”

“Exactly. I know our behavior borders on disrespect, but we value our lives. A little discourtesy is preferable to being crushed by a great noble.”

Ahead of them, Fiona stopped before a door leading into a large chamber at the rear of the fort.

“When we took refuge here, we were relieved to discover that others had arrived before us.”

Her expression did not match the hopeful words.

The reason became obvious as soon as the door opened.

Simple bedding covered the floor of the hall. Kai, the other adventurers, and the merchant they had been escorting lay upon it.

Every one of them breathed with visible pain.

“K-Kai!”

Meidas rushed to his partner. The other rescuers hurried after him.

“As you can see,” Fiona said quietly, “none of the people who were already in this fort could even walk.”

The ominous possibility Ren and the adventurer had discussed now seemed far more credible.

The Clausel knights shared the same suspicion, but they remained calm.

“Lady Ignat, please tell us anything else you know. We came from Clausel after seeing their signal fire, but we do not understand what happened.”

Fiona nodded.

“One of the examinees has medical knowledge. After examining them, that student found that the amount of mana inside their bodies had increased abnormally.”

A faint shadow crossed Fiona’s face. Her lips appeared to tremble, though she concealed the reaction so quickly that Ren wondered whether he had imagined it.

“The symptoms resembled Vessel Fracture.”

The knight stared in surprise.

“That is the illness caused when the body contains more mana than it can endure. The excess becomes poisonous and damages the body. I thought it occurred in children born with unusually large reserves. Why would grown adventurers develop similar symptoms?”

“Unfortunately, we do not know.”

Fiona continued after a pause.

“The mortality of true Vessel Fracture rises with the amount of mana a child is born with. The healer believes these people are not in immediate danger of death.”

The symptoms were similar to the disease Licia had suffered, but they were not identical.

Ren had no medical training, so much of the explanation remained beyond him. The important difference was whether the condition directly threatened their lives. Vessel Fracture also normally appeared soon after birth, not in healthy adults.

According to the student who examined them, the abnormal mana consuming their bodies was gradually subsiding. With time, they should recover.

Why it had happened remained unknown.

“That is why the recent signal fires were raised by us rather than the adventurers,” Fiona said with a faint, self-deprecating smile.

The knight folded his arms and thought.

“There are many matters to consider, but first I will examine the adventurers myself. Afterward, I would like to discuss how we will escort everyone down the mountain.”

He bowed and turned toward the hall.

Watching him leave, Fiona murmured, “Once again, I must ask House Clausel for help.”

She followed him inside.

The tension vanished abruptly when one of the female adventurers accompanying Ren sighed.

“What a mess. We had better receive additional pay, because this is far beyond the original request.”

She exchanged a glance with another woman and then looked at Ren.

“We are spending the night here anyway. Let’s at least choose a room before the men occupy everything.”

“Agreed. They can deal with the sick for now.”

Both women leaned against Ren.

“How would you like to share a room with us?”

Ren was initially too surprised to respond. Then irritation replaced the shock.

What were they doing during an emergency?

Rather than being tempted by their flirtation, he found it bothersome.

“Please do not behave strangely at a time like this.”

He extended both arms and pushed them away.

They laughed at his cold response and walked off.

Ren released an irritated sigh—then froze.

Fiona, who should have entered the hall, was standing beside the doorway with an awkward smile.

“Um…”

“For the sake of clarity, I was not keeping those two women around me.”

“I-It’s all right! I saw what happened.”

The timing could scarcely have been worse.

At least Fiona had not misunderstood, but the atmosphere had become painfully uncomfortable.

(This is terrible. Now introducing myself would be unbelievably awkward.)

Ren had saved Fiona’s life, yet announcing his identity immediately after that scene seemed absurd. He did not desire a dramatic exchange of gratitude, but this was hardly an appropriate first meeting.

Revealing the truth during an emergency would only confuse her further.

(I’ll postpone it, speak with the knights, and introduce myself properly later.)

Fiona believed he was an adventurer, and the adventurers and examinees had just agreed not to interfere with one another. Ren decided not to correct the misunderstanding yet.

Before he could determine how to escape the silence, a female examinee hurried over.

“Lady Ignat! There is something I need to discuss with you.”

She took Fiona’s hands as she spoke. The matter seemed complicated, and the girl repeatedly glanced toward Ren.

“I will leave you to it,” Ren said.

As he turned away, Fiona bowed deeply behind him.

“Sir Adventurer, thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping us.”

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