Chapter 40: The Reason for the Strength and the Change of Destination to the Hidden Path

“We have about two more days before we can go down the mountain.”

After a few moments of silence, Fiona spoke.

“Yes. I think we can get down to Viscount Given’s territory in about that time. —- Huh?　After all this time, is it wrong to call it the Viscount Given’s territory?”

She mentioned the question because Viscount Given is no longer with us.

I have no doubt that he’d have been disgraced after that incident, but before that, he had taken his own life.

“Well…. it’s now in the custody of the royal family, so maybe…?”

“……This time, for simplicity’s sake, let’s call it Viscount Given’s territory.”

When Ren scratches his cheek, Fiona narrows her eyes.

There was no sign of pessimism about the situation, and she was stubborn to a fault.

“You’re a strong person, Fiona-sama.”

“Huh? What’s going on all of a sudden?”

“I’m sorry if I’m mistaken, but thinking back, even that incident on the suspension bridge, you didn’t show any sign of fear…”

“—-If that’s what you mean, it’s for the same reason I told you the other day.”

She looked up at the night sky full of stars.

She let out a white breath and illuminated her appearance with the light of the bonfire.

“If I showed this view to myself of just a little over a year ago, I’m sure I’d be laughed out of the room and told it was a dream.”

Ren winces at this change of subject, but doesn’t point it out.

Fiona is surely putting this forward because she thinks it’s a necessary part of the conversation.

It’s hard to imagine that she would come here and be flippant about it.

“A little over a year ago……?”

“Yes. I was really sick and had never been out of my room before.”

Fiona said she’d never even seen the sky beyond what she could see through the window.

She never knew how big it was outside, and she never knew that the sky was wide open. She only had the chance to leave her room a few times a year.

“The people at the fort had symptoms similar to vessel breakage.”

Ren nodded quickly.

“I had it. It was so severe that even those who made their living healing with magic, apothecaries, and mage-tool makers said my situation was impossible.”

(…… That’s why she wore that necklace.)

That was the reason for the existence of Demon-destroying necklace.

Originally, that one was made by one of the Seven Heroes to hide the presence of his friends. By suppressing the mighty magical power of the Seven Heroes, he misled the Demon King and other opponents.

By using the effect of suppressing that magical power, they were probably trying improve Fiona’s body by suppressing her magic power.

“Is it okay for you to tell me this story?”

“Yes, I’m sure it is safe to tell you about it, adventurer-san.”

Fiona answered without hesitation and continued.

“The only world I lived in was my room, lined with magical tools for healing that my father had prepared for me, potions, shelves lined with books that I could read only on days when I was feeling well, and a chair that I couldn’t sit in by myself without assistance.”

It was difficult for her to move her body without assistance.

Even when she was able to move her body, she was only able to sit up on the bed by herself, drink, and eat.

Even that was limited to days when she was in good physical condition.

But then one day, the world changed.

It came suddenly and changed her destiny.

“There was a day when my father and the servants changed. I mistook it for, oh, how little I had left to live —-, but it wasn’t.”

It was at night, after Fiona had fallen asleep.

She declined to say, but a drug that appeared to be made of Thief Wolfen’s material was administered without her knowledge.

The reason is simple.

Marquis Ignat didn’t want Fiona to be too happy.

“When I opened her eyelids, I was relieved to find out I was alive. Then I wondered if I could stand up today without assistance. Would I be able to raise my upper body by myself? How many more times will I be able to eat by myself? I prayed for something small, like that—-. But I soon noticed something different about my body.”

When she woke up, her body felt awfully light.

It was as if everything was in a different world.

Everything in her vision shimmered so brightly that she mistakenly thought everything she’d been seeing was black and white.

Everything was brightly colored.

“My body didn’t hurt…. which was strange and I fell to the floor, trying to stand up from the bed without assistance. I hit my head on the floor and got a bump. But that was it. I was just crawling around on the carpet, miserable—- and for the first time, I cried tears of joy.”

Watching Fiona, Ren noticed the strength in her eyes.

He listened intently to the story of the great nobleman daughter’s story.

“So I’m not afraid of anything now. Compared to those days, this is nothing.”

Fiona turned her face from the sky to Ren.

The eyes have a mysterious twinkle in them that makes the stars twinkling in the night sky look like stone chips.

(I can’t believe this girl was actually supposed to die.)

Fiona, who was destined to die if Ren hadn’t been Ren.

The way she was desperately living in the present was precious.

And the reason why she wasn’t afraid of anything was also painfully conveyed.

“I’m sorry. It wasn’t easy for you to tell me that, was it?”

“I’m fine now, and besides—“

Gently averting her eyes from Ren, Fiona turned her gaze to the cup and muttered.

“……Thinking about what I’ll do when I get off the mountain, I can do my best.”

In a small voice, without saying what it was.

However, she was secretly determined to do her best for the sake of the great meaning of her current mutterings.

The mumbling didn’t reach Ren, but she thought it was okay.

“I’ll make sure we get down the mountain safely. I promise I’ll definitely send you out of the Baldor Mountains.”

The words came naturally from Ren’s mouth and his powerful eyes shot through Fiona.

“Really, you’re —- a very kind person, just like they said you’d be.”

Fiona continued in a voice too small for Ren to hear, and continued to giggle.

But then she continued to giggle.

“…….”

She reached out and put her hand on her chest.

She took a deep breath and showed it to Ren, who felt uncomfortable.

“Are you alright? Seems you’re not feeling well…..”

“No-no! I’m fine!”

Fiona was in a hurry to make things right, but there was enough conviction in her cheeks to say it was okay.

She was so calm that Ren thought he was imagining the discomfort he felt, and she held up the same smile as before.

“Please sleep a little longer. I’ll be fine.”

I dozed off earlier, but I’ll try a little harder.

I was a little lost with Fiona’s attention, and apology.

“I’ll take your word for it and go ahead and rest.”

Then Fiona stood up, apologized again, and left by the fire where Ren was.

She returned to the tent she was using and closed the entrance.

At the same time, she dropped to her knees with a mighty thud.

She continued to lie down, stretching her arms across her chest and keeping her eyes down, enduring the intense pain that raced through her body.

“Why is….this… suddenly…?”

She was trying to keep her breathing sient, so that Ren would never notice.

The sound she couldn’t suppress was slightly stifled by covering her mouth with both hands.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

The two left the encampment as soon as dawn broke.

The snow around them was much less than it had been a few days before.

Although there were still scattered effects of the heavy snowfall, the lava flows everywhere had melted the snow from the heat.

Thanks to this, the descent seemed smooth. But —-

(…… This is the worst)

The road leading to Viscount Givens’s territory had been cut off right in front of Ren’s eyes.

The path, which should have been there, was blocked by a huge lava flow.

Lava burst from the bottom of a steep slope in the area, splashing down. This was more powerful than when Marquis Ignat tried to revive Asvar here.

(If this had been ordinary lava, it might have been managed.)

As soon as Fiona started to make her way to Viscount Givens’ side, she noticed something.

She said that the lava flow in the area was not ordinary lava.

She said she could feel the magic from the heat of the lava,—- as if the lava were alive.

She said it was much like the flames that hit the suspension bridge.

So that’s why the lava didn’t seem to freeze in this cold, but only grew more ferocious.

Of course, along the way, Ren had attempted to use nature magic to create a path.

Likewise, Fiona’s ice magic had tried to hold back the lava. The result was that none of these attempts had any effect, and the momentum of the lava, which was filled with magic power, continued to grow stronger and stronger.

“…… Adventurer-san. Would you like to head the way we came in the first place?”

“No. I think you’re  expecting that, but at this rate, the situation on that road will be the same or worse before we get there.”

“You’re right.”

We can’t afford to lose any more time.

The Baldor Mountains is already a far cry from the scene Ren knew.

The silvery peaks are being covered in lava by the minute, which will soon take away any place Ren and Fiona can walk.

There is no time to be picky about the means of descent.

….. Or maybe there never was one.

“……I remember another way, in case you’re wondering.”

It was already a bitter pill to swallow.

There was no other way to go and not a day to spare.

“Can we go downhill from the other road….?”

“Yes, without a doubt.”

It was a hidden map that Ren knew.

I wonder if that place even exists in this world.

The steel-eating gargoyles that always appear, combined with the environment surrounding the hidden map, had ruled out that option until now.

“But it is a dangerous path, as there are D-ranked monsters. If we fail to make it to that path, in some cases it may result in a —- better choice to wait at the fort.”

“…… No.”

Fiona chuckled wistfully.

“I’m sure you know what I mean, adventurer-san. We can’t expect any help from the outside.”

Even if those who were separated by the suspension bridge were still alive, and even if they had made it back safely.

I’m sure they would have finished their descent by now. Then they would call for reinforcements —- or maybe knights and adventurers who have just descended would try to come to Ren and Fiona’s aid.

But it’s impossible.

Without the suspension bridge, the only way to the side of the fort they were in was through the canyon, but it was impractical to go through that deep canyon, and the lava flow everywhere would only increase in intensity.

(But we can’t expect to be rescued from other routes either.)

If rescue were to come from those paths, Ren and Fiona would be able to descend on their own in the first place.

If so, the lava flow would kill Ren and Fiona while they were waiting for rescue.

The lava flow is also flowing out from higher ground than here. It’s not hard to imagine that the lava flow would be strong enough to take the lives of both of them.

“Let’s go. Even if it’s dangerous, there seems to be no way for us to save ourselves except to take the path that you know.”

If we wait and only get swallowed by the lava flow, then we should be prepared to take the risk and go on.

The two shared this thought.

……Then again…

(Why is this happening?)

Compared to when Marquis Ignat reigned over this mountain range as the boss and tried to revive Asval, the lava flow now is nothing compared to that time.

Even if someone had orchestrated this recent disturbance, how could this be possible? Even if it’s the work of those who are plotting the resurrection of the Demon King.

(If that were possible, even Marquis Ignat would have done it. ……)

That way, the protagonists in the legend of the Seven Heroes wouldn’t be sidetracked.

Marquis Ignat should have fulfilled his goal of reviving Asval and turned on Leomel.

But he didn’t.

Was this a game-changing performance or another factor?

(……)

Or maybe Fiona’s presence had something to do with it.

For a moment, the thought crossed Ren’s mind, but he quickly shook his head and started walking.

“Let’s go. Let’s head for the road I know first.”

Fiona then replied in a tired voice, “Okay”.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter